The Wuzhi Mountain

We reached Sanya Phoenix International Airport in Sanya City at five o'clock in the afternoon. Three vans were already waiting for us outside the airport courtesy of Mister Fa Xiao Min. My friends and I rode on one together with Jessa who was the one to keep an eye on us.

Once we have all piled up inside, I noticed that Jessa and Artemis were actually sitting across each other, with me in-between them.

'I have a bad feeling about this.' I thought.

The atmosphere inside the van was filled with tension and was really awkward. Neither made a move nor a sound, not even Blake and Calvin who were the most playful.

"So," Jessa started while looking out the window. "You're one of Sceptre's reapers."

"Yeah, so?" Artemis replied nonchalantly.

"Are you perhaps the famous Huntress?"

Artemis was still for a moment before she turned to me and held my hand really tight.

"What if I said no?"

"That's also fine. When I found out you were part of Sceptre, I thought I can finally see one of the top assassins in the underworld. She's my idol too."

"Huntress is your idol?" asked Kyle who was sitting behind us together with Xander and Seven

"Yeah."

"You have good taste." Artemis commented and let go of my hand.

'What was that for?' I whispered to Artemis and she just shrugged.

"So," Artemis slumped on her chair and crossed her legs. "Where the hell are we going? No, scratch that, tell us what the hell is going on?"

Jessa stared at the both of us for a few seconds before she sighed.

"I guess I should tell you if we're going in together."

She took out a tablet from her bag and showed us a picture of a mountain with five peaks.

"We're on our way to Wuzhishan City and this is Wuzshi Mountain or Five Finger Mountain in English." she swiped the picture and revealed the picture of a cave's entrance. "Last year on mid-August, a worker from the mountain's dam discovered a cave opening when they released the water it held to the canyon. The head engineer of the dam led few of his men to explore the cave but only the head engineer came back. He said all his men got caught in a trap and died."

She turned off the tablet and stashed it away.

"My boss, Fa Xiao Min, has always been interested in ancient tombs and relics, especially ones from the Han Dynasty. He actually supported a few excavation projects financially the last few years. When he heard about the cave he immediately contacted archaeologists to explore it and figure out if it was a regular cave or a tomb."

"Let me guess," I interrupted. "It was a tomb."

Jessa nodded. "The archaeologists dated the tomb all the way from the former Han Dynasty and it's possible that it was the lost tomb of Emperor Yue."

"So it's an 'if'? There's no guarantee about it. Then why the hell is he being a crazy bastard about it?" Artemis complained.

"None of your business." Jessa glared at her and the two started glaring at each other.

"Wait," I interrupted again. "Hainan is very far from the territory of the former Han Dynasty. Not to mention Hainan is an island and back then the Hans were not very keen in exploring the open seas. How are you so sure that the tomb is Emperor Yue's?"

"That. One of our men found strange symbols on another cave entrance inside the cave. One of the symbols was the symbol of Emperor Yue, a phoenix with a scroll at its claws." she explained.

"The Phoenix of Wisdom?" I questioned.

"Exactly. I didn't study that much in archaeology but I know Chinese history and I'm pretty sure about that." Jessa replied. "Boss started sending more men to explore the tomb, but no one came back." her expression suddenly turned that of sadness. "Including my brother."

The van was once again enveloped with an awkward atmosphere but it was broken by Kyle.

"Thank you for the info Jessa. I think everyone should get some sleep or at least some rest. Wuzhishan City is still quite some distance away."

Nobody argued.

***

The house was located at the edge of the city. It wasn't small but it wasn't big either and we probably had to share a room together.

The house itself looked rundown, with vines creeping up the walls and windows. The paint had already faded with time and the grass outside was unkempt. It was as tall as my legs and they were quite long.

"Is this a haunted house or something?" asked Calvin while holding unto Xander.

I tried not to laugh out loud at the sight since it was very funny. Xander was a head shorter than Calvin and the latter was clinging at him like a koala.

"Man up Calvin." said Blake.

"It would've been convincing Blake," retorted Seven. "If you weren't shaking yourself."

"S-s-shut up!"

"Stop the dilly-dallying! Let's go inside already!" shouted Mister Fa.

"Don't you have a much nicer place? This place is as creepy as your face. And that's saying something." complained Artemis and plucked a grass beside her.

She was really one for insults.

"Seriously, it looks like one of those houses in horror movies where ghosts and demons definitely live. And in a place like that, people like you are usually the ones that die first."

"Shut up!" Jessa lunged at Artemis but she evaded it and stood behind Fa Xiao Min.

Artemis kicked his knees and had him kneel. Her left hand held his head and had him face to her left while her right hand's middle finger was pressed at his neck.

"Do that again and he dies." Artemis said in a threatening voice.

"Artemis," Kyle called. "Calm down."

I was suddenly held by my arm and extreme pain from my gunshot wound shot in my head. Jessa was pressing it very hard that it started bleeding again.

"Let go of him or your boyfriend will bleed to death." Jessa retorted with an equally threatening tone.

"JESSA!" Fa Xiao Min yelled. "We need him healthy and alive!"

"Just to be clear…" I said between yelps. "We're not even… dating."

"You shut up." she whispered. "Let go of him first!"

I heard Artemis click her tongue and she released Mister Fa. Jessa let go of me next and I stumbled on Kyle and the others who immediately fussed on my bleeding shoulder.

'In times like this, I really wish I still have my healing powers.' I thought.

"GUYS! CAN'T WE BE CIVIL?! Even at the smallest way possible?" Seven yelled in his angry leader voice.

Seven was usually a cool headed guy and because of that the younger ones (Blake and Coby most of the times) sometimes make fun of him and I really respect and idolize his patience. But when we talk about serious things, he uses his leader voice and face to make everyone listen.

He also had that angry leader face and when he has that on, we really had to obey him. Kind of like the Seven in my past life, but then again, that guy was a prince of an empire.

"Mister Fa Xiao Min." Seven said in fluent Mandarin. "You are the one that needs our help. Can't you at least be nice? Artemis has proven many times that she could kill you and wipe out your men. I think it's a good time to play nice, don't you think?"

I was surprised. I heard him practice Mandarin before but I didn't know he was very fluent already. There wasn't even an accent the beginners usually have.

I saw that Fa Xiao Min was silent and directed his gaze somewhere else.

"We're going to a dangerous place and face the unknown, it would be great if we could work well together." he added.

"Tell that to the ticking time bomb over there." said Jessa.

"Just stop provoking me." Artemis replied then stuck out her tongue like a child.

"Maybe if we talk like civilized people we don't have to be at each other's throat all the time." Seven sighed. "Now… Lei's wound has to be treated… again… so please lead us to our room."

***

"Hyung what are you doing?" asked Calvin who was peering at what I was doing.

"Drawing the map of the tomb. If the tomb in Wuzhi Mountain is the real deal then we'll really need it."

"And what if it isn't?"

"Then let's pray that luck is on our side." I paused. "By the way, do you believe in reincarnation?"

Calvin just laughed it off then left me alone.

The next day we all headed to the dam. We left at exactly eight in the morning, China Standard Time, and rode on jeeps meant to travel rocky and muddy roads. We reached the dam an hour later.

"Good morning Mister Fa." greeted a man with glasses and a khaki vest.

"How are the preparations?"

"All done sir."

"Good. Let's go."

We walked for a few minutes then rode on a boat which would bring us the cave's entrance after a few minutes. The opening was wide but it was also located deeply that if the dam was filled with water it would sink underwater.

"If you follow the passage." said the man from before. He was the head engineer of the place. "It will lead you to the very center of Wuzhi Mountain. Before we disclose this to the Chinese government we planned to explore it, but that place is just too dangerous."

"What is at the center of Wuzhi Mountain?" asked Xander.

"A pool of water, a bunch of waterfalls, glowing crystals, basically a place where one can relax if one has such courage."

"Right." I muttered.

"Let's go in already!" Fa Xiao Min yelled impatiently.

"You remember what I said before? Usually in horror movies or even in thriller ones, the asshole, sorry I mean the impatient ones usually die first." Artemis commented and smirked.

"Artemis." Seven called in a warning tone. She just shrugged and motioned her hand in zipping her mouth.

She rolled her eyes afterwards and started checking her backpack and other supplies.

We got off the boat and headed to the rocky ground of the cave. It was a bit slippery so I reminded them to be careful. The head engineer, who was still on the boat, gave us a final warning, but Fa Xiao Min brushed him off. Again.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." he said and the boat left.

We started following the path that was slowly getting steeper every step we took. And since it was slippery some of us actually slipped and thankfully we did not hurt ourselves.

When we reached the end of the path, I saw a hidden paradise.

No, I wasn't just talking figuratively also literally.

The first thing that caught my eyes was the glowing crystals that lighted the place. The ceiling was filled with them and we could not see the sky nor the peaks of Wuzhi Mountain. At the bottom was a pool of water which obviously had the same glowing crystals as the ceilings and walls. How deep the pool of water was, I never found out.

There were three waterfalls gushing out from the walls and I wondered where the source was from. And lastly, there were islets scattered in the pool of water.

One was at the very center and was the biggest islet. It was filled with grass and it was the greenest islet among the three. The second one was near the wall where we were at. It was at the end of the narrow staircase that was at the wall. The islet was quite big but not as big as the one at the center. In it was a lone acacia tree near the edge. The last islet was beside the biggest waterfall. Unlike the other two islets it only had rocks, sand and glowing crystals scattered in it.

All three islets were connected by a bridge of rocks one can step on. It was big enough to place two feet together but one wrong move could let you fall into the water. There was no problem seeing it, the glowing crystals around us were a huge help that we didn't even need a flashlight to see.

'This place looks like the Ice Dragon's cave back in Hilaga Continent in my previous world.' I thought.

"Shall we go down?" Artemis said and took the first step to the stone steps at the wall that served as the stairs to get down.

"Artemis!" I called. I was worried she might slip.

"Come on! This place looks amazing!"

My friends and I looked at each other then followed her.

"Emperor Yue did like nature and secret nature spots." I muttered as I remembered his biography that I once read back when I was a child. "It was never mentioned where his usual hangouts were located though. I never thought such a paradise actually exists at the very heart of Wuzhi Mountain. But how did he find this place so far away from Chang'an? Much less the Han Dynasty territory?"

"Lei-hyung," Blake called in Korean. "I've seen pictures of Wuzhi Mountain in the internet and it does not show this place. Does that mean, the mountain forest is just above us? We're really deep underground?"

"That's right. That's why this place was never found."

"Not just that," Artemis inserted. "There's something about the entire cave, no, the entire mountain. I'm just not sure what it is."

'Probably magic. A strong cloaking magic.'

As someone who came from a fantasy-like world where magic, monsters and many things possible existed, I could easily tell when there is magic around me. I sensed some in this world, but I did not investigate it.

"Probably ancient Chinese spells that ward off evil people." Kyle commented. "Like some people in this group."

He pointed behind him where Fa Xiao Min and his men were trying not to fall to their deaths.

We reached the bottom of the stairs and thus stepped on the islet. I saw Artemis walk up to the lone acacia tree. I followed her. She was looking at the tree with such a sad expression.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"This tree has not seen the sun for thousands of years and yet it's still standing tall. And it's the only one around too, so it must be very sad."

I touched the tree with my hand. At that moment, I really wished I still had my spirit eyes. It could help me see the unseen and probably help me see and talk to the spirit living inside the tree.

Artemis had a point. Plants needed sunlight to survive. So I wondered how the acacia tree, no, the entire vegetation survived inside the cave. But then again, thick magic was inside, so it was possible that it was the reason.

We were suddenly called over by Seven at the edge of the islet. I took Artemis' hand and led her to where the others were. When we reached it, I stood agape at the scene and I wasn't the only one.

Giant koi fishes were swimming the glowing waters.

"Wow." Blake said and stared.

"Koi fishes!" Xander exclaimed. "Really big koi fishes!"

"You never mentioned anything about giant koi fishes." I asked Jessa.

"This is the first time we're seeing them as well." she answered in Tagalog. She was probably so shocked and fascinated that she unknowingly switched to her native tongue.

"They weren't here last time?" I asked in the same Filipino dialect. She answered yes.

I studied the eleven giant koi fishes in the water. Each of them was at least five feet long with different scale patterns and colors. There were the usual red and white, also the black, red and yellow, even the red with flecks of gold and some had solid colors. They were gathered at the edge of the islet. Other than the massive size, what made these different from other koi fishes was that its fins and tails were glowing the same green light as the crystals in the cave.

"They're beautiful." Artemis cooed and thrust her hand into the water. The group of koi fishes gathered around her hand.

"How are they… big?" Calvin asked.

"Probably have something to do with the glowing crystals around us." I answered.

"Or the strange atmosphere hanging around us." Artemis nodded.

"Dude! Not even the biggest koi fish in history was this big! Big Girl was like… only 4 feet long!" Kyle exclaimed.

"""Nerd.""" my friends muttered in response to Kyle's expression.

"These things will fetch quite the money! The biggest koi fishes in history!" Fa Xiao Min exclaimed as well and laughed like a maniac.

I glared at him with my fists itching.