The secret at the bottom of the pit

Old Wan displayed remarkable decisiveness and promptly stated, "Let's return to the entrance."

I inquired, "Are we not rescuing them anymore?"

He looked into my eyes and replied, "Your comrades are skilled. If they can't make it up, even if we all go down, it would be in vain."

Old Wan's calm demeanor reminded me of Second Master. Both of them were charismatic leaders, exuding a decisive aura akin to a warlord. It was what Old He referred to as maintaining composure in critical situations. Reflecting on myself, I tended to be indecisive, always looking before and after, unable to truly become a Second Master even if adorned with the title.

I shook my head, "Without doing all one can, one cannot be at peace with oneself. I cannot simply abandon them."

Old Wan sighed helplessly, "Young Second Master, in this line of work, luck is not always on our side. We must be willing to let go when necessary."

Knowing he was reluctant to take risks, I took a deep breath and said to him, "You go check the burial passage. If we haven't returned in an hour, retreat."

Finishing my words, I tightened the straps of my backpack, held my breath, and jumped directly into the burial pit, resigning myself to fate.

Upon landing, a chilling sensation coursed through me. Due to the previous lighting, the burial pit was deeper than I had imagined, and the bodies were stacked in layers, resembling the seating arrangement in a stadium. Before I could stabilize myself, I felt a slippery slope formed by the piled bodies, causing me to tumble down, knocking over multiple corpses before coming to a stop.

This fall left me disoriented. As I stood up, shaking my head and turning on the shoulder lamp, the ghastly sight of mutilated bodies met my eyes. Limbs and heads had been severed, and the eerie postures of those bound in shackles kneeling on the ground filled the space.

Looking back, I could barely see the light from Old Wan and the others' lamps, moving towards the entrance without pausing. Simultaneously, I noticed something strange. There was an undispersed layer of mist below, shrouding the pit's bottom. The fog obstructed the portion we couldn't see from above.

The hazy mist completely blocked our view, making it impossible to see beyond a few meters even with the lamp. Vague silhouettes were all that could be discerned, and the temperature was significantly lower. An unsettling feeling crept over me, and beneath the bodies, there seemed to be some dragging force. My back felt unusually heavy, with a sensation of descending.

"Crack!"

In this extremely sensitive moment, I suddenly heard the sound of metal chains scraping against each other. At that instant, my whole body tensed. Without waiting for me to react, a dark figure swiftly lunged at me, pinning me to the ground. Simultaneously, a cold hand clawed down my face.

A chill ran through me. This was it; I was about to become a sacrifice to the "zongzi."

However, after two seconds, my surroundings plunged into darkness as my shoulder lamp was turned off. Perplexed, I wondered if "zongzi" now preferred working in the dark?

"It's me."

A low voice sounded in my ear, and my heart skipped a beat. It was Big Head. If not for the circumstances, tears of relief would have welled up. I thumped him and asked why he was so careless. He nervously hushed me, "Turn off the light, don't make a sound."

After a few seconds, he sighed, explaining that there was something down there, and my comrade had skillfully diverted its attention. Panicking, I asked what it was, and Big Head scratched his head, unable to see clearly but mentioning that it had limbs. Moreover, he hadn't fallen down on his own but was grabbed by something.

"By the way, do you have any weapons on you? My bag fell off, and I lost mine," he asked.

I nodded and cautiously handed him the gun that Old He had hidden for me.

Taking the gun, Big Head examined it, expressing surprise, "A TP-9 submachine gun from Longshan Pavilion. This is a treasure. With this, no matter what monsters or demons come our way, I'll make them bloom with peach blossoms."

Emboldened by the gun, he advised me to use the flashlight to illuminate from behind as he advanced cautiously. In a low voice, I asked if he felt an unusual heaviness. He looked at my back, inquired about the horseshoes, and joked about discerning humans from ghosts by viewing from below. I dismissed the idea.

"Don't worry, brother has got your back. Given the situation, it's strange if we don't encounter anything. Maybe there's a disgruntled fellow trying to take advantage of you and have you carry them out," he earnestly analyzed.

I felt like crying, but he continued, "I'll give you a tip. They say looking from below can help distinguish between humans and ghosts. Want me to check for you?"

"You're talking nonsense."

"Don't worry; I've got your back if anything happens. Given that Second Master and your comrade made it down, I'll handle this with ease. Hey...," Big Head suddenly stopped, looking puzzled, "Did you see a shadow pass by just now?"

"What's wrong?"

"It seems like something passed by; shine the light to the left."

Subconsciously, I swept the flashlight over, only seeing a row of bodies. Wait, there seemed to be something different. I directed the light back, revealing a bluish face nestled among the corpses.

Once illuminated, the creature darted out, heading straight for us. Instinctively, I blocked it, and I was instantly thrown back, rolling on the ground. Big Head reacted swiftly, firing two shots at it. However, the creature seemed to be armored, and the bullets only sparked a few times. In retaliation, the creature knocked Big Head down.

Stumbling to my feet, my chest aching, possibly due to broken ribs, Big Head, too, was no pushover, somersaulting and shooting at the approaching creature. Some bullets penetrated, causing the creature to wail, evading Big Head and charging towards me.

Damn!

I was dumbfounded; I had indeed picked a soft target. The creature was fast, covering the distance in two strides and rushing by my side, emitting a foul odor.

In this critical moment, a sudden "chirp" resonated in my ears. A long spear pierced through the creature's abdomen, followed by a man leaping down. It was Hansheng. His clothes were slightly disheveled, but in my eyes at that moment, he was like a deity descending. After a swift roll, he grasped the long spear embedded in the creature's abdomen, forcefully pulling it out.

The creature, in pain, howled as Hansheng's face turned slightly pale. Urgently, he addressed us, "Hurry, there's a bigger one behind. "

I was left somewhat dumbfounded, realizing that after Hansheng lured the monster away, he had indeed discovered something significant. Only then did he lead us to find the exit. Feeling irritated, I asked, "Don't

 I deserve your trust?"

Hansheng turned to me, "If there's anyone in this world I can trust, it's you. If you think I'm hiding something, I'll tell you at the right time."