Deep Pit

Upon seeing Zhao Min in such a state, my scalp tingled, and goosebumps appeared on my body. She let out a scream and lunged towards me. Shocked, I instinctively threw my flashlight at her, and she caught it with one hand. Seizing this opportunity, I turned and darted into a hidden passage.

The indescribable fear overwhelmed me as Zhao Min, like a vengeful spirit, hung behind me. I ran desperately, not daring to look back, relying on the faint light of her flashlight to sense her gradually falling behind.

I couldn't bring myself to stop, with the only flashlight now in Zhao Min's possession. Since leaving the Chaoxian Tomb in Wumong Mountain, the long-lost sense of fear enveloped my entire being once again, even more terrifying than before. Running uncontrollably in the darkness, my whole body trembled involuntarily.

Uncertain of how long I ran, though unable to see, I felt a subtle change in the air around me. Gasping for breath, I halted, urgently trying to steady my rapidly beating heart and the bellows-like breaths. In this pitch-black environment, any slight sound could make my brain nerves jump.

Listening carefully to the surroundings, I carefully removed the backpack from my back. I remembered having a few glow sticks inside. Silently, I took them out, shook and cracked them, barely illuminating the surroundings.

Raising the light to survey, I discovered that I had escaped from the makeshift dug hole. This was a small stone chamber with the hole in the wall. The interior was empty, with some square logs stacked in disarray.

Observing these logs, I felt puzzled by their remarkably preserved condition. I wondered how they were stored so well. A sudden realization struck me – the water in this place might not have been in a liquid state. This had to be an ice chamber, a place for storing ice blocks.

Mining was not a simple task, especially in ancient times without devices like bellows. Digging deeper would present challenges of ventilation and high temperatures. Hence, ancient people resorted to using ice to cool the environment. This also served as a method to transport massive stones by freezing the roads to reduce friction during cold weather.

If this place was indeed an ice chamber, it must be connected to another mining area. Judging by the downward slope, I had covered a considerable distance, likely around seven to eight meters in height. If there was a connection, it would lead to another mining pit.

Assured of no immediate danger, I sat in a corner, nibbling on compressed biscuits, reflecting on the experiences I had just undergone.

Retrieving my notebook, I haphazardly circled some words on it, representing today's events. Connecting these keywords into a line, "follow = disappear = Zhao Min acting strangely = run," I shook my head, adding a question mark between "disappear" and "Zhao Min acting strangely," transforming it into "follow = disappear = ? = Zhao Min acting strangely = run." This made more sense. Although I didn't know what happened to Zhao Min, something definitely occurred at this point. Thinking of Zhao Min's ghostly appearance, resembling a reanimated corpse emerging from a coffin, I couldn't help but shudder. Could it be... she was possessed by whatever was following us?

Recalling the events leading up to this moment, it seemed that everything went awry when we discovered the body under the coffin board. This mining area was too bizarre, filled with an eerie atmosphere. I truly wished to know what those Qing Dynasty individuals had unearthed in the Fox Hu Wang Tomb.

Suddenly, I sensed something unusual in the surroundings. It felt like a change had occurred. Glancing around, I saw the entrance I had come through, emitting a faint light. Cold sweat instantly covered my back. How did she silently catch up in such a short time? As if confirming my suspicions, a head slowly emerged from the entrance. The head hung down, covered in hair, making it impossible to see her face. It looked as if she was peeking at me surreptitiously.

In this pitch-black ancient mine, seeing someone with disheveled hair spying on you, combined with the eerie atmosphere, made my scalp explode with fear. Regardless of whether she was chasing me or not, I ran wildly, guided by the glow of the glow stick.

To evade her, I took every turn possible, losing track of the path with each bend. Suddenly, a "crack" sounded under my feet. My immediate reaction was that it was bad. Judging by the sound, an old wooden plank had broken under my weight. Indeed, it was true. I went through the wooden layer and slid down. Fortunately, it wasn't a severe impact, as there seemed to be a layer of soft soil below.

Rubbing my arms and legs, I stood up, using the glow stick to illuminate the surroundings. I found myself in a massive pit, resembling a large bowl with a curvature. On the outside of the bowl-shaped walls were several large and small holes. I had fallen through one of them.

Stomping my feet, I found it strange that what filled the bowl didn't seem like soil, but it was soft, somewhat like ash.

Shaking my head, I decided to figure out a way to climb up. Although the slope on the big bowl didn't seem steep, it had a layer of grease on top, making it slippery. I attempted a few times but failed.

Looking at my hand covered in black grease, I smelled it, detecting a faint fishy odor. Unsure of what it was, I felt a bit troubled. The bowl was coated with oil all around, making it impossible to climb.

Recalling a Jackie Chan movie I watched as a child, which depicted a sausage factory where Jackie Chan fell into a meat grinding machine and couldn't get out. The machine resembled a garlic press and bowl, with oil surrounding it. The grinder would smash down every so often, and Jackie Chan had to stick to the bowl wall when it came down, but the wall had oil, and he constantly slid towards the center of the bowl. It was a matter of time before the grinder hit him. I seemed to be in a similar situation now, and thankfully, there were no grinders coming down on the big bowl.

Observing the holes above, I fell into contemplation.

These holes seemed to be designed for transportation, all sloping downward. At least mine did. If we considered inertia, the last thing falling down must end up in the bowl. So, this bowl acted as a container. Plus, the layer of ash on the ground...

I crouched down and grabbed a handful. A bold idea suddenly crossed my mind. If my guess was correct, this might be a massive corpse incinerator!

Yes, a corpse incinerator. The holes were probably designed for transporting bodies. The ash on the ground could be bone ash. The grease all around, undoubtedly the result of long-term burning and roasting of human fat.

However, one thing puzzled me. Although deaths were inevitable in mining, creating such a colossal corpse incinerator in a mining area seemed excessive. From what I knew, even in ancient times, where labor conditions were harsh, a simple issue like a water shortage could cause numerous deaths. However, the ruling class wasn't usually compassionate. Generally, they would discard the dead or severely injured directly in the wilderness. A

 few years ago, I heard Old He mentioning a former quarry, where they often encountered ghosts because the laborers' grievances from that time persisted. Moreover, Yushan was a specialized tomb excavation team, better off than ordinary laborers. Large-scale deaths weren't expected. Speculating this way, the corpse pit seemed to be prepared for the bodies unearthed from the Fox Hu Wang Tomb.

Why did they go to the trouble of cremating those bodies? Certainly not out of ethical concerns for disturbing someone's grave. I believed the reason was closely related to my previous deductions, and the issue lay with those bodies. They were forced not to handle them simply; they had to resort to incineration!

This also explained the source of the empty coffins in the mining pit. However, one thing still perplexed me. Why didn't they burn the coffins directly, and why were many coffins forcefully dismantled? Looking at the thick layer of bone ash under my feet, I couldn't fathom how many bodies were incinerated by those Qing Dynasty individuals.

Realizing that this was a former corpse incinerator, a chill ran down my spine, and I felt like the ground beneath me was getting hotter.

Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I couldn't sit idly. I immediately took off my backpack, searching inside to see if there was anything that could help me escape. Amidst the search, I found the walkie-talkie from before. Remembering that Big Head and the others had one as well, and given my previous speculations that they were nearby, I wondered if they were still around. On a whim, I gently turned the knob on the walkie-talkie. Immediately, it emitted a crackling noise accompanied by a chilling and familiar sinister laugh.