Painted Face Gu

I swam to the shore, and Da Tou and Zhao Jun quickly pulled me out. The cold water in the pool made me shiver. I hastily dried myself and did a few sets of push-ups to warm up. While putting on my clothes, I said to them, "There should be a siphon hole below."

Da Tou immediately shouted in disbelief, "Are you sure?"

"Don't doubt it." I pointed to the pool. "Go down and take a look. There's a crack there, and I touched it just now. There's sediment inside."

If the water flowed outward, the sand brought in from the underground river should have settled at the bottom of the pool. But there was sand in the crack, proving that water flowed into it. I continued, "Not just sand, the shape and erosion level of that crack are different. So, I suspect it's a siphon inlet."

I then asked them to look at the opposite rock wall and said, "There, probably slightly above us, should be another stone chamber. It takes water from here."

Suddenly, I had an insight and clapped my hands excitedly, "I remember now. That's the forge room, and that bamboo pipe should be a faucet. Iron smelting requires a lot of water for cooling. I'm brilliant."

Da Tou, confused by my self-talk, asked Zhao Jun, "Is this guy going crazy? I'll kick him to check."

As he approached, I quickly stopped him from messing around. Then I explained what I saw in the iron-smelting room to them, adding, "At that time, I wondered what the pipe was for. Now it's clear. It's a siphon."

"The most feared thing in the mine is water seepage. If they encounter a water storage layer, they will usually bypass it. If it's not too large, they will drill holes to take water and continue construction after it drains. So, they manage water sources uniformly—modular and centralized water supply. Everyone comes to this water storage room to get water, including the iron-smelting room. However, they need a large amount of water, inconvenient for repeated trips, so they use this ancient method called 'cross-mountain dragon.'"

Seeing Zhao Jun still a bit confused, I explained, "It may sound mysterious, but the principle is simple—siphoning. Ancient people knew how to transport water across mountains using this method. This place should be a low-lying area, and the other stone chambers are distributed around it. When there is a need for water, they ignite some leaves and dry grass near the main pipe, then wait for it to cool a bit. This creates a relative vacuum inside the pipe, forming a siphon, directly sucking up the pool water here."

Da Tou asked me, "Are you saying that crawling through this hole can lead directly to the other side?"

"Yes, just need to widen that crack a bit. This siphon passage should be upward, judging by the water volume, and there isn't much water inside."

Da Tou began searching his backpack. "What are we waiting for? Watch your dear brother demonstrate. Just need to open a hole, and I've got it covered."

I suddenly felt a headache and asked him, "Big brother, can you handle it? Don't bury us all here."

Da Tou, irritated by my words, replied impatiently, "No problem. Just opening a hole, do you doubt me so much?"

I knew that professional gunners could create a regular hole based on the rock's hardness with a glance at the rock's surface. However, Da Tou didn't look like a professional artilleryman, and he didn't even check the crack. Seeing him poking around, I felt worried.

Zhao Jun, not very understanding of the situation, didn't take any action. Almost everything was done by Da Tou. After a while, he proudly said, "Done."

He handed me a few dumpling-shaped gadgets. "Second Master, among us, you're good in the water. You go and place them."

I scolded him, "Now you remember me. Is this thing even functional? Why is there no wire?"

"Oh, right." He handed me a device similar to a radio and explained, "These are all small explosives. Even if they explode in your hand, at most, it will ruin your hand. Your arm won't be blown off. At best, it's like a big firecracker. Look at the crack's position and place one casually. This is a simple receiver. Put it aside. We use electromagnetic waves for detonation. Besides, these are brought by your Longshan Pavilion fellows, so it should be safe." He shook the generator in his hand.

No other choice, I swam back, stuck near the crack, and then flew up like a fish. Da Tou looked at me and gave a thumbs up. "Just like a young master."

Zhao Jun and I leaned against the wall, while Da Tou stood by the water. He looked at us disdainfully, saying, "I told you they're low-powered. There won't be much shockwaves underwater."

Saying that, he pressed the detonator. Unexpectedly, Da Tou was quite reliable this time. Underwater, there was only a splash, and the crack expanded to seventy to eighty centimeters, enough for us to climb in.

After coming up, I explained the situation to them. Since we descended, they were almost trapped here. Both of them were eager, and the internal contradictions turned from internal conflicts among the people to external conflicts with the old soldiers. It's no wonder they say the enemy of the enemy is a friend.

We packed our things. Before going down again, I let them test the water temperature to avoid cramps due to low temperature. I also told them not to rush; the siphon passage must be upward. It wouldn't take long for us to resurface.

Zhao Jun was fine, but Da Tou rarely went underwater. In his words, his interaction with water was limited to bathing and washing feet.

Seeing them ready, I went into the water first, with the fluorescent light in my hand.

After not swimming far, the direction started to go upward. I looked back; the two of them were still struggling to hold their breath. After a while, the body became lighter, and we emerged from the water. Da Tou wiped his face and urged, "Go up quickly. I'm freezing to the point of numbness."

Due to the concern about wetting our clothes, our body temperature was too low after coming up. Before descending, we had stuffed our clothes into the bag. Now we only had our shorts on. Without hesitation, the three of us used the chimney-climbing method to ascend the waterway, holding onto the upward flow.

Fortunately, this waterway was not particularly wide; otherwise, we would have to return the same way.

The three of us started to climb up. The climbing technique involved pressing the back against the cave wall, with one foot in front and one foot behind, maintaining pressure both forward and backward. However, the water temperature was too cold, causing my hands and feet to start tingling, and I began to lose strength.

Fortunately, the waterway started to tilt from ninety degrees to forty-five degrees, changing from climbing to crawling.

We didn't hurry to continue forward but quickly dried our bodies, put on our clothes, and prevented shock

 due to the loss of body temperature. After a bit of movement of the limbs, letting the blood circulate, Da Tou led the way to continue climbing. I was in the middle, and as we climbed, Da Tou suddenly stopped, causing me to collide directly with his buttocks. Annoyed, I asked, "What are you doing?"

Da Tou whispered, his voice somewhat unnatural, "There's someone ahead, blocking the way."

I instinctively asked, "Who is it, Han Sheng and the others?"

Da Tou seemed to stretch his neck to take a look, with a somewhat hesitant tone, "It looks like Zhao Min."

As soon as I heard this, my scalp tingled. Before I could remind him, he climbed over, saying, "Is she unconscious? Why isn't she moving?"

I hurriedly reached out to pull him, but it was too late. He climbed over, "Is she unconscious? Why isn't she moving?"

I quickly retreated a few steps while anxiously telling him, "Lie down."

With more space, his butt suddenly went down, and Zhao Min was exposed in front of me. I saw her face turn blue, covered with dense white hair, making a mournful, whining sound in her mouth. Both hands were tightly gripping Da Tou's neck, like a resurrected zongzi.

I gritted my teeth, stepped on Da Tou's butt, and was about to go up when I glanced at a strange face in her hair.

I shuddered at the sight. That face was exactly like the ghost face we saw in the burial pit tunnel. At this moment, it seemed to be attached to the back of Zhao Min's head. If she hadn't lowered her head, I wouldn't have noticed.

It seemed that this thing had affected Zhao Min. I wondered if removing it would restore her. Thinking about it, I bit my teeth and reached out to grab the ghost face.

The thing seemed to sense my intention and suddenly twisted violently. At the same time, Zhao Min, pinching Da Tou, also raised her head and looked at me with an extremely resentful expression, pouncing towards me.

I only had time to shout, "There's something on the back of her head," before being knocked down by her. Unexpectedly, she had astonishing strength, and I was firmly pressed down.

But this also allowed Da Tou to break free and, moreover, from behind her. I saw Da Tou flick his thigh, pulling out the dagger and swiftly stabbing through Zhao Min's hair. This was a powerful move, directly pulling that thing off Zhao Min's head and nailing it to the wall.

The ghost face, without a host, was like a starfish roasted in the sun, struggling to come down from the wall. However, the more it struggled, the more it was cut by the knife. With each struggle, black water flowed from its body, and its wriggling body gradually slowed down. In the end, it shrank to the size of a fist and stopped moving altogether.

Zhao Jun dragged down Zhao Min, who had fainted after being controlled by the ghost face. I sat up panting; I almost got strangled by this woman. After resting for a while, I had the strength to ask Da Tou, "What is that thing?"

Da Tou, who was also strangled, only released the dagger when the thing completely stopped moving. He sat down, exhausted, and said, "It looks like some kind of gu. Look."

Saying that, he used the dagger to turn that thing over for me to see. I saw the back of the ghost face had a huge mouth, with three concentric circles of densely packed teeth inside. Below the mouth were two rows of small legs. I had a mild phobia of things that were closely packed, and looking at it made my scalp tingle.

I turned my head away and asked Zhao Jun, "How is she?"

Having just given Zhao Min some water, Zhao Jun put down the water bottle and said, "She has no external injuries. I'm not sure if the insect is poisonous. She shows no signs of waking up."

I glanced over, and the white hair on Zhao Min's face had receded, though her complexion remained unsightly. I instructed Zhao Jun to lift her and examine the back of her head for any unusual signs.

Zhao Jun parted her hair, revealing several rows of bloodstained bite marks. I remarked that the parasitic insect likely attached itself to the host using its sharp mouthparts.

Recounting the scene of Zhao Min's sudden transformation, I speculated that she might have been bitten by such an insect while underground in the mine.

I directed Zhao Jun to administer an antibiotic injection, sighing, "I'm uncertain whether it will be effective. These parasites typically control the host through the secretion of neurotoxins, but the lethality of such toxins remains unknown. However, in cases of parasitism like this, the host often faces an unfavorable outcome. Let's hope our discovery is timely enough to make a difference."

We decided to make necessary repairs on the spot and rest. Suddenly, Da Tou asked me, "What do you think of the Feng Shui of this place?"

Perplexed by his seemingly random question, I recalled the notes in Second Master's journal and replied, "With the winding left dragon and the training right tiger, it appears to be an auspicious Feng Shui location."

Da Tou followed up, "Then why are there so many chaotic and impure things here? Usually, only in inauspicious places do anomalies occur."

His unexpected question left me momentarily stunned. I thought to myself, indeed, this place has seen many things that should not be present in graves. I looked at him and asked, "Are you suggesting..."

He nodded, "Something seems abnormal."