Chapter 15: The Black Palace

Ye Zhiqiu became even more frightened after hearing my analysis. Her face turned pale as she asked, "Fog can be a natural phenomenon, but who lit the oil lamps in every house?" Right! That was the biggest concern. Regardless of whether the one lighting the lamps was human or ghost, they clearly had no good intentions. Otherwise, why go through all this effort to scare us? Maybe they even stole our car! Things were becoming more unfavorable for us, and for a moment, I regretted coming to this eerie place just for money. After discussing with Uncle Li and Luo Hai, we came up with several plans, but none of them were feasible. The biggest problem right now wasn't food—it was water. A person can survive for a week with little to no food, but going without water for the same amount of time is impossible. If we ended up dying in this ancient city, we might even make it onto the evening news—CCTV's evening news, no less—becoming an international sensation! But rather than a "notable death," I preferred "staying alive." After all, my skill was finding other people's corpses, and I certainly didn't want to end up as one myself. Night had fallen, and everyone was exhausted. It seemed that all matters would have to wait until morning. Maybe when we stepped out of the city gates tomorrow, our car would miraculously reappear? Hopefully, Lady Luck would smile upon us… Without sleeping bags, we had no choice but to huddle together for warmth. Ding Yi's hands were cold, but his body was surprisingly warm—a decent heat source! I fell asleep quickly this time. Ding Yi, however, remained awake. In such an uncertain environment, he was determined to keep watch. A Sudden Sorrow In the middle of the night, I suddenly felt a sharp pang in my heart. A wave of intense sorrow spread through me, suffocating and unbearable, as if I was waiting for someone who would never arrive… Abruptly, I opened my eyes—only to find Ding Yi staring straight at me. Still lost in the sadness, I was startled. "Damn! Why are you staring at me?" "You were crying," Ding Yi said flatly. I froze, then reached up to touch my face. Sure enough, it was wet. Why was I crying? As a child, I sometimes woke up from dreams in tears, but ever since growing up, this had never happened again. Had I just dreamt of something heart-wrenching? But no matter how hard I tried to recall, I couldn't remember a thing—only an overwhelming sadness lingering inside me. "How long was I crying?" I asked Ding Yi, knowing he hadn't slept at all. He shrugged. "You started as soon as you fell asleep. At first, the sound was faint, so I wasn't sure if you were crying or just talking in your sleep." What the hell?! I started crying the moment I fell asleep? Why?! This place was seriously creepy! No matter what, we had to leave by daylight—even if we had no car! Morning Brings No Relief At dawn, everyone gradually woke up… Somehow, the mermaid oil lamps in the room had gone out on their own. No one wanted to waste our dwindling food supply, so we each just drank two small sips of water. Our greatest hope was still to find our missing vehicle. But the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. When we opened the city gate, there was nothing outside—just an endless stretch of barren desert. No one dared to step into that desolation recklessly. Maybe the heavens were toying with us. It wasn't even 10 a.m., yet the ground temperature had already reached a scorching 50°C (122°F). Zhao Qiang and Ye Zhiqiu suggested returning to the ancient city. Although there was no food, it should be easier to find water. I knew Zhao Qiang's suggestion was reasonable—his survival skills weren't for nothing—but the thought of going back into that city made me uneasy. Perhaps it was just psychological, but the temperature inside the ancient city felt noticeably lower than outside. Even though we were all wearing long-sleeved jackets, a chill crept down our spines. "We need to find a water source quickly," Ye Zhiqiu said anxiously. "Right now, water is our biggest concern." Uncle Li nodded, then pointed toward the towering black structure at the city's center. "Let's check there. There should be a water source, but we don't know if it has dried up." Everyone turned their gaze toward the distant black tower—it was our only hope. Following the Water Channels The tower was located in the heart of the ancient city. As we walked closer, we noticed that the ground beneath us had changed from yellow earth to black stones. At that moment, Uncle Li discovered something else—a shallow trench running alongside the road. After observing it for a while, he said, "This must have been a rainwater collection channel. If we follow it, we should find an old water reservoir!" The thought of finding water lifted everyone's spirits. If we could locate a water source, we had a real chance of escaping this godforsaken desert! Though our main objective was to find the biologist's remains, our survival took precedence. Otherwise, even if we found him, we'd likely end up just like him—forever buried in this place. As we walked along the black stone road, an eerie silence settled over us. If we didn't speak, we could hear nothing but our own breathing and heartbeats. "Uncle Li, isn't it too quiet here?" I asked uneasily. Uncle Li nodded. "Be careful, everyone. This place is unusually strange. Once we find water, we're leaving immediately—this is no place to linger!" Ye Zhiqiu, the only woman in our group, had come as our medic. She probably hadn't expected to encounter such terrifying circumstances. She looked around in horror, as if expecting a monster to leap out and devour her at any moment. I felt a pang of sympathy and reassured her, "Don't worry, Zhiqiu. We'll be fine. Besides, if anything happens, you have us guys to protect you. You're safe with me!" No sooner had I said that than Ding Yi, walking ahead of me, turned around and shot me a look of pure disdain. His expression practically screamed, You? If something happens, who's protecting who? Embarrassed, I pretended not to see him and looked away. But in my mind, I was cursing him in English… Then, just as I was avoiding Ding Yi's gaze, an inexplicable sense of unease gripped me. I abruptly lifted my head— In the distance, directly to our north, loomed a black building. It was our destination—the Black Tower. The material of the tower seemed identical to the black stones beneath our feet and the city walls surrounding us. Even more unsettling, the small trench we had been following was not alone—dozens of similar channels converged from all directions, flowing straight into the Black Tower. It was clear now… In the past, this was not just the center of the ancient city. It was the heart of power itself.