Chapter 123: Stone

I forced myself to sleep for half an hour. When He Yu woke up, his movements were clumsy. The tomb robber’s tunnel was too cramped, and he must have cramped up in his sleep. As soon as he woke, he gave a massive stretch to loosen up and accidentally knocked into the flashlight nearby.

The light woke me instantly. Looking back, I saw Chen Canghai had also sat up. He seemed to be a light sleeper, waking at the slightest movement. With his youthful, innocent face, I didn’t really care if he had overheard my earlier conversation with Lu A’yao.

He Yu stuffed his things into his pack, looking energetic and a bit excited. “Well fed and rested,” he said. “How about it? Time to go see that Corpse Accumulation Ground?”

The four of us quickly organized our remaining supplies, finally stuffing everything into a single bag for He Yu to carry. We then tore some rags to cover our noses and mouths.

Lu A’yao had his Ring Blade for protection. It was high quality and would hold up. I tucked two Cold Steel knives into my waistband and re-secured the gauze on my leg to ensure no issues if we had to run. He Yu had all the guns, and he generously handed a Mauser C96 to Chen Canghai.

He Yu poked his head out to scout the opening. Once he confirmed it was clear, he took the lead and jumped out of the tomb robber’s tunnel, landing in the water. The three of us followed quickly. As soon as I stepped out, I smelled that foul, reeking stench of corpse oil again.

He Yu waved at Lu A’yao, signaling him to take the lead. He then moved behind me and patted my shoulder, telling me to follow.

The bottom of the passage was even stickier now. Every step felt like being glued down, requiring significant effort just to pull my feet out. I forced myself not to imagine what was accumulating beneath the water as I struggled through the muck behind Lu A’yao.

Lu A’yao was lighter than the rest of us, so he moved with ease. Given our previous “rear-end collision” in Gansu, I didn’t want a repeat performance here. I stopped him before he could get too far ahead.

I grabbed him. “Slow down. I don’t want to go face-first into the water. Well, mostly I’m worried about He Yu, not me.”

“Huh? What are you guys saying?” He Yu leaned over my shoulder, struggling to peek forward.

Lu A’yao glanced back at me. I met his gaze with unwavering resolve. He turned back, gave a silent nod, and began to lead the way at a steadier pace.

I patted He Yu. “Nothing, nothing. Just keep moving.”

Walking through foul water was nothing like a normal stone path. The usually talkative He Yu kept his mouth tightly shut, speaking as little as possible. As we walked, the settled corpse oil churned up from the bottom, making the experience sickeningly disgusting.

We hadn’t been walking for ten minutes when a fishy, foul stench drifted into my nostrils. Lu A’yao, at the front, slowly came to a halt. I knew we must have reached the Corpse Accumulation Ground. Swallowing hard, I moved up to stand beside him.

Following the beam of Lu A’yao’s flashlight, I saw a scene I will never forget.

It was a small, gentle slope connecting to the waterway. Countless white bones and wet corpses were piled together, covering the entire area. Because they were so old, some of the skeletons had actually fused together.

There were enough bodies to fill half a college classroom. The passage was pitch black, and I could only see what the flashlight illuminated. There were likely many more beneath the waterline, though I couldn’t tell how many.

I stood frozen. Then, Lu A’yao suddenly spoke. “These skeletons… they’re all infants.”

Hearing that made the scene feel even more gruesome. I instinctively took two steps back, my body’s natural fight-or-flight response warning me to stay away. He Yu was just as shocked as I was.

“Such a massive scale… how many infants did they need? Was this a mass child sacrifice?” He Yu asked, horrified.

I moved my flashlight and noticed that the old water line on the walls was clearly above the slope. This proved that when the water level was higher, this waterway didn’t exist. All these bodies must have originally been submerged. The realization sent a shiver down my spine from head to toe.

So much corpse oil had settled in this water, which was why it felt so sticky.

Did this mean we were actually walking on a mountain of corpses? Was this so-called “passage” actually bottomless?

Had years of water flow simply pushed some corpses here to form this accumulation ground, while the rest were leveled out to form the bed of the waterway?

The more I thought about it, the more nauseated I felt. Lu A’yao signaled for me to look up at some stones floating near the Corpse Accumulation Ground. I raised my head and was immediately struck by the sight of stones floating right next to the pile of bodies. I was instantly filled with wonder.

“Heh, strange things happen every year, but this year is something else,” He Yu said, stroking his chin in amazement. “Have these stones turned into spirits or something to be floating like that?”

I slapped him. “What are you talking about? Stop spouting that superstitious nonsense. How could a stone become a spirit?”

He Yu pointed at a white stone floating on the surface, hands on his hips. “Then what’s your expert opinion? It’s clearly floating right there, we can all see it. How can a stone float on water? How do you explain that without using the supernatural?”

Of course, there are stones in the world that can float. I recalled a science program I’d seen as a kid about stones that could drift on water. Apparently, their density is much lower than water. But after thinking for a moment, I realized the stones in front of me couldn’t be that kind.

That kind of floating stone is mostly silica, a special mineral formed when volcanic eruptions cool and solidify. But we were at the Nu River in northwestern Yunnan. I didn’t think there were any volcanoes nearby. Where would volcanic material come from?

Could the Tengchong volcano have erupted so powerfully in the past that it flung minerals all the way to the Nu River? That seemed way too far-fetched.

I hadn’t quite figured it out yet, but He Yu was already rolling up his sleeves.

“Come on, stop overthinking it. Let’s just fish one out and take it back to study. That’ll solve everything!”

As he spoke, he started wading through the water. I rushed to stop him. “Don’t be so damn impulsive! Something feels off about this. If it’s some unknown species, you’re dead meat if you try to grab it.”

“Oh, Little Yao, you’re always playing it too safe. That’s why you’re always running in circles without getting anywhere. You can’t see a damn thing from this far away! Just watch me fish one out so you can get a good look at it in your own hands!”

“Shh!” Lu A’yao raised a hand.

We were in the middle of a scuffle, but his sudden gesture made us freeze instantly, clutching each other. Chen Canghai moved swiftly to the front of us, his Mauser C96 already cocked and ready in his hand.

I quickly pulled away from He Yu and crouched down. We all squinted into the distance, where the rock illuminated by Lu A’yao’s flashlight suddenly twitched on its own.

“Holy crap, what’s that supposed to mean? I told you this place was eerie before we even got here. Other places have corpse reanimation, but this place has rock reanimation,” He Yu whispered in my ear.

I told him to shut up and kept watching.

In an instant, the rock split into four or five pieces, transforming into hideous little beetles that scurried into the pile of corpses.

“Damn it!” I heard He Yu curse.

I looked at him. “What’s wrong? Are you actually afraid of bugs?”

Then I realized it wasn’t just him; even Chen Canghai had grown tense. The moment Lu A’yao saw the insects, he switched off his flashlight and pressed himself against the wall, putting as much distance as possible between us and the corpse pile. He whispered, “Move, now! Don’t disturb those stones!”

Hearing me, He Yu snapped, “I call you a fool because you really are one! Those aren’t just bugs, those are Corpse Beetles!”