Chapter 160: A Desperate Measure

Judging by Bai Shenxian’s expression, he didn’t seem to be joking. However, to me, as the person it had actually happened to, the story sounded like pure fantasy. Still, it quickly brought to mind some strange occurrences from my hometown.

I had heard my grandfather talk about many instances of children crying incessantly at night. In mild cases, they just wouldn’t stop sobbing; in more severe cases, they would unconsciously sit up in bed, talking, covering their faces, or letting out strange cries. Usually, these oddities happened after midnight. Back home, if people said a child had been “Yandao-ed^[1],” this was usually what they meant.

But this kind of “Yandao” was entirely different from a common nightmare. After a nightmare, you eventually wake up and regain clarity. Being “Yandao-ed,” however, meant the person’s true consciousness would not return throughout the entire process. Whether talking to themselves or making strange noises, the person involved would have absolutely no memory of it when they woke up the next morning.

When my grandfather first told me about it, my immediate reaction was that it was just sleepwalking. Looking at it now, there was still a distinct difference between being Yandao-ed and sleepwalking. I didn’t know how best to explain it, but a sleepwalker was highly unlikely to walk a full circle around the chamber of a strange ancient tomb and then accurately strike a mechanism to open a caisson ceiling.

I knew that was exactly what Bai Shenxian was referring to. I had just been Yandao-ed by something.

“Forget it, let’s not talk about that for now. Someone who’s been Yandao-ed has no memory, so asking you is useless. We should focus on solving our current predicament first.” Bai Shenxian sighed, bracing his hands on his knees as he stood up from the ground.

“One piece of bad news, one piece of good news. Which do you want first?” he asked me with a grin.

My thoughts were still in a jumble. “I don’t think I can handle any more bad news. Tell me the good news first.”

I watched as he rummaged through the multi-purpose pouches at his waist for a long time. Finally, he pulled out a small bottle encased in a plastic bag. He tore off the bag and handed the bottle to me to look at.

I held the bottle and turned it over. It contained some stone powder scraped from the walls. Looking closer, I realized it wasn’t just simple stone dust; it was mixed with vibrant, multicolored pigments.

“What is this?” I looked up and asked him.

“Poison,” Bai Shenxian said.

I immediately went on high alert. Bai Shenxian continued, “I think I know where the poison came from. The interior of that stone Tomb-guarding Beast was coated with this pigment to ward off grave robbers. After being submerged for so long, the pigment detached from the stone and dissolved into the water. Since we went under, have you seen a single living fish around here?”

As he spoke, I handed the bottle back. “Are you saying that Lu Ayao and Fourth Brother were accidentally scratched underwater, and then when they entered the beast’s head, their unhealed wounds were infected by these toxins dissolved in the water? But if there are no wounds, one shouldn’t be infected, right?”

Bai Shenxian stowed the bottle away and gave me a faint smile. “Not necessarily. I haven’t done a chemical analysis; this is just a guess. This pigment is definitely toxic. Who knows what happens if you stay in a place filled with it for too long? You entered a hallucination for no apparent reason; who’s to say it didn’t have something to do with the poison on these walls?”

I scrambled up from the ground and nudged him, then picked up my gear from the corner and urged, “Don’t just stand there. Now that we know the source of the poison, we need to get back and save them.”

Bai Shenxian stood beside me without moving. “That’s the other piece of bad news I wanted to tell you.”

“After I knocked you out, I went into the pool myself to scout. We were washed down a very long way. My lung capacity is excellent, and at a normal swimming speed, I can submerge for over a hundred meters. But the passage at the bottom of this pool is well over a hundred meters long. Based on the oxygen levels in our tanks right now, neither of us would make it to the end.”

He lifted his oxygen tank to show me the gauge. Bai Shenxian was clearly more composed than I was; he had maintained a steady breathing rhythm ever since we went down, so his tank was relatively full, with about twenty minutes left. In contrast, mine was running low, with ten minutes at most.

“With this little oxygen, trying to get both of us out is far too dangerous. We might as well do nothing.” Bai Shenxian spread his hands and sat back down against the wall. Leaning back, he stared blankly at the turtle carved into the caisson ceiling.

I wasn’t as detached as he was. The thought of Fourth Brother and Lu Ayao being in mortal danger upstairs made my heart race. It was impossible for us to be trapped here forever, because I had instructed Xiao Wu before going under: if I was submerged for more than twenty-four hours, they were to organize a rescue.

But lives were at stake. The poisons used in tombs to ward off grave robbers were usually lethal. Besides, it would take time for Xiao Wu to gather the men for a rescue, and there was no telling what the current situation was inside that beast’s head. Fourth Brother and Lu Ayao couldn’t wait. If we delayed any longer, I was terrified that by the time we were rescued, they would already be stone cold.

Frowning, I pressed my forehead against the wall, letting the damp droplets of water trickle down my face. My mind raced for a viable solution. Soon, an idea came to me.

“You go back up,” I said, stopping my train of thought and speaking decisively to Bai Shenxian.

Bai Shenxian came from a family of doctors. He was the only doctor on the ship and the only one who could save Fourth Brother and the others. To save them, we couldn’t both sit trapped here waiting.

After weighing the options, I decided to give my oxygen tank to Bai Shenxian. Our combined oxygen should be enough for one person to make it through the passage. I had hesitated for a long time before making this decision; after all, in an underwater tomb like this, oxygen was your only sense of security.

“Are you sure?” Bai Shenxian looked at me in shock. Sitting on the ground, he said, “If I take your oxygen tank, you’ll lose all control over your situation down here.”

I hesitated, my gaze instinctively flickering toward the pitch-black corners of the chamber that the flashlight couldn’t reach. Then I took a deep breath, handed him the tank, and urged, “It’s useless for me to go up. Take the tank and go save them first. I… I’ll just sit here and wait for you to come back for me. As long as it’s not more than three days, I shouldn’t starve to death.”

Bai Shenxian stood up, patted his pants, and took the oxygen tank from my hand. He gave me a meaningful look. “I think I finally understand why those guys named He and Lu have always protected you like this.”

Without waiting for me to respond, he continued, “Tell you what, I’ll leave all my gear for you. There’s a knife, canned food, and water. It should last you about two days. I’ll go up, treat them, and get help. You stay here and wait for us to rescue you.”

I was actually terrified, but this was the only way. I had to do it. I nodded to him and told him to hurry up and strip off his unnecessary gear.

Bai Shenxian moved quickly. He soon sat by the edge of the pool, pulled on his fins, adjusted his respirator, and pulled down his diving mask. He said to me:

“Gan Ji, you’ve got to hold on. I’ll bring people back for you as fast as I can.”

With that, he plunged into the water. He descended very quickly, and the beam of his flashlight disappeared from my sight within two minutes.

In an instant, most of the chamber was plunged into darkness. In such a vast space, a single flashlight felt woefully inadequate. It was so quiet that only the sound of my own breathing echoed. I sat by the water’s edge for several minutes, dazed.

When I finally snapped out of it, my heart was racing. I didn’t dare look up at that terrifying caisson turtle. I swallowed hard to ease my nerves and, keeping an eye on the dark corners, began stuffing the food into the backpack Bai Shenxian had left behind.

I was right in the middle of packing when a sudden, thunderous metallic crash rang out. I didn’t dare aim my flashlight toward the sound, terrified that the beam would land on some disheveled female ghost. Instead, I could only stumble back into a corner, pressing my back against the wall with my eyes squeezed shut. I held my backpack up like a shield in front of my face, feeling so overwhelmed in that moment that I was on the verge of tears.

What a nightmare this is! Lu Ayao, He Yu, when are you two coming down to save me?