Chapter 69: Reinforcements

When I shone my flashlight down, I saw the birds landing one after another on the decaying hanging coffins. That’s when I finally understood how those coffins had gotten so many holes. The birds were piercing the coffin boards with their claws, then thrusting their sharp beaks inside to peck at the corpses.

Seeing me lying at the edge of the ledge, peering downward, Lu A’yao suddenly crouched and began unfastening his backpack. Watching his movements, I asked, “What are you doing?”

Lu A’yao didn’t answer. He pulled the Nine-Ring Jade Casket from his pack, wrapped it tightly in a large cloth, twisted the ends a few times, and tied a firm knot. Then he tossed it up toward me.

I reached out to catch it, but the casket slammed into my chest with unexpected weight, knocking me flat on my back. I landed hard on the ground, and a wave of inexplicable panic surged through me.

“What are you doing?” I clutched the casket and crawled forward a couple of steps, gripping the edge of the bronze pillar as I looked down at him.

Lu A’yao took off his jacket and began wiping the blood from his body with it. Only then did I realize how badly he was injured. The blood-soaked fabric was so drenched that twisting it would wring out a stream of blood.

He crouched to rest for a moment, then pointed in a direction. “We saw a new cave entrance over there when we came in. It might lead outside.”

Something about the way he said that didn’t sit right with me.

“These birds aren’t normal. They’re afraid of this shrine, but the shrine itself might be even more dangerous. We can’t stay here long.” He straightened the bloodstained soft whip in his hand and continued, “In a bit, I’ll draw them away. You guys climb the chains on the bronze pillar and head into that cave.”

I asked, “What about you? You can’t take on that many birds alone. Let me get Marquis Hou up there first, then I’ll come back and help you!”

Hou Jinshan, dragging his bloodied head and back, struggled over. His face twisted in a grimace that could’ve been either a laugh or a cry. He tugged at my sleeve and said, “My dear ancestor, don’t come back down and make things worse. Granny Yin doesn’t need your help. If you can take care of yourself, that’s already a blessing!”

He couldn’t wait to climb up and escape. Like I didn’t know what he meant?

So I ignored the wounds on his back and gave him a hard kick, shoving him toward the shrine. Then I turned back to look down at Lu A’yao on the lower level. He had already stood up, one hand gripping a cold steel blade, the other holding the soft whip, his eyes scanning the restless Owl-faced Birds across from him.

“I—”

Before I could finish, Lu A’yao sprinted along the ledge toward the front of the bronze pillar. He moved so fast I couldn’t even call out to stop him. At the same moment, the Owl-faced Birds that had been watching him suddenly flapped their wings and dove toward his position.

“If you want to die, don’t drag me with you! I’m going up!” Hou Jinshan gritted his teeth and scrambled up the pillar with all his strength.

I had to choose—there was no way I could keep up with Lu A’yao’s speed. Hou Jinshan’s back was riddled with gaping wounds from bird claws. If I didn’t get him up there soon, the risk of infection would be huge. So I turned and started climbing the pillar after him.

The old man was much slower than I was. I wanted to get him up quickly so I could go back and help Lu A’yao, so I climbed fast.

In just a few steps, I overtook him. While pulling him up, I kept climbing myself. The spot Lu A’yao had pointed out wasn’t far, maybe twenty meters from the shrine we had just been at, but it felt like I was climbing for a century.

Several thick iron chains stretched overhead toward the cave. Three of them, each as thick as a pair of arms, were wrapped around the pillar five times. I climbed to the top and grabbed one of the chains, giving it a few tugs to test its strength. It felt solid. I didn’t have time to worry about my fear of heights. I used one hand to help Hou Jinshan onto the chain, then reached down and pulled the machete from his waist.

I rummaged through his large pockets but couldn’t find what I was looking for. I shouted, “Give me the gun too!”

He immediately clutched his waist pouch. “You—you—you little brat, are you trying to get yourself killed? Let’s just get out of here! You were just being polite, weren’t you? You’re not seriously going back down?!”

I didn’t have time to argue. I grabbed his shoulder, forced him to turn around, yanked open his waist pouch, and pulled out the small pistol packed with gunpowder. I tucked it into my waistband and said, “I’m not like you, only thinking about saving my own skin.”

I crouched at the junction of the iron chain and the bronze pillar and shoved the Jade Casket into Hou Jinshan’s arms. Then I leaned out and scanned the area below with my flashlight. Lu A’yao was surrounded by the bodies of Owl-faced Birds, but more and more were swarming toward him.

“Grave robbing’s just like what you Five Masters do. There’s always a price. If he gave you the casket, that means he’s already—”

I completely ignored Hou Jinshan’s rambling. I spotted a loosely tied iron chain on the pillar and started yanking it hard. The chain wasn’t secured well, or maybe the connection point had rusted through. After eight hard pulls, it gave way with a loud clang.

I hadn’t expected the chain to be so heavy. I lost my balance as it broke free and was flung downward like a swing.

I held on tight, refusing to let go. The chain swung through the air, knocking several Owl-faced Birds out of the sky. I gauged the distance, climbed a bit higher, and then started kicking wildly at the flock diving toward Lu A’yao. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw one bird diving straight down. I shouted mid-air:

“Gun!”

Lu A’yao heard me. I pulled the pistol from my waistband and tossed it down to him. In an instant, he stepped off a protrusion on the bronze pillar and lashed out with his whip. The whip coiled around the iron chain above me.

He swung the whip and flipped midair in a perfect 180-degree arc. He moved so fast that I didn’t even catch what happened—by the time I blinked, he had already caught the pistol with perfect precision and fired a burst straight at the oncoming bird. The Owl-faced Bird’s neck snapped instantly, and it crashed into the water, sending up a towering splash several meters high.

Water splashed all over my face. Lu A’yao coiled his whip and climbed above me. His strength was unbelievable. I was already struggling just to hang onto the iron chain without falling, and he was using one hand to pull himself up and adjust his position with his weight. That kind of acrobatic stunt was way beyond me. And with just him alone, it wasn’t going to change much.

The chain was about to stop swinging and hang still in midair when Lu A’yao said, “You should’ve stayed up there with Hou Jinshan.”

For a split second, I seriously wanted to curse him out. That guy never says anything decent. I thought, if I’d run off with Hou Jinshan like you said, you’d be bird food by now!

But seeing him covered in blood, I held my tongue. My brain kicked into overdrive.

I asked, “What now? There are fish in the water, birds in the sky. If the chain stops, we get eaten by birds. If we jump, we’re fish food. What the hell are we supposed to do?!”

At that moment, I really thought we were done for.

Just as the chain was about to stop swinging, something caught my eye—a cold flare falling from above. Then three flares shot up into the sky all at once, lighting up the pitch-black cave in a brilliant flash.

The birds, blinded by the sudden glare, immediately turned and flew upward in pursuit of the flares. Right after that, I heard an intense barrage of gunfire. Feathers rained down on me, and one bird after another dropped from the sky, splashing into the water below.

What the hell was going on?

I raised the back of my knife to shield my eyes from the blinding light. When I looked up, I saw a crowd of people standing at the mouth of the cave where the chain was anchored. I spotted the one leading them right away, and my heart leapt with joy. He saw me too, and I immediately waved at him.

“Fourth Brother! Fourth Brother, help! It’s me! I’m down here!”