Chapter Thirty-two: The Cavern of Dissolution

  A faint tapping sound came from the depths of the cave, the sound was very small and crisp, and somewhat like the sound of dripping water. I perked up my ears to listen carefully, but the sound suddenly stopped. I looked at Fuma, he shook his head, I understood that he meant he didn't feel any heartbeat.

  Karamay woke up and looked at us a few times, touched his arm and said: "Am I still alive? Where is this place?"

  "The underwater cave has a majestic aura at its entrance, so I swam in. I suspect the array spirit is here." Fu Ma said with certainty.

  "This sea should lead to the open ocean, otherwise how could there be a sunken ship?" I said in puzzlement.

  Xiao Lao nodded in agreement: "Jun Yang's analysis is reasonable, that sunken ship is a modern oil tanker, it looks like it has been sunk for at least over a decade. This Western Regions is indeed unbelievable."

  We were talking when the ticking sound started again, and we all held our breath to listen. The sound was very rhythmic, with long and short beats, sometimes ringing and sometimes stopping.

  I whispered: "There must be something in this cave, the sound of water droplets won't be so regular." The three of them stared blankly, scaring me into thinking they were possessed.

  Karamay slowly came back to himself and asked Fu Ma: "Did you hear that?"

  Fu Ma shook his head: "Didn't hear."

  I'm still puzzled, although the knock wasn't loud, it was very penetrating, how could Fat Ma not hear it? Old Xiao looked at my furrowed brow and explained: "The knocking sound just now is a universal password within our Hidden Bureau, similar to the internationally used Morse code. You heard two longs, three shorts, one long, and two shorts, which translates to - 'Having trouble, come quickly to help'."

  "What?" I was a bit surprised, "Isn't it a coincidence that Fu Ma said he didn't hear Lao San's voice?"

  Karamay's face was also full of puzzlement: "Coincidence can't be the same every time, it's possible that the heart's voice is blocked by the power of the void, in any case we have to go in and take a look." Everyone nodded.

  We walked along the cave, which was very spacious. The widest part could accommodate four of us walking side by side, and the narrowest part could easily allow one person to pass through. If I weren't in a hurry to rescue someone, I would definitely marvel at the ingenuity of nature. The stalactites inside the cave were beautiful, reflecting colorful lights under the flashlight. There were strange rocks everywhere, and beneath our feet was a shallow stream, with the deepest part barely covering our toes.

  After walking for a while, two cave entrances appeared in front of us. They were both pitch black and seemed to stretch on forever. I looked around at everyone uncertainly: "Which one should we choose?"

  Fu Ma stood at the entrance of the cave and said: "I can't hear anything. Let's talk about our feelings."

  Karamay stretched out his hands to the two holes and suggested, "Both of these holes have wind passing through, they shouldn't be dead ends. How about we split up in pairs and each walk one side?"

  I immediately shook my head: "No way, we're already down to four people. If we split up in pairs and something happens, each of us will be left to fend for ourselves. Let's just pick a path and go, if it doesn't work out, we can come back and try the other one. In any case, the four of us absolutely cannot split up again." Fu Ma also nodded in agreement.

  Karamay sighed: "The key is which side to take."

  Xiao Lao hadn't spoken much, using his flashlight to shine on the ground. He squatted beside it, fiddling with something for half a day. I walked over and patted him on the shoulder, giving Xiao Lao a fright that made his whole body tremble. Curious, I asked: "What are you studying, Xiao Lao?"

  Xiao Lao looked at us seriously and took a deep breath before saying: "What do you see on the ground?"

  In the opening on the right side, a shallow stream flowed in the low-lying area. On the higher ground without water, I found a row of yellow footprints leading deep into the cave.

  "Is this a human footprint?" I asked in a low voice.

  Karamay touched it with his hand, put it to his nose and smelled it, turned pale with fright, and quickly wiped his hand clean with his clothes: "This is corpse wax, something that only flows out of a dead person's body."

  "Judging from the size of this footprint, it should be an adult man. And the time when the corpse wax flowed out is not common, I'm afraid it's intentional to lead us into this cave." Xiao Lao analyzed.

  "I have a feeling this is a trap, let's go left instead," I said to everyone.

  Karamay smiled lightly: "Why don't we just take this path then."

  I trembled with fear as I followed everyone to the depths of the cave on the right, occasionally turning my head to glance at the entrance. This one glance was not reassuring, and it suddenly scared me. The kappa that had just dragged Yang Cangcang into the water was now peeking out from the entrance of the cave, staring at us with a sinister smile.

  I quickly pulled the horse in front and said: "The kappa just now was behind us."

  Fu Ma turned his head, and half of the Kappa's face disappeared. Fu Ma said: "Jun Yang, the appearance of the Kappa here can also explain that Wu Zhuan and Ah Long will be caught in this place." I thought for a moment, it makes sense, since we're already here, let's just make do with it.

  The cave on the right is winding and difficult to walk, it seems that it has never been excavated artificially. The footprints seem to be intentionally leading the way in front, they are all left at a relatively high place to prevent the stream from washing them away.

  The narrow cave suddenly opened up into a spacious circular stone hall, and the footprints also disappeared. Karamay, who was walking in front, suddenly raised his hand to stop us, and we all crouched at the entrance of the cave to peek inside. This stone hall seemed to be naturally formed, with nothing around it, and in the center there was a protruding stone bed, on which something seemed to be placed.

  None of us dared to go in rashly, and with a flashlight shining over, Karamay said in a low voice: "There seems to be someone lying on the stone bed."

  Fu Ma speculated: "Not a single thought, could it be that this corpse led us here?"

  "If it were him......" Xiao Lao dragged out the long tone, "If it were him, why are there no footprints in the stone hall? How did he get back onto that stone bed? Did he fly over?" Xiao Lao's face also suddenly turned pale.

  There are many types of corpse transformation. If it has evolved into a flying jiang, I'm afraid we can only be the cutting board and the fish to be slaughtered. The flying jiang is said to be able to kill dragons and swallow clouds, moving as swiftly as the wind. Wherever it goes, the land is scorched for thousands of miles, making it the king of zombies.

  Karamay comforted him, "Don't scare yourself, it's said that the flying corpse can suck a person's blood within a hundred steps. We're probably not even going to make it that far before we kick the bucket. Junyang, is my wine pouch with you?"

  I nodded, took it out of my bag and handed it to him. Karamay took two sips, pulled out the telescopic rod and said: "Let's go!" The three of us also took a sip, this wine really boosts one's courage, I put the wineskin back into my bag.

  We held our breath and crept towards the corpse, I tightly grasped Wu Zihan's dagger in my hand. Suddenly, the faint hum of the hidden mechanism that had echoed through the cave earlier started again, scaring me into a cold sweat.

  Fu Ma said in a low voice: "It seems to be the sound from the front cave entrance, and has nothing to do with this corpse."

  We let out a sigh of relief and walked over to the stone bed, where the corpse was lying. It should have been a modern person, wearing a Zhongshan suit, with clothes that were very well-preserved, looking as if they had just been put on. His skin was rosy and elastic, looking no different from a living person. The strangest thing was that there was a yellow talisman stuck to his forehead, blocking his face. The paper had messy, incomprehensible patterns drawn on it.

  Karamay and Xiao Lao exchanged a glance, and Fu Ma's expression was also somewhat unusual. I hastily asked: "What's wrong with this symbol?"

  Xiao Lao paused for a moment and said: "This is a Zhēn Shī Zhù Yán Fú, it has the extraordinary effect of preventing corpse mutation and decay."

  "Is there really such a magical talisman in the world? From now on, we won't need formalin anymore." I exclaimed in surprise, ever since I came into contact with the hidden agency, there were too many things that shocked me.

  Fu Ma's expression turned heavy as he said: "The key isn't this, but the person who drew this symbol. This talisman was drawn by a deceased person, and we old folks can recognize it at a glance."

  "Deceased person? Who is it? Was also a member of the underground organization?"

  Karamay glanced at me and said, "A person who started disappearing with your grandfather on the day he went crazy." I don't know why, but whenever Karamay mentions my grandfather, I feel like his expression is especially familiar, yet I just can't recall where I've seen it before.

  "Who is it, anyway? Stop being mysterious."

  "It was Zheng Lei, the former director of the Hiding Bureau." Old Xiao said with a profound meaning.

  As soon as Xiao Lao mentioned the name, I suddenly recalled a dream from before where Wu Zihan and I met him in a virtual space. Afterwards, I never had the chance to ask what happened that day. "It's not strange for his symbol to appear here, maybe it was someone from your organization who came previously," I said calmly.

  "Director Zheng is from a Taoist family, and his talismans can only be used by himself," Xiao Lao explained.

  I nodded and continued: "That's just him coming in person, what does it prove?"

  Karamay reached out and gently lifted it, revealing the face of the corpse. We suddenly gasped in shock. Xiao Lao shouted with a sob: "Old Zheng, I didn't expect you to leave before me, Xiao!"

  I looked at that familiar face, but my heart was filled with unspoken doubts. Director Zheng had sent me a letter before, and we had met in dreams. Wu Zihang had also said he had been to our camp, but today he died here.

  Karamay glanced at his face and said: "He's been dead for at least twenty years."

  Xiao Lao wiped away tears on one side, Fu Ma furrowed his brow, not knowing what he was thinking about. I was so scared that my whole body broke out in goosebumps. A person who had been dead for twenty years had sent me a message and entrusted me with a dream. Who should I believe?

  Suddenly, from another cave entrance in the stone hall came a dripping sound signal, getting louder and louder. This time, the rhythm of the signal seemed to be different from before. The three of them were all agape, speechless for half a day. I quickly asked: "What does this signal say?"

  Xiao Lao's eyes were dull and he said: "Don't be sad, saving people is urgent."

  I was so frightened that my hair stood on end: "Are you sure Director Zheng is really dead?"

  Fu Ma suddenly said: "I heard Lao San's heart voice, in that cave, it was just...". Fu Ma closed his eyes and listened carefully for a moment, "Why are there two of Lao San's heart voices?"