Chapter 29: Return to the Cave

  The three of them were like a pile of dead flesh lying on the ground, their stomachs churning with a stormy sea, and the little food they had just eaten was about to come back up.

  "Am I still alive?"

  Lan Xinlin reached out and pinched Huang Zhen's waist hard, causing him to cry out in pain. "What are you pinching me for?"

  "It still hurts which means we're all still alive."

  Jin Tian struggled to get up from the ground, and then helped Lan Xinlin and Huang Zhen up. The crunching sound came again, and Huang Zhen said irritably, "What is it this time?"

  The sound came from the front, and a wall slowly rose up. Blue Heart Lin said, "It's actually a large elevator room. It's just that the speed is a bit fast." The three of them supported each other as they walked out of the tomb chamber, and Jin Tian Xing was stunned - outside the tomb chamber was a huge cave, one he had been to before.

  The Eye of Heaven badge emitted a burst of fluorescence, and the wall returned to its original state. The tomb slowly rose upwards. Blue Heart Lin understood that the Eye of Heaven badge was actually an elevator key. Huang Zhen held the badge in his hand and examined it repeatedly, but couldn't see any secrets within. His intuition told him that this badge was more than just a simple elevator key.

  "Have you figured out its secret?" Lan Xilin asked. "We'll need it when we get back."

  Jin Tianhang said, "We won't need it when we go back."

  "How did you know?" Huang Zhen didn't believe it.

  "I've been here before." Jin Tianxing's face said with a tinge of sadness or difficulty, "I didn't expect the Ghost Mound to be the entrance to the cave, so the exit must be the Round Gate."

  Lan Xilin knew that revisiting the old place would once again awaken his painful memories. Lan Xilin wanted to comfort him, but after thinking for a moment, she didn't say anything, everything will be revealed tonight. She asked herself, would her sister be in this cave? If she saw her, what should she say first?

  "Follow me, I've been here once and know the way. I'll lead the way quickly to catch up with the people from Zongtian Group. We need to think of a way to rescue Old Man Mo from their hands first."

  Jin Tianxing walked ahead with his head down, Lan Xinlin followed behind him without saying a word. The surroundings were quiet, and the only sound was the footsteps of the three people. Huang Zhen was in the cave for the first time, and he felt very anxious, always worried that something terrifying would jump out from the dark corners and drag him into the darkness. He couldn't bear it anymore and said, "You two shouldn't just walk like this, say something! It's too quiet, so quiet that it makes people nervous."

  His wishes were not bad, but unfortunately useless. Jin and Lan still walked silently in front of them. Huang Zhen complained, "I must have been blind to choose you two as partners."

  Lan Xinlin turned back and glared at him, Huang Zhen quickly shut his mouth.

  As they walked, Jin Tian Xing suddenly stopped in his tracks. Huang Zhen thought they had encountered people from the Zong Tian Group and cautiously looked around, ready to turn and run at any sign of trouble.

  "This is where I found the two skulls, and the notebook was discovered on one of them. Now that I think about it, they must have been the two mysterious masters who disappeared from Hong Kong. The first page of the notebook has the words 'Immortal' written on it, and it's likely that it records some things related to the cave, which is why the Zongtian Group is willing to use force to seize it."

  "Huang Zhen asked, 'Skull? Where is the skull? I didn't see it.'"

  "It's already gone from under your feet, it must have been taken away by someone from the Zongtian Group."

  Huang Zhen heard that beneath his feet was a resting place for departed souls and hastily jumped back.

  Jin Tian Xing said, "The two skulls have strange death postures, similar to the corpse we encountered earlier. It's possible that they died from the same mechanism. As for what kind of mechanism it is, I'm not sure. Everyone be careful."

  "What you said is just like nothing, it's better not to say anything. After hearing your words, I'm even more scared."

  Lan Xinlin said helplessly, "I just don't know what these people are thinking. Is it worth paying such a great price for the sake of an elusive and intangible fairy?"

  Huang Zhen said, "You don't understand this. Since ancient times, there have been countless kings, nobles, and generals, among whom many were outstanding talents. How many of them can become immortals? The opportunity to become an immortal is right in front of you, only a fool would give it up."

  Lan Xinlin said, "I think being a person is pretty good."

  "That's because you're still young and haven't experienced the joys and sorrows of life, when you do, you'll find that being human is a very helpless thing."

  "Let's keep moving forward," Jin Tian Xing said, "if we can make it through tonight, we'll have plenty of time to discuss later."

  Jin Tian Xing walked a little further ahead and stopped again. This time, he only said one sentence after stopping for less than a minute, "I met Qingqing here. Qingqing looks like you."

  Lan Xinlin had a strange feeling in her mind, as if she was jealous of Qingqing, and why did she meet Jin Tianxing here instead of herself?

  "Who is Qingqing?" Huang Zhen's question earned him a white eye from Lan Xinlin.

  The three of them continued forward, the cave widening again. Jin Tianxing slowed his pace, "Shen Hu Maru is just ahead, we might run into people from the Zong Tian Group, everyone be careful."

  Although Lan Xinlin and Huang Zhen had mentally prepared themselves after listening to Jin Tianxing's words, they were still stunned when they really saw the enormous Shinano. Huang Zhen's mouth was agape, "How... how is this possible? How did such a huge guy get into the cave?"

  "Keep your voice down, you're not afraid of attracting the attention of the Zongtian Group," Lan Xinlin scolded. Although she said so, her eyes still showed incredulity. With current human technology, it was completely impossible to get the Shinobu Maru into the cave intact, could it really be the work of a god?

  A beam of light shot out from the bow of the boat, and the three people hastily hid in the darkness. After a while, they cautiously poked their heads out to look towards the direction of the bow, where there was an inky black mass without any movement.

  "Wait here, I'll go take a look," said Jin Tian Xing.

  "Huang Zhen pulled him and said, 'Are you crazy? Maybe the people from the Zongtian Group are waiting for you, isn't this jumping into the net by yourself?'"

  "Don't worry, I'm very familiar with the Kobe Maru. Even if they find me, it's not necessarily a guarantee that they can catch me. If we don't go and check what the Sohgang Group is up to, we won't have any peace of mind. Who knows, maybe we can even rescue Old Man Mo while we're at it."

  Huang Zhen said to Lan Xinlin, "He's crazy, and you're not stopping him. Is he going to go die?"

  Lan Xinlin saw that he was determined to go and did not stop him, only reminding him, "Be careful with everything."

  Jin Tian Xing flashed a brilliant smile and turned to disappear into the darkness. Huang Zhen said to the stone pillar, "Madman, two madmen."

  Lan Xinlin watched as Jin Tianxing's figure gradually approached the ship's side, until it could no longer be seen, and then turned back into the darkness.

  Five minutes have passed...

  Ten minutes have passed...

  Fifteen minutes have passed...

  …………

  Half an hour has passed...

  Jin Tianxing hasn't returned yet, Lan Xinlin couldn't wait any longer. "You stay here and I'll go look for Jin Tianxing. If I haven't come back in half an hour, you're on your own. If you have a conscience, find a way to call the police; otherwise, hide somewhere where no one can find you."

  Huang Zhen didn't say a word, watching as Lan Xinlin walked away. After Lan Xinlin was gone, Huang Zhen thought of something and said gloomily, "If you don't give me the Tianyan token, how am I supposed to get out?"

  Lan Xilin carefully approached the Kobe Maru along the route Jin Tianhang had taken, and from a distance, it didn't feel particularly intense. It wasn't until she walked closer that she felt the oppressive atmosphere brought by this massive iron object. She found a ladder on one side of the ship and climbed up cautiously. Standing on the deck at the bow of the ship, all the cabins she could see were dark. She didn't dare to shout Jin Tianhang's name loudly, so she had to search for him cabin by cabin.

  She followed the footprints left by Jin Tianhang and found the cabin he had entered, carefully stepping inside. The air in the cabin was a bit murky, with a hint of rust smell. Lan Xinlin covered her nose with her hand and slowly explored forward. After crossing a cabin door, Jin Tianhang's footprints disappeared!

  In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Lan Xinlin's mind, but none of them could explain why Jin Tianxing's footprints suddenly disappeared. When she realized it might be a trap, it was too late. A cold gun muzzle pressed against her back, "Don't move, raise your hands." A man said in a chilly tone.

  Lan Xilin had no choice but to comply, and she was taken to a cabin on the ship. Inside, apart from Jin Tianhang, there was also Old Man Mo, as well as someone she really didn't want to see - Lin Tianshuo. Lin Tianshuo beckoned with his hand, and the man put away his gun, without even searching her body, so he didn't discover the Tianyan token. Lan Xilin took a glance around, and saw that there was only one exit in the cabin, which could only allow one person to enter or leave at a time. Moreover, outside the door stood two burly men, each holding guns, making it almost impossible for her to escape.

  Lin Tianxue sneered and said, "I set up the trap to catch some small fish and shrimp, but I didn't expect to catch you two. You two are not simple either, and you can actually rush in without alarming the guards. It seems that I underestimated you before."

  Cough...cough... Old Master Mo was coughing violently.

  Jin and Lan hurriedly patted the old man's back, while Lan Xilin anxiously asked, "What's wrong with you, sir?"

  Old Master Mo coughed up a mouthful of phlegm and stopped coughing, "One can't help but feel old, being startled and frightened has brought on the old illness again."

  "I'll give you a massage." Lan Xinlin started gently massaging in front of Old Man Mo's chest.

  Mr. Mo felt a refreshing coolness spreading from Blue Heart Lin's hand to his lungs, and he suddenly felt much more comfortable, with a rosier complexion.

  Jin Tian Xing bumped into Lan Xin Lin, blinked her eyes, meaning "Where's Huang Zhen?"

  Lan Xilin said with her mouth, "I'll let him stay outside and think of a way to call for help. We just need to stall for time, Captain Han will arrive soon to rescue us."

  The big Han outside the cabin said, "Lin sister, I caught another one."

  Lin Tianxue took a glance and smiled, "So it's you, old acquaintance! Long time no see, I'll find you later to have a good chat."

  A man was pushed in, and it was Huang Zhen.

  "Wait for me for a moment, I'll be right back." Lin Tianxue stepped out of the cabin, and with a clang, the cabin door was locked shut.