El beso inolvidable de Ghost Lips

Capítulo 48

I know the sorrow in his heart. As a soldier who has received rigorous training since childhood, to suddenly find that one's usual beliefs and perseverance have shattered in an instant is a blow that ordinary people cannot bear. For example, me... For example, when Yaya saw the professor's body appear in Guangchuan Royal Mausoleum, she almost couldn't bear it and completely collapsed.

In this pitch-black world, there is no alternation of day and night, and the concept of time is far, far away from us. All that remains in our hearts is a vague terror, which becomes the only mental burden deep in our minds, so heavy that it makes it hard to breathe.

"It's not a dragon!" I explained, panting. "It's just some kind of underground creature we don't know about. There's definitely a way out here."

The moment we started talking, the dragon monster silently crept up to me, less than a meter away. I turned around and saw the enormous monster staring with a pair of emerald green eyes, seemingly right at my waist.

"Ah..." I roared out my panic and unease, as well as the anger that had been building up deep inside me. The ancient bronze sword in my hand seemed to awaken suddenly after sleeping for a thousand years, emitting a dazzling cold light, and slashed down hard at the dragon monster's head.

"Roar..." The dragon monster suddenly straightened up, soared into the air, dodged the sharpness of the bronze ancient sword, and pressed down on my head with the force of Mount Tai.

"Old Xu... be careful..." the young master cried out, reminding me to be careful. Huang Zhihua was much more skilled than me. He pressed down hard on my shoulder, and with the help of the buoyancy of the water, under the pressure of death and terror, the soldier completely erupted. His whole body rose into the air, and the military bayonet, with a white light unique to cold weapons, stabbed towards the dragon monster's throat.

I took a breath, wiped the water droplets from my face, and without caring about anything else, swam quickly towards the dragon monster. I knew that Huang Zhihua was no match for the dragon monster, and I wondered if this damned monster was some kind of bastard left over from the Great Wilderness era.

"Roar..." The dragon monster roared again from above, shaking the entire underground world. I looked up and saw the dragon monster swing its body and swing its huge head heavily towards Huang Zhihua. After being humiliated twice, this beast had actually learned its lesson and knew to avoid the weapon in his hand.

"Damn it!" I swung the ancient bronze sword in my hand fiercely towards his abdomen. Relying on the sharpness of the bronze sword, I was confident that I could cut him in half at the waist. I still remembered the glory of when I chopped off the head of the serpent with one sword.

But in that instant, the miner's lamp above my head suddenly emitted a dazzling white light, as if lightning had suddenly struck from the sky. The light was so bright that it was impossible to open one's eyes. I instinctively closed my eyes, and then opened them again, but all I could see was darkness. I couldn't see anything.

Is the miner's lamp broken?

That was the first thought that crossed my mind, but then I realized, even if my miner's lamp was broken, did that mean the young master's flashlight was broken too? And Huang Zhihua's miner's lamp was broken too? How could that be? Could it be…

In an instant, I felt a chill run through my body, my whole body was ice cold. Could it be that the white light just now had actually blinded me?

I rubbed my eyes hard and opened them again, but all I could see was darkness. The surroundings were deathly silent. No, no, no… I couldn’t panic. I suppressed my fear and listened carefully. Sure enough, not far from me, I could hear Huang Zhihua’s heavy, suppressed breathing.

“Mr. Huang…” My voice was hoarse and extremely unpleasant, “I feel like I’ve gone blind, I can’t see anything…”

"No...yes..." Huang Zhihua gasped for breath, and I could hear the sound of rushing water. He must be getting closer to me. "Our lighting equipment seems to have been damaged by something. It's not that there's something wrong with our eyes, but I can't see anything either..."

"Old Xu... Mr. Huang... are you alright?" The young master's weak voice came from afar.

"Damn it, I'm still alive!" Knowing that it wasn't a problem with my eyes, I suddenly felt much better and answered loudly.

Then, a faint orange beam of light shone from the young master's hand. I looked up and saw that we were at least five or six meters away from him. The beam of light from the flashlight in his hand was extremely weak, but it was much better than the darkness before.

I looked around in the dim beam of my flashlight. The water was calm, and the dragon monster from before had vanished.

Huang Zhihua was standing not far in front of me, cautiously looking around. After a while, he finally asked, "Old Xu, where's the dragon monster?"

I shook my head and hurriedly said, "Don't worry about it, it's good that it ran away. We need to find a way out quickly, finding the girl is the priority..." Before I could finish speaking, I suddenly felt something was wrong. It felt like there was something under my body.

"Old Xu, it...it's down there!" Huang Zhihua seemed to realize the danger lurking underwater in an instant and cried out in terror.

"Oh no..." Before I could finish speaking, a huge wave suddenly surged up beneath me, and I was thrown violently into the air. I heard the howling wind and the furious roar of the dragon monster.

I was thrown around so hard I was completely disoriented, unable to tell which way was which. I couldn't care less about anyone else. While I was in mid-air, I suddenly smelled a stench of rotting yellow sand mixed with the stench of corpses. Then my waist tightened, as if something was binding me tightly. I strained to look up and finally realized my terrible predicament—

That damned dragon monster had long tentacles, about three or four meters long and as thick as a finger, wrapped tightly around my waist like ropes. I struggled to raise my hand and desperately grabbed the ancient bronze sword, my only weapon.

However, the moment I moved my hand, my wrist tightened as if it were being entangled by something. I turned my head and was immediately trembling with anger. This damned beast had actually wrapped another tentacle around my wrist. Then I felt a tightness around my neck, and I couldn't even breathe. My throat was being tightly wrapped, and the coils were tightening.

Damn dragon! I never imagined its long tentacles would have such a function. If I had known, I should have cut off its tentacles first.

And now, I'm being suspended in the void outside the dragon monster's mouth, its mouth agape with fangs, and even—saliva is flowing out of its mouth, carrying the stench of rotting yellow sand and corpses, making me want to vomit.

I struggled desperately, trying to break free from its tentacles, but the more I struggled, the tighter they wrapped around me. Gradually, I couldn't even breathe, and excruciating pain shot through my neck and waist. Those not-so-thick tentacles were almost strangling my neck and waist. I could vaguely hear Huang Zhihua and the young master's screams, but I couldn't make out what they were saying...

My eyes were filled with bloodlust, and I seemed to hear the distant roar of a thousand horses and the thunderous beat of war drums... My body felt as if it had been ripped to pieces and scattered in all directions. Pain... so much pain...

Blood... Blood was everywhere, limbs and remains were scattered all over the ground, blood flowed like rivers, in the distance, the Yellow River surged and roared, thunder and lightning flashed in the sky, and dark clouds covered the sky and the earth.

I closed my eyes in despair, refusing to see any more of this, but at that moment, a clear thought rushed into my mind—no, I'm still in the underground world of the Shadow Kunlun Eye of Wind, how could I possibly see the Yellow River and dark clouds? It's an illusion, it's all an illusion.

I forced my eyes open, only to see something even more terrifying than a hallucination: two rows of enormous fangs, less than half a foot away from me. Each fang was almost as thick as my arm, and there was no doubt that it could easily chew up all the bones in my body and swallow me whole, leaving not even a trace.

I'm doomed... I sighed inwardly. I never imagined that I, Xu Sanqing, would be eaten by a dragon monster and turned into dragon excrement?

I closed my eyes in despair, and could no longer see the blue sky and white clouds, or even the muddy Yellow River water that I hated.

With a loud bang, just as I closed my eyes and awaited death, the dragon monster that had been binding me suddenly sank. Then I felt the restraints around my neck and waist suddenly loosen. Instinctively, I flailed my arms and legs, trying to find my balance. Then, something wrapped around my waist again, but it wasn't the same heavy restraint as before.

I struggled to open my eyes and looked up. Oh my god... how unlucky am I? Just now it was a dragon monster, and now another adult insect monster has appeared. When I saw that section of its completely black body, I immediately understood. So... so the snake monster has come too.

At this moment, I had to be thankful. If it weren't for that damned serpent, I would probably have already been wrapped in the dragon's belly. However, whether it was the serpent or the dragon monster, it was enough to swallow me whole. I didn't want to die at all.

I struggled with all my might, but at that moment, a roar suddenly came from above. In my haste, I looked up and saw the dragon monster that hadn't eaten me earlier turn around and bite down hard on my tail, which was connected to the snake.

I was completely paralyzed, watching helplessly as the dragon monster crashed down on me. But at that moment, the snake's tail suddenly loosened, lifting me heavily into the air. The remaining nine tails all rose up and lashed down hard at the dragon monster's head.

I was suspended in mid-air, and I glanced hastily at the water. Huang Zhihua was swimming desperately towards me, presumably to come and help me, while the young master was holding flashlights in both hands, serving as a proper lamppost. However, the beams of the flashlights were really dim and unclear.

With a loud "bang," the snake's tail collided heavily with the dragon monster, and the two enormous creatures separated in an instant. The first round was probably a draw.

Thank goodness, as the saying goes, "Two tigers cannot share one mountain, and two dragons cannot share one abyss." Fortunately, these two monsters were not friends. I took a deep breath; my bones felt like they were about to fall apart. Just as I was about to fall into the water again, a black tail suddenly swept across the sky and caught my rapidly falling body.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the dragon monster bit down hard on the snake's vital spot. For some reason, I suddenly became worried about the snake. If the dragon monster ate the snake, wouldn't it then come after me? Thinking of this, I struggled a little, and with just one movement, the snake's tail loosened. Without thinking too much, I frantically swam towards Huang Zhihua. While the two monsters were fighting, I needed to find a way out as quickly as possible.

I was dragged to the water platform by Huang Zhihua. The young master was as pale as an ox, not much better off than me, who had been fighting in the water. When he saw us on the water platform, he stammered and asked, "Old Xu... you're still alive... that's great..." As he spoke, this big man actually burst into tears.

I know how he feels. These past few days have been a life-or-death struggle for us, a desperate and frantic fight. It's truly remarkable that we've survived until now.

But where is the way out? Where is the girl?

A possibility suddenly occurred to me: when we fell into the water together, could it be that the girl... had already been swallowed by one of those two monsters? Thinking of this, I couldn't help but shiver, my whole body ached, and I couldn't even stand up.

Chapter Two: The Crystal Palace

The young master's legs trembled as he looked at the two enormous creatures locked in combat on the water's surface. He stammered, "Old Xu, let's run!"

I was so preoccupied with the girl's situation that I couldn't guarantee her safety without seeing her for even a moment. Hearing this, I glared at him fiercely and said angrily, "Run? Where do you think you're going?" I wanted to run away too, but this damned place was a dead end, and the girl was nowhere to be found. I couldn't just abandon her if I wanted to run away.

I looked around; all I saw was water, an endless expanse… except for the platform we were standing on, there was no end in sight. Such a vast underground pool—no wonder it could nurture such a terrifying, enormous monster.

Turning around, I looked again at the dragon monster and the snake fighting on the water's surface. At this moment, the dragon monster clearly had the upper hand, overwhelmingly pinning the snake down. It seemed that it wouldn't be long before the ugly snake was swallowed whole by the dragon monster.

Alas... a snake is a snake, it is no match for a dragon.

For some reason, a deep sigh rose in my heart, as if it came from the depths of my soul.

I froze, trying to think of something, but a sharp pain shot through my mind. I quickly composed myself, afraid to let my thoughts wander, and looked again at the two monsters churning on the water's surface. Huang Zhihua vigorously wiped the water droplets from his face and whispered, "Old Xu, you need to make a decision quickly. We'll all listen to you."

Ideas... I can actually laugh for the first time ever. What ideas do they want me to come up with? Do they think I'm the owner of the tomb, that I can come and go as I please?

No! That's not right, I still have to help the snake... Thinking of this, I "plop" and plunged back into the water, swimming towards the two enormous creatures.

"Old Xu, are you crazy..." The young master's shouts came from the water platform. I pretended not to hear them. Even I didn't understand why I jumped into the water to help the snake that scared me half to death.

Soon, I approached the serpent and the dragon monster. Holding up my ancient bronze sword, I viciously slashed at the dragon monster's head. The dragon monster, which was entangled with the serpent, seemed not to have expected me to intervene. This strong but simple-minded fellow didn't react in time and was struck hard on the head by my sword. It roared in pain and struggled, causing towering waves to rise on the water.

Because of my arrival, the dragon monster and the serpent, which were originally entangled, suddenly separated. The serpent raised its head from the water again and rushed straight towards me.

I was furious. Damn it, I came here to save you, and you dare to attack me? I raised the ancient bronze sword high, ready to chop down on the serpent's head, but just as it got close to me, it suddenly turned around and dived deep into the water.

I felt a jolt beneath my feet, as if I had stepped onto flat ground. Just as I was wondering what was going on, the water suddenly lurched violently, and I was lifted high into the air. I heard the exclamations of the young master and Huang Zhihua in my ears. When I turned around, I saw the young master and Huang Zhihua standing on the platform, shining flashlights at me.

And now, I was actually standing on the back of the Serpent, which was raising its head high, facing the swooping dragon monster. At this moment, I didn't care about why I was standing on the Serpent. I raised my ancient bronze sword and thrust it towards the seven-inch mark on the swooping dragon monster's throat.

The dragon monster roared again, then its body convulsed violently, collapsing onto the water's surface. It transformed into a snake, carrying me, and lunged forward viciously. Just then, a strange thing happened: the dragon monster, which had been enormous moments before, suddenly shrank...shrank...

In less than a minute, it shrunk to the size of an average human, then submerged underwater and disappeared without a trace.

The dragon monster ran away, which startled me. I was still on the back of the serpent. Now that the monster had no powerful enemy, it would probably turn around and deal with me. Thinking of this, I quickly raised the ancient bronze sword and was about to chop down the serpent's head. In this day and age, the first to strike wins, and the last to strike suffers.

However, I was too late. When the dragon monster dived into the water, the snake also plunged in, taking me with it.

Caught completely off guard, I was immediately choked by the icy groundwater. Strangely, this groundwater was not only bone-chillingly cold but also reeked of rotten yellow sand.

In my haste, I steadied myself, released the serpent, and tried to swim to the surface. Suddenly, the enormous serpent twisted its body and vanished from my sight inexplicably. This monster... it really was a monster.

To be honest, the battle with the dragon monster and the serpent just now, though thrilling, dispelled much of the lingering fear in my heart. Now, watching the strange changes unfold before my eyes, I have to remind myself again that this is an ancient tomb—an ancient tomb from thousands of years ago. None of the creatures that appear here can be absolutely real. Who knows if they are human, ghost, demon, or monster?

Just now, I don't know how deep the snake dragged me underwater. In the pitch-black underwater world, I had no sense of direction and just swam upwards on instinct. Suddenly, I felt something in the water tug at my foot. I was startled and quickly kicked it away. I stomped hard with my other foot, as if I had stepped on someone's head. Then, the hand that was holding my foot let go.

My heart sank—I knew there were monsters in this underwater world, but people? No! It wasn't a person, but...

I didn't dare to think any further. I hurriedly swam upwards with all my might. When my head broke the surface and I could breathe, I took a deep breath.

"Old Xu, come up here quickly!" Young Master and Huang Zhihua called to me urgently.

"Oh..." I scrambled onto the platform on the water, panting heavily, and it took me a while to speak, "The monsters are finally all gone..."

"Old Xu, you're too reckless!" Huang Zhihua complained to me.

I knew he was worried about me, but he didn't say anything. He just stared blankly at the water. I had been dragged to the bottom by the serpent, and that feeling... The thing that grabbed my ankle was definitely a human hand. Then I stomped on it hard and clearly felt something round. That must have been a human head...

But where did these people come from in this pitch-black underground world? The more I thought about it, the more terrified I became. I took the flashlight from the young master and shone it randomly on the water's surface.

The two enormous creatures from before have vanished, and the dark water has returned to its original calm, gloomy and cold. I couldn't help but think of those sixteen—the Eight Trigrams and the Sixty-Year Cycle, Divine Secrets and Ghostly Treasures, the Transformation of Serpents and Dragon Bones, the Flaws of Heaven and Earth…

Could the so-called "serpent-transformed dragon bones" refer to those two monsters? A dragon monster and a nine-tailed serpent?

I stared blankly at the bronze sword in my hand when suddenly, the young master gently pushed me. I was startled and almost lost my balance, being pushed into the water again. I quickly looked up and saw that the young master was pale and staring intently at a certain spot on the water's surface.

I quickly shone my flashlight onto the water's surface, and far away, on the dark, cold water, a green shadow appeared...

"What is that?" Huang Zhihua asked in a low voice.

I shook my head, thought for a moment, and asked him if he had any more flares. Huang Zhihua slapped his forehead, saying he was confused, and hurriedly took out flares from his backpack, loaded them into the gun, and pulled the trigger. The flare drew a pale white arc against the darkness, landing on the distant water as an eerie bright spot…

I stared in disbelief at the spot where... it should be a child in green clothes? It looked to be only five or six years old. I couldn't make out its features. It was lying on its back, floating quietly on the water.

“It’s a child’s body!” Huang Zhihua said in a low voice.

I didn't speak, but I was suspicious. How could there be a child's corpse here? Even if it was a funerary offering, after thousands of years, it would have rotted away and there wouldn't even be any bones left. How could it still be floating on the water? The flare burned eerily in the water for a moment, then suddenly lit up before plunging into darkness.

As the flare went out, the green-clad child's body vanished without a trace in an instant. I took a deep breath, feeling a heavy, oppressive weight pressing down on my heart.

To be honest, I'd rather see some unknown monsters on the water, dragons or snakes... but please, no more ghosts, although I don't know if they are ghosts.

However, if it wasn't a ghost, I really can't explain why the body of that green-clad child was floating on the water. A bizarre appearance, a bizarre disappearance?

"Old Xu..." the young master called me.

"Whose miner's lamp is still on?" I asked. My miner's lamp was broken, and I absolutely couldn't dive into the water to find out what was going on without a light source.

“Mine is still barely usable, Lao Xu, what do you want to do?” Huang Zhihua asked me.

"I'm going down into the water to take a look. You guys keep watch up here." Without waiting for a reply, I swapped Huang Zhihua's miner's lamp with his, put on a diving helmet, grabbed the bronze sword, turned on the miner's lamp, and was about to jump into the water.

The young master grabbed me and hurriedly pulled a rope from his backpack, tying it around my waist. He told me that if I didn't come up in the water within five minutes, he would pull me up with the rope.

Hearing his words, a chill ran through me; I felt an inexplicable sense of foreboding. Back when we first came to the Yellow River, the professor was still alive. Old Cai took us to see the eye of the Yellow River. It was on that very night that the young master and I used a rope to slowly lower Shan Jun into the eye of the Yellow River, but when we pulled him up again, he was already a corpse…

That eerie, grotesque, twisted smile... seems to reappear before my eyes.