Ghost Pot - Chapter 75
Dongfang Hong pulled the rope up and pondered, "Heavens, it's so deep, probably more than ten zhang. I wonder how Chairman Xu got down there?" He muttered to himself as he carefully tied the end of the rope around his young master's waist.
Shen Caihua held the suction cup and Dudu in his arms, while Dongfang Hong held the rope tightly with both hands and slowly lowered him down.
"Alright... that's it..." Xiong Dahai's voice came from inside the cave again.
Dongfang Hong had no choice but to shoulder the bundle, then, trembling, he gripped the rope and kept chanting, "Amitabha... Boundless Heavenly Venerable... Fox and Weasel Immortals..." as he carefully climbed down the tree hole.
Chapter 112 of the main text
A faint ray of light refracted down, making the ground beneath the tree hollow hazy. A stone cave entrance could be seen, and a cold wind whistled through it, carrying an earthy smell.
Dongfang Hong came down, untied the rope around his waist, opened the bundle, and handed a flashlight to Xiong Dahai.
"Everyone be careful, I'll lead the way," Xiong Dahai said, turning on his flashlight and walking ahead into the cave, with Chen Caihua following closely behind.
"Talent, you...you're so brave." Dudu looked up and said admiringly.
“Dudu, you’re actually quite brave too,” Shen Caihua replied sincerely.
"Really...really?" Dudu said happily.
"Yes." Shen Caihua nodded affirmatively.
"Dudu has gone ahead to scout the way." Dudu broke free from Chen Caihua's grasp and landed on the ground. Then, it overtook Xiong Dahai and bravely hopped and skipped to the front of the group.
Under the flashlight beam, it was clear that the underground passageway extended downwards at an angle. The stone surface was somewhat slippery, and the walls of the cave were covered with green moss. Occasionally, one or two geckos could be seen staring at the group of uninvited guests with curious eyes.
"Strange, Chairman Xu and the other two don't have flashlights. How are they going to get around in the dark? They'll probably bump their heads in the process..." Dongfang Hong muttered to himself.
“You don’t understand. Anyone with extremely high martial arts skills has eyesight far exceeding that of ordinary people. Even in the darkest night, they won’t bump into anything,” Xiong Dahai said, turning his head.
"Is Chairman Xu highly skilled in martial arts?" Dongfang Hong asked.
"Of course, just look at the lightness skill he displayed when he climbed the tree, and you'll know that this person is definitely a top-notch master in the martial arts world," Xiong Dahai replied admiringly.
The cave gradually became more spacious, and the humidity in the air slowly increased.
"There's a... there's a stream ahead!" Dudu called out from a short distance away.
As the group approached, the spacious cave resembled a small plaza. Many strangely shaped stalactites hung from the high ceiling, resembling various beasts and birds. A ditch several meters deep and over ten meters wide blocked their path, with clear water flowing gently at its bottom.
"I'll go down first." Without saying another word, Xiong Dahai was about to jump into the ditch first.
"No...don't go down, what if it's an underground intermittent river..." Dudu advised from the side.
"What 'intermittent river'?" Xiong Dahai asked, puzzled.
“‘Intermittent river’ means that the water level fluctuates, sometimes high and sometimes low, and there are gaps in time. If you fall into the ditch, a sudden surge of water can sweep you away,” Dudu stammered as he explained.
Just then, everyone vaguely heard a muffled rumbling sound coming from inside the cave, as if it were coming from underground. It grew louder and louder until it was almost deafening, and they could feel a violent tremor under their feet... Immediately afterward, a powerful current of water suddenly arrived, and the entire ravine was almost filled with the torrent in an instant. The water flowed extremely fast, and if anyone was in the ravine, they would definitely be swept away to who knows where.
Everyone was shocked and quickly stepped back, staring nervously at the terrifying "underground intermittent river".
Suddenly, the torrent stopped abruptly, leaving only a shallow stream in the ditch. Everyone looked at each other in shock, breaking out in a cold sweat.
"Strange, the ground is just dry, yellow mounds of earth, who would have thought there would be such a large amount of water underground?" Dongfang Hong said in surprise.
"The old course of the Yellow River, the water city, all flowed underground," Dudu explained.
“Divine bird,” Xiong Dahai said respectfully, impressed by the blue-feathered parrot’s extensive knowledge, “can we cross the river now?”
"Hurry...hurry up, we have to rush through before the next flood comes," Dudu urged.
Upon hearing this, Xiong Dahai leaped into the deep ditch, which was several meters deep. The water only reached his feet, splashing a few droplets. He opened his arms and said to Shen Caihua, "Little master, jump down. Dahai will catch you."
Shen Caihua followed his advice and jumped, landing in Xiong Dahai's arms.
Dongfang Hong hesitated, his heart pounding, muttering, "If only there were a ladder."
"Brother Dongfang, hurry up and come down, or we won't have enough time!" Xiong Dahai urged sharply.
"Then you'd better catch me..." Dongfang Hong walked to the edge of the ditch, gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and imagined the courage he had when he rushed towards the bride with a red veil on his wedding night more than seventy years ago. He slowly opened his arms and murmured, "Er Ya..." Just as he was about to pounce, his foot slipped, he lost his balance, and fell down.
With lightning speed, Xiong Dahai grabbed Dongfang Hong's thin, frail leg mid-air, pulled him down, and deflected the force of his fall, causing him to crash into his arms...
"Oh my god, Er Ya... no, I mean Brother Da Hai, take it easy, you're about to break my bones," Dongfang Hong complained incessantly.
"Hurry...hurry up!" Dudu shouted as it flapped its wings and flew across the underground ditch, which was more than ten feet wide, and landed on the opposite bank.
Xiong Dahai grabbed Chen Caihua and hurriedly waded across the water to the other side. Dongfang Hong seemed to understand at this moment, and took off running, even getting ahead of Xiong Dahai.
"Brother Dongfang, you go up first, then catch the young master." Xiong Dahai squatted down and let Dongfang Hong step on his shoulders to slowly stand up, but there was still some distance between them and the top edge of the ditch.
Dongfang Hong gripped the slippery stone wall with both hands, but there was nowhere to get up. His hands were covered in moss. "It's over, it's over, we can't get up there, we're all going to drown..." He struggled and crawled for a while before finally crying out in despair.
"No...no good! The undercurrent is coming!" Dudu suddenly screamed.
A muffled rumbling sound could be faintly heard inside the cave, growing louder as it approached, and the earth trembled slightly in response.
Xiong Dahai's eyes widened as he reached out and pulled Dongfang Hong away, saying, "Save the young master first!" He then grabbed Chen Caihua, swung him around twice, and roared, "Rise!" He forcefully tossed the young Caihua into the air onto the riverbank...
"Brother Dongfang, stand there against the stone wall and don't move!" Xiong Dahai said sternly. Then, he hunched his chest, straightened his back, and leaped up, stepping on Dongfang Hong's head for leverage, and jumped onto the riverbank.
"What about me... what should I do?" Dongfang Hong broke out in a cold sweat as he heard the increasingly loud roar of the rushing water.
Xiong Dahai, hanging upside down from the edge of the ditch with his feet hooked, hurriedly said, "Brother Dongfang, quickly stretch your neck!" As soon as he finished speaking, a series of crisp cracking sounds came from his neck, and then it gradually stretched...
Dongfang Hong shook his little head desperately, his neck cracking as he managed to stretch it a little over twenty centimeters... but no matter how hard he tried, it remained just as short...
With a deafening roar, a torrent of water erupted from the darkness. In a panic, Dongfang Hong's cervical spine suddenly snapped open, and his thin, bony neck instantly stretched to nearly two meters long...
Xiong Dahai opened his huge mouth on his long neck, like the mouth of a giant python, and bit down hard on Dongfang Hong's small head. He arched his body and pushed off with his toes, and actually bounced up, dragging Dongfang Hong back to the riverbank.
The raging torrent rushed past their feet; it was a close call, they almost got swept away.
"You still won't give in, you..." Dongfang Hong bared his teeth and shouted.
Xiong Dahai slowly released his grip. At this moment, Dongfang Hong's head had been bitten flat, with two rows of deep teeth marks and a few drops of blood seeping out.
The deafening torrents came to an abrupt halt once more, leaving only a trickling stream in the underground ditch. Everything had passed, as if the danger had never existed.
"Alright, we can move on now." Xiong Dahai let out a long sigh of relief, then pulled his head back in with a "caw caw" sound and said to everyone.
Dongfang Hong desperately squeezed his flat head with both hands, and after a long time, he finally managed to straighten his head. Then he slowly shortened his neck little by little.
Xiong Dahai shone his flashlight into the darkness and discovered a dark hole in the rock wall ahead.
"There are... there are pictures on it!" Dudu exclaimed in surprise, her eyes sharp.
Under the flashlight beam, a shape resembling a human belly is carved on the top of the stone cave, complete with a round navel that is deeply embedded in the stone, making it very lifelike.
Xiong Dahai nodded and said, "This is a person's navel. It seems that this stone cave is the entrance to the 'earth navel'."
“It’s definitely a woman’s belly…” Dongfang Hong stared at the painting and chuckled.
"How can you be so sure?" Xiong Dahai teased, dissatisfied.
“Hey, you’re just a ‘runner,’ so of course you wouldn’t understand. I, Dongfang Hong, have been there, I have experience.” Dongfang Hong replied with a rather arrogant tone.
“These are rock paintings by ancient humans…” Dudu said, tilting her head as she examined them.
"Let's leave soon," Chen Caihua said, tugging at Xiong Dahai's clothes.
"Alright, let's go." Xiong Dahai led his young master into the cave, with Dongfang Hong following behind.
The cave passageway was several meters high and very spacious, but the ground was a bit slippery, so everyone proceeded cautiously.
"Could you... could you give me a hand, a flashlight? Dudu, go ahead and scout... maybe we'll meet... Grandma." Dudu asked Xiong Dahai.
"Brother Dongfang, can I borrow your flashlight?" Xiong Dahai snatched the flashlight from Dongfang Hong's hand and handed it to Dudu.
Dudu grabbed the flashlight with both paws, then flapped its wings and flew into the cave, the light gradually fading into the distance.
After traveling for about half an hour, Dudu still hadn't returned. Shen Caihua was anxious and kept urging Xiong Dahai to hurry up.
“Dudu is a divine bird that can fly, so it won’t be in danger. Perhaps it has already met its benefactor or encountered Chairman Xu,” Xiong Dahai comforted him.
"Don't rush, young master, let's rest for a while. I can't walk anymore." Dongfang Hong rubbed his thin, stick-like legs and pleaded.
“Listen…” Shen Caihua suddenly said, listening intently.
Xiong Dahai listened intently, but there was no other sound inside the cave. He asked in confusion, "There's no sound, little master. What did you hear?"
"It sounds like someone is calling me..." Shen Caihua said softly.
"No way, little master, are you hallucinating?" Xiong Dahai reached out and touched Xiao Caihua's forehead.
"It's Dudu! It's Dudu calling me!" Chen Caihua took off running as far as the depths of the cave could be.
"Wait for me..." Xiong Dahai quickly chased after him, shining his flashlight on the road ahead. Dongfang Hong also hurriedly followed, afraid of being left behind.
After passing a large stalactite, the cave took a turn, and this time Xiong Dahai could faintly hear someone shouting at the top of their lungs. After running for a while, the passageway became wider and wider, and finally they arrived at a huge stone hall.
The still-lit flashlight lay on the floor of the stone hall...
"Talent, help, help me..." Dudu's terrified cries for help came from the ceiling of the stone hall...
Chapter 113 of the main text
Chapter 114 of the main text
Chapter 115 of the main text
Chapter 116 of the main text
These "corpse phosphorus worms" are about half an inch in size, long and flat, with soft body walls and elytra, a flat pronotum, a very small head, hemispherical eyes, and 7-8 abdominal segments. At the lower end of each segment is a light-emitting sac that emits a greenish-blue glow. Each "corpse phosphorus worm" has a long and sharp mouthpart that looks like a hollow acupuncture needle, as saliva drips from its tip.
Master Xufeng saw that those creatures were hovering over Youliang's exposed skin, getting lower and lower, and several of them had already swooped down and landed on his nose and cheeks, about to pierce him with their sharp mouthparts...
But why weren't these "corpse phosphorus worms" interested in him? Master Xufeng's mind raced, and he immediately understood. It was probably because of the "cologne"—they didn't like the smell of his cosmetics… Master Xufeng smiled wryly and took out a half-empty bottle of "cologne" spray from his pocket. Before leaving for the capital, he had given Youliang a bottle, but the boy was reluctant to use it, saying he wanted to save it for Nizi, so he secretly kept it.
He pointed the bottle nozzle at Youliang's face and sprayed out puffs of fragrant mist...
"Buzz..." The "corpse phosphorus worms" suddenly sprang apart, somersaulted several times in the air, and fled in a shaky and panicked manner.
Master Xufeng smiled slightly, then sprayed some cologne all over Youliang's body. Looking at the "corpse phosphorus worms," they all hid far away, flashing green fluorescence, no longer daring to approach.
"Achoo..." Youliang sneezed, opened his eyes, and said in confusion, "Ew, it smells so good."
“Alright, we can go now,” Master Xufeng said, standing up.
Youliang followed Master Xufeng all the way, occasionally turning back to gaze longingly at the "corpse phosphorus worms" and their eerie blue glow.
But he didn't know that beneath the beautiful appearance of the "corpse phosphorus worm" lay an extremely ferocious killer in nature. With their sharp mouthparts, they pierced the skin of their prey, injecting phosphorus-containing "luciferin," which could instantly drive the prey insane or even cause death. When the injected dose was large, the carcass would even emit a green fluorescence, while the "corpse phosphorus worms" were merely seeking the pleasure of excretion—a purely instinctive form of biological alienation.