pozo profundo

Capítulo 23

"Don't rush!" I ignored him and continued groping. Suddenly, I felt a tiny protrusion on the wall, almost invisible unless you looked very closely. I pressed it hard, and the whole wall rattled. The vibration shook the wall, causing dust to fall and kick up a cloud of grime. It made us squint.

The wall slowly slid to both sides, and a cold wind blew in through the opening, making Fang Lei, who was only wearing a coat, shiver even more. I quickly hugged her.

The wall opened, revealing a staircase that continued downwards. A chilling wind was blowing up from below, and we couldn't see anything in the dark stairwell. I took a step back, a little frightened. The further down we went, the stronger the yin energy would become, which wouldn't be good for us.

“Let’s go down together!” Li Hai took out a yellow talisman from his pocket, touched it with his hand, and a warm white light emanated from the talisman, giving people a warm and peaceful feeling.

Li Hai looked at my curious face and explained, "This is a light talisman, used to purify people's souls. It is usually lit in places with heavy yin energy, and it can provide illumination and indicate whether there are ghosts nearby."

"Then why didn't you use it just now?" I was a little angry. Couldn't this guy have brought out such a good thing a long time ago? It would have saved us from being blind in the dark all the time.

"Please, this thing consumes a lot of mana." Li Hai rolled his eyes at me helplessly. Oh well, I didn't argue with him and followed him down the stairs. The light from the Light Talisman wasn't very strong, but it was much more effective than Li Hai's little lighter. At least it allowed us to see things within about two meters in front of us.

As we descended the stairs, we faintly heard the sound of running water. Just as we were wondering what was going on, we reached the bottom of the stairs. By the light, we discovered we were in a long sewer. The sound of flowing water we had just heard was from this very sewer; the current was quite rapid, but we couldn't see the bottom.

We followed Li Hai silently, the three of us walking along the direction of the water flow. This sewer project seemed enormous. We walked for a long time and still felt like we were in the same place. Fang Lei in my arms was shivering from the cold air in the sewer, and even her lips were turning a little blue.

"Wait a minute." I called out to Li Hai, "Li Hai, don't turn around, I'll give Fang Lei another piece of clothing."

"No need." Fang Lei grabbed my hand, which was trying to take off my clothes. They say women in love are very considerate of their partners, just like Yin Xue, who always puts me first. Thinking of Yin Xue, I smiled bitterly, grasped Fang Lei's cold, trembling hand, and said, "It's okay, I'm a man!" After saying that, I quickly took off my shirt. Luckily, I was wearing a vest underneath, otherwise I would have been shirtless.

"Here, this is for you too." Li Hai suddenly reached out a hand and handed him his coat.

"Thanks!" I patted him on the shoulder and took the jacket. Fang Lei blushed as she took my shirt, but stood there motionless.

"What's wrong? Why aren't you wearing it?" I asked curiously. Unexpectedly, Fang Lei's face turned even redder, even her ears were bright red. Her eyes seemed about to well up with tears, and she shyly stamped her foot, saying, "Turn around!"

"No!" I replied immediately. Don't think I'm trying to take advantage of her; I'm just afraid she'll disappear again later.

"You..." Fang Lei gave me a reproachful look.

"What if you disappear again when I turn around?" I quickly explained, not wanting her to think I was a pervert.

After hearing what I said, Fang Lei looked at me with deep affection, but she still didn't have the courage to put her clothes back on in front of me, even though she knew I had already seen her naked body. The beautiful woman bit her lower lip, quickly turned around, and took off my coat. In the white light, her body was as white as jade. Her smooth bare back and pert buttocks outlined a near-perfect curve, and her long legs were endlessly alluring. Her body was even more arousing in this eerie atmosphere; I thought that if I hadn't been staring at her feet, I would have had a nosebleed. After quickly putting on her clothes, Fang Lei turned around, her face as red as an apple. I stepped forward and grabbed her small hand, afraid that this treasure before me would disappear again.

"Are you guys done yet?" Li Hai shouted.

"Alright, alright." I patted Li Hai on the shoulder and said, "Let's keep going."

Li Hai nodded and continued walking forward, with Fang Lei and I following behind. The sewers were damp, and the heavy humidity made me feel a little cold. The sound of flowing water was particularly clear in the surrounding silence. Although I had been in this city for several years, I had never imagined that there was such a labyrinthine underground sewer system, winding and endless.

As we moved forward, the musty, damp smell in the air grew stronger, even carrying a hint of formaldehyde, which made me feel nauseous. I frowned, but Li Hai, who was ahead of me, suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Fang Lei asked.

"It looks like something." Li Hai moved the Light Talisman forward a bit, and right at the boundary between light and darkness, I saw something lying across the ground, blocking our path.

"Be careful!" I warned Li Hai, while firmly holding Fang Lei's small hand with my right hand.

"I know." Li Hai slowly walked over, and the soft white light gradually shone on the pile of objects.

Book One: Tales of Three Ghosts in the City, Chapter Fifty-Three: A Skeleton and a Flower-Shaped Jade Ring

Book One: Tales of Three Ghosts in the City, Chapter Fifty-Three: A Skeleton and a Flower-Shaped Jade Ring

I don't know if I can use the word "object" to describe what's in front of me. Although it's said that everything is empty after death, a skeleton is indeed somewhere between an object and a person. It just lies there, without any muscle tissue or internal organs, only stark white bones, with dark eye sockets staring straight at you, and exposed gums forming a strange smile.

I crouched down and examined the skeleton closely. The obvious bite marks indicated it had been attacked by rodents, such as rats. Human bones can speak; many potential pieces of evidence and clues can be found within them. Forensic anthropology, a crucial branch of forensic medicine, involves studying and examining skeletal remains to uncover fundamental clues about the victim.

"Whose skeleton is this?" Li Hai asked.

“It’s a man,” I replied, pointing to the pelvis. “Generally speaking, you can distinguish the sex by the pelvis and skull. A man’s pelvis is narrower and steeper, while a woman’s pelvis is relatively wider and shallower. And look at the orbital ridge and dorsal ridge of this skull; they’re quite large. These are basic characteristics of a male skull.”

“That’s right,” Fang Lei chimed in from the side. “He should be over thirty years old, because the sutures in his skull have been mostly closed.”

“Furthermore,” I said, prying open the skull to reveal the teeth, “the occlusal surfaces of the teeth are severely worn, suggesting the person was a carnivore.” After a pause, I continued, “the deceased was Mongolian, which is Asian.”

"How did you know?" Li Hai asked curiously.

I smiled and explained to Li Hai, "In forensic anthropology, human races are divided into three categories: Mongoloids, which are Asians; Black people, which are Africans; and Caucasoids, which are Europeans. Black people and Mongoloids generally have wider noses than Caucasoids. This skeleton is clearly a typical Mongoloid."

"Since you're judging by the nose, why can't it be a black person?" Li Hai asked.

"Because Black people's bones are a bit darker in color compared to the other two groups!" I replied.

Li Hai nodded, then asked, "So who do you think he is? And why is he here?"

“I don’t know about that.” I shook my head and said, “But I’m very curious about what this thing is.” I pointed to a ring on the skeleton’s finger.

"A ring?" Li Hai pulled the thing off. It was a black ring, and the material seemed to be jade. However, I didn't know that there could be black inside jade. What was more special was that there was a flower-shaped relief on the surface of the ring. It was very delicately carved, but I couldn't tell what kind of flower it was.

"It's so beautiful!" Fang Lei took the ring from Li Hai's hand. Women are powerless against any jewelry or jade, even if it has just been taken from a skeleton.

"Do you know what kind of flower this is?" I asked.

Fang Lei shook her head and said, "I don't know. It looks a bit like a lily, but it's not. Lilies don't have this many petals."

“It seems there’s something wrong with this skeleton and the ring, but now is not the time to stay here and discuss this. Shouldn’t we continue on our way?” Li Hai asked.

"Alright then," I said, taking Fang Lei's hand. "Let's continue!"

"What should we do with this ring?" Fang Lei asked, waving the ring in her hand.

"Take it with you! It might be helpful." I said with a smile. I had already noticed that Fang Lei really liked this thing, so I might as well go along with her wishes.

"Okay!" Fang Lei was as happy as a child, and happily tried to slip the ring onto her finger. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned; the ring was too big, and Fang Lei's slender fingers simply couldn't fit it on. Seeing her regretful expression, I smiled and took the ring from her finger, saying, "Then I'll wear it. I'll find a jade craftsman to make one for you in the future, just like this."

"Okay!" Fang Lei nestled against me like a little bird and took my arm.

I casually slipped the ring onto my middle finger, but unexpectedly, a sharp pain shot through me from the point where the ring touched my skin, and I immediately jerked my hand away.

"What's wrong?" Fang Lei asked anxiously.

"Ouch, it hurts! There are thorns on this ring!" I said, reaching out to pull it off, but it seemed to be firmly rooted to my finger, no matter how hard I tried. A little anxious, I tried twisting the ring; the pain subsided, but I still couldn't remove it. It felt like I was being entangled by an octopus; the ring seemed to have a suction force, gradually becoming one with my skin.

“This thing is strange!” Li Hai grabbed my hand, looked at it, then reached out and touched the ring, immediately pulling his hand away as if he had been electrocuted.

"It hurts, like I've been stabbed." Li Hai looked at his hand, then at me.

"Let me see." Fang Lei pulled the hairpin from her hair and touched the flower on the ring with the tip. Immediately, a strange sight appeared: the lotus on the hairpin and the unknown flower on the ring bloomed together, emitting purple and golden light.

"What's going on?" I asked curiously. I could no longer feel the pain in my finger; instead, a strange sensation flowed from the ring into my body, like the clear air after a rain or by a lake, making me feel refreshed as if bathed in a gentle breeze. The sound of the flowing water in my ears also seemed different, with a strange rhythm.

"I don't know, it's never happened before. Even my master never told me that this phenomenon would occur." Fang Lei put the hairpin away again, and the lotus and the nameless flower immediately returned to their original state.

"What should we do then?" Li Hai asked anxiously.

"Forget it!" I shrugged and said, "It doesn't hurt anymore anyway, so it doesn't seem like it'll do any harm. We can't get it off anyway, are we going to chop off my finger?"

"But……"

"Oh, it's alright!" I waved my hand, interrupting Fang Lei's worries. What we should be worried about now is not the ring, but whether we should continue our relationship.

"Alright, let's go then!" Li Hai said, pointing ahead.

Fang Lei and I nodded. Fang Lei is someone who rarely disagrees with me because she knows I know what I should and shouldn't do. Compared to other women, she's not one to make unreasonable demands. That's probably because she's cultivated herself.

We stepped over the skeleton on the ground and continued onward. Perhaps because the Light Talisman required magical power, the light gradually dimmed. Fang Lei had once wanted to replace Li Hai, but Li Hai politely declined. Having a beautiful woman serve you is practically a crime punishable by heaven!

The dim light only allowed us to see about a meter ahead, slowing our pace further. Learning from our previous experience, Fang Lei and I stayed close behind Li Hai, afraid he would disappear again. In the flickering light, I could only see Li Hai's back as he moved before me; I couldn't even see his head. Sometimes I had the illusion that I was following a headless person. I shook my head. It seemed to be because I hadn't slept well these past few days; I kept having these strange illusions. Even though nothing was happening, I kept scaring myself. I squinted hard and followed closely behind Li Hai.

I gently touched the ring, and it reminded me of the ring I once gave Yin Xue—a red acrylic ring, clearly made of cheap, mass-produced material. It was practically the only gift I ever gave her, yet she treasured it and wore it close to her heart. Because I bought it casually, I hadn't considered the size, and only realized it was too big after I gave it to her. Actually, it wasn't that the ring was big, but rather that her fingers were too thin. That's because she was so frail. Loving me had cost her her everything, and I had so carelessly taken her love for granted. Looking back today, I realize how selfish I had been. Of course, what's lost is always the most beautiful—that's an inherent human flaw.

I once deeply hated myself, yet I lacked the courage to repay him with my life. Yin Xue, am I a selfish and cowardly man? Is your love for me worth it?

I sniffed and realized that tears had already welled up in my eyes. I guess I still can't completely forget you, Yin Xue! I thought I could, that my memories and love for you were buried in my heart, and that they would eventually burst forth completely at some point.

Tears and glimmering light intertwined, forming a strange curtain of water and light. What lay behind that curtain? Could it be you? Yin Xue. The interplay of light and water created an aurora-like effect. In the hazy, breathtaking moment, I seemed to see Yin Xue's beautiful face, and her jade-like hands, slowly reaching out to me. On those overly slender fingers, I saw a ring, but it wasn't the one I gave her; it was the nameless flower ring now on my finger. Slightly different, the nameless flower on the ring was blooming in unparalleled splendor, so beautiful, just like Yin Xue's face.

"Lin Xiao!" Fang Lei's voice came from beside me. The wonderful scene of light and water in front of me suddenly disappeared, and I saw Fang Lei looking at me with a puzzled expression.

"What are you doing, Shenxu Taiyou?" Li Hai turned his head and asked, then gestured with his chin towards me and said, "There's a door ahead."

"Oh, really?" I nodded somewhat slowly, looking in the direction indicated. A large door appeared beside the sewer, a dim light shining through the crack. And that pungent smell of formaldehyde was coming from there. I suddenly had a bad feeling; my eyelids started twitching, and the ring on my finger even felt slightly warm.

"Shall we go in?" Fang Lei tugged at my clothes and asked.

"Of course!" Li Hai replied immediately.

"If we're going in, all three of us should go in together!" I don't want to lose Li Hai again; it's best to be careful in this place.

Book One: Three Ghosts of the City, Chapter Fifty-Four: Blood Pool

Book One: Three Ghosts of the City, Chapter Fifty-Four: Blood Pool

Pushing open the door, what greeted us felt like stepping into a strange and cruel laboratory. The pervasive formalin was nauseating. Laboratory vials were filled with various human organs. How would you feel if you saw a part of the human body displayed like a mere artifact? I, for one, felt extremely uncomfortable. Although I inevitably came into contact with these things in school, I had always viewed them merely as teaching tools. But now, organs, whitish from being preserved in formalin, floated in the liquid, emitting a chilling yellow hue. Some tissues had shriveled into clumps. I frowned. Everything here made the human body seem less like God's masterpiece and more like a batch of inferior products mass-produced in a factory.

The smell of formaldehyde is unpleasant, but what truly unsettles me is the strong, bloody odor mixed in with it, like a potent cocktail concocted by the devil and death, waiting to be tasted.

Following the smell, we found the pool in front of us, a horrific sight of bright red. Was that blood? Floating on the red liquid were tiny yellow particles, which I think were fat particles from human bodies. This pool must have been used to store corpses for dissection.

"Don't go over there." Fang Lei grabbed my hand. Her face was all scrunched up from the smell. Li Hai's face was also pale and covered in sweat, just like someone who had just done strenuous exercise.

"Don't worry, it's fine!" I cautiously approached the pool. A pungent smell of blood wafted from the red water. I suppressed the urge to vomit. I thought the blood pool in hell must be similar to this place!

"Beep beep... beep beep..." A strange sound suddenly came from Li Hai's pocket, and Fang Lei and I stared at Li Hai at the same time.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"It's Li Yang on the phone." Li Hai pulled his phone out of his pocket, frowned, and answered the call: "Weren't you busy picking up girls?"

"Go away, do you think I'm really trying to pick up girls?" Li Yang's loud voice was clearly audible to both Fang Lei and me. Li Hai couldn't stand his high-pitched voice and took the phone away from his ear.

"Then what are you doing? Amusing yourself?!" Li Hai angrily used his phone like a walkie-talkie.

"Isn't this just to make it easier to access some confidential information in the library?" Li Yang was also quite angry; I could imagine his hair standing on end and his face turning bright red.

"Confidential information? What is it?" Li Hai asked, his tone softening.

"Ha, now you know to ask me?" Li Yang's tone was smug. This kid, he thinks he can take advantage of a little challenge? I stepped forward, snatched Li Hai's phone, and said impatiently, "Kid, get to the point. We have other things to do here!"

"Hey, Lin Xiao, you're here too? Well then, I'll tell you," Li Yang's voice trailed off, "I found out..."

"Hello, hello... I can't hear you!" I shook my phone. Damn it, why does the signal always get so bad at crucial moments? I looked at my phone, and it clearly had four bars of signal!

"Lin Xiao, Lin Xiao... are you there?" Li Yang's voice came through the phone again.

"Oh, yes, go ahead and say it!" I replied hastily.

“I found out that Lin Junxian was the one who died directly in the fire at St. Mary’s Hospital that day, and Yang Yi is…” Li Yang’s words were suddenly interrupted by the noisy signal. I couldn’t make out what he was saying at all. The signal became more and more piercing, vaguely like a kind of shrill laughter and mournful crying. I immediately hung up the phone.