El beso inolvidable de Ghost Lips

Capítulo 6

We discussed it and all agreed that we should try to get into the cave to take a look, but we didn't have any diving equipment, and the cave was too deep; it was hard to say what the dangers might be down there. The young master said that we were all good swimmers, so we could take turns going in.

The professor then looked at us and suddenly said, "Gentlemen, please don't be offended by what I'm saying, but this matter is currently under investigation. You are antique dealers, a sensitive position. I can help with general matters, but it's best if you don't get involved in the core issues. Otherwise, it will cause a lot of trouble later."

The young master immediately objected, saying, "Old man, aren't you just crossing the river and burning the bridge?"

I quickly patted him on the shoulder to tell him to stop talking.

Actually, the old man has a point. I heard that during the excavation of the Xiaheshan ancient tomb in Hebei, an antique dealer participated in the preliminary work, and as a result, the entire archaeological team was suspended from their duties for three months. That antique dealer also suffered a lot; he couldn't even continue doing business. The old man said this to warn us, meaning, don't try anything funny with us, and don't harm us.

But I wasn't going to just stand by and watch; I was already making my own plans. If there was anything good down there, I'd have to get some up there, even if it was just to show off at home.

Soon after, Lao Cai and the others came up as well, looking equally puzzled. They said that the river had been dry for several years, and many people had come here to swim in other years, so how come no one had noticed the hole below?

A few of us gathered around the boat discussing how to get down. We asked his nephew if there was anything on board for diving, but the nephew shook his head. He'd never even seen a TV show and had no idea what a submersible was. The professor regretted it, saying they hadn't taken it seriously and hadn't brought anything—a real mistake.

After thinking for a while, Shan Jun said, "Why don't I go down and take a look? I'm a good swimmer and can hold my breath for more than a minute."

When he spoke, none of us said anything, because we all grew up by the Yellow River and knew the dangers of diving and drilling. Not to mention getting stuck or hooked down there, the underwater space structure is inherently unstable, and you could easily get stuck in the mud as soon as you go down.

However, it's impossible to get any diving equipment over in a short time. There are no roads here; everything has to be carried by people. It would probably take at least two weeks. As for me, I hope to go in and take a look now, because once the large group arrives, I'll be out of luck, and I might not even be able to get within a hundred meters of this place.

Dan Jun said, "I'll go down and take a look first, but I won't go too far in. If I find any danger, I'll come back up. It's better than just discussing things here."

We thought about it and realized that this was a last resort, so we took a rope from the shore and tied it around Shan Jun's waist. We also gave him two flashlights and a knife, so that if he was in danger, he could pull the rope as hard as he could.

Once Dan Jun was ready, he jumped back into the water. The young master, my nephew, and I jumped in to support him. The professor repeatedly warned us not to act rashly and to come up when we were almost done.

We sank down with Shan Jun. Once we reached the bottom, we held onto him and pushed him down into the hole. Every time we sank a little, the people on the boat loosened the rope. When Shan Jun was completely inside, he gave us a signal to let go of his hands at the entrance and began to sink down step by step.

The rope kept getting longer and longer, and I couldn't hold my breath for more than thirty seconds. The young master and I took turns coming up to catch our breath. When I went down again, I knew he had already dived deep into the cave. I could see the light of his flashlight from above, and I estimated that he was six or seven meters deep. That was incredibly deep. I was really worried for him.

The flashlight beam stayed below for about three or four seconds, then started moving to the side and disappeared in a flash. It seems my guess was right; there was a large space below.

So I tightened the rope so that if Danjun encountered something down there, he wouldn't be unaware of what was happening up there. The rope was still being pulled away from my hands little by little, and Danjun was still swimming deeper.

For a moment, the bottom of the lake was so quiet that not a sound could be heard, and all our attention was focused on the cave. Time passed second by second, and at that moment, each second felt like ten seconds.

A little while later, the young master gave me a hand signal. More than a minute had passed, and I figured he should be swimming back soon. If he didn't start swimming soon, he definitely wouldn't have enough air. I bent over to pull the rope to help him.

After waiting for about ten seconds, there was still no sign of them coming up; in fact, the rope was still being pulled inwards.

For most people, being able to hold their breath for more than two minutes is already superhuman. I immediately realized there was a problem and tried to pull it up, but after pulling up a section of the rope, it suddenly got stuck and I couldn't pull it up no matter what I did. It was as if the lower part of the rope was stuck on something.

Oh no! My heart skipped a beat; something bad had happened.

The young master was at a loss for what to do. I pulled a few times, but found I couldn't get any strength in the water, so I immediately surfaced and yelled to them, "Something's happened! Quickly pull the rope up!"

The people on board were getting impatient and had sensed something was wrong. When they heard me shout, they panicked and immediately started pulling on the rope. Several people pulled so hard that the small boat almost capsized, but the rope remained taut.

At this point, it was Old Cai's nephew who had the experience. He climbed onto the boat, pulled up the rope connecting the soldiers, wound it onto the mooring block at the bow, and then shouted for everyone to get on the boat!

We all climbed up, and he pulled the motor! The boat moved backward, the rope was pulled up like lightning, taut into a straight line, and then there were two muffled sounds from underwater as the rope reached its limit. The motor vibrated and made a groaning sound, but it couldn't be pulled up any further.

When I saw it, I realized it was serious. If a person's foot were stuck in the sand, they could definitely pull it out like this. They certainly wouldn't be unable to pull up a motorboat. But with this commotion, it looked like things were getting serious. Several people were in a panic, and Wang Ruonan even started crying.

The nephew's face was grim. He increased the power and pulled for another ten seconds or so. Suddenly, the motor roared, the rope snapped, and we all fell into the boat's bucket. Then we saw the rope loosen, and eddies immediately formed on the water's surface.

We rushed over and pulled on the rope, instantly pulling Shan Jun face down out of the water. The others hooked him up and put him on the deck, finding him ice-cold, but in a very strange position, as if he was trying to scratch at something in front of him.

Old Cai quickly turned him over, preparing to give him first aid to see if he could still be saved.

I hurriedly laid Shan Jun flat on the deck and squeezed the sewage out of his lungs. The young master used a towel to wipe the sand off his face. Suddenly, the young master who was wiping his face cried out and sat down on the deck.

Everyone was startled by him and didn't know what was going on. I subconsciously looked at Shan Jun's face, and when I saw it, I felt a chill run from the top of my head all the way to the soles of my feet.

Having lived by the river for a long time, many people have seen people drown. The grotesque expressions of those who suffocate underwater are still fresh in many people's minds. But Shan Jun's face was clearly not from drowning. What was chilling was that there was no trace of the pain of suffocation on his face. His face was deathly pale, devoid of any color, his eyes were narrowed to slits, and the whites of his eyes rolled back. Yet, the corners of his mouth were strangely grinning, as if he were sneering.

This wasn't the first time I'd seen that smile. I immediately thought of Wang Quansheng, who had died in my room, and I froze. Their expressions when they died were exactly the same. Instinctively, I asked the person next to me, "What...what kind of expression is that...?"

Old Cai gasped, his eyes filled with terror, and stammered, "This...this is the 'Seven Laughing Corpses'!"

Chapter Eleven: What's Inside the Cave?

Everyone was stunned by Shan Jun's dying expression, their faces drained of color, frozen in place. I, in particular, felt a chill run through me, my mind a complete blank. A complex, subtle, and indescribable feeling welled up inside me. I suddenly wondered if Wang Quansheng's death was also related to this cave.

However, there wasn't much time to think about my own affairs at that moment. Old Cai, trembling, took off his clothes and covered Shan Jun's head, then said, "Let's not stay here, let's go! There's a ghost in this water!"

The old professor was severely shocked and did not respond to Lao Cai's words. Wang Ruonan, on the other hand, was relatively calm. She helped the old professor up with tears in her eyes. When the boat docked, we picked up our clothes, hastily put them on, and rushed back without caring about anything else.

After getting ashore, Lao Cai covered Shan Jun's face with his towel, then carried him on his back and ran for two hours along the mountain road back to the village where the tractor had been parked. Along the way, I kept seeing water flowing out of the body, which made me feel very uneasy.

Upon arriving at the village, finding the tractor unavailable, Lao Cai first settled the body in the ancestral hall before going out to find a means of transportation.

His nephew was familiar with these people, so he called them all to help. They tied Shan Jun's hands with red cloth and then called an old man over to "sit on the corpse."

The young master didn't understand why they were doing this and found it strange. His nephew then secretly told us, "'Seven Laughing Corpses' is a very unlucky thing."

This is a common superstition among the people living along the river. They believe that if someone drowns in the river and passes away peacefully without any worldly attachments, blood tears will flow from their eyes after a certain period. This is called a "crying corpse," and the crying will last for three hours. In reality, this is caused by blood vessels rupturing due to changes in internal pressure. However, if the person died a violent death and harbored resentment, the corpse will not only not shed blood tears when it emerges from the water, but will also display a smile. This smile will change daily and continue for seven days, hence the name "Seven-Laughing Corpse." The saying "A corpse emerges from the water, three cries, seven laughs" refers to this phenomenon. The people superstitiously believe that if a "Seven-Laughing Corpse" is not handled properly, it will become a vengeful ghost.

When a "seven laughing corpses" appear, a red cloth is tied around it, and then an old man who "sits the corpse" uses some method to make the corpse cry.

I felt a bit curious, but it wasn't a good time to get too involved, especially since my own situation was also quite strange and needed to be carefully considered.

After the old man sitting on the corpse entered the ancestral hall, everyone else was driven out. The curtains were drawn around the hall, so we couldn't see inside. My nephew said that the old man was about to start performing a ritual.

I was worried about the old professor and Wang Ruonan, so I went over. The old professor had already come to his senses and was sitting there shaking his head and crying. Wang Ruonan was comforting him. I went up and said a few words of comfort to him as well, and then called Wang Ruonan out.

Wang Ruonan's eyes were also red, but she looked much better than the professor. I sighed and asked, "What are your plans for the future? Is there anything we can help you with?"

Wang Ruonan gave me a grateful look and said, "I plan to send the professor back first, then report this matter to my superiors. The specifics will be handled by them; I can't interfere."

I nodded. "Nobody wanted this accident to happen. If you need any help, just let me know."

She agreed, then glanced at the professor and said, "You...don't even think about that hole. The expression on Shan Jun's face before he died seemed like...he saw something terrifying and his heart suddenly stopped. I read related reports at school. That kind of expression is actually caused by extreme fear. And look at his posture before he died, it's like he was fighting with something. I feel there's something wrong with that hole."

I recalled that Shan Jun's movements before she died were very similar to the posture of someone having an epileptic seizure, but I didn't want to ask her about it at the time, so I just nodded.

Wang Ruonan said somewhat uncertainly, "I wanted to apply for an investigation project to try and dig up what's down there, but the professor disagreed; he wants to keep it a secret."

"Why?" I asked, puzzled.

Wang Ruonan was also puzzled: "I don't know. He's been through a lot. I don't know what he's trying to say. He said the location of this Broken Water Lake is the eye of the Yellow River, and the things inside the cave are extraordinary. There must be something fishy about it, and it absolutely cannot be dug out. I think he's just too guilty, because he's the oldest, and he feels responsible for Shan Jun's death."

I sighed. If we're talking about responsibility, I definitely share it. I was the one who led him into the cave step by step. If even one person had objected, this wouldn't have happened. We were all too curious.

Wang Ruonan patted me. She didn't talk much along the way, but I felt that she was a very profound person. After making eye contact with her, I felt comfortable.

She went back inside to continue keeping the professor company. I lit a cigarette and walked to the crowd gathered at the entrance of the ancestral hall. The young master was there listening to their conversation about what had just happened, and I joined in to listen.

After speaking for a while, the old man who had been "sitting like a corpse" suddenly came out of the ancestral hall. Everyone thought it was over, but unexpectedly, the old man instructed that no one should go in. Then he looked at the crowd and immediately saw me, saying to me, "Come with me."

Chapter Twelve: Another Bronze Fragment

The others looked at me strangely, and I was even more puzzled. So I followed him, and he led me into the ancestral hall. I saw that Shan Jun was still covered with a towel, and the ground was full of water.

I asked the old man, "Sir, what's the matter?"

The old man said, "It's not that I have something to do, it's that he has something to ask you."

At first, I didn't react, but when I looked at the old man's hand, I saw that he was pointing at Shan Jun's corpse.

I immediately said to the old man, "You must be joking, sir."

The old man ignored me. He removed the towel from Shan Jun's face, and suddenly an extremely eerie, grinning face appeared in front of me again, with its eyes turned towards me. I quickly turned my head away.

The old man covered me with the towel again and said, "Don't be afraid, I just wanted him to see you." He then handed me something, saying, "I found this in his hand. Take a look; it might have been brought out of that cave."

I took it and looked down at what the old man had handed me. It was a small bronze piece, but it looked very familiar to me.

The old man patted my shoulder three times on each side and said, "Go out and see!"

I walked out with my head down. The young master asked me what I wanted, but I couldn't answer myself. I found a secluded corner, took out the bronze piece that Wang Quansheng had given me from my bag, and put the two pieces together. I was immediately stunned. The two pieces were very similar. The patterns, colors, and degree of rust were almost identical. They must have been peeled off from the same thing.

The old man said he found this thing in Shan Jun's possession, and it should be what he brought up from that cave. If that's the case—

I suddenly felt my legs go weak and realized the connection between the two of them.

It turns out that the hole from which Wang Quansheng retrieved the bronze artifacts is the same hole we see at the bottom of the lake today! The bronze artifacts that Wang Quansheng retrieved must have all come from that hole.

I had a premonition, but I couldn't quite grasp what it was. I felt like I knew something, but I couldn't really describe what I knew. The feeling was so unpleasant, it was like ants crawling into my heart.

Wang Quansheng retrieved the object from the cave and then died. Dan Jun entered the cave and also died. Does this cave possess some kind of magic that causes everyone who comes into contact with it to die? This is too absurd.

I've thought about it for a long time, but I can't figure it out. I feel like there's a missing link in these things.

By this time, the people at the entrance of the ancestral hall had dispersed, leaving only the old man sitting on a bench, staring at me with a sinister expression. I felt as if he had something to say to me, but he remained silent.

The young master was looking for me everywhere, saying the tractor had arrived and we should go back to town; we had our own things to take care of.

I nodded, got on the tractor, and drove all the way back to Donghua Town overnight. On the way, I felt exhausted and wanted to sleep, but as soon as I closed my eyes, I saw Shan Jun's face and couldn't fall asleep.

Back at the guesthouse, things were the same. There were no sleeping pills in town, and I figured I didn't want to collect the things anymore, nor did I want to deliver the five thousand yuan. I just wanted to go home, get a good night's sleep, and forget all about it. But the young master didn't seem to be affected at all.

I took a cold shower when I got back, and I felt a little more relaxed. I wanted to sleep some more, as much as I could, but before I could lie down, I suddenly heard someone knocking on the door.

The young master was also getting ready for bed, but he sat up abruptly and asked, puzzled, "Who is it?"

A voice came from outside the door: "It's us."

When I heard that they were the two medicine merchants who had come with us, I was surprised. I wondered what they wanted from us in the middle of the night. Had they brought back the herbs?

The young master opened the door, let them in, and asked, "What did you two grandfathers say? Staying up all night like night owls. We've been up all day and are getting ready for bed."

Two medicine merchants came in, walked to our desk, and said with a smile, "What's wrong with you two? Have you encountered some bad luck?"

I gave a wry smile: "You heard? Ugh, don't even mention it, it keeps me up at night."

One of the drug dealers said, "This news spread very quickly. We heard about it as soon as we got back. You guys are really unlucky. Running into the 'Seven Laughing Corpses' is going to bring you three years of bad luck. It's really depressing."

They must have heard it from Lao Cai. I think Lao Cai is definitely not one to keep secrets. I need to be careful what I say in the future so he doesn't overhear me.

A pharmaceutical merchant asked us for the details of what happened today. The young master, who couldn't keep his mouth shut, gave us a brief account, which made everyone frown.

I was very sleepy. Looking at their expressions, they seemed hesitant to speak, not like they wanted to chat with us. It seemed like they had something difficult to say. I didn't want to talk to them much, so I asked them what they wanted to talk to us about in the middle of the night.

The two men looked at each other, seemingly unsure how to respond. After a long silence, one of them finally spoke up: "It's like this, we have something we'd like to ask you two to come and help us."

I was even more puzzled. The young master asked, "How can we possibly help you? We're from different industries. We don't know anything about herbs; buying them could kill people. It would be funny if someone with epilepsy turned into someone with bull's epilepsy."

One of the medicine merchants chuckled dryly, then pulled something out of his bag and showed it to me. I looked at it and saw it was a bronze mirror. I exclaimed in surprise, thinking, "No way!"

The young master, unaware of the situation, said, "Oh, so you guys went to collect things too? Come, come, let me see what kind of stuff you've got."

I slapped him to stop talking nonsense, and immediately said to them, "Are you... Southern bandits?"

One of the medicine merchants nodded, made a soft gesture, and said, "Good insight."

Bronze mirrors are standard equipment for Nanpai people in Shanxi. Among the Nanpai people, there is a very special skill that tests one's courage: opening a coffin, especially when it is confirmed that the coffin contains a female corpse, one must turn away from the coffin, enter the coffin with one hand behind one's back, and cannot look directly at the corpse inside. You must look through a bronze mirror. If you can see the contents of the coffin, it means that the soul of the tomb's owner has already flown away. If you see only darkness in the mirror, it means that there is something wrong behind you. At this time, you must bow, get up, and leave immediately. You cannot turn back, or you will be doomed.