Everyone fell silent as if to heighten their senses for danger.
Within the cave, only the intermittent howl of the wind and their cautious footsteps could be heard.
After leading them for a while, Ma Xingping soon discovered several corpses and skeletons in the cave. The dismembered remains were still wrapped in clothing, appearing to be from nearby villagers.
Seeing these remains, Yan Shouyi's expression turned grim.
He hadn't paid close attention to the appearance of the villagers who had fled, and he wasn't sure if any of the villagers from Chen Village whom he knew, or Jiang Ting's uncle, were among them.
If they hadn't managed to escape, they had most likely died in this cave.
Thinking that he had actually cooperated with the cruel Boss Zhou, Yan Shouyi felt immense guilt towards the deceased villagers. He secretly vowed that once Lin Zhitong's蛊毒 was resolved, he would make Boss Zhou pay the price!
These remains added a considerable atmosphere of horror to the cave, especially the sickening smell of blood. While others could endure it, Boss Zhou himself couldn't.
Even with his hand covering his mouth, he couldn't stop gagging.
Long Feicheng sneered, "You're actually afraid of this? What a coward."
Inwardly, Long Feicheng was also afraid, but seeing Boss Zhou more terrified made him feel less so, and he consequently mocked Boss Zhou.
Boss Zhou angrily retorted, "You brat, what's it to you?"
"Everyone be quiet."
Yan Shouyi's mood was soured by the sight of the remains. If it weren't for Lin Zhitong, he might have already made a move against Boss Zhou.
Boss Zhou was all bluster, merely muttering insults with no real way to harm Yan Shouyi.
As they walked deeper into the cave, they began to encounter forks in the path. Ma Xingping crouched down to examine them for a while before choosing a narrow path.
"Why this path?" Lin Zhitong asked.
Ma Xingping explained, "The other tunnels might have been dug by the tomb-guarding snake ghosts, but the one leading to Prince Jian's tomb must be an exit that was originally excavated by humans. I observed that only this path shows signs of artificial excavation."
This reason was quite convincing. Lin Zhitong didn't doubt Ma Xingping's abilities but was simply curious.
Led by Ma Xingping, the group continued deeper.
Suddenly, Ma Xingping's ears twitched, and he couldn't help but stoop down.
"What is it?" Yan Shouyi asked vigilantly.
Ma Xingping bent over, gesturing for the others to lower themselves as well, then made a shushing gesture and listened for a moment with his head tilted.
"Do you hear a woman crying?" Ma Xingping asked in a low voice.
Upon hearing this, everyone felt a chill run down their spines.
In this pitch-black tomb tunnel, what could be more eerie than suddenly hearing a woman crying?
Long Feicheng swallowed and said, "N-no, I don't hear anything. Are you hallucinating?"
However, Yan Shouyi replied, "I hear it."
"Really?" Long Feicheng asked Lin Zhitong, "Sister-in-law, you don't hear it too, do you?"
Lin Zhitong nodded silently.
Now, everyone had to take this matter seriously. In their imaginations, at the end of the tunnel, outside the gate of Prince Jian's tomb, a long-haired female ghost in a white dress was weeping mournfully, awaiting their arrival...
The mere thought sent shivers down their spines.
Yan Shouyi said calmly, "We are not ordinary people. Even if there is a female ghost here, so what?"
Yan Shouyi had dealt with his fair share of ghosts before, but under the current atmosphere, everyone felt a bit unnerved.
If this were at Ping'an Tower, let alone one female ghost, even a whole horde of them would not make Yan Shouyi bat an eye.
Ma Xingping, however, said, "The underground is different from the surface. Danger can lurk anywhere, and there's only one way to escape, or perhaps we don't even know where that way is. It's best to be cautious. Brother Yan, do you have a way to investigate?"
Since Ma Xingping had sought his help, Yan Shouyi could no longer ignore the issue.
After some thought, he decided to deploy the sorcerer sealed within the sparrow.
"Fly in and see what the situation is. If anything seems amiss, fly back, and we'll provide backup," Yan Shouyi instructed.
If the sorcerer could still show emotion, it would be a face full of bitterness.
He had completely become Yan Shouyi's tool, and even the task of scouting and clearing the path fell upon him.
But what else could he do?
Since he couldn't resist, he could only accept his fate...
The sorcerer flapped its wings and awkwardly flew into the depths of the cave.
However, before anyone could react, the sorcerer flew back at an extremely rapid pace.
"What's wrong?" Yan Shouyi asked, puzzled.
The sorcerer exclaimed in panic, "Ghost... there's a ghost!"
"What are you panicking about?!" Yan Shouyi grabbed the sorcerer and chided, "Brother, you were quite a figure in your life. Your Flying Head Sorcery is much scarier than any ghost, so why are you being scared by a ghost now?"
The sorcerer regained its composure. "Y-you're right."
"Then tell me, what's up ahead?"
"It seems to be Prince Jian's tomb up ahead, just around two bends. I saw a large tomb gate, and in front of the gate, there's an underground river. Sitting by the river are quite a few female ghosts!"
"Are you sure they were female ghosts?" Yan Shouyi asked, frowning.
"They must be! Although they were all wearing black mink coats and sitting on the bank with their backs to me. The crying was coming from them!" the sorcerer said, still shaken.
Lin Zhitong's eyes narrowed. "Are there many female ghosts?"
"Very many!" the sorcerer said. "At least twenty or thirty!"
Twenty or thirty female ghosts were quite a number, and they were all outside the gate of Prince Jian's tomb. This was likely no coincidence.
Either something within Prince Jian's tomb attracted them to gather here.
Or, like the tomb-guarding snake ghosts, they were arranged by Prince Jian outside the tomb gate to prevent grave robbers from entering.
If it were the former, Yan Shouyi and Lin Zhitong might be able to handle it. If it were the latter, it would be much more troublesome.
The female ghosts arranged by Prince Jian would surely not be comparable to ordinary female ghosts in strength. If there were one or two more on the level of Baishixi, Yan Shouyi would have to consider whether he could win.
For a moment, everyone was stumped, caught in a dilemma.
Ma Jinxuan looked at Boss Zhou, "Boss Zhou, do you know the origin of those female ghosts?"
Boss Zhou shook his head unhappily, "My ancient texts do not record this."
"Do you really know or not? Aren't you fooling us?" Long Feicheng suspected.
Boss Zhou angrily retorted, "If I were truly fooling you, how would I know there was a large tomb in this desolate place?"
Long Feicheng chuckled, "You have a point, but that doesn't stop me from despising you."
Boss Zhou: "..."
It was almost predictable that Long Feicheng, who abhorred evil, would seize any opportunity to taunt Boss Zhou before making a move against him.
"Though I may not be able to kill, I will certainly strike at your heart first!"
Yan Shouyi didn't stop him, as doing so was quite satisfying. However, there always needed to be someone in the group who got things done, and he began to ponder how to probe the strength of these female ghosts.