The filthy blood slid across the ground in messy streaks, making the smile on the woman's face appear even more sinister.
The two pitch-black eyes on that face were still wide open. Wu Tianzhen, in a daze, almost saw a predatory gleam hidden within them, but he quickly realized it was merely the reflection of the flashlight in his pupils.
"Damn it, this is truly disgusting!" The foul-smelling blood spread incredibly fast. Before he knew it, it had already reached Fatty's feet.
Fatty cursed, jumped out of the blood pool, and shook his shoes vigorously. However, the blood, like entwining poisonous vines, clung to the surface of his shoes and slowly seeped in.
For some reason, Wu Tianzhen suddenly felt a chilling sensation rise from the depths of his heart. But looking at the dead black ape, he suspected it was just his imagination.
"So, what's the verdict?" Fatty, seeing that the blood wouldn't come off, gave up. "Did you find the markers of those two big shots? If not, maybe we should stack ourselves like pancakes again?"
This remark temporarily diverted Wu Tianzhen's attention. He looked intently at the corner where the black ape had just appeared. After the black ape died and fell, that area was completely revealed.
At this moment, along the wall, a layer of fine stone powder was quietly distributed.
"...No need. I already know which path they took." Wu Tianzhen stepped forward, picked up a pinch of the stone powder, and looked up. He saw a clear scratch mark on the wall in front of him.
"They didn't leave no markers; their markers were stealthily scraped off by something," Wu Tianzhen said, glancing at the passage near the wall. "I presume this black ape was the culprit."
"It needed someone to help it with the 'taofeng' ritual, which is why it trapped us using such methods."
Wu Tianzhen wanted to examine the black ape's corpse more closely before making a judgment, but Fatty seemed to have lost patience with analyzing the ape's complicated life and grievances.
"Good heavens, then let's hurry!" Fatty grabbed Wu Tianzhen and rushed into the passage. But he had forgotten about the Black Gold Ancient Saber on Wu Tianzhen's back. The heavy saber acted like a counterweight, exerting immense force, and Fatty almost strained his arm.
"Damn it, this broken saber is incredibly heavy!"
Fatty's words were spoken almost involuntarily, causing Wu Tianzhen, who was stepping into the passage, to pause slightly.
...Fatty just said, "broken saber"?
This was a truly strange thing. Wu Tianzhen thought Fatty was just upset about the black ape and was in a bad mood, but that wasn't a reason to disparage Xiao Ge's beloved saber.
So, with a hint of displeasure, Wu Tianzhen replied with a forced smile, "It is indeed quite heavy. How about you carry it for me again, Fatty? My small arms and legs are really struggling."
Fatty, walking ahead, turned his head and looked at the hilt of the Black Gold Ancient Saber.
Then he shook his head repeatedly and refused, "Forget it. Fatty carried that thing for so long just now, I have no strength left. You should keep carrying it."
Seeing Fatty's predicament, Wu Tianzhen let out a "hmph" and strode forward, chest puffed out, adopting a tough guy demeanor as if to say, "This little Black Gold is nothing."
Without the black ape's interference, the markers along the path appeared properly. The two moved unhindered, wandering through the honeycomb-like stone caves for an hour and a half.
After such a long time, their sense of direction was long lost. Wu Tianzhen could only vaguely sense that the two people were heading deeper into the stone caves.
He raised his flashlight, shining it into the distance. He saw that the deepest part of the stone cave cluster seemed to have crystalline structures. Under the beam of light, they refracted brilliant colors, scattering in all directions, making it look like they had entered a hazy mirror world.
Along this path, peculiar withered yellow plants grew, clinging tightly to the ground like moss. But upon closer inspection, they were clearly long blades of grass intertwined together. Wu Tianzhen tried to recall but couldn't remember the type of plant.
Water dripped from rock crevices near his feet. The path ahead gradually became damp and cold. Wu Tianzhen shivered, genuinely starting to miss the warmth of Zhang Qiling's Qilin tattoo heater.
Just then, his foot tripped, seemingly on something hard.
Years of experience exploring forbidden lands made his first instinct to jump up like a startled rabbit. However, the heavy weight of the Black Gold Ancient Saber effectively prevented him.
Fatty watched, his expression complex, as Wu Tianzhen swayed inexplicably on the ground for a few seconds like a tumbler, then with a "crack," he tumbled down in a bizarre face-first posture.
"...Holy crap!" Fatty looked at Wu Tianzhen, who had a mouthful of withered grass, and clicked his tongue. "It's not that serious, Tianzhen, really not that serious."
"Don't we still have plenty of compressed biscuits in our backpacks? Enough for us to live here for a month. You really don't need to start eating grass to save up now."
"Ptooey!" Wu Tianzhen spat out the grass and expressed his disdain for Fatty. "Can't you think of me in a better light!?"
"Didn't you see that huge obstruction on the path—"
Wu Tianzhen patted the grass off himself and turned his head, trying to find the hard object that had tripped him. But as he looked, the words halfway out of his mouth suddenly stopped—
It was clearly a normal patch of grass. Not to mention an obstruction, there wasn't even a pebble.
"...How is this possible? This is impossible?" Wu Tianzhen quickly crawled forward a couple of steps, reaching out to touch it in disbelief.
The texture he felt was soft and yielding, completely different from the sensation just now.
"I think you're just too tired and hallucinating!" Fatty glanced at Wu Tianzhen's strange behavior, shook his head, and continued forward.
...Hallucinating?
Wu Tianzhen began to doubt himself, but everything had happened exactly as he perceived. He looked up, wanting to ask Fatty again, but found that Fatty had already walked a considerable distance without him realizing. Now, looking up, he could only see Fatty's broad back.
So, he had to put these questions aside for now and, with difficulty, heft the Black Gold Ancient Saber to get up and catch up with Fatty.
As they continued their journey, the crystalline structures soon came into view.
It turned out to be a slightly wider space in the middle of the stone cave cluster, like a plaza distributed within a structure.
Countless rhombic crystals grew quietly from the stone, clustered together in bunches. At first glance, they resembled translucent diamond flowers.
Wu Tianzhen looked at the beautiful scenery before him with some amazement. He slowly walked forward, trying to touch the wall from which the "flowers" grew.
But at that moment, a conspicuous mark caught his attention—
On this wall, there was a bullet hole.