Chapter 234: The Search

2022-05-20

It wasn’t long before Gu Chen called again.

My heart jumped when I saw his name flash on the screen, but the excitement faded just as quickly. Gu Chen wouldn’t be calling if he hadn’t found something—but whether the news was good or bad, I had no idea. There were only two possibilities: either Guan Zengbin was safe and sound, or… Guan Zengbin was gone.

The phone kept ringing. I stared at the green button, unable to bring myself to answer.

Everyone has to die one day. That’s the way of this world. Living is basically just a long series of goodbyes. We say goodbye to childhood friends, our secret crushes, college classmates, our parents, even the person we love most.

In the end, we’re left all alone, saying goodbye to a short, lonely life.

But sometimes, there are those friends, lovers, or family members we just don’t want to part with. And right now, I couldn’t even tell how I felt about Guan Zengbin. Was it love, friendship, or something else? Family, maybe.

No one is born close to someone else. I always thought I preferred being alone. But before I realized it, Guan Zengbin had become an essential part of my life. Finally, someone managed to break through my walls—but it seemed that, just as quickly, I was about to lose them.

After a few deep breaths, I forced myself to answer and pressed the phone to my ear.

Except for the sound of tires humming on the road, everything was quiet. Gu Chen stayed silent too, for a moment, then finally spoke. “Wu Meng, it turns out this tombstone can be moved. After we shifted it aside, we found a staircase underneath. We’re going down now. There’s no cell signal underground, so if something happens I won’t be able to reach you. Don’t worry. If you can get here in time, come down and join us. If we get out first, I’ll call you.”

Gu Chen and the others were about to explore underground, but it’d still take us another two hours to reach Xingdong Village.

“Got it. Be careful,” I said quietly.

“I will,” he replied.

And with that, he hung up.

I closed my eyes. My nerves had been stretched tight since last night, and now, exhaustion hit me all at once. I just wanted to collapse and get some sleep.

Is two hours long or short? It’s one of those philosophical questions. Time flies when you’re gaming, but it crawls when you’re taking an exam. By the time I snapped out of my thoughts, we’d already arrived in Xingdong Village.

I checked my phone—no call from Gu Chen. That meant he was still underground.

With that in mind, I called the village chief. He’d just survived a harrowing ordeal earlier that morning, so when he picked up, his first words were, “Brother Wu, did you catch the killer yet?”

“We’ve got him,” I replied, “so I need you to help keep an eye on him.”

“Me?” the chief echoed, sounding surprised.

I hurried to explain. “Get a few young men from the village together, it’s time to get up anyway. Hurry to the foot of the mountain.”

Then I turned to the others. “Wait here for the village chief. The rest of you, follow me inside.”

I didn’t want to waste time. With two people following, I headed straight for the mountain. We retraced the path up the slope and soon spotted the tombstone—it had already been pushed aside. I shone my flashlight inside and found a long staircase descending below.

We traded glances, then descended. The steps just kept going—at least twenty in all. The deeper we went, the warmer it got underground. Relief washed over me; if it stayed this warm, Guan Zengbin wouldn’t freeze down here.

The staircase was a bit uneven, but seemed sturdy enough.

We finally reached the bottom and swept our flashlights around, revealing a massive space—big enough to fit several heavy trucks. The floor and walls were all cement, though I couldn’t imagine why someone would build such a huge underground room.

With my wolf-eye flashlight, I could see plenty in the dimness. There were lots of branching tunnels in the distance.

I gave those side passages a good look—none had any kind of marker. No wonder Gu Chen hadn’t made it back after more than an hour. And it matched what that older-sounding personality had said: he really didn’t know this place. Still, why did the killer go to all this trouble for such a setup?

And who was the personality who built this underground space?

There were four tunnels branching off ahead, but just the three of us.

“Let’s go,” I said. “Be careful, and split up. If you hit any more forks, come back out. Don’t get yourself lost in here.”

The others looked at me, uncertain whether they should follow my lead.

I could see a different emotion flash through their eyes—a look like they were keeping watch on me. Suddenly I realized that back in Dongxing City’s tunnels, Xiao Liu must have seen me do something. But instead of speaking up, he’d just warned the others to keep an eye on me. Was Xiao Liu suspicious of me? Now that I thought about it, when I’d gone to meet Zhao Mingkun the other day, Xiao Liu hadn’t come back until after I returned.

Did Xiao Liu know something? What choice would he make?

Right now it felt like everyone was tangled up together—a swirling mess of fish in a muddy pond. We were all aware of each other, but nobody could see one another clearly.

Some fish swam through the water without a care, oblivious to the coming storm. Some sensed danger and hid early. Others were biding their time from the start, waiting for chaos to break. And a few stood out from the beginning, taking charge and running the show.

But most were just bystanders, watching from the sidelines.

As for me, which one was I?

I knew some people were already watching my every move. So I said, “Someone’s life is on the line here. This isn’t the time for games.”

Then I strode straight into one of the side tunnels.

Looking back, I saw the three exchange glances. The other two each picked a different tunnel as well.

The path I chose stretched out into darkness, my flashlight barely piercing the gloom. The cramped space pressed in, shadows crowding close—a setup that made your nerves twitch.

I kept walking, lost in thought, when suddenly the tunnel widened.

This opened into another chamber. The moment I stepped inside, a chill struck me in the bones. That damp, penetrating cold—it reminded me of winters in the southern region. People say the northern cold hits you like a sledgehammer, all dry and direct. But in the south, the cold seeps straight to your core, colder than the thermometer says.

That kind of cold only comes when there’s moisture in the air.

I closed my eyes, recalling the map I’d seen searching for the Old Town in Dongxing City. Xingdong Village sat by the Xingdong River. But it wasn’t much of a river—not deep enough for boats, just ten meters across and filled with muddy water.

I thought back over our route. We’d kept going down, getting deeper the whole way. The stairs were about twenty steps, putting us maybe ten meters underground. The tombstone was set midway up the mountain, which meant right now we were deep in the mountain’s core. After all those steps, I figured I was buried under tons of rock at this point.

And the dampness I felt had to be from the river’s underground branch—if I smashed through these walls, I’d probably flood the whole tunnel. That muddy water might not look strong, but the force would be massive.

I pressed my hand against the wall, feeling the chill. Pressing my ear to the surface, I could hear the faint sound of running water behind it.

I frowned. Why build such a vast underground chamber, with all these twisting passages?

Then a memory hit me—back in the Linfen tomb, facing endless branching tunnels. Those side paths were meant to confuse us; only one could be the real way through. I had no idea if the tunnel I’d picked was the right one.

Sweeping my flashlight ahead, I noticed even more forks branching out.

Thinking it over, I picked up a rock and scratched a unique mark on the wall at the tunnel’s entrance before heading in.

I hadn’t gone far when I heard footsteps echo up ahead.

“Who’s there?” I called out.

No answer—just the slap of running feet in the darkness.

“Who are you!” I shouted louder. Whoever it was didn’t slow down.

If it were one of us, they should’ve stopped when I called. But instead, this person just ran even faster.

With a sinking feeling, I raced after them—only to hear a sudden crash ring out up ahead.

A heavy banging noise echoed through the still air—not far ahead of me.

What just happened up there?