A chill settled deep within me. A cursory glance revealed hundreds of corpses nearby, and I couldn't fathom how many more lay scattered across the distant wilderness. This, it seemed, was the very place the Great King Wei had spoken of—the site where his kin were slaughtered. I couldn't help but marvel at the Wei Kingdom; what a populous and mighty nation they must have been.

These bodies, preserved by the intense cold, seemed to silently narrate a tragic, heroic tale, stirring profound emotion within me.

What a sight it would be if the people of Wei had survived to this day.

If Da Xiong were here, he’d surely scoff, "Hell, do you even need to think about it? All the big-name shampoos would sell like crazy!"

The thought made me smile faintly. I wondered where that fat slob had vanished to, failing to mount a Saving Private Ryan-esque rescue when his buddy was in dire straits.

As I pondered this, a distant, ethereal hum reached my ears, faint yet piercing, followed by a subtle tremor in the ground. The standing corpses began to shed flakes of ice.

Little Beard and the others jumped back, pulling me down to lie flat.

It turned out those creatures inhabiting the mouths were indeed highly sensitive to sound. Instantly, the corpses surrounding us all gaped wider. I witnessed thousands upon thousands of pinpricks of light igniting from every direction—countless monstrous mouths opening in eerie silence, exuding a ghostly blue flame.

The man holding me down began to tremble violently, muttering, "It's over, we’re done for. I don’t want to die yet."

Little Beard heard the muttering and instantly drew his pistol, glaring savagely at the young man next to me, clearly signaling, "Speak again, and I’ll put a bullet in you!"

Faster than thought, I saw torrents of light erupting from the corpses' mouths, converging in the sky to form a flowing, spectacular silver river.

The eerie blue luminescence reflected on every face, leaving us stunned into silence before the breathtaking spectacle above.

I watched as a small cluster of blue light masses flew directly toward my position, orbiting just above our heads.

Though I had no idea how dangerous these things were, the sheer terror radiating from those around me sent a knot of fear tightening in my own stomach.

Little Beard, who moments ago had been insufferably arrogant, was now shaking like a sieve. The cold air couldn't explain the sweat soaking his undershirt.

The orbs continued to circle overhead. The young man gripping my arm practically tried to bury his face in the ice, his fingers digging into my flesh hard enough to draw blood.

Damn it, you look like you’re about to wet yourself, I thought. Is it really that terrifying?

I looked up, but before I could make sense of what was happening, a few faint flashes of light pierced my vision. My brain thrummed with a deafening whump, like being struck square on the forehead with a brick, nearly knocking me unconscious.

Terror seized me. I scrambled to twist away and press myself flat. A burning sting erupted in my nostrils as blood gushed out like a fountain. Stars swam before my eyes, accompanied by severe ringing in my ears.

I gasped for air, cold sweat beading on my forehead. Lying there, it took a solid five minutes before the dizzy spell in my head began to ease.

Then, the ground vibrated once more, and the otherworldly howl echoed again from the distance.

At the sound of that cry, the entities hovering above us became agitated, emitting a dry, rustling sound. Through the shadows cast on the ground, I saw them swiftly abandoning our position, rushing to merge with the celestial river of light.

About five minutes later, all the luminous clusters vanished into the darkness, plunging the surroundings into absolute blackness once more.

My hands still bound behind me, my face pressed against the freezing ground, the blood from my nose had coagulated beneath my cheek into a sticky mass, emitting a foul, metallic stench—unbearably unpleasant. Yet, I dared not move. The experience had been too horrific, even though I hadn't understood a single thing that transpired.

After an indeterminate time, faint rustling sounds began around me. I knew the others were finally letting down their guard and stirring.

Slowly, I pushed myself up, rubbing the clotted blood from my nose against my shoulder. The bleeding had stopped, but a faint dizziness lingered.

Little Beard relit a glow stick and waved it in front of us. His face was terrifyingly pale; the cold sweat on his short hair had frozen into ice shards, making him look like a corpse recently excavated from a glacier—utterly devoid of life. It was clear he had been profoundly shaken.

After igniting the light, he approached the nearest ancient corpse and peered into its gaping mouth for a moment. He then said in a raspy voice, "They’re gone. We can talk now."

Hearing him grant permission, I let out a breath I didn't realize I’d been holding and asked with lingering fear, "What in God’s name were those things..."

Little Beard gave me a cold look, offered no reply, signaled with his hand, and ordered, "Keep moving..."

Accustomed to his brusque manner, I managed a wry smile and followed the group forward.

As we proceeded, I began to observe the terrain. I noticed that the further we went, the fewer ancient corpses littered the ground, and the cavern walls seemed to draw closer.

The vast hall that had initially stretched beyond sight now revealed flanking walls; etched upon these walls, I seemed to discern countless minute holes.

This has to be a volcanic tube, I reasoned, because those tiny openings on the walls only form when molten rock cools.

The cavern walls gradually closed in until they framed a large opening before us, perhaps ten meters wide and five or six meters high.

Our group halted at the threshold. I noticed a flicker of hesitation on Little Beard’s face.

I knew what he was doubting, because gazing into the massive cavern ahead sent a shiver of dread down my own spine.

It was an irregular, semi-circular entrance. The walls were riddled with holes the size of human heads, and icicles hung menacingly from the ceiling, catching the glow stick’s light with a frigid gleam.

The depths of the cave were terrifyingly dark. Though there was no wind, faint, whispering moans drifted out, like someone weeping softly inside.

Near the entrance, leaning against the wall, were a few skeletal remains of Wei people. They were slender, perhaps women or children.

Unlike the imposing, warrior-like corpses outside, these figures were contorted in grotesque postures—some gnashing their teeth, others clutching their chests with wide mouths agape, their eyes vacant and lifeless, suggesting they had suffered extreme agony before death. It was chilling.

In this already oppressive subterranean world, witnessing such a scene made anyone believe this gaping hole was the very gateway to the Underworld.

The group exchanged glances, none speaking, but all of them clicked their bolt actions and raised their weapons.

At that moment, Little Beard tossed the glow stick he held into the cavern. An arc of light flashed past us, landing about seven or eight meters inside.

Everyone craned their necks to look. The light illuminated the side walls, revealing nothing but bare rock, though the passage seemed to narrow further in.

Little Beard observed the interior for a few moments, then raised his gun and directed it at me: "You... lead the way!" A wave of misery washed over me, but as a hostage, I understood my duty: if I didn't take the risk, who would? Fine, I’d play the role of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva for a while.

At least Little Beard wasn't sending me in after spotting a horde of walking corpses—this cave, while eerie, presented no immediate, tangible threat.

But I wasn't exactly a legendary obedient dog, doing whatever I was told. I turned back to Little Beard and asked, "Got any cigarettes? Need to steady my nerves."

Little Beard rolled his eyes but produced a Zhongnanhai from his pocket. Since my hands were still tied, he lit it for me.

I took the cigarette, inhaled deeply, feeling a surge of restored energy, and strode into the tunnel.

Little Beard pointed his gun at my back from behind, warning, "Don't walk so fast. Try any tricks, and I’ll shoot you dead right here."

I didn't answer. After a few steps, the beams of their wolf-eye flashlights illuminated my back as the group began sweeping the cavern.

I continued walking, taking in my surroundings.

Before me lay an expanse of seemingly endless blackness, flanked by unremarkable rock walls. The ice shards beneath my boots crunched with every step, their sound amplified by the cavern’s acoustics, creating an especially bizarre atmosphere.

The flashlights behind me stretched my shadow into an impossibly long silhouette that trailed off into the distant gloom.

I inhaled the cave’s unique, icy air; the pungent, earthy smell of frozen soil stung my nostrils, making me involuntarily turn my head to rub my nose against my shoulder.

When I turned back around, I was startled to see what appeared to be a standing figure deep within the cavern ahead.