Chapter 4: The Moss-Covered Ancient Cave

As they talked, Donkey Egg had already summoned the boat, and Panzi and the others were loading their belongings onto it.

Zhang Wuxun eyed the shabby flatboat and the dilapidated bamboo raft trailing behind it, clicking his tongue. "This boat looks far too rickety. With all of us on board, won’t it capsize?"

Master Wu heard this and turned to him. "Young brother, what should I call you?"

Zhang Wuxun smiled slightly. "Oh, my surname is Zhang. Just call me Wooden Fish. When I was a child, I was often ill, so I spent a few years as a novice monk in a temple. Everyone who knows me calls me Wooden Fish."

"I see." Master Wu readily accepted the name. "So, Wooden Fish, you’re headed that way too? Judging from the old man’s words, it might be dangerous over there. Aren’t you afraid?"

Zhang Wuxun hesitated, a troubled look crossing his face. He glanced at Panzi and the others on the boat, clearly capable men, and then bit his lip. "I still want to take a look. After all, we’ve come this far. Besides, those are just rural legends—probably stories adults invented to scare children. We must believe in science."

He nodded firmly after speaking.

Seeing this, Master Wu gave up persuading them, sighed, and boarded the boat.

Zhang Wuxun guessed he was probably thinking it’s hard to reason with damned ghosts; after all, a chance encounter is rare enough to receive a warning.

Raising an eyebrow, Zhang Wuxun hoisted his large backpack and, with a black ebony box strapped to his back, stepped onto the boat.

When he turned back, he was shocked to see the old man had even driven his ox cart onto the bamboo raft!

Zhang Wuxun’s face froze in disbelief as he stared at the perilous raft, silently retrieving his backpack. After all, it only contained two sets of clothes, some toiletries, and food; everything else was safely stored in his space.

Master Wu negotiated the price and kindly included Zhang Wuxun in the count.

The boatman pushed the bamboo pole, and the entire boat drifted away, moving at a leisurely pace along the stream.

A cool breeze blew, refreshing and invigorating, with breathtaking scenery all around.

Wu Xiaoxie took out his camera and began snapping photos wildly, while Zhang Wuxun pulled out binoculars to scan the distance. The two chattered away like a couple of naïve fools, as if they'd never seen the world before.

"Hey, Wu Xiaoxie, look! There’s a huge bird’s nest on that long protruding branch," Zhang Wuxun said, handing over the binoculars and pointing.

Wu Xiaoxie looked curiously through the binoculars. "You’re wrong. That’s not a bird’s nest—it’s a beehive."

"What?" Zhang Wuxun was dumbfounded. "Whose beehive is that huge? The ones I’ve seen are all in boxes, made of little panels."

"You don’t believe me? Here, now that we’re closer, look for yourself," Wu Xiaoxie replied.

Their arguing drew Master Wu’s attention. He too took out binoculars and squinted at the object for a few seconds before his expression changed drastically. He cursed and glared at the two. "Keep it down! That’s a wasp nest. The wasps inside are bigger than anywhere else. If we provoke them, we’re in serious trouble."

Instantly, Zhang Wuxun and Wu Xiaoxie went stone quiet, stiffening their necks and even holding their breath.

The boat drifted swiftly, taking a wide bend around the mountain and leaving the wasp nest far behind.

The boatman then warned, "Up ahead is a water tunnel. When passing through, please keep quiet, don’t look into the water, and absolutely don’t speak ill of the mountain god. Otherwise, not even the immortals can save us."

Zhang Wuxun knew the old man wasn’t trustworthy and found his superstitious talk somewhat amusing.

Master Wu gave a signal and said in Hangzhou dialect, "Just listen to him for now. Grab your weapons and stay alert."

Everyone subtly reached for their knife handles. Panzi moved from his previous spot to stand near Wu Xiaoxie and whispered something in Hangzhou dialect that Zhang Wuxun couldn’t catch clearly.

Out of the corner of his eye, Zhang Wuxun saw Panzi slip something into Wu Xiaoxie’s hand.

Wu Xiaoxie glanced at Zhang Wuxun with a troubled expression, then spoke a few words to Panzi in return.

Zhang Wuxun guessed Panzi was telling Wu Xiaoxie to look out for himself if danger arose and not to worry about Zhang, a mere stranger. But Wu Xiaoxie, still naive and kindhearted, naturally disagreed—after all, a life is a life.

Zhang Wuxun clicked his tongue and silently sent a command to his system: [Stop sleeping. Get up and conjure some things for me.]

[Host, what do you need?]

[Do you know those octagonal boomerangs I used before? Make a bunch and store them in the space. We might need them soon.]

[Understood.]

The system responded briefly and then fell silent.

But inside the space, a pile of silver throwing stars and a pair of mechanical wrist-launchers appeared.

Zhang Wuxun smiled faintly. [Thanks.]

With barely a twitch of his finger, an octagonal silver star the size of a flattened beer bottle cap appeared in the palm of his hand.

He twirled it on his fingertip before retracting it.

Then he took out the wrist-launchers and fastened them onto his right wrist behind his back.

After another bend, the boat approached a mountain cave.

Calling it a cave was generous; it was more like a large hollow just about ten centimeters wider than the boat, forcing people to crouch to avoid hitting their heads.

If ambushed suddenly, there’d be nowhere to hide.

Master Wu cursed, "Turn on your mining lamps once we’re inside."

Panzi responded promptly.

The boatman crouched by the edge, using a short oar to carefully paddle forward.

The cave’s entrance still let in some light, but inside it was pitch-black—so dark that one couldn’t see their own hand. The eerie green glow on the cave walls made it all the more unsettling.

Zhang Wuxun noticed sweat beading on Wu Xiaoxie’s temple, and his grip tightened. He glanced casually and realized the item Panzi had given Wu Xiaoxie was a gun.

Though it probably wouldn’t be much use—if things got ugly, that thing wouldn’t save their faces.

Zhang Wuxun rubbed his chin; this was probably Wu Xiaoxie’s first time entering a tomb, so his nervousness was understandable.

Da Kui looked up at the dense green moss on the cave ceiling, his voice tense. "Master Wu… this looks like a looting tunnel."

Master Wu touched the moss and frowned. "It really is a looting tunnel. Looks pretty old."

Hearing this, the boatman started mumbling softly. "This mountain used to be called Five Tomb Ridge. Years ago, people said there was an ancient tomb up here. You folks are actually here looking for that tomb, right? Well, you’ve got your work cut out for you."