Chapter 46: The guy just disappeared like that?
"Gone?"
Everyone turned around and rushed to the back of the group. Yin Chuan was the first to ask, "Weren't you three walking together at the back? How did you disappear in the blink of an eye?"
"Tell me quickly, what's going on?" Fan Zheng asked.
Yuan Lao Er shook his head. "I don't know either. Originally, after we came up this road from below, I wanted to take care of him, but he said he didn't need my care and could catch up on his own. I thought he didn't want to hold me back, and walking wasn't that strenuous anymore, so I left him alone. Just before turning the corner, I heard footsteps behind me, but it seems I didn't hear them after turning the corner. At first, I didn't pay much attention, thinking he would catch up soon. But when we got here, I realized that the sound from behind hadn't appeared again. When I turned back to look for him, I found that there was nothing in the pitch-black cave behind me. It was as if Tan Zhuozi had disappeared into thin air."
Everyone sighed. Luo Mei pondered for a moment and said to everyone, "Let's stay here for a while. I'll go back and take a look." With that, he prepared to go back.
At this time, Du Yunzhang pulled her back and said, "I'll go with you."
Luo Mei hesitated for a moment and said, "Okay, follow me and don't go too far."
The two of them returned less than two minutes after walking back and forth, and it was obvious that they had gained nothing.
"Didn't you find the person?" Yin Chuan asked.
Du Yunzhang sighed, "We went back to where we turned, but we couldn't find any trace. It was as if the person had truly disappeared into thin air."
"What about the footprints on the ground?" Yin Chuan asked. He knew that the footprints of the last person in the team would not be covered, so traces like footprints were very important.
"I looked at the ground specifically," Luo Mei replied. "The footprints of the last person in the team were small at the bend, but they became larger after the turn. It's obvious that Tan Zhuozi disappeared at the bend, and the last person's footprints became Yuan Laoer's."
"Can we tell where someone disappeared just by looking at the changes in their footprints?" Yin Chuan pondered, his chin in his hand. "Perhaps for some reason, he was able to follow without leaving any footprints?"
"But why would he do this? It doesn't make sense." Linlang asked in confusion.
"Maybe he didn't care, and this might be a sign of someone going missing!"
As soon as Yin Chuan said this, everyone couldn't help but feel a little horrified.
"Are you implying that there is some indescribable existence in this tomb passage?" Master Lan's face suddenly changed. It was obvious that he believed in gods and ghosts.
"Master, I'm scared!" The fifth concubine was so scared that she hugged Master Lan's arm and trembled all over.
"Don't be afraid, Xiaowu. I'm here with you, so don't be afraid!"
This scene made Yin Chuan feel both nauseous and amusing. "I didn't say there were any gods or ghosts. Let's not scare ourselves. I just think something is a little strange."
"Okay! Since it has come to this, we can only keep moving forward. Everyone, be careful and pay attention to the traps and ambushes around you. Look out for each other and tell us if anything happens." After Luo Mei finished explaining to everyone, he returned to the front of the team and continued to explore and move forward.
This time, because the team still couldn't avoid casualties, the atmosphere was more depressing than before. There was not even a whisper, only dull breathing and messy and fragmented footsteps.
After walking for another ten minutes, the tunnel ahead turned right again. Luo Mei hesitated for a moment, then carefully probed around the corner with his Luoyang shovel. Finding nothing unusual, he waved behind him and continued on his way, following the right turn. Everyone else walked over one by one. When they reached Yin Chuan, he glanced back. There didn't seem to be any new incidents behind the group, and no inexplicable noises had appeared. He felt a little relieved.
"Be careful! There are flying insects ahead!" Du Yunzhang, who was following closely beside her, pointed sharply toward the depths of the dimly lit tunnel ahead. Sure enough, two or three flying insects were slowly circling in the air. Luo Mei shone her flashlight to identify them, and they were indeed the extremely dangerous Tu Chi they had encountered earlier.
"Everyone be careful! It's Tu Chi again!" Luo Mei reminded the people behind him.
Everyone immediately became nervous and pulled out their insect repellents: coats, handkerchiefs, bags. Master Lan even covered his head with his sleeve, fearing a tuchi would bite his nose. He looked quite comical.
The Tu Chi swarmed slowly towards the group. Luo Mei breathed a sigh of relief. "Du Yunzhang, help me knock these bugs down."
Du Yunzhang was also aware of the severity of this insect, and hurriedly joined Luo Mei in swatting it. Luo Mei had brought a piece of coarse cloth as a tool, and Du Yunzhang had no choice but to take off his outer shirt to swat it. Unexpectedly, this earthworm was extremely agile, and Du Yunzhang swatted it several times, but failed to catch it. As a result, not only was the flying insect not eliminated, but it also found the right moment to sneak into the center of the team. Yin Chuan and Linlang panicked and their swats were in vain. The insect actually flew straight towards Master Lan. At this moment, Master Lan was terrified and at a loss as to what to do. Suddenly, the insect turned around him and swooped down on the fourth concubine behind him.
"Ah! Don't come over!" The fourth concubine exclaimed, but she didn't dodge or evade, but covered her arms tightly.
The flying insect didn't seem to be darting around like before, but was moving in a straight line towards the Fourth Wife. This gave the others an opportunity. Yin Chuan swung his handkerchief violently, swatting the earthworm down. After flinging it to the ground, Du Yunzhang stepped forward and stomped on it several times, crushing it to pieces. The crisis was finally resolved.
"How come this insect was so agile just now, and no one could catch it no matter how hard they tried, but suddenly it rushed forward like an idiot?" Linlang asked in surprise.
"Who knows? Maybe it's just a bug, and it was stunned by the crowd of us attacking it left and right?" Du Yunzhang explained reluctantly.
However, Yin Chuan had formed his own conclusion. It seemed that the insect's transformation might have been caused by something in the Fourth Concubine's arms. But what was that thing? Why had she been so cautious and careful with it from the beginning to the end? It was almost neurotic.
"I guess these Tu Chi are just a few scattered ones that have escaped from the swarm," Fan Zheng said, "but there's no guarantee that there aren't larger Tu Chi swarms nearby. We'd better move on as quickly as possible."
Everyone was silent, intent on hurrying on and leaving this dangerous place. But before they had gone far, Master Lan suddenly exclaimed, "Ah! Why is there another person missing?"
The people at the front of the team heard it clearly. Luo Mei turned around and asked, "What happened?"
"We...there are only eight people left in our team! What's going on?"
Du Yunzhang was a little impatient, "Who's gone again?"
"It's that one-armed Yuan Lao Er!" Master Lan replied. "Director Fan, you're in front of him, don't you feel anything at all?"
Everyone in the front of the team looked back and saw that Fan Zheng's face was gloomy, as if he was frightened and unable to speak. He did not respond to Master Lan's questions.
Yin Chuan looked to the back of the team and found that there was no one behind Fan Zheng. Yuan Laoer, who had been following him, had disappeared just like Tan Zhuozi before.
"Director Fan? Director Fan? Don't you have anything to say?" Yin Chuan asked as he got closer.
"No...there's nothing to say. Let's...keep moving forward." Fan Zheng pretended to be calm and answered tremblingly.
Luo Mei squinted her eyes and stared at Fan Zheng for a long time, as if pondering something. "Now that two of your men are gone, aren't you going to be more cautious?" she asked sharply.
Fan Zheng didn't answer or look up, but just hummed and said, "I'll take care of it myself. No need for others to worry about it."
"Aren't you planning to go back and look for someone?" Linlang asked.
"Everyone has seen it before. We estimate that if we go back to look for them, we will probably return empty-handed. Everyone is on high alert now. We are almost there. You don't want any more accidents to happen, right?" Luo Mei said.
After a moment of silence, Master Lan urged, "Come on, come on. Those two guys can only blame their bad luck, not anyone else. Third Wife, you continue to lead the way. Let's all wish each other good luck and hope that God will bless us and prevent any more misfortune from befalling us."
"No, no." Yin Chuan shook his head, "We can't just let it go like this. You guys wait here, I'll go back and investigate what's going on."
Luo Mei was a little puzzled. "Why bother? It's not like you didn't investigate Tan Zhuozi's disappearance. What did you find out?"
Yin Chuan ignored her and turned back to the direction of the tunnel he came from, turning on the light. Seeing Luo Mei's indifference, Linlang felt a little worried, so she followed Yin Chuan and walked with him.
Luo Mei had no choice but to heave a long sigh and wait patiently. Master Lan, however, didn't know how to behave and kept urging Luo Mei to move forward and not to bother with Yin Chuan and Lin Lang. Luo Mei growled in anger, "Shut up! You're so annoying! If you keep making trouble, I'll leave you here alone!" Master Lan was so frightened that he dared not utter a word.
"I say," Du Yunzhang quickly approached Luo Mei, who was intent on moving forward, and whispered, "Have you always treated your master like this since you married into the Lan Mansion? I actually feel a little sympathetic towards him."
Luo Mei didn't react at all, and simply replied calmly, "I've always been like this, you know that. He married me as his concubine for his own reasons. We each get what we need, so why should I ask for your sympathy?"
"Alas, we've been apart for so many years. I thought you could change your bad temper by marrying into a wealthy family like this, but who would have thought..."
Luo Mei turned around and glared at Du Yunzhang, then continued walking forward while muttering, "You don't really think I'm going to spend the rest of my life with this incomplete person, do you?"
Du Yunzhang thought so too. With Luo Mei's competitive nature, how could she bear such a humiliating life as marrying a eunuch of the former Qing Dynasty?
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