Uncle Qi didn't even turn his head; he just waved his hand, as if to shoo us away.
Having come this far, I no longer hesitated and took the lead in squeezing into the narrow tunnel entrance.
Li Huai and Luo Tianhe followed closely behind.
We hadn't walked far when I broke off two pieces of the pancake and handed them to Luo Tianhe and Li Huai, saying with a smile:
"Eat quickly, you keep staring at my back, it makes me feel very insecure."
I just tried this pancake, and it was actually just so-so.
It has a rough texture and is a bit harsh on the throat.
But for us who haven't eaten in a long time, it's practically a delicacy.
Li Huai and Luo Tianhe both showed joy as they accepted the cakes.
They never imagined that one day they would be so excited about a piece of coarse grain bread.
"Damn it, I wonder if there are any animals in the graveyard. If I could catch a wild rabbit or pheasant and roast it, that would taste amazing..."
Li Huai smacked his lips, already starting to daydream.
I glanced at him, but didn't say anything to criticize him.
There are no animals in normal places in this village, so how could there be pheasants and rabbits in the graveyard? You're dreaming!
However, there will definitely be a lot of wandering ghosts and spirits at that time.
The tunnel was initially quite spacious, enough for the three of us to stand and walk around.
But the further we went, the narrower it became. We went from walking upright to walking with our backs bent, and now we are crawling forward.
The cold soil rubbed against our exposed skin, making us feel a chilling sensation.
Moreover, the soil from Blackwater Village was all normal; it reeked of a strong, bloody stench, making me feel as if I wasn't walking through a cave, but crawling through someone's veins.
The three of us gradually fell silent, the only sounds we heard were our own heavy breathing, the rustling of our clothes, and the pounding of our hearts.
After climbing for a long time, Li Huai finally couldn't hold back any longer.
"Yan, Brother Yan, how much further?"
His voice trembled slightly.
I know that when he asked me, he wasn't actually expecting me to give him an answer.
After all, he knew that this was my first time going down into the tunnel.
He just wanted to find a topic to talk about so the atmosphere wouldn't be too awkward.
"It should be soon. Just keep crawling forward. Uncle Qi wouldn't lie to us."
I tried my best to make my voice sound calm, hoping to calm Li Huai down.
But actually, I wasn't sure either.
This tunnel hadn't been used for a long time. In some places, the soil and rocks were loose, and there were occasional small collapses that we had to pry open by hand, so much so that our fingernails were covered with mud.
I climbed for an unknown amount of time, maybe an hour, maybe two hours, and my palms and knees were aching from the scuffing.
Suddenly, my outstretched left hand touched something cold and hard. By touch, I knew it was a bone.
I instinctively felt a chill and quickly withdrew my hand.
"What's wrong?"
Luo Tianhe was right behind me. He noticed my movements and asked me with some suspicion.
I hesitated for a moment, but ultimately chose to tell the truth. I didn't want to aggravate their fear, but I also didn't want to lie to them. Hiding information at this moment would undoubtedly be fatal.
"Just now, I touched a bone, it must be the bone of some animal."
At this point, I couldn't help but lie. Actually, I could tell from the touch that the bones were human bones.
Li Huai and Luo Tianhe didn't say much, it's unclear whether they noticed anything.
After moving forward a while, a very faint hissing sound, as if coming from close to the ground, suddenly entered our ears intermittently.
The sound was definitely not the wind; it was more like something whispering, or like the sound of air leaking out.
We stopped immediately, not daring to make a sound, holding our breath and listening carefully, but the sound disappeared again.
"You guys, did you hear anything just now?"
Li Huai's voice was clearly flustered.
"Don't scare yourself. It might just be the sound of the wind, or a snake might be crawling over there. If there is a snake, that would be even better. If I catch it, I'll make you snake soup."
Luo Tianhe offered a soft word of comfort, but his breathing became noticeably rapid, not as calm as he claimed.
I frowned; it definitely wasn't a snake that had crawled across.
But I didn't expose him. Instead, I secretly took out a five-emperor coin from my pocket and held it in my palm.
We continued onward, the hissing sound appearing and disappearing intermittently, like maggots clinging to our bones.
Our mindset also changed from initial fear to eventual numbness.
Suddenly, Li Huai cried out in alarm, his voice filled with fear:
"Just now, something touched my foot!"
Luo Tianhe and I stopped immediately, and in the darkness we could both feel Li Huai's body tense up instantly.
What touched it?
I asked in a deep voice.
"I don't know, it was cool, like a human finger. But it only touched me once, and now it's gone."
Li Huai's voice was choked with sobs, as if he had been terrified.
Luo Tianhe and I exchanged a glance in the darkness.
Li Huai followed at the very back, along the same path we had all taken, and the place was so narrow that it was impossible to hide anyone.
So what exactly touched him?
Or is it just his imagination?
I took a deep breath to suppress the chill in my heart.
"I just felt that bone, and it's human bone. We should be near the mass grave by now. Li Huai, that might just be your imagination. Hang in there, don't panic, we'll be out of here soon!"
Hearing me say that, Li Huai calmed down a bit.
After this little incident, we sped up our crawling. Li Huai was clearly terrified and stayed close behind me, afraid of being left behind.
We climbed for an unknown amount of time, and just when we felt physically exhausted and on the verge of mental collapse, light finally appeared ahead.
"We're about to get out! There's light ahead!"
I perked up and couldn't help but whisper.
Li Huai and Luo Tianhe also showed joy on their faces at the same time.
In this oppressive tunnel, even the slightest sound or rustling could put us on edge.
Under such high pressure, we can't hold on for much longer.
Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, a miraculous surge of strength welled up in our exhausted limbs and bones.
We struggled to climb toward the light, and our speed increased considerably in a short time.
We soon arrived near the exit, which was covered by dense withered grass and vines. I carefully pushed aside the obstacles and immediately felt the temperature drop sharply.
But I didn't care about that. I climbed out of the tunnel and looked around. I found myself in a desolate graveyard.
Taking a deep breath of the cold air, I felt a sense of familiarity with the mass grave for the first time.
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