Chapter 118 Cave
Above the wellhead, every breath seemed as long as a century.
The veins on Xue Minglan's forehead bulged out, and the tendons on the back of his hands were twisted and tangled as he tightly grasped the rope that connected their lives.
His gaze was fixed on the wellhead that was so deep that it seemed to swallow everything.
Guyu had already turned pale, with his hands tightly covering his mouth, not even daring to cry out loud, for fear that the slightest movement would disturb Chenhe in the well.
Time passes by bit by bit.
The darkness in the well is as thick as ink.
Chen He only felt a cold and damp air, mixed with the fishy smell of decay and earth, rushing into her mouth and nose.
The light from the hexagonal lantern in his hand was compressed to the extreme, and could only illuminate an area less than three feet around him.
The walls of the well were covered with slippery moss and occasional rough stone protrusions.
She held the lantern in one hand and carefully supported the wall of the well with the other, trying her best to control her body balance and reduce the burden on Xue Minglan.
The rope stretched straight in the darkness.
“Squeak—”
“Squeak—”
That was the sound of the rope rubbing against the edge of the well, which was particularly harsh in the dead silence and darkness.
"Miss……"
Guyu couldn't hold it in any longer and let out an almost inaudible whimper.
Xue Minglan suddenly tilted his head and glanced at her with his scarlet eyes. The look in his eyes was so cold that it seemed as if he wanted to kill someone.
Guyu was so frightened that he shuddered and swallowed back the rest of his words.
Chen He's toes finally touched solid ground.
"arrive."
Her voice was a little muffled, coming from the bottom of the well, with a hint of empty echo.
Xue Minglan's tense body relaxed for a moment almost imperceptibly.
"how?"
He tried his best to make his voice sound steady, but the hoarse ending still revealed the anxiety in his heart.
Chen He raised the palace lantern and looked around cautiously.
The bottom of the well is not big, about ten feet square.
Underfoot was slippery mud, mixed with some gravel and rotten leaves.
But the wall of the well facing her was different.
There, there was a hole half a person's height!
It was pitch black, like the gaping bloody mouth of a giant beast, inviting people to go deeper.
“There really is a hole!”
There was a barely perceptible hint of excitement in Chen He's voice.
"What hole?!"
Xue Minglan's voice suddenly rose. "Did you see clearly? What's going on inside?"
"It's a passage, I don't know where it leads to." Chen He replied, "The entrance is not high and a bit narrow."
She brought the palace lantern close to the cave entrance, trying to see what was going on inside.
An even colder, damper smell with a strong musty odor blew towards her from the cave, making her almost nauseous.
The light from the palace lanterns could not penetrate the darkness inside the cave.
"Don't move!" Xue Minglan's voice carried an unyielding command, "Stand still and wait for me to come down!"
Shen He frowned slightly.
"The well is too narrow, and you're tall, so it might be difficult to get down."
"Besides, if there's some kind of trap in this cave, two people would be too big a target."
"Stop talking nonsense!" Xue Minglan's voice was already filled with anger, "Chen He, do you dare to go in alone?!"
This woman is really challenging his bottom line all the time!
Shen He was silent for a moment.
"Xue Minglan, pull me up a little."
Her voice returned to its usual coldness.
"What are you doing?" Xue Minglan asked warily.
"The entrance to this cave is a bit low. I need to adjust the position."
Xue Minglan was skeptical, but still did as he was told and slowly tightened the rope upwards.
Chen He's body was pulled up slightly, allowing her to observe the hole more clearly.
At this moment, something strange happened!
There was only a slight "click" sound coming from deep inside the cave.
Immediately afterwards, a fishy and sweet smell, mixed with some disgusting stench, suddenly gushed out from the cave!
"careful!"
Shen He only had time to let out a short cry of surprise.
Xue Minglan's face at the wellhead suddenly changed!
"Chen He!" He shouted loudly, and exerted force with his wrist, trying to pull her up!
***
The sweet and rotten smell, like a sharp arrow condensed into substance, pierced Chen He's nostrils fiercely!
Almost at the same time, a black shadow shot out from the cave with a sharp sound of breaking through the air!
"puff!"
What?!
Chen He's pupils suddenly shrank, and he felt a strong wind blowing in his face!
She subconsciously tilted her head!
“Sizzle—”
A stinging burning sensation brushed across her cheek!
If she hadn't reacted quickly enough, it would have been her eyes that would have been pierced!
"ah!"
Above the wellhead, Guyu let out a scream that was suppressed to the extreme, her body went limp, and she almost collapsed to the ground!
"Shut up!"
Xue Minglan shouted loudly, the muscles on his arms bulged, the blue veins coiled like a ferocious dragon, and he suddenly exerted force upwards!
The rope was instantly straightened, making a creaking sound as it couldn't bear the weight!
"Chen He! Hold on tight!"
His voice was hoarse from the extreme effort, filled with unmistakable shock, anger and fear.
In the well, Shen He felt a huge force coming, and the whole person was suddenly pulled upwards!
Her back hit the rough and slippery wall of the well hard, and she gasped in pain.
But she couldn't care less about that at the moment!
The hexagonal lantern in her hand shook violently, and the light and shadow swayed, barely illuminating the direction where the black shadow had just attacked.
Nothing!
The entrance to the cave was still dark, as if nothing had happened.
But the disgusting stench in the air became even stronger!
“Cough cough… cough…”
Chen He was choked by the smell and started coughing violently, and his vision went dark.
"What is that?!"
Xue Minglan's voice came from above, asking anxiously.
"I don't know... it's too fast... like a... whip?"
Chen He endured the stinging pain on his cheek, his voice a little unsteady.
Just now, she only caught a glimpse of a slender black shadow, as fast as lightning.
"Whip?!" Xue Minglan's voice was filled with surprise and doubt, "Did you see it clearly?!"
"I didn't see it clearly... but... it was very fast and very detailed..."
Chen He tried hard to recall the scene at that moment, and was still frightened.
That thing carried a cold murderous intent.
“Damn it!”
Xue Minglan cursed and increased the strength in his hands.
"You come up first! Quick!"
This damn place is so weird!
But at this moment, Shen He suddenly shouted: "Wait!"
"What are you waiting for! Do you want to die down there?!"
Xue Minglan almost roared, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead and dripping onto the moss at the edge of the well.
Is this woman crazy?!
"Xue Minglan, listen to me!" Chen He's voice was a little hurried, but extremely firm. "That thing... came out of the cave!"
Nonsense! Of course he knows!
"If it can attack once, it can attack a second time!" Chen He said quickly, "If you pull me up, it will be a bigger target! We have to know what's inside!"
"Chen He! Are you trying to kill yourself?!" Xue Minglan was so angry that his eyes were about to burst. "Get up here! Now! Right now!"
"If I go up there, my trip today will be in vain!" Chen He looked up. Although he couldn't see Xue Minglan's face clearly, he could imagine his fury at the moment. "This cave must contain secrets of Shan Zhuyu and Shen Jiao! Even... Xiao Jingren's!"
When she mentioned her enemy, her voice suddenly turned cold.
"It's not your turn to die alone!" Xue Minglan roared, "I'm going down! You wait up there!"
"It's even more dangerous if you come down!" Chen He flatly refused. "The wellhead is so small, and there are two of us down there. If anything goes wrong, no one can escape!"
Xue Minglan suddenly closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, there was only cold determination in his eyes.
"You can see it if you want."
His voice was as cold as if it had been pulled out of an ice cellar.
"But I warn you, Chen He, I'll only give you one stick of incense!"
"If you don't give me a signal after one stick of incense, or if I sense anything wrong, I will immediately pull you up, whether you like it or not!"
"Also, you must tell me what you saw and heard. Don't leak a single word!"
The corners of Chen He's mouth curled up slightly.
"good."
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