Ghost City: The Northern Slope — Chapter Six: Epilogue

After a moment, the man in black cautiously tested the tomb’s mechanism again. Once he was certain all was well, he waved his hand. Then, stepping ahead of the others, he crossed the threshold of the tomb chamber. Just as he was about to place his second foot inside, my brother-in-law quickly approached San Shi’s side and peeked into the tomb.

At the center of the chamber, the circular water reservoir began to bubble gently, gradually revealing a blood-red qilin carved from magnetite. The man in black swiftly flipped over and landed behind me.

Once the situation was assessed, my brother-in-law waved his hand to signal all was normal. He then prepared to lead San Shi, Haiyang, Kaizi, and the others inside. But before they could proceed, the man in black moved ahead to the tomb’s entrance.

Raising his hand, he fired a shot. About half a minute later, echoes of bullets striking stone resounded. Oddly, no bullet casings fell to the ground. The man in black then retrieved several intricately carved iron beads from his pack and hurled them toward the blood qilin.

With a sharp “clang,” the beads seemed magnetically drawn together, their clear echoes circling in everyone’s ears. When the sound ceased, the man said, “Something’s wrong.”

Old Zhang whispered, “What’s wrong?”

Han Xin tugged at Old Zhang’s pocket, signaling him to be quiet.

Then my brother-in-law recounted the events and his doubts to us. Everyone nodded in agreement.

Haiyang asked, “Master Feng, do you really think we’re stuck here now?”

My brother-in-law shot him a sharp glance but said nothing, instead turning away to quietly smoke a cigarette.

San Shi said, “What’s there to be afraid of? Scared to death? If you’re scared, just go back now!”

Haiyang choked on the retort and dared not speak further.

Stretching lazily, San Shi asked the man in black what the next step was.

He remained standing at the tomb entrance, shaking his head silently.

He glanced back at my brother-in-law, and the group’s focus shifted from the man in black to him.

My brother-in-law said, “No way out. Maybe we’re all done for here…”

The man in black stood silently. No one spoke. The atmosphere grew heavy, oppressive in an unexplainable way.

Then my brother-in-law took out the star compass. His temper flared instantly.

With a sharp “crack,” he slammed it hard onto the floor outside the tomb. The compass shattered into pieces. He fixed a fierce glare on the blood qilin as if it were a hated enemy with a deep grudge, his eyes dim and somber.

San Shi asked in confusion, “Master Feng, what do you mean?”

The man in black made a gesture to keep silent. San Shi stopped asking.

The man in black approached my brother-in-law’s side and whispered, “We…”

Before he could finish, my brother-in-law nodded firmly, saying, “Yes, exactly that.”

He exchanged knowing looks with the man in black, who nodded in return.

I sensed they had uncovered something. Just as I was about to inquire, Old Zhang grabbed my arm, whispering, “Master Feng means to see if there’s still a way to fix this.”

My brother-in-law’s words stirred a wave of astonishment.

He ground his teeth, “Damn it, I didn’t expect we’d been outwitted again. This isn’t a double dragon formation at all, it’s a double death trap. The tomb was too meticulously arranged for us to notice at first, but by the time we got here, we were already caught.”

Haiyang, perplexed, asked, “Brother San Shi, how did this happen? Didn’t we follow the compass? How did we fall into the trap?”

San Shi cursed, “Didn’t you see that blood qilin made of magnetite? Such a massive magnet—your damn compass lost its function long ago.”

He shot Haiyang a glare, then turned away, saying no more.

Haiyang stammered, “I…I…I didn’t know…” but never finished.

The man in black’s expression fluctuated wildly—ashen one moment, normal the next. After a pause, he spoke only a few words before sitting on the threshold deep in thought.

He said, “Destroy the blood qilin.”

Everyone fixed their gaze on the blood qilin.

The man in black stood and entered the tomb, signaling all was safe.

Then, under his guidance, the group followed inside. Holding a torch, the man in black scanned the chamber. The light was weak, so the others lit fixed sources of fire.

In an instant, the tomb brightened. As they debated how to handle the magnetite blood qilin interfering with their judgment, Old Zhang’s Luoyang shovel “clang”ed, magnetically stuck to the qilin’s beastly body. He yanked hard, but as he released, it snapped back.

Everyone gasped. Old Zhang cursed, “Damn, this place is truly cursed! No wonder we misjudged!”

San Shi, unable to contain his frustration, said, “Obviously! If not for this blasted rock, we wouldn’t be stuck in this godforsaken place.”

Old Zhang’s face darkened, his mouth slightly open. He muttered, “What did I ever do to deserve this?”

My brother-in-law scolded, “Will you shut up for a moment? Can’t you be quiet?”

Even my brother-in-law’s outburst silenced San Shi, who slumped onto his backpack, brooding.

Haiyang looked at the group and asked, “Why don’t we just use fire?”

“Right! Why not use fire?” everyone chimed in.

Their sudden suggestion caught everyone off guard. They opened their packs and produced high-concentration fuel.

They poured it beneath the blood qilin. Under the direction of my brother-in-law and the man in black, they tossed lit firesticks into the fuel. As the flames grew, the group stepped back. The rising heat caused the magnetite qilin to creak and crackle.

The man in black shouted, “Bad!” Everyone scrambled back to their hiding spot outside the tomb, peeking cautiously inside.

His extraordinary vision caught a plume of black smoke rising from the shattered magnetite. He urged, “Quick, retrace your steps, don’t look back!”

Before anyone could react, he slammed the tomb door shut, drew the ancient black-gold blade from his back, glanced at everyone, and shouted, “Follow me—I’ll cover the rear!”

We sprinted to the original tunnel, glancing back to find the man in black had vanished. Helpless, we hurried toward the exit, running so long we lost sight of the serpent gate.

Suddenly, the tomb echoed with a rustling sound like crawling reptiles.

Everyone was tense and barely noticed the movement beside them until my brother-in-law and the others halted. I exhaled deeply and approached him.

He asked, “Why stop running?”

Before he finished, the eerie noise intensified.

Old Zhang urged everyone to flee. After an unknown distance, we reached a corridor corner. San Shi was first to notice and shouted, “Damn, Master Feng, there’s no way out ahead!”

Old Zhang and I exchanged stunned looks.

As we stood frozen, a blood turtle fell from above. San Shi quickly grabbed it from my cap, shone a waterproof flashlight on it, and tossed it aside, muttering, “What the hell is this?”

Shining their lights, the group froze in disbelief as more blood turtles fell like a crimson tide. Preparing to retreat, my brother-in-law called out loudly, “Nephew, come back and light a torch! Blood turtles fear fire!”

At his command, everyone ignited firesticks, illuminating the surroundings.

Countless blood turtles stirred and began encircling us, a dense mass covering the ground.

A fire source flared opposite. Helpless, we dashed toward it, leaving my brother-in-law and others behind. He scolded me as I caught up, “Where the hell did you run off to? Han Xin’s injured.”

He helped Haiyang support Han Xin against a wall, offering her water from the pack. She drank, then sighed deeply.

The blood turtles crept closer, but the fire forced some back, though others advanced undeterred, a relentless red wave.

Just when all seemed lost, the man in black leapt down. Instantly, the blood turtles fled madly from our position.

He then lit a fixed flame, brightening the chamber. “We might be caught in a ghostly maze!” he warned.

My brother-in-law rose excitedly, walked over, and said, “Brother, you mean…”

Before he finished, the man in black gestured for silence, then pointed to the tomb ceiling outside the tunnel.

We looked up to see a ghostly weeping infant hanging upside down like a bat, eyes wide open, staring intently at us. Its hollow eye sockets emitted a faint blue glow.

The creature’s face was rugged and grotesquely large, occasionally dripping venom.

San Shi exclaimed, “What the hell is that thing?”

“Can you keep your voice down? Don’t make a sound!” my brother-in-law hissed.

The man in black raised his gun and fired. Old Zhang gasped, “Wait, don’t…”

Before he finished, the bullet ricocheted back inexplicably, the casing falling to the ground.

A ghostly, sinister laugh echoed.

Everyone shivered. My brother-in-law gestured for the group to retreat.

As we stepped back, San Shi whispered, “Why is there no way out?”

The words caused everyone to look behind, exchanging bewildered glances.

My brother-in-law asked the man in black, “What do we do now?”

He turned and said simply, “Kill the ghost.”

Everyone froze, clutching their weapons tightly.

A whimpering sound came as the eerie infant descended the wall, hanging upside down at the tunnel entrance, its head twisted to face us.

In an instant, it whipped its head around, glaring fiercely. The man in black, expressionless, fired a shot. To everyone’s astonishment, the bullet struck the creature with no bloodshed, instead emitting a piercing, bell-like shriek.

We threw lit firesticks at it, but they passed right through its body.

The group gasped in disbelief.

My brother-in-law lowered his gun and said, “Big brother ghost baby, we mean no offense. Please forgive us.”

Seeing this, we followed suit.

The creature seemed to understand and leapt down, standing still with a half-smile, nodding at us.

But at the critical moment, the man in black fired again. The creature startled and turned its head.

Just as he readied a second shot, the ghostly infant emitted gray smoke.

The man in black threw an intricately carved iron bead toward its retreating form. Seconds later, a thud echoed as something fell.

The group pursued until a dead end, then stopped, guns raised, firing fiercely. The creature was left battered and bleeding.

The man in black said, “Once it’s dead, we can find the exit.”

He tossed his empty magazine aside, drew his black-gold blade, and led the way.

Gradually, we returned to the original escape tomb. The creature staggered, stumbling into the chamber.

As it tried to flee into the central reservoir, the man in black hurled his blade, impaling its heart.

The creature writhed grotesquely, showing no sign of dying. Before we could approach the reservoir, the man in black stepped forward.

As it prepared to spit venom, he fired a shot at its brow. The creature ceased moving, its eyes closing, breath fading.

My brother-in-law asked, “Is it dead?”

The man in black withdrew his blade, nodded, and said, “Yes. The exit is behind it.”

Then, the group emerged from the northern slope of the ghost city.