I had always known that Fu Honglang’s sense of smell was acute, but I hadn’t expected it to be so remarkably so.
Soon, he caught Jiang Lingxi’s scent. He bypassed the massive statue and found a very small room behind it.
From its exterior, the small room resembled a village earth god shrine. It was only about two meters tall and roughly three meters wide. Inside, there was an altar, upon which sat a suit of samurai armor and a samurai sword.
Yang Hanxue suggested that this was likely a shrine for the small倭寇 (Wōkòu - Japanese pirates).
I wasn’t particularly interested in these artifacts of the small倭寇; my only desire was to find Jiang Lingxi quickly. So, I hurried over to investigate.
As it turned out, there was indeed someone behind the altar!
Jiang Lingxi was curled up behind it, completely unconscious. I quickly called for Fatty to come help me carry her out.
Once she was out, we discovered she was still breathing.
Song Bing came over to examine her and said, “She’s likely fainted from excessive fright, combined with a prolonged lack of food, which caused her nerves to become overly taut.”
I immediately asked Fatty to get the water flask and gently fed some water into Jiang Lingxi’s mouth.
Soon, her lips began to move slightly, and she sipped the water bit by bit.
Seeing this, the worry in my heart finally subsided.
Her lips were very dry, almost cracked, and her hands were extremely cold. She was clutching a pocket watch tightly in both hands.
Looking at her in this state, my heart ached.
I thought to myself, this young girl had been in this accursed place for so long. If I hadn't insisted on coming down to find her, what would have become of her…
“Brother Xiang, perhaps we should head out first? I’m quite uncomfortable staying in this cursed place,” Fatty said, glancing around the surroundings.
I nodded, told him to put Jiang Lingxi on my back, and then the rest of us proceeded out to the warehouse.
“Now that we’ve found her, everyone can rest for a bit before we retrace our steps,” Yang Hanxue stated.
Everyone nodded. Fu Honglang even came over to offer me some words of comfort.
I was extremely grateful for their help in finding the girl and expressed my sincere gratitude.
“Brother Xiang, you speak as if we are strangers,” Fu Honglang replied. “We are all good friends. What’s there to fuss about helping each other? Perhaps we’ll need Brother Xiang’s help with something in the future.”
I chuckled, “If you brothers need my help in the future, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
The atmosphere quickly became relaxed, and the tension in my nerves finally eased.
I wasn’t disappointed by the failure to find the treasure; instead, I felt grateful that Jiang Lingxi was safe.
After a short rest, Jiang Lingxi was still unconscious, but her condition had improved considerably, possibly due to drinking the water.
Just as we were preparing to leave this place, a deafening noise suddenly erupted from not far away, and then all the lights went out with a “pop.”
As darkness enveloped us, my heart leaped.
“What’s going on?” Fatty’s voice came from beside me.
Just as I was about to reach for my flashlight, I felt something very close in front of me, so near that I could almost sense its presence.
At first, I thought it might be Fu Honglang or Song Bing. But when a foul odor filled my nostrils, I realized this “thing” right in front of me was definitely not them!
The thought of the "zongzi" (corpse-like zombies) I had encountered before appearing before me made my heart churn like boiling water, and the hairs on my body stood on end.
It was pitch black all around; I couldn't see anything!
After a few seconds of stunned silence, I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to calm down, and prepared to feel for the flashlight in my pocket.
Just then, a beam of light appeared. Fatty shone his flashlight towards me, calling out, “Brother Xiang.”
I stood there blankly. The space in front of me was empty; there was nothing there.
It took me a while to slowly come back to my senses.
“Brother Xiang, what’s wrong?” Fatty asked, walking over.
I quickly took out my flashlight and looked around. Fu Honglang, Yang Hanxue, and Song Bing were all there.
They too had taken out their flashlights. Jiang Lingxi was lying on the ground in front of me.
“Brother Xiang, Brother Xiang…” Fatty, sensing something was wrong, waved his hand in front of my eyes. “Why do you look so pale? What’s wrong?”
I took a deep breath and said, “I… I just saw a zongzi…”
It took all my effort to utter those words. Upon hearing me, everyone immediately became more vigilant and gathered closer.
Yang Hanxue asked me what had happened, and I recounted the situation.
“I also smelled a strange odor,” Fu Honglang said. “But it wasn't very strong.”
I pursed my lips, recalling the feeling when darkness had descended. “I’m certain that thing was right in front of me just now!”
Yang Hanxue furrowed his brows, drew his gun, and said, “Everyone, stay alert. I think we should leave this place immediately.”
I nodded, agreeing with his suggestion.
I asked Fatty to put Jiang Lingxi on my back. After we quickly gathered our belongings and were about to leave, a sudden noise came from nearby, and a dark shadow flashed past.
This time, not just me, but everyone saw it clearly.
Yang Hanxue reacted the fastest. Almost the moment the shadow flashed by, he pulled the trigger.
“Bang! Bang!” Two shots were fired directly towards the shadow.
And as the gunshots rang out, a bizarre roar echoed.
The sound was like that of a wild beast!
“Quick, go!” Yang Hanxue shouted.
Without a second word, we found our direction. Fu Honglang took the lead, with Song Bing and Fatty beside me, and Yang Hanxue covering our rear.
We headed east along the main path of the warehouse. After only a few minutes of walking, Yang Hanxue fired a few more shots.
I hurried my pace, but suddenly, Fatty slammed into my side, knocking me completely off balance.
Before I could figure out what was happening, Fatty was dragged along the ground by something, about to be pulled away.
“Brother Xiang! Help! I’ve been grabbed by a zongzi!!!”
As Fatty’s pig-like scream rang out, Song Bing quickly charged towards him.
With two or three quick steps, Song Bing jumped onto a nearby wooden crate and launched himself into the air, delivering a powerful kick to the zongzi. At the same time, Fatty broke free.
He scrambled up unsteadily, pulled out his entrenching tool, and together with Song Bing, engaged the zongzi.
With Jiang Lingxi on my back, I was unable to disengage. Fu Honglang pulled out two glow sticks, lit them, and tossed them over towards the fight.
Only then could I clearly see the zongzi’s appearance: its face was covered in cracks, its hair disheveled, just as I had seen it before!