After we returned to the village, Fatty and Jiang Lingxi went back to our lodging, while I followed Da Kui to meet Master Qu.
When it was just the two of us, Da Kui said to me, "You guys are really lucky to be alive. Did you find anything down there?"
I looked at him and said, "I don't think it's the Kanto Army's treasure down there."
Da Kui frowned. I continued, "This place might be a secret base of the Japanese pirates from back then."
Knowing I would have to report the situation below to Old Man Qu later, I didn't say much more, instead telling Da Kui, "I'll tell Master Qu about it together with you when we see him."
He walked a few steps, stopped, and leaned closer to me, saying, "I'm not returning the money you transferred to me... I've already made arrangements, they just refused to leave themselves."
I had no interest in that now, so I said, "It's fine, consider that money a token of friendship with Brother Kui."
Hearing me say that, he grinned, "Brother Xiang, you can rest assured that if anything happens in the future, I'll definitely look out for you."
"Thank you then."
Arriving at Old Man Qu's residence, his eyes lit up as soon as he saw me.
"I knew Brother Xiang was capable! It's just as I expected!" Old Man Qu excitedly motioned for me to sit by the stove and personally poured me a cup of tea. "Drink something hot to warm yourself up. I've already sent someone to prepare food, and we'll have a couple of drinks later."
Knowing his intentions were not just for a drink, I said, "Master Qu, it seems the situation below is much more complicated than we thought."
"Oh?" Old Man Qu looked at me with great interest.
I asked Da Kui for a cigarette, lit it, took a puff, let the smoke swirl in my lungs, and then slowly exhaled.
"Master Qu, you must have also learned that my friend is seriously injured now," I said slowly.
He nodded, "I know about that. I was just about to ask you, what happened to him?"
I smiled and looked at Da Kui, "Could you find me a piece of paper and a pen?"
Da Kui looked at me coldly, still pretending to dislike me as before.
Seeing his inaction, Old Man Qu said, "Kui Zi, do as Brother Xiang says."
Da Kui grunted a "Yes," and with a displeased look, went to find a piece of paper and a pen.
I placed the paper on the octagonal table and began to draw with the pen.
I sketched out the general situation below and then said to Old Man Qu, "When we went down, here... this place, in my opinion, should be a passageway. On both sides of this passageway, there are some iron frames, but I don't know what they're used for."
"We chose to go east at that time... there was an underground river, and by the river, there were a few tin boats."
As I said this, Old Man Qu interjected, "You took the boats into the underground river?"
I nodded, "Yes, this underground river flowed downwards. There were iron chains in the river, and we pulled ourselves along the chains in the boats, heading east. After about an hour, the river was blocked by a wire mesh, and that's also where we found a corpse..."
"Then why didn't you bring the corpse up?" Da Kui asked.
I looked at him, "Can you let me finish speaking first?"
Old Man Qu glared at him, "Kui Zi, listen to him first."
Da Kui pouted, reluctantly picked up a cigarette from the table, lit it, and started smoking.
I continued, recounting everything that happened along the way, including the incident with the giant bats.
"That's how it happened. I don't know if it's the Kanto Army's treasure down there, but it's definitely a military base," I said.
Old Man Qu stroked his white beard, pondered for a moment, and said, "You're saying that the brothers I sent down were all killed by those bats?"
I said, "It's very possible. I'm not entirely sure about the specifics, but it's certain they also took boats."
Actually, there was something I didn't mention. If Jiang Lingxi hadn't warned us about a waterfall ahead, we might have gone straight down.
After all, we were unfamiliar with the cave's structure.
So I suspected that the people Old Man Qu sent down before had most likely not anticipated the waterfall ahead and, without making any preparations, had plunged straight down.
As for the corpses in the river, there were two possibilities: first, to avoid the waterfall, someone jumped into the water and drowned while trying to swim back by pulling on the chains.
Another possibility was encountering the giant bats.
Regardless of which possibility, I felt the current situation was not optimistic. With so many people dead, it was probably quite troublesome for Old Man Qu.
If the treasure wasn't found, I reckoned the people below would probably dismember him.
Of course, these were just my speculations. I wasn't clear about the affairs among their group.
"What about the other side?" Old Man Qu asked. "After you returned, didn't you take a look at the other side?"
I hesitated, unsure whether to tell Old Man Qu about the "thing" I saw when I came out earlier.
Seeing my silence, Da Kui said, "I'm asking you a question!"
I glared at him impatiently, then said, "I felt the other side was even more dangerous."
"Oh?" Old Man Qu's brows furrowed as he looked at me.
I said, "There are monsters on the other side..."
"Monsters?"
I nodded, "If I'm not mistaken, that thing looked like a Zongzi..."
"Zongzi!" Old Man Qu raised an eyebrow, then burst into laughter. "Brother Xiang, you're telling me you saw a Zongzi?"
I nodded.
He stopped laughing and said, "I assume you know what we do, right?"
I didn't reply. He continued, "Have you ever heard of the 'Armor-Piercing Door'?"
I feigned ignorance and shook my head.
"It doesn't matter if you haven't heard of it. Let me tell you. My ancestors were tomb robbers. I've been going into tombs with my father since I was a child, and I've been in at least a hundred tombs myself. I've never seen anything like a Zongzi." He said dismissively, "Do you think such things exist in this world?"
I said, "I really saw people wearing Japanese pirate uniforms... I have no reason to lie to you. Whether you believe it or not is up to you."
After I said that, he fell into thought. After a moment, he said, "Even if there are Zongzi down there, we are not afraid!"
Saying that, he stood up and said, "Brother Xiang, thank you for bringing me this information. Go back and rest well. I'll need your help again in a couple of days."
"You want me to go down again?!" I was startled.
He smiled, "It's okay if you don't go, but one of you four must go with us. Only you know the current situation down there."
"Master Qu, we are all amateurs. Going down there..."
"I know you are all amateurs, so don't worry, I don't need you to do anything, just to lead the way. Think about it these few days and decide who will accompany us. Master Qu paused and said, "Brother Xiang, you're considered one of us now. If we find the treasure, you'll have a share. So, I think it would be best if you lead us down."