Apart from the Small Seal Script, I couldn't understand the other scripts, but based on their sequence, it seemed as though they all conveyed the same meaning.
“Xiang Ye, what does it say here?” Fatty asked.
I looked closely and said, “It seems to be a poem.”
“A poem? What poem?”
“Reincarnation flows like a long corridor, endlessly turning without rhyme or reason. A Zen heart as tranquil as the void, observing impermanence, freely transforming. Life after life, turning in reincarnation, liberation and release are all emptiness. All waves are but illusions, enlightenment returns to compassion…”
Fatty looked at me blankly and asked, “What does that mean?”
I tried to interpret it and said, “It seems to be saying that life keeps revolving in cycles, but as long as one achieves liberation and enlightenment, returning to the path, one can observe the truth that all waves are illusions, within compassion…”
“What is all this gibberish?”
I thought for a moment and said, “It should be talking about this bridge.”
Fatty blinked, “Xiang Ye, you mean, if we walk onto it, we enter reincarnation?”
I nodded, “That should be the meaning.”
Fatty shone his stone lamp on the suspension bridge and said, “So, if we walk on it, we enter reincarnation?”
I didn’t know how to answer him. If this place was truly a religious site, what would this reincarnation bridge represent?
I suddenly remembered the dried corpses I had seen earlier. Could this bridge have been prepared for them? Transporting the dried corpses across this bridge and placing them on the other side would signify that they had transcended reincarnation?
Of course, these were just my speculations, without any basis.
After hearing my speculation, Fatty said, “Then we can still walk on this bridge.”
“Why?”
“Xiang Ye, think about it. Since this bridge is designed for the dead, it should be fine for us, the living, to walk on it.”
I walked to the edge of the suspension bridge and shook the iron chains. They looked quite sturdy.
Now there was no other path in this place, so we had no choice but to bravely cross this suspension bridge.
Having decided, I took out the safety rope, tied Fatty and me together, and made a slipknot. I told Fatty that if anything happened to the suspension bridge later, we would tie the slipknot to the iron chain, which would serve as a safeguard.
Fatty nodded and said, “Xiang Ye, who goes first?”
Seeing his fearful expression, I said helplessly, “I’ll go first, you follow me.”
“Alright!”
As I stepped onto the wooden planks of the suspension bridge, the planks beneath me creaked, giving me a very unstable feeling, as if they might break at any moment. I tried to find planks that looked free of cracks, and told Fatty to follow where I stepped.
After walking for about five to six minutes and finding nothing unusual about the suspension bridge, my hanging heart finally settled down.
Guan Zhenwan and the others were quite something, three women and one man, daring to keep walking forward without fear of encountering any danger. Had they not encountered the monster that Fatty and I met when they came over? It was highly probable. If they had encountered that monster, they likely wouldn’t have chosen to continue forward.
Because the illumination range of the stone lamp was not very wide, only allowing us to see about four to five meters ahead, and after walking for about ten minutes without reaching the end, my recently settled heart started to feel uneasy again.
“Xiang Ye, this bridge is really long,” Fatty said. “Can you see the end ahead?”
I said, “Fatty, throw a glow stick ahead to see.”
“Roger that!”
Fatty took out a glow stick, ignited it, and threw it forward. Looking ahead, I saw that there was only about ten meters left to the end. And the moment the glow stick landed, I saw what looked like something lying on the ground at the end of the suspension bridge!
“Fatty, did you see what’s ahead?”
Fatty pursed his lips, “I don’t know…”
At this point, both of us were a little nervous. What if we encountered another monster right after crossing the suspension bridge?
“Throw another one, throw it further.”
“Okay!”
Fatty threw another glow stick with great force. This time, the glow stick flew in a parabolic trajectory towards the end of the suspension bridge. It was then that we clearly saw a person lying on the ground. Judging by their clothing, it should be Guan Zhenwan and her group!
“Who’s up ahead?” I asked at a higher volume.
However, there was no response. So I hurried forward to get a clearer look. But in my haste, my foot missed, and I fell straight down. I only felt the rope tied around my waist tighten sharply, hurting my stomach!
“Xiang Ye!”
Then Fatty’s shout came from above me. It was then I realized I was hanging in mid-air. Fortunately, I tightly held the stone lamp in my hand, preventing it from slipping.
“Pull me up quickly,” I said with difficulty.
“Okay.”
Fatty tied the slipknot of the safety rope to the iron chain and then pulled me up. I climbed back onto the suspension bridge with difficulty and discovered that there were no more wooden planks ahead, only thick iron chains.
“Xiang Ye, are you alright?”
I shook my head, still a bit shaken, “There are no more wooden planks ahead, be careful.”
After catching my breath, I asked Fatty to light another stone lamp, so we each had one. The iron chains were as thick as three fingers. When stepping on them, one could only place their feet in the middle, with the toes and heels suspended. Fortunately, we could hold onto the side chains, otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to move forward at all. It took us about ten minutes to cover the distance of over ten meters.
After getting off the suspension bridge, Fatty and I were drenched in sweat and panting. Before we could rest, I rushed to check the person lying on the ground. It was Wang Yue, Professor Zhang’s female student. I felt her pulse and found that it was still beating, so she must have just fainted. A backpack was placed beside her, containing many emergency supplies.
“Why is she alone? Where are the others?” Fatty asked.
I was also very puzzled. Why was she left here alone? Where did the others go? I took a water bottle from the backpack, splashed some water on her face, and gently patted her. Soon, she regained consciousness. When she saw Fatty and me, she looked confused, then startled, “Where am I?!” She sat up abruptly and looked around, “Am I still underground?”
I nodded and asked her what had happened and why she was alone here. Her face was a little pale, clearly not having recovered yet. I handed her the water and asked her to take a sip first. After drinking some water, she began to tell us about their entry…