I held Hongjie's feverish body and said softly, "If you want to talk, just talk. I'm listening."

Hongjie nodded and continued, "I bought a train ticket home, but I found out my brother was already gone. The doctor was right, my brother's condition couldn't last a year. He only lasted three months before dying in the hospital. My mother couldn't take the blow and jumped off the hospital building that day, going with my brother..."

Hearing this, I didn't know how to comfort Hongjie. I could only hold her tightly and wipe away her tears.

Hongjie continued, "After my brother and mother died, my father didn't even have the money to pay for their funeral. He relied on donations from the doctors and nurses in the hospital to cremate them, put their ashes in plastic bags, and buried them back in our hometown. Later, I earned some money outside and sent it home. My father saw that I was earning quite a bit, so he had other ideas. He hid the news of the funeral from me and made me think my brother was still alive..."

I couldn't help but say, "Your father is too cruel, isn't he? He's treating you like a cash cow."

"Isn't he..." Hongjie said with a bitter smile, "I was so stupid back then. I never wondered why my father always answered the phone when I called home, and why my mother never said a word to me during the New Year. I thought my mother was busy taking care of my brother and didn't have time to talk to me. Later I found out that my mother was already gone..."

"In those three years, I earned at least two hundred thousand, and I sent all the money to my father. I thought he was taking the money to treat my brother's illness. But when I went home, I found out that he had used the money to find himself a new wife, and when I got back, that woman was already pregnant."

Hongjie said self-deprecatingly.

After listening to Hongjie's story, I realized how pitiful her life had been.

I thought that I was already one of the most unfortunate people in the world, having lost both parents at a young age and having my mother-in-law forced to death by the villagers. But I didn't expect Hongjie's life to be any better.

I hugged Hongjie and said with emotion, "Sister, we are both unfortunate people. No wonder we get along so well."

Hongjie smiled and nodded, "Yes, if we weren't so unlucky, who would risk their lives coming to this ghostly place to scrape money from the dead!"

As we talked, Hongjie's breathing became very weak. She looked up at me one last time and said weakly, "Rongsheng, I'm afraid I won't make it. You're still young, you must get out alive."

I shook my head quickly and said, "No, Hongjie, I won't leave you behind. As long as I can get out, I will definitely take you with me."

Hongjie refused, "No need, don't waste your energy. I'm too badly injured, I'm definitely not going to make it. If you get out, go to my massage parlor. You can pry open the ceiling above the TV. There's a bankbook inside, it's a little bit of my savings, consider it a gift... Remember the password, it's my birthday, 761021, got it?"

Hearing this, tears streamed down my face without me realizing it, because I knew that Hongjie really regarded me as her family.

I wiped away my tears and said to her, "Sister, don't think like that. There's always a way out. We will definitely get out, we all will."

Hongjie didn't answer me. Instead, she slowly closed her eyes. She was very weak, so weak that she didn't even have the strength to speak.

The four of us were trapped by the Xi Shu (rat-like creatures) on the stone platform, unable to go anywhere. Boss Wang closed his eyes to rest, Hongjie and I huddled together for warmth, and Uncle Mei checked everywhere, looking for gaps to squeeze through.

The final conclusion was that this was indeed a dead end. Unless Jiang Yongguang and Xiao Liang found us, we basically had no chance of survival.

Seeing Hongjie's breathing becoming weaker and weaker in my arms, I became more and more anxious.

After a while, the headlamp on Boss Wang's head ran out of power and went out.

Because he had come down about two hours earlier than us, his headlamp ran out of power faster. I knew that our headlamps would also go out soon.

At that time, there would be no light at all in this dark underground. The thought of that completely dark environment made me feel desperately hopeless.

But just as I was on the verge of collapse, a rumbling sound suddenly came from the distance, and then I felt the stone platform beneath me begin to tremble, as if there was an earthquake.

"What's going on?" Uncle Mei asked in surprise.

Hongjie, who had been half-asleep in my arms, also slowly opened her eyes.

Even Boss Wang, who had been resting with his eyes closed, woke up. He suddenly sat up on the stone platform, pricked up his ears to listen, and his face changed. He said in a deep voice, "Damn it! That's the sound of river water flowing back into the tomb!"

"River water flowing back into the tomb?" I was dumbfounded and asked, "Why would river water flow back into the tomb?"

Boss Wang was experienced and immediately speculated, "It must be that White-Clothed Immortal. She got out first and didn't choose to bury us alive, but used an even more ruthless method, directly diverting the water from the Yazi River back into the tomb to completely wipe us out!"

Hearing this, I couldn't help but feel a cold sweat break out on my back!

Diverting water to flood the tomb!

This move was indeed more ruthless than burying us alive!

After all, if they filled the entrance, we might still have a chance to dig our way out. But once the river water poured in, we would be doomed.

Uncle Mei was even more despondent when he heard this, shaking his head and saying, "We're finished, we're finished. I never thought we would be drowned instead of being bitten to death by these big rats. I've been a corpse fisherman all my life, and in the end, I'm going to die in the water after all! Alas! This is all retribution!"

Boss Wang also cursed with a pale face, "Damn it! I've traveled north and south all these years and survived the most dangerous ancient tombs, but I never thought I would end up in this ancient Shu tomb. Alas, I shouldn't have been greedy and asked some Master Gao from the capital to identify the treasures! I've dug my own grave!"

I held Hongjie tightly, listening to the sound of the water getting closer and closer, and felt very unwilling.

I haven't been able to avenge Aunt Mei, and I haven't found Sister Xiaomei yet. Am I going to die like this?

At this moment, I saw a large amount of river water pouring into the tomb from the distant tunnel. The river water was surging and turbulent, destroying everything in its path, sweeping up stones, remains, and Xi Shu (rat-like creatures)!

Uncle Mei quickly called out to us, "Quick, retreat as far as possible, shrink your bodies inside, and don't get hit by the current. If you get hit by it, your bones will shatter on the spot!"

We quickly followed Uncle Mei's instructions and retreated to the inner side of the stone platform.

Just as we adjusted our positions, the raging river water rushed over. I only heard a "boom," and the water slammed against the stone platform. I felt dizzy, my body tilted, and I completely lost my balance, falling headfirst into the river water...