Due to the perilous conditions underground and their unfamiliarity with the path ahead, everyone hesitated for five or six minutes, not daring to take a single step forward.
Boss Zhou had time to stall, but Yan Shouyi could not. He stepped forward and said, "I'll scout ahead. You all cover me from behind. Even if it's female ghosts, this is the only path we have. We'll have to face them sooner or later."
Lin Zitong gritted her teeth. She truly didn't want Yan Shouyi to risk his life for her, so she said, "I'll go with you."
"No, you stay here," Yan Shouyi shook his head, firmly rejecting Lin Zitong. Boss Zhou and the others had their own ulterior motives, and who knew what sly moves they might make. Besides himself, Lin Zitong was the most capable in the group. If they both left, the people behind them might not behave.
Ma Xingping also wanted to step forward, but Boss Zhou absolutely refused to let him go. Boss Zhou believed that anyone in the team could die, but Ma Xingping could not, because he was the only one capable of leading everyone out alive.
Just as everyone was undecided, Ma Jinxuan stepped forward. "I'll go with him."
"Jinxuan..." Ma Xingping naturally didn't want his sister to venture into danger, but besides her, there seemed to be no better candidate. Boss Zhou and the others didn't object. Instead, Long Feicheng chivalrously said, "You're just a young lady, how can you go ahead and risk it? Why don't I go with Brother Yan!"
Unexpectedly, Ma Jinxuan gave Long Feicheng a contemptuous glance. "Are you sure you won't be a burden if you go?"
Long Feicheng: "..."
Ma Jinxuan continued, "Although I am a woman, my skills are no less than any man's. Besides my brother, who here has more experience tomb raiding than me?"
No one offered a retort, so it was decided. Yan Shouyi took out several Taoist talismans, intending to give them to Ma Jinxuan for protection. However, Ma Jinxuan not only declined but also shoved a black donkey hoof into Yan Shouyi's hand.
"What is this?" Yan Shouyi asked, surprised.
"A black donkey hoof. Underground, this thing is more useful than your talismans," Ma Jinxuan replied.
This was precisely why they said mountains and rivers separate different trades. The underground was different from the surface, after all. Thus, Yan Shouyi accepted the black donkey hoof, resolving to listen to Ma Jinxuan's advice more often.
With their preparations made, the two decided to scout ahead, while the others remained in place, waiting quietly.
The cave was damp, and the chilling wind stung their faces. Yan Shouyi moved cautiously at the front. After passing two corners, the crying grew louder. Yan Shouyi had a premonition that they were nearing the tomb door, so he and Ma Jinxuan turned off their flashlights.
"Can you see?" Ma Jinxuan asked.
Yan Shouyi gave a wry smile. It was pitch black inside, so naturally, they couldn't see anything with their flashlights off. Suddenly, Yan Shouyi felt someone touching his face, and his hair stood on end in fright. Being touched at the entrance of a tomb was more terrifying than seeing a ghost! But soon, he realized that the hand touching him was warm. He then remembered it was Ma Jinxuan's hand.
Yan Shouyi quickly grabbed her hand and whispered, "I'm a married man."
Ma Jinxuan directly slapped Yan Shouyi. "Shut up."
Yan Shouyi: "..."
*Sob sob sob, is being handsome my fault? So you insisted on coming along not to deal with female ghosts, but because you desired my body?*
However, Yan Shouyi soon realized that Ma Jinxuan didn't mean that. She had smeared something strange on his eyelids, and soon Yan Shouyi could vaguely see things in the darkness. The visibility was about ten meters, giving him a night-vision effect. Yan Shouyi looked at Ma Jinxuan and saw her eyelids glowing green. He couldn't help but ask, "What did you put on my eyelids?"
"Water dog's blood. Smear it on, and you can see in the dark. We use this when we're tomb raiding," Ma Jinxuan replied.
"Wait, what are water dogs?"
"Salamanders."
Now Yan Shouyi understood. Salamanders, also known as four-legged fish, are freshwater creatures that usually live in caves or swamps. Some cave salamanders live in caves with no sunlight year-round, causing their eyes to degenerate. Creatures living in darkness must have abilities and characteristics for surviving in darkness, and the Mojin Xiaowei (tomb raiders) utilized this fact. However, Yan Shouyi was certain that ordinary salamander blood smeared directly on the eyelids could not grant night vision. Ma Jinxuan must have processed the salamander blood in some special way, which involved the secrets of the Mojin Xiaowei. Yan Shouyi did not pry further.
"That slap you gave me hurt," Yan Shouyi said.
Ma Jinxuan glared at Yan Shouyi. "You misunderstood me first."
"It was dark, and you suddenly touched me, of course, I misunderstood. Besides, my wife is right behind us. I thought you were trying something daring..." Yan Shouyi muttered.
Upon hearing this, Ma Jinxuan almost slapped Yan Shouyi again.
Having gained night vision, the two continued forward, finally arriving at the so-called tomb door. The female ghost's crying, amplified by the cave, seemed to be right beside their ears. The chilling wind blowing on their necks felt like someone breathing on them. Yan Shouyi peeked out and saw a scene exactly as the Jiantou master had described.
Before a five-meter-high stone tomb door, there was a narrow stone bridge spanning a swift underground river. On the riverbank, over twenty figures sat motionlessly. The crying seemed to come from one of them.
Yan Shouyi withdrew his head and nodded at Ma Jinxuan with a pursed mouth. Ma Jinxuan couldn't help but gasp.
How should they deal with them? Charge out and catch them off guard? Or use a stratagem to lure them away?
As they were contemplating, a noise suddenly came from behind them. Looking back, they saw a reckless bat flying into the cave! In an instant, the bat flew past Yan Shouyi and Ma Jinxuan, heading towards the female ghosts in front of the tomb door! The female ghosts sitting by the riverbank suddenly turned their heads. Their faces were all furry, their dark eyes as large as ping pong balls with no whites visible at all! Immediately, all the female ghosts let out piercing cries, sounds like silver needles piercing Yan Shouyi and Ma Jinxuan's eardrums!
Ma Jinxuan, having seen their appearance clearly, immediately said to Yan Shouyi, "They're not female ghosts, they're otters!"
"What? Otters?!" Yan Shouyi was stunned. His mind conjured images of cute otters playing with balls in the water at the zoo. If they were otters, there wouldn't be anything to fear! However, when he looked at the group of otters again, he saw one of them leap up, grab the unlucky bat, and stuff it directly into its mouth. With a bite, blood splattered everywhere. The crunching sound of otters crushing bat bones filled the cave.
Ma Jinxuan grabbed Yan Shouyi and pulled him back. "They're not easy to deal with. Let's retreat!"
"They're just a few otters, what's there to be afraid of?" Yan Shouyi asked, puzzled.
Ma Jinxuan said urgently, "Normal otters are less than half a meter long, at most the size of a small dog. But look at the otters here, the largest are over two meters. They stand taller than you, and their attack power is no less than a black bear!"
Reminded by Ma Jinxuan, Yan Shouyi suddenly understood. No wonder the Jiantou master mistook these otters for female ghosts "wearing mink coats." Their size was simply enormous, almost human-like! Anything small is cute and endearing. But once their size becomes significant and their lethality increases, cuteness turns into terror. Yan Shouyi could handle one black bear, but facing over twenty black bears, he would have to show them some respect!
However, just as Yan Shouyi prepared to flee, he was spotted by the group of giant otters. Especially the one that ate the bat, its mouth full of blood, grinned at Yan Shouyi, revealing its terrifying scarlet teeth!
"Retreat!" Yan Shouyi shouted, pulling Ma Jinxuan back with him.
Lin Zitong and the others behind them also heard the commotion ahead. She anxiously called out, "What happened!?"
"Giant otters! My magic is useless against them!" Yan Shouyi replied. The previous snake ghost was much larger than the otters, but it was a ghost, and the Palm Thunder was extremely effective against it. But otters are living creatures, wild beasts, and they were completely unfazed by the Palm Thunder!
After a burst of hurried footsteps, Yan Shouyi and Ma Jinxuan reached the others. Ma Xingping identified the direction and led everyone to run. Long Feicheng asked as he ran, "Brother Yan, what's so scary about otters? I've seen them at the zoo, they look so cute playing with balls!"
"If you run any slower, the otters inside will start playing with you like a ball, and you'll still think they're cute?" Yan Shouyi retorted.
Long Feicheng: "...Get out of the way, you idiots! Run faster!!!"
Fear made Long Feicheng panic. He ran past Ma Xingping and took the lead, choosing the wrong path and darting into it without looking back!
"Brother Long!" Ma Xingping inwardly cursed, quickly chasing after him to pull Long Feicheng back. The others also descended into chaos, unsure whether to follow. Just in that moment of hesitation, the otters behind them emerged from the cave, caught the odd person running at the very end, and dragged him back! The unlucky fellow screamed incessantly, and soon there was no more sound, only the crunching of flesh and bones once again!
Ma Jinxuan's face turned pale. "These otters must have grown up eating corpses, which is why they are so aggressive. They also become exceptionally excited at the smell of blood! With so many caves here, it's probably not the tomb-guarding snake ghosts that emerged, but these giant otters!"
"Then where should we go now?!" Boss Zhou asked anxiously.
Yan Shouyi looked at the exit, then at the direction Long Feicheng and Ma Xingping had run. He resolutely made a decision: "Follow Little Long and Brother Ma!"
Ma Jinxuan stopped him. "That's a dead end!"
"No, this path must be a path to life!" Yan Shouyi stated with conviction. "You said those otters grew up eating corpses, so where else are there corpses underground? It must be the burial pits of King Jian's tomb! If these caves were where the otters emerged, then one of them must lead to King Jian's tomb. We might not even need the tomb-guarding snake gall to enter King Jian's tomb!"