by Xu, Lei
Just as I finished speaking, the boat quivered and Panzi grabbed his lamp. He flashed it toward the water and when the light hit the current, we saw a monstrous shadow swimming past us.
Big Kui’s face turned white as he pointed at the water. His jaw dropped and he was unable to utter a word. He looked as though he was ready to pass out, and Uncle Three gave him a hard slap on the face. “You son of a bitch!” he shouted. “It’s only a trick of the light. The two young guys didn’t even blink but you who have worked for me all these years—you freak out for no reason. Eat shit, you fucking idiot.”
“Master Three, you saw that thing—it’s a goddamn monster. All five of us wouldn’t make a meal for that humongous creature.”
It was plain to see that Big Kui’s heart was still pounding with fear as he stared at the water. He had been sitting near the side of the boat, but now his butt had moved to the center, as if he was afraid something might suddenly surge out of the river and drag him down, away from us all.
“Piss on you!” Uncle Three stared at him viciously. “We are men who take and keep whatever we want from whomever we want. You know me—I’m Old Master Three of the Wu family, who have robbed graves for generations. I’ve come across every kind of monster you can think of in my life and I’m still drawing breath. Stop talking like a frightened child and remember who you are and who you work for.”
We were all speechless, not because of fear, but from realizing that there was such a behemoth under the surface of the water in such a narrow and cramped space. For a few minutes none of us could think clearly or say a word until Panzi broke the silence. “Master Three, this cave is weird and it creeps me out so much I don’t know my ass from my elbow right this minute. Let’s get out of here for a quick break and talk things over. How does that sound?”
Big Kui couldn’t agree fast enough. I was shaken too and wanted to get out of this cave as soon as possible. But on the other hand, Uncle Three was my blood relative and my father’s brother. No matter what, I needed to let him speak up before I said what was on my mind.
To my surprise, Uncle Three looked over at Poker-face as if he wanted that guy’s opinion. From all I had ever seen of my uncle, he wouldn’t even ask advice from any god in heaven—or pay attention if they gave it to him. But now he seemed to be deferring to this young twerp. I couldn’t help but wonder what was up and turned to see what Poker-face might have to say, but it was plain that he wasn’t listening at all. He was staring straight into the water, as if he were focusing all of his attention on finding whatever it was that we had just seen.
I wanted to ask Uncle Three where the hell this man came from but this didn’t seem like the right time, so I asked Panzi very quietly. He shook his head and said he wasn’t sure. All he knew was that he was sharp and resourceful. He gestured to the guy’s right hand with his chin and said, “You see his hand? Imagine how many years it would take to develop that.”
I really had not noticed Poker-face’s hand but when I looked, I discovered it was indeed very unusual. His middle and index fingers were exceptionally long, which I knew came from the art of exploring soil by using only those two fingers.
This was a rare skill that I had read about in my grandfather’s journal. It was invented in ancient times by master grave robbers who had fingers as steady and as unwavering as the most solid mountain. With their strong and dexterous fingers these masters could easily disable all the little traps that had been placed in the tombs. Learning this unique skill involved years of a long and miserable martyrdom of practice that began in early childhood.
As I looked at Poker-face, wondering just what he was capable of doing with those fingers, he raised his right arm and thrust it into the water at lightning speed. When he drew his hand back to the water’s surface, there was a bug held tightly between his two freakishly long fingers. He threw it on the deck, saying, “This was what we saw just now.”
I lowered my head to take a closer look, and sighed in relief. “Isn’t this a water beetle? So the monster’s shadow we saw a moment ago was just a mass of these water beetles swimming below us?”
“That’s right,” he replied as he wiped his hands on his clothes.
Although we weren’t sure this was true, it made us all feel better and Big Kui stepped on the bug, squashing it flat.
But as I considered this, it didn’t seem plausible. How could there be so many water beetles moving at the same time? What’s more, the head of that water monster was way too big to be only a large cluster of these insects swimming together. I peered over at Poker-face and thought I could see a slight tinge of doubt in his eyes, as though the same thought had also occurred to him.
Big Kui was still stomping on the dead bug although he had already smashed it to pieces. I guessed he was trying to get back some of the face he lost earlier when he had gone into a panic. Uncle Three picked up one of the bug’s severed legs and gave it a quick sniff. Looking amazed, he said, “This isn’t a water beetle—it’s a corpse-eating insect.”
None of us replied and I felt anything but reassured by this new information. I had no idea what my uncle was talking about but it didn’t sound good.
“Hell, these things feed on carrion and you find a shitload of them where there is anything that’s dead. The more they eat, the bigger they get. If they’re swimming upstream that means there’s definitely a site with lots of bodies—and a big site too.” Uncle Three looked into the pitch-dark cave.
“Do these things bite?” Big Kui asked in a small voice.
“If this one was a normal size, it wouldn’t bite. But when I take a look at the size of what’s left of its head, I can’t be sure whether it would have attacked with its teeth or not.” Uncle Three looked baffled. “This sort of bug usually stays where the dead bodies are and doesn’t swim around. Why was there such a large school of them moving together?”
Poker-face turned suddenly toward the deepest part of the cave. “I’m afraid they were fleeing for their lives.”
“Huh? Fleeing for their lives?” Big Kui fidgeted. “That means in the cave there must be…”
Poker-face nodded. “I have a feeling that something in the cavern is moving toward us. And I’m pretty sure that thing is gigantic.”
Chapter Five
THE SHADOW IN THE WATER
“Come on, you son of a bitch, don’t scare me like that. I may be a big badass but I’m really spooked by that thing. Men on the attack—no problem but this shit? Look at my legs and you can see them shaking…”
We have to leave this place, I thought—something really bad is about to happen. Maybe it was just claustrophobia from the size of the cave that made me feel this way, but I knew I had to get back to daylight.
“I think the most important thing now is to hurry up and get out of here,” I said as I tried not to sound like a wimp. “The current is flowing toward the entrance so it will definitely take less time to go back out than it did to come in. I think we’re probably only about ten minutes into the cave so getting out fast shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Yes, yes, Master Three. Your nephew is right,” Big Kui backed me eagerly. “Only say one word and we’ll all be safe and sound. I promise when we’re on our way back home, I’ll carry every single thing we have. I’m stout and sturdy. Just a few days—how bad would it be? If I worked faster in the graves we find after this, wouldn’t that make up for the time we lose now?”
Uncle Three glanced at Poker-face again and asked, “What do you think, Menyouping?”
“I’m afraid it’s too late to head out now,” Poker-face replied calmly. “Now that those two guys have us in here, they’re going to make sure that we won’t be able to ever leave.”
“If we don’t try to get out, isn’t that the same as just waiting to die here?” Panzi looked at him.
Poker-face returned his stare, then turned away and sat with his eyes closed as if nothing had been said. Panzi saw that he was being ignored and turned to Uncle Three. “I think it
’s completely crazy to go ahead now. You see Big Kui? He’s already scared to death. We just need to turn back and leave. The route we came in on wasn’t complicated—we’ll find our way back. If somebody comes up with a different plan as we go, we can give it some thought.”
“Looks like that’s the only solution,” Uncle Three nodded. “Panzi, light a lamp both at the front and at the back of this boat, then load those shotguns. Big Kui and I will get on the other boat holding our supplies that faces the entrance and pole us out of here. Panzi and my nephew, guard our backs. Menyouping, you stand in the front.”
We all agreed. Panzi raised a lamp and flashed it behind us. The cow on the second boat bellowed when the light hit it and Panzi cursed. “Master Three, we have to throw the cow into the water. Otherwise, you won’t be able to move the load with our poles. ”
Because the boat we were on faced the inside of the cave, we’d forgotten to think about the boat behind us. Now we felt like suckers. It sure seemed that the scum who led us in here had hatched a careful scheme. The second boat was already taking on a lot of water with the weight of all our equipment, the cart, and the cow. If any of us climbed on, the additional weight would probably sink that boat and everything we had. As it was now, it was like a plug, blocking our escape route.
I could faintly hear that strange voicelike noise again, coming from the deep end of the cave and sounding much closer than before. It sounded like a crowd of little devils whispering secrets that only they could plainly hear, and it made us all uneasy. Everyone quieted down, consumed by tension and uncertainty.
And then I could feel all of my attention being sucked in by this sound. I tried to focus on something else, but was immediately being pulled right back into it. Something is terribly wrong, I thought, this sound is evil, but in a minute my brain was consumed by the sound and I couldn’t think at all.
At that moment, a hard kick landed on my back. I lost my balance and fell into the dark water.
Instantly the noise in my head was gone and I saw Panzi plunging into the stream, then Uncle Three, then Big Kui, and last of all Poker-face, holding a lamp. With our heads below the surface of the water, we discovered that the sound had lost its compelling power and we all felt safer, especially since everyone seemed unhurt.
It was hard for me to see underwater; everything was unfocused and shapeless even when I squinted. Poker-face motioned for us to look underwater while he held the lamp, showing us that the stream wasn’t very deep and that its bottom was covered with a layer of white sand. He swept the lamp around in a circle but we could see neither plants nor fish. Unable to hold my breath any longer, I stuck my head out of the water to get some oxygen.
Wiping the water from my eyes, I saw a bloody face hanging upside down, watching me with a grim, flat stare. I stared back at him and saw it was our boatman, but only the upper half of him. Where his body ended, a huge black bug gnawed at his intestines. I stood still, petrified. My God! It was obviously one of the corpse-eater bugs. How many dead bodies had it consumed to reach this gigantic size?
As I watched, frozen, Panzi came up to the surface, but he wasn’t as lucky as I. Before he knew what was going on, the bug squeaked, abandoned the dead body, flew into the air, and landed directly on top of his head, burying a pincerlike leg right into his scalp.
Panzi was amazing—if I had been in his place, I would have sooner announced my presence to the King of Hell than battle that giant insect. Without a second’s hesitation, his left arm moved so quickly that I had no clue that he held his army knife. Stabbing the insect at the base of its leg, Panzi pulled the tentacle from his scalp faster than I could blink as the bug let out a bloodcurdling shriek.
All of this happened in the electro-flash of a struck flint. Panzi hadn’t even had time to notice me standing nearby, and that’s why he threw the corpse-eater in my direction.
Shit, I thought, how can Panzi do this to me. He had told me how he’d look out for me in an emergency and now that there was one, he threw this fucking monster right in my face. At least he had an army knife, while I only had my bare hands. I knew I’d be finished off right away.
The corpse-eater didn’t mess around but immediately tore a chunk of skin from my face with one of its sharp claws. Gritting my teeth, I gathered my strength to hurl it off, but didn’t realize the barbs of its claws were buried in my clothes. A few of them hooked into my flesh, and the pain brought tears to my eyes.
Just then, Poker-face floated up to the surface of the water. He saw that I was almost overcome by the insect’s attack, dashed over quickly, and with a swooping motion popped his two long fingers into the insect’s back. He pulled and with an explosive force, he yanked out a string of shiny white wormlike things that looked like macaroni. I threw the bug corpse into the boat, and felt that I had just awakened from my worst nightmare.
Big Kui gave a thumbs-up to Poker-face. “Pal, I truly admire your courage and dexterity. You dared to pull the guts out of that monster. I have got to give you credit for that.”
“Shit.” Panzi’s head now sported two bloody holes, which were fortunately not large. He growled, “Go fuck yourself. This is the ganglia of the bug’s central nervous system, not its intestines. This guy here paralyzed the bug!”
“Are you saying this bug isn’t dead?” Big Kui had his leg already in the boat but hearing this, he plunged back into the water immediately.
Poker-face swung into the boat and kicked the bug to one side. “We can’t kill it yet,” he told us. “We have to use it in order to get out of this cave.”
He flipped the insect onto its back, and embedded in its tail we saw a sealed, hexagonal copper wind chime the size of a fist with engraved incantations covering all six sides. The copper had turned so green that it was a hell of a mess and it was impossible for us to guess when it had been implanted in the corpse-eater.
As Panzi bandaged his bloody head, as skillfully as if he were wounded like this every day of his life, he kicked at the bug and the wind chime moved, making a sound that was identical to the noise that had driven us into the water. But while the sound we heard before was more supernatural, as if it had floated up from hell, now it was much less hypnotic. Evidently this bell was what we had heard, but it needed the open and vast echo from within the cavern to enslave our ears and minds.
What ingenious craftsmanship had made this bell so it could withstand a millennium without breaking or deteriorating? I thought, it’s probably made of gold or silver. But how was it able to ring by itself?
The bell continued to chime, as if an uncontainable and bitter spirit locked inside this relic were trying to escape. As Panzi finished tending to his wounds, he grew annoyed by the ringing and kicked the bell aside. Its copper casing had become weak over the centuries; it cracked open when his foot struck it and a stinking green liquid gushed out.
Uncle Three was furious. The only reason he didn’t punch Panzi in the head was because the two fresh wounds could make Panzi as easy to destroy as the bell had been. Instead of physical injury he resorted to verbal abuse. “Your goddamn leg better be more well-behaved than that. This thing is an antique and you just destroyed it for me with one kick.”
“Master Three, how was I to know the damn thing was so fragile?” Panzi protested. Uncle Three shook his head. Using an army knife he pushed aside the copper debris, and there could be seen many small bells the size and shape of a honeycomb. All these bells were attached on top of a delicate hollow sphere, which was covered with holes. Now that the sphere had been cracked open, we saw a green centipede, its head smashed flat with green liquid squeezed out from its finger-sized body.
Uncle Three turned the hollow sphere with the sharp point of his knife, and discovered a tube coming out of it that was connected to the giant corpse-eater.
“I believe when the centipede was hungry, it would go through this tube to the corpse-eater’s stomach to eat,” he decided. “How did such a symbiotic system come about?”
The pa
rtially devoured body of the boatman stayed afloat on the water, drifting, sinking, and coming back to the top again.
“This is certainly self-inflicted injury,” my uncle sighed. “They must have wanted to put us in this carcass cave, wait until we were killed, and then come back to salvage our stuff. But who knew they would find today’s misfortune and be killed by this giant corpse-eater. It truly served them right.”
“What luck for us,” I said.
Panzi shook his head. “I’m afraid that insect wouldn’t have been able to tear a person’s body apart in such a short time. If it was that strong, it would have dug out my brains before I could injure it. I think there’s probably more than one of these things. This one brought that half of the body over here to eat after the corpse was torn in two.”
Big Kui had been looking very relaxed but when he heard this, he choked.
“Don’t panic. Didn’t our pal here just say we could use this thing to get out of the cave? We’ll put this giant corpse-eater at the front of our boat, and let it clear a path for us. This thing ate dead bodies its whole life. Its negative chi is extremely heavy, and can act as a malignant force against any zombies that might be hiding here. I suspect they’re probably the supreme chiefs in this carcass cave. If we have this bug on board, we’ll definitely make it out,” Uncle Three said. “Come on. Let’s not give up now. I’d like to have a look at what’s here that could create such an enormous insect.”
Taking our folding shovels from our luggage in the back, we used them as oars, paddled along the stone walls, and forged farther into the cave. As I paddled, I studied the tunnel wall on my side and asked Uncle Three, “How did our ancestors excavate all of this in ancient times? Even now, it would take at least a few hundred people to dig a cave this deep.”
Uncle Three said, “You see how round this cave is? This is an incredibly ancient cave. I think the excavators belonged to a military squad, specifically trained to deter future grave-robbing. It’s not going to be easy to find the tomb marked on the map.”
