Dragon Vein Storyteller

Chapter 5 Earthquake

Ladies and gentlemen, as we mentioned last time, we were a group of people standing on the edge of a deep pit, with half of the unfortunate souls behind us who hadn't yet climbed over, and in front of us was that cold, bluish light... that was the bait for the earth dragon, and whoever looked at it would die.

I didn't let anyone see the light, and dragged the chick into the darkness. I ignored the cries, scrambling, and screams of people falling into the pit behind me. In this world, I couldn't care less about anything else.

We cautiously made our way forward, and the group gradually took shape. At the very front were the desperate thieves, in the middle were us... me, Crippled Feng, Baldy Liao, Sanjin, and Little Chicken, and at the very back were the group that had been brought there by kidnappers. This formation was intentional on my part. If there was any danger, those in front would take the hits; if anything went wrong, we could slip away from the middle; and those at the back were there as backup.

I hadn't run far when a deafening roar suddenly came from behind me. The sound didn't seem to come from a throat; it was more like the earth cracking open. I glanced back, and my heart nearly stopped. A cold, bluish light flickered violently in the darkness, accompanied by the rumble of tumbling rocks. The monster seemed enraged by the sudden tremor, frantically slamming against the rock wall, producing a teeth-grinding scraping sound.

I yelled at everyone to run, pushing and kicking aside those blocking our way. Just then, a loud explosion suddenly erupted from inside the cave.

"boom……"

The entire cave shook as if it had been violently pushed. Rocks rained down from above, some as large as millstones, others as small as fists, crashing to the ground with loud thuds. When they hit someone, that person fell straight down and never moved again.

The crowd erupted into complete chaos. Screams, cries, and footsteps mingled together in utter pandemonium. Some pushed forward, some ran backward, and some stood frozen in place, struck on the head by falling rocks, without even a groan. Blood splattered on the stone wall, exploding into a crimson mess, mingling with dust and smearing faces with grime.

Another deafening roar followed, and a heavy tremor shook the area behind me, as if an entire mountainside had collapsed. I turned around to see a massive boulder crashing down from above, completely blocking my path. A gust of wind whipped up debris and dust, instantly extinguishing the torch in my hand.

Absolute darkness enveloped everything. It wasn't the darkness of lights out at night; it was a darkness devoid of even the slightest glimmer of light, a darkness capable of swallowing a person whole. Panic erupted in that instant. Some cried out, some crawled, some trampled each other in the darkness, some desperately pushed forward, knocking others to the ground and then running over them.

I yelled at the top of my lungs, "Light the torches!" but my voice was drowned out by the chaos; no one could hear me. The darkness blinded us and amplified our fear a thousandfold. Someone bumped into me, their shoulder slamming into my chest, making my ribs ache. I grabbed the little chick and held him protectively in my arms, afraid he'd be trampled to death.

The chaos lasted for an unknown amount of time. Then, a tiny spark appeared nearby, faint yet strikingly bright in the darkness, like a firefly's tail, but brighter than the Milky Way. Someone raised a torch; the flame flickered slightly, illuminating a small area. The chaotic crowd instantly fell silent, everyone afraid that any sudden movement would extinguish that single glimmer of light.

Torches were lit one after another, and gradually light filled the cave. Dust still fell and stone chips still dropped, but with the light, people's hearts were somewhat at ease.

I yelled, "What the hell are you all standing there for! Move forward! Do you want to die here?"

These words were like a bucket of cold water poured on them. The crowd immediately surged forward like madmen. No one wanted to stay put and be hit by falling rocks, and no one wanted to die in this dark and gloomy place.

I leaned against the wall, not moving. Crippled Feng squatted to the side, lit a cigarette, and puffed away, squinting at the surging crowd as if watching a show. Little Chicken and Three Pounds sat on the ground, watching the panicked crowd with calm expressions, their eyes no different from looking at a bunch of idiots. Baldy Liao leaned against the stone wall, a straw dangling from his mouth, his face indifferent.

None of us moved. In a situation like this, the faster you run, the faster you die.

After finishing his cigarette, Feng the Cripple tapped the ash on the sole of his shoe. Just as he was about to get up, another loud bang came from in front of him. Immediately afterward, shouts and curses erupted:

"There's no way out!"

"It's completely blocked!"

"Stop pushing! It's fucking blocked!"

"It's a dead end ahead!"

The sound was like a heavy hammer, shattering the hearts of us spectators. A passageway, blocked in both directions by massive stones, had become a stone coffin.

The torches were still burning, but the flames were growing weaker and weaker. The air in the cave was getting thinner and thinner, making it difficult to breathe. Some people were gasping for air, while others were crawling on the ground, trying to find a non-existent crack. Everyone was panicking, except for a few of us who remained relatively calm.

I stood up and had everyone feel the walls, trying to dig where the soil was soft. Feng the Cripple, Liao the Bald, Sanjin, and Little Chicken went their separate ways, tapping all around the stone walls, but they were all hard rock. They couldn't even leave a mark, let alone dig through. My heart sank lower and lower. Digging a tunnel to escape? It was utterly a pipe dream.

We sat on the ground, none of us speaking. The torch slowly consumed the dwindling oxygen. I stared at the flames, my mind completely blank. This time, it really wasn't going to work.

Just as everyone was sinking into despair, another deafening roar erupted overhead. A massive boulder crashed down, landing right in the middle of the crowd. The screams were cut short by the deafening sound. The boulder killed several people, injured more than a dozen, and smashed a hole in the ground, revealing a dark, gaping hole.

That was the only way out.

The crowd erupted again, rushing towards the cave entrance like madmen. No one cared about those who had fallen, no one paid attention to the cries at their feet; everyone only had one path to survival in their eyes. Crippled Feng was at the forefront, pushing aside those who blocked his way, kicking down those he couldn't. Sanjin followed behind, fists swung, smashing anyone who dared to approach. I held the little chick protectively in front of me, refusing to let go no matter how many people pushed past.

We pushed forward, stepping on others' bodies, trampling on blood, flesh, cries, and howls. No one wanted to die behind, no one wanted to be the next sacrifice to that stone.

We finally squeezed into the passageway. The moment we stepped inside, the atmosphere changed noticeably. The previous damp, fishy smell had faded considerably, replaced by a dull, chilly odor. I looked down at my feet and froze. The uneven mud and gravel beneath my feet were no longer smooth stone slabs.

My heart skipped a beat. The stone slabs were neatly cut and laid out in an orderly fashion; they couldn't possibly have been formed naturally. I looked around, and the rock walls also appeared exceptionally regular, with faint, mottled patterns carved into them.

The chick noticed too and whispered, "This is a passageway."

After he finished speaking, we all fell silent. Those of us who deal with graves year-round understand what reaching this point means. Ahead lies a tomb, the resting place of the dead. Whether entering here brings good or bad fortune, no one can say for sure. But compared to the man-eating earth dragons outside, at least this is territory we know a thing or two about.

Passageways, burial chambers, side chambers, burial pits… we could figure these things out with our eyes closed. Where there's a tomb, there's a path. That's the livelihood of tomb raiders!

The chick and I exchanged a glance, and a glimmer of hope appeared in our eyes. There was a way out, a real way out.

The thought had barely formed when a very soft sob drifted over. The voice was delicate and soft, like that of a newborn baby, or a wronged kitten. I frowned; the sound didn't disappear, but instead lingered in my ears, refusing to leave.

The chick's face was pale as it cautiously peered into the depths of the tunnel. I didn't speak, but simply gripped the torch in my hand tightly. I could clearly feel an unyielding resentment emanating from the surrounding chill. That coldness didn't emanate from the stone; it seeped from the very cracks of my bones. This place was strange, even more eerie than the deep pit outside.

But at this point, I couldn't care less about anything else. There was no turning back. Whatever lay ahead, we could only walk forward step by step.