“Let’s go.” Yun Jian stood up and patted down her clothes that were covered in dust, before leading the way to the hole she just blew up.
The rest of the group followed as they saw her moving.
Even when Ling Tianhao did not want to be bothered by Ye Yunting who had passed out, he could only stay to look after her.
Other than the two of them, the others moved on.
There was no way out now. What they could do was only to keep moving forward.
“Clack, clack, clack.”
It was silent, only the sound of their footsteps was heard, as well as the never-ending darkness that seemed to engulf them.
“Shaa, Shaa…” Farther away, it sounded like water flowing.
“Sounds like water flowing over there!” The group hastened their steps forward in delight.
“Also sounds like people,” Yun Jian squinted, abruptly speaking while she led the way.
The group was still stunned, as usual, – no one heard anything that sounded remotely like human voices except for Yun Jian. However, after her forthright bombing of the wall, which made a passageway, all of them had opted to believe her words subconsciously.
About four to five minutes of walking later, a faint clamor of people could be heard from the other end of the passage.
Yun Jian and her companions felt the gradual widening of the aisle as well.
Toward the end, a cave with land as wide as a basketball court greeted their sight.
There were groups of people gathered on the plot. Some had even erected tents here.
The group soon discovered that these people were the ones who had gone into the catacomb and never got out!
There was a stream beside the huge cave, its source unknown, as it flowed in from the corner and out through the opposite corner of this area. What was remarkable was the fish and shrimp swimming vivaciously in the water. There were plenty of them, too.
This was like a world of its own underground!
It was not just Bo Zhan and the group, even Yun Jian could not help the tugging of the corners of her lips.
Simultaneously, Sun Jianxiong and his pals saw someone they knew among the settling crowds.
“Professor Su!” They rushed forward.
“You guys are here too?” The man addressed as Professor Su looked full of life, a sprightly old man in his fifties to sixties. He was surprised to see Sun Jianxiong and his friends too.
It was apparent that Sun Jianxiong and comrades were sent to the catacomb by the country to look for Professor Su who had also entered the crypt. The latter’s status in Country Z was evidence that he held significance.
“Professor Su, what’s going on here? Why didn’t anyone who came in come out?” Sun Jianxiong asked.
Yun Jian and others stood listening faraway.
Professor Su pointed at a stone gate nearby that was carved with dragons and phoenixes. He sighed forlornly with his gaze cast down before saying, “It’s not that we can’t go back. No one wants to!”
The group was stupefied.
Professor Su then recounted all that happened.
The first people who had come into the catacomb did not want to leave after finding out the spot. The reason was the ancient script engraved on the stone gate that was carved with dragons and phoenixes.
The experts took a few days to study it and finally interpreted the script.
The translation of the words on the gate was “You shall know all the secrets about the sandalwood box when you pass this stone gate! Of course, one who wishes to enter the stone gate needs to stay here for a whole year!”
Everyone in the cave had come for the secrets of the sandalwood box. It was inevitable that none wanted to leave. Moreover, there was water and abundant fish and shrimps. They did not have to worry about starving as they could catch some and cook them over a fire and feed themselves.
Yet to the outsiders, these people who had gone into the crypt were already corpses or even skeletons.
“Professor Su, since you’re here, why didn’t you contact the outside world?” Sun Jianxiong hit the nail on its head.
The old man shook his head and answered with a smile, “There’s no connection here.”
As he mentioned it, the group checked their communication devices and true to his words, there was no connection in this place!
Yun Jian stepped out from the group’s surprise and asked looking at the professor, “Excuse me, have you seen a guy around nineteen years old, 185cm in height, handsome, and has two men following him?”
She was obviously asking about Si Yi. She could not help feeling uneasy when she did not see him after scanning the vicinity.
What she did not expect, however, was Professor Su’s bulging eyes at her question. He spoke in an amazed tone, “It’s that young man who had two underlings with him! He’s the only one among us who went through the stone gate and got in!”