Chapter 48: Seeking a New Path?

Chapter 48: A New Way Out?

Old Yao walked past Zhang Sanlu without a word or pause, heading straight ahead.

That was the direction of the passage!

Zhang Sanlu propped himself up slightly and saw that it was Guo Dashu who was on night watch. He was sitting on the ground, nodding off, tear stains still fresh on his face—he had probably fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion.

Old Yao, passing right by him, showed not a hint of hesitation and slipped directly into the passage.

What was this man up to? A cold sweat broke out on Zhang Sanlu’s back. If Old Yao was hiding something as well, he wasn’t sure who he could trust here anymore.

Zhang Sanlu quietly turned over. The others seemed to still be sound asleep, though he couldn’t be sure if anyone was pretending.

By the dim light of the torch, Zhang Sanlu crept after Old Yao into the passage. But inside, the darkness was absolute—he couldn’t see a thing. He had no choice but to return, light another torch, and follow as quietly as he could.

Illuminated by his torch, Zhang Sanlu noticed Old Yao’s gait was exceedingly strange. An uneasy feeling struck him—what was going on with Old Yao?

Pressed tightly to the right wall of the passage, Old Yao was inching forward, not walking but sliding along, and, remarkably, without a torch. He was making his way through the pitch dark as if it were nothing.

Trailing at a distance, Zhang Sanlu’s torch cast its beam along the path behind Old Yao, yet Old Yao showed no reaction, continuing to move forward in that bizarre, rigid posture, as if he had only just learned to walk.

Alarmed, Zhang Sanlu hurried to catch up. Only when he drew near did he see that Old Yao’s hand was pressed flat against the stone wall, feeling his way forward like a blind man. Zhang Sanlu could no longer hold back. He leaned in and whispered sharply in his ear, “Old Yao.”

Old Yao started. He turned his head, and by the torchlight, his face looked perfectly normal.

“What were you doing just now?” Zhang Sanlu asked.

“I wanted to try closing my eyes to see if I could feel my way out,” Old Yao replied.

So that was it. “What was it you wanted to say to me last night?” Zhang Sanlu asked in a low voice, seeing that no one else was coming.

“Didn’t you notice the skeletons? Isn’t it strange how those people died?” Old Yao crouched low, no longer moving forward, his eyes flickering.

“Strange how? What are you getting at?” Zhang Sanlu pressed.

“You must have seen it. Many of the skeletons are incomplete,” Old Yao said, his gaze shifting.

“Yes, I noticed. Perhaps they killed each other? Or maybe something else killed them?” Zhang Sanlu hazarded, trying to understand Old Yao’s meaning.

“That’s possible. But I picked up a few bones and examined them. There were some other marks.”

“What kind of marks?”

In the darkness, Zhang Sanlu could hear Old Yao’s breathing quicken.

“Bite marks. The bones had been gnawed!”

Suddenly, Zhang Sanlu understood what Old Yao meant, and his hair stood on end.

“Cannibalism?” Zhang Sanlu felt as if a stone was pressing on his chest, making it hard to breathe. He’d always thought himself rather tough, not exactly a good man, but the thought of cannibalism chilled him to the bone.

“Yes. Could it be that, like us, they were trapped here with no way out, and when they ran out of food, they began killing each other, eating the dead to stave off hunger, only to end up dying here all the same?”

Zhang Sanlu swallowed, struggling to process this. No wonder Old Yao had waited until they were alone to tell him.

“You’re afraid that if the others find out, when food runs low, they’ll start thinking the unthinkable?”

“Exactly!”

But it wasn’t just the two of them awake now. Zhang Sanlu’s whisper, though quiet, had still been heard in the silence.

Someone nearby sat up and made his way over. After a moment’s hesitation, he decided to come closer to see what was happening. Zhang Sanlu shone his torch over and saw it was Zheng Ji. Guo Dashu, who was supposed to be on watch, still hadn’t stirred.

“What’s wrong, Daoist? Old Yao?” Zheng Ji asked quietly.

Old Yao took the torch and said, “The Daoist and I were just trying to figure out a way out.” Then he turned and walked back toward the chamber.

By now, Guo Qi and Guo Dashu had gotten up as well. Seeing that three people were missing, there was no way any of them could fall back asleep.

“First, let’s divide today’s food. Since supplies are limited, we’ll ration it once a day to make it last as long as possible,” Zhang Sanlu announced, opening his bundle.

He motioned for Zheng Ji to hand out the food—one flatbread each, which wouldn’t even be a full meal under normal circumstances. Guo Qi looked a bit disgruntled, but seeing that no one else objected, he said nothing and devoured his bread in a few bites, clearly famished.

As for water, they had found six gourds. Zhang Sanlu gave one to each person, with the remaining two stored in Old Yao’s bundle.

Zhang Sanlu himself was hungry, but he ate only half his bread, saving the rest in his tunic.

Time had lost all meaning in this cave, where there was no day or night—only darkness. Seven torches remained, along with most of a gourd of lamp oil, but keeping a light burning consumed it at an alarming rate. No one wanted to be plunged into the dark here, but if they didn’t find a way out before the torches and oil were gone, they would be left in utter blackness. Who knew what might happen then?

Rummaging through his bundle for anything useful, Zhang Sanlu’s hand closed on a length of rope Guo Dashu had found the day before, meant to be used for lighting once the torches ran out.

It was quite a long rope. Suddenly, an idea struck Zhang Sanlu and he exclaimed, “I’ve got it!”

“What is it?” Instantly, all eyes were on him.

“We’ll use the rope,” Zhang Sanlu said, pulling it out.

The others didn’t quite understand, so Zhang Sanlu explained, “If one person holds one end of the rope while another takes the other end and walks into the passage, keeping the rope taut at all times, then as long as the rope stays straight, there’s no way to double back. No matter what tricks the passage plays, we’ll break through them.”

The group mulled it over and grew excited—this plan really might work. It might just be the way out.

“But the rope isn’t long enough. We need to make it as long as possible,” Zhang Sanlu pointed out.

Immediately, no one cared about scrimping anymore. Several torches were lit as they searched for anything that could be tied together—clothes, bags, whatever they could find.

In the end, the rope still wasn’t quite long enough, but it covered most of the distance. As long as everyone held onto the rope, ensuring no one turned back, there was hope—they just might make it out!