Chapter 49: The Frenzied Guo Qi

Chapter 49: Guo Qi’s Madness

In the end, although the rope was still not long enough, it almost reached the required distance. As long as everyone stayed connected to the rope and ensured no one retraced their steps, there was a chance they could find their way out.

This time, everyone was tied to the rope: Lao Yao led the way, Zhang Sanlu was second, Guo Dashu third, Guo Qi fourth, and Zheng Ji brought up the rear.

Standing at the entrance to the passage, Lao Yao gripped ropes of various materials and lengths, all knotted together. He steadied himself, then took the front end of the rope and stepped into the cave. With each step, those behind released more slack. Through the rope, the strength transmitted from Lao Yao gave Zhang Sanlu more confidence than ever before.

Lao Yao carried no torch. Previous attempts had proven they were of little use; this time, the rope was enough. After about sixty steps, Zhang Sanlu began his journey.

Zhang Sanlu took around forty steps, and could sense Lao Yao had turned the first corner, as the rope began to press against one side of the stone wall, increasing friction.

After another twenty steps, the third person started moving as well, making the pull on the rope slightly lighter.

Zhang Sanlu reached the first bend, turned, and walked a few paces, feeling the rope pressed tightly against the corner, the resistance from friction increasing again.

He began to worry that this patched rope might be severed by the rough stone at the corner, and unconsciously loosened his grip a little.

With every step forward, his heart beat faster. Whether from excitement or anxiety, he couldn’t tell. He could still feel the rope taut, meaning he hadn’t gone back on himself.

Soon, the second corner was reached. If he turned it, continued forward, and the rope remained taut, could Zhang Sanlu dare to believe they were about to escape?

He took a deep breath, calming himself. His right hand, clutching the rope, was slick with sweat, slippery to the touch.

The rope pressed tightly against the stone wall. As he rounded the second bend, Zhang Sanlu could almost hear it scraping against the rock. Almost instinctively, he quickened his pace. Guo Dashu behind him had to adapt to this change in speed.

They were nearly out! Approaching the end of the third section of the passage, faint light appeared ahead!

Perhaps the prospect of imminent escape made Zhang Sanlu too excited. Only as he neared the exit did he realize that the path beneath his feet was still so familiar.

Lao Yao had already exited the cave. Zhang Sanlu had twenty steps left, ten, nine, eight, seven... He could no longer restrain himself, surging forward at a near sprint, heedless of the tugging from behind. He even began to pull the others along, making them run.

Almost there! Almost!

But then...

What does it feel like to be cast from the clouds into the abyss? Now Zhang Sanlu finally knew. Just a few steps from the passage’s exit, a thunderbolt struck him. He stopped abruptly, able to faintly see what lay ahead—a sight he had never imagined. His back crawled with the sensation of dozens of centipedes, making his skin crawl.

Instinctively, Zhang Sanlu yanked hard on the rope. Since entering the cave, it had remained taut, until now, but just ahead, squatting in the torchlight, Lao Yao sat beside a heap of corpses—the meaning was clear.

“Damn it!”

Those last few steps felt impossibly heavy, each stride laden with a thousand burdens. The rope behind him stretched straight along the edge of the stone wall, leading into the endless darkness within the passage.

Zhang Sanlu collapsed to the ground, too exhausted to speak.

When the others followed the rope and the light to the mouth of the passage, they too were struck silent by an indescribable strangeness, their expressions dazed.

Lao Yao glanced at Zhang Sanlu, his nose beaded with sweat, but he said nothing.

“Who? Who is it?!” The hoarse, dry voice echoed through the passage. Guo Dashu gasped, his throat rasping as he cried out, then began to choke with sobs.

At that moment, Guo Qi suddenly laughed. The dim torchlight illuminated his profile. Zhang Sanlu had not seen anyone smile for a long time, and the sight of Guo Qi’s mouth and facial muscles contorting into a grin sent an eerie shiver through his heart.

Guo Dashu was now clutching his hair, burying his head in his knees and curling up on the ground.

Lao Yao remained silent.

Everyone’s mental endurance has its limits.

The statue in the darkness seemed to glare at them with contempt, and now—was it closer? Closer than ever!

“Ha ha ha ha—” In the gloomy depths of the cave, Guo Qi’s twisted face burst into laughter. No one felt compelled to stop him.

Guo Qi now seemed as mad as a beast trapped for too long. Unable to endure the terror and despair from the depths of his soul, he howled hysterically at the thousand-armed Bodhisattva statue in the darkness.

“You monsters, why! Why won’t you let us go! What did we do wrong?! Why don’t you go after those tax collectors and county officials who ruin families!” His voice echoed through the cavern, laden with boundless fear and rage, as if it could split the oppressive space apart.

“We pray to gods and Buddhas, why! Why do you never bless us! We only want to live, to live as people live!”

But the darkness gave no answer, as it had never responded to the countless corpses that slumbered there before.

Sweat and tears mingled on Guo Qi’s face. He swung his arms with tremendous force, as if to shatter the darkness, but he remained so powerless and small within it.

His eyes were fixed on the statue—the Bodhisattva shrouded in cloth. In his eyes it had become the source of all terror, the root of every misfortune and disaster.

“It’s you! It’s you!!!”

Yet the statue in the darkness remained unmoved, the torch flames flickering as if mocking his impotence and despair.

Guo Qi’s fury crashed about like a headless fly, meeting only defeat and helplessness. He collapsed to his knees, clutching his hair in agony, his cries echoing in the cavern.