Chapter 11: Tea Party, Really?
Zhang Qiling quickly chased in the direction from which Fatty and the others’ voices came. Wu Xie supported the somewhat weak Lin Yan due to excessive blood loss and followed behind.
Facts proved that three people with good mobility catching up to two with impaired mobility was still very fast. In just a few minutes, the five successfully reunited at a certain spot in the tunnel.
Fatty was okay, just with a few more wounds that had already stopped bleeding. Panzi’s condition was more serious; there was a large gash on his right thigh, roughly stopped with a cloth strip, but blood was still seeping out nonstop. He gritted his teeth and walked forward, his body weight almost entirely on Fatty.
Zhang Qiling caught up to them, glanced at Panzi, frowned, and reached out to stop them.
Fatty looked stunned: “Young comrade, why are you stopping me? Isn’t it time to escape right now?”
Zhang Qiling pointed at Panzi: “If he keeps walking, he’ll die.”
Fatty frowned: “That serious?”
Wu Xie and Lin Yan also caught up. Seeing the situation, he had Lin Yan lean against the wall, made sure he was steady, and then came over too.
“What’s wrong? Can’t this wound be stopped from bleeding?”
He looked at Panzi with worry, remembering that the last bottle of alcohol had been used to block the corpse beetles.
At this moment, Zhang Qiling suddenly untied the cloth strip wrapped around Panzi’s leg. Blood immediately gushed from the wound: “Help me hold him down.”
“Ah? What are you doing?” Wu Xie had a bad premonition but still helped hold down his leg. Fatty held down his hands from beside.
Zhang Qiling extended his two unusually long fingers and slowly inserted them into the wound. Under everyone’s stunned gazes, he clamped a dead corpse beetle and disgustedly threw it on the ground.
“The wound must be disinfected, or it’ll be troublesome.”
He shook his hand and added.
Panzi was covered in cold sweat, breathed a slight sigh of relief, and said: “I still have a glorious bullet. Use that.”
Fatty looked at Zhang Qiling, then at him, breathed a huge sigh of relief, and gave him a thumbs up: “Young comrade, you’re the ruthless one!”
Wu Xie nodded too: “Among the people I’ve met, you’re definitely this!” He also gave Panzi a thumbs up.
Lin Yan leaned against the wall and walked up, nodded: “I dub you the most ruthless person under the tomb!”
Panzi gave a wry smile: “Cut the crap, hurry up. If we delay any longer, I’ll bleed out. Don’t forget we’re still escaping!”
Wu Xie unloaded his gun and removed the bullet: “You’re really doing it?”
“Come on, Third Master Xiao, make it quick, less torment for me.” Panzi already had the removed cloth strip in his mouth to prevent biting his tongue from the intense pain.
Wu Xie took a dagger, pried off the bullet’s base, and evenly sprinkled the gunpowder on the wound. Seeing Panzi in agony with veins bulging on his forehead, he couldn’t bring himself to light the fire starter.
Fatty couldn’t stand it, snatched the fire starter from his hand: “Young comrade is just dithering. Still gotta be Fatty Ye.” He turned his head and warned Panzi: “Get ready, here it comes!” Seeing Panzi nod, he pressed the fire starter onto him.
Panzi bit the cloth and let out a miserable howl from his throat that didn’t sound human. It made Wu Xie’s eyes redden slightly. He hadn’t forgotten Panzi had ended up like this to distract and protect him. Lin Yan also turned his head away unwillingly, not daring to watch.
Once he calmed down, Lin Yan slowly moved in front of him and took something out from his bag: “This was given to me by your Third Master, so it counts as making full use of it.”
In his hand was a new roll of gauze, clearly the last one on him.
Panzi struggled to dig the cloth strip out of his mouth and threw it underground, dry heaving twice from the bloody smell, then straightened up: “Thanks, brother. I owe you one.”
Wu Xie had no bandaging experience; the only wound on him had been bandaged by Zhang Qiling. Seeing him hesitate without starting, Fatty beside saw he was a novice without experience and took the gauze proactively: “Sigh, after all, it’s still gotta be Fatty Ye.”
Wu Xie curiously asked him upon seeing this: “Comrade, no chance to ask before. Who exactly are you?” Fatty deftly bandaged Panzi while answering: “Your Fatty Ye is—”
Before he finished, Zhang Qiling suddenly raised a finger to his lips in a hush gesture. Fatty sped up upon seeing it, quickly bandaged the wound, and helped Panzi up.
He held his gun in one hand and made a chopping gesture toward Zhang Qiling, meaning: Should we just take it on with him?
Zhang Qiling shook his head, pinched his nose in a hold-breath gesture with one hand, pulled Lin Yan behind them, and extinguished all light sources.
In the darkness, they all heard the familiar “clack clack” sound gradually approaching.
In the darkness, Wu Xie and Lin Yan exchanged a glance, both thinking: It’s that blood corpse! Wu Xie couldn’t help recalling what Lin Yan had said earlier in the main tomb chamber. Sure enough, speak of the blood corpse and it comes! Lin Yan clearly thought the same. They involuntarily held each other’s hands for comfort. Through the sweat-slick hands, they could clearly feel both were trembling a bit.
Just as they thought the sound was heading another direction, the eerie “clack clack” suddenly stopped.
Lin Yan instantly felt his scalp explode! You know, in horror movies, the scariest is always the ghost that doesn’t appear. And ghosts usually disappear for two reasons: the ghost temporarily retreated, or… the ghost is right behind you!
Don’t be, please don’t be the second case! He fervently prayed in his mind to all the gods he knew, Chinese or foreign, useful or not—pray first! This ancestor better not be behind them!
It stayed quiet for several minutes. Under everyone’s torment like years, the “clack clack” sounded again.
The sound didn’t go away as Lin Yan had prayed but was right next to them, appearing on Lin Yan’s right—behind Wu Xie!
“Mommy!” Fatty behind Wu Xie yelped in shock. The sound was right in front of him, face-to-face distance.
At the same time, the lights blazed. Everyone except Wu Xie turned their heads and saw a big face pressed against Wu Xie, two pupil-less eyes staring blankly at him, while Fatty faced its bloody, mangled back of head!
The blood corpse didn’t move, and neither did Wu Xie dare to. He tremblingly lip-spoke: “It, is it behind me? W-what do I do now?”
Fatty supported Panzi and slowly sidestepped around. During the movement, he gradually got Panzi onto his back. Lin Yan’s hand quietly moved up, gripping Wu Xie’s arm ready to bolt. Zhang Qiling slowly shifted over, stuffed a lamp into Lin Yan’s arms, then shouted: “Run!”
Fatty led the charge, running with agility not matching his weight. Carrying Panzi, he still ran ahead of everyone, leaving Lin Yan behind unable to complain.
Wu Xie seemed panicked but actually ran fast. Except for the first few wobbly steps dragged by Lin Yan, afterward he was dragging Lin Yan.
Lights shaking, they couldn’t see the path ahead. Not long after running, Wu Xie heard Fatty yell “Ah!” ahead, then he vanished. Before reacting, momentum carried Wu Xie, pulling Lin Yan, to follow Fatty’s footsteps. Their feet gave way, falling into a bottomless pit.
Falling just seconds, accompanied by Fatty’s “Ouch, fuck,” they hit the ground.
Wu Xie felt intense pain in his butt and back. Before recovering from the impact, a familiar weight landed on him, nearly knocking him out breathless.
“Huh? Why no pain?” Lin Yan got up, touched his head. Beneath him seemed a soft cushion that caught him, though some spots hurt his bones inexplicably.
Wu Xie caught his breath and rolled his eyes: “Because I’m under you! Can you get off first? Any longer and I’m afraid I’ll faint from you crushing me!”
Lin Yan quickly rolled off and pulled Wu Xie up too.
Speaking of which, it was really unfair to Wu Xie—knocked him out right after transmigrating, now made him a meat cushion again. The kid had been smashed twice by him in days. If Wu Xie’s Third Uncle found out after a few more, he’d probably humanely destroy him.
Just then, a voice came from beside. Panzi gnashed through teeth: “I say, Fatty, though I’m grateful you carried me, if you keep watching the show, I might just be a corpse!”
They looked aside and saw Fatty jump up from the stone wall, grinning: “Sorry, sorry!” In the gap between him and the wall, Panzi was squished, rolling his eyes: “Good guy, your death roll nearly took half my life!”
Fatty rubbed his head with a smile, leaned down to help Panzi sit up: “See, if I hadn’t rolled, these two kids would’ve smashed us. Wouldn’t that be worse?”
Panzi gave him a side-eye without speaking but acknowledged the favor. After all, he knew his own wound; squishing Fatty had taken half his life. If smashed by two more, whether the other half survived was uncertain. If Third Master learned he was done in by Third Master Xiao, well, heh.
Wu Xie got up, eased his smashed sore waist and butt, picked up the mine lamp, and shone around. The surroundings were also stone walls, very similar to the previous stone chamber.
Fatty looked around: “Hope there’s nothing else here. Fatty Ye is really scared!”
Wu Xie shone the mine lamp over upon hearing: “Speaking of, you hadn’t finished before the blood corpse came. Who exactly are you? Related to Mojin? I saw you light a candle in the side chambers earlier.”
Fatty grinned: “You guys saw that? Fatty Ye is a proper Mojin descendant, famous figure in Beijing’s Panjiayuan. Close ones call me Wang Pangzi. You lot, just call me Fatty Ye!”
Lin Yan listened like crosstalk, leaned against the wall to catch his breath. Good guy, way more tiring than university 1000m runs! Without excessive blood loss, he wouldn’t be like this!
Then he thought of the culprit behind his excessive blood loss, looked upward, listened sideways, but heard nothing.
Wu Xie noticed his actions and asked: “What’s up, Lin Xiaoge?”
Lin Yan looked back at him: “Where’s Zhang Qiling? No matter what, he should’ve caught up by now. He didn’t get lost on the way, did he?”
Wu Xie thought but couldn’t recall how far they ran or bends turned. Don’t say, he might really have! Thinking of Zhang Qiling’s injuries, then him blocking the blood corpse for everyone, it felt like bad omen. Suddenly a bit sentimental.
Fatty rubbed his previously bruised butt upon seeing, comforted: “Don’t think it. That Xiaoge’s skills are top-notch. If fine, he’ll catch up soon. Us defeated remnants, better not cause him trouble.” Just as he spoke, his stomach growled. He touched it and looked at them: “After this ordeal, Fatty Ye’s hungry. Young comrades got food?”
Wu Xie thought it made sense, this place seemed safe, so sat down to wait for Zhang Qiling to deal with the blood corpse and find them. Hearing this, he looked up and rolled his eyes: “Thought it’d be quick, out in a day. Who brings food down here seriously?”
Lin Yan, seeing them sit and about to sit too, gave him a resentful look upon hearing: “So you mean I’m not serious?”
Wu Xie was shocked: “You actually have food? Lin Xiaoge, Lin bro, brother, please give me some!”
Fatty grinned and crowded over: “Really? Young comrade, if you don’t mind, give me some too?” He pointed at Panzi: “Some for that one too?”
Lin Yan rolled his eyes. Seeing them all grubby and truly starving, he started feeling hungry too.
So they huddled together, each with a few compressed biscuits and a water bottle, somehow turning the escape into a tomb tea party.
