There was actually a door at the bottom of the well, and the entire door was closely fitted to the well wall, making it impossible to see when standing at the mouth of the well.
It was a wooden door, about seventy to eighty centimeters high but very wide, wide enough for this big turtle to crawl out from inside. There were some strange paper symbols pasted on the door, which looked somewhat similar to the paper symbols hanging on the bell given to me by Master Han.
I wasn't stupid. Any wooden door covered with paper symbols like this was just like the ones in the old ghost-catching movies, definitely ominous.
With this in mind, I slowly approached, being careful for fear that there might be something inside the wooden door.
When I reached beside the wooden door and gently pushed it with a dagger, unexpectedly, it wasn't very solid. It slowly opened a crack with my gentle push. A strange green light emerged from inside, making me even more cautious. The green light was unusual - there might be something unclean inside.
As I moved closer, my heart pounded, and the chubby guy above was also on high alert. If there was any danger, he would immediately pull me up.
It can be said that in a certain sense, my life was in the hands of the chubby guy!
With my face close to the crack of the wooden door, I carefully peeked inside. Looking through the crack, the first thing I saw in the green light startled me!
It was a pile of bones, lying about ten meters from me, with its head turned and facing directly toward me and the wooden door! What's more, the most frightening part was that its eyes emitted a faint green light!
"Damn it!"
I couldn't help but curse, and I quickly retreated. The chubby guy above, who heard my shout, immediately pulled me up.
As I hung in the air, I could still clearly hear my own breathing. Those bones were not some model we usually see in our school, they were definitely from someone who had died in there! Moreover, the faint green light in its eyes was unusual. After seeing such a creepy scene, the only thought in my mind was that I should avoid getting involved in any weird events!
The chubby guy pulled me to the edge of the well, and after I crossed to the other side, he asked breathlessly, "Scared me! What did you see down there?"
I swallowed a few times and, trying to calm down, said, "I saw a wooden door down there, and behind it was a pile of bones."
"What? Human bones?" The chubby guy was genuinely surprised, his eyes widened. I took a few deep breaths, asked the guy for a cigarette, took a few puffs, and said, "It's even more than that - the eyes of those bones emitted a sinister green light. It didn't seem peaceful inside, but..."
Before I could finish my sentence, I didn't continue. The chubby guy looked at me and, after thinking for a moment, asked, "Do you mean you want to go back down?"
No wonder we were long-time buddies. He had already seen through my thoughts a long time ago. After nodding, I turned to the well opening. If I remember correctly, someone once said that opportunities and risks coexist. We found nothing at Xuanming Temple, and it was not certain that we would gain anything if we went to the morning market. On the other hand, a place as creepy as the bone and green light might just be where the pearls I needed would exist. Taking a risk could potentially lead to great reward!
"Chubby, make the rope a little longer this time. I'll go down again to take a look. After all, those bones probably won't suddenly rise from the ground to attack me. If I encounter anything unusual, pull me up. Thanks for your hard work..."
After saying that, I slowly slid down the well wall, and after landing at the bottom of the well, I turned my head to look at the white bones in the wooden door, holding Daba's artifact in my hand. I hadn't seen clearly just now, but this time I concentrated and stared at the white bones, lying on the ground motionless. The green light seemed to come from its eyes, but upon closer observation, I discovered that the skeleton's eyes were empty, and the green light was not coming from its eyes, but passing through them.
I was indeed scared just now, but now that I have calmed down, my courage has returned somewhat!
I slowly crouched down and crawled towards the wooden door, and after a few crawls, I reached the side of the white bones. I reached out my hand holding Daba's protective talisman, and fortunately, the talisman had no reaction when placed on the white bones. Apparently, this thing was clean, at least not possessed by evil.
The whole skeleton seemed to be that of an adult male, but I am not a doctor or an expert in this field, and I couldn't tell how he died at the bottom of the well. And at this moment, what really caught my attention was the green light coming from behind the white bones. What exactly was this green light?
I gently pushed aside the white bones, and looking into the distance, the green light was coming from a point nearly 20 meters away from me. Taking a deep breath and estimating the length of the rope, I continued to crawl forward.
But I didn't expect to make a major discovery while crawling forward!
Originally, after entering through the wooden door, I felt a huge stone slab pressing down on me, as if I was crawling through an underground cave. However, after crossing the white bones and crawling a considerable distance forward, I discovered that the stone slab above my head had disappeared, and there was actually a spacious underground cave more than ten meters away from the wooden door. I looked up, and there was at least three to four meters from the ground to my head, and it seemed to have been artificially excavated. The surrounding stone walls had obviously been polished smooth. I couldn't help but wonder, who would build such a large cave under the Xuanning Monastery, and why would the entrance be located at the bottom of a well, so secretive that the local people certainly have no knowledge of it.
After taking a few more steps forward, the cave continued to extend deeper, and it was pitch black in front, and the air felt very murky. I felt distinctly uncomfortable, with dust and a large amount of stagnant gas entering my nostrils, making me slightly dizzy.
"Damn, I can't stay here any longer, or else I might not make it out alive."
Thinking this, I took a few steps forward, ready to figure out the source of the green light and then leave. But at that moment, something rolled over from the darkness in the distance.
I quickly stepped back and, upon closer inspection, realized that what had rolled over was actually a skull!
More than one person had died here! There must be more dead people further inside the cave, but how could a skull roll out? This cave was eerily quiet, with no wind blowing. Could a skull possibly roll on its own?
At that moment, some strange noises came from the darkness in the distance. I stepped back a few more steps, and the sound seemed to be coming towards me; it sounded like murmurs emitted by a wild animal, similar to the sounds made by a wild boar or a lion scenting something.
I didn't know what kind of creature or entity was in the darkness, but with the insight gained from the tortoise-shell, I couldn't help but speculate, could there be some sort of monster living in this cave?
I quickly retreated. The safest option now was to return to the surface!
The creature in the darkness was getting closer, and by now, I had retreated to the edge of the stone slab; any further back and I would have to lie down.
However, at that moment, the creature in the darkness finally appeared in front of me!
A slender figure, resembling a human, seemed to be wearing clothes, but it was too dark for me to see clearly. Only the walls and the ground illuminated by the green light could be seen to some extent.
I felt the figure approaching, and as it slowly crouched down, it stepped into the green light. This time I finally saw the other person's face clearly. The monster in the darkness, lit by the green light, was donning the coat that chilled me to the bone!
The instant I saw the coat, I almost didn't even think and just prostrated on the ground, quickly retreating.
The figure heard the noise and let out a terrifying growl, rushing towards me. I wasn't a soldier, but I was fairly agile. However, the figure was even faster, with a pale face, entirely black eyes, and the face of something human yet not. I lay on the ground, retreating back, and it swayed like a lizard, chasing after me.
It was about to catch me, and the situation at that moment was critical. I could even feel the cold aura emanating from it, and I could smell the bloody odour it emitted.
The wooden door was just behind me, but the creature was now close enough to grab me. In a moment of desperation, I threw Daba's protective talisman towards it, hoping to stall it, but to my surprise, the talisman had no effect at all on the creature!