I couldn't see clearly what the long figure was, and the ground was making strange sounds. But it was certain that this thing in front of me definitely wasn't the pale-faced monster.
Just from the appearance, this guy was much thinner and weaker than the pale-faced monster, and when it saw me, it didn't immediately attack, nor did it have the strange growl of the pale-faced monster.
I took a few steps back, not calling Fatty and the others, afraid of alarming the unidentified guy in front of me.
"Chk, chk..."
The fragmented sound came from time to time, I took a few steps back, but the other side was slowly approaching, as if it was also hesitant to attack me immediately.
I tightly gripped the bone dagger, then took the flashlight off my shoulder and slowly raised it bit by bit, the circle of light from the flashlight slowly moved onto the long figure in front of me.
Upon being illuminated in front of me, I finally saw this guy's face! Clearly, it wasn't a person, but a standing skeleton!
"No way..."
I widened my eyes. This wasn't the first time I had seen a bizarre scene, but a standing skeleton demon, I had never seen anything like it before. My heart was beating wildly and I swung the flashlight frantically. The circle of light swayed in the dark underground and quickly caught Zhu's attention.
"Xiaoshan, have you found anything there?"
He asked strangely.
I didn't dare to speak, but Zhuzi, not hearing my answer, walked towards me strangely. He was getting closer and closer, and the white bones in front of me were also getting closer. At that moment, I couldn't help but shout, "Zhuzi, there's a monster here!"
Zhuzi was stunned when he heard it, then immediately took out the thunderstone needle and stood alertly. However, my shout did not alarm the monster in front of me. The creature, resembling white bones, suddenly stopped and stood about two to three meters away from me without approaching.
Zhuzi looked at me nervously, and after waiting for a while, he cautiously approached me, getting behind me and looking along the flashlight beam. He also saw this eerie white bone!
"Zhuzi, this white bone has been following me."
I said softly.
"Don't panic, bones don't come to life. Even if they did, I'll use the thunderstone needle to deal with it. But..." Zhuzi hesitated, then boldly walked up. I wanted to stop him, but I saw him wave his hand. He walked up to the white bones, while I held the dagger ready to rush up in case anything went wrong!
Zhuzi walked up to the side of the white bones, and the white bones remained motionless, hanging its head low, which at this moment seemed more like it was suspended in the air.
"Xiaoshan, come and take a look."
Zhuzi called me over, as if he had discovered something. I hurried over and saw why this white bone was moving! Behind the white bone was a black tube, and one end of this black tube was inserted into the wall. I illuminated the wall with the flashlight and discovered a groove about five to six centimeters high and about ten meters long. Just now, this tube moved in the groove, causing the white bone to move, making it look as if the bone had stood up on its own!
"It really scared me, this damn thing."
Feeling embarrassed, I lifted my foot and kicked the white bone to the ground. Unexpectedly, this kick uncovered an unexpected discovery! The white bone detached from the black tube, and the tube, like a mechanism, reversed along the groove in the wall, making a "clicking" sound inside the wall, as if gears or similar mechanisms were turning.
Fatso heard the sound and hurried over, the ground began to rumble, and the wall kept shaking. The entire underground space was shaking violently, and the three of us quickly took a few steps back. We didn't know what was going to happen, so it was safer to stay away.
About ten meters back, we could see a crack in the wall in front of us.
"The black tube we just touched may be the mechanism for opening the secret door, so it's like our lucky day, stumbling upon a new discovery, haha."
Zhuzi said joyfully.
The crack in the wall grew larger, and the whole opening process was accompanied by shaking that felt like an earthquake, lasting about one or two minutes. Finally, at the end of the underground river, a door opened in the wall. The entire door was dark, but a cold wind blew out from it.
Fatty couldn't help but want to go and take a look, but Zhuzi stopped him.
"It doesn't feel right, let's see what's going on first."
After all, Zhuzi was an old hand at this. Fatty quickly shrank back, and we hid in the shadows for about ten seconds before something strange happened!
Our profession, in fact, is quite different from tomb raiding and exploration. Tomb raiders and explorers may also face numerous difficulties and dangers throughout their lives, but encountering supernatural events a few times is considered unlucky. Whereas for us, wherever there are supernatural events, creatures, or monsters, we go there. So, if we can avoid encountering strange things, we're considered fortunate.
Although we encountered the pale-faced creature before, it had been quite peaceful since we entered the well. The white bone was just a misunderstanding. However, what happened next was the first major incident I had seen since I started in this line of work!
It exactly validated what Zhuzi had said earlier, that this time we encountered a "big shot"!
A door in the dark wall opened, and soon strange sounds came from inside. At first, we couldn't quite make out the first few sounds, they seemed like echoes caused by the wind blowing in. But as these sounds continued to reverberate, the three of us finally understood them!
"That's a strange and eerie scream!
The voice is hoarse, like an old woman who has aged, with each scream seeming to come from the deepest part of the throat, making the scalp tingle, with a strange feeling of tearing!
"Something's not right, be careful..."
Even if Zhu didn't say it, Fatty and I had already been on high alert. In the darkness, we couldn't see anything, and we didn't dare to use a flashlight to shine, but as time passed, accompanied by the terrifying screams, it seemed like something was slowly getting closer.
The wind blowing through the underground river was getting colder, and I didn't know if it was just my imagination or if it was the actual situation. I gripped the animal bone dagger, my eyes wide open, hardly daring to breathe.
After about one or two minutes, the source of the sound seemed to be getting closer, and at the same time, some strange footsteps could be heard, with gravel rolling at our feet, the speed seemed slow, but it was definitely getting closer.
At that moment, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the bell that Master Han had given me. Unexpectedly, as soon as I took out the bell, it immediately started ringing non-stop, making a "ding-ding" sound, which scared me into immediately stuffing the bell back into my pocket.
"Damn, don't mess around."
Zhu said angrily, and I nodded awkwardly, but luckily, I was fast enough, and the continuous screams from the other side also covered up the sound of the bell, so it seemed that we didn't attract too much trouble.
The bell given by Master Han must have been activated, and it would definitely react to impure things. The intense reaction when taken out, I think, can only be explained by one reason—what's about to come out from inside is definitely not something clean!
"Let's back up a bit."
Zhu pulled Fatty and me back a few meters, keeping a distance that would allow us to escape. At that moment, a green light appeared on the ground in front of us. I looked closely and found that it was actually some fireflies gathering near the stone door on the wall. I didn't know what was attracting these insects, but their gathering was lighting up the front. Amid the eerie green light, a figure finally appeared in my eyes!
Shrouded in the green light, a short figure appeared, looking even shorter than Zhu, with its head and body wrapped in black, dirty rags. But its hands and feet were exposed, and I could see its outstretched hand was pale, but thin and frail like a skeleton! Its entire face was not visible, but I could tell that the screams were coming from its mouth.
The fireflies surrounded its feet, making chirping sounds, and suddenly, the small monster reached out, grabbed a firefly on the ground, and then, right in front of us, stuffed the firefly into the black rags, followed by a nauseating sound of chewing and swallowing.
Fatty and I looked at each other, and both of us understood what the creature had just done!
It actually ate the firefly!