Gu Xianwang said in surprise, “Is this a person?”
Long Li crouched down and gently scraped away the white mycelium covering the cocoon with her short knife. Slowly, a dried-up corpse emerged, clad in a steel helmet and Japanese army uniform.
Ye Chan leaned in curiously for a closer look and exclaimed in astonishment, “This looks just like a Japanese army uniform from the Anti-Japanese War period. Look at that bayonet on the side—rusted to bits.”
She studied archaeology, so the older the corpse, the more at ease she felt. There wasn’t a trace of fear in her.
“How could a Japanese soldier’s corpse end up here?” Gu Xianwang said. “From the Anti-Japanese War to now, it’s been nearly seventy years.”
“Maybe he got separated during a battle,” Ye Chan suggested, “fled in here to hide, and starved to death.”
Gu Xianwang glanced toward the depths on both sides of the rock tunnel. There were many more such cocoons. “He’s not the only one.”
Ye Chan stood up, ready to follow them over for a look. But after two steps, she wasn’t satisfied. She doubled back and gave the Japanese soldier’s steel helmet a few vicious kicks. “Serves you right for barging into someone else’s home, you bastard. You deserved to die.”
In just a dozen or so paces, Long Li had uncovered five dried corpses. Three wore the same steel helmets and uniforms, and they were armed. The other two were dressed in coarse homespun shirts like ordinary villagers; it was impossible to tell if they were men or women. They had probably been seized as guides.
There were no more white cocoons ahead for the moment.
Ye Chan thought it over and ventured, “I don’t think these three Japanese soldiers got scattered in battle. It’s more like they sneaked out on their own to line their pockets.”
Gu Xianwang frowned. “Line their pockets? You mean they came to the village to loot?”
Ye Chan nodded. “Yeah, something like that. Back then, the Japanese soldiers carried out the Three Alls Policy, but that wasn’t enough for them. Their head quietly allowed them to plunder on the side. I’d bet these three grabbed some villagers and dragged them into the cave to hunt for valuables.”
“What valuables could there be in a cave like this?”
Long Li stared into the dark depths ahead. “Let’s keep going and find out.”
Gu Xianwang nodded, and the three pressed on, using their lighter to illuminate the way.
Once the firelight faded into the distance, darkness closed in once more. In the unseen corners, the dense white filaments suddenly stirred as if coming alive. Before long, the exposed dried corpses were enveloped again by the mycelium, tucked back into their cocoons.
~~~
“What do you suppose killed them?” Ye Chan asked. “I didn’t see any wounds on their bodies.”
She shook her head and stomped along; this stretch of the path was nice and level. They hadn’t seen any more cocoon-like fungal clusters, just the rock walls blanketed in fluffy white. Staring at it too long even made it seem kind of cute, like a kingdom made of cotton candy.
Long Li replied, “The two in homespun had bullet holes in their waists and abdomens. They were shot. As for the three Japanese soldiers, we don’t know yet.”
“Maybe they got their comeuppance,” Ye Chan said innocently.
Gu Xianwang added, “Their presence here means this tunnel definitely connects to an exit.”
“That’s true,” Ye Chan agreed. “Those Japanese didn’t have backpacks, so their camp couldn’t have been far away. Sigh—if they’d brought supplies, we might have rations right now. I’m starving.”
She hadn’t felt it before, but mentioning hunger only made it worse. And they weren’t just hungry—they were parched. It had been hours since they’d had a drop of water.
Gu Xianwang licked her dry lips and teased, “You’d eat their stuff?”
Ye Chan threw her head back. “Why not? When you’re starving enough, you’ll eat bugs, chew grass roots, anything. These cotton candy fungi… well, I’m not quite there yet. Starve me a little longer.”
No sooner had she spoken than her stomach let out a loud, rumbling growl, thoroughly embarrassing her.
Ye Chan kicked a pebble across the ground, listening to the clattering echoes, and pouted. “God, I’m craving branded pot right now.”
Gu Xianwang couldn’t help but laugh, torn between amusement and exasperation. Ye Chan had fallen victim to gu poison from eating that stuff before, and here she was craving it again. But on second thought, at least Ye Chan had gotten a taste. What about her?
It had been at least two days since she’d had a proper meal.
She rubbed her stomach and glanced at Long Li, recalling how the woman had claimed she didn’t eat much. Well, that was just great—now she’d been shot at with arrows and swarmed by bugs alongside them, and hadn’t even gotten a Snickers out of it.
She was basically just free labor.
Gu Xianwang sidled up to her, a little out of breath. “Hey… are you hungry?”
Long Li halted and shot her a sidelong glance. Then she reached into her pocket, pulled out a piece of chocolate, and held it out in her palm. “Here. Eat this.”
Gu Xianwang: “…” Could she accept it? Would she even have a conscience if she did?
Seeing Gu Xianwang’s ears flush bright red, Long Li arched a brow. “What’s wrong? Not feeling well?”
Gu Xianwang shook her head and murmured, “You keep it for yourself.”
Long Li understood and stuffed the chocolate into her hand. “Eat some to replenish your strength. You’re injured right now, so don’t push yourself.”
Ye Chan spotted the food and bounced right over, holding out her hands expectantly. “Sister Long, I’m starving.”
Long Li’s lips curved in a smile as she pulled out another piece of chocolate and handed it over. “Make it last; there isn’t much.”
Ye Chan ripped open the wrapper and popped the whole thing in her mouth. Eat, drink, and be merry for today! It even had a nut inside, which crunched with a burst of sweet, fragrant flavor—absolutely delicious.
“Sister Long, you’re like the sister I never had. I’ve got one older brother, that rotten jerk with his awful temper. He couldn’t hold a candle to you—not even the dust from your shoes.”
Gu Xianwang ate half and pocketed the other half, saving the intact nut.
“What about you?”
“I’ve got more. Don’t worry. Come find me if you get hungry.”
Ye Chan immediately put on her most shameless grin and sidled closer. “I’m hungry.”
Long Li shook her head. “Not right now. You wolfed it down too fast. Chocolate packs a lot of calories, but it’s so sweet and rich that too much will just leave you thirsty.”
“Heh heh, good point.” Ye Chan flashed her big white teeth, smeared with chocolate, grinned for a moment, then bounced ahead on light feet.
Gu Xianwang fell silent for a beat and didn’t follow.
Long Li glanced back. “Not coming?”
Gu Xianwang tilted her head, her gaze fixed on a small clump of white mycelium at the base of the rock. It looked like a puff of cotton candy had melted into her pupils. “…Thank you.”
Long Li’s eyes crinkled with amusement. “For what?”
“The chocolate. And for helping me.”
Her voice was soft, meant only for the two of them.
Long Li chuckled. “Didn’t I say it already? It’s hard for me to hold out alone. Helping you helps me too. No thanks necessary.”
Was that really it? Gu Xianwang stepped forward to join her. This woman’s skills were so formidable; she probably could have gotten out on her own long ago.
Long Li waited until she drew alongside before starting forward again. “Miss Gu, are you always this serious?”
“Are you saying I’m too rigid?”
“Has anyone ever told you that?”
Gu Xianwang nodded, her thoughts drifting to all the elite young men her master had introduced her to in the past. “Yes.”
Long Li smiled, her voice gentle. “Then maybe I just don’t know you well enough yet to spot any rigidity.”
She paused, then added suddenly, “If we’re fortunate enough to clear away any lingering doubts someday, I might even get the chance to see it for myself and decide if the judgments hold water.”
Gu Xianwang stole a glance at her profile. “You mean—”
“Hey, you two! Come quick and check this out—I found something!”
Ye Chan’s excited shout cut Gu Xianwang off. Long Li raised the lighter higher and hurried over.
Ye Chan was crouched at the base of the rock wall, prodding a chunk of loose rubble with her finger.
In the glow of the flame, she pointed to flecks of metallic grit in the stone, fine as sand. Her eyes were wide. “Look at this—doesn’t it resemble gold dust?”
Gu Xianwang leaned in close. The grains did gleam with a golden sheen, though they were so tiny they were hard to pinch. “Gold dust in a cave like this?”
“Not necessarily just dust.” Ye Chan shuffled forward a little on her haunches. “What if there’s a whole gold vein hidden here? Why else would those Japanese soldiers have come all the way in?”
Panning for gold inside a cave? It sounded utterly absurd. Gu Xianwang’s mental image of gold prospecting was still straight out of America’s nineteenth-century gold rush—she’d never dreamed she’d stumble on a vein herself.
“Here! Come on, look.” Ye Chan spun around, holding up a tiny gold bead pinched between her fingertips. Its surface was rough and pitted, like a nugget of golden earth.
Long Li peered at it closely, sounding intrigued. “It certainly looks a bit like gold.”
Gu Xianwang recalled a tale her master had once shared. “It might be placer gold. If we find a bigger piece, we could roast it over a fire to test.”
For once, she—a true heir to the art of treasure spotting—felt out of her depth. She could only blame her master for skimping on the theoretical teachings, passing down only the Eye Technique. She had the sharp vision, but without the knowledge to back it up, all she could do was stew in frustration.
She remembered he kept a notebook in his room, full of years of hard-won treasure-spotting notes. Once she made it back this time, she might have to sneak a peek at it.
“There are more! Let’s keep going ahead; bigger ones have to be around. If this turns out to be a real gold vein, we’re rich! Forget school—I’ll just flop around like a salted fish forever.”
Gu Xianwang watched her act like a total gold fiend. “Slow down. Don’t touch that mycelium.”
She stood up and tilted her head—and the world suddenly went black as blood rushed to her brain. She staggered.
Long Li steadied her. “Dizzy?”
“Yeah, probably from straining my eyes too much.” Gu Xianwang rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. She’d never pushed the Eye Technique so hard before. The intense focus was draining enough on its own, and with her injury and empty stomach, the aftereffects were inevitable.
“In that case, no need to look.”
Gu Xianwang nodded, but suddenly realized her words sounded odd. Tentatively, she asked, “Did you… look into me?”
Long Li met her gaze without any evasion. “Yes. Sara showed me your file that night in the Abandoned Village.”
Gu Xianwang blinked and silently withdrew her hand, her brows furrowing slightly. “So, you know my background.”
Truth be told, she wasn’t particularly surprised. That same night, she had messaged Senior Brother to investigate the two of them as well, though she hadn’t uncovered anything useful. Still, the imbalance of her secrets being exposed while she knew so little in return left her with a faint sense of unease.
Long Li pulled her hand back and paused before continuing. “Before this moment, you and I might have been enemies, so I looked into you. I know your origins.”
She had said “before this moment.” Gu Xianwang looked at her. “And now?”
Long Li countered with a question of her own. “What do you think of me?”
Gu Xianwang was just as forthright. “Before this, I figured you were… a rival. I still can’t quite see through you—you’re mysterious. But maybe you’re not a bad person.”
Long Li let out a soft chuckle and glanced ahead. “Ye Chan’s gotten way out in front. We should keep moving.”
The conversation ground to an awkward halt. Gu Xianwang felt a pang of discomfort, but Long Li was clearly holding something back, and pressing further would only make her seem overly eager to hash things out.
What did she have to be so worked up about, anyway? Once they made it out of this cave, they’d be nothing more than strangers, their paths never to cross again.
Ye Chan stood ahead, craning her neck to gaze up at a sheer rock wall. When the other two finally caught up, she pointed and said, “Look, these Fungus Flowers are so pretty! They look just like silver ear mushrooms, but even more beautiful.”
As they drew closer, Long Li suddenly asked, “Ye Chan, can you see them clearly?”
Ye Chan turned her head. The red blotches in her eyes now seemed to have formed the vague shapes of pupils, twitching faintly as if in a daze. She tilted her head in confusion. “Yeah, I can see them perfectly.”
Long Li’s voice turned somber, her eyes darkening. “But the fire is right here with me.”
