Director Xiong's expression looked a bit unpleasant. I smiled indifferently, "Director Sun and I both saw it just now. It's nothing. You handled it well—it was just a warning shot, no big deal. Director Sun and I are witnesses."
"Leaders, let's talk about our matter first. My brother-in-law and five others all went down into the pit. It's been over half an hour. No sign of life or death. Aren't you sending someone down to check?" My third cousin uncle came over.
"Sanpao (third cousin uncle's nickname), you still have the nerve to come here! This is all your fault!" Grandpa kicked at his nephew right in the chest. Sanpao dodged and ran far away, shouting, "They came on their own, it's not my fault!"
Grandpa wasn't satisfied and threw his shoe at the back of Sanpao's head, "If you don't say anything, who else would know? You worthless good-for-nothing." My father and my second and third uncles stopped him from chasing, clearly taking sides.
The village chiefs waiting nearby tried to calm Grandpa down and pulled him aside. One of them came over and said to Grandpa, "Old Uncle Shen, Sanpao has a point. Regardless of what's down there, it's been quiet for a while. We should send someone down to take a look."
"Go down? It's too late!" Xiao Heshang said coldly from the side. When Grandpa was chasing Sanpao, Xiao Heshang had stood by the edge of the pit and looked down for a while. When he heard someone say to go down, he just said coldly.
The people in the pit were neighbors of that village chief, one of them even his nephew. Hearing Xiao Heshang's words, he was a little upset. "Old Taoist Xiao, what nonsense are you talking about? Too late? How would you know if you don't go down and see? Stop pretending to be a god."
"You want to see? Fine, no need to go down." Xiao Heshang took out a bundle of burning paper from his robe, moved to another spot, then took out a talisman and slipped it into the burning papers. He stretched the burning papers into the pit's area and set them on fire. The paper looked damp, the fire was small, but it produced thick smoke.
Though the smoke was heavy, it didn't sting. Suddenly the village chief pointed into the smoke, shouting, "Wang Qing, Wang Mao!" Two faces appeared in the smoke — one with bulging eyes and tongue out, the other pale and lifeless — neither looked alive. Then several other faces appeared in the smoke. At a glance, it was obvious none were living.
The village chief sat down heavily, looking at the indifferent Xiao Heshang. "They really… died?"
Xiao Heshang nodded. "Didn't you see it? This is their calamity. Fate is like this—no one can escape." He turned to Grandpa and said, "Old man, I've been close to you my whole life. I wanted to spend a few more years together, but alas, this is my fate too. Xiao Lazi, Director Sun, I'll go down with you later. Hopefully, everything's fine…"
Before he could finish, Grandpa interrupted, "Can't you go alone?"
Grandpa's words left Xiao Heshang speechless. After decades of brotherhood, he still couldn't compare to his own grandson. Grandpa felt wronged—how many generations of the Shen family have had a director like this? No need to go down and risk death, right? (Later Grandpa admitted he actually wanted Director Sun to accompany Xiao Heshang.)
"After all these years of friendship, can't you lend me your grandson for a while? Besides, with me here, what do you have to worry about?" Xiao Heshang said angrily.
Grandpa's face flushed. "With you here? You've already said your last words. What use does it make whether you're here or not?"
"That was just politeness! Who knows you're so unpolite to me!"
Grandpa got angry and said he'd go down with Xiao Heshang. Everyone around was stunned. Sun Fatty blurted out, regardless of occasion, "The wind howls, the Yi River chills — the two old brothers go down and never return." I kicked that fat guy hard from behind in anger.
Finally, Xiao Heshang swore by the heavens that there was nothing in the pit he couldn't handle with one hand. He only wanted to borrow my Heavenly Eye. Sun Fatty was going down to lend his official power. Only then did Grandpa agree for us to go down. Third Uncle volunteered to go too, but Xiao Heshang shook his head, "Your fate is too conflicting. Going down won't do you or us any good. Better to leave it."
"That still can't be just the three of you going down there, it's too unsafe." Hearing that we were going down into the pit, Chief Xiong shook his head repeatedly. Two leaders getting into trouble on his turf was a responsibility he could not bear.
"Yeah, the three of us going down isn't quite right." Xiao Heshang stared intently at Chief Xiong, making him increasingly uneasy. "Old Taoist, just say what you mean, don't glare at me like that!"
Xiao Heshang pulled Chief Xiong aside. "Old Xiong, look, it really isn't appropriate for the two leaders to come down with me. How about this… you come down with us? Besides, with you there, Old Xiong, it'd be more reassuring. Shen and the others waiting above would feel better too. Besides, County Magistrate Gan and the others are coming soon. When they hear that two leaders went down the pit but you, the precinct chief, are hanging around up top, how would Gan Daye feel? Would you still want to be chief?"
Chief Xiong frowned deeply. "Xiao Heshang, be honest with me—what exactly is down there? Are those kids dead?"
Xiao Heshang blinked and said, "To be honest, I don't know if they're dead or not. That was just a little trick earlier to stop their village chief from pestering us. Those kids probably fought down there over the loot."
Chief Xiong hesitated looking at the pit entrance, then gritted his teeth. "Alright, I'm going down! Xiao Heshang, if you're lying to me, down there I'll squeeze your life out!"
Xiao Heshang's smile stiffened a bit. "How could that be? I'm coming down too. You really have a heavy case of suspicion. Oh right, Old Xiong, besides your .64 pistol, bring some harder stuff."
That immediately raised Chief Xiong's suspicion. "Why do you ask? What exactly is down there? Be clear."
"I already told you, I don't know either. I'm just worried if there's some snake python or wild beast down there, your .64 pistol might not be enough. Better to be prepared."
Chief Xiong thought about it, then called someone to send two double-barrel shotguns and dozens of shells (handed in by villagers last month). All preparations done, it was finally time to descend.
Grandpa arranged for several stakes to be placed at the pit entrance, dismantled the pulley from the village well, tied it to the stakes, and braided a few hemp ropes tied to the pulley. They placed a wicker basket on the rope.
Third Uncle tested it and said it was fine. He pointed at the basket, "Who's going first?" As soon as he finished, six pairs of eyes immediately stared at Xiao Heshang.
"Why all look at me?" Xiao Heshang spat. "I'm over sixty, almost seventy. You young fellows should be ashamed to let me go first!"
"Old Taoist, you don't look over forty. You're vigorous for your age, and besides, your entertainment company is running well — pretty much fulfilled your wish in life. You going first, I think, is no problem." Sun Fatty said with a smile.
Seeing Xiao Heshang's expression, I felt reluctant. After all, he raised me and is nearly seventy. Should he really go first? Just as I was about to say I would go first, Grandpa suddenly coughed strangely and gave me a meaningful look. He still wasn't at ease with me, his eldest grandson.
Before I could react, Chief Xiong spoke. "I'll go first. Stay alert and pull the rope immediately if anything's wrong. Hey, someone give me the flashlight." Saying this, Chief Xiong squatted into the wicker basket, tied the flashlight to the shotgun, one hand holding the gun, the other the rope. "Alright, lower me slowly…"
Six young men carefully lowered Chief Xiong bit by bit into the pit. At first, we could still hear him say: "Slow down… why are you in such a hurry? Slower, you're lowering me too fast, I'm dizzy." But his voice gradually faded, until at the pit entrance we couldn't hear a word.
About five minutes later, Chief Xiong reached the bottom. "Lower another one."
I was second. The process was the same as Chief Xiong's, no need to repeat. Once at the bottom, a biting cold wind blew past. Old Xiong stood at the edge, shivering and pacing. "Director Shen, it's wickedly cold down here…"
I stretched my limbs. "Maybe it's because we're under the river." Then I shouted up, asking them to send down some thick clothes.
Using the flashlight to look around, the walls and floor were pitch black. No golden ingots in sight. Nor any of the kids who went down earlier. But ahead was a large hole, and it seemed to have a path inside.
Sun Fatty was the third down. He brought a few clothes, but they were all thin (ripped off people above). Better than nothing. Old Xiong and I each put on a few layers and felt slightly better.
Xiao Heshang came down fourth, carrying a shotgun (which Sun Fatty had originally carried but he grabbed it back, saying it could be used as a cane down there), wobbling down the basket.
Sun Fatty rubbed his hands, exhaling white mist. "Old Taoist, why is it so cold here?"
"It's yin energy." Xiao Heshang circled the bottom, then turned to me. "Little Lazi, do you sense anything?"
I shook my head. "No feeling. You say yin energy, but it doesn't feel like it. When we perform ghost operas, yin energy condenses into mist that I can see. But here there's nothing—just cold. Why do you say there's yin energy?"
Xiao Heshang rubbed his hands. "The yin energy seen during ghost operas is ghost qi, a tangible kind. This yin energy is from the extreme yin spot in nature, intangible. Even with your Heavenly Eye fully open, you'd only feel it, not see a trace."
Chief Xiong looked increasingly suspicious. "Xiao Heshang, what are you talking about? Yin energy, ghosts—what else are you hiding from me?"
Seeing Chief Xiong get anxious, Xiao Heshang smiled. "We're talking about why it's so cold. Like I said, I'm an old Taoist; naturally I talk about yin-yang, five elements, yin ghosts. Don't overthink it. Before I came down, County Magistrate Gan arrived and asked who was in charge. I gave a thumbs up and said Chief Xiong. Hearing that people were missing, Gan personally came down to rescue. He kept praising you."
"Sounds like a true story. Don't know if you're telling the truth or fooling me, but I think you're mostly telling the truth." Chief Xiong said with doubt but seemed to believe it. "Xiao Heshang, what now? Move forward? There's a big hole ahead."
"Why hurry? There's one small step left before going forward." Xiao Heshang said as he slowly rummaged through his Taoist robe. A small wine cup, a few copper coins, and a three-inch incense stick. In front of us, Xiao Heshang used the flashlight to draw a circle on the ground. Outside the circle, he neatly placed four copper coins. Around each coin, he drew crooked, twisted talismans. Finally, he stuck the incense in the center of the circle.
I recognized it. "Old Xiao, is this the Six Directions Array? You're still 'ceremonial before battle'? Isn't that supposed to be done above ground? Will it still work down here?"
"Hmph!" Xiao Heshang sneered. "The Four Directions Array? Worship it? Taught by Gao Liang, right? Ceremonial before battle? This old Taoist never plays that! Watch and learn—this is the Blazing Shadow Formation, designed specifically to dispel yin energy." Then he took out a dagger, glanced at me hesitatingly, hid it behind his back, and turned to Sun Fatty. "Little Fatty, come here and help me."
Sun Fatty looked at him and spat, "Hah! You think I'm blind? You just want to bleed me to use my blood as a lure for the array. I've seen a lot of this at the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation!"
"If you don't want to, fine. Lazi, how about you? Why dodge? A little blood's enough. You're in your twenties, full of vigor, a bit of blood won't matter." Seeing me trying to dodge too, Xiao Heshang looked at Chief Xiong. Just as he was about to speak, Chief Xiong glared and Xiao Heshang swallowed the words.
Helpless, Xiao Heshang pricked his own thumb, squeezing a few drops of fresh blood into the wine cup. Then he placed the cup in front of the incense, and finally lit the incense.
Once lit, a strange scene unfolded. Xiao Heshang waved the slowly rising smoke with his hand. Instead of dispersing upward, the smoke changed direction and drifted horizontally like a line, heading toward the hole…