Anomaly in the Cave

Just as my feet were about to touch the water, I pushed off the well wall with both legs.

Stabilizing myself, I grabbed the rope with one hand and reached for the corpse with the other.

When I flipped the body over, I jumped in fright. The corpse's face had already started to bloat.

Its eyeballs were bulging out, and tiny insects were burrowing in and out of its flesh.

Just then, Qianqian also emerged from the wooden pai. Qianqian said it wasn't her corpse.

I was stunned. Because the corpse was so badly swollen, and the light at the bottom of the well wasn't very good, I hadn't gotten a clear look.

So I asked Qianqian, "Are you sure? I couldn't see very clearly. I just saw the bulging eyes and the face covered in countless little bugs."

Qianqian said, "There's no mistake, it's not my corpse." Hearing this, I was at a loss for what to do for a moment.

After thinking for a bit, I figured, since I was already down here, I'd get this corpse out first.

I tied the remaining rope around the corpse's waist, then started climbing up.

Once I was out, I pulled the rope, hauling the corpse out and placing it on the ground.

Then Qianqian stood beneath the large locust tree, staring blankly at the corpse I had brought up.

Suddenly, Qianqian let out a loud "Ah!"

Then she said this was her classmate, the one who had come here with her that day.

I asked Qianqian, "What about the others?" Qianqian said she didn't know.

I grabbed the rope again and went back down into the well to look. There was nothing in the well.

Climbing out, I sat on the ground, panting, and wondered if only Qianqian and this female student had been killed.

Then I asked Qianqian, "When you were in the well, did you see this girl?"

Qianqian thought for a moment and then said no.

Hearing this, I wondered if the person behind all this had taken Qianqian's corpse first.

And then thrown this girl into the well. What was their motive?

But I stood there for a long time, thinking, and couldn't figure it out.

Snapping back to reality, I decided to find a place to bury this girl's body.

Otherwise, in broad daylight, if anyone saw me, I'd have no way to explain myself, even if I had a hundred mouths.

Just as I was about to deal with the corpse, Qianqian said from the side, "Brother A Tong, I feel like my corpse is nearby, not far from here. Because it's daytime now, the connection is intermittent, so I don't know the exact location."

Hearing this, my heart leaped with joy. I then asked Qianqian to try again. Qianqian closed her eyes and tried.

Then she shook her head at me and said it wasn't working. She could only sense it was nearby, but couldn't pinpoint the exact location.

I thought, then I'll just have to wait until it gets dark. For now, I'll deal with this girl's body.

I found a wooden stick and tested the soil. Fortunately, the soil was quite loose.

I dug a not-too-deep pit in the loose soil.

Then I placed the girl's body inside, and covered it with the soil I had dug out, putting it back exactly as it was.

Afterward, I placed some weeds on top of the soil and leaned against the large locust tree, gasping for breath.

I told Qianqian that we should wait until it gets dark. It would be much easier to find then.

Qianqian said okay and returned to the wooden plaque. I decided to go to town to buy a flashlight and get something to eat.

Arriving in town, I ordered a bowl of noodles and ate them at a leisurely pace.

After eating, I wandered around for a few hours, then slowly made my way to a phone repair shop to fix my phone.

I had broken it the last time I went home, and it wouldn't turn on. I spent fifty yuan to replace the battery.

I turned on my phone, feeling a little excited. I thought if my dad had escaped, he would definitely call me.

But after looking at the call history for a long time, I didn't see anything. My heart sank, and I set the phone to silent and put it in my pocket.

Nearby, I bought a shovel for self-defense. Seeing that the sun was about to set, I hurried back towards the well.

By the time I arrived, it had just gotten dark, and Qianqian had come out.

I asked Qianqian to try and see if she could find the specific location of her corpse.

Qianqian did as I asked, then opened her eyes and told me she had found it, in the woods to the right of the lake.

I looked around, then said to Qianqian, "Let's go take a look."

Qianqian said okay and led the way. The moonlight was quite bright tonight, so I turned off my flashlight.

I was afraid the person behind this would see us and alert them. I walked very carefully, minding my steps.

I didn't dare make a sound. Qianqian floated, so she wasn't worried.

After taking about half an hour of winding turns, Qianqian stopped under a tree.

I asked Qianqian if we had arrived, and Qianqian said it was in the cave just ahead.

I looked up and saw that there was indeed a cave.

Then I asked Qianqian to return to the pendant. Two people were too conspicuous, and Qianqian nodded and went back.

Qianqian could still talk to me after returning to the pendant. Qianqian said her corpse was inside the cave.

After understanding the situation, I took a deep breath, holding a shovel in one hand.

I pushed aside the weeds and branches with my other hand and slowly walked towards the cave entrance.

As I got closer, I saw a light inside the cave, a faint firelight.

I couldn't see clearly, so I slowly walked towards the cave entrance.

When I reached the entrance, I poked my head in and saw that the cave was very deep.

At intervals inside the cave, a white candle was lit, emitting a faint light.

Seeing no one, I walked into the cave, moving very cautiously.

I didn't dare to make a sound. After walking for about ten minutes, I saw a very bright cave.

Faint sounds were coming from inside, like crying.

I couldn't hear clearly, so I slowly moved towards one side of the cave entrance.

I pressed my back against the cave wall and moved forward slowly, then I poked my head out to take a look.

With just that one glance, my pupils contracted sharply, and I almost cried out.

I covered my mouth with my hand and saw more than a dozen jars, like those used for pickling vegetables in the countryside.

On top of each jar was a girl's head, and it seemed like they were not dead yet.

Some were crying, some were begging for mercy, some had vacant eyes.

Some were completely still. I wondered how such small jars could hold a whole person.

Next to the jars, a human skin was hung on a wooden frame, spread out flat.

It was fixed to the frame, and with its long hair, it looked like a girl's skin.

Finally, a person stood on a stone platform looking at a corpse. The corpse was completely unclothed.

It was placed on the stone platform like that, and it seemed like some unintelligible runes were drawn on the corpse.

Qianqian said this was her corpse. I was startled and then asked Qianqian, "Are you sure?"

Qianqian said yes, the corpse had a connection to her soul, there was no mistake.

I asked why he drew those strange symbols on your corpse.

Qianqian replied, "Brother A Tong doesn't know, so how would I know?"

I thought about it and agreed, then ended the conversation with Qianqian.

Because the person's back was to me, I couldn't see what he looked like.

But his back somehow seemed familiar, and for a moment, I couldn't recall where I had seen it before.

Just as I was thinking about what to do next, because I was too nervous.

The shovel in my hand hit the cave wall, making a very faint "ding."

I thought, "This is bad." As expected, that person's hearing was also very sharp.

Then he suddenly turned around and shouted, "Who is it?"