Fatty Kui was the first to break the silence, collapsing onto his rear with a wheeze. "I… I think I left half my soul back there…"
Han Yu wiped his forehead and gave him a weak grin. "Good. Maybe without it you'll talk less."
"Heartless!" Fatty Kui cried dramatically, clutching his chest as if the words had wounded him deeper than any blade.
But even Han Yu's attempt at humor couldn't hide the sharp edge of tension still lingering in the air.
After a minute of ragged breathing, he forced himself upright and stepped closer to the jagged edge where the corridor had fallen away. Dust still trickled down in faint streams, vanishing into a bottomless darkness.
He swallowed, peering over the lip. "Looks like an abyss…"
Fatty Kui, who had crawled up beside him despite his protests of exhaustion, stared down wide-eyed. "How… how deep do you think it goes?" His voice trembled, as though even speaking the question might summon something from the darkness.
Wu Shuan lit another illumination talisman, the last one having gone out due to him losing focus.
The small sphere of light hovered in his palm and then with a flick of his fingers, he sent it floating downward into the abyss. They all leaned forward, watching intently as the little mote of light drifted further and further into the black.
For nearly a minute, it sank, its glow diminishing to a faint pinprick. Then it winked out of sight entirely. Wu Shuan frowned, pushing his spirit sense to follow it, but even his reach ended long before the light touched anything solid.
"I can't sense a bottom," he admitted, shaking his head.
Senior Brother Duan exhaled slowly, his expression grim. "It is useless. Whether or not we can see it, such pits are usually no less than a hundred meters deep. And I doubt it ends in open ground. There are likely spikes waiting below. Perhaps even something worse."
Han Yu raised a brow. "Worse than spikes?"
"Crushing arrays. Bottomless falls that lead to hidden layers. Or beasts sealed within the abyss itself," Duan listed calmly, as though discussing the weather.
Fatty Kui blanched, clutching his stomach. "I feel sick."
Duan's gaze hardened. "Regardless, had we been caught when the roof collapsed, we would not have fallen cleanly. We would have been pressed between falling stone and the pit, our bones broken before we even hit the bottom. Most likely, we'd be nothing but paste."
A collective shudder ran through them.
"So it's a classic tomb trap," Han Yu said quietly.
"Yes," Duan confirmed, his eyes narrowing. "And one of the harder ones to detect. No shifting Qi flows, no obvious inscriptions. Just silence, waiting for footsteps to awaken it."
Wu Shuan sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Then I suppose this marks the end of our exploration today. Too many risks and there isn't anymore visible paths. We've seen enough."
Before anyone could nod in agreement, Fatty Kui spoke up again. "Hey, look on the bright side. We got lucky. We found that spirit garden first instead of wasting time on these death paths. Imagine if we'd taken left or middle before right! We'd be empty-handed and depressed."
Han Yu's face went stiff. Slowly, he turned to glare at him. "You just jinxed us."
"What? No, I didn't—" Kui started.
"Yes, you did," Han Yu cut him off. "Now, mark my words, tomorrow we won't find a single treasure early. We'll be crawling through dead ends and traps until our hair turns white."
Wu Shuan surprised even himself by nodding gravely. "I agree. His tongue really might be cursed."
Duan, usually stoic, gave a faint, reluctant nod as well. "It does feel like the Heavens are listening when he speaks."
Fatty Kui gawked at them, horrified. "You can't all be serious! I'm not cursed!"
Han Yu patted his shoulder sympathetically. "Don't worry. At least you're useful as a walking example of what not to say."
Fatty Kui groaned and hid his face in his palms, muttering about betrayal and injustice once more.
But beneath the banter, none of them denied the truth: they were exhausted, shaken, and far too close to death for comfort.
They needed rest, not more danger.
So, with weary steps, the group made their way back toward the surface. The descent into the tomb had felt exciting and full of promise. The climb back up was sobering, the weight of what they had narrowly avoided pressing heavily on their shoulders.
When they finally emerged into the cool air outside, all four let out a collective sigh of relief. The sky above was already dimming toward evening, the last rays of light streaking across the clouds.
They trudged back toward the camp, each lost in their own thoughts. Their pouches were heavier, yes, but their nerves had been frayed thin.
Still, they had something of immense value to report: the location of the Spirit Garden.
The Herb Division disciples would need to move quickly to relocate the plants before rival sects or wandering disciples stumbled upon it. This text is hosted at ⓝovelFire.net
And though they would all later share in the merit points from this discovery, what weighed heaviest on their minds was the reminder the tomb had given them today; beneath every promise of treasure, danger lurked in the dark, waiting for the smallest misstep.
The group soon returned to the camp, with Wu Shuan and Senior Brother Duan going to report their findings as well as the map that Han Yu had made.
Fatty Kui was feeling hungry again and muttered something about fear eating his last meal, and needing to fill up again. Han Yu on the other hand, went to wash up first, as he had picked up a lot of dirt and dust.
By the time he returned, Wu Shuan told him that the Herb Division disciples had already gone out to the complex, under the supervision of a Junior Elder to relocate the trees.
"Oh also, we might get bonus merits from the spirit plants too." Wu Shuan gave one last good news.
"Nice!" Han Yu felt like this was the perfect end to an exciting yet tiring day.