On the wall opposite us, I saw the stone Zhao Feiyu had used for his test. But now, it was half-embedded in the wall's surface.
My first instinct was that the wall was the problem, and drawing the Meteor Iron was purely for defense. I approached the wall, steeling my nerves as I reached out to pull the stone free.
The moment my fingers touched it, a withered, mummified hand shot out from the wall's surface and clamped onto my wrist!
My right hand, holding the sword, reacted on its own, slashing downward and severing the hand. It fell to the floor and instantly crumbled into a pile of dust.
"Get back!" Zhao Feiyu shouted, sensing the danger.
I grunted in acknowledgment and tried to retreat, but the wall suddenly erupted. Countless more desiccated hands reached out, waving and grasping! Cursing inwardly, I scrambled backward, but several hands managed to latch onto my clothes, their arms stretching unnaturally as they pulled.
"A Wall of Ghostly Hands! To find one here!" Zhao Feiyu swore, pulling a white horsetail whisk from his pack.
"Don't attack!" I yelled, trying to stay calm, though being gripped by dozens of icy hands was deeply unsettling.
The ghostly hands pulled me relentlessly toward the wall. Strangely, I had a sense that there was something beyond it, a hidden space, and a part of me felt compelled to enter!
The distance between me and the wall was closing rapidly. Zhao Feiyu could no longer heed my warning. He stepped forward, his whisk moving like a blur, executing a technique meant to sweep away a thousand foes.
Where the whisk passed, the ghostly hands were severed. I shot him a look of reproach, but he ignored it, grabbing my arm and hauling me to the farthest corner from the terrifying wall.
The severed hands, like the first, dissolved into piles of sand. Zhao Feiyu remained on high alert, staring at the wall. But for some reason, the remaining hands retracted, slipping back into the stone as if they had never been there. The wall returned to its normal, inert state.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" Zhao Feiyu roared, his fear manifesting as anger once the immediate danger had passed.
I brushed the sand from my clothes and looked at him coolly. "I didn't ask you to save me."
"You—!" I could see he wanted to hit me, but I truly didn't care.
I walked to the spot below the rope and looked up. The rope was partially severed, though I didn't know how. The end dangled a good three meters above my head. I wasn't sure if I could reach it.
"So you're just leaving?" Zhao Feiyu asked, his voice tight with controlled fury as he watched me size up the rope.
"Yes. Those hands were a protective mechanism. Chen Erdian is already dead. I have no intention of delving deeper into this tomb to see what else is here," I stated flatly.
Just as Zhao Feiyu started to protest, I spotted movement from the Wall of Ghostly Hands.
The wall's surface became unnaturally smooth, and a small crack appeared in its center. I reversed my grip on the Meteor Iron sword, ready to throw it at whatever emerged.
A white object slowly pushed its way out of the crack. Zhao Feiyu and I held our breaths, bracing for some fearsome entity.
The object emerged fully and dropped to the floor with a soft thud. When I saw what it was, my face tightened once more.
A white opera mask.
I walked over, my expression blank, and picked it up. The mask, like the purple one, was streaked with bloody tears, but I was past caring.
I snorted coldly and prepared to hurl it away. But before I could release it, a shimmering, translucent figure materialized, and something once again pierced the empty space where my heart should have been.
"Xiao Lin!"
My eyes widened, fixed on the apparition before me. Zhao Feiyu's shout sounded distant and muffled. The figure was that of a man, but when his ghostly hand stabbed into my chest, his face registered shock.
"I've waited here so long... Finally, my master releases me, only to have me greet a... Heartless One?" the specter muttered, frowning as if puzzled.
I let out a cold laugh and swept the Meteor Iron sword horizontally through its neck. The apparition split in two and dissipated.
I picked up the mask again and shouted at it, "Show yourself! I am Mu Lin!"
I glanced down at my chest. The skin was torn away, revealing a dark, hollow cavity. Zhao Feiyu stood to the side, utterly at a loss for words. Twice in one day, attacked in the same spot. I had to wonder about ghosts' peculiar fixation with hearts.
A wisp of pale green smoke drifted from the mask, coalescing into a female ghost dressed in stage robes. When she saw me, her face paled, and she bowed respectfully. "Xiao Lin! You... you're alright?"
I looked at her, surprised to encounter her here. A faint, bitter smile touched my lips. "Bai Ji, how much do you wish for something to happen to me?"
Bai Ji shook her head, but her expression soured when she saw the gaping hole in my chest. I turned to Zhao Feiyu. "Wait for me outside."
Understanding that I needed to speak with Bai Ji alone, he nodded and moved toward the shaft. Seeing the severed rope, he looked back at me with a helpless shrug, silently asking for a solution.
Truthfully, I had no way out either. I shook my head. "Forget it. It doesn't matter if you hear. It's not like you don't know about my past."
"Xiao Lin, your heart... he still..." Bai Ji stared at the cavity, her words trailing off.
"Yes. He took it. Why are you here?" I asked.
"I tried to stop him from hurting you that day. But I was just a spirit servant he raised; how could I oppose him? Eventually, he sent me here. I can feel this place is different. He must have wanted me to guard what's inside," Bai Ji explained honestly.
I nodded, falling silent. I pointed at the corpses on the floor. "Did you kill these people? And where is the entrance?"
Bai Ji looked at me, her expression serious. "Xiao Lin, I did not kill them. I wouldn't even have emerged from the wall if you hadn't been caught by the Ghostly Hands. My power is weak; appearing costs me dearly. As for the entrance... I don't know."
Not Bai Ji? This news genuinely shocked me. I looked at the bodies again, all missing their hearts. I fell into a brooding silence. It was Zhao Feiyu who broke it. "Remember? Something was pulling at us when we descended. We thought they were 'substitute ghosts,' but it seems more likely they were deliberately cultivated by someone."
"Bai Ji, who else has been here recently?" I turned and asked her directly.
Bai Ji looked at me, hesitating for a long moment before finally saying, "He has been here."
So, I was right.
"Let it be. The dragon vein in this tomb can't be saved now. Let's go. We'll fill this hole, sever the dragon's tail at the well, and leave this place for good."
Bai Ji always referred to that man as "he." I knew she didn't want to say his name in front of me. That man, who would dig out his own son's heart for the sake of a dragon vein... He wasn't worthy of the title "father."
As I prepared to leave, Bai Ji spoke up tentatively. "Xiao Lin... I don't want to stay here anymore. May I..."
"Go ahead," I cut her off, picking up the mask and gesturing for her to return to it.
Bai Ji gave me a grateful smile and dissolved back into the mask. Zhao Feiyu looked confused by my action. I offered a simple explanation. "She was the only one who tried to protect me."
看他的表情,他就明白了.他点点头,没有再说什么.
我以赵飞宇的肩膀为垫脚石,够到了绳子.爬出来后,我为他放下了一根新绳子.他出局后,我们一起努力填补这个漏洞.
当我们到达槐树处时,已是半夜了.我和赵飞宇赶紧向井边走去.村子里依然一片寂静,正如我所希望的那样.我看着那两条铁链,拔出了流星铁剑.
有力的一挥,清脆的声音响起,剑斩断了一条锁链.第二次攻击又砍伤了对方.在那一瞬间,我好像听到了微弱的,痛苦的龙吼声.
"完成了?"赵飞宇看着我问道.
我点点头,收拾好东西,说道:"走吧."
赵飞宇脱下外套,披在我的肩上.我疑惑地看着他.他指着我胸口的洞. "你这样子就不怕吓死人吗?"
我低头看了一眼被撕裂的肉体和下面的黑色虚空.我点点头,承认他的手势,然后钻进了他的吉普车.
开车的过程中,赵飞宇好几次想开口说话,但都戛然而止.
"尽管问,"我闭着眼睛说道.
"你...你怎么还活着?没有心了?"他尴尬地笑着问道.
"我不知道,当时我以为我肯定死了,但我在鬼塔里醒来."我简单地说,没有理由隐瞒.
"幽灵塔救了你?"
"我和他,和你一样,都是鬼塔的人.鬼塔最大的敌人是江河,他背叛了鬼塔加入了他们,你以为鬼塔会善罢甘休吗?至于我的命...他们救了我之后,就不再属于我了.鬼塔说什么,我就得做什么,这就是拯救我的代价."我的笑声苦涩,夹杂着无奈.
闻言,赵飞宇沉默了,专注地看着路.我把手放在胸口的空洞上.没有心跳.
我都忘了我是从什么时候开始习惯没有心的.渐渐地,我不再相信任何人.我不知道该相信谁.现在,我只相信自己.