Chapter 127: Entering the Cave
Marcus bypassed the butterfly-shaped mines on the ground and walked to the large red double-door metal gate of the Hsu Family compound.
The gate was ajar, about half a meter wide.
Above the gap hung a yellow warning tape, corroded and weathered, its frayed edges suggesting it might break at any moment.
The surroundings were utterly silent; not even the sound of insects or birds could be heard, as if this were a barren wasteland.
Marcus reached out and pushed the gate.
Accompanied by a chilling, creaking sound from the rusty metal door, the gate slowly opened.
This was the first time in six years that the gate had been opened so wide; the sound echoed through the compound, creating a faint echo, as if sending a signal to something.
Marcus stepped through the gate, truly entering the Hsu family's compound.
To the right of the entrance was a structure built of wooden planks, metal strips, and sheets. The second floor had three rooms, with windows of varying sizes in white, yellow, and green pieced together in a row.
Below were only two rooms, with an empty hall between them. Strings of red and yellow cloth strips hung from the ceiling of the hall, covered with strange symbols.
These tattered cloth strips swayed slightly, asserting their presence.
On the outer wall between the first and second floors hung black and red banner-like ornaments, completely covered by grime; the writing had long been washed away by wind and rain, making it impossible to know what they originally said.
Strings of tattered red paper lanterns hung from all the eaves and trees of the surrounding buildings, in great numbers.
The compound was desolate and dilapidated.
The Mother Buddha Deity seemed to have received a signal from Marcus; a gust of cold wind blew from the innermost part of the compound, swirling around the entrance.
"A very novel welcoming ceremony,"
Marcus said, gently pressing down the red cloth covering the sacred altar with his right hand to prevent it from being lifted by the wind.
Now that he was here, he might as well go straight for the confrontation.
He followed the most recently left footprints on the ground, which must have been left by Li Ronan.
A series of sounds followed immediately.
Suddenly, the wooden planks of the two structures fell to the ground from mid-air, and the wooden frames along the roadside collapsed instantly, as if in an earthquake. Although there was no ground tremor, many objects fell, raising a cloud of dust.
Marcus glanced at the collapsed wooden debris beside him and continued walking forward. After walking several dozen meters, he saw the debris again.
"That trick again!"
Although he had the protection mirror and ceremonial staff given to him by Master Yuan, he wasn't going to use them in this open space; the cave was the real battleground.
"Cleansing Fire."
Marcus took out a blessed paper. Under the influence of spiritual power, it seemed to conform to some specific law, igniting itself without external flame.
He threw the paper, which he had held high, to the ground. It was like a ball of flame falling from the sky, pressing down on the ground, as if a heavy impact was resounding spiritually.
It was as if something had been broken.
Marcus lifted his foot and continued forward, but then he heard an old man's voice behind him.
"Son, come out quickly! This is a cursed place, you can't go in! Come to me quickly, I'll try to protect you from the evil!"
"Whose boy are you? What's your name?"
The old man's voice was extremely anxious, filled with worry.
Marcus glanced sideways and saw an old man in old dark clothing standing at the red gate, slapping his thigh and loudly calling to him.
"Nice try!"
Marcus completely ignored the old man at the gate.
Asking someone's name was clearly the work of the Mother Buddha Deity.
Putting aside the butterfly mines along the way, how did this old man with failing eyesight even get up here?
Any normal person, after experiencing something truly supernatural, would be terrified of anything eerie.
They'd be afraid to speak out and provoke it again.
This old man dared to stand directly at the Mother Buddha Deity's gate, claiming it was cursed—wasn't he afraid Marcus was also something evil?
Moreover, given Marcus's hearing, he hadn't detected anyone approaching. This old man couldn't possibly be a stealth expert, moving silently.
Seeing that Marcus ignored him, the old man's compassionate expression slowly faded, becoming expressionless.
He stood frozen in the doorway, staring intently at Marcus, like a corpse, completely motionless.
From the structures on either side, rustling sounds came.
One by one, members of the Hsu family, their upper bodies bare and covered in symbols, emerged from the empty buildings.
They gathered on both sides of the road, staring at Marcus with predatory eyes.
Then, as if receiving a unified signal, they moved, walking stiffly, surrounding Marcus.
Marcus pulled out a silenced rifle and fired. The bullets pierced the bodies of these Hsu family members, but no blood flowed; they continued to approach.
He simply pulled out his chain weapon, released the chain connecting the weighted end, and swung the four-meter-long weapon with the chain attached.
With immense force, the Hsu family members were blown apart, one by one, their heads exploding.
The twenty-odd family members who resembled zombies surrounding him were wiped out in a minute.
But as their heads exploded, what flowed out wasn't blood, but countless black and white caterpillars.
These people were merely shells; their bodies were filled with these caterpillars, their movements controlled by them.
Marcus put away the chain weapon and pulled out a flamethrower.
He pulled the trigger, and jets of flame, like fire dragons, shot out more than 100 feet, the sprayed fuel completely igniting the land along the way, creating a sea of fire.
The densely packed caterpillars were roasted by the flames, then completely charred, the air filled with the acrid smell of burning.
These caterpillars were all controlled by the Mother Buddha Deity and could not be spared.
After burning them all, Marcus put away the flamethrower and continued onward.
Following the footprints, he soon saw a low cave entrance about three feet high.
Outside the cave was a wooden sign with a line of words carved on it with a knife:
"The Paranormal Investigators were here."
At the end of the line was a skull-like pattern.
This was what the ignorant Li Ronan and her two companions had done six years ago.
The cave entrance was carved from stone, looking like an open crypt entrance, as if the inside was a tomb.
Scattered around the entrance were broken pieces of mirror, shattered by Li Ronan.
Beside the broken mirror frame stood an unfamiliar, grotesque statue.
Marcus moved the statue aside and placed the gilded guardian statue at the cave entrance.
"You're here. If anything tries to get out, I hope you can stop it,"
Marcus said to the statue. This was to prevent the remaining power of the Mother Buddha Deity from escaping, as these evil entities were indeed resourceful.
He pulled out another mirror.
The purpose of placing the mirror here was to seal the deity's power, preventing it from spreading outside. It was just that Li Ronan and her trio of fools, instead of being careful entering the cave, had to break the mirror.
They disrupted the Hsu family's arrangements and ruined the deity's containment.
The deity herself was capable of shattering mirrors; she had shattered the mirror in Li Ronan's room when she threatened her.
Therefore, Marcus's mirror was a specially purchased acrylic plastic mirror. This type of mirror was resistant to even being hit with a hammer, let alone supernatural force.
The deity could try all she wanted; they'd see if it could shatter.
After passing through the low entrance and crossing a stone step, the floor inside the cave lowered by more than three feet, doubling the height and making the space feel more spacious.
Marcus could now stand upright; this height was perfect for him to utilize his abilities.
(End of Chapter)
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