Chapter 93: Giant Spider

Given the economic conditions of the Loufan Kingdom at the time, building such a colossal tomb would have required a sum of wealth that was essentially the full strength of the kingdom itself. After all, Loufan was only a small state in that era. It had some fighting power, but its economy was still extremely backward. Rather than calling it a country, it would have been more fitting to call it a nomadic people. To expend such immense resources on a tomb made it very hard to imagine what the purpose could possibly have been.

However, because of the shattered-dragon ceiling, blowing our way out with explosives or digging a robbers’ tunnel was no longer an option. So Old Ghost and the others, along with Third Lady Gu, began discussing what to do. In the end, after turning it over from every angle, they could only go through that opening, since it was the only exit available for now.

And so everyone began gearing up. Those with climbing equipment went up first to secure the ropes, and then everyone entered the opening. As for whatever might be lurking in that dangerous nest inside, Old Ghost did not worry about it much. After all, only Three Fire had gone in before, and now they had so many more people, with proper preparation and heavy firepower. He did not think there was anything they could not handle, so he paid it little mind.

Still, since Three Fire remained unconscious, there was no way to know the exact situation inside. Mingyue had not seen the dangerous creature in there either. Yet I noticed that neither Old Ghost nor Third Lady Gu, nor even their men, seemed to show the slightest fear of the unknown. They all appeared utterly unconcerned. It looked as if this group had seen plenty in their time and had long since grown numb to strange and unknown creatures.

At that moment, though, Black Shades and I were in a rather awkward position. We had no climbing gear, and neither of us was particularly good at climbing. But Old Ghost and the others would not move against us just yet. After all, we were still inside the mountain. If an explosion were triggered here, no one would come out of it unharmed. Besides, we had what he wanted, so of course he would not leave the two of us behind.

In this way, once the ropes were secured, people began ascending one after another. Black Shades and I followed along at the back. No one said anything about it. Truth be told, climbing like this was extremely exhausting. I was not good at it and did not know how to use my strength wisely, so a great deal of effort was wasted. Still, I made it up in the end. By the time I reached the opening, I was utterly worn out. Black Shades was the same. I could tell he was also tired, yet he was still keeping a wary eye on everything around him.

At that point I understood that from here on out, if Old Ghost noticed even the slightest lapse in our vigilance, he would not hesitate to kill us both at once. Especially Black Shades: he would have to be taken out before he could pull the grenade pin. So the two of us kept ourselves on the highest alert. Staying that alert was exhausting in itself; maintaining constant vigilance was no less draining than physical labor, and it left the mind thoroughly fatigued.

While keeping ourselves tightly guarded, we followed behind them. To be honest, the smell in here was truly awful, enough to make a person sick. Everywhere there was some kind of viscous fluid. Counselor Gu, wearing gloves, scooped up a handful of it, sniffed it, and said, “These should be remnants left inside some kind of creature. Looks poisonous, too. This place may already have become that creature’s nest. Everyone be careful.”

The farther in we went, the stronger the odor became. The passage was not especially wide either, but it was clear that although there were some signs of human workmanship, most of it must have been naturally formed. My guess was that the artisans at the time had discovered this opening and then modified it into an escape route.

Clearly, my guess was right. Counselor Gu and Old Simpleton came to the same conclusion. We were following behind, unable to see anything ahead. Then, as we walked, everyone suddenly stopped. In front of me were two women, both of them under Third Lady Gu. I did not ask why we had halted. It seemed something had happened ahead. Soon after, someone shouted, “There are a lot of human bones here.”

Ahead was a rather wide chamber, and inside it lay many bones, both human and animal. While everyone was examining them, a huge creature suddenly dropped down from the rocks overhead. It came down so abruptly that no one had any time to react, and one person was instantly pinned beneath it. When the beam of a flashlight swept over it, we saw that it looked like a giant spider, its entire body striped in green and black.

I did not know whether this was the mutated creature people spoke of in legends. A spider that was larger than a human was simply too unbelievable. And before anyone could react, it spat out a great many white strands of web, wrapping a person up tightly. Old Ghost and the others were decisive as ever. They opened fire without hesitation. In an instant, several blazing streams of gunfire filled the chamber, turning it into broad daylight. Their heavy firepower shredded the giant spider to pieces, torn limbs flying everywhere while sticky fluid sprayed in all directions, releasing a foul stench that made one want to retch.

The battle ended quickly. The person bound in webs was rescued, and no one was hurt. Then Counselor Gu went to inspect the spider’s corpse. I truly could not understand how someone could be so fearless in the face of something so disgusting. I did not even want to look at it, yet he was actually holding it and studying it for all it was worth.

Normally, we should have rested for a while, eaten something, drunk some water, and recovered our strength. But in a place like this, no one could possibly force food down. Everyone only wanted to get out as quickly as possible. So Old Ghost urged the others onward. Besides, the man called Three Fire was still unconscious, and Old Simpleton was worried that if anything else went wrong, matters would become even more troublesome, so he too was pressing everyone to quicken their pace.

But at that very moment, more of those giant spiders began dropping from the rocks above. Even worse, there was not just one of them, but more than a dozen. From the stone overhead, one enormous spider after another kept pouring out, in all sizes—some no bigger than a palm, others larger than a person. It looked as though we had blundered straight into their nest. Worse still, the one we had just killed might well have been an elder of the spider clan. At this point, it was likely a fight to the death.

Old Ghost’s group did have powerful firepower, but even that could not make up for the sheer number of spiders. And although the chamber was somewhat spacious, that was only relative. With so many people and so many spiders packed into the same place, there was no room at all to fight freely.