Little Pink Starfish

The tunnel was less than a meter in diameter, a pitch-black, narrow passage exuding an eerie chill. The air was thick with the damp scent of soil mixed with something else Zhang Qiu couldn’t quite place. He felt uneasy.

The last time he had been inside a tomb was in the ancient kingdom of Gumu, but that time, he had been surrounded by a full research team and grounded in scientific materialism. This time was different. There was a Jiangshi’s corpse still lying in the grass.

Still, staying behind alone was even scarier.

Li Shu had already gone down.

Because the tunnel was steep and narrow, they had to crawl inside. Zhang Qiu had originally been wearing shorts and a T-shirt, but Li Shu had asked Jin Laoda for a jumpsuit. It was well-designed, with tightly sealed cuffs to keep out dirt and plenty of pockets for carrying tools. Of course, Jin Laoda’s crew hadn’t given him any equipment or food.

Li Shu was tall, leading the way with smooth, effortless movements. He didn’t look clumsy at all. Zhang Qiu followed closely, trying not to slow down, because if he fell behind, Jin Laoda—who was right behind him—would nudge him forward impatiently. The tunnel was too tight for anyone to turn around, so he had no choice but to grit his teeth and keep up.

As they crawled deeper, the soil became damp and sticky. Zhang Qiu felt a tightness in his chest, his vision blurred slightly, and every so often, he had to lift his head to catch sight of Li Shu’s flashlight. He had no idea how long they had been crawling when he suddenly saw the beam flicker twice.

He let out a deep breath. They had finally reached the end.

“Ahhh!”

A short, sharp scream echoed through the tunnel, abrupt and chilling—so sudden that whoever had screamed hadn’t even had time to call for help before being silenced.

Zhang Qiu’s hair stood on end. Chaos erupted behind him.

“What happened?”

“It was Lao Wu! Big brother, Lao Wu is gone!” the fourth brother cried out in terror.

“Don’t freak out! The tunnel is too narrow—how could a grown man just disappear? Look for him, and stay calm.” Jin Laoda’s voice was steady, but Zhang Qiu wasn’t about to sit still.

Ignoring everything else, he scrambled forward as fast as he could. Behind him, he heard the sounds of hurried movement—Jin Laoda was clearly scared too and wanted to get out of the tunnel as quickly as possible.

When Zhang Qiu reached the tunnel’s end, he realized that their makeshift passage still had a two-meter drop before connecting to the tomb’s main corridor. Jin Laoda’s team had drilled diagonally into the tomb passage.

Li Shu had already jumped down. He stood on the ground, holding a flashlight in one hand and reaching out with the other. At this point, Zhang Qiu wasn’t about to be picky—he grabbed Li Shu’s hand and jumped. He landed directly in Li Shu’s arms.

The tomb was freezing. Li Shu’s body temperature was naturally low, making Zhang Qiu feel like he had just embraced an ice block. His mind wandered briefly before a voice from the tunnel pulled him back to reality.

“Big brother, there’s a hole in the ground—Lao Wu fell in!”

“As long as he’s not dead, let’s get out of here first.”

A person vanishing in a narrow tunnel without explanation would have been terrifying, but learning that Lao Wu had simply fallen made the situation slightly less eerie. Zhang Qiu had exerted all his strength crawling those last few meters, and now, knowing it wasn’t supernatural, his nerves settled somewhat.

The remaining four men climbed down one by one, gathering in the passageway. The tomb was so vast that Zhang Qiu couldn’t tell which direction was which. Jin Laoda pulled out a compass, but in the dim lighting, Zhang Qiu couldn’t see where the needle pointed.

“Big brother, let’s go back for Lao Wu,” the third brother said.

The second brother glanced at Jin Laoda without speaking. Jin Laoda put the compass away and turned to Li Shu. “Brother?”

Li Shu didn’t reply. Instead, he took Zhang Qiu’s hand and started walking in the opposite direction.

Jin Laoda let out a quiet sigh of relief and gestured for the others to follow. “Weapons ready.”

The rest of the group was already on high alert. Even though Lao Wu’s disappearance wasn’t paranormal, it had put them all on edge. This tomb wasn’t like anything they had entered before—it felt cursed.

The passage was fairly wide, about two meters across, with stone slabs underfoot. The walls were coated in a pale material, likely to prevent moisture. Though cold, it wasn’t as damp as the tunnel they had just crawled through.

Zhang Qiu and Li Shu walked side by side. His gaze drifted down to their clasped hands, but he deliberately didn’t remind Li Shu to let go.

They had walked for about twenty meters when Li Shu suddenly stopped. His flashlight swept over the ground—Lao Wu was nowhere in sight. Only some fresh bloodstains remained, confirming that he had indeed fallen here.

Zhang Qiu looked up and saw a small hole in the ceiling. It seemed scratched out, as if something had clawed through the stone and dragged Lao Wu down.

The second brother noticed it too. His lips trembled before he hesitantly suggested, “Maybe Lao Wu fell and went looking for us? Let’s keep moving.”

Even the dimwitted third brother didn’t believe that. If Lao Wu had fallen and survived, wouldn’t he have come forward? Why would he disappear into the darkness?

Jin Laoda cut in before anyone could argue. “That makes sense. Let’s focus on the treasure and move forward.” He saw that Li Shu was about to turn back and quickly blocked him, pointing down the passageway instead. “This way.”

Zhang Qiu finally understood why Jin Laoda had wanted to retrieve Lao Wu—because the treasure was in that direction anyway.

The third brother looked like he wanted to argue, but in the end, he stayed quiet.

They continued walking. An odd feeling crept over Zhang Qiu—like someone was watching him.

He turned his head. The third brother, irritated, glared at him. Zhang Qiu turned away, but as his gaze passed over the hole above, he saw a pair of eyes staring back at him.

A chill ran down his spine. The hairs on his neck stood on end. He quickly looked again—nothing. Just a dark, empty hole.

But for some reason, he could still hear a faint, crunching sound, like something gnawing on bones.

“What the fuck are you looking at?!” The third brother snapped.

Zhang Qiu was still fixated on those blank, soulless eyes. He had a nagging feeling—those eyes belonged to Lao Wu.

Cold sweat gathered in his palms. Suddenly, a firm hand squeezed his.

“Don’t think too much,” Li Shu said, his tone indifferent as ever.

Zhang Qiu’s thoughts scattered. His throat was dry as he asked hoarsely, “How do you know what I’m thinking?”

Li Shu gave him a look that screamed idiot. “You zoned out, and your palms are sweating.”

Zhang Qiu exhaled, finally relaxing. Maybe his imagination had run wild.

After another ten minutes of walking, they finally reached the main burial chamber.

The massive stone doors stood before them. Unlike before, they had encountered no further dangers along the way. Jin Laoda let out a breath of relief. The guy who sold him the map had made the tomb sound terrifying, but it didn’t seem that bad.

Still, his experience told him to pause before rushing in.

The third brother, however, was too impatient. Without hesitation, he shoved his iron shovel into the door seam—and instantly, he began screaming in agony.

Zhang Qiu watched in horror as the third brother’s arm burst into green flames.

The eerie green flames illuminated the dark tomb, casting flickering shadows along the stone walls.

The third brother’s agonized screams echoed through the passageway, magnified by the confined space. His whole body writhed as he desperately tried to put out the fire, but the flames clung to him like they were alive, refusing to be extinguished.

The fourth brother didn’t hesitate. He yanked a towel from his pack, soaked it with water, and wrapped it around the third brother’s burning arm. Jin Laoda and the second brother rushed over to help, trying to smother the flames. But no matter how fast they moved, the fire spread quicker.

The third brother collapsed onto the ground, rolling in pain. After what felt like an eternity, the flames finally died out.

Silence.

The only sound left was the third brother’s ragged, shuddering breaths. The stench of burnt flesh lingered in the air. Zhang Qiu clenched his teeth, resisting the urge to gag.

Jin Laoda’s expression darkened. His gaze flicked to Li Shu, his tone accusatory. “You knew this would happen.”

“He wanted to die,” Li Shu replied coldly.

The fourth brother snapped, unable to hold back his anger any longer. “You fucking bastard! I’ve had enough of you! You think you’re so untouchable? I swear, I’ll put a bullet in your head!”

His hand flew to his gun.

But Jin Laoda didn’t stop him this time. His silence was telling—he, too, had lost patience with Li Shu. No matter how skilled Li Shu was, they had the numbers and the firepower. This was their tomb to plunder, and he wasn’t going to let Li Shu act like he owned the place.

The second brother, catching on to Jin Laoda’s mood, slowly pulled out his own gun. But instead of aiming at Li Shu—he pointed it at Zhang Qiu.

“If you try anything, he dies,” the second brother said.

Zhang Qiu exhaled sharply. Why is it always me?!

The first time they wanted to threaten Li Shu, they held a gun to his head. And now, again? What kind of weird cause-and-effect nonsense was this?

The first time, Zhang Qiu had been scared. This time? He was just pissed off.

Of course, the second brother wasn’t actually planning to kill him. In less than two hours, they had already lost Lao Wu, and now the third brother’s arm was ruined. Jin Laoda only had one map, and it was incomplete. The truth was, Li Shu was the only competent one left.

Still, they couldn’t let Li Shu do whatever he wanted.

The standoff stretched for several tense seconds. In the end, Jin Laoda relented first.

“Put the gun down,” he ordered. It was a clear sign of surrender.

The second brother gritted his teeth but did as he was told, lowering the weapon with a frustrated huff.

The tension in the air slowly faded. Li Shu, completely unfazed, acted like nothing had happened. Meanwhile, the fourth brother helped the third lean against the wall while the second brother dug out medical supplies to disinfect the wound. The pain had been so intense that the third brother had passed out cold, his body drenched in sweat.

Jin Laoda took a few steps toward Li Shu but didn’t speak. Before he could say anything, Li Shu walked past him, heading straight for the stone door.

He didn’t touch it. Instead, he simply hovered his hands over the surface, sensing something unseen. A moment later, he stated, “The door is coated with a low-ignition substance. Even a slight friction will cause it to catch fire.”

Zhang Qiu blinked, then asked, “Then… how do we open it?”

Li Shu’s gaze swept the chamber. He stepped to the side of the door and pressed a spot on the wall.

Click.

The door swung open effortlessly.

Zhang Qiu’s brain lagged.

That’s it?!

Li Shu, seeing Zhang Qiu’s bewildered expression, smirked faintly. His voice was chillingly soft as he said, “This door was never meant to keep people out. It’s meant to lure them in.”

He paused, then added, “No one leaves.”

Zhang Qiu immediately understood.

Ancient tombs were designed with intricate traps to deter grave robbers. But this tomb had a button that made entering easy.

Why?

Because the person who built it was certain that once someone walked in, they’d never walk out.

Zhang Qiu turned back to the open doorway.

The passage ahead looked almost welcoming.

But to him, it now looked like a gateway to death itself.

Jin Laoda sneered. “Enough with the theatrics, Li Shu. Whatever you’re looking for is in there too, isn’t it?”

And just like that, the group stepped into the unknown.