Little Pink Starfish

Danger at the End of the Corridor

When Gu Xinglang ran into the corridor, four monk corpses were already lying in the stone chamber behind him. A few injured ones remained, but none pursued him into the corridor.

A chilling wind cut through from north to south, carrying a stench of blood and decay so heavy it was hard to breathe.

“Xiao Wei?” Gu Xinglang called toward the corridor’s end.

There was a faint flicker of light, but no sound.

Gu ran his hand along the wall. The surface was slick—not with water, but something viscous.

“Xiao Wei?” he called again.

Still no response.

He couldn’t just leave Xiao Wei and Jiang Zhuojun behind. Taking a deep, fetid breath, Gu moved toward the corridor’s end.

Back in the chamber, a monk asked, “Should we seal the door?”

“No need,” another said, clutching his bleeding chest. “They’re not coming out alive.”

At the corridor’s end were twenty stone steps. Gu stood at the top, his face twisted with anxiety.

Below was a flat stone platform swarming with the same humanoid creatures Gu had once seen at Dali Temple. Above them hung five iron cages from the ceiling. Jiang Zhuojun lay unconscious in the center one, Xiao Wei in another to the left, collapsed on top of a cage.

They weren’t moving. Were they even alive?

Then, rustling.

Gu looked down—and in the flickering light, he saw the ground writhing with long, snake-like creatures he had seen before.

Horrified, he stepped back instinctively.

A drop of water fell behind him with a drip.

The monsters below suddenly turned, eerily twisting their necks toward him.

Gu’s right hand, still gripping his knife, was soaked with cold sweat.

Then the cage Xiao Wei lay on began to creak.

A support hook had dislodged from the ceiling. The cage tipped.

The monsters roared—drawn by the motion and scent, as if it were a banquet.

Gu leapt.

Just as Xiao Wei was about to fall, Gu grabbed him. But now with Xiao Wei in his arms, it was impossible to jump to another cage or even get back up the stairs.

The monsters below snarled and reached for the tilting cage.

“Xiao Wei?” Gu held him tight, shouting repeatedly.

Xiao Wei didn’t respond, limp as a corpse.

Gu felt his breath—still alive.

The cage rocked harder.

Gu glanced at the stairs, wondering how he could possibly carry Xiao Wei up.

The rustling grew louder—those long creatures were now climbing up the monsters toward the cage.

“Go!” came Jiang Zhuojun’s desperate voice.

Gu turned. Jiang had grabbed his cage bars and was staring at him, blood on his lips.

“There’s another chamber above,” Jiang said. “There’s a mechanism to raise the cages. I didn’t see monsters there.”

Gu nodded. It wasn’t impossible. If he could get there, he could come back for Jiang.

“They’ll follow you,” Jiang warned. “Once you’re up, don’t wait. Go!”

Gu opened his mouth to ask what happened to them—why they had passed out—but then the entire stone chamber rang with a deafening bell.

“No!” Jiang screamed.

The sound sent Gu’s blood surging violently. Jiang coughed up blood and passed out again.

The monsters froze—then fell eerily silent, staring blankly toward the platform’s end.

Even the snakes slowed, but still crawled up toward the cage.

Gu knew he couldn’t pass out—not now. If he fell into that pit, he and Xiao Wei would be torn to pieces.

But the bell’s resonance made the world around him blur into black.

—

Meanwhile, Yu Xiaoxiao was holding up the bronze bell. “Daoist, is this thing valuable?”

Tianshengzi peered at the small, hollow, delicately carved bell. “Looks nice… but not worth much.”

Yu Xiaoxiao sniffed it. “Smells like blood.”

The Daoist leaned in—“I smell nothing.”

Ergouzi piped up, “Maybe it’s gold?”

The Daoist rolled his eyes. “You can’t tell copper from gold?”

“It’s touched blood,” Yu Xiaoxiao said firmly.

Tianshengzi frowned. Given where it was hidden—inside the Buddha’s head—it had to be important. But why a bell?

“Try ringing it,” Ergouzi suggested.

Yu Xiaoxiao gave it a shake. She and Ergouzi fell silent.

The sound was… pitifully faint.

“What a piece of junk,” Ergouzi said.

Yu Xiaoxiao added, “Totally worthless. Xiao Gu’s wind chimes sound better.”