Chapter 059: Moss That Bleeds at a Touch

Li Tianque, carrying the mountaineering pickaxe he’d found by the well, successfully entered the depths below. The eerie glow sank slowly, and the monstrous laughter from above faded into the distance.

The walls of the ancient well were slippery, slick with moss growing in the cracks between bricks, now all stained red. As Li Tianque descended, the safety rope hadn’t been properly secured—when he tried to adjust his direction, his body swung dangerously. Forced to brace himself against the well wall for support, he accidentally dislodged a cluster of moss.

At that moment, something strange happened. He crushed the moss in his hand, and the blood-soaked growth underwent a bizarre transformation: the furry stems and leaves gradually vanished, dissolving into red liquid that dripped through his fingers.

Moss on the well wall, once disturbed, turned into blood? The sight was unsettling.

Curious, Li Tianque plucked another piece and placed it in his palm. This time, the chunk was large enough to fill his hand. He waited for it to change.

Within less than a second, most of the moss liquefied into blood and trickled away through the cracks. As the blood dripped downward, Li Tianque sensed it might have changed shape mid-air, but the descent was too quick for him to see clearly.

He held onto the half that hadn’t transformed, bewildered, but escape was paramount. Without lingering, Li Tianque continued his descent.

He kept sinking. Above, the slender, ghostly shadow lingered by the well, but only its voice echoed, its presence unseen.

Venturing deeper, Li Tianque was surprised to find the air below was actually fresher than above—certainly more breathable than in the dense fog. He surmised the well wasn’t a sealed space; there must be an open area below, perhaps with ventilation connected to the outside.

Despite exerting himself to descend, the rope could only let him down so quickly. The well mouth above slowly shrank, eventually becoming a mere point of light.

Just as that light was about to vanish, Li Tianque noticed a black dot at the well mouth—a head, unmistakably belonging to one of the slender ghosts.

Damn! He’d been discovered so soon!

Li Tianque’s heart tightened. He heard the ghost cackle, then it reached out with its grotesque claws and snapped the rope, the sound sharp as tearing silk.

Facing the horror above, Li Tianque reacted swiftly. He leaned forward and slammed the mountaineering pickaxe into the wall, anchoring himself.

Both safety ropes fixed to the tripod above were severed by the shadow at the well mouth. The winch whirred noisily, attempting to retract the ropes, but they were already broken.

The two safety ropes attached to Li Tianque and Fatty Bi dropped down, smacking Li Tianque squarely in the face.

With the rope snapped, Li Tianque lost control, ending up wedged sideways against the wall, gripping the mountaineering pickaxe as he slid along the surface, unable to stop.

“Watch out, kid…”

Fatty Bi looked up in alarm, clearly noticing the broken safety ropes, though Li Tianque was too far away to hear him.

In these circumstances, Li Tianque couldn’t use the walkie-talkie; he could only let himself keep sliding.

The well wall, recently washed by blood, was slick as ice. The pickaxe soon slipped sideways, and Li Tianque lost his balance, about to spin uncontrollably.

To prevent the pickaxe from suddenly breaking loose and hitting him, he turned it horizontally, pressing the joint between the blade and handle against the wall.

But doing so increased his descent speed.

His injured right shoulder throbbed with intense, piercing pain.

Li Tianque gritted his teeth, stretching his body to slow his fall as much as possible.

He gave it everything he had, but couldn’t hold out. After falling about ten meters, he lost control and plummeted, face-up, toward the bottom.

“Ahhh… help!”

His desperate cries echoed through the well, deafening and frantic.

After another stretch of descent, Fatty Bi’s voice finally became clear, their distance closing rapidly. Fatty Bi, hearing Li Tianque’s uncontrolled fall, shouted urgently:

“Drop the pickaxe! Throw it away, quick!”

Li Tianque instinctively let go.

The mountaineering pickaxe tumbled downward ahead of him.

At the same time, Li Tianque completely lost control, plummeting from above.

He had never experienced a fall from such height; it felt as if his guts would burst through his navel, his mind blank with terror.

After about a minute, he heard a splash below—the pickaxe had landed in water.

Moments later, he hit as well, plunging into icy water with a heavy splash.

The shock sent a torrent through him, his body convulsing from the impact.

It was like smashing a car at full speed into a mountain, without an airbag to soften the blow.

Luckily, he entered the water sideways; had he hit headfirst, the impact would have knocked him out.

Li Tianque realized Fatty Bi had told him to drop the pickaxe to lighten his load; with deep water below, even a fall wouldn’t be fatal.

“Cough… cough, cough…”

Li Tianque choked on a mouthful of water, dizzy and dazed. He swam a few strokes, lifted his head, water droplets clinging to his lashes. Fatty Bi’s headlamp shone on him, scattering light.

Li Tianque suffered intense ringing in his ears, unable to hear Fatty Bi’s shouts, but instinctively swam toward the light.

He finally reached the shore, and Fatty Bi hauled him up. Li Tianque retched several mouthfuls of water, then staggered to sit, panting:

“We have no choice now—we can only escape through the bottom of the well. There’s no going back!”

Fatty Bi, still shaken, exclaimed:

“What in the world is happening? Those ghosts are back again! Good thing there’s water below; otherwise, you’d be scattered to pieces!”

“Thank heavens I reacted fast, anchored myself with the pickaxe and slid for a while. Otherwise, a direct fall from that height—even water wouldn’t save me…” Li Tianque’s heart raced, adrenaline surging.

“Hey, what brand is your hat? That’s incredible! You fell from that height and it didn’t even come off!” Fatty Bi noticed Li Tianque’s beret, astonished.

Li Tianque realized the beret had stayed on through the impact, though it was now soaked and uncomfortable.

He wanted to empty it out, but hesitated to let Fatty Bi see inside.

“If you like it, I’ll give you one when we get out!”

“No need, my head’s so big, I can’t even fit a sack!” Fatty Bi laughed.

Li Tianque swallowed and looked around.

The space beneath the well was unexpectedly vast. They stood on a huge white rock, surrounded by deep water forming a circular pool, and further in lay a pitch-black cave.

The depths of the cave were so dark Li Tianque, now standing with his back to Fatty Bi’s headlamp, couldn’t see inside.

After a moment, he said:

“That cave is the only way out. Our companions must have gone there after coming down.”

“Right, let’s go too!” Fatty Bi replied, resolute.

(End of chapter)