At this moment, I saw Uncle Samuel give Peter Clark a look. Peter Clark quietly took a backpack out of the luggage and put it on. The young man who had been sitting on the side also stood up and took his own bag from the pile. As Peter Clark walked past behind me, he whispered in Hangzhou dialect, “That old man is suspicious, be careful.”

　　Chapter Four: The Corpse Cave

　　We’ve encountered plenty of dangers along the way, and these guys are really impressive—I trust them completely now. So as soon as Peter Clark said that, I got the message. The big guy, Quentin Clark, also gave me a look, meaning I should stay at the back and not poke my head out no matter what happens. I couldn’t help but smile wryly—why would I poke my head out anyway? You, Quentin Clark, could knock out a bull with one punch, and as for Peter Clark, say no more—a battle-scarred veteran. Our Uncle Samuel has been a reckless fighter since he was a kid, and even that silent tagalong doesn’t look like a good person. As for me, scholars have always been the most useless; even the military knife Uncle Samuel forced on me feels too heavy and awkward to use.

　　Just as I was wondering what I should bring for self-defense, the donkey egg swam back with a splash. The old man slapped his pipe against his pant leg, “Let’s go! The boat’s here.”

　　Sure enough, two flat-bottomed boats came out from behind the mountain, one after the other. On the front boat stood a middle-aged man, steering and calling out to us. The boat was actually quite big—looked like it could easily fit all of us and our gear. The old man patted the ox’s neck: “Everyone, no need to unload your luggage. I’ll get the ox and cart onto the second boat, and we’ll just ride in the first one. Save some energy.”

　　Peter Clark grinned, “Some things can’t get wet, better to keep them with us. What if the ox jumps into the water? We’d be in trouble then, wouldn’t we?”

　　The old man nodded with a smile, “You’ve got a point, but my ox isn’t a water buffalo—it would never jump in. If it does, I’ll fish everything out for you myself, not a single thing missing.”

　　Saying that, he led the ox to the ferry landing ahead of us. We each carried our own bags and followed. The middle-aged man handled the boat skillfully, reaching the shore in just a few strokes.

　　While the old man was getting the ox onto the second boat, I sized up the boatman. His skin was very dark, extremely ordinary-looking, but whether it was just my imagination or not, I couldn’t shake the feeling that he looked a bit shifty. I remembered what Uncle Samuel had said about people eating human flesh, and suddenly the more I looked at him, the more unsettling he seemed.

　　“When you all get into the cave, make sure to speak softly—don’t disturb the river god,” the man said. “Especially don’t say anything bad about the river god.”

　　How long does it usually take to get through the cave? my Uncle Samuel asked him.

　　“If we’re quick, five minutes is enough. The current inside is really fast, so it goes quickly.”

　　“There are times when it’s not quick?”

　　“Yeah, sometimes the water flows the other way. You saw I just came out with the current, so now we’ll be going against it. That’ll take longer—maybe fifteen minutes. There are a few tricky bends, too.”

　　“Is it bright in there?”

　　The man chuckled, “Pitch black, how could it be bright? You could say it’s total darkness.” But he pointed to his ear, “I’ve been steering boats for over ten years. For these few stretches, I just use my ears.”

　　“Can we use a flashlight?” Peter Clark raised the miner’s lamp in his hand. “That shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

　　“No problem,” the man said, “just don’t shine it into the water, or you’ll scare yourselves to death!”

　　“Why?” my Uncle Samuel laughed, “Are there water ghosts?”

　　“Water ghosts are nothing. As for what’s in the water, I can’t say. If you’re really brave, take a look for yourselves later. Just remember, one glance is enough. If you’re lucky, you’ll just see a patch of black water. If you’re unlucky, what you see could scare you out of your mind.”

　　As he spoke, we could already see the cave. It was hidden behind the cliff, so we hadn’t been able to spot it from the shore. I’d always imagined it as a big cave, but when I actually saw it, I couldn’t help but cry out—this cave was so small! Barely ten centimeters wider than the boat. The scariest part was the height—even sitting down, you couldn’t get in; you had to duck to squeeze through. In such a cramped space, if someone inside wanted to ambush us, we wouldn’t even be able to move. Peter Clark let out a strange cry, “Damn, this cave is way too shabby, isn’t it?”

　　“This is already the big part. There’s a section inside that’s even lower,” the old man behind us said.

　　Uncle Samuel glanced at Peter Clark, and Peter Clark forced a laugh, “Ah, such a small cave—if someone tried to rob us inside, we couldn’t even run if we wanted to, right?”

　　As soon as he said that, I saw the boatman make a barely noticeable gesture, and the old man’s face changed. I thought to myself, there really is something wrong here. Just then, we heard a whooshing sound—the boat had already entered the cave.

　　Peter Clark turned on the miner’s lamp. The entrance was still bright, but very soon the only light left was from the lamp.

　　“Third Uncle, this cave is no ordinary place,” Quentin Clark said. “This is a thieves’ tunnel!”

　　“A water thieves’ tunnel—ancient and nearly round. Look at these marks. This cave has been here a long time. Looks like there’s more to it than meets the eye.”