I was still wondering what kind of skill he had, when I saw him raise his right hand and, like lightning, plunge it into the water. The movement was so fast, it was almost just a flash of white light, and his hand was already back, with a black, slimy bug pinched between two unusually long fingers. He tossed the bug onto the deck and said, “It was this thing just now.”

I looked down and couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. “Isn’t this a giant water bug! So that big shadow just now was just a swarm of water bugs swimming by?”

“Yes.” The man wiped his hand on his clothes.

Although I still wasn’t entirely convinced, we all relaxed a little. Frank Carter suddenly stomped the bug flat with his foot. “Damn, scared me half to death.”

But then I thought, wait, that can’t be right. How could there be so many giant water bugs active at the same time? And these water bugs are way too big! Silent William didn’t seem completely at ease either; he looked like he was pondering the same question.

Frank Carter kept stomping on the bug’s corpse, which was now a mushy mess—probably trying to save face after his earlier panic. Uncle Samuel picked up a broken leg, held it under his nose and sniffed, then exclaimed in shock, “This isn’t a giant water bug, it’s a corpse beetle.” We all froze, feeling uneasy; even the name sounded ominous.

“Good heavens, these things feed on carrion. Wherever there are dead bodies, there are lots of them. If they eat well, they grow big. Looks like somewhere upstream, there must be a place where corpses have piled up. And it must be a huge one.” Uncle Samuel stared at the pitch-black hole.

“Do these things bite living people?” Quentin Carter asked timidly.

“If they’re normal size, definitely not. But look at the size of this one—I really can’t say for sure if it would bite people or not.” Uncle Samuel said, puzzled. “These things usually stay where there are lots of dead bodies, they don’t swim around much. Why would such a big group be migrating together now?”

Suddenly, Silent William turned his head toward the depths of the cave. “I think they were probably fleeing for their lives just now.”

“What? Fleeing?” Frank Smith shuddered. “Then inside this cave…”

Silent William nodded. “I have a feeling there’s something in there coming toward us—and it’s not small.”

Chapter Five: Water Shadows

“Oh, my little grandpa, don’t scare me. I’m big, but I’m most afraid of things you can’t even name. If you said it was just a bunch of bandits, I, Quentin Carter, wouldn’t even care. But this thing—no one knows what it is. Look, my legs are shaking.”

I thought to myself, staying here isn’t an option, and I kept having this uncomfortable premonition, on and off. I didn’t know if it was just the oppressive cave affecting my mind or something else, so I said, “Whatever it is, the most important thing now is to get out quickly. We’re going against the current, so heading back should be faster than coming in. I think we’ve only been in this cave for less than ten minutes, so getting out shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Right, right, Little Samuel is right.” Quentin Carter quickly agreed. “Samuel, just say the word. Worst case, we’ll go over the mountain after we get out. I’ll carry all the gear, I’m strong. Losing a day or two of work isn’t a big deal, right? If we dig the tunnel a bit faster, we’ll make up for it.”

Samuel glanced at Silent William again and asked, “Little William, what do you think?”

Silent William said calmly, “I’m afraid it’s already too late to get out. Since those two let us in, they must be absolutely sure we can’t get out.”

“If we don’t leave, are we supposed to just wait here until we die of old age?” Peter Clark looked at him. Silent William glanced back, then turned his head away and closed his eyes to rest. Peter Clark got the cold shoulder and could only turn to Uncle Samuel: “I think this way—there’s no way we can go forward. Look at Quentin Clark, he’ll be scared to death. Let’s just retreat. The way in wasn’t complicated, maybe we can get out. If we really run into some kind of trap, we’ll figure something out then!”

“That’s the only way,” Uncle Samuel nodded, and said to Peter Clark, “Put a miner’s lamp at both the front and back. Load up those hunting rifles. Quentin Clark and I will use them as poles, Peter Clark and Big Nephew keep an eye on the rear, and Little William, you help guide me.” We all agreed. Peter Clark took out another miner’s lamp and shone it behind us. The ox on the second boat let out a cry when the light hit it. Peter Clark cursed, “Samuel, we have to get this ox into the water, or we can’t use the pole.”

Because the miner’s lamp had been pointed forward earlier, we hadn’t noticed and had completely forgotten about the boat we were towing behind us. Now that we saw it, we were shocked. Those two old thieves really had thought of everything. The cave was so low the ox couldn’t even stand up. There was no way to get the ox into the water. With all the gear and the ox, the boat was already sitting very low in the water. If we got on too, not only would the pole be useless, but we might even sink. Like this, the trailing boat behind us was blocking us like a cork.