The Tale of the Ghost Eyes Chapter 48 Going under the Tomb

I gathered my treasures in my pockets and set off to show Zhao Jie.

After spending the walk imagining how fantastic the coin and compass were, I told Zhao Jie that they were more powerful than the Monkey King's golden cudgel. "No way!" He told me, "Are you gonna be as powerful as Master Liu?"

"Not even close!" I said, "Master Liu is way too strong!"

We played around his house until the sky was dark and I bid goodbye to his parents. Zhao Laohei offered to walk me home, but I told him I'd run and be very quick.

When I got home that evening, Master Liu, Zhou Tong, and Master Ge had finally returned. I could hear their voices from outside the house.

"They'll be here tomorrow. Both soldiers and police, though they couldn't give me a number." Master Liu's voice said.

I crept into the house, being sure to turn the doorknob so the latch wouldn't click loudly. I was rounding the corner to the kitchen when I head Master Ge, "Then tomorrow it is. We're going down there."

I stepped into the light from the doorway. "All of us?" I asked, trying to control the nerves that crept up my throat. Master Liu didn't pause, though the other two seemed surprised by my entrance.

"Absolutely," He said, turning towards me. "We enter the tomb through the well at noon tomorrow."

"Is that the only entrance?" I asked, dreading the idea of jumping down a well.

Master Liu smiled. Zhou Tong said, "We went to the well early this morning and discovered a channel beneath it. We can enter the tomb through the channel. If," he paused, "We are prepared." His eyes fell on Master Ge.

"What?" Master Ge smiled, "I didn't have my swimming trunks."

I awoke the next morning to a rumble of military trucks shaking the village. Running outside, I saw hoards of people gawking through windows and standing unclad in their doorways, rubbernecking the uncommon spectacle.

"They're going to the school." Came a voice from behind me. It was my father. I felt his hand rest comfortingly on my shoulder as a white bus and a pair of camouflage jeeps rolled past.

A truck rolled past with the words "Cultural Relics Bureau" in large black letters on the side. The bed was full of shovels and excavation tools.

"Come on," Master Liu said. He walked out the door, and tracked the trucks. I bid my parents a quick goodbye and followed after. The hoard of people gathering around the school was an astounding sight. The village head and several police officers were shouting over the clamor, trying to maneuver the crowd.

"The CRB is here to ensure that our village's history is well protected!" The village head's voice cried through a megaphone. "Now if you could please return to your homes in an orderly fashion." The rumble of trucks quickly drowned him out. He continued to drone on as the CRB staff pulled into the school gate.

"This way." Master Liu pulled me. We bustled through the throng of people who were gossiping about the value of cultural relics and the importance of improving our community. We moved through the people to the long white bus parked just inside the school gate.

Stepping into the bus, we came face to face with a very large man. "Ah, 'bout time I get to meet you." He said to Master Liu.

"Master Liu, Master Ge, and Zhou Tong!" the man said, "My name is Wang Zhangan, and I am the man in charge of today's excitement!" He bowed his head towards us. His muscular arms were folded behind him. He stood in the middle of the walkway through the bus and took up most of it. "I know you're probably thinkin' how does he know our names?" He flashed a salesman's grin. "Well let me tell you, your reputations precede you! Ooh boy do they. I know what you've done, can do, and I'll bet a pretty penny that I know what you're about to do this very mornin'!" The smile flashed again. "Now, you need anything you let me know. I'm here to make sure you're well equipped and ready to rock!"

Master Liu said, "Mr. Zhangan," Master Liu started, "I asked your employer to prepare four diving suits. Are they ready?"

Wang Zhangan's confident smile seemed to widen. He nodded and said, "Yes sir! Three adults and a kid size, right?"

Master Liu nodded and said, "Yes indeed. We'll need them at once."

Wang Zhangan aimed his grin at me saying, "That's just dandy Master Liu, you take anyone you like."

He handed us the diving suits. The men wasted no time, stripping down and worming their way into the suits. Master Liu's Chinese tunic fell to the floor and was kicked under a nearby seat as he shuffled his legs into one of the diving suits. I stripped down to my briefs and started on mine. The black suit felt like it was made of plastic and clung to my body like cling-wrap. When my lower half was securely inside, I could barely breathe for the pressure it was putting on my crotch.

"Ya' all right?" Mr. Zhangan asked me, though it all came out in one word that took me a moment to understand.

Stretching the suit to cover my shoulders I managed, "It's a bit tight." He just smiled at me.

I emptied my pants pockets and placed my various treasures into the water-sealed pocket on the leg of my wetsuit. I was very careful not to jostle the golden box. Once we were all decked out in our glossy skintight diving suits, Master Liu rummaged through his discarded pants and pulled out a small metal pail. "Where had he been carrying that?" I thought. It looked impossibly large in his hands. He handed the pail to Wang Zhangan and said, "These are safety amulets. Give one to each soldier for protection."

Wang Zhangan nodded and asked, "I've got a couple more suits. Dya' mind if some CRB fellows go down there with ya'?"

Master Liu didn't even pause, saying, "If they want to die."

Wang Zhangan's grin spread out again.

Master Liu went on, "Others may enter the tomb when we're finished. It'll be four or five days until then. You," He pointed a long finger at Wang Zhangan's chest, "Will safeguard the entrance. Don't let anyone come near it."

Wang Zhangan nodded. "Don't worry." He said, nodding his shaved head, "I'll take care of this side."

Master Liu gathered his belongings and placed them into a black suitcase. He handed it to Zhou Tong and marched outside the bus towards the school building. We reached the well where another CRB employee was waiting with a long spool of rope. Master Ge began tying it around himself. Soon the lightweight string connected all four of us. I could hear the crowd clamoring on the other side of the school's fence.

The huge stone that covered the well had been removed and now leaned heavily on the building to my right. Several soldiers were standing at the wall to our left. As Master Ge finished tying the rope around our waists, two of them marched over, standing on either side of the entrance before us.

We stood side by side facing the gaping maw that was once a well. The stone mass stuck up from the ground like a broken bottle. The water lapped just shy of the top. The dark liquid rippled in the morning breeze.

Master Liu approached it, the rope around his waist looped to Zhou Tong, then to me, and at last around Master Ge. "I'll go first. When the rope grows taut follow closely. Lao Ge, you'll be in the rear. Keep your wits about you my friend."

"Sir?" A soldier walked over and saluted Master Liu. He handed him a small box. Master Liu opened the box and took out a rebreather. The small oxygen mouthpieces could be used for up to sixty minutes, the soldier told him.

"That'll be more than enough." Master Liu said, handing the box down the line.

Master Liu squatted and stretched his legs. He looked like a large black frog and I couldn't suppress a giggle. He unfurled the rope between himself and Zhou Tong. Adorning a headlamp that seemed to come from nowhere, he put the rebreather into his mouth, made eye contact with each of us. And then walked to the well. In a surprisingly graceful movement, Master Liu dove into the water.

Zhou Tong brought out his own headlamp and then handed me on. He walked to the well and held the rope around his waist loosely in his hand. It snaked and danced on the ground before him, more and more of it being pulled into the water. When the rope seemed to be almost gone, Zhou Tong unfurled the remaining cord between us and dove into the water. Then it was my turn.

"I don't know how to swim!" I almost screamed. Master Ge looked at me with a gasp.

"What?" He asked.

"I've been in the pool, but I've never swam swam!" I said, suddenly sure that I was about to die.

"Well," The old man tied to me said, "Guess now's the time to learn. Keep calm and you'll do fine." His face was wrinkled up into a smile that lacked confidence.

The rope on the ground before me was dancing into the water at incredible speeds. My throat was dry and I knew I was going to be sick. The last curl of rope on the ground leapt into the water. Master Ge put his hand in the center of my back and pushed me forward. "Good luck. Breathe!" he said with one last shove.

I bit down on the rebreather and did my best impression of a dolphin. My shin struck the side of the well with a heavy thud and hot pain shot through my leg. The diving suit squeaked as I fell into the water. If it weren't for the plastic sheen of the material I doubt I'd have any skin left where I'd hit. The dark water hit my face in a rush. It was cool on my skin. I forced my eyes open in the water and wiggled my legs, trying to shake off the pain. About five meters below me, Zhou Tong was pulling the rope hand over hand. "He didn't want to pull me in," I thought. He gave me a thumbs up and then tapped his head twice. I cocked my head in puzzlement. He opened his hand with the fingers splayed out, closed it again, and then tapped his head once more.

"Oh yeah," I said, letting in a mouth full of water, but not swallowing it, thank god. I used the button on the front of the rebreather to expel the water and then reached up to turn on my headlamp. I took another long shaky breath and looked around. I was hovering about two meters below the surface of the water. Zhou Tong was slowly drawing me to him by pulling on the rope. The light illuminated dirt colored walls in the cold water. A chill crept over me, causing a dull throb of pain as it washed past my shin.

When Zhou Tong had pulled me down to where he was I heard a muted crash of something large hitting water. "Master Ge." I thought.

Following the rope that led down into the darkness, the three of us traced Master Liu. Countless meters below the surface of the well, it led to a cave. We surfaced in a pool no bigger than my kitchen table. Coming out of the water I pulled off my rebreather and promptly sucked in a mouthful of water. Coughing and sputtering, Master Ge pushed me out of the water and onto the rocky floor of a man-made cave.

"You're a regular sea lion." Master Liu told me as I lay on the ground trying not to die. The other men came out of the water and joined us. Master Liu sat atop a rock waiting for us near the cave entrance. "Come," he told us, "There's more water to tread." He turned and crouch-walked into the cave. Following his headlamp, we came to what looked like an underground river.

My thoughts wandered to Journey to the West. "Are we going to the dragon's palace below the well?" I wondered.

Wading down the river, sometimes being forced to adopt the rebreather and go under for a few minutes, we moved further into the darkness. After a time we went under again, crawling along the riverbed until we found another hole and descended. Finally, after what felt like hours, we surfaced. This time I waited to take out my mouthpiece until I was safely on land. I shivered in the cold cave air.

Zhou Tong pulled out his own rebreather and looked at it. "These things are handy." He said to no one in particular.

"Be careful with it, if it breaks you'll be holding your breath on the way back." Master Liu told him. I looked at him in horror.

"That was so far though…" I said.

The four of us stood again in a cave. The rugged ceiling was so low that it almost touched Master Liu's head. After unwrapping the rope from one another, we turned and walked towards the far wall. There we found a large stone slab. It looked gray in the light from our headlamps, but as we approached the color reflected back a deep pearlescent green. It was covered in strange characters that I didn't recognize. Zhou Tong let out an audible, 'whoa' as we approached.

Another green slab was set in the ceiling above where we stood. I gaped up at it in awe, counting the thousands of water droplets hanging from it. They were dropping one by one like a chorus of rain.

The patter it made...

I watched a drop of water fall from the green etched ceiling and crash onto the rocks at my feet. An echo rang out, silvery and horrible.

Master Liu took his things out of the black suitcase and lit them with a large flashlight. He shined the light down past the green slab. "We can get to the tomb by this channel. I don't know what else may be down here, so stay close to each other, especially you Xiao Yong. If you feel something wrong, anything at all, use the tools we gave you."

I nodded at him, stricken serious by the tone in his voice. I dug into the pouch on the leg of my wet suit and wrapped my fingers around the copper piece Master Ge had given me.

Master Ge's voice rattled out strained and cracked in the now ominous cave, "What does this place have in store for us?"

Chapter end