The Tale of the Ghost Eyes Chapter 50 Footprints Made by Leather Shoes

He gave me a reassuring smile and said, "Don't worry. You have your treasures and we'll keep whatever it is far away from you."

I nodded, but didn't step away. Master Liu shone the light on the crumbled door before us. Nothing moved in the silent corridor. I angled my head, donating more light to Master Liu. I could see our footprints on the green stone steps, but nothing more.

"Maybe we're mistaken," I told Master Liu, "Maybe, one of us knocked them into place when we came through."

He shook his head and said, "No stones would fall so neatly." He shined his light to where eight stones had been lined up in a perfect circle. The light then rose and filtered back through the broken door. "Look at the floor. How many footprints do you see?"

The corridor before us was lined with footprints in the underground dust. I noted the small soft tracks of my cloth shoes, the long even traces of Master Liu's cloth shoes, and the patterned etches of Master Ge and Zhou Tong's leather ones.

"Those are mine," I pointed to the small smooth ones. "Those are yours," I pointed to the long smooth ones.

"Those are ours." Master Ge said gesturing towards the rougher patterned ones.

"Then whose are those?" Master Liu pointed to a set of tracks that started about five meters away, approached the broken stone door, and then stopped abruptly just outside. It looked as if the owner had appeared in the hallway, walked to the door and then vanished. The tracks were rough and patterned, similar to Master Ge's print, but much bigger.

"Those are huge!" I said, "He must be enormous!"

"There is no lively air associated with those prints. Whoever he was, he must have died years ago."

"Why would a ghost have leather footwear?" I asked.

Master Liu scolded, "Have you ever seen a ghost wear shoes? They don't have substance, how could one leave footprints?" His eyebrows were cinched together again. I zipped my mouth shut and just looked at him.

"It might be a zombie." Master Ge's voice broke the tension.

"Zombie?" My mind reeled. I'd seen zombie movies on TV and heard about them around Halloween, but really?

Master Liu, still cross, explained, "It's a corpse that can walk. A shambling dead body whose heaven and hell souls have gone. If one's life soul combines with the dead flesh, the corpse will rise. Zombies can exist for hundreds of years if nothing stops them."

"It's immoral?" I asked, not really wanting the answer.

He nodded. "Some Taoists have turned themselves into zombies for immortality. However, most consider it an abomination and the skill was forbidden long ago."

"Is it like the movies?" Zhou Tong asked. "You know?" He raised his arm and made an exaggerated chomping and chewing motion, including sound effects. Master Ge nodded, giving him a disparaging look.

I thought about a rotting corpse walking behind us and shivered.

"We shouldn't waste any more time," Master Liu said, "I'll go first, you follow me. Keep an eye out for anything."

We climbed out through the broken stone one by one. The air in the corridor seemed colder than before. All three men were pointing their lights at the door on my right.

"What is it?" I asked, hearing fear in my voice and hating it.

"It's open…" Zhou Tong said, sounding as shaken as I felt. I turned my head and sure enough, the green stone was moved. It had been pushed to the side like the lid on a sarcophagus, revealing a black hole behind it.

Zhou Tong turned to Master Liu, "You're the expert here, have you dealt with zombies before? What kind of mindless flesh bag is smart enough to unlock and open up doors?"

Master Liu licked his lips nervously. He cleared his throat saying, "I've dealt with light zombies, dark ones, and hunters. Even the smartest ones, ones that can ambush and track, can't open locked doors..."

Despite the cool underground air, Master Ge wiped several beads of sweat off his forehead, "It might be a flying zombie..."

Zhou Tong let out a nervous bark of laughter, "If there's a flying zombie in here, we should just go back home. There's no point in all of us dying down here."

I was trying to wrap my head around the different categories of zombies so I asked, "Are flying zombies a thing? Are they like, stronger or something?" It sounded like a dumb question coming out of my mouth. The whole idea sounded like a silly campfire story.

Master Liu pinched the bridge of his nose and took in a deep breath. "No, there are two kinds of zombies. Those categorized by their speed of movement and what we call drought monsters. A flying zombie can't fly, but they're deceptively quick and are known for leaping upon their prey."

"Prey?" I asked.

"Food." He said simply and went on, "If there are any down here, I'll deal with them. Though, I don't think I'm prepared to tackle a drought monster."

Master Ge let out a disapproving sigh, "Quail Liu, how dare you be so impulsive? Now is not the time to boast your skills and disregard caution."

Zhou Tong chimed in, "I agree, we'll die if we rush into this. Maybe we should head to the surface and come back with help." His eyes were wide, the whites shining in the artificial light.

Their doubts seemed to compound my own. "Godfather, he's right. We don't know what's in here!"

Master Liu's face shook with anger. He scowled at Master Ge and took a deep breath. Closing his eyes for a moment, he collected himself before saying, "Lao Ge, I do not care for that nickname." He sounded low and sharp. "I am not being impulsive!" His voice rose with each statement, "I am not boasting. And I am the epitome of caution!" The final word echoed dramatically down the long corridor.

"If we come across something that I can't handle, we will leave." Master Liu said in a voice colder than I'd ever heard.

When the silence crept back in over us, Zhou Tong raised one finger as if he were a school child waiting to be called on. "Ahem…Master Liu, don't forget there is another snake spirit too."

"And potentially a magic user!" Master Ge added.

Master Liu's face turned red and he stifled what could only be described as a growl.

I felt my own face turning hot. This horror scenario had gotten real uncomfortable. My mind wandered to why we were down here in the first place and You Xiaoqing's face filled my head. I knew what had to be done. "Godfather," I said, puffing out my chest and trying to be as big as possible. "I'll accompany you. I'm a man and I'm not scared of death. If I die saving my friends' life then I'll be a hero! "

A prickle of courage sparked through the fear and it flooded away. Master Liu looked at me gravely, and then a smile crept over his face.

"My dear boy." He said, "Thank you."

Without pausing, or confirming what the others would do, Master Liu raised a soul suppressing paper amulet in either hand. He placed them firmly on either side of the newly opened path.

Turning to the other men, Master Liu said, "If you're worried about ghosts, you can stay right here where it's safe."

Zhou Tong laughed, "You think I'm gonna let the kid show me up?" He flashed a grin and stepped into the open door. His flashlight illuminated the corridor.

Master Ge shook his head and added, " Master Liu, meeting you was terribly unlucky."

He passed between the amulets and followed Zhou Tong into the dark corridor.

Zhou Tong laughed again from the dark and clicked on a small flashlight. He aimed it at the floor where a pair of holes showed. He scuffed a toe at one of them and said, "I think I know how they locked the doors."

I looked at the bar holes he'd uncovered, but my eyes flew to the fun-sized flashlight in his hand. I considered saying, "Wanna trade that mini light for the mini compass you gave me?"

Then I shook my head at the idea. The compass could ward off ghosts! No flashlight, no matter how cool and small, was worth losing that!

Zhou Tong moved from the holes in the floor to the green stone slab. He placed his hand on it and felt around for a moment. After another 'aha', I heard him grunt in the darkness and something heavy grated against the ground. He shined his light at the bottom of the door and illuminated two rusted metal poles sticking out from the base of the door.

Zhou Tong slapped his hand against it and said, "Not so tricky is it?" I could see him smiling in the darkness. He waved his flashlight towards Master Liu and called out, "I'll lead the way. I want to keep an eye out for any more of these mechanical locks. You," He gestured at me, "Keep an eye out for zombies."

I laughed and we started off down the path. Master Ge once again brought up the rear. I was behind Master Liu. I opened my eyes wide in the darkness, trying to see every direction at once.

Silence took over as we walked down the path. After a few unbearable minutes, Zhou Tong said something that sent shivers down my back.

"Footprints." He said, pointing to the ground with his flashlight. "It's been here."

Master Liu spoke up, "Look at them though, they're side by side. It doesn't look like it was jumping or leaping at all. Perhaps this isn't a zombie…"

Zhou Tong and Master Ge nodded together.

He went on, "Even if it is… it must be hundreds of years old! Why on earth would it be wearing leather shoes?"

Chapter end