Folk Strange Stories Part 1: The Witch Ancestor of Miao Township Chapter 11 Section 3: Revealing the Sun

I casually tucked the handgun into my waistband and heard Wu Mian say to the rest of us, "Just keep going forward. When you see light, you'll be able to get out." The chubby guy said, "Who exactly are you? Even if we get out, we'll need an explanation. Otherwise, no one will believe what happened today."

Wu Mian glanced at the chubby guy and replied, "Will people believe me if I give an explanation? Once you're out, someone will teach you what to say." After that, he extended his hand toward me, "Give it to me."

I pulled out a cigarette and handed it over, saying, "It's not a great cigarette, but it'll do." Wu Mian shot me a look, "Don't play dumb. Give me the gun." I acted as if I suddenly realized, "You see, I'm forgetful. It's a habit. After firing the gun, I put it away." With that, I reluctantly returned the Type 92 to Wu Mian.

He holstered the gun, no longer paying us any attention, and turned to walk in the direction we had come from. Song Er, somewhat baffled, shouted to Wu Mian, "Where are you going? The exit is on the opposite side." Wu Mian didn't look back, saying as he walked, "My business isn't finished yet. Just keep going forward, and in another twenty minutes or so, you'll be out."

Just as Wu Mian predicted, twenty minutes later, we saw light ahead. The water suddenly became rapid, and without us needing to paddle, the boat naturally drifted along with the current. After a few more minutes, the light ahead grew brighter, and the noise of rushing water grew louder.

Sitting on the boat, chubby guy held onto his AK47 and tilted his ear, saying, "What's that sound, rushing like that? It sounds so familiar." His words reminded me, and I said, "It's a waterfall up ahead! We've circled inside this mountain and are about to drop down from above the waterfall!"

Song Er still hadn't caught on, asking, "Waterfall, what's the matter?"

I urgently said, "What's the matter? We're about to jump ship!" Unfortunately, I was a beat too late. Suddenly, there was a blinding flash, and the boat, along with the four of us, elegantly plunged downward.

To be precise, we weren't dropping from the very top of the waterfall. The exit of the cavern was concealed in the swiftest part of the waterfall's flow, hidden behind a curtain of water. It was difficult to spot this hidden entrance from the outside.

Thankfully, we had undergone two armed water-crossing training sessions in the past week. Although there had been over a hundred training runs, we weren't at risk of drowning in this small water pool (except for the chubby guy, who we weren't concerned about at that point).

As soon as I resurfaced, several large hands pulled me onto a kayak. Before I could react, I found several guns pointed at me. A familiar voice said, "Put away your guns. It's us, led by Shen La."

It was Wang Zuo. He and Wang Guofeng had come out of the waterfall curtain, and with a signal now available on their radio communication device, the moment our team leader brought reinforcements, we entered the waterfall curtain cave. However, by then, Old Wang had already taken us through the death gate. They had no way to enter, and after an unsuccessful search for the entrance, the team leader ordered the mountain to be sealed off. At the same time, he dispatched personnel to the temporary command post on the mountainside to retrieve explosives and blasting equipment; he intended to blast open the death gate.

Upon receiving the news that we had emerged, the team leader hastily emerged from the waterfall curtain. On the pool's shore, the bodies of Old Wang, Li Jiadong, Liu Jingsheng, Zhang Yunwei, and the drug dealer Mote were neatly arranged.

Since our squad's formation, we had never suffered such a setback. Four members of the nine-person squad, including the squad leader, had been lost. Keep in mind that we weren't fighting against professional soldiers; at best, these drug dealers were on the level of militia. We hadn't expected such heavy casualties.

The team leader gazed solemnly at Mote's corpse. His teeth gnashed audibly, and he suddenly pulled out his sidearm and aimed at Mote's body, as if about to fire a few rounds. The political officer beside him saw his intention to desecrate the corpse and restrained him, saying, "Captain Zhang, you can't shoot. We still need to perform an autopsy. It's unclear if your bullets are in his body."

"Team leader, Captain Wang's death has nothing to do with Mote!" Seeing the team leader about to explode, I realized it was time to speak up. I quickly stepped forward and, in a hushed voice, recounted everything that had happened after we entered the death gate.

The team leader stared at me the entire time, then asked, "Are you telling me a myth?" I maintained a serious expression and said, "Song Er… Song Chunlei and Li Yan, as well as the colleagues from the anti-narcotics division, can vouch for me." Song Er and Li Yan nodded to the team leader behind me. Not far away, the chubby guy was lying on the shore vomiting water.

The team leader paid us no more attention, turning his head to shout at the crowd, "Where's the explosives? Why haven't they been brought here yet?" His voice had just fallen when a slow voice said, "Blow up the cave? That's not happening."