Tomb raiding live stream: Starting as the mute Zhang

The night is deep.

The eerie green light in the cave dimmed a little, but wasn't completely extinguished; it hovered overhead like will-o'-the-wisps. The camp quieted down, broken only by the crackling of the campfire and the snoring of someone asleep.

Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" sat back-to-back in the shadows on the outskirts of the camp. Neither spoke, their eyes fixed on the darkness in opposite directions. In the distance, the black hole resembled an open mouth, silently waiting.

It's past midnight, time to change shifts.

Hei Xiazi and a soldier came over to relieve him. Hei Xiazi patted Zhang Qiling on the shoulder: "Mute Zhang, take a rest."

Zhang Qiling nodded and stood up. He glanced in the direction of the black hole, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly. There, the whispering sound seemed clearer than before, like someone speaking close to his ear, but upon closer listening, it was gone.

Zhang Qiling also stood up, and the two walked back to the camp one after the other.

Wu Xie and Fatty were huddled together in a sleeping bag. Fatty was snoring, while Wu Xie frowned, seemingly unable to sleep soundly. Xie Yuchen and Huo Xiuxiu sat back to back, eyes closed, but their hands rested on their weapons. Kun Ge, Chen Man, and Wang Yihan huddled together, shivering under a blanket, probably from the fright they'd experienced during the day. Professor Zhou Xu'an and Jiang Shouyi were talking quietly by the campfire, the professor holding a notebook in his hand.

Lin Guoce and his soldiers rested in two groups, while several soldiers on night watch walked around the edge of the camp.

Zhang Qiling walked to a spot a little distance from the campfire and sat down. He didn't lie down, but sat cross-legged with his back very straight.

Zhang Qiling sat down next to him, also cross-legged, with his eyes closed.

Neither of them slept.

After a while, Zhang Qiling suddenly raised his hand and pressed his temple. It throbbed with pain, like a needle pricking it. He frowned and pressed harder with his fingers.

Zhang Qiling opened her eyes and looked at him: "What?"

"...Headache." Zhang Qiling's voice was very low.

Zhang Qiling was silent for a moment, then raised his hand and pressed his temple: "It hurts too."

It's not the wound that hurts, it's the pain of memories churning deep inside my head.

Zhang Qiling closed his eyes, and some images flashed before his eyes. They were fragmented, fleeting, and impossible to grasp.

—Someone laughed loudly and patted him on the shoulder. The fat guy?

—Someone pushed up their glasses and handed them a book. Wu Xie?

—Someone wearing sunglasses grinned and said, "Mute Zhang." Black Bear?

The scene flashes by, then darkness. Snow-capped mountains. Bronze gate. A long journey. A lone figure.

My head hurts even more.

He dug his fingers into his temples until his knuckles turned white.

Zhang Qiling looked at him without speaking, but there was something in his eyes. He closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, there was something else in them.

"Memory," he said, "is being lost."

"Mm," Zhang Qiling replied.

"What are you thinking about?"

"..." Zhang Qiling remained silent. Those fragments were too fragmented. Fatty's laughter, Wu Xie's glasses, Hei Xiazi's sunglasses, and...who else? There seemed to be someone in pink, with a bad temper and a sharp tongue. Who?

I can't remember.

Just thinking about it gives me a headache.

"And you?" he asked.

Zhang Qiling thought for a moment: "Snow mountain. Door. A person walking alone. And..." He paused, "...blood. Lots of blood."

Neither of them spoke.

Around the campfire, Professor Zhou Xu'an and Jiang Shouyi discussed in hushed tones: "...The holes in the chests of those forbidden women are all in the same location; their hearts were dug out while they were still alive. I've seen this sacrificial method in records from the Yin-Shang ruins; it was used to worship the 'supreme being'..."

Jiang Shouyi adjusted his glasses: "Professor, do you think that beneath this black hole might lie that 'supreme being'?"

"It's hard to say," the professor shook his head, "but the Jingjue people worship eyes, and this black hole is like a giant eye. They might believe that through sacrifice, they can communicate with what's below..."

Their voices lowered.

Zhang Qiling listened without much reaction. His headache subsided slightly, but his mind was still a mess. The fragments resurfaced, this time clearer.

The fat man patted him on the shoulder: "Hey bro! Let's go! Let's go down into the tomb!"

Wu Xie pushed up his glasses: "Brother, I think I've seen this symbol in Grandpa's notes before..."

—Black Bear grinned: "Zhang the Dumb, what's for dinner tonight?"

And...who else? There seemed to be a woman, her voice very soft, calling him "little brother." Who?

He pressed his fingers against his temples again.

Zhang Qiling looked at him and suddenly said, "You know them."

It's not a question.

Zhang Qiling was silent for a few seconds, then nodded: "Mm."

"Are you very familiar with her?"

"...It should be."

Zhang Qiling stopped asking. He also looked towards the campfire, his gaze sweeping over Wu Xie, Fatty, Hei Xiazi, Xie Yuchen, and Huo Xiuxiu. After a while, he said, "They...know me too?"

"I don't know," Zhang Qiling said.

He actually knew. The way Wu Xie and Fatty looked at them when they first met at the Seven Star Lu Palace—a look of surprise, excitement, and a touch of familiarity—didn't seem like they were looking at strangers. But he hadn't paid attention then, but now, thinking back…

My head is hurting again.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself not to think about it. Memory is like that—the more you try to grasp it, the more it slips away.

"Take a nap," said Zhang Qiling.

"I can't sleep."

"Close your eyes."

Zhang Qiling glanced at him and closed his eyes. But his mind didn't stop; the fragments were still churning within him.

After a while, he suddenly spoke, his voice low, as if talking to himself: "Fatty loves money, but he's loyal. Wu Xie... is foolish, but earnest. Hei Xiazi... isn't blind."

Zhang Qiling didn't reply, but his ears twitched as he listened.

"Xie Yuchen...is rich. Huo Xiuxiu...is smart." Zhang Qiling paused, "And..."

Who else? I can't remember.

He opened his eyes, a hint of irritation in them. This feeling of incomplete memory was terrible. It was like a jigsaw puzzle with a large part missing, impossible to put together completely.

Zhang Qiling suddenly said, "I know people too."

Zhang Qiling looked at him.

"One," Zhang Qiling thought for a moment, "talkative and annoying. One, cold, but soft-hearted. And another..." He paused, frowned, "I can't remember their face."

"name?"

"...I forgot."

The two fell silent again.

The campfire crackled. In the distance, Kun Ge rolled over and mumbled in his sleep, "Don't come any closer... Chicken, you're too beautiful..."

Chen Man and Wang Yihan huddled together, sleeping restlessly, occasionally startled.

The bear on night watch wandered along the edge of the camp, his eyes behind his sunglasses scanning the dark corners with vigilance. The soldier followed behind him, gripping his gun tightly.

Late at night.

The light from the glowing stones on the cave ceiling dimmed further, the eerie green becoming even more bleak, like a dying will-o'-the-wisp. On the other side of the black hole, the whispers seemed to have stopped, but the feeling of being watched lingered.

Zhang Qiling suddenly stood up.

Zhang Qiling looked at him and asked, "Where are you going?"

"Let's go for a walk."

"Together."

The two left the camp one after the other, walking slowly along the edge of the cave. They hadn't gone far, remaining within sight of the camp.

We walked past those coffin caves. The flashlight beam swept across them, revealing dilapidated coffins and exposed bones. Some coffin lids had eye patterns carved on them, others didn't.

I walked past the pile of corpses of the forbidden women. The black blood had already congealed, and the stench was still strong. The corpses were twisted, their long hair scattered on the ground, and their pale eyes stared at the cave ceiling.

He reached the edge of the black hole. A rusty iron chain hung down. Zhang Qiling crouched down, placed his hand on the stone surface, and closed his eyes to sense it. A few seconds later, he opened them: "It's very deep down there."

How deep?

"Over 100 meters."

Zhang Qiling also squatted down, picked up a small stone, and threw it down. After waiting for a long time, a very faint "tap" was heard from deep within.

"It's more than 100 meters," he said.

Zhang Qiling remained silent, gazing into the depths of the black hole. Something within it was calling out. Not a sound, but a feeling. A feeling deep within his blood.

The Qilin tattoo is burning hot.

The tattoo on Zhang Qiling's left arm is also burning hot.

The two exchanged a glance.

"Go down tomorrow," Zhang Qiling said.

"Um."

"careful."

"The same to you."

A brief conversation, then head back.

When they returned to camp, Wu Xie was awake and sitting up, rubbing his eyes. Seeing them, he paused, surprised. "Brother? You guys weren't asleep?"

"I'm asleep," Zhang Qiling said.

"Just woke up," said Zhang Qiling.

Wu Xie glanced at them, didn't ask any more questions, took out his water bottle from his backpack and took a sip. After finishing, he whispered, "Brother, I just had a dream."

Zhang Qiling looked at him.

"I dreamt... we were in a very dark place, there were a lot of coffins, you were walking in front and I was following behind, and Fatty was shouting..." Wu Xie said, then chuckled to himself, "It was all a mess."

Zhang Qiling remained silent. He had also seen similar scenes in his dreams, but couldn't recall the details.

"Go to sleep," he said.

"Hmm." Wu Xie lay back down, but didn't close his eyes immediately. Looking at the glowing stones on the cave ceiling, he suddenly said, "Brother, do you think... when people die, they really have souls? Are those forbidden women alive or dead?"

"He's dead," Zhang Qiling said.

"Then why can it still move?"

"Obsession".

Wu Xie was taken aback: "Obsession?"

"Hmm." Zhang Qiling paused, "He was unwilling to accept it, didn't want to leave, and that's how it ended up."

Wu Xie fell silent, staring at the cave ceiling, lost in thought.

After a while, he whispered, "Brother, if I die one day and turn into a witch, cut off my head first, so I don't harm people."

Zhang Qiling glanced at him but didn't say anything.

Zhang Qiling, standing to the side, also glanced at Wu Xie.

"Go to sleep," Zhang Qiling said again.

Wu Xie closed his eyes, and this time it seemed he was really asleep.

Zhang Qiling sat down again, cross-legged, and closed his eyes. But he couldn't sleep; his mind was still racing.

The fragments are becoming clearer, but the order is jumbled. Fatty's laughter, Wu Xie's glasses, Hei Xiazi's sunglasses, Xie Yuchen's indifference, Huo Xiuxiu's intelligence… and who else? There seems to be someone who always wears pink, with a sharp tongue but a meticulous mind. Who?

My head is hurting again.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. Losing memories is one thing; the present person, the present path, are more important.

Zhang Qiling was next to him, also with his eyes closed, but his breathing was very light; he wasn't asleep.

In the distance, the campfire was almost out. Black Bear added more firewood, and the flames flickered, illuminating a small patch.

The night is still long.

But dawn will always break.