Plague Doctor

Translator: Lonelytree  Editor: Lonelytree

The stone path did not look used by age, and there was no dampness. It appeared to have been hewn a long time ago, but there was no trace of dust, which created this contradiction of being old and new at the same time. This was the discovery that confused the Demon Hunters the most—this was not what a long-sealed underground tunnel should look like. It was too clean and too quiet. The leading members climbed down ninety plus steps and stopped just before the hundredth step. Xue Ba turned to give another update, which none had any idea was sent out or not. “Command, we have reached the hundredth step. No valuable discoveries so far.”

A hundred steps and nothing had changed! All the angle, ratio, and size of the stone steps had remained constant. The stone walls that appeared to be carved by nature had no gaps. If not for the disappearance of the light from the entrance and the constant counting by the members as they moved downward, they might have thought that they had been walking on the spot.

“This is unbelievable…” Lin Mo sighed on the stretcher. He was the scientific research member of the team; he knew a bit about geology and architecture. However, even those who were amateurs in those fields would understand that it was impossible even for modern machines to construct an underground tunnel like this. So, this begged the question, who or what created the walls outside and this tunnel?

The few flashlights lit up the surrounding, but it did nothing to penetrate the darkness below. Could this really be a bottomless tunnel?

The group was shrouded in silence. Xue Ba astutely observed this rising tension. After giving his latest update, he said, “Uncle Dan, how about a joke? Anything scandalous?”

Xue Ba knew that words like ‘this is just a normal tunnel, don’t be afraid’ were hollow, but a joke could help lighten the mood.

“Your wish is my command!” Uncle Dan naturally knew the captain’s intention. His face took on a salacious expression. The small tuff of hair on the top of his balding head even stood up. He said with a snicker, “Let me tell you about the time I went out to meet an internet friend. Based on a true story, okay…”

Soon, everyone broke into small chuckles, but Gu Jun was not listening. Carrying the front of the stretcher, he walked in the middle of the group. His attention was gradually pulled by the blood red patterns on the surface of the rocks around him. As time went on, he could swear that he saw them moving and pulsing like capillaries. Life, he felt the radiance of life from them. Was it an illusion caused by his own movement? Gu Jun asked Zhang Huohuo who carried the other end of the stretcher to pause. He focused on his surrounding again, and that feeling only got heavier…

Suddenly, he felt something brushing his face. Every single one of his pores was shaking.

“Wind…” Gu Jun mumbled. “There’s a breeze!” He quickly alerted the team. “Captain Xue, there is a draft blowing.”

‘Draft?’ The group stopped to feel it, but none of them felt anything. Even Lin Mo, Uncle Dan, and Zhang Huohuo who were next to Gu Jun said they did not feel anything. The member holding the atmosphere scanner also shook his head. The data had not changed; it was confusingly stable. Theoretically speaking, the further they went underground, the lower the composition of oxygen should have been. Either way, Xue Ba did not dare overlook this. His bushy brows creased together. What was the meaning behind Gu Jun’s warning?

As the team medic, Uncle Dan had another worry. Was Gu Jun hallucinating? After all, one could not tell clearly when a person’s S value was too low…

“It’s breathing…” Gu Jun was still trying to process the stimulus around him. “The tunnel is breathing. We’ve awakened it.”

“Hmm?”

“The tunnel is breathing?”

The group looked at each other. After the past two days, the group knew each other enough to joke around. Lou Xiaoning scolded half-jokingly, “Kid, now is really not the time to be a poet.”

“No, there is a draft coming…” Gu Jun’s heart suddenly raced because he could sense clearly the breathing and even the heartbeat of the stones around him. He could sense the incoming gale as well. He said urgently. “We need to lean to the side. The wind is going to be very strong!”

“Listen to Ah Jun!” As confused as Xue Ba was, he quickly gave his loud orders. “Grab each other’s hands and sit down against the wall! Ah Jun, Huohuo, lay the stretcher by the side, grab the two front handles, leave the other end to another pair.”

The team instantly mobilized. They all moved to the left side of the wall where Gu Jun was hiding. They formed a human wall against the stone path. Gu Jun and Zhang Huohuo grabbed the stretcher by both hands and blocked at the front. Silence lasted for ten seconds; every one of their hearts was pounding. Their breathing became heavy due to the possibility of an imminent nightmare. And just like that, every single member could feel it, the caress of the wind… coming from the bottom of the tunnel.

The wind picked up into a gale almost immediately. It howled and overwhelmed the Demon Hunters. The powerful wind blew things into disarray and almost peeled the members off the wall. Some kind of creepy whispers were mixed in with the shouting gale. They flitted across the members’ ears. There were cries, wails and curses…

“Everybody, hold on!” Xue Ba tried to shout over the wind. The veins in his neck were popping. “Do not let go and ignore the sounds!”

Other than Lin Mo, who was strapped to the stretcher, everyone tried their best to stick to the ground and to ignore the maddening and strange voices. But they did see that the storm wind carried a color with it.

It was the color of darkness.

Wind was essentially moving air participles. A human’s naked eye should not be able to see its color, so the blackness was not the air but a large amount of another element carried by the wind. Terror seized their heart. Whatever it was, it came into direct contact in their skin. It meant that they had directly absorbed them into their bodies.

“Ignore that for now. Just hold on!” Xue Ba shouted again, but his voice sounded so floundering in the wind, like a mist that was about to be blown away. At the same time, the headache came for Gu Jun again. It was like multiple unnamed images were flooding into his mind…

Bizarre, maddening, chilling… he had felt this same sensation once before, when he saw the sharp rock protrusion at the bottom of Longkan Submarine Belt…

“Ah…” Gu Jun groaned from pain. It felt like his head was about to explode. He glanced at the walls around him. The dark red patterns were clearly flowing or even arranging themselves into various patterns and images, just like the ones that covered the mysterious carvings on the sharp protrusion. It was power, a power of life…

He saw many shadows standing in the wind. Gu Jun’s anomalous behavior had not attracted much attention because he was not the only one growling from the scratching wind. Lou Xiaoning was growling like a trapped animal, and Xue Ba was still shouting his orders. They used all their strength and their willpower, but the wind showed no sign of abating. Even after half an hour, it was still growing strong; one hour later, the wind had not ceased for a moment.

By then, even the largest and most physically fit Xue Ba was already ravaged by the whipping wind. His throat was hoarse from all the shouting. Uncle Dan, Zhang Huohuo, and the rest were barely holding on with their last breath. If they gave up this breath, they would be carried away by the wind…

A depression crept into the members’ hearts like vines. Before the abnormal energy, humans appeared so small. Suddenly, Xue Ba, Uncle Dan, and Luo Xiaoning saw… Gu Jun let go of his hands on the stretcher and stand up unsteadily.

Then, they watched on with disbelief.

Even though Gu Jun was teetering like crazy, he did not fall.

Against the slashing wind, he walked to the center of the stone path. He looked down the stone tunnel and spoke in some kind of strange language.