Honestly, that last line was just to spook him a bit—no different from asking someone, "Have you eaten?" Didn't expect Fake Fatty Sun's grin to widen after hearing it. "Sure, go ahead. Pull the trigger. Let's see if I really get a 'next time.' Don't act like you haven't shot at me before."
I knew this guy.
In my memory, there was only one person who couldn't be killed by a bullet. I lowered the gun and stared at him. "Yang Xiao!"
"Finally."
The "Fatty Sun" standing in front of me began to convulse—his whole body twitching. In just a few seconds, all that flab trembled off, and he grew at least ten centimeters taller. His features morphed into the young cop we ran into a few days ago in Qilin City—Yang Xiao.
I tucked the gun back into my waistband. Even though this was a custom-made firearm from the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation, it was nothing more than a toy in front of Yang Xiao.
"Wu Rendi let you go, and you still dare to come at us? If Director Wu finds out, let's see if you'll have another chance."
At the mention of Wu Rendi, Yang Xiao's expression shifted—just slightly. He gave a cold laugh and said, "Relax. I have no interest in harming you or the fatty. I just need to borrow you two to trade for something with your Director Wu. Once I have what I want, we go our separate ways. You won't lose a single hair."
I gave a dry smile. "You're overestimating us. You really think Wu Rendi would give in just for the two of us? Knowing him, he'd probably wait until you killed us, then track you down and tear you to shreds to avenge us. That's more his style."
Yang Xiao laughed quietly while I spoke. Only when I'd finished did he reply, "Don't sell yourself short. I can't say much about the fatty, but if I've got you in my hands, Wu Rendi will trade."
I scoffed. "Why would he? He's not my dad, and I'm not his son. What reason does he have to trade for me? Come on, Yang Xiao, stop dreaming. Where's Fatty Sun? Just hand him over, and we'll act like this never happened. I won't even mention it to Director Wu. And hey, I'll even help you speed things up with your wife—guarantee the two of you can pick up where you left off in twenty years. How's that? Think it over, old Yang."
Yang Xiao looked at me for a moment, then calmly said, "I told you—Wu Rendi will make the trade."
Seeing the skepticism on my face, he finally got to the point. "Because the three of us—you, me, and Wu Rendi—we all have the same constitution."
I frowned. "What constitution? Don't flatter me. What do I have in common with the two of you? That's giving me way too much credit."
Yang Xiao just gave a small smile. "Believe it or not, if I'm right, Wu Rendi will come looking for you before long. People like us—he never lets go."
"Well, we'll deal with that later," I said. "But listen, Yang—you've already been exposed. Why not just hand over Fatty Sun? At this point, what's the harm in giving him back?"
Yang Xiao nodded without replying. He pointed toward the spot where Fatty Sun had relieved himself earlier and began chanting a strange, guttural incantation.
Then, right before my eyes, Fatty Sun reappeared out of thin air—wearing only a pair of oversized boxer shorts, eyes shut, squatting like he'd fallen asleep mid-squat.
Yang Xiao looked down at him and chuckled again. "Heh. Come on, cut the act. I cast the spell—you're not fooling me. I know you're awake."
As soon as he spoke, Fatty Sun's eyes snapped open. The moment he saw Yang Xiao, he froze for a beat—he must not have seen him before getting knocked out.
"Yang Xiao? You've got some nerve showing your face again! Wu Ren—"
Before he could finish, Yang Xiao waved his hand and cut him off. "Shut it! Shen La already explained it. Don't bring up Wu Rendi again."
You could hear the irritation in his voice—Wu Rendi was clearly a sore spot, something Yang Xiao didn't even want to hear mentioned.
"Da Sheng, come over here..." I had just started speaking when I suddenly felt my hand go light. Ever since Fatty Sun appeared, the Wealth Rat had become especially excited. Now, hearing Fatty Sun's voice, the oversized rat couldn't wait any longer—it broke free from my hand, ran a few steps, climbed up Fatty Sun's leg, and perched on his shoulder. Poor Fatty Sun trembled all over. He wanted to get the Wealth Rat off him, but couldn't bear to drive away such a bringer of fortune.
Seeing Fatty Sun's terrified expression, Yang Xiao caught on. "You're afraid of rats?"
Fatty Sun glanced at him. "Is it illegal to be afraid of rats? Everyone's afraid of something in this life, right? Lazi, stop staring and get this thing off me. Be gentle—don't scare it. Whether I live large or eat scraps in my next life depends on this little guy."
Yang Xiao took off the bureau chief uniform and tossed it to Fatty Sun, changing back into his own clothes. Once he was dressed, I helped move the Wealth Rat into Fatty Sun's jacket pocket.
"Let's go…" Yang Xiao said, watching Fatty Sun finish changing.
"Go where?" Fatty Sun asked.
"Same way we came in," Yang Xiao replied. "The path above is completely sealed. This is the only road left."
What he said reminded me of something. "Old Yang, you didn't set this trap, did you? Went to all that trouble with those gold ingots just to lure us in?"
Unexpectedly, Yang Xiao said, "A trap? I don't have that kind of free time."
"But the one who did set this trap is no ordinary person. When I came in, he tested me. If I didn't have some real skills, I'd have fallen for it."
"He tested you?" I tried to recall. The four of us only encountered that Ice Corpse. Xiao Heshang had mentioned how rare those are, so that probably wasn't a test. And in the end, it even pointed the way for us. Thinking back, maybe it gave face to Xiao Heshang. Then there was the Soul Guiding Lantern with the signature—most likely, the one who set the trap was Xiao Sandá.
Fatty Sun hadn't said much since being freed. After listening for a while, he blinked and looked at Yang Xiao. "How did you know we'd pick this road?"
Yang Xiao said, "This is the Road of Life and Death—one leads to life, one to death. If you couldn't even see that, you'd be of no use to me. Wu Rendi wouldn't waste that item to trade for you two."
He was right—it really was the Road of Life and Death. Fatty Sun and I exchanged a glance. Xiao Heshang and Director Xiong were still in danger. We couldn't just let them die. Almost simultaneously, the two of us sprinted back toward where we came in.
"You're too late. With how long it's been, they'd have died several times over by now," Yang Xiao said casually, clearly having guessed our intention.
Fatty Sun and I ignored him, but before we could reach the entrance, two panting figures emerged from it—none other than Xiao Heshang and Director Xiong. Their shotguns were nowhere to be seen. Director Xiong held his service pistol, while Xiao Heshang gripped a Type 54 I recognized.
"Little Lazi, you're alright down here? I was really—wait, who's this guy?" Xiao Heshang paused as soon as he saw Yang Xiao behind us.
Yang Xiao was equally surprised to see them alive, but said nothing. He tilted his head, clearly deep in thought.
"He's... sort of an acquaintance," I said, forcing a makeshift identity for Yang Xiao. "He heard Da Sheng and I had gone underground, worried something might happen, so he followed us down."
"Something's off," Director Xiong, ever the seasoned cop, immediately spotted the flaw. "The path above is completely blocked. How did your 'acquaintance' get down here?"
"Old Xiong, why waste your breath?" Xiao Heshang wasn't Bureau Deputy Chief all these years for nothing. He saw through Yang Xiao at a glance and turned to Xiong Ba, saying, "I said he's an acquaintance. Why are you still going on about it?"
"Old Xiao, what happened to you two?" I quickly shifted the topic before Director Xiong could dwell on it.
"Don't get me started. I made the wrong call," Xiao Heshang sighed. "We picked the dead path. At first, it didn't seem strange, but after walking a bit, the road started to change—fuzzier and fuzzier. I've seen a few things in my time, and I recognized it: that path was transforming into a ghost road leading straight to the underworld. Luckily, we noticed in time. Just as we turned back, evil spirits showed up and blocked our way. The shotguns were useless. I was lucky this old guy was with me." As he spoke, Xiao Heshang weighed the Type 54 in his hand. "Fired a few rounds, and I managed to get us out."
"Oh, give me a break," Director Xiong scoffed. He clearly had no patience for Xiao Heshang taking all the credit. "You 'led' us out? More like I carried you. Sure, I'll admit your pistol isn't ordinary—one shot could pierce through several ghosts. But there were just too many of them. Once you ran out of bullets—" (I only now noticed his slide was locked back, and the chamber completely empty) "—those ghosts kept coming. I heard someone shouting something at the end of the road, and the ghosts all rushed toward you. You were scared stiff. That gave me the chance to carry you out."
"Someone shouted something?" Yang Xiao's eyes lit up. "What did they say? Did you hear it clearly?"
Director Xiong shook his head. "Couldn't make it out. Didn't sound like human language."
"Oh…" Yang Xiao nodded, falling silent again.
Looking at the still-shaken Xiao Heshang, I asked, "Old Xiao, what now? Who knows what lies ahead. Do we keep going, or head back? You decide."
Xiao Heshang hesitated now, no longer as bold as before. Clearly, that brush with death rattled him. "Anyone got a smoke? Mine flew out when we were running." He took a Zhongnanhai cigarette from Director Xiong, lit it, and took a few deep drags before saying, "We've come this far. We might as well keep going. Besides, this path leads to life—it should be safe. Even if we head back, the exit's blocked. Whether we could even get out is another story."
He had a point. Since we'd made it this far, and the way ahead might be the exit, there was little reason to turn back. If there was someone ahead, odds were it was Xiao Sandá—and thanks to Xiao Heshang, we had a good chance he wouldn't make trouble. With that in mind, continuing forward seemed like the better choice.
After a short rest, we set off again.
As we walked, Yang Xiao stayed quiet, head down, trailing behind the group. Xiao Heshang tried to strike up conversation, but Yang Xiao just cycled through a few token replies—"Mm," "Oh," "Yes," "I don't know"—until even Xiao Heshang gave up talking to him.
We walked along the living path for over twenty minutes. Just when it started to feel endless, a faint light appeared ahead. This time, even Director Xiong didn't say a word. He simply drew his pistol and stared tensely at the approaching glow.
The closer we got, the brighter it became. Three minutes later, the exit finally came into view.
Seeing the exit, the five of us slowed our pace. We stopped roughly ten meters away. I was just about to say I'd go take a look when a voice called out from outside the opening:
"You've reached the door—come in already. Or do you expect me to invite you in?"
Xiao Heshang trembled at the sound. "Is... is that Sandá? Xiao Sandá?" His voice broke, unable to contain his emotion.
"Sigh..." The man on the other side let out a heavy breath, his voice tinged with melancholy. "Who else could it be? Xiao Heshang, I have to hand it to you. You actually made it this far."
Xiao Heshang couldn't hold back anymore. He rushed forward, and we followed close behind.
Beyond the exit was a stone cavern about twenty meters wide. In the middle sat a burly, nearly naked, bearded man. Xiao Heshang froze upon seeing him. The man laughed heartily and said:
"Xiao Heshang, it's only been thirty years. Don't tell me you've forgotten Xiao Sandá?"