Chapter 500: Beneath the Stone Floor
"You... are... not... asleep."
A thin crack appeared across the stone beneath Sonny’s hand.
He pulled his hand away immediately.
The crack spread across the floor like a black snake.
Vanish tightened his grip on Sonny’s shoulder, maintaining their invisibility as both men moved backwards.
"What was that?" he whispered.
Sonny shook his head.
The voice had not come through the floor in an ordinary manner. It had appeared directly beside his ear, as if the speaker had been standing behind him.
Yet, there was no one else inside the room.
The crack stopped spreading.
Silence returned.
Neither man relaxed.
The strange heartbeats beneath the house had not resumed, but Sonny could feel something waiting below.
It knew they were present.
More importantly, it knew they were awake.
This confirmed Old Chen’s claims. Travellers brought into this house were expected to be unconscious before whatever lived below acted.
"We should leave," Vanish whispered.
That had been Lu Zhen’s order.
They were supposed to observe and retreat the moment they encountered danger.
Sonny agreed, but just as they turned towards the door, the floor moved.
It did not collapse.
Instead, the large stone slabs slid apart without making a sound.
A square opening appeared in the middle of the room.
Cold, damp air rose from below, carrying the scent of soil, blood, and rotting flesh.
The odour was so strong that even the mist Leng Pan had placed around them could not block it completely.
Sonny and Vanish covered their noses.
The opening revealed a flight of stone steps descending into darkness.
"It wants us to go down," Vanish said.
"Obviously."
"Then we shouldn’t."
Sonny looked towards the entrance of the house.
Nothing blocked their way.
Whatever lived underground could have attacked them when the floor opened, but it had not.
Instead, it exposed the hidden passage as if inviting them inside.
That made the situation even more suspicious.
Sonny reached into his pocket and took out a small crystal.
It was one of the communication tools Lu Tao had modified. The crystal could send a weak pulse to its paired device, alerting the others without producing sound.
He pressed it once.
The surface flashed faintly.
However, the expected response did not come.
"The signal is blocked," he said.
"Then we definitely need to leave."
Before they could move, footsteps came from outside the guest house.
Several people were approaching.
Sonny looked through the doorway.
Chief Gao walked ahead, carrying an oil lamp. Six villagers followed him, each armed with a machete or hoe.
"They must have sensed the floor opening," Sonny said.
Vanish pulled him towards the wall.
The two men pressed themselves into a corner as Chief Gao entered the house.
Even though they were invisible, they did not dare make the slightest movement.
Chief Gao looked around the empty room.
His gaze swept across the beds and stopped on the open passage.
His expression changed.
"Why did it open?" one villager whispered.
"I don’t know."
Chief Gao approached the opening cautiously.
"Did someone enter the house?"
"No. We have been watching the travellers."
"Then why is the door unlocked?"
The villager hesitated.
"You told us to leave it open in case they changed their minds."
Chief Gao’s face darkened.
The concealed organism below released another faint sound.
This time, Sonny could not understand the words. It resembled a mixture of clicking teeth and wet flesh dragging against stone.
Chief Gao immediately knelt beside the opening.
"Please be patient," he said.
His respectful tone shocked Sonny and Vanish.
Chief Gao was not the true ruler of the village.
Whatever existed below was the entity he obeyed.
"The new travellers are cautious," Chief Gao continued. "They refused to drink the water or eat the food. But they have many supplies. One of them has a large storage space."
A low vibration travelled through the floor.
The villagers standing behind Chief Gao trembled.
"They are strong," Chief Gao added hurriedly. "We cannot capture them directly. Give me more time."
Another vibration followed.
Chief Gao lowered his head until his forehead almost touched the floor.
"I understand. We will bring them here before dawn."
The hidden floor began closing.
Sonny looked at Vanish.
If they did not act now, the opportunity to investigate would disappear.
More importantly, Chief Gao and the villagers were blocking the door. Moving past them without being detected would be difficult.
Sonny pointed towards the passage.
Vanish stared at him as if he had lost his mind.
Going underground was exactly what the creature wanted.
However, remaining inside the room until Chief Gao discovered them was not better.
After a brief hesitation, Vanish nodded.
The two moved towards the opening.
Just before the stone slabs closed completely, they slipped through and descended the steps.
The floor sealed above them.
Complete darkness surrounded them.
Vanish released a slow breath.
"This is a terrible idea."
"I know."
"Commander Lu told us to retreat."
"We couldn’t retreat."
"We could have waited behind the cabinet."
"They would have searched the room."
"You don’t know that."
"They know something entered."
Vanish wanted to continue arguing, but a faint scratching sound came from farther below.
Both men became silent.
The stone steps were wet and narrow.
An unpleasant substance covered the walls. At first, Sonny thought it was water, but when he touched it, thin strings stretched between his fingers.
He immediately wiped his hand against his clothes.
"Don’t touch anything," he warned.
"That advice came a little late."
They continued down.
Vanish maintained their invisibility, but his ability was consuming energy faster than usual.
Something inside the underground passage interfered with it.
"My power is being drained," he whispered.
"How long can you maintain it?"
"Twenty minutes. Maybe less."
Normally, Vanish could remain invisible for an hour. With crystal cores, he could extend that time even further.
Yet, they had only been underground for several minutes, and he already felt exhausted.
Sonny took out two crystal cores and handed them to him.
"Absorb these."
Vanish accepted them and began replenishing his energy.
The stairs ended at a narrow tunnel.
The sound of flowing water came from their right, confirming that the passage connected to the village well.
On their left, a faint green light illuminated the darkness.
The cold air carried an increasingly strong scent of blood.
They followed the light.
After several metres, the tunnel widened into a vast underground chamber.
Sonny and Vanish stopped.