Cruel Heart

By around 7 PM, the flashlight beams that had been illuminating the surroundings had dwindled to just one. This beam did not belong to either of the flashlights previously held by He Yunkai or Zhu Zili; those had run out of power. The light now came from Lu Yun’s flashlight. Outside the 50 square meter living area, a makeshift toilet had been set up. With no other materials available, the only option was human bones. The partition wall was constructed from these bones. While using this facility, one would find themselves facing several skulls and various large bones from human bodies. Zhu Zili and Ka Xiaoe’s hands trembled as they built this wall. This would become a nightmare for many of them when using the bathroom in the future, if there was a future. Actually, it was dark everywhere, and one could go anywhere to relieve themselves without being seen. However, the girls were not used to it, and more importantly, everyone, including Liang Yingwu and me, hoped for some light from a flashlight in this relatively private situation, to feel a bit more at ease. No one was in the mood for chatting. Zhu Zili tried to muster some energy to tell ghost stories to everyone, but he could only get halfway through before stopping. His face had turned pale, gripped by fear, making it impossible to continue the story. He feared that he might scare himself to death before he could scare anyone else. I kept looking at my watch; time had never passed so slowly. Each minute was torture. By 8 PM, everyone began to sleep. Everyone’s clothing was thin, and even when awake, it was a bit cold, but fear occupied their minds so they didn’t feel it much. Lying down on the cold ground sent shivers through the body, and the chilling mountain air crept up, causing uncontrollable shivers, making it nearly impossible to sleep. With no choice, the five girls huddled together, and the men squeezed close as well, both for warmth and courage. I was the first to keep watch, for two hours, which felt longer than two days. The surroundings were silent, with faint sounds of sobbing from the girls. Thankfully, nothing unusual happened during those two hours. Of course, in the vast darkness beyond the reach of the flashlight, something might have been happening silently, unbeknownst to us. Around 11 PM, I woke Liang Yingwu to take over. By the time he finished his two-hour watch and lay down beside me, I was still awake. This place was too eerie, too full of danger, making it hard to sleep peacefully. My mind kept replaying the scenes from when we entered, from the outer cave into the passage, then to the Bone Cave, and back several times, like a movie, bit by bit. I tried to piece together some logic but ended up with a mess of thoughts. The only clear memory was that something felt off right from the first stone cave. This odd feeling, where did it come from? If we could figure it out, there might be hope. “These people look like they’re from the Qing Dynasty,” Liang Yingwu whispered, noticing I wasn’t asleep. “Qing Dynasty, you mean these bones?” “I saw some patterns on pieces of clothing that hadn’t rotted away, and some hair ties for braids.” I couldn’t help but admire Liang Yingwu’s observational skills; I hadn’t noticed these details. “I have some other observations, I think, I think…” Liang Yingwu’s voice suddenly became much lower, and he hesitated. “What?” I pressed. “Forget it, let’s talk about it later. Let’s sleep first.” Liang Yingwu unexpectedly avoided my question, and no matter how I urged him, he fell asleep on his own. “Damn it,” I cursed under my breath and tried to force myself to sleep.