Ancient tomb excavation traces

At this point, we were two-thirds of the way through the acupoint, just a hair's breadth away from escaping. But then, at the crucial moment, Bao Cai's earth-shattering sneeze and fart ruined everything. In an instant, the entire acupoint erupted in chaos. A series of strange cries filled our ears, driving us mad; we wished we had some divine power to smash the cave apart and escape to breathe fresh air.

Bao Cai was on the verge of tears, saying, "I'm so sorry, something furry just landed on my face, I couldn't help it..." Before he could finish, he belatedly realized, "Wait, I... I just... I just touched something dirty?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Yu, who was behind him, angrily cursed, "Get the hell out of here! It's one thing for you to spew nonsense in front, but why can't you control those behind you?!"

As soon as I finished speaking, I saw a dark shadow hanging in front of Bao Cai, like the kind of vines in a cave! I looked closely and my hair stood on end instantly—it was hair! Judging from the length of the hair, it must be a girl.

After I realized what was happening, the child suddenly started giggling. Bao Cai remained silent; it was clear the suddenness of the situation had startled him. However, things took an unexpected turn. Suddenly, the silent Bao Cai burst into tears—not from fear, but from sadness.

His crying caused all the laughter in the cave to cease. But a moment later, something unexpected happened… the children also began to wail heart-wrenchingly along with Bao Cai. It was a strange feeling, like a collective funeral rite. I was completely baffled, and Chen Tan, standing behind me, was even more confused. He exclaimed in astonishment, “You rascal, are you out of your mind?!”

Upon hearing this, Bao Cai sobbed and retorted sadly, "Young Master just said that these children died tragically, and I thought of my sister. This child's laughter sounds just like my sister's. My sister drowned when she was six years old..." After saying this, he couldn't stop and burst into tears.

In this situation, I never expected Bao Cai to make such an incongruous connection, but what surprised me even more was the young Taoist priest's words: "The ominous aura is changing..."

My heart ached when I heard this, and I quickly asked what it meant.

The young Taoist priest was also very surprised and doubtful. He said that after hearing the noise inside, he felt a strong and resentful aura stirring inside, but strangely, the agitation was now fading.

Upon hearing this, Chen Yi exclaimed in surprise, "What do you mean? Are you saying that Liu Baochai's crying skills are a damn effective weapon against evil spirits?"

The young Taoist priest had exorcised many evil spirits, and he had never seen anything like it before. But seeing that the situation was improving, he told us to take this opportunity to leave.

Just as we were about to continue climbing, Chen Yi urged Bao Cai, "You rascal, hurry up and move along! Don't just stand there like a dead man!"

The child's crying continued. Chen Yi urged Bao Cai several times, but he remained unmoved. I thought to myself: This is bad. Could it be that these children are playing tricks? Have they drained Bao Cai's yang energy?

I immediately lit the lighter and held it out to Bao Cai. What I saw horrified me. Bao Cai was lying face down on the spot, with a little girl with long, disheveled hair sitting on her back. She was wearing a red, coarse cloth shirt, which looked a bit worn, suggesting she came from a poor family.

What was terrifying was that her long hair covered most of her bluish-gray face, and the eyes that peeked out from between her hair had no whites at all, but were pitch black. At this moment, she kept her lips tightly closed, staring at me with a sinister aura that sent chills down my spine.

Seeing this, I realized this little devil was going to kill Bao Cai, so I forgot my fear and pleaded, "Little boy, this ugly uncle didn't take your life, please let him go..."

However, the little girl remained seated, motionless. I swallowed hard, about to speak to her again. Strangely enough, quite suddenly, she spoke, saying, "I feel unwell... Help..." These words didn't come from her mouth, but from Bao Cai, though the voice belonged to the little girl.

Upon hearing this, the young Taoist priest said that Bao Cai was possessed by a vengeful spirit. Just as he was about to turn around to help, Bao Cai continued, "Being here... I'm scared... Take us away..."

As she said this, my heart suddenly tightened, and my previous tension and fear of them vanished. The young Taoist priest murmured, "How could this be…?"

Just as we were wondering what was going on, a boy's voice came from the acupoint again: "Take us away..."

As soon as the boy finished speaking, a pleading sound filled the space. The words were simple, yet incredibly sincere. I didn't understand why, but my eyes involuntarily welled up with tears.

At that moment, the young Taoist seemed to understand something, saying, "Although the little ghosts harbor deep resentment, they are different from the spirits in the bronze passageway. They died as children, and their hatred is always insignificant. Perhaps at first, they wanted to harm us, but after sensing Brother Liu's sorrow, their evil intentions were instantly softened..."

The young Taoist priest's analysis transported me back to the year of their tragic deaths, following their cries. A group of innocent children, carefree children with bright eyes like twinkling stars, clung to their parents' clothes, shyly hiding behind them, only to be helplessly dragged to earthenware jars. Their hands were bound, and they were forcibly stuffed into the jars, pleading and crying out inside. Every word, every utterance, tugged at my heartstrings.

Such young children may not understand what death means, but the endless darkness and the cramped space filled their innocent eyes with fear and terror.

The sudden reversal—this must be what they call empathy. Bao Cai's sadness softened the malevolent spirit. I sniffed, feeling a heavy weight on my heart, very uncomfortable.

The young Taoist priest was the first among us to react. He didn't cry, but for some reason, I could sense that he was the one who was most distressed. For someone who exorcises evil spirits, promising to take the wronged souls out was itself against his principles, yet he disregarded that.

After that, the cave returned to calm. There were no broken pottery urns, no children hanging from them, and our bodies, which had been injured by the shards of the urns, had healed. Everything that had just happened was like we had entered a maze set up by evil spirits. Now, because of a promise, the children put away their weapons, making this passage a true safe passage.

At that moment, my heart was filled with countless emotions. Sometimes, the human heart is truly more terrifying than ghosts and monsters, just like Sima Yan and these children who were called the most vicious. There is no absolute good or bad in this world, and what we see may not be true. Only by opening our hearts can we truly understand. And the first thing we adults need to learn from children is how to let go. I stroked the pottery urn and earnestly said to the children who had died tragically, "When we return, we will definitely take you out of here."