Chapter 139 Nights Errand (1/2)

As our car crunched along the way out of Wu Zhong, Yuanyuan began a delivery about her hometown Linnancangzhen Town like a tour guide.

It was in the 1970s when the township of Linnancangzhen Town started a mining company to quarry coal, an operation that would continue for decades until 2016. Everything was fine when the mining operations began. But years passed and residents in the vicinity began to observe cracks slowly appearing around their houses. No one realized that the tremors from the mining operations were the cause of the damages to the residents' houses, until the buildings around the quarry were toppling down with devastating alacrity. The cracks began to spread and grow like ivy and webs on a wall and the residents began to fear the worst.

My mind slowly drifted away as Yuanyuan rambled on about the residents' ardent pursuit for their interests and compensation. Instead, my thoughts closed in on the area which the ground had sunk.

According to Yuanyuan, the site of the pond was the site where substantial coal deposits were found. The mining site was abandoned when the ground began collapsing. But I remember coming here when I was young. I had passed by this place once when I followed Father on one of his errands. I could remember feeling puzzled by the lowly-built houses and structures in this town when we passed.

According to Yuanyuan's story, the buildings and structures in this locale were falling like dominoes, especially when the mining site was still active, where the ground would be sinking at a rate so dangerously apparent that many would shudder to comprehend. With no sewage system beneath the ground, the rainwater began accumulating in the sunken part of the town, thus creating the large pond. The ground never stopped sinking, that even today, we could see walls that were almost waist-deep into the ground and the roof of a sunken guard post sticking out of the ground like a mushroom.

The mining site was completely gone, with what remained of it joining the rest of the lake when it sank, now fully submerged like an underwater necropolis. Somehow, fish began growing in the lake, either by the act of man or Heavens, and slowly, this pond became a popular fishing spot for anglers around here; among them, were the husband and wife who visited us.

Seeing is believing; the time on my phone showed ”8 PM” as the tires of our car ground to a stop. We got out and immediately felt the cold winds whistling by our ears. I clicked on my flashlight ahead and saw a few smaller pools of water, all with fishes swimming happily as if to welcome the beams of light from us. I peered at the largest pool of water, the lake which we came for. Nothing. There was nothing wrong yet so far with my Spirit Sight. I turned to face Yuanyuan, who nodded, tacitly indicating that we have reached the spot.

”Let us begin then,” I mused. I took out my Spirit Gourd and shook it gently, hearing a soft gurgle emitting from within. The whiff of foul aura I took was still too faint. I would have doubted any success, if I had not my spirit eagle, spirit wolves and, last but not least, my spirit cat, Smoky.

I conjured my spirit eagle. With a screeching hoot, it soared into the sky and circled for a second overhead before flying towards North. Lin Feng looked into the distance where it flew to and smiled proudly. ”It's time for me to show you my driving skills that rivals Takumi of Initial D!” Over his shoulders, Chongxi and I scowled behind his back. ”You're just trying to show off to your girlfriend,” we almost grumbled.

We got back into the car and Lin Feng spun the steering wheel, veering the car off the main road into a gravel path. The bumpy and choppy ride down the narrow path had us bellowing and yelping all the way; little pools of water lined along the sides of the path which had no fences or barricades to prevent vehicles from straying off. The two girls were grimacing with fright, even though Lin Feng was doing his best to drive as safely as possible. We could not have found a better driver; I myself would have long plunged into the pools of water if I was at the wheel.

Finally, we saw the gray silhouette of my spirit eagle flying in loops in the sky as if it has locked on to a prey. A thought flashed through my mind, ”We're near!”