Chapter 159: Water Curtain Cave

Su Zhan wandered around the orphanage.Before he knew it, he had come to the orphanage's back gate.

He looked down.

On the muddy ground by the back gate were several shallow depressions.

Su Zhan squatted and lightly brushed his fingertips over that trail of footprints, almost washed away by the rain.

Adult size, sole tread pattern.

"Director Chen."

Su Zhan rose without showing emotion. "Where does this back gate lead?"

The old woman squinted and looked into the distance. "Just wasted hills and wild mountains. That little path by the back gate was made by herb collectors—usually nobody walks it except when we hang quilts to dry. As for where it goes... if you walk up a bit farther there's a waterfall. That place is considered a scenic spot for us."

Su Zhan tapped that nearly invisible trail of prints with his toe. "These were left by people from here?"

Director Chen leaned closer to inspect, then shook his head. "Can't say for sure..."

"Any children missing recently?"

Su Zhan asked again.

Director Chen gripped his cane. "…There was a six-year-old boy named Dou Dou. He went missing during naptime four days ago. We searched the whole mountain, and later Captain Lei's team also came to look..."

Su Zhan's brow grew tighter and tighter.

He strode quickly toward Lei Chen, who was in the front yard playing with the children, and grabbed his arm. "Something's up on the back mountain."

The smile on Lei Chen's face froze instantly. "What?"

"Fresh footprints, an adult male's."

Su Zhan lowered his voice. "Four days ago the child disappeared—did you search the back mountain?"

"We did, but it was pouring that day..."

Lei Chen's face soured as he realized. "You mean..."

"Bring people and come with me up the mountain."

Su Zhan was already checking his gear. "Quickly, before it gets dark."

Lei Chen clenched his teeth and turned to Director Chen. "Director, we need to check the back mountain again!"

...

The mountain path wound upward.

After passing through a dense stand of trees, the scenery suddenly opened up.

A waterfall descended.

It smashed into a deep pool below, throwing up a sheet of white mist.

The roar of the water echoed through the valley.

The air was damp, filled with that unmistakable scent of the wild.

The pool was very clear, roughly three to four meters deep by sight.

Su Zhan frowned and considered.

The footprints completely disappeared on the scree about a hundred meters from the waterfall.

Su Zhan and Lei Chen exchanged a look and, by tacit agreement, spread out.

"Search separately."

Lei Chen signaled to the Purifiers behind him. "Watch rock crevices and caves."

Su Zhan moved slowly along the pool's edge.

He crouched to inspect every crevice that might hide a person.

His fingers brushed over moss-covered rock, searching for any unusual marks.

The Purifiers fanned out around the waterfall.

They painstakingly searched every suspicious clue.

Two team members climbed the rock face to the pool's left and swept the grooves and fissures with high-powered flashlights.

Another crouched at the water's edge, collecting a sample with a vial.

Several others felt along the cliff faces on both sides of the falls, occasionally scraping away thick moss with knives to inspect.

Time ticked by, and the sky grew dimmer.

"Boss, nothing found on the east side."

"Nothing unusual on the west either."

"Pool water test is normal..."

Lei Chen wiped water from his face in frustration. "Damn, the trail's gone cold again?"

Su Zhan stood at the mist-shrouded pool, his gaze fixed on the roaring waterfall.

He spoke: "Did anyone check behind the waterfall?"

Everyone froze.

No one had checked behind the waterfall.

None of them had imagined there could be anything back there.

"Behind it?"

Lei Chen frowned. "With a flow like that, how could there be anything—"

Before he finished, Su Zhan had already taken off his jacket and sprinted into the pool.

The biting cold soaked him instantly.

He gritted his teeth and swam toward the center of the waterfall against the current.

The rushing water slammed his back.

Su Zhan held his breath and plunged through the curtain of water.

Letting the icy flow batter his shoulders, he squinted and scanned the rock face hidden by the falls.

At first he saw nothing.

The rough rock was covered in moss, a deep inky green from constant moisture.

But when he pushed aside one particularly dense patch of moss with his hand—

His fingertips touched several unusual carved lines.

They looked like parallel grooves deliberately cut with a sharp tool.

Su Zhan leaned in to inspect while water continually struck his lashes.

The grooves were arranged too neatly, and...

He noticed the edge of the lowest groove was abnormally smooth, as if frequently rubbed.

He pressed his thumb against that groove and tentatively pushed to the right.

At first there was no response.

Three seconds later—

"Click."

Su Zhan immediately applied more force.

The moss-covered section of rock caved inward by half an inch, then slowly slid aside, revealing a recessed cavity the size of a bowl.

Inside the recess was a rusted metal pull ring.

Su Zhan's heart jolted.

He glanced back at the vague figures outside the waterfall, hesitated for a beat, then pulled the ring.

A muffled clank of gears turned deep within the rock, perfectly masked by the roar of the falls.

Then—

A narrow stairway opened in the center of the rock face behind the waterfall, leading down into darkness.

Wet footprints remained on the steps.

From the size, they were adult male prints.

Son of a—!

It really was a Water Curtain Cave!

Su Zhan's doubts and conjectures were all confirmed in that instant.

"Lei Chen!"

Su Zhan shouted toward the waterfall; his voice was swallowed by the water.

But Lei Chen, after all a Deputy Commander whose capability shouldn't be underestimated, had sharp hearing and immediately registered that something had happened inside.

"Damn!"

Lei Chen spat, then told the others, "Report back to headquarters now. After that, follow my orders—standard deployment. Five teams stay outside to observe and be ready to support; others come with me to go in!"

"Yes!"

They answered in unison.

The Purifiers on shore moved with practiced efficiency.

Lei Chen led the fully armed Purifiers through the waterfall.

When he saw the dark, deep cave entrance, his expression grew extremely complex.

He stopped at the damp steps and turned to Su Zhan, extending his hand. "Student Su Zhan, I have to apologize."

Su Zhan raised an eyebrow.

"I was too stubborn before."

Lei Chen said earnestly, "If you hadn't insisted on searching the orphanage, we never would have found this damned place... my prejudice almost ruined everything."

Su Zhan was a little surprised.

He had expected someone of Lei Chen's rank to be a little haughty; he hadn't expected the man to admit his mistake publicly.

"It’s fine."

Su Zhan shook his head, his tone flat. "The case is what matters."

He really didn't care.

Their bias or their apology meant nothing to him.

When the mission was over, he'd return to Vermilion Bird Academy.

They'd continue guarding Yun City, and after that they'd probably never cross paths again.

Lei Chen seemed about to say more.

But Su Zhan had already stepped down the stairs. "Make it quick."

The Purifiers fell in behind him.

Tactical flashlight beams pierced the darkness.

Lei Chen lingered at the back, giving Su Zhan's retreating figure a long look before hurrying after the team.

The steps descended.

A damp, fetid smell hung in the air.

They kept formation, everyone tacitly ready for combat; no one mentioned the earlier episode again.

Su Zhan walked silently.

For him, completing the mission was the only thing that mattered.