"The Little Things"

The unexpected

 Zhao's heart rate quickened as he watched the focused man with apprehension.

"Come on, come on," he muttered under his breath. Halfway through, Professor Shen suddenly halted, a surprised look on his face. He looked behind, then turned back and locked his eyes with Yunlan, a question forming on his pale face. He started walking again, a bit faster, as if he wanted to get to the other side as quickly as possible. Zhao watched him, alarmed. When Shen Wei was within arm's reach, he grabbed him by the shoulder and led him to even ground. "Are you all right?"

"Yes," Wei smiled mildly, then nervously looked back. "I just... I thought I heard someone call my name."

"We're all under a lot of pressure here, professor. Sometimes in confined places like this- Shit!" Zhao cursed, looking down. "Your hand is bleeding again." He lifted Shen Wei's bandaged hand, and sure enough, half of it was covered in red blood. "The moment those two are on our side I'll see to it. Here, take my backpack, take out the medkit. It's on top."

After handing his bag to Shen, he moved closer to the hole again, looked out and swore profusely. Guo Changcheng was on the root, currently on his fours, shaking like a leaf.

"I... don't think I can do-o this," he whined.

"Stop being such a wuss!" Chu's voice was filled with anger. "Just go slowly!"

"That's right, Xiao Guo!" Yunlan focused on his subordinate. "Take it slow, one limb at a time. You can do it. You're SID, remember?" Although Zhao didn't think it possible, Guo's shaking increased. Yet, a resolve started to appear on his face, and he slowly moved. "That's it, Xiao Guo. Nice and slow. And don't look down."

"Down?" squealed the boy, and Yunlan cursed himself as he saw Guo's gaze sliding downwards.

"I said don-"

But it was too late. Changcheng's right leg lost hold, and his whole body started tipping sideways.

"Xiao Guo!" Zhao shouted, ready to jump after the boy, but Chu Shuzhi was faster. He sprang onto the root, and in two long strides, got to the boy. The puppet master grabbed him by the waist and tossed him onto his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He made another two steps to catch balance. Zhao exhaled. Chu started walking steadily, his face dark with cold rage.

CRACK!

The stony root suddenly broke under the weight of the two men.

"JUMP!" yelled Zhao Yunlan extending his hand. Chu made a gigantic leap from the root that was giving way, grabbed Little Guo and unceremoniously tossed him to Zhao.

"CATCH!" he yelled, and Yunlan grabbed the boy's hand, watching in horror as Chu started falling. The kid made a terrified noise and fainted. A head appeared next to Zhao, and Shen Wei extended his hand and grabbed the boy by his jacket. They both pulled him onto the flat surface, and Yunlan checked his vitals.

"He'll be fine," Zhao took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, regaining his composure. He looked at Shen Wei, who was breathing quickly, clearly shaken. "Here, that hand of yours really needs my attention now." The detective pointed at the bloodied forearm.

"Your other man, he..."

"Old Chu? Yes, yes, he will be missed dearly." Yunlan nodded his head a couple of times, taking out a fresh bandage and antiseptics. He looked playfully into Shen Wei's eyes but seeing the horror in them, his smile became reassuring. He pointed at the roots next to the cave entrance, where two thin blueish strings were attached. "Our Chu isn't someone who can't look after himself. I have full trust in his capabilities."

They heard a snort coming from the ledge, and after a second, Chu Shuzhi pulled himself up. He immediately went to Changcheng and carefully lifted his head up. "He's all right. I checked." Zhao's voice was soft and reassuring.

"Of course he is," barked Chu. Yunlan faced Shen Wei again and started changing the dressing on his arm.

"You are like a family." Commented Shen Wei.

"A very weird, distorted yet surprisingly, highly functional one. We take pride in that," agreed Zhao with laughter. "There, that should hold. Does it hurt much?"

"No, Chief Zhao. Thank you."

Guo Changcheng chose that moment to scream himself awake, and he sat up abruptly, looking around.

„I'm not dead? Chief! I'm not dead!" he informed.

"Shut up," barked Old Chu. Zhao Just laughed.

After a short rest, they split up again. Chu Shuzhi and Xiao Guo, taking the tunnel leading down, whereas Zhao and Shen Wei went up. Their tunnel curved somewhat to the left, going around the spacious cavern where they had been before. In Zhao's mind, it was also getting closer to the mysterious source of the blood trail. He kept the flashlight steady, from time to time sweeping the walls with its cold light. He got used to the stony roots around him and didn't pay much attention to them any more.

After ten minutes, they had to stop because the rest of the way was blocked by more interwinding roots.

Zhao swore. "I really hoped we could go up instead of down. Let's go back and see if our dear companions had more luck." He hit the blocking roots with his hand. "Stupid stone, do you have to block our way?"

Suddenly there was a rumble somewhere deep from the mountain. Then a grinding sound made Zhao step back. He watched in disbelief as the roots parted, opening the way to a new part of the tunnel. This one was short and led to a bright, roomy space. He exchanged a worried look with Shen Wei.

"I'll go check. You go down, tell the others-"

"No." Shen Wei grabbed him by his shoulder. "Either we go there together, or we return. I'm not letting you there on your own."

"Look, Professor..."

"I won't change my mind," Shen Wei said with determination. Zhao combed his hair with fingers, then waved a finger a couple of times at his companion and let out a frustrated breath.

"Fine, but stay behind me and keep close," he decided. He knew that the reasonable decision would be to turn back, yet something inside him pushed him forward. Ever since he had entered the large cave with the pool of water, a gnawing sense of familiarity was nudging him onwards.

Slowly, they moved forward to the source of light.

They entered another cavern, brightly lit by a crystal ceiling. The room was high, white walls covered with roots, but those looked very much alive. They pulsed with subtle energy. Zhao took two steps forward, looked up and stopped dead in his tracks. Shen Wei bumped into him and leaned out to see what the obstacle was. His eyes turned wide with shock, and he took one step back.

"What is this?" He whispered in fear.

"Ah..." a male voice whispered. "At last. I have been waiting for so long. Hello brother."