Chapter 20: Why The Hell Are There People Here?
Everyone’s gazes focused on the cave entrance. Amid the interplay of light and shadow from flashlights and mine lamps, a slender figure was outlined. He hadn’t yet reached the area directly lit by the light, so his face couldn’t be seen clearly, only vaguely making out that it was a man. Lin Yan inappropriately thought that if it rained from the sky right now, with thunder and lightning, it would be just like the legendary transmigration scene!
So if he got struck by lightning right now, could he transmigrate back? Would the place he transmigrated back to still be that Earth? At first, he hadn’t expected that transmigrating back was even possible, but now thinking about it carefully, in this somewhat mystical world, it really seemed plausible! Hadn’t everyone in this world casually pursued longevity—physical longevity (like Lu Shang Wang), spiritual longevity (like that tree in the Qinling Mountains), and even slowing time to achieve longevity (like that Queen Mother of the West, who might or might not be alive and appeared in countless fan works in different ways)?
So, he wasn’t completely without opportunity?
But if he really could transmigrate back, would he want to go? Or just stay in this world, regardless of whether he got involved in the plot?
Lin Yan fell into deep thought, to the point that he didn’t even notice Zhang Qiling approaching right beside him.
“What are you thinking about?”
Wu Xie, who had been ignored despite having countless questions to ask Zhang Qiling, patted his shoulder, startling him.
“What’s wrong?” Lifting his eyes, he saw Wu Xie’s aggrieved expression, and then Zhang Qiling’s indifferent demeanor. Lin Yan could figure out what happened even with his toes. Looking at the kirin tattoo on Zhang Qiling’s body, he actually had a small curious question he wanted to ask.
“Um, Xiaoge…” He cautiously looked at Zhang Qiling, and after confirming he wasn’t being ignored and had turned his gaze over, he grew bolder: “Um, I wanted to ask, your tattoo looks like a kirin treading fire, so are there any kirin controlling water or kirin beside trees or something like that?”
At these words, Zhang Qiling’s gaze toward him instantly showed disdain, like looking at an idiot. Wu Xie and Fatty looked at him with similar adoring gazes. Fatty patted his shoulder: “Young comrade, how did you even come up with that question?” Wu Xie nodded, his gaze curious. What he really wanted to say was, “Is this a question a human brain could come up with?”
Lin Yan shook Fatty’s hand off his shoulder and looked at each of them in turn: “What do you mean how did I come up with it? Isn’t that totally normal? Metal, wood, water, fire, earth—the five elements, they don’t separate!” He absolutely wouldn’t admit it was a side effect from watching some armored series! Right, definitely not!
Zhang Qiling’s gaze became even more disdainful, and Lin Yan immediately didn’t dare to joke anymore, because the way Zhang Qiling was sizing him up seemed like he was seriously considering how to dig that bead out of his mouth… Maybe using the knife in his hand to chop would be faster?
So he shrank his head and hid behind Wu Xie, completely ignoring Wu Xie’s complex gaze of “why did you suddenly chicken out.” Where was safer than behind the protagonist? At least Zhang Qiling absolutely wouldn’t touch Wu Xie! He was lost in his own thoughts, completely ignoring the fact that with Zhang Qiling’s combat prowess, if he wanted to, he could yank him out from behind Wu Xie in a split second. The reason he hadn’t moved him now was very likely because he was too lazy.
Zhang Qiling calmly walked beside the living corpse. The living corpse’s breathing had gradually steadied, but upon his arrival, it quickened again. As the distance between him and the living corpse shortened, the living corpse’s limbs began struggling forcefully, unclear whether it wanted to escape the jade burial suit or flee from Zhang Qiling.
“You can’t kill him like this.”
Zhang Qiling looked down at the living corpse, set down the bloody, mangled head he was holding in one hand, and in the midst of the living corpse’s desperate struggles, gripped its throat with one hand, his eyes full of deep disgust: “You’ve lived long enough. It’s time to die!”
Before the words finished, he exerted force with his hand. With a despairing scream, the living corpse’s head lolled, its originally transparent white skin rapidly turning black, just like the shed skin he had left in the coffin.
After a while, the corpse shriveled up, and the jade burial suit naturally slipped off. Only then did they confirm that this corpse, which had lived for three thousand years, was truly dead.
Wu Xie turned his head away uncomfortably. Though he knew this living corpse was just a corpse with an extra breath, seeing “a person” truly killed up close still had a huge impact on him.
Fatty was also somewhat silent, but after a moment, he still asked: “Hey, young comrade, judging by your expression, do you know who it is? Is this corpse really Lu Shang Wang or not?”
Zhang Qiling was silent for a moment, as if digesting the fact that he had truly killed the living corpse, his face showing only a sense of loss. He didn’t look at Fatty, just pointed at Wu Xie: “The silk manuscript in his hand has all the answers you want.” Then he picked up the head again, sheathed his knife, and went to a corner to rest with eyes closed.
Everyone gathered around Wu Xie, including Panzi who had been far away.
Wu Xie and Wu Sansheng fully unrolled the silk manuscript and began deciphering the ancient script on it. Wu Xie was telling him where he had read to: “I just got here, it talks about how Lu Shang Wang obtained the ghost seal, saying it was cut out from a snake’s stomach. If I didn’t translate wrong, it might be this purple jade box that held the silk manuscript.”
At this point, Fatty got interested and eyed the box in Lin Yan’s hand: “Young comrade, is there no ghost seal in here besides the silk manuscript?”
Lin Yan shook his head: “No, when we found this box, there was only the silk manuscript inside, nothing else.”
Wu Sansheng glanced at Wu Xie, and seeing him nod too, gestured for him to continue translating.
Wu Xie refocused on the silk manuscript and continued interpreting: “Later, he dreamed of a white-bearded old man asking why he killed him. He replied that he killed because he wanted to. Then the old man turned into a snake to bite him. But in the dream, Lu Shang Wang nearly killed it with one slash. The snake, not wanting its soul to scatter, gave him two treasures in exchange for its life. The treasures were in the purple jade box, and it told Lu Shang Wang how to open the box, but Lu Shang Wang still killed it with one slash.”
He looked at the description below and found something off: “But it doesn’t specify what the two treasures are, only that Lu Shang Wang used them ‘quite handily.’ Then he killed the entire families of the followers who went with him, to keep the treasures ‘hidden from the world’… Good grief, that’s brutal, not even sparing kids.”
Fatty grew impatient listening: “Are these two treasures the ghost seal and the jade burial suit? Does it say below where Lu Shang Wang put the ghost seal?”
Wu Xie nudged him with his shoulder: “If you know how, translate it yourself! Don’t rush, let me look carefully—what if I mess up from rushing?”
Lin Yan stroked the box while listening to the gossip, not anxious at all. If he remembered correctly, they absolutely wouldn’t find the ghost seal in this tomb. He didn’t recall if it was after the fire started that Zhang Qiling secretly went back for it, since it was used when opening the bronze gate later, but that was obviously a place only he knew about, definitely not written in the silk manuscript, or else Wu Sansheng would have taken it already. If he guessed right, Wu Sansheng and the others were also looking for the ghost seal? And A Ning, was her goal this time the ghost seal or just the snake-browed bronze fish in that treasure box?
It really gave him a headache—these people were truly idle, scheming against each other all day without getting tired? He rubbed his forehead, noticing that Zhang Qiling’s gaze at the living corpse seemed somewhat pained.
Pained? Why would Zhang Qiling have such an expression? Could this corpse be related to him somehow?
He began paying close attention to Wu Xie’s interpretation of the silk manuscript. Even if not everything in it was true, the living corpse’s identity was definitely mentioned.
At this point, Wu Xie was reading about the Iron-Masked Strategist exploiting the Western Zhou Tomb: “…More importantly, in the main cave of the primary tomb, there was a nine-headed serpent cypress, and a male corpse almost skin and bones was wearing a black gold-threaded jade burial suit, sitting on a jade bed under the tree. He determined that this male corpse wasn’t truly dead, shedding a layer of dead skin periodically. The corpse looked young but was actually elderly at burial. So he used a special method to extract the male corpse and sealed it in the stone coffin of the side tomb chamber.”
At this, his expression gradually turned surprised, exchanging a glance with Lin Yan: “That blood corpse!” Lin Yan had known long ago, while Wu Xie felt relief at having escaped disaster. If he guessed right, the blood corpse at the entrance was the true tomb owner. Unexpectedly, Lu Shang Wang had dug up his own grave, even robbing his jade burial suit for shelter— no wonder it was so aggressive at first, wanting to eat people, and after negotiations, it took quite a bit of blood from each of them!
Thinking of this, they all simultaneously glanced at the head in Zhang Qiling’s hand, silently mourning the blood corpse in their hearts: too tragic, really too tragic. Dead but not at peace—first grave robbed and driven from the main tomb chamber, finally some sacrifices arrive, but then Zhang Qiling chops off its head. Never seen such bad luck…
“Lu Shang Wang took fake death medicine as planned. The emperor truly believed he could travel freely between yin and yang realms, so very afraid, he gave him treatment higher than ordinary tombs. He borrowed this Western Zhou Tomb to set up his own tomb. For secrecy, he killed all his followers, leaving only one man and one woman to prepare his burial. This man and woman took poison after completing the task.” Wu Xie hesitated here, recalling that cave piled with mountains of corpses.
Lin Yan, hearing no continuation, peeked at the silk manuscript and then at Wu Xie: “That’s it?”
Wu Xie carefully folded the silk manuscript and put it back in the purple jade box: “That’s it, it ends here.”
Wu Sansheng frowned: “This Iron-Masked Strategist in here, by his methods, doesn’t seem like a foolishly loyal type who would accompany Lu Shang Wang in burial. It doesn’t even say where he went?”
Wu Xie shook his head: “Don’t know, it’s not written…” He hesitated: “Maybe Lu Shang Wang showed him kindness, so…” Thinking about it, even he felt it impossible: “With Lu Shang Wang’s murderous nature, how could he?”
The nearly forgotten Zhang Qiling spoke up: “Of course not. Because the one lying here in the end is no longer Lu Shang Wang, but this Iron-Masked Strategist.”
Fatty blurted out: “So they switched places at the end? What scheming, what tactics!”
Zhang Qiling nodded: “His goal was merely to borrow Lu Shang Wang’s hand to achieve his own longevity.”
Lin Yan looked at the corpse shriveled away from the jade burial suit and secretly curled his lip, thinking it was also quite unlucky—encountering Zhang Qiling, the kirin bearer, barely struggled before being crushed to death. Pretty comedic.
He watched Zhang Qiling giving a long explanation to Wu Xie’s questions, his gaze gradually turning odd. Why did it feel like he was lying? He carefully observed his expression—well, a poker face has no expressions, but his “human lie detector” sixth sense told him Zhang Qiling was 100% lying!
How did this feel so mystical? This poker face who doesn’t speak unless necessary was actually giving a long speech to lie? But thinking about it, as a Zhang family member carrying nearly a hundred years of Nine Gates and Zhang family scheming, it wasn’t that strange. For their plan, reluctantly lying to the current little innocent was nothing— he was even willing to do things that nearly got him killed!
Speaking of which, after clearing this instance, was the next one that bronze tree in the Qinling Mountains? Should he follow along to check it out? What if he found a way to transmigrate back from it?
The still-hesitating Lin Yan didn’t know that later, whether he wanted to go to the Qinling Mountains or not, for his own life and an answer he must know, he would have to follow.
Fatty was still clamoring to find the ghost seal, but seeing no one else moved, he quieted down and bustled to pack up the jade burial suit.
At this moment, Zhang Qiling suddenly let out a startled sound. The blood corpse head in his hand was abruptly thrown beside the coffin, and everyone’s actions froze instantly, cautiously watching the head.
“Wh-what’s wrong?” Wu Xie stared at the blood corpse’s eyes and couldn’t help retreating a few steps. Fatty swallowed, having an ominous premonition, and quickened his packing speed: “No matter what, let’s go quick!”
Lin Yan, holding the box, hurriedly stuffed it into his bag upon hearing this. Such a valuable trophy—if lost in the chaos later, he’d die of heartache!
The blood corpse’s scalp twitched, and a small blood-red insect slowly crawled out.
Everyone’s feet had been moving toward the cave entrance, but seeing it was just a small insect, Da Kui paused: “Just this little bug? Can’t we just kill it?”
Zhang Qiling’s face showed surprise, but Lin Yan could tell it was fake at a glance: “This is a corpse beetle king. I can’t control it—run fast!”
“Just this tiny one? Corpse beetle king?” Da Kui didn’t believe it verbally, but after Third Uncle smacked his head, his feet honestly sped up toward the exit.
Just then, a weak female voice came from the entrance: “I’m afraid you can’t leave.”
“Who?”
Wu Sansheng angrily looked toward the entrance and saw a woman holding a handgun.
“Who are you?”
“A Ning!” Wu Xie and Lin Yan exchanged a glance, recalling how this woman had forced them to flee in panic before. Unexpectedly, she had gone back to retrieve her gun? Or did she have two guns to begin with?
Wu Sansheng glanced at them, clearly sensing they had some history they hadn’t shared—no rush, they could ask slowly after leaving. The immediate priority was escaping the corpse beetle king, and this woman blocking their path had to be dealt with quickly!
He narrowed his eyes and said to A Ning: “I don’t care who you are or why you’re down here, but I advise you not to fire. The gunshot will alert the corpse beetle king—none of us here will survive!”
A Ning bit her lip and said flatly: “I just want the treasure box you got on the platform earlier. Hand it over and I’ll leave immediately! Otherwise, I fire, the corpse beetle king will bite you first, and after it leaves, I’ll take what I want from your corpses!”
Wu Xie, Fatty, and the others exchanged glances, then all looked at Panzi. That treasure box was in Panzi’s bag.
Panzi looked at Wu Sansheng and asked very softly: “Third Master, give it?”
Wu Sansheng thought for less than a second: “Give it! Everything else is secondary—escape first!”
He glanced at Da Kui, who nodded. Wu Sansheng meant they could rob it back after leaving, but if they couldn’t even get out…
Zhang Qiling suddenly said: “Too late!”
Everyone looked behind and realized that while focused on A Ning, they hadn’t noticed the corpse beetle king wobbling toward them, drawn by their talking voices!
Those who had seen corpse beetles before had terrified expressions—this was the first time seeing a flying corpse beetle!
The corpse beetle king was almost at Da Kui’s face, and Da Kui, for some reason, reached out to grab it.
Zhang Qiling grabbed his knife with one hand and slashed at the arm grabbing the insect: “Poisonous! Chop the hand off and the person can still live!”
Da Kui’s scream rang out. The insect was grabbed into his palm almost simultaneously with Zhang Qiling severing his arm. Everyone looked at his fallen arm—it had already turned the blood-red of a blood corpse!
And that corpse beetle king, free from the palm, was about to fly toward them again!
Da Kui’s eyes reddened: “Damn it, made me lose an arm!” He grabbed his gun to shoot it, moving so fast no one reacted.
With a few bursts, the insect was shot into a sky of blood and flesh. Everyone instinctively held their breath, waiting for something to arrive.
The surroundings fell silent, like the calm before a storm.
Lin Yan’s eyes widened as he suddenly remembered the setting that “killing the corpse beetle king causes the corpse beetles to riot”… So in the original story, everyone frantically fled and burned the tomb because they also killed the corpse beetle king, causing all the corpse beetles to chase them?
Holy crap! Doesn’t that mean…
His mind was a mess when Zhang Qiling shouted: “Run!” He instinctively followed the crowd out. At the cave entrance, A Ning had vanished seeing things turn bad—probably climbing up somewhere!
This chick ran fast— she really picked up a life! Lin Yan cursed inwardly, then had no chance to think anymore, because he heard the tidal “rustling” of the corpse beetle horde surging toward them!
By the time they reached the tree, the corpse beetle army arrived almost simultaneously. They had climbed less than ten meters when the horde caught up to their feet. Zhang Qiling flicked his wrist, dripping a few drops of blood, causing nearby corpse beetles to retreat quickly, only for more to climb from elsewhere.
Lin Yan, seeing this, remembered repelling corpse beetles with alcohol before: “Fire! They’re afraid of fire! Does anyone have alcohol and a fire starter!” Everyone shook their heads—no one did. Clearly, everyone had been injured to some degree coming down, and any they had were used up!
Da Kui, with only one hand, was helped up by Fatty, climbing very slowly. Enduring the pain, he said: “Bag! Dynamite in my bag!”
His shoulder shook slightly, and the already precarious bag on his shoulder fell into the corpse beetle swarm, quickly engulfed. Panzi, seeing this, freed one hand and raised his gun: “Everyone prepare to protect yourselves! Three! Two! One!”
With a few bursts, he detonated the dynamite. The distance was far from safe—everyone’s minds went blank from the blast shockwave, blown to who-knows-where.
Lin Yan opened his eyes, feeling the world spinning. Beside him, someone crawled up, also covered in dust: “I… where am I?”
Looking closely, it was Wu Xie, but something seemed behind him?
Lin Yan squinted and barely made out the bluish mass, his expression changing in horror: “Run! Corpse beetles caught up!”
“Huh?” Wu Xie was still dazed, but turning back sobered him instantly: “Whoa crap!” He hurriedly climbed after Lin Yan—the fissure was just a few steps away.
He glanced back; not far in another direction, Fatty was also scrambling upward, filling him with joy: “Fatty!”
Fatty looked up and grinned, but it quickly turned to a wail: “Ouch! My butt!” He had been caught up. He changed direction toward Wu Xie and the others, climbing while grimacing: “Damn corpse beetles, once out, Fatty Ye will burn you all!”
Wu Xie glanced back amid the chaos: “That comes after we get out!”
Climbing past some corpses, Fatty kicked one after another to block: “Love eating? Eat more! Don’t bite your Fatty Ye anymore!”
Wu Xie saw it had some effect and called to Lin Yan ahead, who was avoiding corpses: “Lin Yan, Lin Yan! Corpses can disrupt the corpse beetles’ judgment—kick all the nearby corpses down!”
Lin Yan saw it worked and ignored the disgust: “Got it!” He followed suit, kicking one by one. The corpse beetles were indeed kept farther away. They cleared the stragglers on them, sped up a stretch, and finally caught their breath.
Lin Yan and Wu Xie were okay, but Fatty’s butt and legs were a gruesome sight. Luckily, these were ordinary small corpse beetles without poison—disinfect and a tetanus shot back home should fix it.
Then Wu Xie suddenly saw someone on the left waving at him; in the darkness, he couldn’t tell who: “Who? Panzi?”
Lin Yan looked but saw no one: “Someone there? Where?”
Wu Xie eyed the distant corpse beetles, weighing it—seemed time: “Go check?”
Lin Yan thought it sketchy: “Really go? He’s just waving, not speaking—might not be human. Don’t forget that green-eyed fox corpse! What if it’s illusion?”
Surprisingly, Fatty decided: “Go check. I vaguely saw someone there too—maybe your eyes aren’t good.”
Lin Yan glanced at him; his expression didn’t seem like lying. So there really was someone? But if human, why not speak? Still, if Wu Xie and Fatty went, he could too—just steps from exit, no big deal. Thinking this, he rested a bit, caught his breath, and followed Fatty and them.
ps: Two chapters’ worth, making up for last night’s chapter.
Begging for recommendation votes!
