Chapter 189: The Great Virtuous Master

Dashao steadied himself and said, “TOUR stands for the French tour expedition team. This team has always maintained a cooperative relationship with China. A few years ago, I even worked with them myself. They must be here for archaeological purposes.”

Having said that, he rummaged through another bag and indeed found a certificate issued by the Chinese government authorizing their archaeological work.

Liu Dashao asked, “How come these three foreigners came here to do archaeology without hiring a Chinese guide? They don’t even know the area.”

Before Liu Dashao finished speaking, Caqingchong suddenly hissed, “Listen, there’s a sound.”

Liu Dashao had long become accustomed to Caqingchong’s strange behaviors. But every time he stopped everyone from talking in surprise, something weird would appear. Liu Dashao quickly drew his pistol and carefully observed the surroundings. Those around him, including Fande Biao and Daguo, also became alert. Even the inexperienced newcomer, Su Yougui, grabbed a spade.

Suddenly, everything grew quiet. Liu Dashao then heard a rustling sound coming from the riverbank where many bronze statues were placed. The sound was like a swarm moving, yet it sounded oddly solid.

Liu Dashao thought something was wrong and quickly shone his flashlight toward the riverbank. Daguo and Fande Biao followed suit, pointing their flashlights in the same direction.

They saw the bronze faces of the statues peeling off piece by piece. As the bronze peeled away, they discovered the statues were hollow. A hole appeared on the face of one statue, from which red objects occasionally dropped into the water. From a distance, they couldn’t see clearly what these red objects were.

Suddenly, there was a “dong” sound as a bronze plate from the statue near Liu Dashao fell off. Soon after, a red object crawled out. Looking closely, they realized it was a bug.

This bug was about the size of a child’s fist, entirely blood-red, and resembled a common beetle. However, its shell was fully enclosed, its head looked like a centipede’s, and beneath its red carapace were a pair of sharp claws that seemed no less formidable than those of a centipede.

Upon seeing the bug, Caqingchong’s face immediately showed fear. Although Liu Dashao had encountered many dangerous creatures before and wasn’t particularly scared, seeing Caqingchong’s pale face made him cautious. He immediately aimed his gun at the red bug and prepared for action.

Seeing Caqingchong so frightened, Daguo quickly asked, “What is this thing? Why is it hiding inside the bronze statue?”

Hearing this, Liu Dashao thought to himself, “Even Daguo doesn’t recognize this creature. Could it be an ancient insect from prehistoric times?”

Caiqingchong replied, “This creature is called ‘Zhijing.’ It feeds on flesh. Whether human or animal, anyone encountering them will end up as a pile of bones.”

After hearing this, Liu Dashao thought to himself that the two TOUR expedition members must have been killed by these Zhijing bugs. Thinking this, he felt a chill and said urgently, “We must leave here quickly, or we will all be destroyed by these Zhijing!”

As soon as he finished speaking, a large number of Zhijing swarmed toward them, turning the river ahead into a sea of blood-red.

Daguo was quick to react. As soon as Liu Dashao realized what was happening, Daguo had already thrust a steel pole into the water, causing the boat to shake and quickly drift forward. Liu Dashao and Fande Biao didn’t dare to delay either, grabbing their spades and rowing hard, left and right.

Liu Dashao and Fande Biao swung their spades vigorously while Daguo steered the boat with the steel pole, navigating the narrow and winding river rapidly.

However, no matter how fast they moved, they couldn’t outpace the Zhijing. These creatures swam faster than fish and soon caught up with them, with a few even leaping onto the bow of the boat.

Illuminated by the boat’s mineral lamp, the Zhijing glowed a terrifying red. Liu Dashao couldn’t help but inhale sharply, his hands trembling uncontrollably.

Still, Fande Biao was bold. Seeing the Zhijing leap onto the boat, he swung his spade and smashed them. In no time, the few Zhijing on the bow were flattened by Fande Biao.

Before Fande Biao could even feel proud of his actions, another dozen Zhijing leapt onto the boat. He swung his spade again, but as he raised it, one Zhijing suddenly lunged at him. Startled, Fande Biao stumbled backward.

Seeing the danger, Liu Dashao quickly drew his Taoist sword and thrust it forward, skewering the Zhijing on the blade.

Due to the force of his fall, Fande Biao toppled all the way to the stern, causing the bow of the boat to lift. Liu Dashao immediately jumped to the bow, plunging his peachwood sword into it, pinning the Zhijing firmly to the boat, restoring balance.

Kneeling on one knee at the bow, Liu Dashao pressed one hand on the peachwood sword while the other formed a sword-finger. He slashed his finger along the blade, causing blood to flow from his middle finger. He then pressed his finger against his forehead, chanting something inaudibly, seemingly reciting a spell.

Soon, the Zhijing on the bow leapt back into the water as if seeing a ghost, and the Zhijing in the water also quickly retreated to a distance of about a meter from the boat.

Seeing their chance, Su Yougui and Fande Biao quickly grabbed their spades and rowed furiously.

The Zhijing dared not approach the boat but continued to chase them. Suddenly, they launched another attack, leaping toward the boat repeatedly.

Seeing this, Liu Dashao was deeply shaken, his face showing disbelief. He closed his eyes and collapsed onto the boat. Immediately, two Zhijing leapt onto him. As they extended their claws to attack Liu Dashao, he suddenly stretched out both hands, using his middle and index fingers to grab one each. With a strong grip, he crushed both Zhijing, then collapsed again.

Daguo shouted, “Pull him over!”

As Daguo spoke, Su Yougui and Fande Biao grabbed Liu Dashao’s shoulders and pulled him toward them. They saw Liu Dashao’s pale face, clearly having lost too much blood and fainted.

Seeing Liu Dashao pulled over by Su Yougui and Fande Biao, Daguo jumped to the middle of the boat, raised a handheld flamethrower, and pressed the valve. A powerful jet of flame erupted from the nozzle. Only then did Fande Biao remember the two handheld flamethrowers in his bag. He grabbed one, instructed Su Yougui to stop Liu Dashao’s bleeding, and rushed to stand beside Daguo, pressing the valve with all his strength.

The flamethrower’s fire was extremely intense, forcing the Zhijing to retreat. Seeing this, Caqingchong grabbed the steel pole and began to push the boat forward.

Soon, they managed to escape the Zhijing’s pursuit. Examining the handheld flamethrower, Daguo realized it was high in oxygen content, explaining its powerful flame.

Fande Biao placed the flamethrower aside. After the fierce battle and with little food consumed beforehand, he was exhausted. Reflecting on the near-death experience, he realized that without the flamethrowers left by the expedition members, they might have perished there. Thinking this, he felt grateful toward them.

Fande Biao’s gaze shifted to the peachwood sword at the bow of the boat. Both streams of flame had been directed at it, yet the sword appeared completely undamaged. Curious, he went to pull it out for a closer look.

At this time, Liu Dashao had regained consciousness and murmured, “Don’t pull it out. If you do, the boat will capsize.”

Hearing this, Fande Biao thought to himself that if Liu Dashao hadn’t pinned the sword into the boat, it might have capsized under their weight. He decided not to touch it.

The wooden boat slowly moved through the cave. Fande Biao held the steel pole, randomly poking it into the water while continuously glancing below, seemingly searching for something. Liu Dashao was now completely drained from hunger and blood loss, lying on the boat staring at the ‘stars.’ Daguo sat alone at the stern, lighting a cigarette but not smoking it, seemingly deep in thought. Liu Dashao, seeing his intense concentration, decided not to disturb him.

Su Yougui and Caqingchong had fallen asleep. Caqingchong kept murmuring in his sleep, his words mostly incomprehensible. However, from the accent, it seemed to be in Shanghainese. A few words could be faintly discerned, something about ghosts and monsters. He was sweating coldly from his forehead, clearly having a nightmare.

Liu Dashao didn’t want to think about it and just wanted to rest. As he closed his eyes, a wave of pain shot through his right arm. Liu Dashao thought that after all the climbing and swimming they had done, his wound might have reopened or become inflamed. His first thought was that he needed to treat it quickly, or his right arm might become useless.

Liu Dashao took his backpack and retrieved a waterproof medicine box. Fortunately, the medicine inside was still usable. He first took a painkiller, then removed the bandage from his right arm. The wound didn’t look too serious, so he applied some anti-inflammatory medicine and rewrapped it with a new bandage.

Just as Liu Dashao was about to rest, Fande Biao suddenly screamed, “There are fish! There are fish in this water! We won’t starve now!”

Hearing Fande Biao mention fish, Liu Dashao immediately became excited, his sleepiness gone. He rushed to Fande Biao’s side and asked, “Where? Where the hell are the fish!”

Fande Biao pointed his flashlight at the water and said, “Look here.”

Following Fande Biao’s direction, Liu Dashao indeed saw several carp about the size of a palm swimming in the water. Liu Dashao thought to himself, “Aren’t these carps a specialty of the Yangtze River? How did they get here? Could this river be connected to the Yangtze?”

Now wasn’t the time to ponder such thoughts. The most important thing was to catch a couple of carps. As long as they could fill their stomachs, even eating them raw would do.

Liu Dashao patted Fande Biao’s shoulder and said, “Biaozi, this is a matter of life and death. These fish are our lifeline now. It’s time to sacrifice the small self for the greater good. Quick, think of a way to catch them.”

Fande Biao replied to Liu Dashao, “You’re stating the obvious,” and then reached out to catch the fish.

As soon as Fande Biao’s hand touched the water, the fish scattered quickly. Fande Biao angrily cursed and tried again. This time, just like before, the fish swam away as soon as he touched the water. Annoyed, Fande Biao took out his pistol, aimed at the carp in the water, and prepared to shoot.

Liu Dashao grabbed Fande Biao’s hand to stop him and said, “Why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut? Watch me.”

With that, he swung his spade and struck the water hard. Immediately, two or three carp the size of a palm jumped out of the water. Seeing this, Fande Biao grabbed a spade and swung it at the fish. He hit them squarely, and the three carp flew up, hit the wall, and then fell back into the water belly-up. Liu Dashao was a bit surprised; Fande Biao was actually quite nimble. Seeing that the fish were truly helpless, Fande Biao quickly scooped them up with the spade.

This fish-catching technique was something Liu Dashao had learned from his grandfather as a child. He never thought it would come in handy now.

Fande Biao grabbed a carp, scraped off the scales with his dagger, and stuffed it into his mouth. Liu Dashao, disgusted, said, “Fande Biao, are you really going to eat it raw? Don’t we have fire? At least cook it before eating.”

Fande Biao replied, “Damn it, I’m so hungry I didn’t think about it. Thanks for the reminder.” With that, he adjusted the flamethrower to the lowest setting and sprayed the carp with flame.

In a short while, the three carps were roasted golden yellow. Fande Biao grabbed one and started biting into it. After a big bite, his face showed intense pain. Liu Dashao asked, “What’s wrong? Is it bad-tasting?”

Fande Biao spat out a mouthful and said, “Damn it, I bit too quickly and hit the bitter gallbladder.”

Hearing this, Liu Dashao couldn’t help but feel both amused and exasperated, secretly chuckling to himself.

Liu Dashao took one carp, split it into two halves, gave half to Daguo, and kept half for himself. He tasted a bit and found it quite delicious, so he started eating without hesitation, finishing half the fish in one go.

Liu Dashao woke up Su Yougui, Hubei Kang, and Caqingchong, giving each of them half a fish. Caqingchong seemed to have mostly recovered, basically out of danger.

Liu Dashao recalled the words Caqingchong had muttered in his sleep and asked him what he meant.

Caiqingchong replied, “It’s Zhang Jiao. Both the centipede and the Zhijing are his creations. Zhang Jiao was the most legendary sorcerer of the Three Kingdoms era. This tomb must belong to him.”

After Caqingchong finished speaking, Daguo slapped the boat and exclaimed, “Zhang Jiao! The very same Great Virtuous Teacher who single-handedly defeated Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun’s four thousand elite Han troops?”