As soon as Liu Dashao heard the sound, he realized something was wrong—the corpse was stirring. He quickly called out to Fan Debiao. Fan Debiao replied that everything was fine, cursing under his breath that a strange insect had suddenly appeared in the area.
Just as he finished speaking, a red spot shot out from the coffin. Upon closer inspection, it was indeed an insect.
Suddenly, Daguo became tense and shouted, “Duck!”
The red insect wasn’t particularly large—about the size of a big spider, resembling a beetle. It emitted a red glow and flapped its wings rapidly. Aside from its red luminescence, it didn’t seem particularly special.
Yet, upon seeing the insect, Daguo reacted as if he had seen a ghost, frantically urging Fan Debiao to dodge. It was clear that this was no harmless creature—it was dangerous.
When Fan Debiao heard Daguo yelling for him to move, he was momentarily confused, staring blankly at everyone. Seeing their shocked and fearful expressions, he felt helpless.
Seeing that Fan Debiao didn’t understand Daguo’s warning, Liu Dashao shouted, “Fan Debiao, this insect is a menace! Get out of the way—do you want to die?!”
Hearing Liu Dashao’s urgent tone, Fan Debiao finally realized the danger and snapped into action—but it was too late. The glowing red insect darted toward him at incredible speed, leaving him no chance to escape.
With a loud clang, Fan Debiao dropped to his knees, and a military spade clattered to the ground. Liu Dashao looked over and saw Fan wiping cold sweat from his forehead—clearly, he had narrowly avoided being hit, thanks to the spade blocking the insect’s attack.
Liu Dashao turned around and saw Daguo panting heavily, staring at Fan. That strike had definitely come from Daguo.
The impact of the insect hitting the spade was so loud that it revealed the creature’s immense attacking power.
Still dazed from the shock, Fan wiped his face and slowly regained his senses. Picking up the spade, he cried out in alarm.
Looking closer, Liu Dashao saw a fist-sized hole in the spade, as if it had been burned through. Liu was stunned—this insect wasn’t just strong; its body must have been extremely hot.
Daguo had been holding his breath the entire time, but seeing that Fan was safe, he finally relaxed and hurriedly gestured for Fan to come over.
Fan grabbed the spade and ran over quickly, saying, “Daguo, thanks a lot! If it weren’t for your quick action, I would’ve been finished. Fan Debiao owes you one!”
Fan continued, “What was that insect just now? It was so powerful! Why did it attack and then disappear?”
Daguo explained, “That’s called the Red Hernia King, the king of insects. Legend says it was once under the command of the Queen Mother of Heaven. If there were a dozen or so of them, they could burn down entire forests. Its destructive power is no joke. This creature is extremely aggressive and won’t spare any living thing. As for why it attacked and then vanished, even Liu Dashao doesn’t know. However, this insect is also a rare medicinal ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine—most importantly, it’s not bitter, and it’s said to have the power to bring the dead back to life.” He then urged everyone to capture the Red Hernia King, as Cai Qingchong’s injury couldn’t wait much longer. It was lucky they had encountered this valuable insect.
They searched the tomb for a long time without success. Suddenly, Fan Debiao shouted, “Comrades! That Red Hernia King is here—quick, let’s get it!”
Hearing Fan’s shout, Liu Dashao turned and saw the Red Hernia King hovering above the coffin. He wondered why the insect kept circling the coffin without leaving.
Fan said, “The medicinal insect is right there! Should we surround it or wear it down with a relay attack?”
Jackson chimed in, “Surround it! Surrounding is better!”
Liu Dashao said to Fan, “Forget about surrounding or relay attacks. You’ve already seen how powerful this insect is. To it, we’re just targets waiting to be eliminated one by one. Let’s ask Daguo first.”
Daguo said, “This thing can only be dealt with using water—special water.” He then pulled out a large bottle made of blue-and-white porcelain, which looked quite valuable. He continued, “This is the insect-repelling water passed down in Cai Qingchong’s family.”
Liu Dashao thought, “Wow, such a big bottle, and he only uses it once? He’s clearly being stingy!” But then he reasoned that since it was a family heirloom, it made sense to be cautious—it might even be one of the last remaining bottles in the world.
Daguo waved his hand and signaled everyone to gather around. He advised everyone to bring a sturdy weapon just in case. Everyone grabbed whatever weapon they could find and quietly approached the coffin.
However, as they got within a meter of the coffin, the insect seemed to sense the danger. Its glow intensified, its wings flapping faster and faster. The sound was almost audible even without speaking.
Daguo shouted, “No good—get down!”
At his command, everyone threw themselves to the ground. The insect immediately darted around frantically in the air, moving at an incredible speed.
Daguo seized the moment, stood up, raised the bottle, and hurled a stream of liquid directly at the Red Hernia King. It hit the insect dead-on.
Struck by the liquid, the Red Hernia King seemed to lose its soul, spinning wildly in the air before crashing into the coffin. Fan Debiao let out a loud cheer and rushed over to examine it.
Everyone gathered around. The Red Hernia King lay on Zhang Jiao’s golden tiger-shaped mask, barely alive. Its red glow had vanished, but its wings still flapped weakly, unable to lift it into flight.
Fan Debiao said, “Damn! Cai Qingchong’s insect-repelling water is really effective—capable of subduing even such a fierce creature. Imagine how effective it would be against ordinary mosquitoes and bugs. If we could mass-produce this, we’d be rich!”
After hearing Fan’s analysis, Liu Dashao was surprised—this guy, who usually didn’t seem too bright, actually had a sharp business mind.
What Fan cared about most was the insect itself—it was a mythical creature. He suggested that before giving it to Cai Qingchong to consume, they should at least save a leg to sell for a good price. Saying so, he reached out to grab the Red Hernia King.
Before his hand could touch it, the insect shuddered and burrowed into Zhang Jiao’s head. Immediately, Zhang Jiao’s corpse began to change—it started to swell rapidly.
Liu Dashao turned to Daguo and asked, “Besides bringing the dead back to life, what happens when this insect enters a corpse?” Daguo shook his head—he didn’t know much about that.
“Holy crap!” Fan Debiao and Jackson shouted in unison.
Liu Dashao turned around and saw the corpse swelling beyond recognition. Its head grew as large as a basketball, and its blood-red eyes bulged out from under the mask. The sight sent chills down Liu Dashao’s spine.
Daguo shouted, “It’s turning into a zombie—run for your lives!”
At Daguo’s warning, everyone snapped back to reality. Fan Debiao immediately sprinted toward the funnel-shaped exit, but Daguo shouted after him, “Don’t go that way—it’s too slow! You won’t make it! Use the exit in the southeast corner!”
Before he even finished speaking, a dark shadow shot out from the coffin, lunging at them with terrifying speed.
There was no time to think. Survival was the only priority. In an instant, everyone bolted toward the exit.
Fan Debiao and Jackson ran ahead, with Daguo close behind. Daguo carried Cai Qingchong and still managed to keep up. Liu Dashao was at the back, under immense pressure.
This time, Liu Dashao pushed his physical limits to the maximum—his speed rivaled Carl Lewis’s. The animated corpse wasn’t far behind, making Liu’s heart pound with fear.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage