When Fan Debiao said that, everyone was startled and looked at each other in confusion. Da Guozhu and Cai Qingchong’s faces darkened as they rushed over to the coffin. Upon taking a look, both of them simultaneously cursed, “Damn it!”
Liu Dashao thought to himself, if even Da Guozhu is cursing, something strange must have happened. He dropped Fan Debiao and hurried over to the coffin. What he saw was a spiraling stone staircase rotating inside. It appeared the central stone pillar was hollow. The pillar wasn’t very large, so the staircase was barely wide enough for one person to pass through. Because the flashlight had been used for too long and was running low on power, it couldn’t illuminate the bottom of the staircase. This must be the secret room Fan Debiao mentioned earlier! Perhaps he had been startled and saw things unclearly.
Da Guozhu angrily exclaimed, “Damn it! What the hell is this Zhang Jiao up to? Setting up so many traps! Today, we’re going all out and taking whatever’s down there.” It seemed Da Guozhu was serious this time. Understandably so—being toyed with by these mechanisms would make even a clay Buddha furious.
Just as everyone was preparing to descend, a small stone suddenly dropped from above, hitting Fan Debiao directly on the head. Fan Debiao cursed, looked up, and shouted, “Not good, get out of the way!”
Liu Dashao looked up and saw a black shadow hanging from the upper stone wall. Someone shone a flashlight upward, allowing Liu Dashao to finally see clearly—Ying Long was clinging precariously to the wall. The stone that had fallen moments ago had been dislodged by Ying Long’s movements.
Suddenly, Da Guozhu shouted, “Everyone, scatter quickly!”
Liu Dashao looked up and saw a massive black shadow falling straight downward—it was Ying Long!
As it neared the stone slab, something blocked its fall, causing it to veer sideways. Only its head remained stuck at the edge of the slab. Its face had been previously damaged, making it especially terrifying to look at.
The stone slab was extremely sturdy. Despite Ying Long’s massive size, it hadn’t overturned the slab. It was fortunate that no one had been injured.
Just as everyone exhaled in relief, Cai Qingchong shouted, “Not good!” Liu Dashao turned around and saw white worms slowly crawling out from Ying Long’s terrifying head. He immediately realized—they were Chi!
Seeing the Chi emerge, Fan Debiao shouted, “Quickly, everyone jump into the water!” He prepared to dive in but, upon reaching the edge of the stone slab and making a diving motion, immediately recoiled in fear, sitting heavily on the slab while clutching his chest, “Damn it! Down there… there are those damned red beetles!”
After hearing Fan Debiao, Liu Dashao looked into the water and saw numerous Chi already gathering below. The entire pool was dyed red, sending chills down his spine. Now truly, what he feared most had come to pass.
Liu Dashao said, “Now we have no way up or down. What should we do?”
Cai Qingchong frowned and said, “You all go down the stairs first. I’ll hold them off for a while.”
Da Guozhu waved his hand and said, “Liu Brother, Fan Brother, Su Brother, Jackson—you all go down. We’ll hold the line here.”
The Chi slowly approached the group while the Chi beetles leaped from the water onto the pillar, slowing their pace. They seemed to know the group had nowhere to run, so they deliberately slowed down. This situation was scarier than a fierce attack. A fierce attack might bring a swift death, but this slow advance felt more like torment. Could it be these insects were actually sadistic creatures with intelligence?
Liu Dashao looked back and saw Jackson huddled beside the coffin, trembling violently while making the sign of the cross with his right hand. It seemed Jackson was still a devout follower of Jesus. However, judging from his pale face, he must have witnessed his companions being attacked by the Chi beetles, leaving psychological trauma.
Fan Debiao held a double-barreled pistol in alert, his legs trembling rapidly. He couldn’t decide whether to shoot or not.
Da Guozhu ordered everyone to retreat into the secret chamber first. Liu Dashao initially wanted to refuse and stay to help. However, he realized this wasn’t the time for unnecessary discussion. Since Da Guozhu had given the order, there must be a reason. Perhaps staying would only hinder Da Guozhu and the others.
He nodded at Da Guozhu and turned to Fan Debiao and the others, saying, “Let’s go down first.”
With that, Liu Dashao grabbed his flashlight, placed his dagger within easy reach, and grabbed something from his pocket without checking what it was before jumping into the coffin.
Although the staircase couldn’t accommodate two people side by side, it was smooth enough for one person to descend. Soon, he saw a coffin vaguely appearing ahead.
Liu Dashao stopped and saw the coffin wasn’t far from the staircase’s end, seemingly at its very terminus. He felt puzzled—Fan Debiao had mentioned a secret chamber below, yet there was only a coffin here. This place didn’t look like a chamber at all, especially since it was far too small.
Looking back, he saw Fan Debiao, Su Yougui, and Jackson slowly descending. He thought to himself, Fan Debiao usually isn’t slow when fleeing danger. Jackson might be a bit clumsy but is physically capable. Why were they moving so slowly?
At that moment, Liu Dashao was most concerned about Da Guozhu and the others on the stone slab. Although they were experienced warriors and skilled fighters, he had personally experienced the terrifying power of the Chi and Chi beetles. Even if you could hide in a wall crack, they could dig you out.
Thinking this, Liu Dashao felt a sudden urge to rush back and help Da Guozhu. However, he was alone and weak. Rushing out would likely result in him being defeated by the insects in no time.
Liu Dashao turned toward the coffin below. Since these insects were created by Zhang Jiao, he must have some magical artifact to control them. His only option now was to rush down, open the coffin, retrieve the artifact, and rescue Da Guozhu and the others.
As Liu Dashao prepared to descend, he suddenly felt something was off. He realized—oh no! He hadn’t brought the black donkey hoof talisman. If he opened the coffin and a Jiangshi (a reanimated corpse) jumped out, without experience or skill, he might suffer an even worse fate than being attacked by the Chi and Chi beetles.
Instinctively, he went to scratch his head but immediately hit a hard object, causing him to suck in air from the pain. Looking at his hand, he saw the large black donkey hoof he had grabbed from the bag earlier.
This must be divine intervention! Liu Dashao was overjoyed. He was definitely going to open Zhang Jiao’s coffin. With that thought, he gripped the black donkey hoof in his left hand, flashlight in his right, straightened his back, and charged downward.
However, just as he picked up speed, he suddenly felt his body weaken, leaning against the wall with difficulty breathing. “Damn it!” he thought. “Could this be oxygen deprivation? Was I too excited to notice? Could there really be something wrong with my body?”
At that moment, someone touched Liu Dashao. Looking up, he saw Fan Debiao and Jackson.
Fan Debiao said to Liu Dashao, “You’re suffering from oxygen deprivation, aren’t you? This coffin has been sealed for years. The air hasn’t fully circulated yet, and you rushed in like a fool. This proves an old saying—’The first to charge into battle is the first to meet the blade!’”
Hearing Fan Debiao explain it was merely oxygen deprivation and not a physical ailment, Liu Dashao felt relieved but couldn’t help cursing, “So you two were moving so slowly up there, waiting for the oxygen to replenish? Damn it! Why didn’t you tell me?”
Fan Debiao said, “Don’t blame me, Big Brother. Look at your pocket,” pointing at it, “You were so hasty earlier that you spilled all the mercury from the bag, ruining it. Plus, this staircase is damn hard to walk on. It took Su Yougui, Jackson, and me a lot of effort to get here. When I saw you rushing in like that, I realized the oxygen supply here was insufficient.”
Liu Dashao sat down, caught his breath, and said, “Fine, let’s wait here until the oxygen improves. I’m just worried Da Guozhu and the others can’t wait.”
Fan Debiao said, “Stop worrying pointlessly. They must have some secret techniques left. These two seasoned tomb explorers have never lost a limb in all their years.”
Suddenly, Liu Dashao remembered the secret chamber and asked Fan Debiao, “Fan Debiao, you said earlier this was a secret chamber. Why is there only a coffin here now?”
When Liu Dashao said that, Fan Debiao immediately stretched his neck to look down the staircase. He looked confused and said, “Damn it! Ghost walls! This time it’s definitely ghost walls! Earlier, I clearly saw a tomb chamber with a coffin inside. Now there’s only a coffin!”
Hearing Fan Debiao mention ghost walls, Liu Dashao felt uneasy. Considering Fan Debiao’s unreliability, it was possible he had misjudged. Liu Dashao said, “Ghost walls? When I looked, there was no tomb chamber. Maybe you just saw things unclearly.”
Fan Debiao replied, “Have you forgotten? Da Guozhu saw it too. Didn’t he curse as well? What we saw back then was definitely a tomb chamber.”
Upon hearing this, Liu Dashao was momentarily stunned. Recalling the scene, it did seem that way. It was possible for one person to misjudge, but four people all misjudging seemed illogical. Could they really have encountered ghost walls?
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