At the mere mention of the word “tomb,” the three of them immediately became interested. “Damn it, it’s tough earning money off the living—how about we make some off the dead instead?” Fan Debiao trembled with excitement. “Once I strike it rich, I won’t be hiding out in this godforsaken place anymore. I’ll be out in the wide world, living it up. It’s been so long since I’ve tasted meat.”
Su Yougui and Hu Beikang were equally thrilled. “Exactly! If we can get our hands on some ancient relics from the tomb and sell them for a few thousand yuan, we’ll be set for life!”
Back in those days, villagers heading to the market would carry just a few tenths of a yuan in their pockets. Back then, one hundred yuan was worth about ten thousand yuan today, and several thousand yuan would be equivalent to hundreds of thousands today. That’s why Su Yougui mentioned “a few thousand yuan.”
Hu Beikang was so excited he could hardly wait to rush in and start looting the tomb relics.
“Hold on, don’t get too excited yet,” Liu Dashao cautioned. “A tomb built in such high mountains must have been extremely difficult to construct. Only a wealthy, powerful family could afford such a feat. These aristocrats would have installed many traps and mechanisms. If we’re not careful, we might fall victim to them. Listen well and don’t act recklessly here. We’ll make our move when the time is right. Remember, if you see anything strange, report it to me first.”
But the promise of valuable relics had already captivated them, and they barely paid attention to Liu Dashao’s words, nodding absentmindedly without really listening.
Crack! Crack!
The sound of breaking wood returned again. This time, Liu Dashao heard it clearly. He looked down and was shocked to see a head chewing on the wooden beam beside him—except the beam was unmistakably a bone.
Liu Dashao himself was startled. How could there be a human head here, and one that was actually gnawing on a piece of wood?
Su Yougui raised his torch and saw the head too, and immediately shivered in fear.
“What the hell is that?!” Fan Debiao asked, his voice trembling.
Liu Dashao stumbled backward, tossing his torch at the head in an attempt to burn it. But as soon as the torch hit, the head’s hollow eyes glowed with a deathly light, locking onto Liu Dashao.
With a shriek, the head launched itself into the air, flying straight at Liu Dashao. Liu Dashao quickly drew his peach-wood sword and slashed at it. The head emitted a greenish glow, then disintegrated into a pile of bones that clattered to the ground.
Still shaken, Fan Debiao asked, “Master Liu, what was that? Why could that skull bite people?”
Liu Dashao calmly explained, “It seems this skull had become possessed. It had been absorbing the negative energy inside the tomb, gradually regrowing flesh and blood. If we hadn’t discovered it in time, it might have devoured everything here and turned into a demon.”
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
The strange sound continued without pause, growing louder and louder until the entire cave began to rumble, as if countless monks were chanting prayers.
“Damn it, boss, what’s going on? Why is there such a weird sound?” Hu Beikang anxiously looked around. “This place is really something else…”
“Don’t panic yet. Su Yougui, hand me your torch.”
Though Liu Dashao sounded calm, he was actually quite frightened inside. But if their leader showed fear, the others would lose all hope of survival, so he forced himself to remain composed.
Su Yougui handed over the torch. Liu Dashao listened to the sound and tossed the torch toward its source.
The moment the torch hit the ground, it ignited instantly. No one could tell what substance had caused the sudden flames. As the fire illuminated the cave, Liu Dashao was horrified to see a swarm of heads devouring the earth, rocks, and anything else in their path. Some had already grown flesh, others had eyes, and a few still lacked ears.
At the sight, Fan Debiao, Su Yougui, and the others collapsed onto the ground, paralyzed with fear. The scene was too terrifying for them to even think of what to do next.
Even Liu Dashao felt his heart pounding. “This place is indeed strange. I wonder if I can make it through alive.”
As he pondered, the heads suddenly noticed them. The closest one leaped into the air, launching itself toward Liu Dashao with a vicious bite. Fortunately, Liu Dashao reacted quickly, dodging aside with a swift sidestep.
But the creature was far from simple. In midair, it twisted around and lunged again, its gaping maw aimed straight at Liu Dashao’s head.
Liu Dashao wouldn’t be so easily bitten. He knew these heads fed on human essence to grow faster. He quickly pulled out a talisman from his robe and shoved it into the head.
With a loud bang, the head exploded, splattering blood and brains all over Liu Dashao.
The explosion immediately drew the attention of the other heads, and they began hopping toward him.
Realizing he couldn’t handle them alone, Liu Dashao shouted, “Fan Debiao! Su Yougui! Get your asses over here!”
Seeing the heads flying toward them, the three men immediately scrambled to Liu Dashao’s side. Coincidentally, Liu Dashao was standing near a cave entrance just big enough to shelter all of them.
In the blink of an eye, the three dove inside, and Liu Dashao slapped talismans all over the entrance—dozens of them—before finally feeling a bit safer.
Each talisman radiated a golden glow, sealing the cave entrance tightly. Every head that tried to enter was struck by the yellow light and exploded violently.
The ground was soon soaked in blood and brain matter.
The heads kept ramming the entrance with great force, refusing to give up. One after another, they crashed and burst. The cave itself began to tremble slightly under the relentless assault.
Liu Dashao knew the talismans wouldn’t last much longer.
Suddenly, one of the talismans caught fire on its own. The protective barrier at the entrance weakened visibly. Liu Dashao, anxious, frantically searched the walls for an exit or any hidden mechanism.
Su Yougui and the others also scrambled around in panic.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
Suddenly, a hissing sound came from above, like a snake flicking its tongue. But the sound was so loud that they knew the snake must be enormous.
All four looked up, but saw nothing—just bare rock.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! The sound continued, and the four were puzzled about its source.
Suddenly, Liu Dashao noticed something red extending from a small corner. Looking closer, he was shocked to find it was a small worm. Its red body was slowly emerging.
Before long, two centimeters of its body were visible.
“Wait a minute, Boss Liu, look closely—this worm’s head is split in two!” Su Yougui suddenly noticed the red worm’s body was divided into two parts and asked curiously.
Liu Dashao looked again and confirmed it was true—the worm’s tongue was split in two. He was deeply puzzled.
“Why is this worm like this?” Liu Dashao wondered.
“Snake tongue! Damn it, it must be a snake’s tongue!” The realization struck him, and just then, a loud thud echoed from above as a large chunk of earth fell down. Fortunately, Liu Dashao had pushed the others aside just in time, and the falling debris narrowly missed them.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! The sound of the snake’s tongue grew louder. Liu Dashao was horrified. “So that worm was actually the snake’s tongue all along!”
Just then, Liu Dashao looked down and nearly fainted. The tongue had nearly covered the entire three-square-foot area, gripping the ground tightly. The snake’s enormous mouth opened wide, sinking deep into the earth.
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