Chapter 102: The Blood-Dripping Coffin!

Liu Dashao interrupted Zhang Enpu, saying, “Master, no more talking—I understand what you mean. It seems we have no choice but to open this coffin case! Qiangzi, come on, today we’ll play tomb robbers for once! If there are any treasures buried alongside the corpse, we’ll just pocket a couple as payment for getting rid of this emperor!”

At the mention of treasures inside the coffin case, Tian Guoqiang immediately became excited, forgetting all about the ancient mummy and any danger. Rubbing his hands together eagerly, he said, “I’ve heard that in ancient times, people were buried with grave goods. The wealthier the person, the more valuable the treasures. This tomb was clearly built with great effort, so whoever is inside must have been a noble or high-ranking official. His grave goods must be top-notch! Hehe, Dashao, let’s get started—I can’t wait any longer!”

Liu Dashao replied, “Don’t get too excited yet, kid. Even if you get the treasures, if you’re not blessed to enjoy them, it’s all for nothing.”

Zhang Enpu said solemnly, “We don’t know if there are traps inside this coffin case. Listen carefully—on my count of three, once you pry open the lid, no matter what happens, immediately jump back without hesitation. Got it?”

Zhang Enpu, being the lead Taoist priest, was extremely familiar with such matters. His words carried weight, so the three of them held their breath and slowly inserted the rifle butts into the narrow gap between the coffin case and its lid. Then they nodded to Zhang Enpu, signaling they were ready.

Zhang Enpu stared intently at the white jade coffin case and softly counted, “One! Two! Three!”

Liu Dashao and Tian Guoqiang gripped the rifle butts tightly and pushed upward with all their might. With a creaking sound, the lid slowly lifted. At the same time, both of them quickly jumped backward. With a loud crash, the heavy white jade lid hit the ground, producing a dull, echoing sound.

Drip! Drip!

They all perked up their ears. What was that sound?

“It’s coming from inside the coffin case!” Zhang Enpu exclaimed.

Peering forward, they saw that near the murals stood the coffin case. Between its inner and outer layers was a pool of bright red blood. Once the lid had been pried open, the blood began to drip out, splattering onto the floor and releasing a strong, metallic stench.

After about a minute, nothing unusual had happened, so they cautiously approached. Inside the coffin case lay a black stone sarcophagus shaped like a human body, tightly bound with iron chains. The material appeared to be the same as that of the Bagua platform beneath their feet. The black stone sarcophagus was placed inside the white jade coffin case with about a five-centimeter gap between them, like a small bowl nestled inside a larger one. The gap was filled with blood, completely submerging the black sarcophagus. Soaked in blood, the black stone gleamed even darker, its surface displaying faint, irregular blood-red veins.

Tian Guoqiang said, “I thought there’d be a corpse in there, but instead there’s another coffin!”

Zhang Enpu explained, “This outer white jade casing is called a ‘coffin case.’ To put it simply, it’s like the outer shell of a coffin—think of it as the ‘coat’ we wear. Its purpose is to provide extra protection. The inner coffin is like our ‘underwear’—you can’t see it until you take off the coat!”

Tian Guoqiang nodded vaguely, saying, “I never thought there’d be so much to burying a dead person.”

Zhang Enpu corrected him, “It’s not just burying a corpse—it’s a feng shui arrangement!”

Peng… peng… peng…

Suddenly, a strange sound echoed around them. Though faint, in the silent chamber it rang out clearly. It sounded like a beast gnawing at prey, the crunch of teeth against bone.

The sound grew faster and more intense. Everyone nervously looked around, trying to locate its source.

Suddenly, Zhang Enpu shouted, “Look quickly!”

They looked down and saw that the white jade coffin case had, at some point, become covered in a web of cracks. The cracks spread rapidly outward, producing the popping sounds. Like a crawling centipede, the cracks quickly covered the entire coffin case.

Zhang Enpu shouted, “Get back!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, there was a loud bang. The white jade coffin case shattered into countless fragments, flying outward in all directions. A cascade of blood and shattered jade rained down from above, and within moments, the ground was a mess of debris.

Liu Dashao let out a sigh of relief and stood up. “Is everyone okay?”

Tian Guoqiang shook bloodstains from his clothes. “I’m fine, just this blood smells awful!”

With the coffin case shattered, blood flowed everywhere, spreading an increasingly pungent stench through the air.

Liu Dashao asked Zhang Enpu in confusion, “What the hell just happened? Why did this coffin case break apart for no reason?”

Zhang Enpu shrugged. “I don’t know either!”

Tian Guoqiang said, “Who cares? It’s better this way—it saves us a lot of trouble.”

Bai E’lai shouted from a distance, “What’s going on?”

Hmm! Strange, why couldn’t they hear what Bai Pao was saying? Had something gone wrong with their ears?

Liu Dashao felt a chill and asked Tian Guoqiang, “Can you hear what Bai Pao is saying?”

Tian Guoqiang glanced at Bai E’lai and said, “That kid’s just mouthing words—why is he opening his mouth but making no sound? It’s like watching a silent movie!”

Liu Dashao’s heart sank and he quickly turned to Zhang Enpu. “Master, have you noticed something strange?”

Zhang Enpu nodded. “This formation seems to have created a barrier between us and the outside world. We can see what’s happening outside, but we can’t hear anything.”

“Exactly!” Liu Dashao agreed. “This formation is too bizarre—it can even block sound. It’s like something out of a ghost story!”

“Hehe!” Suddenly, Tian Guoqiang laughed—a sharp, piercing sound, unlike anything his raspy voice could normally produce.

Liu Dashao was startled. “Why are you laughing like that?”

Tian Guoqiang looked at him in confusion. “I didn’t laugh!”

At that moment, it seemed as if a pale face had emerged from behind Tian Guoqiang. Liu Dashao shivered, stepping back three paces in terror, pointing at Tian’s back and shouting, “There’s a ghost!”

Seeing Liu Dashao’s expression wasn’t a joke, Tian Guoqiang turned pale. “D… Dashao, don’t scare me like that! Where’s the g… ghost?”

“Y… your back…” Liu Dashao gasped, clutching his chest.

Tian Guoqiang turned around. “Where?”

As he turned, Liu Dashao saw it more clearly—a swirling mist clung to Tian’s back, within which seemed to float the blurred face of a woman.

This was Liu Dashao’s Nth close encounter with a “ghost,” and he couldn’t help but tremble uncontrollably, his teeth chattering nervously.

Zhang Enpu also saw the mist on Tian Guoqiang’s back. Unlike Liu Dashao, he remained calm and told Tian, “Quick, bite your index finger!”

Knowing the situation was dire, Tian Guoqiang gritted his teeth and bit his right index finger hard. Blood immediately flowed.

Strange as it was, the moment Tian’s finger bled, the thing clinging to his back let out a soft laugh, then turned into a wisp of cold smoke, vanishing into the mist.

Tian Guoqiang himself heard the laugh. Instinctively, he reached behind his back and felt something icy. Startled, he asked the others, “What was that thing on my back?”

“A g… ghost… a female ghost…” Liu Dashao stammered. Though the “female ghost” had vanished, he still couldn’t recover from the shock.

“Female ghost? No way!” Tian Guoqiang sucked on his bleeding finger and said, “Dashao, don’t scare me like that. If there really was a female ghost, I’d have—haha—”

Zhang Enpu walked over and helped Liu Dashao up. “Are you okay?”

Liu Dashao massaged his throbbing temples and replied weakly, “I’m fine… fine…”

Zhang Enpu stood up and said, “That wasn’t a female ghost. If I’m not mistaken, it should have been a ‘Shihun’—a servant spirit.”

Shihun? That name sounded oddly familiar.

Tian Guoqiang slapped his forehead and exclaimed, “Shihun! Is it the same as the ‘beautiful woman adding fragrance to the sleeves’?”

Zhang Enpu ignored the “adorable” Tian Guoqiang and continued, “As you know, nobles in ancient times had servants who attended to them in life. Even in death, they wished to be served. To maintain their status, certain Maoshan Taoist priests created Shihun to serve these nobles.”

Liu Dashao asked Zhang Enpu, “So what exactly is a Shihun? Is it a person or a ghost? And where did it come from?”