Chapter 106: The Flooding of the Imperial Mausoleum

Everyone had finally escaped that cursed formation, and now Bai Erlaizi’s voice could be heard again.

Bai Erlai was over there, firing his hunting rifle at the乩 women crawling ashore, cursing as he shot, “Damn it! What the hell did you summon? Why are there so many of them?”

Liu Dashao realized this situation couldn’t continue much longer—sooner or later, they would all be devoured alive by these spirit-medium women. The monster was already climbing up the bodies of the spirit-medium women, slowly making its way toward them. Liu Dashao felt his heart pounding with anxiety: “Damn! What should I do now?”

He turned his head and suddenly noticed the giant ox-hide drum suspended in midair. A bold idea immediately sprang into his mind. Earlier, right after the drum had sounded, the corpses had transformed, and the乩 women had emerged from the water only after the drumbeat. Could it be that this ox-hide drum was the key to controlling both the乩 women and the monster?

As more women surged toward the shore, Tian Guoqiang and Bai Erlang were nearly overwhelmed. Even Zhang Enpu had drawn his Celestial Master sword and joined the fray.

Liu Dashao knew he couldn’t wait any longer. He had to give it a try—if it failed, then it was just fate. With that thought, he turned around and crawled back toward the giant ox-hide drum.

Tian Guoqiang shouted frantically from the front, “Dashao, what are you doing? Come back! It’s dangerous!”

Liu Dashao quickly crawled onto the ox-hide drum, using the butt of his gun to knock away the乩 women on top. At that moment, the monster’s decaying skeletal hand had already grabbed hold of the chain. There was no time left to think. Liu Dashao raised the gun butt and thrust it fiercely into the center of the ox-hide drum. With a sharp tearing sound, the thick gun butt plunged deep into the drum.

Suddenly, an invisible wave rippled through the air, and in that instant, everything froze. The frenzied spirit-medium women were frozen mid-motion, as if encased in ice. The monster also froze while climbing the chain, as if struck by a paralysis curse, unable to move even a single inch.

“What’s going on?” Everyone stared in confusion at Liu Dashao standing atop the ox-hide drum, while Liu Dashao exhaled deeply, feeling relieved. Thank goodness! His guess had been correct.

He raised his musket and hurled it straight into the monster’s head. A stream of foul, yellowish liquid shot high into the air, and the beautiful flower rapidly withered. The monster stiffened and fell backward with a loud crash, landing on the platform below and splattering into a pile of mush. Then came a hissing sound—every witch woman rapidly withered away, their round bellies deflating like punctured balloons.

Tian Guoqiang gave Liu Dashao a thumbs-up, sincerely exclaiming, “Brother, you’re amazing!”

SPLASH! A loud sound of water erupted from the blood pool below.

“Look!” Zhang Enpu shouted, pointing downward.

The blood pool’s surface suddenly began violently swirling, splashing water everywhere. Cracks rapidly spread across the octagonal platform in the center, which then collapsed and gradually sank into the blood pool. A black vortex formed in the middle of the pool, spinning like a giant black eye.

THUD! THUD!

Stalactites began falling from above, and the entire cave started shaking violently. Liu Dashao stumbled and fell flat on his back onto the ox-hide drum.

What was happening? Was it an earthquake?

Zhang Enpu shouted, “Everyone, get to the shore quickly! The tomb’s energy point has been destroyed. This place could collapse anytime!”

No one dared delay. Dodging falling rocks, they scrambled toward the shore. A sharp stalactite crashed down, snapping the chain. The suddenly loosened chain swung violently upward.

Liu Dashao tightly gripped the chain and was flung into the air. He was about to slam into the rock wall along with the chain, turning into paste. In a panic, he let go, tumbling through the air before landing and rolling several times on the ground. Though unharmed, he was dazed and couldn’t get up for a while.

“What do we do now? What do we do?” Bai Erlaizi cried.

BANG! BANG! BANG! Several explosive sounds echoed through the cave as torrents of water burst in from the rock walls, flooding the cave with roaring waves. Everyone stood on the shore, mouths agape, watching the spectacle as streams of water poured from the cave ceiling, splashing down and soaking them all.

The water level inside the cave rose rapidly—it would soon be completely submerged.

Tian Guoqiang yelled anxiously, “Dashao, we have to run! If we stay, we’ll drown!”

Liu Dashao examined the situation for a moment and pointed upward. “Don’t panic. Look, the water has already broken several holes in the cave ceiling. If we stay in the water until it fills the cave, we can swim out through those holes!”

Zhang Enpu added, “Dashao’s right. This is our only chance to escape!”

Among the four, only Zhang Enpu was a weak swimmer. The others were passable. Bai Erlaizi once again carried Zhang Enpu on his back. They discarded everything they could to reduce weight and then waited in the water, letting the current slowly lift them upward.

As the water level rose, the four struggled to keep afloat, paddling furiously. The holes in the cave ceiling drew closer and closer.

After a long time in the water, Liu Dashao was already exhausted. Zhang Enpu had swallowed a lot of water, but Liu Dashao kept pulling him up again and again.

Amid the roaring water, Liu Dashao shouted, “Hang on! We’re almost there! The dawn is near!”

After a while, they reached the edge of the hole. Suddenly, an invisible force pulled them toward it.

Liu Dashao shouted and kicked hard with his legs, being the first to burst through the hole in the cave ceiling. Darkness engulfed his vision. His head felt heavy, and all he could hear was the gurgling water. His chest felt constricted, suffocating. His oxygen was running out. Liu Dashao felt like he was dying, like a fish gasping for air.

In what felt like a short time, he seemed to go through a long cycle of life and death. Just as he thought he had crossed into the realm of the dead, a sudden brightness appeared. The sudden brightness, after being in darkness for so long, made Liu Dashao unable to open his eyes at first.

He kicked his legs hard backward, and one kick seemed to hit something like a rock. Using that force, Liu Dashao burst out of the water with a splash, wiping water from his face and gasping for fresh air.

Outside, it was already daylight. Morning light pierced through the mist, shimmering on the water surface.

One by one, heads emerged from the water, followed by violent coughing and heavy breathing.

Bai Erlaizi, holding his head, cursed, “Damn it! I was carrying the old Taoist, already slow enough, and just when I was about to surface, someone kicked me on the head! Almost drowned me! Who the hell did that?”

Liu Dashao suddenly realized—had the “rock” he kicked actually been Bai Erlaizi’s head?

Of course, he wasn’t foolish enough to admit it. Otherwise, Bai Erlaizi would surely kill him.

After his eyes adjusted to the brightness, Liu Dashao began to take in his surroundings. They were floating in a stream flowing down from the mountains. On both sides were hills, and they were in a valley. The stream wasn’t wide—within moments, they all reached the shore. Low-lying areas along the bank were filled with aquatic plants. Brushing aside some water grass revealed many burrows—clearly muskrat dens.

One by one, the four climbed onto the muddy bank. The morning mountain breeze was chilly, and their soaked clothes made them shiver uncontrollably. Liu Dashao and the others were fairly strong, but Zhang Enpu, being older, was in bad shape. His lips had turned blue, and his teeth chattered like he was grinding beans.

Tian Guoqiang shivered, “Dashao, thank you. If it weren’t for your bold idea, we might still be trapped in that emperor’s tomb!”

“No problem! At worst, in five hundred years, we’ll be dug up as ancient corpses and sold for a good price!” Liu Dashao joked.

“D…Dashao…d…do you have any…any better way…to warm up?” Zhang Enpu stammered, his face turning purple.

Liu Dashao saw Zhang Enpu’s condition and realized he was freezing. But everyone was soaked, and there was no match to start a fire. The only option was exercise—vigorous movement would speed up blood circulation and warm them up.

Though Liu Dashao knew it wasn’t the best idea, under the circumstances, no one could think of anything better. To prevent catching a chill, all four removed their wet clothes, tied them around their waists, and began “running naked” through the misty forest, shouting commands.

The feeling of running naked was surprisingly pleasant. The breeze against their bare skin felt cool, and their skin could better absorb the air’s moisture. They ran like wild men through the forest. Of course, such a method was only suitable for uninhabited areas. Doing it in public would be considered indecent exposure, but here, it was called “returning to nature.”

Liu Dashao’s method worked well. After running several miles, sweat beads appeared on their skin, and their faces turned rosy again instead of pale and lifeless. But the running drained their remaining strength, leaving them so exhausted they could barely walk.

Gasping for breath, Tian Guoqiang said, “Dashao, maybe we should do this every morning?”

Liu Dashao glanced at Tian Guoqiang’s lower body and sneered, “With your size, you still dare to run naked?”

Zhang Enpu blushed and quickly covered himself with his clothes. If Tian Guoqiang’s size was laughable, his own might be mistaken for a size-five battery.