Young Master Liu cut Zhang Enpu off mid-sentence, "Master, that's enough. I understand what you mean—it seems this sarcophagus must be opened! Qiangzi, come on, today we'll play tomb raider. If there are any burial treasures inside this coffin, we'll just slip a couple out as payment for dealing with this old emperor!"

Upon hearing talk of treasure inside the sarcophagus, Tian Guoqiang instantly lit up, all thoughts of old zombies or danger banished. He rubbed his hands together excitedly and said, "I heard people say that back in ancient times, people were buried with artifacts. The wealthier the family, the more precious the accompanying treasures. I reckon this tomb took quite a bit of effort, so whoever's inside must have been a high official or a noble. His burial goods should be pretty good too, eh? Heh heh, Young Master, let's get to it! I’m honestly getting impatient!"

Young Master Liu cautioned him not to celebrate too soon, lest they gain treasures they wouldn't live long enough to enjoy.

Zhang Enpu spoke with gravity, "We don't know if there are any mechanisms inside this sarcophagus. Listen to me: when I count one, two, three, the moment you lever the lid open, no matter what happens, leap backward immediately. Don't hesitate for a split second, understood?"

Zhang Enpu was the leader among the Taoists; he knew this line of work inside and out. His words had to be heeded. Thus, the three held their breath, focusing their minds, and slowly wedged the butt of the rifle into the seam where the coffin lid met the body. They then nodded to Zhang Enpu, signaling they were ready.

Zhang Enpu stared intently at the white jade sarcophagus and whispered, "One! Two! Three!"

Young Master Liu and Tian Guoqiang gripped the rifle stocks and heaved upward violently. A grating sound echoed as the lid slowly lifted. Simultaneously, Young Master Liu and Tian Guoqiang swiftly bounded backward. Boom! The heavy white jade lid crashed onto the stone floor with a dull thud.

Drip! Drip!

Everyone strained their ears, listening intently. What was that sound?

"Ah! It’s coming from inside the sarcophagus!" Zhang Enpu announced.

They peered closer and saw that near the murals, indeed, a casket rested. The narrow space between the outer casing and the inner coffin was filled to the brim with bright, blood-red liquid. Once the lid was pried open, the blood began to leak out, plop, plop, plop, dripping onto the floor and releasing an intense, metallic stench of gore.

After about a minute, finding no immediate abnormality from within the inner container, they cautiously approached. Inside the outer casing rested a humanoid inner coffin carved from black stone. Several iron chains were tightly wrapped around this stone coffin, binding it securely. The material used for the black stone coffin appeared to be the same as the flagstone of the Bagua platform beneath their feet. There was an approximate five-centimeter gap between this black, humanoid stone coffin and the surrounding white jade sarcophagus—a configuration resembling a small bowl nested inside a larger one. This gap was completely filled with blood, submerging the black stone coffin within the fluid. The blood soak made the black stone coffin appear even darker and shinier, with faint, irregular streaks appearing on its surface.

Tian Guoqiang muttered, "I thought there'd be a corpse in here. I didn't expect another coffin hidden inside!"

Zhang Enpu explained, "The outer white jade casing is called a guān zūn (sarcophagus). Simply put, the guān zūn is the shell of the coffin, or to put it more vividly, it’s like the jacket we wear. Its purpose is likely to enhance protection for the inner coffin. Naturally, the coffin inside is like our underwear; you have to take off the jacket to see the undergarments!"

Tian Guoqiang nodded, half-understanding, "I never realized there was so much scholarship involved just in burying a dead person."

"What 'burying a dead person'? This is feng shui arrangement!" Zhang Enpu corrected him sternly.

Bang... bang... bang...

A strange sound suddenly erupted. Though faint and thin, it resonated with startling clarity on the silent platform. The sound was somewhat reminiscent of a beast gnawing its prey, the thump-thump of teeth colliding with bone.

The sounds grew faster, denser. Everyone glanced around nervously, trying to locate the source.

Suddenly, Zhang Enpu exclaimed, "Look quickly!"

They looked down and saw that the white jade sarcophagus was inexplicably covered in a network of spiderweb-like fissures, spreading rapidly in all directions. That thump-thump noise was caused by these very cracks, which spread like grasping centipedes until the entire guān zūn was covered.

Zhang Enpu shouted, "Get back!"

Just as his voice fell, there was a sharp crack as the white jade sarcophagus exploded into countless fragments, shooting outwards. The sound of shattering glass was incessant. Blood mixed with pulverized jade rained down from above, turning the ground into a chaotic mess in an instant.

Young Master Liu let out a long breath and stood up, "Is everyone alright?"

Tian Guoqiang shook the bloody foam off his clothes, "We're fine, but this blood smells absolutely awful!"

With the sarcophagus shattered, blood pooled everywhere, and the stench permeating the air grew thick and intense.

Young Master Liu looked questioningly at Zhang Enpu, "Damn it, what the hell happened? Why would the guān zūn suddenly shatter like that?"

Zhang Enpu shrugged, "I don't know either!"

Tian Guoqiang chimed in, "Who cares! It’s better that it broke; it saved us a lot of trouble."

Bai Er Laizi shouted from across the chamber, "What happened over there?"

Huh? Strange. Why couldn't he hear what Bai Pangzi was saying? Had his ears gone bad?

A shock went through Young Master Liu. He turned to Tian Guoqiang and asked, "Can you hear what that kid is saying?"

Tian Guoqiang turned to look at Bai Er Laizi, "That punk is playing charades! Why does he keep opening his mouth but making no sound? It’s like a silent movie!"

Young Master Liu's heart sank. He quickly turned to Zhang Enpu, "Master, haven't you noticed something is wrong?"

Zhang Enpu nodded, "This formation seems to have created a barrier separating us from the outside world. We can see things outside, but we can’t hear any sounds coming from out there."

"Exactly!" Young Master Liu agreed, "Damn it, this magic formation is too bizarre; it can actually block sound. This is seriously creepy!"

"Heh heh!" Tian Guoqiang suddenly burst into laughter, a high-pitched, grating sound that didn't seem to belong to his usual coarse voice.

Young Master Liu was startled by the sound, "Why are you laughing like that?"

Tian Guoqiang looked at Young Master Liu with bewilderment, "I didn't laugh!"

Just then, it seemed as if a pale face lunged out from behind Tian Guoqiang. Young Master Liu shuddered violently, stumbled three steps back, and pointed at Tian Guoqiang’s back in terror, shouting, "Ghost!"

Seeing Young Master Liu's expression, which clearly wasn't a joke, Tian Guoqiang's face instantly drained of color. "Big... Young Master, don't scare me! Wh-where is the ghost?"

"Behind... behind you..." Young Master Liu gasped, clutching his chest.

Tian Guoqiang turned around to look, "Where?"

As he turned, Young Master Liu saw it even more clearly: a wispy, swirling mist clung to Tian Guoqiang's back, and within that mist, the blurred features of a woman’s face seemed to be hiding.

This was perhaps the Nth time in his life that Young Master Liu had encountered a 'ghost' at such close quarters. He couldn't stop his whole body from shaking intermittently, his teeth clicking together audibly.

Zhang Enpu had also seen the mist behind Tian Guoqiang. Unlike Young Master Liu’s terror, he remained composed and instructed Tian Guoqiang calmly, "Bite your index finger, quickly!"

Knowing the situation was dire, Tian Guoqiang hardened his resolve and bit down hard on the index finger of his right hand, causing blood to immediately well up.

Strangely, the moment Tian Guoqiang’s finger started bleeding, the entity clinging to his back let out a soft chuckle before transforming into a wisp of cold smoke, dissolving back into the general fog.

Tian Guoqiang himself heard that faint chuckle. He instinctively reached behind him, but his touch met only icy coldness. He asked the others with surprise, "What was just on my back?"

"A... a female ghost..." Young Master Liu stammered. Even though the 'female ghost' had vanished, he couldn't recover his composure for a long moment.

"A female ghost? No way!" Tian Guoqiang sucked on his bleeding finger. "Young Master, don't try to fool me. If there was really a female ghost, I wouldn't just... heh heh..."

Zhang Enpu walked over and helped Young Master Liu up. "Are you alright?"

Young Master Liu rubbed his throbbing temples and managed to say, "I'm okay! I'm okay!"

Zhang Enpu stood up straight. "That wasn't a female ghost. If I'm not mistaken, that was what the legends call a Shì Hún (Spirit Servant)!"

Shì Hún? That name sounded terribly familiar.

Tian Guoqiang slapped his forehead and cried out, "A Shì Hún? Is that one of those beauties who comes with red sleeves and fragrant incense?"

Ignoring the 'charming' Tian Guoqiang, Zhang Enpu continued speaking on his own, "We know that high officials and nobles had specialized servants attending to them in life. After death, they still desired service. Therefore, to consolidate their status, certain Maoshan Taoists created Shì Hún to serve these nobles!"

Young Master Liu asked Zhang Enpu, "So, is this Shì Hún human or ghost, and where did it come from?"