Old Man Krama stood there dumbfounded when he heard Fan De Biao, apparently not grasping the meaning of his words. Seeing Krama hadn't understood, Young Master Liu roared at him, "Your Elder Hu is furious, run!"

Krama’s expression shifted immediately upon hearing Elder Hu was angry, and he bolted, sprinting after Fan De Biao.

Young Master Liu and Sun Li trailed behind, even slower than the pampered Wang Zhicai, which inevitably caused a pang of inferiority. However, this was hardly the time for self-pity, as the mercury was practically nipping at their heels.

Running, they encountered an altar made of piled stones. It wasn't very tall, perhaps only three or four meters, but it was substantial enough to hold ten people easily. It seemed the mercury wouldn't reach it. Wang Feifei spotted the altar and called for everyone to climb onto it.

The others, sensing a lifeline, pushed themselves harder. Fan De Biao scrambled up first, followed by the rest. Only Young Master Liu and Sun Li remained. Just as they neared the altar, Sun Li stumbled clumsily and crashed heavily onto the ground. Young Master Liu instinctively paused to pull him up, but as soon as he reached out, he felt a searing heat on the back of his hand—the mercury had arrived before him.

Sun Li was instantly submerged, screaming in agony from the burns. Young Master Liu immediately realized he was next on the mercury's menu, and his legs began to tremble uselessly.

Suddenly, something unseen wrapped around Young Master Liu, a heavy pull dragging him backward. Because of that single action, the mercury missed engulfing him, though it continued its relentless pursuit.

Pulled backward, the sand on the ground burned against his back. Then, his head struck a stone, leaving him dizzy and disoriented. What followed was a chain reaction—it seemed he was being dragged up the steps.

Just as the mercury was about to touch his shoe, he felt a hard yank from behind, and the liquid metal grazed the sole of his shoe—an incredibly narrow escape.

Young Master Liu stood up and checked himself. The thing wrapped around him was a whip, the very one Old Man Krama used for driving camels. Behind him, Wang Feifei, panting heavily, held the whip—it was she who had saved him.

Young Master Liu surveyed the scene. Everyone else was trapped in the expanse of mercury. Tiao Zai stood silently watching the liquid, weeping for Sun Li, clearly heartbroken.

Young Master Liu patted Tiao Zai’s shoulder. "I'm sorry. You saw it just now; I nearly lost myself trying to save him. I did my best."

Tiao Zai ignored him, continuing to stare silently into the mercury. It was obvious how deep their friendship was, and seeing Tiao Zai’s grief, Young Master Liu’s own throat tightened.

"This isn't mercury," Jackson declared, holding up a dark, viscous clump.

Young Master Liu cautiously touched it, feeling a hard texture, like asphalt. He tentatively stepped in the supposed mercury twice more, finding it equally firm, so he asked Jackson what was going on.

Jackson analyzed the situation. "It can't be asphalt either. Maybe some substance that closely resembles mercury. The real question isn't what this is, but why it suddenly appeared."

Fan De Biao spoke up. "I know! It must be because I touched a mechanism when I picked up the box, so..."

Before he could finish, a sound like something tearing ripped through the air. Young Master Liu followed the noise and saw the spot where Sun Li had been swallowed begin to crack. Suddenly, a figure burst forth from the solidified black mass.

Seeing a figure emerge shocked everyone. Their mouths hung wide open, eyes refusing to blink. Young Master Liu wondered if Sun Li wasn't dead, which would imply this substance wasn't inherently dangerous. If so, what was the purpose of such an elaborate mechanism placed near the Buddha statue?

As Young Master Liu pondered the implications, Fan De Biao shattered his contemplation: "Damn it, Sun Li turned into a ghost!"

Hearing this, Young Master Liu snapped back to attention and looked forward. A blood-soaked figure stood before them, a pool of crimson spreading beneath it, blood still oozing from its body. Good heavens, this wasn't a ghost; this was a goddamn blood zombie.

The blood zombie slowly shuffled toward them, emitting a clicking, rattling sound that made everyone suck in a sharp breath.

Wang Zhicai, with decades in the antiques business, had seen plenty of bizarre things, but encountering this blood zombie made his legs buckle, collapsing him onto the ground. Lin Miaoke and Wu Bai, lacking his experience, were terrified, especially Wu Bai, who immediately flopped onto the ground and began convulsing at the sight.

Tiao Zai stared fixedly at the blood zombie, his face a mask of disbelief, shouting, "Sun Li, are you still alive? Say something!" The blood zombie gave no indication it heard Tiao Zai, continuing its ghastly clicking. Seeing no response, Tiao Zai tried to charge forward.

Fan De Biao yanked Tiao Zai back. "Are you trying to die, you idiot? Your brother is a monster now!"

Hearing Fan De Biao’s words, Tiao Zai’s body went slack, and he slumped onto the ground.

Suddenly, the blood zombie roared, "Save me!" and lunged desperately toward them, gibbering incoherently.

Then came two sharp bangs. Two volleys of bullets struck the blood zombie. The impact was powerful; flesh and gore flew as the thing shuddered violently before collapsing onto the ground.

Young Master Liu turned to see Fan De Biao and Jackson, each holding a double-barreled shotgun, still maintaining their aim. The weapons looked identical to the style Jackson had used five years prior—a type of rifle Young Master Liu hadn't understood at the time but had later learned about.

Seeing Sun Li fall, Tiao Zai scrambled up from the ground and rushed toward him. This time, Fan De Biao didn't interfere; he had confidence in his marksmanship, believing those two shots had finished the blood zombie.

Tiao Zai knelt beside the corpse, weeping uncontrollably, muttering a stream of words in his local dialect that no one understood. Seeing his anguish, everyone felt a lump form in their throats, a deep sense of sorrow arising for Sun Li, a member of their team. Lin Miaoke even burst into loud sobs.

Fan De Biao leaned close to Young Master Liu’s ear. "Dàshao, don't you think this blood zombie looks a little familiar?"

Young Master Liu replied, "A little familiar. Looks like a tomato about to burst."

Seeing Young Master Liu joking, Fan De Biao retorted, "Hell, I’m serious! Think hard. Haven’t you seen that face somewhere before?"

Noticing Fan De Biao was unusually earnest, Young Master Liu intended to tease further: "Aren't all skinned people the same?"

The word ‘skinned’ struck him like lightning. He exclaimed, "Holy crap! Isn't this that flayed corpse they kept inside the bronze yong figure in Yinshan Mountain?"

Fan De Biao nodded when Young Master Liu remembered. "Isn't that the one? I bet this black stuff is made from the same material as that white substance inside the bronze yong."

Young Master Liu frowned in thought. "That doesn't add up! The substance in the bronze yong was white, and this stuff is black. If they’re the same material, that’s hard to swallow."

Fan De Biao insisted, "Damn it, didn't that substance have a mercury smell? I think this stuff must be a mixture of the white substance from the bronze yong and mercury. That would likely amplify its effect. Think about it: it took over two thousand years for the corpse in the bronze yong to degrade like that, but this stuff stripped the skin off that kid Sun Li in mere minutes."

Young Master Liu nodded, accepting Fan De Biao’s reasoning. "That’s a plausible explanation, but..."

"Ah!" Young Master Liu’s sentence was cut short by Tiao Zai’s shriek. Simultaneously, a distinct, loud clicking sound emanated from Sun Li’s body, much louder than before.

Young Master Liu was startled. Based on his knowledge, a flayed corpse shouldn't be moving. How could it be making noise on its own? Was this reanimation?

Fan De Biao and Young Master Liu exchanged a look of disbelief. Fan De Biao yelled, "Tiao Zai, you fool, get over here quick!" As he spoke, a black donkey hoof projectile flew from his hand—it seemed this guy really came prepared for tomb raiding, even bringing such an item.

Hearing Fan De Biao, Tiao Zai started to rise, intending to flee, but as soon as he stood upright, his legs gave out, and he collapsed motionless onto the ground, the clicking sound now originating from within his body too.

Fan De Biao wiped the sweat from his brow and cursed, "Damn it, what the hell is going on now?"

Young Master Liu stared intently at Tiao Zai’s body and saw something white wriggling on the surface. He instantly understood. "What’s going on? The same thing that happened on Bodhisattva Mountain." Indeed, that white thing was a tentacle.

Hearing Young Master Liu, Fan De Biao and Jackson understood immediately. Their faces instantly drained of color, and they raised their guns, assuming a defensive posture.