Ma Xiong gasped, sucking in air. “Blast it all, these things are truly ungrateful wretches. I saved their fathers from within, and now they want to eat me.”

Lu Zong asked, “Ma Xiong, what did you see inside the coffin?”

Ma Xiong took a breath to calm his nerves, looked up at the corpse overhead, and then spoke slowly, word by deliberate word: “Gods above, it was a massive corpse worm, and it had a human head. Truly terrifying.”

“A human head?” Lu Zong questioned, “What exactly do you mean by a human head?”

Ma Xiong chuckled dryly. “Oh, I don’t mean the worm’s head looked exactly like a person’s, but rather its facial features—the eyes, nose, mouth—were distributed just like a normal person’s. The proportions were about right.” He then glanced at the fat man’s jowly face. “Like that, about the same as this.”

The fat man slapped Ma Xiong’s hand away. “What are you talking about?”

Lu Zong smiled lightly. “Could it be that the corpse worm mutated, taking on a human appearance?”

Ma Xiong coughed, indifferently glancing up at the corpse above him once more, swallowing hard. He ignored Lu Zong’s question, simply whispering, “Shh, let’s move slowly. Don’t talk loudly. We need to get out of this cavern quickly; this place feels strange.”

Since Ma Xiong offered no answer, Lu Zong felt puzzled and pressed further, “Ma Xiong, what exactly did you see? Did those corpse worms really transform into human shapes?”

Ma Xiong hissed again, cautioning him, “Quiet. If you truly want to know what I saw, just look at the corpses impaled all around us, and you’ll know.”

Lu Zong looked up at the human bodies nailed to the four surrounding walls. “Are you saying what you saw earlier was human corpses?”

Ma Xiong said impatiently, “Don’t worry about that now; let’s go, fast. Don’t disturb the spirits here.”

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Lu Zong asked no more questions and quietly followed the others. Yet, his mind raced, wondering: were the things hanging on the walls truly human corpses, or were they the mutated corpse worms? Judging by Ma Xiong’s reaction, they had to be the latter—the transformed worms.

Suddenly, a tremendous impact rocked the stones blocking their path behind them. Ma Xiong’s face went pale. “Ah, no! Those corpse worms have caught up! We need to hurry and get out before they break through!”

He quickly distributed a black donkey’s hoof to each person. “Later, no matter what touches your shoulder or hits you, absolutely do not look back. Just keep moving forward. If you absolutely can’t stand it, tap the thing that touched you with the hoof; it should make you feel much better.”

The three of them moved forward, the sound of stones being hammered from behind relentless. The fat man was genuinely scared now. However, things weren't as dreadful as Ma Xiong had described; Lu Zong still hadn't felt anything touch his shoulder behind him.

With a deafening boom, the stone blocking their rear cracked open. Lu Zong couldn't help but glance back, nearly losing his teeth from shock. He saw that the moment the door opened, the corpses nailed to the stone began to writhe. Reflected in the water’s sheen, some seemed to drift down lightly, guided by the light. Upon hitting the water, they cupped handfuls and splashed themselves, making it appear as though a layer of white veil had settled upon them as the light reflected off the moisture.

Lu Zong became transfixed. He stopped moving forward and turned back toward the bodies. In his eyes, those things grew increasingly beautiful, like a maiden seductively adjusting her robes, enchanting and captivating.

Just then, the fat man noticed Lu Zong was no longer beside him. Anxious, he didn't dare turn around but called out, “Lu Zong! Where the hell did you run off to? Get over here, you damned fool, don’t get bewitched!”

But Lu Zong couldn't hear him now. All he saw was a beautiful woman dancing ahead. He felt utterly serene.

Ma Xiong also registered that Lu Zong was mesmerized by the female corpses. He dove forward in one motion, wrestling up to Lu Zong, grabbed his hand, and slapped him twice across the face. Only then did Lu Zong snap back to reality.

“Hoo, hoo!” Lu Zong gasped, realizing he had forgotten to breathe while admiring the 'beauties.'

Having learned his lesson, Lu Zong dared not look back again, simply keeping pace with the other two.

Suddenly, he felt something tap his back. He didn't dare react, now completely obedient to Ma Xiong's instructions, having nearly lost his life moments before. He merely quickened his pace.

Immediately after, the thing tapped him again. Lu Zong held his breath, only speeding up faster, soon overtaking the fat man and pulling ahead.

No matter how fast he moved, the thing clung to his back, refusing to leave. He was close to madness. If the fat man hadn't been behind him, Lu Zong might have bolted off into a frenzy long ago.

He reasoned, Since I can’t turn around, seeing its reflection can’t hurt, right? He lowered his head. The water perfectly mirrored the ceiling above him.

He saw, positioned above the gray stone—directly over his back—a beautiful woman's head, floating lightly above him, moving as he moved. No body, just a beautiful, flying head.

Lu Zong nearly suffocated, but the entity seemed to bear no ill will; it was merely following. This realization eased his fear somewhat. He tightly kept to Ma Xiong’s heels.

Suddenly, a flash of movement caught his eye. The head had darted ahead of him and was now gently tapping Ma Xiong’s back with its nose. Ma Xiong seemed oblivious, continuing his steady walk.

A low buzzing sound, like that of mosquitoes, slowly rose behind him. He quickly looked down at his reflection again and saw that the floating female heads were increasing in number, all trailing closely behind him.

Though terrified to the point of shattering, Lu Zong dared not speak, merely trudging along silently behind Ma Xiong.

Just then, he heard a sharp crack from above, like something breaking. Ma Xiong suddenly stopped dead. Had Lu Zong not noticed in time, he would have slammed right into the head resting on Ma Xiong’s back.

Ma Xiong looked up and around. Lu Zong mimicked his movements, initially thinking this was part of Ma Xiong’s method for warding off the insects. But looking up terrified him once more: the corpses nailed to the stone walls were beginning to move. The sound of the crack had been the wooden pegs snapping as they were forced out of the stone fissures.

This time, the corpses mobilized entirely. They violently pulled the nails piercing their wrists free, dropping them crudely onto the floor, then drifted down lightly. Once mid-air, however, they suddenly suspended themselves, their hands constantly flapping against their bodies as if those movements were their wings.

“Oh my god, we’ve met actual supermen!” the fat man yelled from behind, a spark of excitement still visible on his face.