Everyone turned and peered into the tomb entrance upon hearing this. At the bottom of the pit, streams of dark, reddish blood were slowly seeping up from the very earth!
Volume One: The Demon Wall of Specters and Fiends, Chapter Three: Ill Omen
The moment Zhang Ji saw blood oozing from the earth at the bottom of the pit, he let out a sharp cry and stumbled backward a great pace. “What the hell is this? Why is there so much blood? Could it be that this land… it’s alive?”
I too gasped sharply, terrified. In ten full years of tomb raiding, I had never heard of blood seeping from the soil in an ancient tomb. Even in a Blood Corpse Tomb connected to gore, the earth was merely tinged with a faint, reddish blood-aura. Could it be that in this extremely malevolent Three-Life Blood Corpse Tomb, the blood-qi was so dense it had condensed into liquid blood?
“Everyone, don’t panic. This is merely the condensation of blood-qi from a Blood Corpse Earth. A Three-Corpse Blood Corpse Earth is tens of thousands of times more ferocious than a regular one, so such dense blood-qi is understandable.” Old Man Wu, vastly experienced, was the only one whose expression didn't change at the sight of the blood pooled at the pit’s bottom.
“A Three-Life Blood Corpse Tomb, with blood-qi this intense! Even if this Blood Corpse Earth hasn't existed for long, possessing such powerful blood-qi suggests the Xue Mei inside must have achieved a very high level of cultivation…” Wangzi covered the mouthpiece of his gas mask, seemingly struggling against the miasma. Blood-qi, also known as Blood Corpse Qi, is strictly speaking a mutation of ordinary Corpse Qi. Corpse Qi, as the name implies, originates from a corpse. However, if the burial site is capable of gathering Feng Shui and storing Qi, the corpse’s Qi will soon be assimilated by the surrounding vital energy (Sheng Qi), leading to rapid decay and leaving behind only bone. In such a case, the deceased rests in peace, and their descendants are blessed. But, if the burial location is wrong, attacked by noxious winds, and the Sheng Qi diminished, the Corpse Qi will pool and refuse to dissipate, lingering within the coffin. Sustained by this Qi over the years, the body will stiffen and not decompose, becoming a Jiangshi (hopping vampire). Wangzi, apprenticed under a Maoshan Taoist, was exceptionally sensitive to Qi, which is why he clutched his mask to avoid choking on the foul-smelling miasma.
Blood-qi, on the other hand, is cultivated over centuries when a corpse lies in a specific nexus point known as a Blood Corpse Earth. Assuming the burial site is devoid of Sheng Qi, saturated with death-energy (Si Qi), where little wind stirs and dust remains settled, that area will be corroded by the Corpse Qi, forming a Blood Corpse Earth where the soil turns red. Once established, the Corpse Qi begins to spread until it envelops the entire nexus point.
“What now? Do we keep digging?” Sister Liu Lan and her brother, true leaders of the 'Pressing Horses and Rushing Crowds' (an unruly bunch), quickly regained their composure and sought Old Man Wu’s opinion.
Old Man Wu pondered for a moment, then instructed the group, “Wangzi, you cast a suppression spell to stabilize the blood-qi, and the rest of us will continue digging.”
Wangzi nodded upon hearing this and moved to the edge of the bloody pit. He pulled a yellow talisman from his pocket, murmured an incantation, and tossed the paper into the pit. As soon as the talisman touched the bloody water at the bottom, it instantly burst into flame. Seeing this, Wangzi formed a mudra with both hands and chanted, “Spirits of the East descend, banish all vile things!”
With his words, the yellow paper’s burning accelerated dramatically. When the talisman was completely consumed, the blood at the pit’s bottom seemed to be sucked back by an invisible force, leaving not a drop behind. This technique of summoning the divine to suppress evil was an advanced Taoist art reserved for core disciples of Maoshan, proving his skill. Yet, one couldn't help but wonder what drastic change had led a Maoshan Taoist, traditionally dedicated to exorcism and righteousness, to become a tomb raider chasing wealth.
Seeing the blood recede, Sister Liu Lan and her brother didn't hesitate; they jumped back into the pit and resumed shoveling. As more earth was thrown from the hole, my heart gradually settled. Just then, I felt something was amiss. Usually, at this point, I would hear Zhang Ji’s boisterous voice, but even during Wangzi’s spectacular display of Maoshan sorcery, that brat hadn't made a sound.
I stealthily turned my head, glancing at Zhang Ji, who stood about five paces away from me. His back was toward me, and he wasn't looking into the pit but gazing slightly upward, as if watching something else entirely. Suddenly, my gaze fixed on his back. He was wearing a tank top, exposing the skin at the base of his neck, where a faint, reddish line was barely visible along his spine. I was stunned. This symptom only appeared when external malevolent energy invaded the body. Had the kid been possessed?
No wonder he hadn't spoken since the beginning. I dared not act rashly and quietly nudged Old Man Wu with my elbow. Old Man Wu turned, and I pointed towards Zhang Ji’s neck. Old Man Wu peered intently, his eyes widening, and he, too, inhaled sharply. Wangzi, noticing our strange expressions, was about to inquire, but I immediately raised my index finger to my lips, signaling him to be quiet.
Old Man Wu gestured with his eyes toward Zhang Ji. Upon seeing the mark, Wangzi reacted violently, instinctively shuffling backward.
“Is he possessed?” Wangzi whispered into my ear.
“I’m not sure, but let’s pin him down first, then we’ll figure it out!” I murmured, simultaneously signaling the others with my eyes. We were all veterans of the same trade; they understood my meaning the moment I blinked and nodded in agreement.
Zhang Ji remained stock-still. I moved toward him calmly, saying, “Ji-zi, what are you looking at? Don’t tell me you spotted a pretty girl?”
“Uh…” Zhang Ji mumbled a vague response but didn't turn around.
“Huh, no pretty girls here then?” I walked up beside him, shielding my eyes as if looking in the direction he was staring, while secretly watching Old Man Wu and Wangzi creep up quietly from behind. When Old Man Wu nodded at me, I immediately crouched low, extending a leg in front of Zhang Ji.
Old Man Wu and Wangzi lunged forward in tandem. Zhang Ji, bumped from behind, lurched forward uncontrollably, tripping right over my extended leg, and collapsed with a loud Waaah!
The three of us didn't hesitate, immediately piling onto him and pressing down hard.
Zhang Ji thrashed wildly, shouting, “Damn it, Lao Yi, what’s gotten into you guys?”
“Cut the nonsense, tell us honestly, what were you just doing?” Zhang Ji was strong and powerfully built, and it took the full effort of the three of us just to hold him down.
“What are you talking about? Let go of me!” Zhang Ji yelled, confused. Just then, Liu Quansheng rushed over upon hearing the commotion.
“What’s going on? What happened?” Liu Quansheng saw the three of us pinning Zhang Ji and started to move in to pull us off.
“Don’t move! We suspect he’s been afflicted by something evil. Go check on him!” Old Man Wu had his entire weight pressed onto Zhang Ji’s back.
Hearing Old Man Wu, Liu Quansheng didn't dare to delay. He immediately circled around to Zhang Ji’s front, crouched down, and carefully examined his face.
“You’re the one possessed! I’m warning you, let me go, or I won’t be polite! Lao Yi, you let go of me!” Zhang Ji, held tightest by me, cursed Old Man Wu and then glared at me.
I was about to respond when Liu Quansheng interrupted, “His face is flushed with robust Qi; he doesn't look possessed…”
“Exactly! If I were possessed, would I look this normal?” Zhang Ji interjected angrily.
“Then what’s that red line on your spine?” I didn't release him immediately but asked.
“That’s from the bamboo mat at the hotel last night; it gave me a welt!” Zhang Ji shook his head, looking utterly exasperated.
Hearing this, I examined the red line closely and realized it didn't look like a blood trace but indeed resembled a friction welt. I nodded to Old Man Wu and Wangzi, and the three of us released him and helped him up.
“I told you not to get welts for no reason, we thought you were taken over by something. Besides, don't you usually sleep on your side?” I dusted him off, shaking my head and offering a wry smile.
“What choice did I have? That bed was tiny! If I hadn't claimed more space, that wicked, restless sleeper of yours would’ve kicked me off in the middle of the night! Damn it, I’m going to freeze to death,” Zhang Ji grumbled indignantly, rubbing his chest.
Hearing this, everyone burst into laughter.
“Oh, oh, hehe, my mistake, my mistake, sorry about that…” My old face flushed, and I immediately apologized to Zhang Ji with a sheepish grin.
The farce ended amid laughter and good-natured curses. Being the more observant one, I soon managed to ask Zhang Ji after the laughter subsided, “Ji-zi, what were you staring at so intently earlier?”
“There!” Zhang Ji casually pointed toward the hilltop. “That damned rock on the summit is leaning!”
I looked up and indeed saw that the previously upright ‘Ghost Stone’ had subtly tilted at a slight angle toward the south at some unknown point. As I wondered what caused it, I heard a sharp cry of alarm from Old Man Wu beside me!
“The Ghost Stone leaning south—a sign of great misfortune!” Old Man Wu muttered, his face contorted in terror.
“Misfortune? What do you mean?” I had never witnessed such a thing and asked Old Man Wu for clarification.
Old Man Wu didn't answer me directly but recited a few lines: “Where the ghost cries over graves, on Dog Head Ridge; the Great Overarching God himself detours; where the grass is overgrown in the temple, and the barrow has no head; thousand-year Zongzi rise to attack; the Ghost Stone stands on the mountain crest, ensnared by evil spirits, life is hard to keep; the Ghost Stone leans to the south, blood will splatter five paces, death is absolute!”
Hearing Old Man Wu’s words, I understood the gravity of the situation. Ghost Crying Graves, Dog Head Ridge, Overgrown Grass Temple, Headless Barrows, Blood Corpse Earth, Ten Thousand Bone Slope—these were all notorious perilous spots that even veteran tomb robbers avoided. The latter two lines: The Ghost Stone stands on the mountain crest, ensnared by evil spirits, life is hard to keep; The Ghost Stone leans to the south, blood will splatter five paces, death is absolute! clearly indicated that encountering a Ghost Stone meant the tomb's corpse would transform into a Shi Mei (ferocious specter), and if the stone leaned south, death would be swift and bloody. I had not anticipated the Three-Life Blood Corpse Tomb would prove this dangerous; it seemed our expedition would be far from smooth sailing.
Volume One: The Demon Wall of Specters and Fiends, Chapter Four: The Path of the Ghost Tomb
The strange layout, compounded by the new ill omen, cast a pall over everyone's faces. Old Man Wu sat on the ground, smoking, occasionally glancing up at the southward-tilting Ghost Stone atop the hill, sighing repeatedly.
After about ten minutes, Sister Liu Mei and her brother climbed out of the pit, reporting that they had reached the tomb wall. I looked at Liu Quansheng and marveled; the skill of a Mojin Xiaowei (Grave-Inspecting Colonel) using the Dragon-Seeking Art was truly impressive. The bottom of the pit, I estimated, was only about 1.6 meters below ground level. Such a shallow, easily accessible passage was likely only locatable via the Dragon-Seeking Art.
Everyone moved forward. First, they pulled Liu Mei and her brother out of the pit, then retrieved the specialized, extendable shovels to start smashing the brick wall at the bottom. Han Dynasty tomb bricks weren't particularly sturdy; with combined effort, the wall cracked after only seven or eight blows. They smashed a while longer until the opening was wide enough for one person to pass through, then stopped.
Once air began to circulate in the chamber, I took the lead. The team organized their gear and one by one slipped inside.
I switched on my flashlight and found ourselves in a straight tomb passage, slightly sloping downward. The passage wasn't wide, barely allowing two people to walk abreast. Along the walls hung a row of lamps, their oil long since dried up. A Han Dynasty tomb featuring such elaborate passages suggested the tomb’s occupant was certainly wealthy and high-ranking. But what wicked deeds had they committed in life to be interred in a nexus point saturated with death-energy, marked by a Ghost Stone on the summit to prevent their descendants from ever prospering?
Everyone followed closely, slowly probing deeper into the passageway. The air was very humid and carried a faint Corpse Qi. Even wearing our gas masks, we could detect a faint stench, indicating the Qi within the tomb was incredibly dense. Wangzi kept sneezing, and for him, so sensitive to Qi, he must have been suffering intensely.
“Lao Yi, why do I keep feeling a chill down my spine?” Zhang Ji shivered slightly and moved closer to ask me.
“The tomb is full of dense Yin energy; you know that,” I shrugged, unconcerned.
“But I just feel like something’s wrong,” Zhang Ji scratched his head, looking puzzled.
I didn't feel anything unusual, assuming Zhang Ji was having hallucinations after being out of ancient tombs for so long. Who knew that at that very moment, we suddenly heard Wangzi shout from behind, startling us all into turning back to see what happened.
“What is it, Wangzi?” Old Man Wu, walking just behind Wangzi, asked.
Old Man Wu’s flashlight illuminated him, and I saw his expression was rather panicked.
“What? Didn’t you all see it just now?” Wangzi was visibly flustered; this jumpiness didn’t match the composure expected of a Maoshan Taoist.
“See what?” I stopped walking and turned to Wangzi.
“Just now, a child ran past us! Didn’t you notice?” Wangzi’s legs were trembling.
“A child? No,” everyone exchanged glances and shook their heads; no one had seen the child Wangzi mentioned. Under the bright beams of our flashlights, anyone running past should have been noticed by all of us.
“Truly, I saw it! The child was wearing a red dudou (belly wrap) and was barefoot. He just ran right past us and vanished ahead!” Wangzi pointed into the depths of the passage, his voice full of terror.
“Are you seeing things?” Hearing Wangzi’s certainty, a chill started to creep into my own heart. If Wangzi wasn't hallucinating, then we had encountered something unclean! But I quickly reconsidered: tomb raiders weren't supposed to run into such things easily. Didn't everyone carry blessed talismans when out on a job? Most evil entities would shy away. But Wangzi claimed it had run amongst us—that was hard to explain.
In an ancient tomb, only a malevolent ghost would be unafraid of the protective charms worn by grave robbers!
“I swear I saw it clearly!” Wangzi insisted, seeing that everyone was still doubtful.
“Oh my god, we just entered and already provoked something…” Liu Lan pulled the protective talisman hanging around her neck out from under her shirt, looked around, her face filled with despair.
The passage was deeply dark, as if the walls were coated with some light-absorbing material; even with all our flashlights on, we couldn't illuminate them thoroughly. Wangzi’s sudden claim about seeing a child run past made everyone increasingly uneasy. I turned back to face the group behind me, intending to say something. Suddenly, I noticed their expressions simultaneously shift, their gazes all fixed intently on the space directly behind me.
Their synchronized movement startled me so badly that cold sweat broke out instantly. Without a doubt, there was something behind me! At that moment, I couldn’t tell if it was a hallucination, but I too began to feel a distinct coolness on my back, like someone lightly exhaling near my neck.
“Wh-what’s wrong?” Goosebumps rose all over me. I dared not turn around, nor make any sudden move, merely struggling to suppress the tremor running through my body as I whispered to the others.
Unexpectedly, none of the people in front of me spoke. They remained frozen, their faces slack with shock, as if only just snapping out of their terror. I raised my voice and asked again, “What is it?”
Finally, the others gradually recovered, but now their expressions were masks of sheer horror, and they still offered no answer. I decided to ignore their strange behavior; no matter what was behind me, I still had my AK! Thinking this, I prepared to turn around.
Just then, the people standing before me suddenly shouted in unison and scrambled backward several steps! Their collective yell startled me deeply; it seemed they had been paralyzed by something terrifying until that shout jolted them back to reality. However, their subsequent retreat made my heart clench even tighter. Clearly, something was approaching from behind me, causing their instinctive recoil.
My neck felt stiff, and the cold sensation behind me grew stronger, spreading chillingly through my body and reaching my brain. In desperation, I bit down hard on my tongue. The sharp pain instantly cleared my head. Judging by their expressions and actions, something was definitely closing in from behind. I had no time to think; I raised my AK-47, ready to turn—
“Lao Yi, duck!” Zhang Ji’s shout pierced my ears right then.