For some reason, seeing this thing didn't scare me at all; instead, I frantically looked around for something to wake it up. I regretted not picking up a stone before I climbed in; now I didn't even have anything to throw.

Patting my pocket, I found a cigarette butt left behind by Boss Wu. So, I used this cigarette butt as a pebble and tossed it towards the huddled silhouette.

Unexpectedly, the throw was incredibly accurate, landing right on top of the humanoid figure's head. I was braced to see this thing look up at me in anger, but the result was different from what I anticipated; the thing just remained curled up, utterly motionless, like a dead object.

I didn't know if the force of the cigarette butt was too weak, or if the thing was deliberately playing dead, but there was simply no reaction. After a moment's thought, I tapped my own head.

I realized that ever since separating from Boss Wu, I hadn't had anyone to talk to, so I had forgotten I could even make sounds. If I can't wake it up, surely I can startle it awake?

With that resolve, I shouted down into the Danlu (Elixir Furnace): "Hey! What are you?

Are you still alive?" My voice was low, sounding somewhat hoarse from disuse. Compounded by the empty echo of my voice within the furnace, the sound became exceptionally eerie, startling even myself.

But the sound that frightened me did not affect the thing inside; it remained curled up, perfectly still. I felt a bit annoyed, thinking, I know you can move, so stop pretending.

Even if you're a 'Zongzi' (a stiff corpse), I'm going to confront you today. So, I yelled down to the object in the Danlu: "If you don't move, I'm jumping down!" Naturally, the thing still didn't move, completely disregarding my words.

I shrugged helplessly, thinking that even if below was a dragon's pool or a tiger's den, I had to go see. If I gave up this chance for investigation again, I'd be a fool.

Thus, I gripped the rim of the Danlu's opening with my hands and lowered my lower body first. Then, releasing my grip, I dropped the entire way down.

After all, the interior of the Danlu was four or five meters deep. I expected a loud thud when I landed.

But to my surprise, the moment my feet touched the bottom, they sank into a layer of soft sludge. Clearly, after sitting here for so many years, combined with the damp climate, the medicinal residues inside the Danlu had decomposed into a thick slurry.

I ended up covered in the muck—hands, backside—my feet deeply stuck, and I choked on the specific fetid odor of the mire. But I couldn't afford to be disgusted now.

I quickly used my dirty hand to light the lighter to examine what that humanoid shape across from me actually was. As soon as I got a clear look, I was so frightened I nearly jumped right out of the furnace.

Because I saw a pair of giant, blood-red eyes staring at me, eyes so large they occupied nearly half a face. Other than a ghost, I couldn't conceive of anything with such enormous eyes.

However, upon closer inspection, I felt much relieved. The eyes themselves weren't actually that large; it was because lines of tiny script, written in mysterious characters, radiated out from around the eyes, making them appear exceptionally huge.

The humanoid figure was crouched there, arms wrapped around its knees, its head resting on them, gazing forward. Its lower body, like mine, was almost entirely submerged in the sludge, making it seem integrated with the Danlu itself.

It clearly couldn't still be moving; otherwise, the sludge would show tracks. As for the figure itself, looking at its skin and facial features, I could tell this was not a human corpse, nor the corpse of any animal.

Because the skin appeared dark blue-black and was covered in a thin layer of pale moss. In such a humid environment, there were no signs of decay; instead, it was incredibly hard, like stone.

And etched onto this stone-like body were various characters and patterns drawn in dark red pigment, seemingly representing some kind of meaning. This thing was about half the size of a normal person, and covered in these markings, it reminded me of the ritualistic stone figurines used in sacrifices.

Those were artifacts used by ancient primitive tribes in place of living sacrifices, imbued with profound mystery. I once read in a biographical historical record that in ancient times, master shamans could make these shiyong (stone figurines) speak and walk, almost indistinguishable from real people.

I never believed such folklore, and the statue-like object before me was indeed stiff, showing no signs of being able to speak or walk. Its facial features were painted on, and while uncanny, they didn't inspire terror.

I knew in my heart that besides the shiyong explanation, there was another possibility. This second explanation was far more unsettling, and if true, posed a certain danger to me.

That possibility was that this stone-like object was actually a humanoid coffin. A humanoid coffin, meaning one shaped precisely like a human body, capable of tightly encasing the deceased within.

Previous archaeological finds in China had uncovered such coffins, but most were made of wood, with only a few crafted from metal or other materials. This included the golden burial suits made of jade pieces, perhaps the most famous form of the humanoid coffin.

Legend had it that corpses encased in golden suits would not only resist decay but also retain the skin's luster. Sadly, I had never seen one myself.

If the object before me was also a humanoid coffin, could it similarly preserve the Zongzi inside from rot? And what purpose did the patterns painted on the exterior serve?

I couldn't know the answer, so I painstakingly shifted my lower body in the sludge, slowly approaching the stone-like object. When I got close, the painted features still gave me a strange feeling.

But I finally reached out and touched the thing's face. Its face was icy cold and hard, feeling no different from stone under my grasp.

Tracing along its temples, I carefully examined the sides and found no seams that would indicate a coffin lid. This ruled out my humanoid coffin theory; it seemed this was just a simple sacrificial shiyong.

I closely studied the shamanic script covering its body and noticed that the characters were mostly constructed from arcs, somewhat similar to the markings on the furnace itself. These must be the Wuzu Nüwen (Witch Clan Women's Script) that Long Jia had told me about.

I couldn't read the script, so I just memorized the general outlines in my mind. After doing all this, I felt rather aimless.

Because I couldn't smash this shiyong to see if it was truly solid stone inside, I had to assume it was just an ordinary stone figurine. After looking at the bizarre statue again, I truly couldn't bear the stench of the mire anymore and prepared to climb out to investigate other things.

But just then, I felt something suddenly sweep past the leg I had stuck deep in the sludge. That contact startled me so much I nearly jumped up, as the slick sensation reminded me of a snake.

Being bitten by a snake in sludge was no joke. Whether the venom would take effect was another matter, but drawing blood, opening a wound, and then exposing it to this foul mire meant the injury would quickly become infected, leading to tetanus.

So, I quickly stepped a few paces to the side, moving toward the inner wall of the bronze Danlu. From that distance, looking at the shiyong, I felt something was off.

After thinking hard, I recalled a crucial detail. When I looked down from above, I distinctly remembered seeing a jutting stick next to the humanoid figure.

Now, that stick was gone, and I hadn't seen anything resembling it since descending. It seemed it wasn't a stick at all, but truly a snake!

Now that the snake had burrowed into the sludge, it was a potential threat to me. So, I turned around, intending to climb back up first.

But when I touched the inner wall of the bronze furnace, a chill ran down my spine. Because when I climbed down, I hadn't considered the ascent at all, and now I realized the bronze interior was slick and curved inward—I couldn't possibly climb back up using sheer human strength!