There is no love without reason, nor is there hatred without cause; the sky does not thunder so violently in broad daylight for no reason. In the ominous air, it felt as if a massive change was brewing.

Save for the lightning that occasionally split the gloom between the clouds, the surroundings had grown too dark to discern anything. I relit the tactical spotlight on my climbing helmet, intending to peer through to the other side of the canopy, only to discover that Fatty, who was supposed to be helping me open the coffin, had vanished. I quickly asked Shirley Yang, "Did you see Little Fatty?"

Shirley Yang shrugged. She had found something strange at the bottom of the jade coffin, and combined with the sudden darkening of the sky, she hadn't noticed where Fatty had gone. We hurriedly searched everywhere. How could such a large living person simply disappear in the blink of an eye? Not even a sound. I looked around and spotted a shoe near the jade coffin—it wasn't anyone else's; it was Fatty's.

At that moment, a few "thump, thump, thump" sounds suddenly echoed from the completely sealed interior of the jade coffin. To Shirley Yang and me, that noise was more heart-stopping than the thunder overhead.

Fear aside, I urged Shirley Yang to help me open the coffin and save him. How did Fatty get inside the jade coffin? Could it be that the grave robber was instead dragged inside by the Zongzi from the coffin? But the seams of the jade coffin were sealed tight with Gong La, with only a few small cracks—no other opening. How could someone as large as Fatty have gotten inside? It was like an antimatter phenomenon.

Shirley Yang was more cautious: "Don't rush. Let's figure out what's going on first. We can't be sure yet that the noise inside the jade coffin definitely came from Fatty."

I retorted to Shirley Yang, "How can I not be anxious? If we don't act now, we'll be too late! If you're scared, I'll do it myself. I absolutely refuse to believe that a single coffin can terrify us to this extent!"

Having spoken, I ignored whether Shirley Yang agreed, slapped on my gas mask, and rolled up my sleeves to wrench the lid of the jade coffin open. The coffin was sealed too tightly to open quickly. I had to ask Shirley Yang to use her paratrooper knife to clear the Gong La sealing the gap in the lid. The tapping sound from inside the coffin came intermittently and then slowly faded away.

I broke out in a cold sweat from my frantic efforts. Seeing the noise stop suddenly, I thought Fatty was likely finished, having kicked the bucket. Just as I was growing anxious, my ankle was suddenly grabbed by a hand. Instinctively, I raised my climbing pick, ready to strike back, when I heard someone say from behind me, "Commander Hu, for the sake of the Party and the Nation, hurry up and pull your brother out! There's a huge hole in this tree, and I'm about to be killed falling down!"

I turned around. The speaker was Fatty, struggling to crawl out of a tree hollow right behind me. I quickly reached out and pulled him up. The mouth of the tree hollow was covered with dense parasitic plants, like a natural trap; if you didn't step on it, you wouldn't notice it at all. On this old banyan tree, there must be countless holes, large and small, all overgrown with vines and green moss. Stepping on a small one could easily sprain an ankle; stepping on a large one, and one could fall right in. Moreover, the plants around the opening were surprisingly soft; once someone fell in, they immediately closed up, making it very hard to detect.

It turned out that just as we were preparing to "seek wealth and promotion," Fatty was startled by a sudden clap of thunder overhead and involuntarily took a step back, stepping into empty space and falling. The sound was masked by the thunder at the time, so we didn't notice immediately.

I looked at Fatty, then back at the jade coffin. If Fatty hadn't been knocking inside the coffin, then who was it? Could there really be zombies active in daylight in this world?

Seeing Fatty back safely, Shirley Yang asked him what was inside the tree hollow. Fatty said it was pitch black, seemingly filled with many bones and vines, but he didn't dare look closely. The tree hollow stank terribly, giving him a headache.

Shirley Yang turned to Fatty and me and said, "You two come over here and look. This matter is far beyond what we anticipated. Not all of the C-model transport plane crew parachuted to safety; at least one person died here, his bones crushed beneath this jade coffin. This spot under the jade coffin might connect to the tree hollow Fatty fell into."

Hearing her words sounded suspicious, I stepped onto the lid of the jade coffin and walked to the other end. Just as Shirley Yang had said, a human hand was pinned under the front corner of the coffin's base. This hand was palm-down, not rotted to bone, but completely desiccated. Dark brown, dry skin encased the bones; muscle and moisture were gone. The four fingers were tightly jammed into the trunk of the tree beneath the jade coffin, suggesting a long and agonizing struggle before death. The thumb of the hand was pressing on a small, double-headed clicker.

I was completely bewildered and confused. This was a dead person's hand. By the look of it, a corpse was pinned beneath the coffin. Who was he, and how did he get pinned there? And what about the noise just now inside the jade coffin?

Shirley Yang explained that this type of double-headed clicker began to be used as a simple communication tool during the Allied counter-offensive in Normandy, capable of producing both light and heavy sounds. It was first used by the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions and could certainly be used to send Morse code signals.

Fatty and I somewhat grasped the implication. Could it be that the spirit of someone who died beneath the coffin was trying to communicate with us?

We heard Shirley Yang tell us, "The arm patch visible on this arm belongs to a U.S. Air Force uniform from WWII. Also, this double-headed clicker is not found in China. I surmise there is something dangerous inside this jade coffin, and the area beneath it connects to a tree hollow, preying upon any life passing nearby. Last night, the spirit of a pilot killed by the jade coffin was trying to warn us, not wanting us to suffer the same fate."

I said to Shirley Yang, "Last night was a total mess; I don't know what it was warning us about. Did it mean there's a ghost in this coffin trying to harm the three of us? If so, why didn't we notice anything?"

As soon as I spoke, I realized: perhaps it was because we were all wearing genuine Mojin Talismans and the Guanyin pendants that Old Man Jin got us. These items were all ancient artifacts meant to ward off evil. But were these things truly that effective? I had no confidence whatsoever. There must be something evil within these two old trees, and who knows what wicked things are hidden in the hollows inside the trunks.

To get to the bottom of it, we all moved together and pulled the lid off the jade coffin. The jade coffin was filled entirely with a deep purplish-red liquid, dark yet crimson, which was indistinguishable from blood plasma except for the smell.

We didn't know if the liquid was poisonous, and although we wore gloves, we still dared not touch it directly. Fatty used his Tianyin Claw, and I used my climbing pick, stirring the contents twice. In the blood-like solution, my climbing pick snagged on the corpse of a stout old man. He was covered only in a very thin layer of Jian Jing, thin as a cicada's wing. Jian Jing is extremely precious; legend says that when Emperor Gaozu of Han passed away, a layer of Jian Jing was wrapped inside his suit of gold and jade, serving a purpose similar to modern plastic wrap, only without any chemical additives.

Fatty used his paratrooper knife to cut through the layer of Jian Jing, fully exposing the body wrapped within. The old man's body was perfectly preserved. His facial structure was longer than average; according to physiognomy, he had a "horse face." The corpse had white beard and eyebrows and a topknot; he was completely naked, seemingly flushed slightly red from being soaked in the blood-like liquid for too long.

Fatty cursed, "This dead old man is full of blubber. I wonder how long he's been dead? If he's so preserved, it means he was certainly involved in something major! If this is some kind of king, I'd rather face the living than a dead guy whose preservation suggests he was involved in some serious sorcery!"

Shirley Yang said to me, "There seems to be more stuff in the solution in the jade coffin. Fish it out and see what you can make of it first."

I found it bizarre that this old man, who had been dead for over two thousand years, was still so lifelike, even describable as "vivid." It was uncanny; the more I thought about it, the creepier it became. So, following Shirley Yang's suggestion, I prepared to use the climbing pick to pull out the white-bearded old man's corpse, to clear space and see if there was anything else underneath his body.

Unexpectedly, where I applied force, there was a heavy resistance. Even with my strength, capable of moving over a hundred jin with the climbing pick, the weight of this white-bearded old man's corpse far exceeded my expectation. I couldn't budge it; it must have weighed several hundred jin.

I couldn't help but wonder, was this naked corpse connected to something else heavy underneath?

I withdrew the climbing pick from under the corpse's armpit and hooked it in the middle section of the jade coffin. From the blackish-red accumulation, I pulled out a massive, bloody, skinless python. All three of us were startled by the sight. It turned out that from the shoulders down, the old man's corpse was entwined with a giant python that had been skinned. The part where the python corpse merged with the human corpse had fused together over time and could no longer be separated—no wonder it felt so heavy when I first tried to pull it! Furthermore, the skinless python corpse was covered in countless red muscle fibers, and the flesh twitched a few times intermittently, as if it had only just been skinned and hadn't completely died. The tapping sound we heard from the coffin might have come from this.

The muscles and sinews on this python were clearly visible. I don't know what method was used to skin it. Considering the thickness and size of this python, although it was smaller than the one we saw in the cave on Dragon-Crest Mountain, it was still much larger than an ordinary python. Recalling that strange scaled python, one immediately thought of King Xian's evil sorcery, the Zhong Shu art.

Fatty pointed to the red muscle fibers growing on the skinless python corpse and said, "There are things growing on this python flesh, like little fish worms, and it looks like they connect to the bottom of the coffin. Old Hu, hold it steady; I'll try to fish out whatever is down there." Saying this, he rolled up his sleeve, intending to perform an "underwater retrieval."

Shirley Yang quickly stopped Fatty. After all, we didn't know the nature of this dark red liquid and shouldn't touch it casually. It would be safer to use the climbing pick or the Tianyin Claw to dredge things out bit by bit.

I lifted a section of the plump old man's body with effort. Shirley Yang used her climbing pick, and Fatty used his entrenching shovel to conduct a search within the coffin's accumulated liquid, constantly hooking out several items. The first thing discovered was a golden mask. This mask was likely worn by a shaman or priest during a ritual; its shape was incredibly bizarre, cast entirely in pure gold. The eye, ear, nose, and mouth cavities were inlaid with pure white-green jade. The jade ornaments were movable; the wearer could remove these white-green jade pieces from the golden mask when in use. The mask had dragon horns on top, a tiger's mouth design, and fish tails for ears, making it look very ugly and ferocious. But what shocked us most were the patterns on the golden mask: they were all whirlpool shapes. These whirlpool designs were simple in composition but also somewhat resembled eyeballs, with the innermost circles representing the pupil within the outermost circle, which seemed to represent the entire eyeball.

Seeing these familiar carvings, the three of us—Shirley Yang, Fatty, and I—couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. It seemed the legends about King Xian possessing the Muchen Pearl were not empty rumors. Having direct contact now gave us a slight sense of confirmation. Even if it meant facing death a thousand times, this trip to Yunnan was not in vain; it made up for the hardships we endured in the wind and dew.

Next was a Dragon-Tiger Short Staff, ground from green Lang Shi. It was similar in length to a common rolling pin used by commoners. The green Lang Shi short staff had a slight curve, a dragon head on one end and a tiger head on the other. The gripping handle was where the bodies of the two beasts met. The dragon and tiger forms were ancient, lacking the fluidity of Han Dynasty art, and possessing neither realism nor vitality, yet they exuded a powerful, heavy aura. It looked like an artifact from before the Qin Dynasty.

Fatty licked the corner of his mouth, wiped clean these funerary objects retrieved from the jade coffin, packed them into an airtight, moisture-proof deerskin pouch, and prepared to take them back as spoils.

Shirley Yang became agitated when she saw this. Robbing in broad daylight—wasn't this the same as tomb raiding? After taking photos, she insisted they should be put back immediately.

Fatty immediately protested, "Why did we travel all the way from Beijing to Yunnan? Wasn't it to raid tombs and take treasures? We've finally started; there's no way I'm putting them back!"

I also tried to persuade Shirley Yang, "Why use such ugly words like tomb raiding? There’s a saying: those who steal a nation are lords; those who steal a basket are executed. At least Mojin Xiaowei have the professional code of not digging up three graves when poor, or moving three items when rich—surely better than those great thieves who steal nations and people. Since ancient times, ambitious people acted on Heaven's behalf to punish the unjust. Leaving these things to rot away in the deep mountains is the greatest irresponsibility to the people. As for rules like only taking one artifact, or not digging after daylight, I believe those rigid rules should change with the deepening of reform and opening up."

While Fatty was busy packing the artifacts, I whispered in Shirley Yang's ear, "We won't dare move these things once we get back. Let Little Fatty play with them for a few days. When he’s done, I'll get them back for you, and you can donate them to whichever museum you like. This is called quenching thirst by gazing at plums. If we don't let Fatty see some immediate reward, it might affect morale; we'll need him to carry the heaviest and bulkiest equipment!"

Shirley Yang shook her head with a wry smile. "I really can't do anything about you. We agreed beforehand: except for the Muchen Pearl used for saving lives, we absolutely cannot engage in any more grave robbing. You should know, I'm doing this for your own good."

I quickly feigned appreciation, sincerely stating that I would certainly not fail to live up to her earnest expectations and kind teachings. In my heart, however, I thought: What happens when we get back can wait until we get back. I wouldn't dare touch the bronzes, but I never promised Chairman Mao that I wouldn't touch jade and gold artifacts! Anyway, I'll forget what I said to others after a night's sleep. Even taking a step back, these items are clearly sacrificial vessels, very likely having a direct connection to the Muchen Pearl. No matter what, they cannot be returned. I'm disregarding all the rules this time, lest I regret it later when I need them.

While I was making my own plans, I saw Shirley Yang discover something else in the coffin. The countless red muscle fibers growing on the python's corpse seemed to possess a life of their own, twitching slightly from time to time. These muscle fibers were all connected to the bottom of the jade coffin.

It turned out that this exquisitely beautiful jade coffin had walls and a lid made of Tibetan Mitian Jade, but the bottom was actually made of Lang Mu. The red muscle fibers inside the coffin passed through the Lang Mu base and connected to the interior of the old tree. The human corpse, the Zhong python, and the jade coffin were all interconnected now, impossible to separate.

Observing further down, one could see that the tree beneath the jade coffin's base had completely rotted away due to a lack of nutrients, only being barely supported by the parasitic plants, which kept the jade coffin suspended. Below was a bottomless tree hollow, likely connecting to the one Fatty fell into. These tree hollows were cleverly camouflaged by the vines of the parasitic plants. This natural camouflage, once broken, would rapidly regrow within three days, covering the traces of the hollow. Shining a "Wolf Eye" flashlight inside revealed dried carcasses of various animals entangled in vines, along with several human remains.

Shirley Yang seemed to have a sudden realization: "Not good! This skinless python corpse in the jade coffin might be a Zhong python being fed human chrysalises, and these two old banyan trees—the husband and wife pair—have been possessed by the vengeful spirits of the human chrysalises from the python corpse. This tree is a giant python!"