Chen Haoyu and the others jumped down, staring in surprise at the still-moving zombie, exclaiming in awe. Zhang Zixuan, full of enthusiasm, said, "I've read ancient texts that describe ghosts and gods, but I've always been skeptical about zombies. Today, I'll have a good study to find out what gives a corpse the ability to move!"
"Impossible!"
I weakly stopped him, "Zombies are poisonous, don't touch them casually."
Hearing my warning, Zhang Zixuan frowned. "Xiaolong(Bruce), your voice sounds weak, your complexion is pale, and your breathing is heavy. Are you sick?"
Zhang Zixuan took my pulse and looked at me meaningfully, saying, "It's just a common cold. Take this pill, and you'll recover quickly."
He handed me a pill, which looked exactly like the detoxification pill from earlier. After I popped it into my mouth, I realized that it was indeed the detoxification pill!
I recognized the taste!
Zhang Zixuan was indeed a divine doctor. Just by taking my pulse, he could tell I hadn't taken the detoxification pill, and without making a sound, he helped me hide the truth and even gave me another precious pill. I owed him a huge favor.
I gave him a grateful glance. "Thank you."
"No need to thank me, Xiaolong(Bruce). As a doctor, I'm truly curious about zombies, and I also want to know the identity of this corpse. Is it really General Long Chen?"
"You're a Taoist disciple, so I'll trouble you to protect everyone's safety."
"The poison of a zombie isn't something to be afraid of. Have you forgotten my identity?"
Saying this, Zhang Zixuan puffed out his chest.
What could I say? I nodded. "Alright, I'll do my best to protect everyone, but for safety's sake, I suggest we tie it up first with ropes to prevent it from jumping and hurting anyone."
With so many people, it was easy to handle. The zombie was soon tied up, though its body still occasionally twitched.
The zombie's mask was attached to the helmet, no wonder the two shots earlier couldn't knock it off. Once the mask was removed, everyone gasped!
The zombie's face was covered in green hair, which was terrifying. Its head looked like a tangled ball of yarn.
No doubt about it, it was a Green-Haired Zombie!
According to the "Records of Demon Suppression through the Ages" in the Niu Men Chronicles, zombies come in many types, and different conditions lead to different kinds of zombies.
The most common condition is when a corpse is buried in an area filled with heavy Yin energy. The corpse doesn't decay and, after being exposed to this Yin energy for decades or even centuries, it undergoes a transformation.
These zombies grow long hairs that cover their bodies. A newly transformed zombie has white hair, which gradually turns black, then green, purple, and finally red. When it turns red, the zombie has become a full-fledged demon, ranking among the "Top Ten Most Difficult-to-Subdue Monsters."
A Green-Haired Zombie doesn't even make it into the top 100. Though it's tougher to deal with than a White-Haired Zombie or a Black-Haired Zombie and is immensely strong, its weakness is obvious: it has no intelligence.
As long as you block your own Yang energy and place a "Corpse Suppression Talisman" on it at the right moment, it's easy to handle.
However, this zombie was wearing special armor, with a helmet and a mask. Even with a "Corpse Suppression Talisman," it wouldn't work!
If the old fraud saw this, he'd probably be dumbfounded and have no way to deal with it either.
Luckily, Chen Haotian had brought a sniper rifle, which blew the zombie's skull apart.
If an archaeology team or grave robbers had entered and managed to survive the female ghost's tomb, without the sniper rifle, they would have been killed by this zombie's explosion of fury!
Based on Zhang Zixuan's initial deductions, this wasn't General Long Chen; the face didn't match.
Another mystery had appeared: who exactly was Long Chen? His tomb wasn't just guarded by a female ghost; it also had an invincible armored corpse!
What other bizarre and dangerous things would we encounter next?
Zhang Zixuan collected the zombie's hair, skin, and nails into a small bottle, saying he'd study them when they got back. The second young master waved his hand. "Continue forward!"
Because the tomb room had a lot of Yin energy, the second young master ordered a bodyguard to carry a talisman and rush ahead to open the stone door of the next tomb room.
The bodyguard complied, running forward with the burning Yang talisman, opening the next tomb door and checking for any traps. However, the talisman went out, and in just a few seconds, the bodyguard fell, his Yang fire extinguished by the Yin energy.
"Dead?"
The second young master asked.
Xia Chao ran nodded. "All three Yang flames are extinguished, his soul has left his body..."
"Wait! Don't come near! What are you trying to do?!"
"Okay, I get it, just stay away from me," Xia Chao ran said in a panicked voice.
The second young master asked, "What did he say?"
Xia Chao ran, still shaken, answered, "He said there's a long corridor ahead. From his testing, the first three floorboards had no traps. Then he asked you to arrange for his family."
The second young master responded, "I'll make sure his family gets proper compensation. This will be taken care of. Rest in peace."
Two more bodyguards were sent to scout ahead and confirmed there was indeed a corridor. The flashlight couldn't reach the end, but the brave bodyguards checked the first ten floorboards and found no traps.
Then, everyone held the Yang talismans I had lit and moved forward.
We ran through, closing the stone tomb door behind us. The Yin energy inside was too thick; it was safer to keep the door closed.
The corridor was paved with green stone slabs, about three meters high and three meters wide. It seemed to go on for a long way. The air was thick and suffocating, making breathing uncomfortable. The second young master took out a large batch of nose plugs and said, "These are TS base's anti-poison nose plugs. Wear them to avoid being suffocated by toxic gas."
Eight bodyguards had already died, leaving five behind to clear the way, and there were still seventeen of us in the group. Sha Sha, who was showing signs of deterioration, would likely die soon, and five of the eight remaining bodyguards would also succumb to rabies in a few days.
Two bodyguards led the way, while the rest of us ate dry rations and kept moving. The second young master said, "Don't worry, I have a way out. As long as we finish exploring the tomb, whether we find what I'm looking for or not, I'll get you all out. So the sooner we finish, the sooner we leave."
After advancing for about 200 meters, two bodyguards ahead shouted, "Second young master! There are two tomb rooms here!"
We moved forward and saw two stone doors on either side of the corridor, facing each other.
The second young master ordered, "Open the doors!"
The left stone door was opened first. It was similar in size to the previous rooms—about six meters by nine meters. When we shone a flashlight inside, we saw three large chests in the room. Two bodyguards carefully stepped inside and opened the chests, only to find them full of gold, silver, and jewels!
Gold bars, gold ingots, pearl necklaces, jade pendants, and various jade-carved ornaments!
According to Miss Jiang, these items were all rare antiques!
Everyone's eyes gleamed with excitement, and I was no exception. Miss Jiang's family might be wealthy, but girls like jewelry, especially rare antiques like these.
Zhang Zixuan's gaze was flickering. Though he was watching the jewels, his focus wasn't on the wealth; it seemed he was trying to use the jewels to impress the girls.
Chen Haotian was hoping he'd find something he wanted among the treasures, while Chen Haoyu was also excited by the sight of so many jewels.
As for me, I thought, if I could grab a few of these jewels, they'd make great gifts for my mom and... Xu Xiaoling. That would be nice.
Chen Haotian took a deep breath and said, "Everyone, don't touch these treasures yet. After I authenticate them, if none of them are what I'm looking for, everyone can pick three as a memento. After all, these treasures were obtained at great cost. As for the unlucky ones who died, their families will receive double the compensation."
He then continued, "Let's go check the other tomb room."
We proceeded to the opposite stone room. It was also free of traps, and we found three more large chests inside. These, too, were filled with gold, silver, and jewels!
Miss Jiang furrowed her brows. "Long Chen's identity is getting more mysterious. I'm well-read in Song Dynasty history, but I've never heard of anyone named Long Chen. He was just a border general, so how did he accumulate so much wealth? How did he learn Taoist magic? And why did he build such a large tomb in a desolate place?"
The second young master replied, "The answer lies ahead. Everyone, let's keep going."
We exited the tomb room and returned to the corridor, where the second
young master personally closed the two stone doors behind us.
We continued down the corridor for another 200 meters and finally came to another stone door. Everyone stood on either side, ready in case poisonous arrows shot out.
The door opened, and no arrows came. With the bodyguards clearing the way, we all slowly entered.
This tomb room was massive!
It was at least 30 meters by 30 meters!
The walls were inlaid with luminous night pearls, and the air in the room was thick with foul gas. Even with our nose plugs on, it was hard to breathe, and we were lucky we hadn't been poisoned yet.
In the center of the room was a raised stone platform with a jade coffin on it. At the four corners of the platform were four stone beds, each with an armored zombie lying on it!
I tensed up!
If these four zombies woke up, we'd be in serious trouble!
But for now, it seemed like the Yin energy in the room wasn't very strong, and the four zombies didn't show any signs of movement, so they probably wouldn't come to life.
I hurriedly told Chen Haoyu, "Big Brother Chen, quickly use the sniper rifle to take out the skulls of these four armored zombies to prevent them from jumping up and causing harm."
At that moment, voices from other directions came from the bodyguards.
"Second young master, there are three treasure chests here!"
"Report, second young master, there are some books here."
"Over here, there's a one-meter-high ancient bronze mirror."
The second young master ordered, "Open the treasure chests."
The bodyguard opened one of the chests, but as soon as it was opened, the bodyguard collapsed backward!
At the same time, a burst of Yin energy poured out!
Xia Chao ran and screamed, "Yin energy! The chest is full of Yin energy! The bodyguard was instantly extinguished by the three Yang flames!"
Under the flashlight's beam, a swarm of black beetles poured out of the chest, each about the size of a pinky finger. Zhang Zixuan exclaimed, "Corpse beetles! Poisonous corpse beetles! If they bite you, your body will rot and you'll die!"
Just as we were panicking, the four armored zombies leaped up!
What the hell! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?