The Lost Tomb Vol. 1

Chapter 21: Green-Eyed Fox Corpse

Stunned, I thought to myself, this voice sounds so familiar. Is it Uncle Three? But isn't he still on the cliff? Why does his voice sound like it's coming from nearby? I quickly turned my head to look for him, only to find that there was no one else around except for that fatty. But just as I was wondering what was going on, I suddenly heard Uncle Three say, "Don't be so reckless. You have blood on your hands. As soon as you put your fingers in that corpse's mouth, it'll turn into a zombie."

I looked around everywhere for the source of that voice and finally realized that it was actually coming from below the jade platform. But the platform's color was so opaque that I couldn't see what was underneath. "Uncle Three," I hurriedly asked him, "are you under the jade platform?"

"I'll explain everything later," Uncle Three said. "Just follow my instructions for now—lower that female corpse's head, press your thumb against her throat, and then hit her on the back of the head. Remember to keep your thumb pressed against her throat; otherwise, she'll swallow the key!"

I agreed and then did as he said, pressing my thumb against the female corpse's throat and then hitting her lightly on the back of the head. The key immediately fell out of her mouth and landed on the jade platform. I felt the weight on my shoulders suddenly loosen as the female corpse's arms fell away and her body fell back on the jade platform.

I heaved a big sigh of relief as I realized that I was finally free, but then I heard Uncle Three say from below, "Nephew, is that fat guy beside you?"

I looked up at the fat guy—he had picked up the fallen key and was studying it very carefully—before nodding and saying, "Yes."

"See if he has a shadow," Uncle Three suddenly said in the Hangzhou dialect.

When I heard this, I couldn't help but feel confused. I didn't understand what he meant but I still reflexively glanced at the fat guy's feet anyways. As it turned out, his shadow was covered by the jade platform's shadow so I wouldn't be able to see whether it was there or not unless I stuck my head out. Still feeling a little puzzled, I said, "I can't see it clearly right now."

Uncle Three sounded very anxious as he said to me, "Listen, I need to tell you something. Don't be afraid, but I saw that fat guy's body when I came over here just now and I don't think he's human. You need to be careful."

I glanced at the fat guy and saw that his cheeks were ruddy and his demeanor and movements didn't look like that of a ghost at all. I couldn't help but feel confused, "Uncle Three, are you sure you didn't see wrong? Maybe it was someone else."

"I'm positive. It must be him," Uncle Three said. "I definitely didn't see wrong. He's probably one of the last survivors of that group of grave robbers who came in here before us. He must have encouraged you to put your hand in that female corpse's mouth just now, right? He's definitely trying to harm you!"

I suddenly felt scared and asked, "So you're saying this fatty in front of me is a ghost?"

"Yes. No matter what he says, don't believe him," Uncle Three warned me. "Now, quickly look around you and see if there's something you can use to ward off evil spirits."

At this time, the fat guy suddenly raised his head and looked at me. His eyes seemed very strange and were so full of resentment that I couldn't help but believe half of what my uncle was saying. I hurriedly felt around and touched upon that armored corpse's belt, which still had the dagger's scabbard attached to it. I immediately picked it up, assuming that the ancients would have engraved their belts with spells to protect against ghosts.

Although the characters on the belt were badly faded, I was still able to recognize at a glance that this was definitely the script used by the State of Lu. Did that mean that this person was really King Shang of Lu? But who was this female corpse? Was she his wife?