Hao Wenming's brother ignored Sun Fatty completely, his gaze fixed on the inscriptions carved into the stone tablet. He read them over and over again, as if trying to memorize them. If Sun Fatty hadn't kept nagging him, he probably wouldn't have even looked up. After a while, it seemed like Hao Wenming's brother had committed all several hundred characters to memory. Only then did he say to Sun Fatty, "What's carved here is a curse. Most likely, this is the same spell Zhang Rantian used to bring about the death of the entire Xie family."
"Mm," Sun Fatty responded. Then he turned to me and said, "Lazi, what do you think? Is Director Hao's brother right? Or should we help fill in a few blanks for him?"
To be honest, the inscriptions were cryptic and obscure. If I hadn't learned a thing or two from Ouyang Pianzuo, I probably wouldn't have understood them either. I looked carefully at the characters on the stone and said, "President Hao is more or less right. That's the general idea. What's more detailed here is the actual method for using the Blood Curse."
Before Sun Fatty could respond, Director Hugo lost his patience. He could probably recognize seventy or eighty percent of the characters when looked at individually, but once they formed full sentences, he was at a loss. He looked at me, then at the tablet, and after I finished speaking, he immediately said, "Shen, help me translate it. What does the first sentence mean?"
As Hugo spoke, Sun Fatty stood behind him, constantly winking at me. I understood his signal perfectly. I glanced at the stone tablet a few times in a deliberately exaggerated manner, then said to Hugo, "Well, Director Hugo, the wording is just too archaic and dense. Honestly, I'm half guessing and half making it up as I go."
Hugo seemed like he wanted to say something else, but at that moment, Hao Wenming's brother suddenly stood up. He moved so quickly that the sharp pain from his broken rib nearly made him cry out. Still, he gritted his teeth and walked over to a few nearby stone tablets. After reading the inscriptions on them, his face turned visibly red.
He hesitated, then glanced back at the three of us. His eyes finally settled on me, and he said quite politely, "You're Shen La, right? Can I borrow your phone?"
I didn't need Sun Fatty to say anything to know something was wrong with the stone tablets in this warehouse. Clearly, Hao Wenming's brother had hit a limit with memorization and now wanted to take photos. But Sun Fatty and Hugo weren't soft targets—why come asking me, the easy one?
I curled my lip and scrunched my face, replying, "President Hao, you should've said something earlier. Just my luck—my phone's dead." As I spoke, I pulled my phone out, flashed it quickly, then shoved it back into my pocket.
Hao Wenming's brother let out a heavy snort and turned his gaze to Sun Fatty. But before he could speak, Sun Fatty grinned and said, "Director Hao's brother, you're not thinking of asking to borrow mine, are you? Not to be rude, but take a wild guess—do you think I'd lend it to you in this situation?"
Hao Wenming's brother didn't bother replying and turned to Hugo, only to see that Director Hugo had already pulled out his phone and was snapping away at the stone tablets on the ground, completely ignoring him.
As Hao Wenming's brother stood there, clearly out of options, a sudden loud boom echoed from directly in front of us. A massive hole had been blasted into the wall, and from it emerged a fully armored figure.
Soul Husk.
No introduction was needed. Just a few months ago, Sun Fatty and I had encountered similar ones in the underground ruins of the ancient Zhi Kingdom buried in the desert. But this one in front of us was noticeably smaller in size than the two I'd seen before. Although it lacked their bulk, it was clearly much faster and more agile.
Among us, Hugo was the one least familiar with Soul Husk. "God Almighty, what kind of demon is that?" he exclaimed, pointing at the creature that had just burst in. "Hao, is this the Soul Husk you were talking about?"
But Hao Wenming's brother had no time to answer him. He was already fully focused on the creature, glaring at it with clenched fists. Yet the Soul Husk had no interest in him. It didn't even look our way, as if we didn't exist at all.
After crashing through the wall, the creature whipped its head around and let out a few sharp, howling cries. Then it sprinted straight toward the center of the warehouse. Before we had time to react, the Soul Husk reached a clear patch of ground. We had no idea what mechanism it triggered, but the moment it stepped there, we heard a loud creak-creak… The ground around it began to sink, revealing a staircase made of dark stone, descending deep into the earth.
Once the stairs were fully exposed, the Soul Husk let out a strange screech, then leapt into the stairwell and vanished from sight.
We had all drawn our weapons—I'd even lent my retractable baton to Hao Zhengyi for emergency use—ready to fight the Soul Husk to the death. But to our surprise, the Soul Husk completed its set of actions and vanished into the hidden chamber before we could even react. Sun Fatty turned to Hao Zhengyi and said, "So, Big Brother of Director Hao, was that the same Soul Husk you saw earlier? I mean, what the hell is it up to?"
Hao Zhengyi didn't respond. He had already stepped up to the hidden entrance, peering down with the help of the light from Director Hugo's flashlight. Below the steps was a small clearing, but it was too dim to make out what exactly lay beneath.
As Hao Zhengyi hesitated, unsure whether to descend, a shrill cry suddenly rang out from below. It was unmistakably the voice of the Soul Husk. Moments later, another agonized scream followed. Something had clearly happened down there. Just as Hao Zhengyi was about to ask Hugo for the flashlight to investigate, two figures entered through the hole that had been smashed open by the Soul Husk. One was dressed in black, the other in white. The white-haired one leading the way was none other than Yang Jun, who had been out of contact for some time. Following close behind was the Crow, the one Yang Jun had spirited away from the burial chamber earlier.
Yang Jun carried a gleaming sword—no doubt the same blade that Hao Zhengyi had mentioned, supposedly taken from the Soul Husk itself. When he saw me and Sun Fatty, Yang Jun looked a bit surprised, but his face was tense and impatient. He barely glanced at us before locking eyes on the dark stairway the Soul Husk had just entered. "It went in here, right?" he asked.
Though Yang Jun's behavior was strange, I nodded and said, "Yeah. Just a moment ago."
His expression darkened as he turned to follow, but Hao Zhengyi stepped in front of the passage first. "Mr. Yang, don't you think you owe us an explanation?"
Before Yang Jun could answer, the Crow suddenly pulled Hao Zhengyi back, frantically signaling to Yang Jun to hurry. Yang Jun gave us a sweeping glance before saying coldly, "Even if the whole place collapses, stay the hell out of it." With that, he disappeared into the passage. As much as the words rubbed us the wrong way, the look on his face was enough to shut us up.
Hao Zhengyi hadn't expected the Crow to hold him back, and his face flushed red with anger. But with the Crow clutching him tightly, he could only watch helplessly as Yang Jun vanished into the darkness. Only when Yang Jun had disappeared did the Crow release her grip, gesturing rapidly at Hao Zhengyi. Whatever she signed left Hao Zhengyi visibly shaken, his face turning pale. He made a few gestures in return, and only then did she let go of him completely.
Seeing Hao Zhengyi's shifting expression, a sense of unease began to grow in me. Just as I was about to ask what had happened below, another piercing cry echoed up from the chamber, followed by the sharp clash of metal. Whatever was happening down there, it was far from over. And yet Hao Zhengyi made no move to descend, nor did he retreat.
Sun Fatty, unable to contain himself any longer, stepped forward. "Hey, Big Brother of Director Hao, what did the Crow 'say' to you? What's really down there?"
Hao Zhengyi hesitated for a moment, then finally looked up and answered, "That's the Rebirth Terrace down there—but not the one Yang Jun described before. This one's undergone… a transformation."
"A transformation? What kind?" Hugo interjected before Sun Fatty could continue questioning.
Before Hao Zhengyi could respond, a muffled groan rose from the Rebirth Terrace below. It was unmistakably Yang Jun's voice. All of us went pale. Then came the clear clang of metal hitting the floor, followed by the heavy thud of a body collapsing. No follow-up sound. Whoever fell wasn't getting back up.
It had to be Yang Jun. Whatever he had run into down there, he wasn't coming back on his own. There was no time to hesitate. Whether dead or alive, we had to retrieve him. Gritting my teeth, I snatched the xenon flashlight from Hugo's hands. Sword in one hand, flashlight in the other, I dashed down the stairs before Sun Fatty could stop me.
As I entered the chamber, I saw a single figure standing there—completely naked. His skin was pitch black, as if he'd been bathed in ink. The flashlight's beam dimmed as it hit him, as though the light itself was being absorbed. He stood still and stiff, like a statue.
I recognized him.
He was a man consumed by vengeance, who had once pledged his life to exact it. Hours ago, we'd all assumed the nightmare had ended when he was sucked into the whirlpool under the sea. But now I knew—the real nightmare had only just begun.
Zhang Rantian's eyes were glazed, drool dripping from the corner of his mouth. His head tilted to one side as he stared at me, utterly blank—as if he couldn't even remember who I was. He looked exactly like Liu Laoliu from my hometown, who'd once burned up with fever and lost his mind, wandering the streets asking everyone for something to eat.
Lying on the floor beside Zhang Rantian was the Soul Husk, its armored body limp and still. Even if its soul wasn't scattered, it clearly wasn't in fighting shape anymore.
But strangely, neither Zhang Rantian nor the Soul Husk were the ones I came looking for. Yang Jun was nowhere to be seen. The chamber was decently sized, but open—nothing in it could hide a person, aside from the water pool tucked away in the far end. Hoping Zhang Rantian wouldn't notice, I began inching my way toward the pool.
I had only taken two steps when a hand suddenly grabbed my arm and a familiar voice whispered, "Don't move! Didn't you hear what I said?"
I turned. It was Yang Jun—white hair, serious as ever. Relief flooded through me. He was alive. But just now, I could've sworn there was no one there.
Yang Jun slowly pulled me backward, keeping our distance from Zhang Rantian. Zhang Rantian still stared at us, dazed and confused, clearly unable to understand what we were doing. We backed up all the way to the stairwell. Then Yang Jun leaned in and whispered, "Back up slowly. Don't move too fast. Don't let him notice you."
I tilted my head and whispered back, "What about you? Aren't you coming?"
Before he could answer, a burst of footsteps echoed from above. Figures rushed down the stairs. Yang Jun and I scrambled aside just in time to avoid being knocked over. It was Hao Zhengyi, Sun Fatty, and the others—they had finally lost their patience and followed us in.
"Yang Jun, I was just—" Sun Fatty began, clearly startled to see him.
But before he could finish, Yang Jun's face changed. He lunged forward and clamped a hand over Sun Fatty's mouth, eyes darting toward Zhang Rantian. Zhang's blank expression was gone. In its place was a piercing cold gleam in his black eyes.
I quickly turned the flashlight on my own face and mouthed three words: Don't… say… anything.
All eyes were fixed on Zhang Rantian. With the sudden change in his demeanor, no one dared to make a sound. The chamber fell into absolute silence. Only the thudding of our hearts could still be heard.
Seconds ticked by like hours. I could feel my body going stiff. I wasn't the only one. When Yang Jun finally pulled his hand back from Sun Fatty's mouth, the latter stumbled slightly, saved from falling only by Hugo's quick reflexes.
Zhang Rantian, meanwhile, seemed to lose interest in us. His expression slackened again, the eerie light in his eyes dimming. Though his head was still pointed our way, his gaze now passed right through us, as if he were looking at empty air.
Yang Jun finally exhaled and cast a withering glance at the rest of us before fixing his eyes on Hao Zhengyi.
No time for pleasantries, he stepped forward and asked, "That gunpowder you used earlier—do you have any more?"
Hao Zhengyi immediately understood what he meant. His eyes lit up, but quickly darkened again. "We didn't come specifically for the Yin Convergence Point," he said with a sigh. "What we used earlier was all pre-stashed on the island. We didn't bring extra."
Yang Jun lowered his head in frustration. I finally realized what he was getting at and chimed in softly, "Yang Jun, let's deal with the immediate problem first." I pointed toward the still-dazed Zhang Rantian. "What's going on with him? Is he… is he now considered a Nyeh?"
Yang Jun looked at Zhang Rantian for a moment, then sighed. "Dong Qichao spent his whole life preparing for this, guarding it even after death. In the end… he handed it all over to someone else."