Although he was unwilling, Xu Muchen had always been unable to resist his brother. So after resting for one night and dismissing the other workers who were unwilling to go into the tomb, the next morning, the two of them descended into the tomb together with the five people who had volunteered to accompany them.
Of these five people, Xu Muchen had met two yesterday. One was the original leader, a short man with a dark complexion and small eyes named Liu Gaoming. The other was the driver who had picked them up at the airport, named Shi Lei.
Xu Muchen had never met the remaining three. According to Liu Gaoming, their names were Qian Kun, Qian Kan, and Zhou Yi.
Judging from the way they acted and the aura they inadvertently revealed, they were clearly not simple, honest farmers. They seemed more like desperadoes.
But Xu Muchen couldn’t quite understand. In a society governed by the rule of law, desperadoes should have been in prison long ago. What exactly did these people do?
Perhaps because Liu Gaoming noticed Xu Muchen constantly sizing the five of them up, he smiled and struck up a conversation with him.
“Little brother, you look pretty young. You’re still in school, right?”
There was nothing to hide, so Xu Muchen nodded.
“No wonder you’re looking at us like we’re criminals. The time I had the strongest sense of justice was when I was in school too.”
Liu Gaoming joked, “Little brother, don’t worry. We’re all legitimate people. We mainly take security jobs normally. Of course, if everyone were as generous as Mr. Wei and paid enough, we’d take on a little special side work too. Anyway, we’ve got plenty of strength.”
Xu Muchen seemed amused and smiled with his lips pressed together, but he didn’t completely believe Liu Gaoming’s words.
After all, what legitimate security company would come dig up someone’s grave?
But since Liu Gaoming had put it that way, Xu Muchen didn’t pursue the matter any further. His attention was drawn entirely to the entrance of the tomb in front of him.
According to Liu Gaoming’s earlier explanation, the Wei family’s ancestral tomb was beneath the village. Based on their exploration, its occupied area should be twice as large as this already nearly deserted village.
After all the excavation over these past days, they had only cleared out the left and right side chambers and part of the passageways. But because something had gone wrong while they were clearing the side chambers, they had not dared to continue after reaching the main tomb chamber’s door, and had been waiting for Wei Xilou to arrive.
“The distance from the side chambers to the main tomb chamber’s door is about a hundred meters. Along the way, we’ll also have to pass through a relatively narrow passage.”
Liu Gaoming and the other four began distributing weapons for self-defense while explaining the situation inside the tomb to Wei Xilou and Xu Muchen.
“At first, there weren’t any problems at all. But ever since Mr. Wei left last time, strange things suddenly started happening down there. At first, someone said they heard the sound of running water in the passage. After that, he inexplicably went crazy. He used a knife to cut himself until he was covered in blood, saying that he had to shed his own skin to apologize to the gods and ask for their forgiveness.”
“We sent him to the hospital right away, but that incident set a bad precedent. After that, people kept saying they heard someone talking to them down there, but whenever they turned around, there was no one behind them. Others said they saw clumps of snakes tangled together, and black roosters covered in feathers as black as asphalt coming out of the main tomb chamber… Anyway, all sorts of bizarre things happened. It made everyone nervous, so afterward we didn’t dare go any farther inside.”
Liu Gaoming finished preparing the self-defense weapons, zipped up his jacket, then pulled a large yellow talisman from a handbag beside him. He gave two to each person, including Xu Muchen and Wei Xilou.
“Better to believe it exists than not. I specifically asked someone to buy these ghost-repelling talismans from a Daoist priest of the Laoshan Sect. Apparently they’re very effective. Carry them just in case.”
Xu Muchen’s eyes shifted when he saw the ghost-repelling talisman. It seemed to be the same kind of talisman Yan He had used before.
Liu Gaoming really did have connections. The talismans he had managed to get were actually genuine.
Xu Muchen put the talisman papers into the inner pocket of his jacket. Once everything was ready, the group followed the earthen steps they had dug down into the tomb.
There were seven people in total. Liu Gaoming and Shi Lei went first, Wei Xilou and Xu Muchen walked in the middle, and the remaining three followed behind.
After descending along the earthen steps, they first passed through a fairly narrow man-made passage. After walking about a dozen meters, the area ahead gradually opened up.
Liu Gaoming explained, “The side chamber is just ahead. It mainly contains some daily necessities. There’s quite a variety of things, and we’ve already cleared most of them out and carried them outside over the past few days.”
The side chamber was already empty, so there was nothing worth looking at. The group quickly passed through it and entered the next passage.
This passage was part of the original tomb. It was noticeably lower and narrower than the passage they had just come through, barely wide enough for one person to squeeze through. It was only about 1.7 meters high, so anyone slightly taller had to lower their head and bend over to get through.
The journey was rather torturous. Just when Xu Muchen felt like his neck was about to become completely stiff, Liu Gaoming finally spoke from the front.
“We’re almost there. The main tomb chamber’s door is just ahead.”
The space in front of the main tomb chamber finally became spacious. One by one, they emerged from the passage.
Xu Muchen straightened his back and took a look. He discovered that the stone door to the main tomb chamber was not as large as he had imagined. It was about the same size as the front door of a self-built house in the village.
Some strange, abstract patterns were carved into the stone slab. Xu Muchen carefully studied them for a while, but couldn’t make out what they were supposed to depict.
Shi Lei said, “This stone door is too heavy. The few of us probably can’t push it open by ourselves. We’ll have to use some technological methods.”
Xu Muchen didn’t want to know what he meant by “technological methods,” so he could only pretend he hadn’t heard anything and look around.
Holding up his flashlight, he discovered that the walls all around them were covered with the same style of patterns as those on the door. The lines were twisted and had no discernible pattern whatsoever, making them look extremely bizarre.
Xu Muchen took out his phone, intending to take a picture. When he opened the camera, it defaulted to the front-facing camera. Xu Muchen was startled by his own enlarged face. Just as he was about to switch cameras, his finger suddenly froze.
In the lower-right corner of the camera view, someone had accidentally appeared in the frame. If Xu Muchen remembered correctly, the person standing there should have been Zhou Yi.
But in the camera, everything above his neck had turned into a rooster’s head.
Perhaps sensing Xu Muchen’s gaze, his head turned around. The bright-red comb on top of his head swayed. He turned his profile toward Xu Muchen, and his yellow eyes stared at Xu Muchen through the camera lens. His sharp beak opened slightly, while the fleshy wattles hanging beneath it trembled with the movement.
It was as though he were smiling at Xu Muchen.
Xu Muchen immediately turned off the screen. He stood there and calmed his racing heartbeat, then quietly turned sideways and looked toward where Zhou Yi was standing.
He was standing together with the brothers Qian Kun and Qian Kan. The three of them had formed a triangular formation and were discussing how to blast open the door with the least amount of disturbance. There was nothing unusual about them.
It was as if what Xu Muchen had just seen through the camera had merely been an illusion.
Xu Muchen hesitated over whether he should use the camera to look again. He remembered that there was a saying that cameras could capture things invisible to the human eye.
Just as he was gripping his phone and considering trying again, a pair of slightly cold hands pressed onto Xu Muchen’s shoulders.
“What is A-Chan looking at?”
Xu Muchen was startled at first, but immediately relaxed. He turned to face Wei Xilou and mouthed:
“Brother, there’s something wrong with Zhou Yi. I just saw his head turn into a rooster.”
Actually, if you didn’t look too closely, a rooster could be considered a rather beautiful animal, with its bright-red fleshy comb, yellow beak, and long, mottled tail feathers.
But when it was enlarged tenfold or more, you would discover that these features were filled with an indescribable sense of horror.
The fleshy comb and the dangling wattles were covered in engorged capillaries. Every raised ridge and fold on them made people feel an intense sense of psychological discomfort. The eyes were yellow with black pupils in the center. When they were small, you couldn’t see much, but once enlarged, you would notice that the yellow was murky and evil. When the pitch-black pupils moved nimbly within the yellow eyeballs, they gave off an eerie, sinister, and cunning feeling.
That was exactly the feeling Xu Muchan had gotten from Zhou Yi on the surveillance camera just now.
Xu Muchan almost immediately connected it to what Liu Gaoming had said before they came down: someone had seen a black rooster covered in tar walking out of the main burial chamber.
Had Zhou Yi only been affected after coming down here, or had something already been wrong with him beforehand?
Xu Muchan quickly considered the possibilities, but the glasses resting on the bridge of his nose were suddenly removed by Wei Xilou.
Without his glasses, his vision became blurry. He looked at Wei Xilou in confusion.
Wei Xilou placed the glasses into the pocket over his chest, then bent slightly and whispered into his ear, “In a place like this, seeing too clearly isn’t necessarily a good thing. A-Chan, just pretend you didn’t notice anything.”
After saying that, he took Xu Muchan’s hand and walked with him to the entrance of the main burial chamber. He placed a hand against the door and gave it a light push. The seemingly massive stone doors creaked loudly as they slowly opened outward in both directions.
Liu Gaoming looked incredulously at the stone doors, which were at least half a chi thick, then at Wei Xilou, whose expression had not changed in the slightest. His mouth opened and closed several times, but in the end, he asked nothing. He merely said, “Mr. Wei, are we going in now?”
Wei Xilou nodded and instructed them, “Once you go inside, don’t touch anything.”
Liu Gaoming considered himself a man of professional integrity. He assured him, “Rest assured, Mr. Wei. We do have professional ethics. Once we’ve accepted payment, we won’t touch a single thing in here.”
Wei Xilou glanced at the people behind him and said no more. He took Xu Muchan’s hand and stepped into the main burial chamber.
Unlike the complete darkness outside, where they had needed powerful flashlights for illumination, the main burial chamber unexpectedly contained a faint light source. No one knew where it came from. It cast the entire chamber in a layer of shimmering radiance, allowing them to make out the general surroundings even without their flashlights.
Since they could see, everyone simply turned off their flashlights to conserve battery power.
Without the interference of the concentrated beams from their flashlights, the group finally saw the entire main burial chamber clearly. They could not help but let out gasps of astonishment.
Within the faint, shimmering light stood a breathtaking ancient residence, quietly and peacefully in place. In front of it was a vermilion arched bridge, beneath which clear water flowed gently. Wherever the stream passed, vast patches of flowers bloomed in competition with one another.
This place looked less like a tomb where the dead rested in peace and more like a residence built for the living to escape the world and live in seclusion.
The brothers Qian Kun and Qian Kan had never seen such a scene before. For a moment, they forgot their fear and hurried forward, squatting beside the water to take a closer look.
“This water is actually real? It’s been underground for so many years, and it still hasn’t dried up.”
“What about these flowers?”
After crossing the vermilion bridge, Qian Kan leaned closer to examine the flowers along the water’s edge, only to be so shocked that he could not speak.
Seeing his younger brother suddenly squatting there in a daze, Qian Kun also walked over. “What are you spacing out for?”
But when his own gaze fell upon the flowers, he too froze for a moment. Only after a long while did he murmur, “These flowers are actually made of gemstones.”
The two brothers had seen plenty of valuable things before, so they recognized them at a glance. These colorful flowers looked like real flowers from a distance, but up close, they were all crafted from precious gemstones. Both the materials and the workmanship were unquestionably of the highest quality.
Almost as if possessed, the two brothers reached out, wanting to touch them, but Liu Gaoming promptly shouted, “Qian Kun, Qian Kan, what are you doing?”
The brothers awkwardly withdrew their hands and said to Liu Gaoming, “Boss Liu, come take a look. These flowers are truly… truly…”
For a moment, neither could think of a suitable word to describe them. Instead, they both looked toward the residence with its tightly closed gates.
They could not help wondering: if even the landscaping outside the gates was this extravagantly luxurious, what would it be like inside?
How many priceless treasures would there be?
In this seemingly unremarkable tomb, there were actually so many astonishing treasures hidden away.
Just taking out a single piece would be enough to ensure they never had to worry about money for the rest of their lives…
The two brothers exchanged a furtive glance.
Wei Xilou seemed not to notice the thoughts stirring among those present. He took Xu Muchan’s hand and walked straight toward the residence’s main gate, looking up at the plaque above.
Two characters were written across it in sweeping, elegant calligraphy:
Wei Residence.
Xu Muchan also looked up at the plaque, but his attention was drawn to the color of the characters. Plaques of this kind were usually written in black or gold, but perhaps because this was a tomb for the dead, the two characters “魏宅” were unexpectedly red.
The dark, muted red looked like old, dried bloodstains beneath the dim light. The longer Xu Muchan stared at them, the more uncomfortable he felt.
Xu Muchan then examined the vermilion gate in front of him. Copper studs decorated the gate, while two ferocious lion heads in the center of the doors held copper rings between their jaws.
Perhaps it was only his imagination, but he had the distinct feeling that the pupils of those lion heads seemed to move.
But without his glasses, his eyesight was poor, so he could only ask the person beside him, “Brother, did the lion head’s eyes just move?”
Wei Xilou turned his face toward him. “It’s just a lifeless ornament. How could its eyes move? A-Chan, don’t scare yourself.”
After saying that, he did not concern himself with the others behind him and simply pushed open the vermilion gates.
The gates slowly opened in both directions. Amid the creaking sound of the hinges turning, Xu Muchan heard the gurgling of flowing water. At first, the sound seemed very far away, but when he concentrated on determining where it was coming from, it suddenly seemed very close.
For one fleeting moment, Xu Muchan even felt that the sound of the water was directly beneath their feet.
While he was still deep in thought, Wei Xilou took his hand and led him inside.
Xu Muchan stumbled slightly as he was pulled forward. Remembering that Liu Gaoming and the others were still behind them, he instinctively turned around for a look.
His pupils suddenly contracted.
There was no one behind them.
Not Liu Gaoming, not Shi Lei, not Qian Kun, not Qian Kan, and not Zhou Yi. At some unknown point, all of them had disappeared.
A chill spread across Xu Muchan’s back. He turned his head back as if nothing had happened, instinctively tightening his grip on his brother’s hand. In a barely audible voice, he said, “Liu Gaoming and the others are gone.”
Wei Xilou, however, appeared completely unconcerned. Holding Xu Muchan’s hand, he navigated the enormous residence with practiced familiarity, passing through one hanging-flower gate after another before finally stopping in front of a courtyard.
In a strange tone, he said, “We’re here. This is the place.”
Xu Muchan’s heart was filled with questions. He was just about to ask, “Where is this?” when someone suddenly slammed hard into his shoulder.
He stumbled backward and managed to steady himself. Just as he was about to see who had bumped into him, the scene before his eyes seemed to have been repainted.
The dim, faded colors gradually transformed into something vivid and radiant.
The frozen scene suddenly came alive.
Red silk was draped throughout the ancient residence, filling it with an atmosphere of celebration.
The not-so-large courtyard was bustling with voices. Everyone was hurrying about, looking extremely busy.
The person who had bumped into Xu Muchan was a girl wearing blue cloth clothing. Two thick braids, tied with red ribbons, hung over her chest. She shoved the box in her hands into Xu Muchan’s arms, then pushed him again and urged him, “What are you standing around for? The Young Master wants some hibiscus cakes. Hurry up and deliver them. If you’re late and anger the Young Master, you’ll be in for it!”
Before Xu Muchan could react, the girl pushed him out of the courtyard where they had been standing. He found himself standing bewilderedly in another unfamiliar courtyard.
Only a few minutes earlier, he had been with his brother, facing a dim and gloomy residence. Yet in the blink of an eye, he had arrived in this inexplicable place and encountered a group of things he could not tell were human or ghost.
Xu Muchan frowned as he looked at the wooden box in his arms. It appeared to be a food container. He opened the lid and took a look inside. There were six delicate, flower-shaped pastries, which should be the “hibiscus cakes” the girl had mentioned.
He brought them closer and sniffed. The pastries smelled sweet and fragrant. Nothing seemed unusual.
He then lowered his head and examined himself, only to discover that his own clothes had somehow changed into blue cloth garments. Judging by the style, they appeared to be the same as what the girl had been wearing earlier.
And who exactly was the “Young Master” she had mentioned?
Could it be that he had once again been dragged into some kind of ghost domain, with the Young Master being its master?
But where had Brother gone?
Xu Muchan was still thinking wildly when someone patted him on the shoulder again, startling him badly.
“Didn’t I say the Young Master was waiting for these? Why are you still standing here without moving?”
It was the blue-clothed girl from earlier, who had returned. Seeing Xu Muchan standing there blankly, she rolled her eyes and said impatiently, “Forget it. You’re just an idiot. I can’t count on you. Come with me quickly. I’ll take you there. If the Young Master scolds you later, don’t drag me into it!”
Xu Muchan knew nothing about this place, so he had no choice but to follow behind her.
The girl talked constantly along the way, discussing how difficult and temperamental the Young Master was, how picky he could be, and how he had punished someone again yesterday.
From her words, Xu Muchan pieced together that this Young Master had a terrible temper, was extremely demanding, and treated the servants harshly. If someone angered him, they could die without anyone even knowing why, and no one would care.
Xu Muchan frowned deeply as he listened, becoming extremely wary of this Young Master whom he had not yet met.
As they spoke, the girl led Xu Muchan to another courtyard. Compared with the festive bustle and lively voices outside, this place was unnaturally quiet. There was not only no sound of human voices; it seemed that not even the chirping of insects or birds could be heard.
Even the talkative girl fell silent. Her expression became cautious as she pushed Xu Muchan forward.
“This is the Young Master’s courtyard. Go inside.”
Xu Muchan did not particularly want to go. Everything about this place was wrong. Facing the big boss without making any preparations was hardly a wise decision.
Maintaining his idiot persona, he spoke timidly. “Sister, there isn’t a sound coming from this courtyard at all. I’m a little scared. Can I not go?”
The girl’s expression immediately darkened. Her round eyes widened as she stared directly at Xu Muchan.
“If you don’t go, do you expect me to go?”
Xu Muchan’s heart jolted. He did not dare provoke her any further and could only say, “I’ll go, I’ll go. Don’t be angry.”
The girl immediately smiled upon hearing that and gave him another push.
“That’s more like it. Hurry up and deliver the cakes to the Young Master.”
After saying this, she did not leave. Instead, she stood where she was and watched Xu Muchan intently.
Xu Muchan had no choice but to brace himself, hold the food container tightly, and walk into the courtyard.
This courtyard could no longer be described as merely quiet. There was not the slightest sound of any living creature.
It was almost completely dead silent.
Xu Muchan summoned every ounce of alertness he possessed and tried to walk as quietly as possible as he made his way inside.
The courtyard was far too quiet. The only sound was his solitary footsteps, each one seeming to strike directly against Xu Muchan’s nerves and leaving him increasingly tense.
He had no idea where the Young Master lived, and there was no one around to ask for directions, so he could only head toward the tallest and largest building in the center.
The building was at the very back. It looked close, but Xu Muchan felt as though he had been walking for ages, yet somehow remained just as far away from it. He sensed that something was wrong, but his legs seemed unwilling to obey him. Against his control, they continued carrying him forward.
Xu Muchan realized that he had probably fallen into another trap. He immediately reached for the mountain god tablet hanging against his chest and clamped it between his teeth. In his mind, he repeatedly chanted, “Please, return, Mountain God of Guiyi Mountain.”
Strangely, however, Brother did not possess him as he usually did. Instead, he appeared in a pavilion not far away, watching Xu Muchan through the swaying shadows of the trees.
Although there was some distance between them, Xu Muchan could never mistake that person for anyone else. His heart leapt with joy, and all his panic settled down. Some invisible restraint seemed to have been released as well, and he immediately ran toward the person in the pavilion.
“Brother, where did you go?”
When he reached him, Xu Muchan stopped and studied the blue robe the other man was wearing. Realizing that Brother had somehow changed clothes just as he had, he frowned and said, “There’s something very wrong with this place.”
Wei Xilou looked him over with great interest, then reached out and pinched the boy’s chin, turning his face from side to side for a closer look. With a mocking laugh, he released him, took a handkerchief from his robes, and leisurely wiped his hands.
“Which branch of the family sent you here? Calling me Brother the moment you open your mouth. Still, you are indeed more likable than those several younger brothers of mine.”
Xu Muchan: ???
He studied the man before him. But the moment he met that completely unfamiliar gaze, his relaxed body abruptly tensed, and the alarm bells in his mind began ringing loudly.
“You’re not my brother. Who are you?”