Chapter 134: Main Text Chapter 136 Ghosts Wailing, Gods Howling

Main Text Chapter 136 Ghosts Wailing, Gods Howling

Only then did we suddenly realize that perhaps the artifacts in this bronze box might be the divine implements used by the ancient aborigines of Shield Dragon Mountain to offer sacrifices to the mountain god.

I said to Pangzi and Shirley Yang: "In the past, the barren borderlands, the aborigines often had customs of reproductive worship, which was related to the harsh living conditions in ancient remote areas; at that time, humans appeared extremely insignificant before nature, population numbers were very scarce, and all kinds of major and minor natural disasters and man-made calamities could lead to the extinction of an entire tribe; the only solution was to have more children, and the more children born, the more the population increased, thus productivity could be improved, so I think this jade fetus might have been used in ancient times to pray for women to bear more children; it is a fetal-shaped totem symbolizing prosperity of population."

Pangzi laughed and said: "Ancient times were better; nowadays, everywhere is crowded with people, we have to implement family planning. We should now oppose having many children and instead plant more trees, so this thing that does not fit the trend of social development is meaningless to keep here; I'll take it first and exchange it for some cigarette and alcohol money later."

I nodded and said: "That does make some sense, and we certainly should support family planning, but for now it's best not to casually move these things, because the details of this jade fetus are still unclear; our mission this time is to go to the Xian King's Tomb to retrieve that coffin-dust pearl which is vital to our lives and fortunes—this is the top priority, you need to sort out what's urgent and important."

Before I finished speaking, Pangzi had already treated my words as wind in his ears, reaching out to grab that jar, intending to smash it and take out the jade fetus inside. Shirley Yang stopped him and said to Pangzi: "These aboriginal antiquities, hidden by the Xian King's priest inside the giant worm's belly, indicate something out of the ordinary. Until we know their purpose, we should not act rashly; let's first examine the other two items."

I saw Pangzi's eyes light up, as if he hadn't heard a word we said to him, so I reached out and forcibly pulled him back. Pangzi, seeing this, kept complaining, saying that along this journey through Yunnan we have endured wind and dew, with our heads tucked into our waistbands, encountered countless dangers, rolled on knife edges, been scoured in oil pots, and finally caught sight of something genuine—how could we not take it?

I said to Pangzi: "In the Xian King's tomb's inner palace, treasures are surely piled up like mountains; why obsess over this jade fetus in the jar? Moreover, this jade fetus faintly exudes an evil aura—it's not an ordinary thing. Bringing it back might invite trouble; our vision should be long-term, not fixed on this trifle before us. Haven't you heard the chairman's teaching that excessive complaining harms the intestines, and one should always look far ahead?"

Pangzi muttered: "I still remember the old man saying, 'Don't say the Kunming pool's water is shallow; watching fish there surpasses the Fu Chun River,' but the pools in Yunnan—damn it, not shallow at all."

Complaining aside, we still need to continue examining the other two mysterious objects in the large bronze cabinet; otherwise, an oversight would leave hidden troubles, only bringing us greater danger when we later enter the Xian King's Tomb.

We three looked at the other two compartments of the square 'bronze box'; on one side lay a large fur pouch made of leopard hide, embroidered with gold and silver threads forming various talismanic inscriptions and cryptic words; it was bulging, as if holding many things, and when lifted it did not feel heavy—at least not as heavy as we had imagined.

Seeing those peculiar spell markings, it can be concluded that regardless of whether the jade fetus was left by the ancient aborigines, at least the contents of this leopard-skin pouch are related to the Xian King; the 'art' soul‑stabilizing talisman is exceptionally unique, like a heap of tadpoles crawling in orderly fashion, unforgettable at a glance.

At this point it inevitably makes one a little tense; this 'technique' is sinister and vicious, mainly materializing the dead's resentment into a substance that could become an invisible poison, and it can also transfer this malicious vengeful aura onto other objects, making defense impossible; but since we now know it is related to the Xian King, we cannot help but steel ourselves and open the pouch to investigate.

At that moment we inspected our weapons and anti‑poison gear, exchanged a few words, saw that the mouth of the leopard pouch was tightly bound with animal sinew, not easily undone, so we decided to cut it with a 'paratrooper knife'; we all sprang into action and, in a few quick moves, severed the sinew.

Pulling open the leopard pouch, a heap of scattered human bones was immediately revealed; we had already braced ourselves, knowing that the 'Soul‑Stabbing Talisman' certainly contained corpses, so we did not panic, stepped back, and watched quietly.

After a while with no abnormality, I then examined them, pouring those skeletons from the large pouch onto the ground, and immediately saw that there were three skeletons; these three dry bodies had no clothing—whether it had rotted away or they never wore anything—and their skeletal shape was peculiar: large skulls, long arm bones, short leg bones; though their size appeared to be that of five‑year‑olds, the bone density and age indicated elderly individuals, most evident in the teeth, which were fully grown and heavily worn, impossible for children.

From past experience, those sealed by the 'Soul‑Stabbing Talisman' have always been adult slaves or similar; we have never seen a child, and the bone age here is utterly disproportionate to the physique, truly baffling.

Pangzi and I plucked up our courage, rummaged through the disordered bones hoping to find anything else unusual, and instead turned up some ornaments: animal teeth strung on gold rings, scattered jade fragments, and most conspicuous of all, a small stone figurine of a black toad.

Shirley Yang immediately said: "These are the ornaments the aborigines placed on the mountain god's idol; they are not human bones but surely the legendary mountain sprite, often regarded as a mountain spirit, described in detail in ancient texts—short stature, long ape‑like arms, black face with white hair, capable of human speech, able to summon wind and rain in the mountains; modern people have never seen them, considering them fictional, though some say they are modeled after the black‑faced baboon, so the African black‑faced baboon is also called a mountain sprite, whereas the mountain sprite of ancient Chinese legend differs from today's black‑faced baboon; judging from these skeletons, they are most likely the ancient mountain sprites, which are the true form of the mountain god."

It appears these three 'mountain sprites' were all slain by the Xian King; they were regarded by the aborigines as guardians of the great mountain deity, and that jade fetus may also have been a sacred object treasured by them. After the Xian King invaded this place, he surely unleashed wanton cruelty, so thoroughly damaging the mountain god's remains that, together with the aborigines' sacred implements, he stuffed them into the giant worm's belly, turning them into a 'gastric tumor' that blocks the digestion of corpses and worm eggs by the 'Huo Clan Undying Worm'; by this perverse method he undermined the locals' faith to consolidate his rule. Whether this is truly the case will only be known after we enter the Xian King's Tomb within the Dragon Mist and learn of his deeds.

We glanced at the nearby giant worm collapsed on the ground, its body covered in dragon‑scale demonic armor, seemingly immortal; it turned out this huge worm was not the mountain god's true form—the real mountain god resides inside its belly.

Pandora's magic box—that is, the two side compartments of this square bronze box—we have already examined; only the central compartment remains, the most mysterious item. We left it untouched the first two times, deliberately saving it for last, because we could not fathom what it was, wanting first to see what the other two objects were to gain some clue; but we never expected the first two compartments to be so startlingly unexpected, making the central item even harder to guess.

The middle section of the bronze box is far more spacious than the sides; judging by the layout, it should hold the most important item, while the other two compartments are related to the ancient aborigines who originally dwelled here; this one is likely also connected, but what exactly it is remains hard to say. While I and Pangzi moved the central object, I speculated wildly: 'Eighty percent chance it's the corpse of the aboriginal chieftain, or perhaps a vital divine artifact looted by the Xian King from the aborigines.'

We lifted it gently twice but could not pull it out; the middle is a small bronze box similar in shape to the outer square bronze box, cast with a hideous ghost face, ugly features, and wings growing from its back, resembling a heavenly patrolling yaksha; intricate strange ornaments adorn it, making one feel at a glance that its contents are not ordinary—could it be a seal for the chief evil spirit?

Upon closer inspection, the bronze box has a hollow part that connects to the tiger‑shaped lock hole on the side of the large bronze cabinet; its interior is all latticework, the black color matching the black water beneath the cabinet; we had not noticed earlier, the box has no lock, and can only be opened from inside the bronze box.

To avoid injury from the mechanism, we still turned to the rear, used a mountaineering pick to hook open the lid cast with a ghost head; as the ghost box opened, a faint blue, cold glow emerged, and inside the bronze vessel lay a blue three‑legged toad. Pangzi let out a 'yi', prodded the toad lightly with his pick, and it rang like stone—turns out this heavenly ghost‑head bronze vessel is used to nourish its bronze 'Toad Palace'.

That blue three‑legged monster toad, whose material is unknown, is about the size of a human head, plump, head held high, displaying a self‑satisfied air; its form is rare, and judging solely by appearance it is already a remarkable masterpiece, truly a divine object.

Pangzi and I stared, salivating; it is said that Chang'e ate the elixir of immortality, flew to the Moon Palace, and turned into a toad, thus she is regarded as the representative of the Moon Palace, symbolizing lofty stature, describing one's rise to prominence, also expressed as 'plucking cassia from the Toad Palace.' Wanting to embrace this strange toad from the Toad Palace, my heart could not contain a surge of joy; this blue three‑legged monster toad must be the most valuable treasure in Shield Dragon Mountain—such a divine object, unless fortune favors us, cannot merely be packed away; even glimpsing it is a blessing earned in a past life.

Shirley Yang, facing such a treasure, remained far calmer than Pangzi and I: 'Careful, careful—the plants and insects in the cavern are growing larger, and there is wreckage scattered in the jungle, at least two aircraft or more; their source may well be here, it guards the sky of the king's tomb.'

As Shirley Yang's words fell, Pangzi and I had not yet fully reacted when we suddenly felt the cavern's atmosphere was off; beneath our feet came a series of sharp bone‑cracking sounds. We hurriedly looked down and saw the three sets of mountain god remains placed beside our feet, which, due to the excessive oxygen level in the 'Gourd Cave', were undergoing an accelerated transformation, all the bones shrinking and turning black.

The oxidation speed was too fast, and moreover the density of this pile of 'mountain god' bones is several times that of human bones, causing the bones to emit a sharp, strange cracking sound.

I stepped back two paces and said to Pangzi and Shirley Yang: "All this chaotic junk is terribly evil, whether it's a divine artifact or an evil one—better to blow it all to smithereens with explosives, leaving no future trouble." Having said that, I reached into Pangzi's backpack for the explosives, but he had stuffed it with many gold fragments, and it took me a long while to dig them out.

Pangzi turned around to help me install the detonator, but as soon as he turned, his legs jumped as if he had seen something frightening; he quickly pointed at Shirley Yang's leg, I followed his gaze and also nearly jumped, hearing infant wails drilling straight into our ears.