Chapter 197: Boundless Karmic Fire

Ming Shu was eager to move the valuable pope's corpse upward, so he acted without hesitation, just as he plunged the ice chisel into the ice beneath the "Snow Mountain Mummy," the entire golden corpse was swallowed by a blue flame pillar erupting from below the ice, the flame pillar resembling a fire dragon spewing immense flames, shooting straight into the sky above the ice pit.

According to the scriptures of the Samsara Sect, blue flame differs from other flames; the Samsara Sect calls it "Boundless Karmic Fire," a legendary blaze said to burn souls to ashes—no one expected such an ancient and vicious trap to lie beneath the golden mummy of this snow mountain.

Fortunately, Pangzi was quick-eyed and quick-handed; at the instant the flames shot upward, he pulled Ming Shu backward, and I and Shirley Yang also dragged Axiang back to dodge; everyone huddled in the corner of the ice cellar, feeling the tips of our tongues dry, as if all bodily moisture were rapidly evaporating, forcing us to press our faces against the ice wall, desperately licking the frozen surface where the sacrificial victims' bodies lay.

At such a moment, every second felt immeasurably long, compounded by the sharp, piercing howl of the "Boundless Karmic Fire" shooting upward; in the narrow, cramped ice cellar, it sounded especially heart-stopping, but now we could do nothing but hope this ghostly fire would soon burn out; if no fresh air came in, no one could endure for long.

The howl of the Boundless Karmic Fire finally ceased; having lost our sense of time, we did not know whether only a few seconds or much longer had passed; we glanced at each other, fortunately no one was injured—only Ming Shu had not worn his climbing helmet, and in the panic, his head struck the ice wall, but it was nothing serious.

The "Golden Body Mummy" in the ice cellar had already been burned by the "Boundless Karmic Fire" into a lump of black charcoal. After the shock, no one wanted to look at it again, when suddenly we heard someone shouting from above—it was the guide, Chu Yi.

Perhaps the wolf pack had taken advantage of the darkness to approach, but why had no one fired? I didn't have time to think further. I scrambled up onto the ice surface and saw Peter Huang and Chu Yi frantically rescuing Han Shu Na; upon approaching, I saw at once and my heart jolted—Han Shu Na's face had been burned away by the Boundless Karmic Fire; likely she had been leaning forward to look down at the time. Due to the darkness, we, being closer, should have reacted instantly, but instead we were exactly where the fire reached her face—her nose and eyes were gone; the area below her nose remained relatively intact, but only in comparison to the forehead, already burned to ash; the skin of her lower face was almost entirely gone, and since her lips were also burned away, her charcoal-black face bore only two rows of bare teeth and the dark tongue within—truly horrifying.

Han Shu Na lay motionless on the ground; Chu Yi shook his head at me—it seemed she had died on the spot; look, her brain matter had been roasted dry, her entire skull sunk inward by one-third, the inside of her cranium scorched into a mess, forming a large black cavity.

Seeing Han Shu Na die so horribly, I also felt a gloom in my heart; I took a blanket and covered the corpse, so Ming Shu would not have to witness this dreadful state and be unable to bear it.

At this time, Ming Shu and the others also climbed up one after another; they glanced at us, then looked down at the corpse covered by the blanket, about to ask where his wife had gone, when they noticed the large curled hair exposed beneath the blanket—Han Shu Na's face was burned away, but the "Boundless Karmic Fire" seemed not to have spread to her hair; upon seeing her hair, Ming Shu immediately understood what had happened, swayed twice, and nearly fainted; Peter Huang quickly stepped forward to support him.

I gave Shirley Yang a look, signaling her to take Axiang to the tent first; though I did not know how Axiang felt toward her foster mother, given her courage, seeing that faceless corpse would surely frighten her into some illness.

I also could not bear to see Ming Shu grieve excessively, yet I could not think of how to comfort him; so I called Chu Yi aside to discuss whether we could take Ming Shu, Axiang, and Peter Huang back first—this Dragon Peak Glacier is full of dangers, and letting them stay here would risk further peril.

Chu Yi said with difficulty, "Ah Ji brothers, now we probably can't leave even if we wanted to—look at how thick the clouds are above; we're in the Kalamaili Pass, and we saw those black-necked waterbirds flying far away—truly, a cold wave is coming. On the snow mountain, one mountain has four seasons; the weather changes too fast, no one can predict it; only in a year when wind speed is low and there is no rain or snow can one enter the glacier; May is most suitable; now it's mid-September, which should be an auspicious time by rights, but the weather on the snow mountain cannot be judged by reason—when it says it will change, it changes; within two hours, heavy snow will fall."

Although here it won't reach the point of heavy snow sealing the mountain, the terrain of the Dragon Peak Glacier is extremely complex; according to conjecture, this place was likely a vast mountain-basin lake in ancient times, hence the name "Sea of Disaster"; later, through the orogeny of the Himalayas, the elevation rose, temperatures dropped, and the entire lake evolved into a great glacier; occasional avalanches made the glacier thicker and the interior terrain more complex.

In summer, even a thick layer of glacier melts, reducing ice thickness greatly—this is why Han Shu Na broke through an ice pit; in cold seasons, this would not happen; but now, in the Dragon Peak Glacier, many intersecting ice crevasses, ice leaks, and ice pits have been exposed.

Entering when it wasn't snowing was fine enough, but once the mountains experience a cold wave, heavy snow falls like a blanket from sky to earth; within two or three hours, it will cover the glacier; the fragile spots beneath the ice are not yet frozen solid—falling in means death; even the most experienced guides dare not lead expeditions at this time; what's more, the wolf pack has also entered the mountains—if trouble arises, they will surely come to take advantage of the fire; to turn back, one must wait until the snow stops and the glacier is completely frozen.

We saw the carved lacquer paintings at the highest point of Lin Ta, similar to the silver-eye murals of the Samsara Temple in the Guge ruins, using strange beasts to indicate directional coordinates; in the center was a naked, semi-transparent woman—this should be the glacier crystal corpse. From the placement of this spirit-tower reliquary and the description in that ancient scripture volume, the demon tower devoted to evil gods lies west of this ice pit, within no more than thirty meters; on the Dragon Peak Glacier, there are certainly over a hundred, possibly even hundreds of tombs of successive Samsara Sect leaders; we have found only one of them; these tombs are arranged according to the esoteric Buddhist star chart, guarding the nine-story demon tower left behind since ancient times by the Demon Kingdom—no need to search further; with this reference and the records in the scriptures, we will surely find the ultimate goal tomorrow.

The walls of this ice chamber are carved with many evil spirits' images; it seems the treasures in the spirit tower are cursed; in my view, it's like lice being too many to bite, or debts too many to worry about—even if we poured out all these treasures, it wouldn't matter; but right now, the pressing matter at hand leaves no mind for such gold and silver; thus I and Shirley Yang restored that "spirit tower" to its original state and returned to the glacier above.

I had everyone rest, while I and Chu Yi took the first watch; we two leaned against the ice wall, observing surroundings while drinking wine to keep warm; not long ago, faint wolf tracks were visible, but now they have been completely covered by wind and snow; Chu Yi said if the wolf pack does not attack tonight, they may have retreated into the forest to avoid the snow.

Seeing Chu Yi's deep familiarity with wolf nature, and hearing he once led the Kalamaili Wolf-Eradication Work Team, I couldn't help but grow curious and asked him about it.

Chu Yi recounted his past: before liberation, his family had served the headman generation after generation; when he was still a child, at age seven, a wolf pack once bit to death dozens of sheep—this phenomenon was highly abnormal; the headman thought someone had offended the mountain god, so he had Chu Yi's grandfather flayed alive, and still wanted to take Chu Yi to sacrifice to the god; afterward, his entire family fled a thousand li to settle in Kalamaili; on the way, his father was also killed by pursuing cavalry.

Each time Chu Yi spoke a segment, he would fall silent for half a day—clearly, those tragic memories are not easy to face; I saw he did not want to speak further, so I did not press; by now the night was deep, the snow on the ground gradually thickening; in the firelight, I could see a bulge in the snow not far off—the place where Han Shu Na's body lay; I suddenly noticed that snow mass move, quickly gripped my shotgun tighter, raised my flashlight, and shone it ahead, thinking perhaps a hungry wolf had come to steal the corpse—but immediately realized it was not so: Han Shu Na was stiffly, with rigid limbs, slowly crawling out of the snowdrift; the flashlight beam pierced the wind and snow of the night, falling exactly on her face—no skin, black as charcoal—only her two rows of exposed teeth stood out most.

As I and Chu Yi were speaking, I felt a chill on my face—this snow said it would fall, and it already had; I hurried back to gather everyone, explained our situation, said we must leave, but at least need to wait two more days; moreover, I, Pangzi, and Shirley Yang have already made the resolve to break the cauldrons and sink the boats—we will not rest until we have dug up the demon tower of the Demon Kingdom's evil god to the very bottom; even if it snows, even if knives descend, we will not retreat.

Ming Shu wept bitterly, saying again and again how he and Han Shu Na truly loved each other, how mountain dangers had never left his side, how sober he often saw her by the bedside, and so on. I and Pangzi thought he was overcome with grief, beginning to rave; we were about to advise him to rest, when Ming Shu suddenly said: "One cannot lose both wife and troops—this time we must press forward hard. If we do not dig up the glacier crystal corpse, we will not return." Then he entrusted us: if he meets any mishap, we must be sure to bring Axiang back.

Seeing Ming Shu's obstinacy, I had nothing more to say; I thought I and Pangzi, Da Jin Ya, and others are no different—greedy hearts, confused minds. Many times, success fails not from lack of strategy or courage, but because profit makes the mind dizzy; though we all understand this principle, when it truly comes to oneself, who can recall it? After all, we are merely mortals; none of us has a pair of eyes that can clearly see beginning to end, eternally, like the Buddha's eye; besides, we were truly poor before.

By the time we finished our discussion, it was nearly midnight; snow began to fall heavily; distant wolf howls came and went in the wind and snow; we placed Han Shu Na's corpse beside the camp, covered it with a blanket; Pangzi and Peter Huang were responsible for digging some ice bricks, piling them at the tent's edge to block wind and guard against wolf ambush.

I and Shirley Yang descended again into the ice pit, hoping to find clues, confirm the location of the nine-story demon tower, and preferably excavate it before dark tomorrow.

The tombs of the Demon Kingdom all bear a transparent beetle called "Da Pu" by esoteric Buddhism; anyone approaching will be burned to ash by the Boundless Karmic Fire; before entering Tibet, we had already devised a countermeasure: on this frigid plateau, water in kettles freezes quickly and cannot be used, but a pressure sprayer filled with ginger juice can extinguish the ghost fire of the "Da Pu."

However, in this ice cellar where the golden body of the Samsara Sect leader is enshrined, the sudden appearance of a massive blue flame pillar was beyond our expectation; after Shirley Yang's inspection, this flame pillar might be an ancient mechanism; the Samsara Sect's ghost fire does not use such a thing—they merely imitated the Boundless Karmic Fire to construct an artificial flame-spouting device; beneath the golden body is a sealed space filled with large quantities of secret medicines; after years of absolute sealing, the secret medicine mixed with the stagnant air inside, forming a special substance; touching the snow mountain golden mummy, once the ice layer breaks, it triggers combustion; the tomb's master would rather have his corpse burned to ash than be disturbed by outsiders.

Behind the ice wall melted by fire at the deepest part of the ice cellar lies a larger ice cavern; inside we found a hidden ice chamber, apparently used to store the sect leader's funerary objects; in the center stood a three-tier spirit tower, symbolizing heaven, earth, and humanity; the spirit tower is 1.5 meters high, made entirely of gold, inlaid with various pearls and precious ornaments, dazzlingly brilliant.

Shirley Yang set up several fluorescent tubes around for lighting; I used the probing claw to pry open the tower door; the middle layer of the spirit tower holds over ten similar to "Gau" amulet boxes, as well as red and white coral, agate, and such treasures; the lower layer, representing earth, contains grain, tea, salt, dried fruit, medicinal herbs, etc.; the upper layer has a set of gold-thread robes and openwork carvings.

We saw the carved lacquer paintings at the highest point of the spirit tower, similar to the silver-eye murals of the Samsara Temple in the Guge ruins, using strange beasts to indicate directional coordinates; in the center was a naked, semi-transparent woman—this should be the ice-layer crystal corpse. From the placement of this spirit-tower reliquary and the description in that ancient scripture volume, the demon tower devoted to evil gods lies west of this ice pit, within no more than thirty meters; on the Dragon Peak Glacier, there are certainly over a hundred, possibly even hundreds of tombs of successive Samsara Sect leaders; we have found only one of them; these tombs are arranged according to the esoteric Buddhist star chart, guarding the nine-story demon tower left behind since ancient times by the Demon Kingdom—no need to search further; with this reference and the records in the scriptures, we will surely find the ultimate goal tomorrow.

The walls of this ice chamber are carved with many evil spirits' images; it seems the treasures in the spirit tower are cursed; in my view, it's like lice being too many to bite, or debts too many to worry about—even if we poured out all these treasures, it wouldn't matter; but right now, the pressing matter at hand leaves no mind for such gold and silver; thus I and Shirley Yang restored that spirit tower to its original state and returned to the glacier above.

I had everyone take turns resting, while I and the guide Chu Yi took the first watch; we two leaned against the ice wall, observing surroundings while drinking wine to keep warm; not long ago, faint wolf tracks were visible, but now they have been completely covered by wind and snow; Chu Yi said if the wolf pack does not attack tonight, they may have retreated into the forest to avoid the snow.

Seeing Chu Yi's deep familiarity with wolf nature, and hearing he once led the Kalamaili Wolf-Eradication Work Team, I couldn't help but grow curious and asked him about it.

Chu Yi began recounting his past: before liberation, his family had served the headman generation after generation; when he was still a child, at age seven, a wolf pack once bit to death dozens of sheep—this phenomenon was highly abnormal; the headman thought someone had offended the mountain god, so he had Chu Yi's grandfather flayed alive, and still wanted to take Chu Yi to sacrifice to the god; afterward, his entire family fled a thousand li to settle in Kalamaili; on the way, his father was also killed by pursuing cavalry～

Each time Chu Yi spoke a segment, he would fall silent for half a day—clearly, those tragic memories are not easy to face; I saw he did not want to speak further, so I did not press; by now the night was deep, the snow on the ground gradually thickening; in the firelight, I could see a bulge in the snow not far off—the place where Han Shu Na's body lay; I suddenly noticed that snow mass move, quickly gripped my shotgun tighter, raised my flashlight, and shone it ahead, thinking perhaps a hungry wolf had come to steal the corpse—but immediately realized it was not so: Han Shu Na was stiffly, with rigid limbs, slowly crawling out of the snowdrift; the flashlight beam pierced the wind and snow of the night, falling exactly on her face—no skin, black as carbon—only her two rows of exposed teeth stood out most.