Chapter 43: Main text Chapter Forty-Three: The Silent Revelation

Main text Chapter Forty-Three: The Silent Revelation

I was about to check what was in the parchment book, but I remembered Shirley Yang was still tied up and lying on the ground, so I put the parchment book down first, preparing to untie her. Although she kept dreaming about the ghost cave in her sleep, which was very strange, she probably wasn't possessed by an evil spirit or the reincarnation of a monster queen; treating her like this really was a bit too much.

Shirley Yang was thrown to the ground tied up, her face covered with a lot of dust, plus her tears, making her look like a heavily painted Peking opera face. Seeing me approach, she angrily said, "Dead Lao Hu, quickly untie me."

I told her the whole story, gritted my teeth, slapped Shirley Yang across the face, then untied the belt binding her hands.

I said, "I had no choice but to resort to this; you can hit me back however you like, just a few slaps." After saying that, I turned my head aside, waiting for Shirley Yang to strike me. I had already braced myself; I estimate she won't let it go unless she knocks out two of my front teeth.

I didn't expect Shirley Yang to wipe the dust from her face and not hit me; she only said, "I don't want to argue with you now; we'll settle this later. First, we need to find a way to get out."

Shirley Yang took out a small box from her carry-on pouch; inside was a tiny pill. After opening it, she sniffed it once near her nose, then handed me two pieces, letting me and Pangzi each take a sniff.

Shirley Yang said, "This is a high-concentration refined alcohol stodge with a strong smell; it stimulates the brain's frontal nerves via the nasal mucosa, keeping the mind clear, can be used to aid detoxification and counteract addiction; overseas explorers often carry a few when going into the wilderness as a precaution. In extreme hunger and fatigue, it can stimulate the nerves to prevent fainting, but it should not be overused in the short term, otherwise it will cause strong side effects. Whether it works against the hallucinations of the demon flower is unknown."

I thought the corpse-scent magic yam induces hallucinations through the five senses, and these illusions all come from the brain's center; Shirley Yang's stimulating drug should somewhat counteract the hallucinations.

I gave one pill to Pangzi, then opened mine and immediately inhaled it through my nostrils; a strange, foul odor rushed into my nasal cavity, making me cough repeatedly, but right away I felt my previously heavy head lighten considerably, feeling very comfortable.

I said, "Since we have this good stuff, why not take it out earlier and give us a few on the stone bridge? We could have pulled that demon flower out by the roots, and we wouldn't be buried here now, stuck between a rock and a hard place."

Shirley Yang said, "When you ran back from the stone bridge and explained what happened, we only then learned that the corpse-scent magic yam causes hallucinations for anyone on the stone bridge, after which they were attacked by countless black snakes. But it was only a few minutes, and we didn't realize those snakes were also illusions created by the magic flower. Moreover, I think the corpse-scent magic yam isn't that simple; it has a magic that directly targets the heart. If one gets too close, I suspect this drug wouldn't have much effect."

Five people entered the Ancient Sage's tomb; only Chen and Ye were not clear-headed—one was stimulated, the other remained unconscious. Now Ye Yixin is dead, and Professor Chen is acting crazy; he won't be deluded by the corpse-scent magic yam anymore. His state reminds us of the British expedition team that had previously entered the ruins of Juejing Ancient City; that team's sole survivor was a madman who surely also saw his companions slaughtering each other, suffering excessive stimulation.

Professor Chen's condition, however, came from his emotions swinging wildly in one day: first grieving over the death of his assistant Ha Aiguo, then finding one surprising major discovery after another in the Juejing ruins, and suddenly seeing his own two students die horribly. Such extreme joy and sorrow dealt a huge blow to his nerves, and given his old age, he finally suffered a nervous breakdown and went completely mad.

Thinking of this, I nodded solemnly and told Shirley Yang, "That corpse flower is indeed powerful; luckily we are close and united, so we didn't fall for its scheme to sow discord, and no tragic mutual slaughter occurred. Now thinking back, I'm truly frightened, but fortunately Hu Da and the Ancient Sage's blessings kept us from making a big mistake."

Shirley Yang suddenly sank her face and said, "Hu Ba Yi, you're too sly, pushing all your blame onto yourself cleanly. You know how much I trust you; you not only deceived me, you also refused to tell me the truth, and even suspected I was... some kind of monster. Have you ever thought about how I feel? You know what it's like to be bound like livestock by you two villains, waiting for you to interrogate and slaughter us?"

I covered my head and said, "Oh no, my head hurts again; I need to sit down and rest for a while. Pangzi, quickly bring that Ancient Sage's parchment book to Miss Yang and see if there's any good plan to escape." After saying that, I took the opportunity to sneak over to Professor Chen's side, not daring to speak to Shirley Yang anymore.

Fortunately, Shirley Yang is not the type to hold a grudge; seeing me slip away, she didn't pursue it further, and began to examine the Ancient Sage's parchment book page by page.

I secretly groaned, knowing her personality means she won't let me off easily from now on; today's matters are settled, and with so many people dead, the hard-earned money Pangzi and I made is wasted again. He ***, why is my life so miserable, even a sip of cold water gets stuck in my teeth.

I also wondered what was in that ancient book; seeing Shirley Yang's solemn expression, I couldn't tell if she was happy or upset. Since the Ancient Sage could foresee our return to his tomb and opening the stone coffin, he must have left us something. What exactly is it? I could no longer hold back and asked, "What is the content in the Ancient Sage's book?"

Shirley Yang held the parchment book and said while reading, "These are all pictures drawn by the Ancient Sage; they seem to contain a lot about the ghost cave."

I never want to return to a ghost cave in my life; the most important thing is whether there's an exit, but I can't urge Shirley Yang, so I just have to patiently listen to her speak.

Shirley Yang said, "Only by reading from the beginning can we make sense of the context; otherwise the final pictures might not be interpretable. This opening section talks about a sacred mountain in the ancient Western Regions, namely the Zhagelama Mountain where we are now; the mountain is surrounded by dense waterways, abundant flora and fauna, and here live these four tribes..."

I exchanged a glance with Pangzi and thought, "This American girl still wants to start from the beginning—truly annoying." We two were anxious, eager to know how to leave this cramped, oppressive tomb chamber, yet neither of us dared to speak; you looked at me, I looked at you, we were so restless we could hardly sit still.

I only heard Shirley Yang continue: "Good times didn't last; people discovered a bottomless cave in Zhagelama Mountain, with no one able to reach its floor. Everyone wanted to know what world lay inside. Among the four tribes, a high priest ordered the making of a jade eyeball, hoping to use the power of the True God to see whether the bottomless pit was auspicious or ominous. During a grand ceremony, they not only failed to see what was beneath the pit, but instead provoked disaster to begin descending. First, the high priest's eyes suddenly went blind and he died an unnatural death. Then nearby appeared a kind of monster snake threatening the safety of people and livestock; there were many of them, each with a strange eye on its head, fiercely poisonous, killing countless people and beasts. The four tribes selected two holy ones favored by the True God, who led tribal warriors to kill the mother snake—a creature with a human head on a snake body and four limbs. It lays eggs like eyeballs, each egg capable of producing hundreds of monster snakes; if allowed to breed, the consequences would be unimaginable."

Pangzi and I, hearing this, were amazed: "Goodness, ancient times really did have such a monster snake with a human head; fortunately we haven't encountered it, otherwise it would truly be hard to deal with."

Shirley Yang said, "The Ancient Sage's extermination of the snakes probably really happened, but the human-headed snake beast may not have actually existed. Ancient people tended to over-mythologize important events, just like the war between China's Yan Emperor and Yellow Emperor versus Chiyou—perhaps it was merely a skirmish of a few hundred tribal fighters, yet in ancient records it was described as a vast, magnificent battle, even with myriad gods and beasts joining in a super war."

I raised my thumb in praise and said, "Indeed, a high-level view; I don't know what comes next—could you please explain it quickly?"

Shirley Yang gave me a glance and continued, "The monster snakes were wiped out; the Ancient Sage threw the snakes' corpses into the bottomless pit beneath Zhagelama Mountain. The holy ones, through divine revelation, knew this cave was a disaster cave, and the jade eyeball had already opened the gate of disaster. After that, a prophet was born in one of the tribes—this child with prophetic ability. Um… next comes the prophet's predictions for Zhagelama Mountain's future. After the tribe's Ancient Sage died and was buried in Zhagelama Mountain, the prophet, through ritual, could foretell major events thousands of years ahead, but his range is limited to the vicinity of Zhagelama Mountain; this may be because the tribe venerates the buried Ancient Sage as a god, and the prophet's powers were granted by the two Ancient Sages and the True God."

At last we got to the point; I listened carefully to Shirley Yang's words—whether we can escape this ghostly place depends on how the prophet foretold it, and the answer of survival versus death is about to be revealed; my heartbeat quickened slightly.

Shirley Yang said, "Don't be so tense; I just flipped through and it seems there is a revelation later that could let us leave Zhagelama, but we need to combine it with the earlier content for consideration. Don't rush; let's go step by step."

Just as we were fully focused, Professor Chen suddenly stared wide-eyed and pointed at the parchment book in Shirley Yang's hand, saying, "You absolutely must not look at the latter part."