Chapter Eighty-Eight: Cut Off the Path

At that moment, I became even more careful, dodging and blocking without pause, unable to launch a single counterattack. There was nothing for it; those things were far too agile, far too fast, and utterly impossible to deal with. In the midst of it all, I had no time to spare for the man with the black sunglasses. Then, at one opening, I seized one of the monkeys by the leg. It struck the back of my hand with its claw, and even through my glove it tore the skin.

I endured the pain and, with all my strength, hurled the creature to the ground. A savage ferocity rose in me then, and I rushed forward with a kick that sent the monkey tumbling down the steps. Yet strangely, it made not the slightest sound.

The monkey behind me lunged in quickly as well. Just as I was about to turn and defend myself, three gunshots rang out in rapid succession. Could it be that the Old Ghost and the others had arrived? They certainly moved quickly enough.

The monkey behind me heard the gunfire, and then a piercing cry, and in an instant it shot off toward the sound, racing in that direction at high speed. The two monkeys harassing the man with the black sunglasses did the same.

I was just about to look toward the Old Ghost when the man with the black sunglasses suddenly grabbed me. Then I saw what he was doing: he was continuing to open the coffin, and with even greater speed. Seeing this, I immediately understood and hurried over to help.

The two of us used all our strength to pry open the lid of the outer coffin. Though we managed only less than half, it was enough. Inside was another coffin, which was much easier to handle. After a short struggle with our tools, the inner coffin lid was soon opened as well.

By then, the gunfire below the steps had grown even more chaotic. In that vast, empty space, it echoed with startling force. I seized the moment and opened the lid that had been sealed for a thousand years. When we lifted it, both the man with the black sunglasses and I were stunned.

The corpse inside had long since become nothing but dry bones, yet it had no head. Above the neck, there was nothing at all.

Could this have been a headless body? How could that be? How could a headless corpse have been placed in a coffin? I knew a little about history. In ancient times, those who suffered severe punishment were beheaded and then displayed to the public, or hung up somewhere for a set number of days, sometimes even left hanging as a warning. In such cases, the body would be without a head. If the family wished to entomb the remains, they would have to fashion a false head and attach it. If opportunity later allowed, they might retrieve the real head and place it back before burial.

After all, in the old days people placed enormous importance on the integrity of the body. If the body were incomplete, it was believed that the dead could not be reborn through reincarnation, that the soul would become a lonely wandering spirit, and that resentment would gather until it transformed into a vicious ghost. Then descendants for generations would know no peace.

It could be said that, in ancient times, burying a headless corpse was an absolute taboo. For some reason, however, this coffin contained exactly such a thing.

"The head was cut off after burial," said the man with the black sunglasses. "Looks like someone deliberately wanted to ruin this place. And there are plenty of other strange things here besides. I’ll explain when I get the chance. For now, we have real business to attend to."

As he spoke, he quickly extended two fingers and reached into the coffin. While I remained alert to my surroundings, I watched his hands. Yet his movements were simply too fast for me to see clearly. When he withdrew his fingers, a small pale blue bead was pinched between them, looking exactly like the pale blue pill I had obtained earlier. Could they be the same thing?

The man with the black sunglasses smiled. "This time, this pill is mine."

I was just about to say something when he went on, "Don’t rush. I haven’t even finished yet. Do you think I’d just take something and leave it at that? Am I that kind of person? Still, this pill is also a kind of Spirit Blood Elixir. As for what makes it different, I’ll tell you after we get out. It’s not the time to talk now. You already have one, so this one won’t do you much good anyway. I’ll keep it for now. Don’t worry, once I’m done with my business, I’ll give it to you."

With that, he fell silent at last. I had always thought his only flaw was that he loved to keep people in suspense, and that he was unbearably verbose. But I had no other choice now. We could hardly start fighting among ourselves before the Old Ghost and the others even had the chance to come after us. Besides, there were still those formidable monkeys to contend with. This was no time to turn hostile. And he was right as well: I already had one of those pills, so another would not be of much use.

Then the man with the black sunglasses told me that the truly important things in the coffin were not limited to that one item. Saying this, he produced a piece of material made from some unknown beast hide. It looked like a painting at first, but on closer inspection it seemed more like a map. There was no time to study it, so I tucked it into my clothes for the moment. As for this object, the man with the black sunglasses told me very seriously:

"Kid, remember this: this thing is extremely important. It isn’t safe with me, so keep it on you."

After that, he fished out from beneath the bones a jade pendant in remarkably good condition. It had been stained red from within. I knew this sort of thing; it was called a blood-soaked jade pendant, and it was worth a great deal. The man with the black sunglasses stuffed it into my clothes at once and said, "This isn’t just any treasure, but it’s definitely meant to ward off evil."

There wasn’t much in the coffin, but every item was no ordinary treasure. The man with the black sunglasses produced three more things in quick succession. Aside from the jade pendant, there was a black bead whose nature I could not discern, and also two small bronze lions. All of them must have been worth a fortune. In the words of the man with the black sunglasses, this was called taking a little opportunity while tomb-robbing; after all, he had to eat too.

For the moment, all of these items were placed in my pack. According to him, we would divide the spoils once we got out. As for the other valuable treasures inside, there was no time left to retrieve them. The gunfire below had also begun to thin out and seemed no longer as fierce. I quickly went to look.

The Old Ghost and the others were fighting those monkeys at the far end of the suspension bridge. Five or six monkey corpses already lay on the ground, and three men on the Old Ghost’s side had fallen as well. From the looks of it, they were dead. It truly was a brutal scene.

Just then, the man with the black sunglasses grabbed me and whispered, "What are you staring at? Get ready to run!"

Then he laid out the plan for me. Once the Old Ghost and the others came up, we were to head down in another direction, dash quickly onto the suspension bridge, and retreat the way we had come. Whether we could get away would depend on fate. And after returning to the starting point, the entrance there had already been sealed shut by fallen rocks. As for whether there was another way out, that too would depend on fate.