Chapter 265
Chapter 265
Following Ren Fengjue’s train of thought, Yan Zhengchu could not help nodding.
“Now that you put it that way, Young Marquis, it does look like a tomb built for the living. And it covers such a vast area that it was probably built at the same time as the mansion above.”
Puzzled, he added, “But why would anyone do that? Building a tomb beneath a home for the living is hardly auspicious.”
Yu Lang speculated, “Perhaps this general foresaw the fall of the previous dynasty and came up with this plan long in advance…”
The thought sent a chill through him. “So when he was said to have disappeared, could he have hidden in this tomb? Then… is he alive or dead now?”
Yan Zhengchu said, “This place is full of sinister things. A living person who came in here certainly wouldn’t survive.”
“Besides, more than thirty years have passed. Even if he survived at the time, he must be dead by now.”
After a brief silence, rustling sounds rose in the burial chamber again.
Yu Lang was frightened. “Those bugs aren’t coming back, are they? My lord, why don’t we get out of here?”
Ren Fengjue knew they should not linger either. He nodded. “Find a way out first.”
“Follow me,” Yan Zhengchu said. “I left markers along the way.”
He took the lantern and led everyone out of the burial chamber.
Xia Ximo looked at Lady Du’s Primary Soul hovering in the air, then held the Soul-Ferrying Lantern on her palm. “Take shelter in the lantern for now.”
Lady Du could sense the distinctive aura of the Netherworld on her and guessed that she was the one who could truly help her.
Yet she shook her head. “My child is still in here. I want to take him out with me.”
Xia Ximo frowned.
Yan Zhengchu immediately said, “Your child was already dead when he was born. Now he has absorbed too much resentment and Yin-Sha Qi and become a ghost infant. He cannot enter the cycle of rebirth. What’s more, he won’t recognize you. Even if he leaves this place, he’ll be a demonic creature that harms people.”
Lady Du grew more sorrowful at his words.
“Then what is the point of my leaving?”
She cast Zhao Wan a hateful glance. “Besides, I cannot let go of the hatred in my heart!”
Afraid of her as well, Zhao Wan hastily shrank farther behind Xia Ximo.
Ren Fengjue stepped forward and told Lady Du, “I already promised you that I would uncover the truth and find your murderer. This young lady will help you too.”
Lady Du still hesitated.
Xia Ximo could not be bothered to waste more words. “If you don’t want to, I won’t force you.”
She put away the Soul-Ferrying Lantern and turned to leave.
Seeing her so decisive, Lady Du could not help calling her back. “Miss…”
Xia Ximo stopped, turned, and silently took out the Soul-Ferrying Lantern.
But just as Lady Du was about to enter it, a powerful gust roared from the far end of the passage and extinguished their only lantern.
Darkness fell around them. Yan Zhengchu immediately shouted, “What ghost is there? Show yourself at once!”
Yet after the wind passed, all was silent.
Yu Lang instinctively grabbed Daoist Yan’s sleeve, while Ren Fengjue instinctively put an arm around Xia Ximo beside him.
Xia Ximo, however, noticed something wrong. Zhao Wan behind her had made no sound at all.
“Zhao Wan?”
She called out, but no one answered.
Yan Zhengchu had already relit his lantern. As he shone it around, they discovered that Zhao Wan was gone.
And Lady Du’s soul had vanished as well.
“That ghost took her right from under our noses!”
Xia Ximo suddenly said, “We seem to have forgotten someone else…”
“Who?” Yan Zhengchu asked.
“Princess Consort Wu.”
Yu Lang was startled again. “Surely the princess consort didn’t abduct the princess? What… exactly does she want?”
Yan Zhengchu was indignant. “This ghost is clearly challenging us! If we leave now, it’ll think we’re afraid!”
“No. I must confront whatever is in here!”
Though Yu Lang feared the insects, he had a strong sense of loyalty. “I agree. We certainly can’t abandon Princess Fenghua!”
Both men looked toward Ren Fengjue and Xia Ximo as they spoke.
“What do you think, Miss Mo?” Ren Fengjue asked her.
Xia Ximo wasted not a word.
“Find her.”
The four were about to head back when the strange rustling sounded again. Then the ground began shaking violently.
Wuyou, the most sensitive of them, suddenly appeared and shouted, “Duck!”
Everyone reacted swiftly and crouched down.
A mass of black shadows swept over their heads with overwhelming force.
Terrified, Yu Lang hastily covered his head. “What just went past us?”
Even Yan Zhengchu was slow to recover. “It seemed to be… Yin Souls…”
Moreover, there were so many that even Daoist Yan’s scalp prickled. “There are far more Yin Souls in this tomb than I imagined…”
The shaking beneath their feet did not stop. From the sound, something seemed about to emerge from deeper underground…
For some reason, Ren Fengjue recalled the chamber in which he had been trapped and the strange patterns carved into that huge circular stone.
Could something… be hidden beneath it?
“Daoist Yan, there must be something hidden in that lower chamber!”
He had barely spoken when a tremendous crash came from the burial chamber that had held the statue.
The rustling stopped, replaced by a strange, muffled thudding.
Ren Fengjue had served in the army. The instant he heard it, he knew what it was…
The others, too, could sense to some degree that there was something extraordinary about the sound.
They looked toward it. At the far end of the passage, amid what looked like wildly surging sand, a troop of armored cavalry charged toward them.
The sight was almost impossible to believe.
Yet the cavalry paid them no heed, riding straight through and between them.
“Are they… ghosts?”
Yu Lang felt as though an army of thousands had trampled over him. His legs went a little weak. “I… didn’t imagine that, did I?”
Yan Zhengchu too was so shocked he could barely close his mouth. Tugging at Ren Fengjue, he said, “Young Marquis, you guessed correctly. Down there is probably…”
Ren Fengjue had already made the connection. “That general’s… coffin chamber.”
He continued, “With such an enormous stone above it, there may be more than the general’s body underneath. It seems more like a shared burial!”
Yan Zhengchu’s expression changed. For a long time, he could not speak.
Yu Lang shuddered. “Why do I get the feeling, looking at all this, that the general is about to come back to life?”
Ren Fengjue immediately said, “The huge stone above the coffin chamber has strange patterns carved into it. They’re very eerie!”
Yan Zhengchu quickly asked, “Do you remember roughly what they looked like, Young Marquis?”
Ren Fengjue had always had a good memory. He traced an approximate version of the pattern on Daoist Yan’s palm.
Yan Zhengchu could tell that it was a Talisman. After considering carefully, he said, “If I’m not mistaken, this is a reincarnation spell.”