Histoires de fantômes

Chapitre 305

The monks at Fuuki-ji Temple have either fled or died, and now the entire temple is empty. Thinking back to when I first arrived in Hokkaido, it was a focal point for various forces and a major tourist attraction in Japan. Now, there's only an ancient temple in ruins, old trees and crows at dusk, and the cold wind blowing through the halls and eaves, rustling the withered grass on the walls and eaves.

The former prosperity is gone, just like many people who died in the "Underwater Tomb" incident will disappear from people's memories with the passage of time.

I stared at the clear well water and suddenly noticed a brown column of water surging up from the deepest part of the well, coming with tremendous force.

Suren also noticed this strange phenomenon: "Brother Feng, what's that at the bottom of the well? Ah—it's sand, sea sand!" She was right; a clump of brown deep-sea sand was surging up from the bottom of the well, reaching the surface along with huge, bubbling bubbles. Then came a second clump, and a third; the water in the well was stirred into a dark brown, looking extremely eerie.

I reached in and scooped up a handful of sand. Even without bringing it close to my nose, I could smell the strong stench of the sea, indicating that the sand had come from the seabed. Only a terrifying and enormous change on the seabed could cause such a powerful airflow to propel sand up.

“Surren, something has happened—” I threw down the sand and turned to look at the spire of the Tower of the Dead.

Suren drew his signal pistol from his waist and fired a shot into the air. With a "bang," a signal flare flew more than 30 meters into the air, bursting into a red fireball, and slowly fell, drawing a conspicuous red line over Muwanzhou Mountain.

The well water changed very quickly. Within minutes, sand filled the entire well opening, and this famous spiritual well had become a strange sand well. The sand from the deep sea exuded a chilling, fishy smell and piled up on all four sides of the well platform.

"Brother Feng, this is just too bizarre! If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I really wouldn't believe it!" Su Lun frowned, turning to retrieve a shotgun from her back. Before entering the courtyard of the Well of Spirits, she had already loaded the gun with high-explosive shells, as if facing a formidable enemy. [QIS]

No wonder, the Martians from the underwater tomb will be the most formidable enemy we have ever faced. Even if we fight with all our might, we may not get a perfect result.

"Let's go." I led the way through the moon gate, a surge of passion coursing through my chest.

“Alright, let’s fight side by side again.” Suren silently followed, and with a click, a bullet was chambered.

The moon had just risen, and a thin layer of mist hung in the sky; the air was clean and crisp.

I vaguely remember that "Mountain Moon over a Wooden Bowl" was one of the earliest famous sights in Hokkaido. On such a quiet, moonlit night, drinking, composing poems, and having bonfire parties were the most common forms of entertainment. But now, in the desolate square, there are only the ancient pagoda standing tall against the sky and the monks sitting silently.

"With the Buddha's upright form, open and honest heart, fearless and undaunted, selfless and unhindered, wielding great power, great wisdom, the great Vajra Wheel, and the great formless heaven, I will cleanse demons, sweep away darkness, pacify mountains and seas, and protect humanity. Nineteen Buddha relics, heed my command! Evil spirits invade, form ranks—"

Kamekan River let out a long, triumphant roar, and a raging fire suddenly erupted above his head. Immediately afterward, flames also burst forth above the heads of the nineteen monks surrounding the Tower of the Dead, illuminating the plaza in the night.

Master Xianyun stood up, raised his voice to the limit, and chanted the six-syllable mantra of Tibetan Buddhism over and over again, causing echoes in the square.

Suren and I turned to the left, leaped onto the top of the corridor, kicked aside the withered ancient vines at our feet, and held our breath to observe.

The ground beneath our feet suddenly began to tremble, as if it were the prelude to a major earthquake. The gray tiles on the long corridor rattled and clattered, and dust fell in a constant rustling sound.

"It's about to begin." Suren smiled faintly, but couldn't hide the nervousness in her heart.

"Yes, it's about to begin. This is the final battle." I patted her arm, signaling her not to be too nervous. I turned to look in the direction of the Scripture Pavilion. Several broken windows facing the Tower of the Dead had been smashed by Xiao Keleng. The blue scope on the sniper rifle reflected the moonlight, occasionally flashing a chilling glint.

"Ring ring," Suren's phone rang at an inopportune moment, startling us both. However, the noise was not loud amidst the chanting of the monks.

"It's Tina calling, should I answer?" This time, she wasn't nervous anymore. She let out a long sigh and placed the phone next to me.

The great battle is about to begin here, while in Cairo, at the ends of the earth, it might be Tina's time for a meal, dressed in her finest attire and surrounded by elaborate banquet tables. A sudden phone call pulls us back from the brink of war between gods and demons to the human world of the 21st century. However, we have no interest in answering the phone; our eyes are fixed solely on the Tower of the Dead.

The phone kept ringing, and the orange backlight on the LCD screen stubbornly remained lit, refusing to go out for a long time.

"Brother Feng, are you confident about that excavation plan? I really want to know." Suren loosened her grip on the gun and took deep breaths. Only in this way could she maintain her best fighting condition.

"Yes," I replied briefly.

“Alright, then let’s keep doing this. Even if we have to dig out an ocean from the desert, we’ll reach that depth. I will unconditionally support whatever you’re determined to do.” Suren smiled.

I am truly confident that I will find my elder brother; otherwise, I wouldn't have relentlessly pursued any news related to him. It's as if he is waiting for me inside that crystal, and this search and longing will not cease as long as we brothers remain apart.

The tremors suddenly stopped, and Master Xianyun's chanting abruptly became incredibly loud, carrying immense power that could pierce through clouds and split rocks.

"Be careful, it's about to begin!" I keenly sensed the signs of an impending change.

Almost at the moment I opened my mouth to speak, the Tower of the Dead suddenly flew into the air, rising thirty or forty meters high, and then suddenly exploded, like a huge firecracker during the Lunar New Year. In my sight, it detonated from the third and fourth floors in the middle, and then each floor flashed with dust and fire. The huge tower was torn apart from the middle, turning into a huge pile of brick and stone fragments that flew in all directions.

I caught Suren around the waist just in time, and we tumbled down the corridor. At the same time, a huge boulder the size of a square table fell down and smashed into the spot where we had just been lying, completely destroying this ancient and charming corridor.

However, Suren's phone survived the ordeal and rang again amidst the rubble.

From the location where the Tower of the Dead stood, the silhouette of a Martian spacecraft appeared. But unexpectedly, it didn't soar into the sky as expected, sweeping past at a speed roughly equivalent to that of a regular passenger plane before takeoff. This speed was far from sufficient to escape Earth's gravity, so after its nose had only broken through the ground for about fifty meters, it suddenly tilted to the side and slowly tipped over.

Suren exclaimed in surprise, "What's going on?"

I knew it must be a malfunction in the spaceship's propulsion system, which was a golden opportunity for us to launch an attack. The spaceship didn't crash directly to the ground; instead, it got stuck at a 30-degree angle, neither up nor down, and then a small explosion occurred, with muffled thuds coming from the rear half of the fuselage.

"Surren, watch out for that small door on the fuselage; the enemy might escape from there." I pulled her up and we ran forward along the shadows of the corridor.

As the spaceship finally broke in two with a loud bang, a silver escape pod crashed down, creating a crater the size of half a house. With a "crack," the escape pod split open, and a thin young man staggered to his feet, shaking his head vigorously.

"It's Xiao Yan—" Su Lun cried out in disbelief.

That was indeed Xiao Yan. He was looking back at the flying vehicle engulfed in smoke and fire, then slumped down dejectedly, pounding the ground with his hands. Su Lun left me and sprinted towards the escape pod. She still couldn't hold back; she was determined to get her brother back for Yan Xun.

I couldn't stop her in time, so I changed direction midway and rushed towards Xiaoyan.

Now, we cannot rule out the possibility of Xiao Yan's transformation, nor can we afford to be wary of Xin Zi's sudden attack. After all, at the moment the submarine doors closed, she displayed the strange phenomenon of having six arms. Even if she wasn't a Martian, she should be a mutant whose mind and body had been invaded by Martians.

"Xiao Yan, come with me, come with me now!" Within seconds, Su Lun rushed to Xiao Yan, grabbed his arm, and tried to drag him up from the ground.

Xiao Yan whimpered and struggled incessantly. Su Lun's left arm sank, and the tranquilizer dart slid down, firing a shot into Xiao Yan's chest. But before the tranquilizer dart could take effect, another shadow suddenly sprang up from the escape pod and pounced on Su Lun.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang," Suren held the shotgun level in one hand and fired six bullets in an instant, the sound of spent casings hitting the ground echoing everywhere. At such close range, if the opponent were an Earthling, they would almost be blown to pieces in an instant, but the shadow only paused for a moment and still swung its arm to snatch it.

My "Overreaching Blade" struck before he could close in on Suren, its blade flashing and halting his charge. But Suren couldn't save Xiao Yan; she was firmly trampled under the Martian's feet. He was a tall, six-armed man with the same features and physique as an Earthling, except he had no hair.

“This was truly… a complete failure… of the flight…” His English was extremely broken as he looked down at Xiao Yan, who had fallen into a coma, and then looked up at the sky. He was wearing a silver bodysuit, but the four extra arms on his back looked extremely cumbersome.

“He…and her…” He reached for the life pod and lifted up a girl, Nobuko, who was on the verge of death. “They will all die, you wretched Earthlings, you wretched inferior intelligent beings. Death will be your only destination.”

Suren calmly loaded his bullets and then aimed at the Martian again, but it was no use, because he was completely unafraid of the bullets.

"Let him go. If you want to continue your space voyage, you'd better keep him alive, because only he can help you repair the spaceship and return to your planet." I calmly told him that if there was a chance to save Xiaoyan, I would do my best, rather than letting Su Lun take the risk.

"Him? His intelligence level is just... far too low. In the power output distribution of the spaceship, he didn't even take into account the difference between ocean buoyancy and Earth's gravity. I regret not killing him sooner, which led to this result. Now, you all have to die, die, die!" As he began to rage, the four arms behind him moved faster and faster, like four gears accelerating.

Right beneath his feet, flames suddenly erupted, and at least four monks crept up from the ground, locking his legs from below. The remaining fifteen monks swooped down from all directions, nineteen of them using thirty-eight arms to lock every joint on his body.

All the monks were engulfed in flames, like nineteen rolling fireballs, trapping the Saturnian in the middle.

I lunged forward and rolled, grabbing Xiao Yan and pulling him back to safety. If I hadn't done that, I'm sure it would have been Su Lun who pounced on him. Xiao Yan struggled groggily; the tranquilizer dart was starting to take effect. I bent down, repeatedly patting his cheeks, and whispered, "Xiao Yan, wake up, wake up!"

Now, I need him to wake up and reveal the Martians' weaknesses so that we can wipe out this most powerful enemy in one fell swoop.

Little Swallow rolled over in a daze: "Don't touch me, don't touch me, space... I want to fly into space..."

Suren sighed helplessly, "Brother Feng, the tranquilizer dart is very powerful. I'm afraid he won't be able to wake up for a while."

I hesitated for a moment, then ripped open his shirt with a tearing sound. The needle-shaped bullet was still embedded in his right chest.

"Suren, the knife." I raised my hand, and immediately a delicate sterling silver folding knife landed in my palm. It was Suren's favorite, and she always carried it with her.

"Brother Feng, is this really necessary? While massive bloodletting can reduce the effects of anesthesia, wouldn't it also cause significant damage to his body?" Suren didn't stop me, but she added this comment in time.

I do intend to use "bloodletting therapy" to awaken Xiao Yan, and I am aware of the harm that such an extreme method can cause to people, but only in this way can I find the Martian's weakness.

With a few loud "bangs" and "cracks," the fireballs surrounding the Martian suddenly decreased by four. Those were the four monks who had first locked onto the enemy's lower body. Under the Martian's flying kicks and stomps, they were spun around and flew towards the burning spaceship. Before they even landed, their bodies were already torn to pieces.

Without hesitation, I swiftly made a cross-shaped incision at the point of impact of the tranquilizer dart, then casually flicked the dart away. Xiao Yan screamed in agony, his body convulsing violently, and blood splattered with a hiss. I then made three more shallow cross-shaped incisions at his collarbone, temple, and left wrist, and with each scream, the rate of blood flow increased.

The battle continued. In the blink of an eye, all the fireballs that had trapped the Martians disappeared, and none of the nineteen monks survived; they all became victims of the war between humans and demons. The Martians charged toward me, but Guijianchuan and Master Xianyun attacked from behind at the same time. As soon as they got close, their bodies suddenly stretched out, like two strange cowhide ropes, tightly binding him.

"This is the best opportunity, the best opportunity—" Suren whispered, his right hand trembling as he reached for his waist, reaching twice before finally grabbing the signal gun. He sprang up and fired a green signal flare.

"Bang, bang, bang," the dull thud of a heavy sniper rifle firing came from the direction of the Sutra Repository, and five bullet holes appeared in the Martian's forehead. Xiao Keleng had never demonstrated her shooting skills before, but judging from these five flawless shots, she had already entered the ranks of top-notch marksmen.

"Alright, Brother Feng, we did it!" Suren exclaimed joyfully. Unfortunately, her joy was premature. The Martian suddenly leaped backward and plunged into the sea of fire. That was another way of saving himself; he was not afraid of the fire, but the two high monks who were tightly binding him could not withstand the scorching flames.

Xiao Yan finally woke up, groaning weakly, "Feng, you...you want to kill me?"

He rummaged in his right pocket with one hand, pulled out a diamond-shaped gem, and waved it in front of my eyes: "Look... look, this is the legendary 'Wrath of the Sun God,' a treasure that all people on Earth dream of. In my hands, it belongs to me, and only to me, Xiao Yan..."

The gem emitted a faint red glow under the firelight, which was incomparable to the dazzling red gem in the underwater tomb.

Suddenly, the Martian leaped out of the flames and instantly appeared before me, his thirty fingers on six arms simultaneously piercing my heart. My "Transcendent Blade" also flew up at the same time, slicing through his neck halfway down.

Suren screamed and repeatedly pulled the trigger, the shotgun pressed against the man's temple, firing until the chamber was empty. The Martian kicked Suren, sending her flying into the air and crashing into the ruins of the corridor.

Gunshots rang out continuously from Xiao Keleng's side, leaving countless bullet holes in the Martian's head, temples, and face, but he was completely unaffected and did not feel that it was a problem at all.

For a moment, I felt I was on the verge of death, blood gushing from his fingers. He was absorbing my energy, and not just energy, but all my thoughts. Everything in the air seemed to freeze; only the two of us stood face to face.

"I am Number One, and the leader of the Mars combat team. Therefore, no matter how dire the situation, I must ensure the mission is completed. Xiao Yan only understood half of that mission. Now, we are not going back to Mars, but rather guiding a large contingent of people from space to Earth. Undoubtedly, this planet is more suitable for Martians to live on, and there are so many lower life forms to command. For a long time, my body has been confined to the underwater world, but the activity of my mind has been increasing day by day. Why destroy Earth? Why not look at the problem from another perspective?"

He smiled smugly, like a philosopher lecturing eloquently on a podium.

"Among Earthlings, there are exceptionally intelligent individuals who, long ago, through some special observation methods, learned that Number Two was planning a destructive operation in 1999 of the Earth calendar, and recorded it in various texts to warn future generations. Yang Tian is an even more special Earthling; he was able to track Number Two all the way until he imprisoned that reckless fellow. As for me, after losing the spaceship's kinetic energy, I can only transform into the 'Fanged Demon' in the Japanese legend, using my mind to control Earthlings with human weaknesses, such as the one who yearns to ignite the Earth with the flames of war, Fuubayashi Kazan. Anyone with a weakness will inevitably be lured and exploited, not just the Japanese, but all Earthlings. Fuubayashi, I must thank this spaceship malfunction for allowing me to obtain the energy within you. To this day, I still cannot analyze why such enormous energy exists within you, but I will find a way. When I have enough energy, I will send out a new navigation signal, and they will land in the Sea of Japan to the southwest—"

With a "snap," Xiao Yan lit the lighter, raised the gemstone, and examined it carefully in the flamelight.

He seemed delirious, oblivious to his surroundings, muttering to himself, "Why did the gem stop glowing after leaving the spaceship? If I said it was the 'wrath of the sun god,' who would believe me? Is there any way to make it emit that red light again?"

"What are you doing?" the Martian roared suddenly, and the energy within my body stopped leaking out in that instant.

Xiao Yan completely ignored him and started using the flames to roast the gemstones.

The Martian tried to pull his hand out of my body, but I suddenly exerted force and locked all thirty of his fingers together. At that moment, I read his thoughts and immediately shouted, "Xiao Yan, ignite that gem! Quick, that's the Martian's Achilles' heel, that's their energy source!"

Thanks to the Shao brothers, their "mind-reading" ability stored within me came in handy at the crucial moment, instantly revealing the secrets of the Martian's mind. This combat team's ability to survive freely on Earth is entirely powered by the gem "Wrath of the Sun," which is also the spaceship's propulsion core. Now, by simply raising the gem's temperature by thirty degrees Celsius, it will transform into a meteorite-like object, its energy completely dissipating into the atmosphere.

Xiao Yan continued muttering, "Ignite it? You think it's that easy to ignite? It's just a stone, at most it'll turn into lime..." At this crucial moment, his rambling almost drove me crazy, but I used my inner strength several times to firmly lock the Martian's hand. This was a critical moment in the contest of inner strength; no matter what, I couldn't let him hurt Xiao Yan.

"Let's die together, just like Number Two and Yang Tian, how about it?" He chuckled maliciously, and the force in his fingers suddenly increased.

I sneered and stared intently into his eyes: "Fine, I'm willing to sacrifice myself for Earth as long as I can eliminate you. However, you probably haven't tried my 'Disintegration Technique,' which is the crystallization of the highest wisdom of Earthlings—" A sharp pain shot through my tongue, and my internal energy suddenly tripled, generating a tremendous suction force that continuously absorbed the data from his brain and rapidly converted it into Earthling language.

He suddenly yelled and kicked me in the groin with both legs.

"The Great Art of Dissolving the Enemy's Blade uses Qi and blood as weapons and meridians as the path; it is invincible, omnipotent, and unstoppable..." That was the mantra of the "Great Art of Dissolving the Enemy's Blade" that Master Qifu personally taught me. At that moment, I suddenly chewed up my tongue and spat it out. As a mouthful of blood shot onto the other person's face, all the bones in my body suddenly contracted, and my lower body, with its short bridge and narrow stance, immediately locked his legs.

Xiao Yan's lighter couldn't ignite "The Wrath of the Sun God," but it could rapidly heat up the gem, which would be the most fatal blow to the Martians.

The cracking sounds continued as he struggled to break free, breaking all thirty of his fingers, which remained inside my body. However, his legs were still locked, and he could not escape.

“My… energy…” he howled in agony.

The "Blade of Transcendence" flew up again, and his body was shattered into millions of fragments in the flashing blade light, which flew through the air and eventually vanished into nothingness.

Part 6: Invincible

— Chapter 10 — Epilogue: The King of Tomb Raiders Returns —

The villa finally quieted down, and the enormous crystal stood in the center of the living room. It was so huge that Suren had to have all the furniture on the first floor cleared out before it could be placed inside.

Another month has passed, and spring in Egypt seems to have arrived earlier than usual. Various vines on the second-floor terrace hang down, almost completely obscuring the glass windows on the first floor.

Tina maintained her usual decisive and efficient work style, finding the crystal in just twenty-three days. Unexpectedly, it was buried at a depth of only four hundred meters, and the cost was not high. Sotheby's auction house sold only six crystals, and the proceeds were enough to cover all the project costs. The remaining money was used to help the Egyptian government build a primary highway leading to the Great Pyramid.

Xiao Yan was puzzled by this, because according to his memory, the depth of the crystal body was definitely 3,200 meters. Now, he stayed obediently in Villa No. 6 in the center of Cairo, and apart from reading, practicing calligraphy, and exercising, he had no chance to use a computer at all.

The gem known as "Wrath of the Sun God" had become his bragging rights, and he hadn't even blinked when a tycoon offered him $80 million to buy it.