West Night Lament

Chapter 17

"Dead." Qin Wen's gaze suddenly became blank, her voice hollow and weak. "Guo Tong is dead."

When Yin Li saw Guo Tong's corpse, she thought she had gone to hell.

He lay on a sand dune not far from the archaeological team's camp, facing the blue sky, his eyes wide open, his facial muscles contorted in agony. He was wearing a white T-shirt, now stained crimson with blood. Not a drop of blood was on the sand; it had all been absorbed by the yellow sand, like a giant blood-sucking machine.

His bare arms and legs were covered with tiny, bloody holes. The openings of the holes were scabbed over, like countless rashes, a horrifying sight that sent chills down one's spine at just a glance.

The sun was scorching, and its rays caused white mist to rise from the sand. The air was instantly filled with a nauseating stench of blood and decay.

The archaeological team had all arrived. They stood before the corpse, none of them speaking, their expressions grave. Fear spread through them, and the atmosphere became incredibly oppressive and eerie.

Qin Wen gripped Yin Li's arm tightly, unable to bear looking at the gruesome corpse. Her face was pale, and her palms were covered in cold sweat.

Yin Li studied medicine from a young age, and her maternal grandfather had her dissect human models when she was a child. She knew the structure of the human body like the back of her hand. But a model is still a model, and when she saw a real corpse, she still couldn't suppress her instinctive fear.

"Xiao, Xiao Li," Qin Wen called softly, as if she wanted to say something. Yin Li raised her hand to stop her from continuing, and carefully walked to Guo Tong's side, squatting down.

"What are you doing?" A sharp shout made Yin Li pause slightly. She turned around and saw Zhang Yuanyuan glaring at her coldly, a hint of hatred in her eyes.

“I want to examine the body.” Yin Li tried to keep her tone calm. “I need to know how he died, suicide or murder.”

Zhang Yuanyuan said fiercely, "What are you pretending for? You're the one who killed Guo Tong!"

Yin Li was startled, and immediately all the members of the archaeological team turned to look at her in surprise. Suppressing her anger, she said, "Miss Zhang, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. What evidence do you have that I killed the person?"

"Do you think I don't know?" Zhang Yuanyuan screamed hysterically. "Yesterday, Guo Tong cursed you, saying that you had an improper relationship with that tomb raider surnamed Situ. You held a grudge and killed him!"

"Miss Zhang!" Yin Li finally snapped, "Don't talk nonsense! Situ Xiang and I have nothing going on, and we would never kill someone over this!"

"Hmph, who can prove you didn't kill anyone? You didn't even go back to your tent last night!" Zhang Yuanyuan sneered. "Do you think nobody knows what you did?"

"You!" Yin Li felt like her chest was about to explode with anger. Just as she was about to speak, she heard a familiar male voice say, "She didn't kill him. She was with me all night."

Yin Li gasped, staring at the newcomer, almost fainting. What nonsense was he spouting? What did he mean by spending the whole night together? Didn't he know that would only lead to more misunderstandings?

Following the sound, everyone looked and saw Situ Xiang, with Lao Si, Shan Hu, and Jack behind him. Their gazes fell on the blood-soaked corpse, and they couldn't help but show surprise. Even deep within their expressions, there was a hint of hidden fear.

"Look everyone, I didn't frame her!" Zhang Yuanyuan shouted loudly, showing no fear whatsoever. "They really were having an affair! Guo Tong was killed by them! They conspired to kill him!"

"Incomprehensible!" Yin Li glared at her with disgust. Turning back to examine Guo Tong's body again, she grew increasingly horrified. The wounds on Guo Tong's body were clearly inflicted by a sharp weapon while he was still alive. There were marks on his wrists and ankles from being strangled with rope, and traces of transparent tape around his mouth. It seemed that Guo Tong had been bound and then nailed to death with a sharp weapon. All the wounds were cleverly chosen to avoid vital points, and the deceased remained conscious until his last breath.

Yin Li felt a chill run through her chest.

Who could possibly harbor such deep hatred towards him? It's utterly depraved!

"Xiao, Xiao Yin," Professor Li said tremblingly, "Xiao Guo, he, he, was really murdered?"

"It seems I was right now." Yin Li wiped the cold sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand and recounted the cause of Guo Tong's death. Under the scorching sun, she felt cold all over.

"What was the time of death?" Situ Xiang suddenly asked. Yin Li was slightly taken aback and said, "Judging from the blood clotting and the surrounding climate, it should have been around 2 to 3 a.m. last night."

“From 2 to 3 o’clock.” Bai Yun Ning turned to look at Chen Qiang and said, “Little Chen, you and Xiao Guo are in the same tent. What time did he go out yesterday?”

Chen Qiang seemed terrified, his face was deathly pale, and his tongue was tied, unable to utter a single coherent sentence: "I, I, I was sleeping soundly."

"Sleeping soundly?" the fourth brother scoffed. "Perhaps he's feeling guilty?"

Startled, Chen Qiang flew into a rage, perfectly embodying the principle that two negatives make a positive, and roared, "I think you killed Xiao Guo! You people are heartless and inhuman, what wouldn't you do?"

"What did you say?" A fierce glint flashed in Shan Hu's eyes. Chen Qiang felt a chill run down his spine and immediately softened, involuntarily taking a step back.

"Mountain Tiger!" Situ Xiang shouted in a low voice, his face grim as he said to Chen Qiang, "I've already said it before, we are tomb raiders, but not murderers. Killing him will do us no good."

“That’s hard to say,” Zhang Yuanyuan interjected sarcastically. Situ Xiang ignored her, but then heard Qin Wen say quietly, “It’s a sacrificial offering.”

Everyone turned to look at her. Yin Li was wondering why she hadn't said anything. She walked over, took her hand, and asked, "Xiao Wen, are you alright?"

“He was a sacrifice.” Qin Wen seemed not to hear her words, her gaze blank, and murmured, “He was a sacrifice offered to the evil god.”

Yin Li shivered, a sense of foreboding rising in her heart: "Xiao Wen, what nonsense are you talking about?"

“Xiao Li, the Shaluo God is angry.” Qin Wen turned around, her eyes filled with terror. She grabbed Yin Li’s arm, her fingers almost digging into her flesh: “Ancient legend says that the tombs of the Shaluo cult are protected by the Shaluo evil god. If anyone disturbs the slumber of the cult members, they will be cursed by the Shaluo god! At that time, everyone will die! Only by offering sacrifices to the Shaluo evil god can we appease his anger!”

"Then how do you know he was a sacrifice, and not the wrath of the god Kshatriya?" The fourth brother scoffed at her words.

Qin Wen gritted her teeth and said, "Do you still remember those three murals in the tomb?"

Everyone was horrified, the three murals flashing through their minds. The bloody and cruel punishments depicted in the paintings were like nails driven into everyone's hearts.

"According to the epics of the Western Regions, the murals in the main tomb chamber are part of the curse. The tomb owner painted the curse on the wall, and only by offering sacrifices according to the paintings could the wrath of the evil god be appeased."

"Shut up!" Jack interrupted her coldly, his face grim. "Don't spread rumors. I've never believed in curses!"

“That’s right.” This time, the fourth brother didn’t object. He said, “If there really were any curses in this world, we would have died long ago.”

"Believe it or not!" Qin Wen suddenly felt weak, grabbed Yin Li's hand, and said, "Xiao Li, I feel a little dizzy, can you take me back to the tent?"

Yin Li reached out and touched her forehead; her palm was burning hot. Startled, she quickly turned to Professor Li and said, "Professor, Xiao Wen has a fever and may have heatstroke. I'll take her back to her tent first."

"Fever?" Professor Li was also taken aback. Heatstroke in the desert can easily be life-threatening. "How serious is it? I have some medicine."

"It's alright, I'll handle it." Yin Li helped her up and walked towards the camp, leaving everyone surrounded by the terrifying corpse in silence.

Thirty-six, Attacked

Qin Wen lay in the tent, took the medicine Yin Li had carried with her, and sweated profusely. Her high fever finally subsided, and she fell into a deep sleep. Yin Li gazed at her sleeping face; even in her sleep, her brows were furrowed, and she slept restlessly, murmuring softly in her sleep, as if having a terrible nightmare.

"Xiaowen," Yin Li said, frowning as she wiped Qin Wen's sweat. Qin Wen had always been very healthy; at school, she dared to run on the track in forty-degree Celsius heat and had never been sick. Why was she like this here...?

This tomb is indeed eerie. Could it be that it inhaled some bacteria or virus in the tomb passage?

Graves, lacking proper ventilation for extended periods, are prone to harboring various bacteria and viruses, some of which can be fatal to humans. A moment's carelessness could lead to death—this is what is known as a curse.

However, this time, the tomb of Princess Xiye is probably not so simple. Guo Tong's death was definitely murder!

Who killed him, and why? Is there any connection between this murder and the theft of the mummified body?

Could it be that the murderer in both cases is the same person?

And why did that person say that? It's really strange.

That night, Zhang Yuanyuan and Bai Yunning didn't return to their tents to sleep. Yin Li knew what they were thinking; the archaeological team still suspected them. Perhaps in their hearts, the two of them were jinxes, bringing a series of disasters as soon as they joined the team.

If you want to find fault, you can always find a pretext.

That's how people are; when faced with difficulties and disasters, they like to shift the blame to others and insist that others take responsibility, even though doing so doesn't really help much.

Yin Li sighed, tucked Qin Wen in, and lay down beside her. The night was cool and still. Her heart stirred. She took out the thick black coat; it still smelled of him. Many men's clothes reeked of sweat, as if they had never been washed. But Situ Xiang's was different; it had a faint scent of shampoo and shower gel.

She covered herself with the clothes, and a warm feeling seemed to take root and sprout in her heart in that instant.

Yin Li felt crazy; perhaps she really had fallen for this man named Situ Xiang. Every time she closed her eyes, her mind was filled with his voice, his smile, and every single action he took.

She admitted that she's a visual person. Situ Xiang is just too handsome! In every way!

Thinking about this, she even wanted to slap herself. She was really crazy. If her grandfather knew that she had fallen for a tomb raider, it would probably cause chaos all over the world.

I really don't know if she's gone mad, or if the world has gone mad.

When Qin Wen opened her eyes, it was still dark. The night sky was beautiful, without a single cloud. Countless glittering stars hung in the sky, like countless sparkling diamonds.

She didn't know why she woke up, but she was definitely awake. Yin Li was sleeping soundly beside her, though she couldn't tell what kind of dream he was having; it didn't seem pleasant. She huddled in her thick black coat, her brows slightly furrowed, her whole body trembling.

Qin Wen covered her coat with the two blankets she was wearing, smoothed the hair from her forehead, and felt a strong sense of self-reproach welling up inside her.

This trip to the Western Night Tomb was her suggestion. She insisted on coming despite Xiao Li's objections. As a result, she plunged both of them into a nightmare from which they had no idea when they would wake up.

A chill ran down her spine as the image of Guo Tong's corpse flashed through her mind. The wrath of the Shaluo God wasn't so easily appeased unless sacrifices were offered as instructed in the murals. There were three murals in the main burial chamber; that meant two more members of the archaeological team were destined to die.

Lost in thought, Qin Wen suddenly heard soft footsteps outside. The footsteps were so light that an ordinary person wouldn't hear them, but Qin Wen, who had practiced martial arts since childhood, had naturally better hearing than others. She paused for a moment, wondering who was wandering outside their tent in the middle of the night. Could it be... could it be the murderer who killed Guo Tong?

Suddenly, a surge of heroic spirit and anger welled up in her chest. She pulled out a dagger she had bought at the ruins of the ancient city of Loulan from her backpack, steeled her resolve, lifted the curtain, and walked out.

The moonlight tonight is beautiful; the desert moon, as always, shines brightly, awe-inspiring. Qin Wen, however, has no mind to appreciate the scenery; her entire body is on high alert. Her heart is taut, as if the slightest breeze could snap it.

She walked towards the direction from which the sound had come. After taking only a few steps, she saw a series of large footprints in the sand, which looked like a man's.

Filled with suspicion, she crouched down, intending to examine the situation more closely. The moment she crouched, her alertness plummeted. A dark shadow pounced from behind like a wolf, its movements as swift as lightning.

Before Qin Wen could react, she was tackled to the ground. She smelled a strong masculine scent, and then the man's lips pressed against hers, roughly sealing her mouth. One hand held her wrist down, while the other grabbed her clothes and ripped them open.

With a soft "rip," Qin Wen's shirt was torn off, revealing her bra underneath. Qin Wen's expression changed, and she opened her mouth to bite. The dark figure winced in pain, letting out a low groan, and raised his face. By the moonlight, Qin Wen saw his face. That face was all too familiar.

It's a mountain tiger! It's actually a mountain tiger!

He stared at her, his eyes almost manic. It was a look she had never seen before, a look like that of a wild beast, filled with the most primal human desires, utterly devoid of reason. Qin Wen was stunned, staring blankly at him, forgetting to resist.

Has he gone mad?

In that moment of distraction, Shanhu pulled out a pair of handcuffs from somewhere and cuffed her hands behind her back. Only then did she realize she was being assaulted, but it was too late to resist. His face was buried in her chest, and his hands tightly covered her mouth and nose, almost suffocating her.

A man's heavy breathing filled the air. Qin Wen couldn't scream; fear, helplessness, and despair gripped her. Was her innocence truly going to be destroyed by this man?

Shanhu was still tearing at her clothes; his eyes no longer looked human.

However, he didn't notice that another figure was slowly approaching. His eyes also reflected an almost beastly, crazed look.

The moonlight seemed even brighter.

Yin Li opened her eyes and found herself lying in a narrow, rectangular space surrounded by lush greenery. Upon closer inspection, she could see water flowing within the green, its cool, icy surface piercing her bones.

Where was she? Her eyes widened as she looked at her own body. She was wearing a bright red robe, on which a golden phoenix appeared to leap out.

She was startled, her face instantly turning ashen. Could this be the jade coffin in the main burial chamber? Why was she here? Who placed her here?

She felt ice-cold all over, and cold sweat poured from every pore of her body like a spring. She wanted to scream, but it felt as if a bone was stuck in her throat, and she couldn't make a sound.

Someone, someone, please save me!

Tears welled in her eyes, but all she could see in her mind was Situ Xiang's resolute yet handsome face. Situ Xiang, you kept saying I was your woman, so why weren't you there for me when I needed you most?

Why didn't you come to save me?

She knew her accusations were unreasonable. How could Situ Xiang possibly know she was imprisoned here? And on what grounds could she demand that he save her? They were merely acquaintances, or perhaps not even that.

Yin Li was surprised that she could still think of these things at a time like this; she was indeed not a smart woman.

She strained to lift the coffin lid that was pressing down on her head. The lid, however, seemed nailed to the coffin, utterly unmoving. She huddled inside this living coffin, feeling an overwhelming fear. This kind of fear had only occurred once before in her entire life.

When she was very young, she was playing hide-and-seek with her friends. She hid in a very narrow cupboard, which was well-hidden in the old house's storeroom. Just as she hoped, none of her friends found her, and she sat alone in the cupboard, hugging her knees. She fell asleep and woke up late at night in complete darkness.

She was terrified and wanted to escape from the cupboard. But for some reason, the cupboard doors wouldn't open; they were as if nailed shut. No matter how much she screamed and pounded on them from inside, the two wooden doors remained tightly closed, as if trying to trap her there to die.

She cried, cried so hard, so bitterly, that the sky seemed to darken and the sun and moon seemed to lose their light. Until she cried herself to sleep, she fell asleep again. When she woke up, the closet door was open. She would never forget that moment when the closet door opened; white light suddenly poured in, blinding her. She only felt that a person was standing outside the door, a tall person, and even without seeing his face, she knew he was handsome and imposing.

He reached out his hand to her and said gently, "Xiao Li, come here, you are free."

At that time, Yin Li vowed that if she were to marry in this life, she would marry someone just like him.