The Complete Collection of Yellow River Ghost Coffins

Chapter 28

Upon hearing this, the girl giggled and said, "You two can't slack off. I'm going to open this coffin. I have a feeling that the owner inside is Liu Qu!"

Hearing the girl's words, I couldn't help but perk up. What was the purpose of our arduous journey here? Wasn't it to find the tomb of Liu Qu, the King of Guangchuan, to find his epitaph, and to discover a way to break the curse? Since the girl said this was Liu Qu's tomb, didn't that mean we were not far from victory?

The young master asked the maid curiously how she knew. The maid replied that the material of this stone coffin was exactly the same as the coffin in the tomb of Liu Qu, the King of Guangchuan. Therefore, she was at least 90% certain that the person inside was Liu Qu.

I was puzzled. The white jade coffin was indeed made of the same material as Liu Qu's coffin, but the bronze coffin outside, with its patterns and bird-script characters, resembled the bronze figurines we had just discovered, and its style was also from the Western Zhou Dynasty. Liu Qu lived during the Western Han Dynasty; it seemed like a thousand years had passed…

"How is that possible?" I looked at the girl in confusion. She explained helplessly that this was also her speculation. Liu Qu was fond of tomb raiding, as recorded in the "Taiping Guangji". Perhaps during his tomb raiding, he discovered this Jiulong Pit, which was a legendary feng shui treasure land. Therefore, after Liu Qu entered, he did not cause much damage, but instead became more cautious.

The original owner of this tomb clearly had some connection with the Yellow River Dragon Coffin. Perhaps Liu Qu was able to break the curse because of this connection.

After Liu Qu discovered the Nine Dragons Pit, he ordered the construction of a separate upper tomb chamber, but also opened a mechanism connecting it directly to this location. There was definitely no remains of his in the upper coffin; his remains were undoubtedly placed here after his death. As for the remains we saw below the platform earlier, they were very likely those of the craftsmen and others who helped Liu Qu build the tomb.

Historical records show that Liu Qu was cruel by nature, and such behavior was in line with his character.

But I still can't believe that Liu would throw out the bodies of other tomb owners and then lie down in someone else's coffin himself? How could that be? The more I think about it, the more absurd it seems. Isn't this a major taboo?

But then I thought, what wouldn't someone like Liu Qu do? Since the girl said so, it's better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free. We have to open this coffin and see what's going on. Otherwise, wouldn't we have made a wasted trip?

Just as we were speaking, the hissing sounds from inside the coffin suddenly stopped. Silence returned.

I took a break and called to the young master, who was still a little confused, "Don't just stand there, come and help. You'll understand once you open it and take a look."

Since the iron rod had already been inserted into the coffin lid, this time the young master and I worked together, with the maid also joining in to help. With the combined efforts of the three of us, with a "bang," we finally pried open the heavy stone coffin lid and placed it on the bronze coffin beside it. Then, the young master, displaying his selfless spirit, pushed the stone coffin lid open even further.

The girl eagerly raised her flashlight, ready to shine it inside. I was startled, remembering Nanpaizi's words, and quickly pulled the girl and the young master back a few steps. Such an ancient corpse, sealed underground for thousands of years, who knows how poisonous the accumulated corpse energy is? Being injured by the corpse energy would be a huge problem.

After a while, there was still no movement from inside the coffin, and there was no stench of decay as I had imagined. The young master rolled his eyes at me, mocking me for making a fuss over nothing. Though he spoke toughly, he took the bamboo arrow in his hand and peered warily into the coffin.

After just one glance, the young master couldn't help but exclaim "Ah!" and took several steps back, his face full of surprise and doubt.

The maid and I were puzzled. What could be inside the coffin that had frightened the young master so much? We hurried over, but like him, we took one look and immediately backed away. The three of us stared at each other, speechless for a moment. After a while, I couldn't help but ask the maid, "Girl, you said the coffin contained King Liu Qu of Guangchuan? But now it's just a monster?"

The girl rolled her eyes at me and explained that Liu Qu might actually be a monster!

I gave the young master a wink, signaling him to protect the girl, while I walked back to the coffin. The girl also came closer, holding up her flashlight, carefully examining the corpse inside the coffin.

Coffins are the domain of the dead; any sane person would admit that. But the one lying in this white jade coffin is not dead. At least, I cannot be sure whether he is dead or alive, which is why the young master and I are so shocked.

The white jade coffin was very ordinary, without anything special about it. The inside of the coffin was the same as the outside, bare and without any patterns or inscriptions to explain the era of the coffin or to prove the identity of the coffin's occupant. There were some burial objects of pearls and jade treasures next to it, but what attracted our attention was not these things, but the glittering gold garment worn on the corpse.

I couldn't determine the material of the garment. At first glance, it seemed to be embroidered with gold, but I knew it was definitely not just gold. Even gold would have lost its luster after a thousand years. However, under the girl's flashlight, the garment shimmered brilliantly, dazzling our eyes. We couldn't even tear our gaze away from it, and we overlooked an important issue. Fortunately, the three of us were all struggling on the brink of death due to the curse of the Yellow River Dragon Coffin, and our self-control was slightly stronger than that of ordinary people.

So, after observing the golden robes for a moment, I finally turned my gaze to the face of the tomb's occupant.

For a moment, I was utterly speechless. What kind of face was this? Could it even be considered a face? No eyes, no nose, no mouth, no ears… just a bald head, perfectly smooth, like a watermelon just picked from the field. And this bald head was resting on a red agate pillow.

If I'm not mistaken, this red agate pillow is the same one we saw in the tomb of Liu Qu, the King of Guangchuan, the one protected by the white fox spirit. I just don't know how it ended up under the head of this tomb's occupant. Were there originally two, or did the white fox spirit bring the agate pillow here?

I remember it clearly: it was when I was fighting with that white fox spirit over the agate pillow that the beast activated a mechanism, trapping me in this ancient tomb. Amidst the numerous traps, I almost lost my life. Thinking of this, a chill ran down my spine.

What exactly does that beast want to do?

What shocked me most was that the corpse's chest was still rising and falling slightly, as if it were breathing. Indeed, even after opening the coffin, I could still clearly hear the hissing sound of breathing.

He is alive!

To be honest, the three of us were still quite wary of this ancient corpse. So, we stood there frozen for two minutes. We did nothing, didn't even say a word. In fact, I clearly saw that even the usually bold young master's legs were trembling. And me? Weren't I the same?

A thousand-year-old corpse, still breathing? What does that even mean? Is it true that someone who is old and doesn't die is a thief? Then what is a thousand-year-old immortal? A monster? A zombie? Or a ghost?

"Brother Xu, do you think this is the legendary Golden Thread Robe?" Only the girl had the mind to discuss the glittering golden clothes at this moment.

I shook my head. This little girl usually seems timid, but she often does unexpected things at crucial moments, like right now.

The young master said that the gold-threaded robe is not like this. Moreover, if this is the tomb of that old pervert Liu Qu, he is not an emperor and has no right to enjoy such a luxurious gold-threaded robe.

The girl said she didn't know if it was a golden-threaded robe, but she could guarantee one thing: the reason this corpse hadn't decayed for a thousand years, and even changed into this state, was definitely related to this robe. I asked, puzzled, "How do you know?"

The maid explained, "While there aren't many historical records about Liu Qu, the King of Guangchuan, there are still quite a few. No book ever mentions him as a monster, nor does it say he had a particularly unusual appearance. This proves that his current appearance must have occurred after death. Many factors can cause a corpse to change after death, including the burial site, feng shui, the coffin, and the clothing. Liu Qu's burial place is the Nine Dragon Pit, a location with excellent feng shui, which might be one reason for his transformation. As for the coffin, the bronze coffin is normal, and the material of this white jade coffin is also normal. Therefore, another reason for his transformation must be this golden-threaded robe!"

Although we cannot be certain that the glittering golden garment is indeed the Golden Thread Robe, subconsciously we all regard it as such.

Hearing what the girl said, I couldn't help but look at the corpse in the coffin again. The more I looked, the stranger it became. Ancient corpses could mutate in all sorts of ways. I had heard people say that some corpses, after death, would remain stiff for thousands of years without decaying. When exposed to yang energy, they would undergo a transformation, becoming what ordinary people call zombies. As for the other type, wet corpses, the cause of which was even more bizarre and strange.

The corpse inside this white jade coffin is now a wet corpse, and it's strangely distorted. I know the girl is right. If King Liu Qu of Guangchuan looked like this in life, then even if it's not recorded in official history, there must be a lot of legends and unofficial histories about it. The most common record about King Liu Qu of Guangchuan is that he was fond of tomb raiding and was cruel by nature; there is absolutely no written record of his appearance.

Therefore, the only explanation for why Liu Qu, the King of Guangchuan, became like this is, as the maid said, that he was transformed after death. But that's too bizarre. How could a perfectly healthy person, after death and burial, have all his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears disappear, leaving his face as a smooth surface?

Of course, all of the girl's speculations were based on the premise that the remains inside the coffin were those of Liu Qu, the King of Guangchuan. If the remains inside the white jade coffin were not Liu Qu, but some demon from the Western Zhou Dynasty, then that would be a different story.

All seven orifices have become physical entities? Is this still considered human?

I couldn't help but smile wryly and asked the maid, "What do we do next?" The maid said, "Strip the gold-embroidered robe off the corpse. Also, the agate pillow he was using is definitely hollow; it should contain the owner's epitaph, which we also need to take out."

I couldn't help but think to myself, "This girl is even more ruthless than me. She actually wants to strip away the only thing covering someone's face?" The young master looked at me and gestured for me to start peeling off the golden robe from the corpse.

The coffin was opened, and while we were talking, the girl actually examined the somewhat grotesque corpse for a while. However, this skeleton, which looked a bit disgusting and frightening, didn't seem to have undergone any transformation like the green female corpse we had found when we came in, except for the slight rise and fall of its chest, indicating it was breathing like a living person. Therefore, my fear of it lessened considerably.

Since the girl was going to start undressing me, I had no choice but to take out a bronze mirror from my backpack and turn around to look at myself. Unexpectedly, the young master snatched the mirror from my hand and shouted, "Old Xu, stop fooling around! Do you really believe in this stuff? Have you forgotten about the female corpse from earlier?"

I said, "Alright, go and peel the golden robe off the corpse, and I'll protect you."

The young master hesitated for a moment, glared at me fiercely, and said ruthlessly, "Old Xu, you'll remember this debt!" With that, he took out a rope, tied a slipknot, and was about to put it over the bald head. Clearly, he really intended to strip the golden robe off the corpse.

The reason I didn't stop the girl from taking off her clothes was because I understood that this golden robe, like the ancient bronze sword in my hand, was undoubtedly a divine artifact. Such things are rare and hard to come by; if I missed this opportunity, I might never have another chance.

With a snap, the young master's rope slipped precisely onto the corpse's bald head. Then, he pulled the body up slightly. Since it was a wet corpse, it didn't take much effort to lift it. Seeing the bald head leave the red agate pillow, I quickly took out another rope, looped it around the agate pillow, and pulled it out almost instantly.

The girl cheered and quickly put on her plastic gas gloves. She grabbed the pillow, examined it, and nodded at me, saying, "Brother Xu, this pillow is definitely from the Western Han Dynasty. This person must be Liu Qu, the King of Guangchuan." As she spoke, she began to fiddle with the agate pillow.

Having spent years in the antique market, I can easily distinguish between Western Han and Western Zhou artifacts. I was also curious; this bronze coffin was clearly from the Western Zhou, while this agate pillow, in both shape and pattern, resembled a Western Han piece. Could it be that Liu Qu, the King of Guangchuan, really did something perverse—throw away someone else's remains and then usurped their place?

The girl fiddled with the agate pillow for a while, using some kind of mechanism, and with a "snap," the pillow opened. Inside, a scroll of gold paper covered in tiny writing appeared before us. The girl unfolded it and looked at it. I was a little nervous; this was our only hope for survival.

"Brother Xu, this is it! We'll study it further after we get out!" the girl exclaimed happily. As she spoke, she took out a plastic bag, wrapped the gold and silk in layers, and carefully put it away close to her body.

Suddenly, a cry of alarm came from the young master's direction. I was startled, worried that he might be in danger, and quickly turned to look. I saw the young master shaking his head and saying, "Old Xu, come and help me. This girl is very slippery; I can't handle her by myself."

Upon hearing this, I went over. It turned out that the young master was afraid and dared not step into the coffin. I had heard Nanpaizi mention that the common method for removing the burial clothes from a corpse was to use a corpse-binding rope, tying one end to the corpse's neck and the other end to one's own waist. Then, one would straddle the coffin, sit on the corpse, and use the corpse-binding rope to pull the corpse up and begin to remove the clothes.

The young master knew the specific steps, but he didn't have the courage to step into the coffin, let alone sit on the corpse of Prince Liu Qu of Guangchuan. So, after several attempts, he couldn't peel off the golden robe. To make matters worse, the rope that was around the corpse's neck snapped in two with a "crack."

I stared at the broken rope, a chill running down my spine. The cut was clean, as if it had been severed by a sharp weapon. But what sharp weapon could have been found on the body of Liu Qu, the King of Guangchuan? If a Southern Crawler had encountered this situation, he would naturally have dared not do anything further, but would have respectfully closed the coffin lid, kowtowed, and retreated.

But I'm not a scoundrel; I'm just an antique dealer. How could I let the golden robe go? So, I tied the rope with a slipknot and made the young master move aside.

I tied one end of the rope around the corpse's neck and the other end around my waist. I glanced at King Liu Qu of Guangchuan, whose chest was heaving up and down. I wasn't really sure what to do, but the maid and the young master were watching, and the glittering golden robe seemed to beckon me. Without thinking, I stepped into the coffin.

Just then, suddenly, a dark shadow pounced towards me. I instinctively cried out, and in the light of the girl's flashlight, I could clearly see its pointed mouth, its bright red and eerie eyes, and its silvery-white fur—it was none other than the white fox demon!

With one foot already inside the coffin, there was no time to dodge, so I had no choice but to raise my sword to meet the attack. To my surprise, the fox demon, who was usually swift and agile, this time neither dodged nor evaded, but instead met my bronze sword head-on, a strange smugness flashing in its blood-red eyes.

I was startled. What was this beast trying to do? But when people are in danger, their minds seem to become unusually sharp. In an instant, I understood the fox demon's purpose and hurriedly drew my sword.

To my surprise, the fox demon, seeing me withdraw my sword, actually rammed into the bronze coffin. I was furious. This damned beast, it couldn't even choose a time to die! Wasn't it just causing trouble? Although I couldn't guarantee anything, I knew in my heart that if the corpse of King Liu Qu of Guangchuan came into contact with blood, what deadly changes would occur?

I couldn't afford to take the risk, but it was too late to stop the fox demon from committing suicide. To make matters worse, when the young master saw the white fox demon attacking me, he actually drew his bow and shot a bamboo arrow straight at the fox demon.

With a loud bang, the white fox demon crashed heavily into the bronze coffin, its brains splattering open. At the same time, the young master's bamboo arrow pierced its body, and bright red blood splattered everywhere.

No! I hurriedly lay down inside the coffin, trying to block the fox demon's blood from splattering onto the corpse of King Liu Qu of Guangchuan, not caring whether the ugly, eerie body was poisoned. But I was still a little too slow, and a few drops of the fox demon's crimson blood still landed on King Liu Qu's corpse, and even on his head.

Originally, King Liu Qu of Guangchuan's head was completely bald, devoid of any white flesh. Now, stained with bright red blood, it was strikingly conspicuous. What shocked me even more was that the fox demon's blood did not follow the laws of physics and slide downwards; instead, it seemed to have landed on a sponge and been directly absorbed.

I wasn't seeing things. In that instant, Guangchuan King Liu Quguang's head actually turned slightly, as if he was uncomfortable sleeping and wanted to find a more comfortable position.

I now fully understand. That damned fox spirit's purpose was crystal clear: unable to preserve the body of King Liu Qu of Guangchuan, it resorted to suicide. I don't know what secret technique it used, but I know that this corpse is about to be resurrected.

In that brief moment of hesitation, that old pervert Liu Qu, the King of Guangchuan, actually twisted his neck forcefully. Then, I suddenly felt a tightness under my foot, as if something had grabbed me. I was terrified; one foot was already inside the coffin, and now something was holding it—undoubtedly Liu Qu's hand.

Having a living person's foot grabbed by a dead person's hand is definitely not a pleasant experience. I tried to move, struggling. But I forgot that I had just put the rope around the corpse's neck, and when I moved, Guangchuan King Liu Qu naturally sat up as well.

What does it mean when a corpse lying in a coffin suddenly sits up? I wouldn't call myself a particularly bold person, but I'm not a coward either. Even so, I couldn't help but scream out loud.

In an instant, my mind went blank, and Guangchuan King Liu Qu, who had already sat up, stretched out his two pale hands and forcefully grabbed my neck.

All I could hear were the screams of the young master and the maid; the rest seemed to be complete darkness, as if death was beckoning to me.

A chill ran through me, yet a wicked thought arose in my heart. With a flash of cold light from the ancient bronze sword, I forcefully plunged it into the heart of Liu Qu, the King of Guangchuan.

Whether you're human or ghost, if you're human, I'll kill you! If you're ghost, I'll kill you again.

Humans fear ferocity, ghosts fear evil, and driven by the instinct for survival, humans unleash power they themselves cannot imagine. My bronze sword pierced the heart of the corpse of King Liu Qu of Guangchuan without hindrance. But to my surprise, while I could effortlessly cut through sturdy iron chains and bronze buckles, my bronze sword couldn't penetrate a corpse.

I was shocked. Could it be that the corpse of King Liu Qu of Guangchuan had cultivated for a thousand years and actually become a spirit? Invulnerable to swords and spears?

No, even if the body of Liu Qu, the King of Guangchuan, were to stiffen, it wouldn't be this hard. There must be another reason. Could it be the golden robe?

The outward appearance of this golden-threaded robe was no different from ordinary Han clothing. The wide, long sleeves were connected by a single golden thread at the front. I had no time to think; those deathly pale hands were still tightly gripping my neck. If it weren't for the ancient bronze sword pressing firmly against me, creating more distance, I fear I would have been strangled to death.

Suddenly, I swung my sword at the golden thread, but to my surprise, that thin thread was incredibly resilient. It took a great deal of effort to break it. As soon as the thread snapped, my bronze sword slid down the hem of his golden robe and into the body of Liu Qu, the King of Guangchuan.

This time, the bronze sword offered no resistance, piercing straight through the corpse of King Liu Qu of Guangchuan. At the same time, I drew my sword and slashed at the rope connecting us. The rope snapped, and King Liu Qu's body fell back into the coffin with a thud.

Still not satisfied, I stabbed him in the chest again.

"Agh..." A mournful scream seemed to come from the depths of my own heart. Then, the corpse of Liu Qu, the King of Guangchuan, began to kick its legs, but only two or three times before finally stopping. I touched my neck, took a long breath, and muttered to myself, "He who has survived such a calamity will surely be blessed with good fortune."

At the same time, I couldn't help but curse the young master's ancestors for eighteen generations. Damn it, how could they just stand by and watch him die?

In fact, I only realized afterward that I had wronged the young master. When he saw that I was in danger, he fired several bamboo arrows at the corpse of Liu Qu, the Prince of Guangchuan. But he was afraid of accidentally injuring me, afraid of Liu Qu's corpse, and also had to protect the maid. Moreover, the bamboo arrows hit the corpse but had no effect whatsoever, so he was helpless.

After all that commotion, I still couldn't let go of the golden robe, so I climbed into the coffin and bent down to peel it off. Suddenly, something fell out from the wide sleeves of the robe. I was startled, thinking it was some kind of terrifying or perverted thing, but it turned out to be an ancient seal. The patterns on its surface looked vaguely familiar; it seemed to be the River-Suppressing Seal.

I didn't bother to remove my golden robe; I hurriedly took the ancient seal into my hand. Just as I was about to examine it closely, suddenly, a loud crash, like a muffled thunderclap, sounded above my head.

"Oh no!" I shouted, not bothering to remove the golden robe from the body of Prince Liu of Guangchuan, I jumped out of the coffin almost instantly, grabbed the pale-faced maid beside me, and ran quickly towards the stone tree in front.

"Old Xu, what's wrong?" Before the young master could finish his question, the thousands of black coffins that had been hanging overhead suddenly shattered, and countless black corpses fell like rain.

The young master was a step slower than us and was immediately surrounded by countless black corpses.

"Damn it!" I cursed inwardly. I couldn't just abandon the young master. I immediately grabbed my bronze sword and charged back into the thicket of black corpses. The young master, holding a bamboo arrow, trembled with fear, yet he still fought fiercely against all sides.

Fortunately, this ancient bronze sword, of unknown origin, was unaffected by the black corpses. I'm certainly no martial arts master or swordsmanship expert, but the fact that these black corpses didn't try to dodge saved me a lot of trouble. I cleaved them in two, one by one.

Now I can see clearly that these black corpses are exactly the same as the black corpses we encountered in the tomb above Liu Qu's tomb. They all have iron chains around their feet and reek of a foul stench. The girl has a good eye; that old pervert in the golden robe was indeed Liu Qu, the King of Guangchuan.

Chapter Ten: The Great Wilderness Transformation into a Serpent

Legend has it that Liu Qu, the King of Guangchuan, was a tomb raider who liked to take the treasures from the tombs home to play with. But I never imagined that this old pervert would actually throw away other people's corpses and lie down in them himself.

What I couldn't understand even more was what these black corpses were. They weren't like zombies, nor were they like the professor's activated corpse-like monsters; they were more like walking corpses controlled by a sorcerer in legends. I brandished my ancient bronze sword and fought on all sides, but there were simply too many of those black corpses. We couldn't defend ourselves against them all, and in desperation, we could only protect the young master and retreat towards the stone tree.

Under the stone tree, the girl's exclamations could be heard frequently.

"Old Xu, what should we do?" the young master asked me amidst his busy schedule.