The Complete Collection of Yellow River Ghost Coffins

Chapter 35

His face was turned toward the wall, so his expression was not visible. He was wearing the same clothes he had been wearing at the time. Of course, corpses don't care about changing their own clothes.

I suppressed my fear and looked up at the other dead body. The man was leaning against the edge of the bed. He was not old, about thirty years old, with an ordinary appearance, but his death was bizarre. He was half-squatting with his arms outstretched, as if he wanted to touch something or fight with someone. He was wearing clothes, but only his underwear on his lower body, with his trousers lying next to him.

Because the room faces south, the sunlight is shining brightly into the room, directly onto the face of the deceased. I see his mouth is split in a strange arc, as if he is laughing, a ferocious laugh, and on his neck, there are obvious bluish-black bruises from being pinched by fingers.

Was he strangled to death? But strangely, I heard that people who are strangled, like those who are hanged, have their tongues sticking out very long before they suffocate. But this person's tongue didn't stick out, and he even had a smile on his lips, which was eerie and ferocious.

Suddenly, the man's death looked very familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where.

The girl gently tugged at my sleeve, her eyes red and brimming with tears, and whispered, "Brother Xu, look at that man... doesn't he look exactly like Shan Jun when he died?"

Her reminder made me exclaim "Ah!" Right, this person's death was exactly the same as when Shan Jun died. Back then—when Shan Jun died, Old Cai said it was some kind of Seven Laughing Corpse, and that he needed to find someone to sit and figure out how to make him cry. As a result, that old man sat for a whole day and night, and then called me in, saying that Shan Jun wanted to see me? He even gave me a piece of bronze?

This was absolutely a nightmare, and I'm still trapped in it. I remembered again that there seemed to be some murals in the tomb passage of the Yellow River Dragon Coffin, and the last one looked just like this... But those relief murals have probably already been moved to some museum by Professor Wang and others.

Huang Zhihua put on gloves and examined the eyelids of the corpse beside the bed. The pupils were clearly dilated, indicating that the person was beyond dead. Then, he walked to Wang Quansheng's body and instinctively wanted to examine his pupils. At that moment, I was standing next to him and could see clearly that as he examined Wang Quansheng's eyelids, a fierce glint shot out from those dilated pupils—no, it should be said, from those somewhat decomposed eye sockets—staring intently at me…

"Strange, this corpse doesn't look fresh," Huang Zhihua muttered to himself, and a huge unease settled in my heart.

The body wasn't fresh to begin with; the person had been dead for over half a year. I don't know how the police officers handled the case, letting a corpse stay in Nangong for half a year? I silently cursed the Nangong police station in my heart.

Huang Zhihua inspected the scene and found that the doors and windows were intact and had not been violently damaged. The body must have been lying in the funeral home last night. How did it get into the room and cause such a bizarre murder?

Unable to find out the cause, Huang Zhihua knew that the strangeness of the Yellow River Dragon Coffin could not be explained by common sense. So he could only have the police officers busy transporting the two bodies back, while taking pictures at the scene in a chaotic manner. After a while, they started to head home.

When we returned to the police station, it was already noon. Huang Zhihua called the three of us into his office again and asked for our opinions.

The young master said with a mournful face, "Mr. Huang, as you know, he's been here these past few days and there's nothing he can do."

Huang Zhihua rolled his eyes, said nothing, and just asked me what my opinion was.

I was preoccupied with my own thoughts, so I stammered that I knew nothing, and that solving cases was the police officers' specialty, which I didn't understand. As I spoke, I gave a few forced laughs, my voice hoarse, which made even myself feel sad.

I spent several hours in a state of constant anxiety and unease, unable to even eat lunch properly. In the afternoon, when I lay in bed wanting to take a nap, all I could see when I closed my eyes was Wang Quansheng's ferocious and terrifying smiling face, his eyes gleaming with malice, as if he wanted to take my life.

At 2 PM, Huang Zhihua summoned the three of us again. I didn't know what it was about, but I couldn't avoid it. When I walked into the office, I saw the old man and those two scoundrels there as well.

Huang Zhihua cut to the chase, saying directly, "We've already investigated. Wang Quansheng came to Taiyuan six months ago and drank with you. Is that true?"

I already confessed yesterday that I bought Wang Quansheng's bronze artifacts. At this point, there's no way I can stay silent. Even if I don't say anything, he'll find out anyway. Sigh... Confess and you'll be treated leniently, like a bricklayer in Xinjiang. It seems that even if I, Xu Sanqing, don't die from the curse of the dragon coffin, I'll end up spending the rest of my life in prison.

Huang Zhihua glanced at me and continued, "We just checked, and he didn't go back to Shanxi at all..."

My mind went blank. What was bound to happen had happened. Now, surprisingly, I calmed down and waited for him to continue. The old man beside me continued, "I just went to see the body… the one who died this morning, strangled to death. His identity has been confirmed; he was from Taiyuan…"

The old man paused deliberately, then took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, took a deep drag, exhaled, and continued, "As for that Wang Quansheng you mentioned, in my old man's judgment, he's been dead for at least half a year..."

"What?!" the young master exclaimed in surprise, shouting, "Impossible!"

The old man, puffing on a cigarette, slowly asked, "Why is it impossible?"

The young master was stunned by the question and didn't speak. Finally, the old man turned his gaze to me and said, "Don't you have any opinion?"

I looked at his sallow, thin face, especially his yellow teeth when he smiled, his squinting eyes resembling the fox spirit guarding the coffin in the Guangchuan King's Mausoleum. He exuded an eerie aura, and I couldn't help but chuckle dryly, saying, "Well—what can I say?"

The old man didn't speak, but stood up and paced around the room. Just as he was about to finish his cigarette, he walked up to me, almost biting my ear. I could even smell the faint earthy scent emanating from him. He lowered his voice and said, "The corpse has come back to life..."

ah--

I was sitting in a chair when the old man suddenly approached. I instinctively leaned back to avoid him, which put all my weight on the back of the chair. Startled, I leaned back even further. I don't know if the chair wasn't properly positioned or if it couldn't withstand my force, but I lost my balance and fell heavily to the ground, chair and all.

With a "thud," I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head, and stars flashed before my eyes. The pain made my mind go blank for a short time.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?" The young master and the maid asked in quick succession, running to my side and helping me up from the ground, one on each side.

"Old Xu, are you alright?" the young master asked, sounding quite nosy.

Damn it! I cursed under my breath. My lower back was hurting from the chair back, and my mind was still foggy. It took about a minute before I finally came to my senses. The girl had already put the chair back in place for me and helped me sit down, complaining, "You're so careless."

The old man lit another cigarette and slowly puffed on it. As he exhaled smoke, he uttered something even more shocking: "He was really too careless. He even managed to destroy a corpse. Sigh... If you have a guilty conscience, no wonder you'll have bad luck."

"Grandpa, what did you say?" The girl asked, her bright eyes blinking in confusion.

I wiped away a cold sweat. Now, surprisingly, I calmed down. I sat down in the chair with a composed and unhurried air. After all, I didn't kill Wang Quansheng, so what did I have to be afraid of?

"Xu Sanqing, can you tell us now how Wang Quansheng died and what the corpse incident is?" Huang Zhihua was very confused, but as a former soldier who had been assigned to handle this case, he already knew from the old man's words that Wang Quansheng's death was related to him.

Damn it, I'm going to get stabbed no matter what, so I might as well go all out. I took out a cigarette from my pocket, lit it leisurely, and took a deep drag like the old man, exhaling the smoke before slowly recounting what happened that morning six months ago.

Originally, the young master knew everything about how we met Wang Quansheng, who sold antiques, at the young master's guesthouse, and how we invited him for drinks and bought his bronzes. However, the young master did not know that the old man from Shanxi had died in his guesthouse, nor did he know that I borrowed his tricycle to dispose of the body. So as soon as I finished speaking, the young master jumped up and rushed in front of me, ready to fight me.

As I was talking, I saw Huang Zhihua writing and drawing in his notebook, probably taking notes. I couldn't help but groan inwardly. This time I've really messed up. I'm afraid I'll have to spend the rest of my life working as a laborer in Xinjiang.

"Oh... so that's how it happened?" Huang Zhihua muttered to himself. After I finished speaking, neither he nor the old man were too surprised. On the contrary, the girl and the young master stared at me with wide eyes, as if they didn't recognize me at all.

The old man didn't speak, nor did the maid and the young master. Huang Zhihua was writing something with his head down. I was just smoking, so naturally I didn't speak. Anyway, I didn't kill Wang Quansheng. Disposing of the body is one thing, but killing someone is another. The atmosphere in the office became a bit tense for a moment.

About three minutes later, Huang Zhihua seemed to have suddenly made up his mind. He looked up and stared straight at me, saying, "Xu Sanqing, now it's very necessary for us to talk about your problem."

I forced a snort. He ignored me and continued, saying that given the crimes I had committed, it was no problem for me to be locked up for ten or eight years, but he was now taking matters into his own hands and letting me live.

I initially thought I was completely finished, destined to spend the rest of my life behind bars. But hearing there was still hope, I was so excited I almost jumped for joy. The more I looked at this guy surnamed Huang, the more pleasing he seemed; the more handsome he became. If I were a young woman, I would definitely seduce him. But then I thought, something's not right. I, Xu Sanqing, am not some famous figure; keeping me around won't make any significant contribution to the country. Why would he do this?

In an instant, I calmed down, thought for a moment, and looked up to ask, "What are the conditions?"

"The condition is that the three of you must assist us in investigating this case until it is completely resolved," Huang Zhihua said, pointing to the maid and young master beside him.

Cold sweat broke out on my forehead again. What kind of logic is this? I committed a crime, so why are the young master and maid involved? Besides, I have no relation to the young master and maid, so why would they help me? I thought for a moment and forced myself to say, "This is my own business, and I agree to help, but will the two of them agree?"

"I agree!" The girl replied without even thinking as soon as I finished speaking.

I turned to look at the girl curiously, not understanding why she was helping me for no reason. The young master, however, shrugged like a foreigner and spread his hands, saying, "I would like to go home and get a good night's sleep, but—if this case is not resolved, I'm afraid I will never get a good night's sleep again. I agree."

I didn't say any of my usual words of gratitude. Since Huang Zhihua asked the three of us to assist in the investigation, we had no choice but to accept it, even if it was without any reward. But the problem now is that I'm afraid he's keeping the three of us around for more than just an investigation.

Those who came into contact with the dragon coffin have all died under the curse. Now we are the only ones left. What's even stranger is that, in addition to their bodies being cremated on the spot, those who are cursed are also subjected to a zombie resurrection.

I don't understand what the reaction is when the middle corpse of the Three Corpses is activated, but I know about the lower corpse. When Professor Wang's body went to the Guangchuan King's Mausoleum, the lower corpse came to life. I still remember its terrifying appearance vividly. As for Lao Bian, is he still wandering around the Guangchuan King's Mausoleum?

If one day in the future someone excavates this tomb and discovers the two corpses that have already been activated, what consequences will it lead to?

Wang Quansheng's corpse was activated? He went to the young master's guesthouse to seek revenge on me.

My mind kept replaying information about the Three Death Gods. Legend has it that for the Corpse God to activate, the corpse must be buried underground and remain incorrupt for hundreds or even thousands of years, absorbing the yin and evil energy from the ground. Under specific conditions, it can come into contact with the yang energy of a living person before it can be activated. But now, there are only six months left until Wang Quansheng's death, and I haven't buried his body in the ground.

Wang Quansheng's body disappeared without a trace. Even if it was discovered and buried without being reported, it would be impossible for the body to be activated so quickly. Could it be that old man from the south is deliberately trying to scam me? The more I thought about it, the more uneasy I felt, and I even got goosebumps all over my body.

"The body of that newly deceased person must be cremated immediately, otherwise there might be problems," the old man said, frowning.

Huang Zhihua, a promising young man from this country, now seems to greatly admire Nan Paizi, and actually listens to the old man's words without question. He frowned and asked, "What about Wang Quansheng? Was he cremated as well?"

"If only we could be cremated..." the old man sighed.

I was confused. Even zombies can be cremated. What did the old man mean by that? The old man said that the yang energy was too strong during the day, so he couldn't leave. He would find an iron chain to lock his body up at night and he would think of a way.

Huang Zhihua didn't say anything and told us to go back to the police officers' dormitory to rest. I felt completely bewildered. Originally, Wang Quansheng's matter was my biggest worry, but now that it had come to light, I felt much relieved. I went back to my room, threw myself heavily onto the bed, stretched out my limbs, and slept soundly. Perhaps because it was during the day, I didn't have any nightmares.

In the evening, the young master somehow got hold of a bottle of fine wine and asked a friend to bring over some side dishes. He called the maid, and the three of us started drinking and chatting in the room. I asked the maid, "Are you smart or stupid? Do you know what Huang Zhihua is up to?"

The maid shook her head and remained silent. The young master had drunk two cups of wine, and his tongue was slurred. He squinted and said, "Anyway, it's not a good medicine. We'll sell it to him this time..." He then angrily cursed several more times.

I was also very frustrated. Staying in the police station like this wasn't a solution. If this case wasn't resolved, were we just supposed to stay here forever?

The girl seemed preoccupied after returning from the Guangchuan Royal Mausoleum. She didn't drink or eat much, just sat with her head down. The young master was still lustful; he originally intended to invite only the girl to this meal, but he dragged me along because he was afraid she wouldn't agree. Seeing that the girl was unhappy, he started rambling on and on about all sorts of strange things to amuse her.

Yellow River Ghost Coffin 3, Chapter Two: The Corpse Driver

Just as we were chatting, there was a sudden knock on the door. I went to open it and saw that it was the old man who was so difficult to climb. Strangely, Hu Lai and Wang Ming, who were usually with him, were not with him at this time. He was standing alone at the door, leaning on his cane and hunched over.

Is something wrong, old man? I smiled a little reluctantly. I don't know why, but I was a little afraid of this southerner from the bottom of my heart. He's been to too many graves, so he probably carries some kind of yin energy with him. This guy... just makes me feel uncomfortable.

The old man smiled at me, revealing a set of teeth that were yellowed from smoking, looking somewhat like the teeth of an unearthed mummy. It made me feel very uncomfortable and disgusted. Strange, this old man looked like he was practically in his coffin, how could he have such a good set of teeth? Even if they were a bit yellow and black…

The old man smiled in a somewhat lewd way: What, Mr. Xu, won't you let me in for a seat?

I said "Oh," and quickly made an inviting gesture, while also telling him to come out. The old man didn't stand on ceremony and went straight into the room. The young master and maid quickly stood up, politely nodded and greeted him, and invited him to sit down with them.

To be honest, the old man was really not polite at all. He sat down in the seat that was originally mine, picked up his chopsticks, picked out a braised duck head and ate the brain. Without us having to offer him any, he poured himself a full glass of liquor and sipped the liquor while gnawing on the duck head. He looked exactly like the con artists on TV who freeloaded and cheated people. He didn't have any of the authority he had when he was reprimanding Professor Sun.

I pulled up a chair and sat down next to him. The two young masters could only shake their heads and smile wryly. After the old man finished half a glass of baijiu, his already cloudy eyes turned slightly red, and he greeted me with slurred words: "Xu Sanqing, Mr. Xu..."

With a forced smile, I asked, "What can I do for you, sir?"

"You should thank me properly." The old man said as he stuffed a large, fat leg into his mouth and began to chew it in large bites.

I thought to myself, what should I thank you for? For stealing my wine and delicious food, or for meddling in other people's business? I understand that Wang Quansheng's story was just this old man showing off his skills. Ordinary people—at least that kid Huang Zhihua—definitely don't know what the Three Corpse Gods are.

Then, based on Wang Quansheng's time of death, the old man deduced that I was the one who caused this... Damn it, I'm in a passive position now, and half of it is this old man's fault. And he wants me to thank him?

I once heard people say that Nanpaizi, because he had been to many tombs and dealt with many dead people, was a bit mysterious and had a particularly heavy yin aura. He was even said to be half-human and half-ghost. This old man definitely had the qualifications to be a ghost—he was more cunning than a ghost even without doing a side job.

Are you calling me smarter than a ghost? Hehe... The old man suddenly laughed at me.

What?! I was so shocked I almost jumped up. This old man is amazing! He actually knows what I'm thinking? The young master and the maid were talking to each other with their heads down, not paying any attention to us. I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead and said with a forced smile, "Old man, just say what you want to say."

The old man chuckled twice, and after a long pause, said, "I am old... but it's not time for me to become a ghost yet. You'd better watch out, kid. I've come to see you today for a reason."

I remained silent. I already had Mr. Xu turned into a boy, so what else could I say? I could only wait quietly for the old man to continue. But the young master couldn't hold back and asked, "Old sir, what do you want with Old Xu? Do you perhaps have a beautiful young lady of marriageable age in your family?"

Young master, you're really bold. You dare to make jokes like that old man from the south? The old man chuckled twice and said, "You're quite clever, kid. Not bad. My family has a beautiful young lady. Alas, these days, even beauties have trouble finding a husband."

Upon hearing this, the girl immediately raised her head and asked somewhat nervously, "Grandpa, do you really have a daughter?"

The old man shook his head and said, "Young lady, don't rush. I'm so old, even if I had a daughter, she wouldn't be young anymore. She won't compete with you for your sweetheart. It's just... sigh... this is really hard to say. Where should I even begin?" This old man really did have something to say to me. I frowned and asked, "Old man, just tell me the important thing."

"The important thing is that it's related to the coffin in the Yellow River. Mr. Xu, haven't you considered that there might be something wrong with this dragon coffin?" the old man countered.

I frowned. The curse on the dragon coffin was so powerful, it would be a miracle if there were no problems. But what did this have to do with me? I was also a victim of the curse on the dragon coffin. Although I wasn't dead yet, I could die at any moment with a terrifying grin on my face.

Seeing that I didn't speak, Lao You said again, "I'm old, and the two lands are not doing well, so—I'm afraid you'll have to go to the eye of the storm in Shadow Kunlun."

I was immediately confused and hurriedly asked, "What do you mean, the eye of the Kunlun Mountains?"

The old man pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, and the young master immediately flattered him, lighting it for him. The old man took a puff, and through the hazy smoke, an excitement flashed across his face. After a long pause, he said, "I've read the epitaph of Liu Qu, the King of Guangchuan. It says that to break the curse of the dragon coffin, one needs the Golden Pavilion Maiden. According to my old man's judgment, the Golden Pavilion Maiden is definitely buried in the eye of the storm in Shadow Kunlun..."

I heard the old man say this in Huang Zhihua's office, but what does it have to do with me? I'm not a Nanpaizi, nor am I a senior archaeologist. What qualifications do I have to study the eye of the storm in Yingkunlun?

The young master asked curiously, "What is the background of this Jinlou Su Nu?"

The old man thought for a moment and said, "Legend has it that the emperor's wife was called something like the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady, or maybe there's another legend about her being the Plain Lady. Because of the antiquity of time, her exact name is unclear. Perhaps this Golden Pavilion Plain Lady is related to the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors of ancient times." I was immediately confused. The Western Zhou Dynasty was already ancient and mysterious enough—an era of legends involving gods and monsters, with the Investiture of the Gods describing gods in countless ways. How did it suddenly become about the emperor's woman?

The emperor was the founder of human civilization and the ancestor of the Chinese people. Not only Chinese, but all people of Chinese descent should respect this great sage. I wouldn't dare touch the tomb of the emperor's wife even if I had a thousand lives.

Who has ever seen descendants rob their own grandmother's grave? That is utterly rebellious and contrary to the laws of nature.

I said, "Old man, are you out of your mind? That Prince Liu of Guangchuan was violent by nature, and his epitaph is absolutely unreliable. The curse of the dragon coffin must have some other way of being believed. Besides, what era are we living in? Why would anyone believe in such superstitious and bizarre things?"

“Supernatural and bizarre?” The old man raised his voice immediately. Then he gave me a cold look and asked, “If you can explain the curse of the dragon coffin using scientific methods, then I will cut off all my connections and never enter the tomb again.”