The Complete Collection of Yellow River Ghost Coffins

Chapter 43

I swung my sword and rushed toward the girl, but the young master was a step ahead of me. To my surprise, the young master lunged at the black corpse. He slammed into the black corpse, and the young master and the black corpse rolled together in a heap.

"That reckless young master!" I cursed inwardly, and was about to go to his aid when the black corpse that had attacked me earlier clung to me again. With no other choice, I swung my bronze sword and chopped at its head. The bronze sword was incredibly sharp, and I severed the head of the black corpse leader with one strike. But even without its head, the corpse still trembled slightly and reached out to grab me.

I hurriedly took two steps back, now standing on the edge of the stone platform. In this situation, Huang Zhihua was in a much better position than us. He was holding a military bayonet, and as a former soldier, he was proficient in combat skills. He was more than capable of dealing with a black corpse, which he had already stabbed more than a dozen times. Unfortunately, these black corpses were not afraid of swords at all, and for a time, they forced the four of us into a state of chaos.

I haphazardly swung the bronze sword to block the black corpse, and glanced at the young master. This reckless guy, relying on his waterproof gear and gas mask, was unafraid of the corpse poison and was actually wrestling with the black corpse on the ground, just like humans fighting.

The poor girl, relying on her agility, was chased by a black corpse, screaming in terror. "Young Master, watch out!" I shouted. The young master tumbled on the ground with the black corpse, his heart filled with fear. He didn't know how much effort he expended, but finally managed to shake off the black corpse. Just as he was about to get up, the black corpse was still on the ground, its hands quickly grabbing at the young master's feet. The young master was already standing on the edge of the stone platform when the black corpse suddenly grabbed him again, causing him to lose his balance and fall off the platform.

I was terrified. Ignoring the black corpse beside me, I rushed towards the young master, barely managing to grab his shirt from the shoulder. The young master, flustered, clutched my hand tightly, crying out in terror, "Old Xu, quick... pull me up... I don't want to die..."

I looked back and saw the girl being chased by a black corpse in a perilous situation. Girls are naturally timid, and the disgusting and stench of the black corpse terrified her. An ordinary girl would probably have fainted from fright, but the girl was an archaeologist who had seen many corpses, so she was able to hold on.

Huang Zhihua brandished his military bayonet and charged towards us—

Chapter Eight: The Bronze Bird-Shaped Vessel Beneath the Pool

Although Huang Zhihua was fast, he was still a step too slow; the black corpse behind me had already grabbed me. A putrid, nauseating stench filled my nostrils, and I involuntarily let out a gasp. Instinctively, I tried to dodge, but since I was already standing on the edge of the stone platform and still holding onto the young master, something seemed to shove me hard from behind. I immediately lost my balance and fell towards the stone platform.

"Old Xu..." The young master's shouts could still be heard in mid-air. Needless to say, I fell down. He was already hanging below, so naturally he couldn't escape either.

"Splash..." I don't know how long I stayed in mid-air, but I felt my body plummet and I fell heavily into the water. Although I was wearing a wetsuit and a miner's lamp, I still felt complete darkness in front of me, and the icy groundwater seeped into my bones, chilling me to the bone.

I didn't know how deep the stone platform was above the water, or how much weight I was losing, but instinctively, my only goal was to surface as quickly as possible... After struggling in the water for a while, I finally breathed in fresh oxygen and couldn't help but take a long breath. I had been wearing a gas mask and almost suffocated underwater. It seems that wearing that thing in the water is definitely not suitable.

What's worse—I was completely in darkness, unable to see my surroundings clearly, and the miner's lamp above my head had gone out sometime ago. I groped around in the dark for a moment, then couldn't help but call out, "Young Master..." My voice carried through the sound of water, sounding hollow and particularly unpleasant, but all around me was deathly silent, without even an echo.

I reached up and fumbled around on my head for a while, patting and tapping it. That damned miner's lamp flickered on for a moment, then dimmed again, but thankfully it didn't go out completely.

I looked around. Was it just a large pool of water? Or a ditch? Groundwater? I couldn't tell for the moment. The young master was nowhere to be seen, and through my miner's lamp, I could clearly see that the groundwater wasn't clear; it was very murky. I didn't know if it was naturally murky, or if I had stirred it up after falling in.

I took a breath and reached down to remove the gas mask from my face. I'd rather drown than suffocate. Although I couldn't tell where I was, one thing was undeniable: the pool was vast, with no end in sight.

"Splash, splash..." Just as I was looking around, I heard two heavy sounds of objects falling into the water behind me. I was startled and quickly turned around, only to be terrified.

Behind me, a black corpse struggled violently on the water's surface, its two dark claws, reeking of decay, reaching for me. I was terrified and frantically swam to avoid it...

The black corpse seemed to be very afraid of water. After struggling in the water for a moment, it waved its black claws and sank down with a "glug glug". I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the black corpse sink into the water. Instinctively, I paddled away a little, who knows if that thing would crawl out of the water again?

But just then, I felt a sudden tightness around my ankle, as if something had grabbed it. My first instinct was that it was the black corpse, and I was terrified. This cunning creature had actually gone underwater to attack me? But I didn't have time to think. Instinctively, I kicked and struggled, trying to shake off whatever was underwater. But I couldn't gain any leverage in the water. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't escape the claw. It moved up my ankle, then my thigh, and finally, it grabbed my waist tightly… I was shocked. I drew my bronze sword and plunged it into the water, but just then, a head emerged from the surface…

Immediately, a pale face approached. "Old Xu, are you trying to murder me for money...?" the young master shouted, panting heavily and wiping the water droplets from his face.

"Damn it!" I finally realized that the person who grabbed me underwater was not the black corpse, but the young master. I just didn't know why he was underwater and wouldn't come out.

"What are you doing hiding in the water like that?" I asked irritably.

The young master cried out that he was innocent: "When did I sneak around in the water? I still can't climb out. Would it kill you to pull me up?"

I didn't know what to say. I just looked around. The black corpse had already sunk into the water, but I didn't know if it was still a threat.

Just then, there was another "splash" from above, landing right next to me and splashing a huge amount of water. I was afraid it was that black corpse again, so I quickly dodged away. But then, Huang Zhihua popped his head out of the water and shouted, "Where's the girl? Have you seen Miss Wang?"

"Girl—" I exclaimed in surprise, instinctively asking, "Girl, you've come down too?"

Huang Zhihua and Gu Ran had come prepared, having already removed their gas masks. Upon hearing this, Gu Ran snorted coldly and said, "If she doesn't come down, will I leave her alone up there?"

Although Huang Zhihua's words were extremely impolite, I had no intention of arguing with him. Recalling how I clearly heard two splashes, but only found a black corpse, could it be that the girl fell in with the black corpse? Thinking of this, I disregarded everything else and hurriedly shouted, "Quickly, find her..."

But the water was completely dark, and they couldn't see anything. Huang Zhihua and the young master shouted several times, but there wasn't a soul in sight. I was worried about the girl, so I quickly said, "You two stay on the surface and keep watch. I'll dive down and look for her."

"Old Xu, be careful!" the young master hurriedly warned me.

I nodded, took a deep breath, and, holding the ancient bronze sword, dived into the water. The groundwater was very deep; even after falling from such a height, we hadn't touched the surface. I dived down to about two meters and felt the water pressure was too great; my lungs could barely withstand it.

Moreover, it was pitch black all around. I struggled to open my eyes, but they were stinging painfully. To make matters worse, the miner's lamp above me cast a dim, yellowish light that couldn't illuminate more than a meter away...

Just as I was about to give up, a blurry shadow suddenly flashed in front of me. I knew that there were almost no fish living in such groundwater. Could that shadow be the girl? I was immediately invigorated and swam over. However, due to the pressure of the groundwater and the long period of oxygen deprivation, I felt an unbearable pain in my lungs. If I couldn't breathe, I was afraid I would suffocate.

Ignoring everything else, I hurriedly darted out of the water. As soon as my head broke the surface, I couldn't help but gasp for air. Although the air in the tomb below reeked of decay, it was more important to me than anything else.

"How is it?" the young master asked me anxiously.

Huang Zhihua swam over and asked, "Old Xu, are you alright?"

I shook my head, panting, and said, "I didn't find the girl, but there seems to be something strange underwater. Wait... I'll go down and take another look."

"You take a rest, I'll go!" Huang Zhihua said loudly. The young master was holding a wolf-eye flashlight in his hand. His miner's lamp was completely broken, making it inconvenient for him to dive. He didn't say anything when he heard this.

I nodded, told him to be careful, and pointed out the direction to him. Huang Zhihua took a deep breath and plunged straight down. I waited for him for more than a minute, and when he still hadn't come up, I was worried that something might have happened to him. I gestured to the young master and then dived down into the water as well.

This time, I dived down directly from where the shadow had appeared. After descending about two meters, I suddenly saw a figure flash by, and a gleaming military bayonet was already rushing towards me. I was shocked. Among the four of us, only Huang Zhihua was using a military bayonet. Has this guy gone mad? He actually attacked me?

Due to underwater resistance, I was a fraction of a second slower in dodging, and the gleaming bayonet almost grazed my left rib. I hurriedly rushed to the surface of the water.

"Old Xu, it's you?" Immediately afterward, Huang Zhihua also rushed out of the water.

"If it wasn't me, who else did you think it was?" I said with a wry smile. "You almost killed me." But then I thought, in this underwater world, I couldn't complain about him, after all, I had almost killed the young master just now.

"I...I..." Huang Zhihua gasped for breath, and after a long while, he finally said, "I just saw a monster underwater, it was so scary!"

"A monster?" I was startled, and then I remembered the black corpse that had just fallen into the water. Who knows if it was the one causing the trouble?

"Let's go down together, and the young master will stay on the surface to meet us," I said decisively. The girl had been in the water for some time, and if we couldn't find her soon, she might be in grave danger.

Before the young master could object, I took a deep breath and dived back into the water. Huang Zhihua followed closely behind, diving over. He had already put away his military bayonet and was gesturing to me, indicating that it was just ahead.

I nodded and hurriedly swam forward. I'd only gone about two meters when suddenly, a chill ran down my spine—less than two meters in front of me, a figure was crouching in the water...

I couldn't help but turn around and look at Huang Zhihua. Huang Zhihua was looking at me too. Seeing this, he gestured, indicating that we should go check it out and be careful. I agreed, and we both swam forward, getting about a meter closer. Through my blurry vision, I saw that it didn't look like a human, but more like a bird!

Finding a bird-shaped bronze vessel in a Western Zhou tomb is a perfectly normal thing, but the question is—if the bronze bird-shaped vessel wasn't placed in the tomb as a burial object, how could it have sunk to the bottom of the water? I suppressed my curiosity and fear and cautiously approached.

Sure enough, it was a bird-shaped vessel. Due to its age in the water, it was heavily corroded, and the decorations on its surface were almost indistinguishable. It was about half a meter tall, with the bird's head turned behind it and a crest on top. The crest was blurred in the water, and from a distance, it really looked like a person squatting in the water.

I swam over quickly and reached out to touch it. Although the surface of the bird-shaped vessel was heavily corroded, it was remarkably clean. Ah... no, clean? If this bird-shaped vessel had been submerged underwater for a thousand years, how could it be so clean? As I pondered this, I couldn't help but examine it closely.

Huang Zhihua was probably seeing something like this for the first time, and he was full of curiosity, touching it here and there. I ignored him and continued to carefully study the bronze bird-shaped vessel in front of me. Yes, it was a bronze artifact, and although it was heavily corroded, I could still tell that it should be from the Western Zhou Dynasty... or even more ancient. But it was also obvious that someone had touched the surface of this thing recently, as the rust on the surface had been removed.

Who would come underwater to clean up a bird statue? The thought sent a chill down my spine. Could it be a water ghost?

Because I had been underwater for too long, my lungs started to ache again. Huang Zhihua was lying under the bird statue, seemingly studying something. I couldn't care less about him and forcefully floated to the surface.

"Young Master!" I wanted the young master to come and discuss the underwater bronze bird vessel, but when I looked around, the water was pitch black and the young master was nowhere to be seen.

I was shocked—I had only been underwater for a minute at most. Where had the young master gone? If he were on the surface, there would definitely be lights, but now it was pitch black all around. The miner's lamp on my head shone on the water, reflecting my own shadow. My pale face was devoid of any color, like that of a dead man.

I took a breath. Although I was wearing a wetsuit, I still felt a bone-chilling cold after soaking in the water for so long. And at this moment, my vest was soaked through.

With a splash, the young master and Huang Zhihua emerged from the water almost simultaneously. The young master was trembling all over, his face terribly pale. If it weren't for Huang Zhihua supporting him, he probably wouldn't have been able to hold on at all.

"Girl... Old Xu, I've found the girl..." the young master stammered, his teeth chattering.

"Where is the girl?" I called out in a panic, not bothering to scold the young master for running around. I grabbed his shoulder and shook him hard.

"Down...down..." Huang Zhihua had been holding his breath underwater for too long and could barely speak, only pointing underwater.

I took a deep breath, not bothering to ask any more questions, and dived down again in the direction Huang Zhihua pointed. As I went deeper and deeper, the underwater pressure increased, and the miner's lamp above my head became dim and unclear, making it impossible to see anything. I circled around underwater but couldn't find any trace of the girl. Just as I was getting anxious, I suddenly felt a current of water rushing towards me from behind.

I turned around quickly, and what I saw shocked me—what was that? A person? A fish? Or a monster?

I couldn't tell at first glance, but the thing was about the size of a human, with four human-like arms. Two of them were wrapped around its back, while the two in front were reaching out to grab me. Its head and body were similar to a fish's, except that its mouth was wide open, full of fangs, indicating that it was likely a carnivore...

In such a tomb, skeletons move, corpses kill, and even encountering a monstrous beast wouldn't surprise me much, but I couldn't help feeling fear, mostly terror. My instinctive reaction was—of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, retreat is the best. But… the two hands behind this monster were tightly embracing a person.

In the dim light of the miner's lamp, I could see clearly that it was indeed the missing girl.

I mustered my courage and swung my sword horizontally, the ancient bronze blade gleaming coldly underwater, aiming for the strange fish's head. But the creature moved much faster than I expected; with a flick of its neck, it easily dodged. Worried it might launch a powerful attack, I quickly took two steps back.

Where did I find that strange fish? It stared at me with its pale white eyes for about five seconds, then suddenly turned its head away and walked away.

Damn it—it's just a cowardly fish! I cursed inwardly and immediately chased after it. The girl was still in its hands. I thrust the bronze sword fiercely into its back.

With a soft "splash," the strange fish suddenly shot out countless black liquids from its tail. The liquid was incredibly foul-smelling, even more so than a rotting corpse. I could barely see clearly in the water to begin with, and now that the underwater environment was murky, my vision was even more obstructed.

I instinctively closed my eyes, but my mind was preoccupied with what to do if the monster got away. Where would I find the girl? So I couldn't back down; instead, I took another step forward and quickly chased after the strange fish.

As the black liquid gradually dissipated, I was finally able to see my surroundings more clearly. However, having held my breath underwater for too long, I couldn't help but open my mouth to breathe. Immediately, icy groundwater carrying a foul stench poured into my mouth. I was shocked; this water was even more stinky than a latrine.

But it was precisely because of the cold, foul-smelling groundwater that my dazed mind cleared up. I hurriedly looked around, but the strange fish had vanished without a trace, and the girl was hovering about two meters in front of me. However, the girl's current appearance looked a bit eerie.

It floats in the water, neither rising nor sinking, with its arms and legs spread wide, forming a very unsightly "X" shape.

There was no time for me to think. I swam over, grabbed the girl's clothes, and pulled her up from underwater with all my might. The underwater resistance was too great, and it took me a lot of effort to finally swim to the surface.

"Old Xu...are you alright? Look at your face." The young master rushed over, and seeing that I had pulled the girl up, he hurried over to help her.

I know I looked terrible, but their faces certainly didn't look any better.

Only then did I have a chance to check on the girl. Her face was ashen, and she looked terrible. The young master was holding her, shaking her violently, and pinching her philtrum. I quickly touched the girl's wrist. Thankfully—although she looked unwell and had been in the water for so long, she still had a pulse, proving she wasn't dead.

Huang Zhihua also rushed over to help, and asked me, "How did you manage to save the girl from that monster?"

Monster? I knew the monster he was referring to must be that strange fish, but it was just a cowardly fish, so I briefly described it. But Huang Zhihua shook his head repeatedly, saying it wasn't like that.

After a while of emergency treatment by the young master and Huang Zhihua, the girl finally vomited a lot of water and slowly woke up. As soon as she saw us, she couldn't help but sob and cry.

Seeing that the girl had started crying, the three of us were relieved. The young master then told me about what had just happened—after Huang Zhihua and I went down into the water, the young master was left alone on the surface. He saw that all around him was pitch black, and the gloomy underwater world was like a water prison in the underworld. A nameless fear crept into his heart.

He instinctively raised his flashlight and shone it around. Just then, a splash appeared on the water's surface, and he clearly saw a figure, like a floating corpse, emerge from the water not far from him. The figure flashed with water and then disappeared again.

In that brief moment, Young Master Shan clearly saw that the figure was none other than the girl. Although he was usually mischievous, he wasn't stupid. Seeing the strange and inexplicable situation, he didn't bother to greet us and hurriedly swam over. Then, he found traces of the girl underwater, but with one hand holding a flashlight and the other paddling, he was completely unable to rescue her.

Just then, Huang Zhihua, who was about to surface for air, noticed the unusual movement of the water not far away. He swam over and saw the young master and the girl. He immediately shared the same thought: no matter what, rescuing the girl was the priority. He grabbed his military bayonet and began to fight the water monster. However, he never expected that the fish monster was incredibly agile and ferocious underwater.

Huang Zhihua was almost bitten by him, and after being underwater for too long, his lungs were so full that they felt like they were about to explode, so he had no choice but to surface to breathe.

I thought about it and realized that the fish monster didn't seem too powerful. I think I only made a few gestures in the water and it ran away in fright. Although it sprayed out disgusting black liquid to hinder my pursuit, overall it was a cowardly monster. Compared to the ferocious monsters in the ancient tombs I had seen before, it was far inferior.

Think about it, those monstrous, tentacle-like creatures in the Guangchuan Royal Mausoleum are far more powerful than this.

The girl finally woke up, and the young master pressed her for details about what had happened. The girl's version of events was even more outrageous. She said that when she fell into the pool, she felt dizzy and didn't know anything until we pulled her out of the water.

I have a feeling that something is off about this, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Fortunately, all four of us are still alive.

Being alive is better than anything else.

Thinking of the bronze bird-shaped vessel underwater earlier, I hurriedly asked Huang Zhihua if he had made any discoveries. Huang Zhihua, being a former soldier, naturally noticed the unusual nature of the bird-shaped vessel as well. I guessed that someone had entered the tomb chamber before us, and that the bronze bird-shaped vessel might not have originally been in the water, but had been accidentally dropped into it by them.

To everyone's surprise, Huang Zhihua shook his head repeatedly, saying that the bird-shaped vessel was definitely in the water. Someone had taken it out of the water and cleaned its surface, but then, no one knew who had made it sink back into the water.

Upon hearing this, for some reason, I suddenly recalled what I had heard about Wang Quansheng on the banks of the Yellow River—didn't his family once retrieve a bird-shaped vessel from the Yellow River's eye, and then Wang Quansheng's wife and children died, and a police officer even went missing as a result?

Could this bird be Wang Quansheng's? But how did it end up here again?

Surely the bird-like deity couldn't have grown legs on its own, could it? But for some reason, I suddenly remembered the bronze statue I saw in the Guangchuan King's Mausoleum. Wasn't the snake body of that bronze statue with a human face and a snake's body resurrected? Could the bird-like deity also be resurrected? The more I thought about it, the more terrified I became.

The young master held up his flashlight and shone it around. Water surrounded them, creating a gloomy and terrifying atmosphere. Only behind them was a high platform; climbing it would reveal black corpses waiting for them. The only way out was to find another way out in the water.