Transmigración La consorte del dios de la guerra

Capítulo 10

Don't stay up too late, and stop making all that noise! What does that mean?! Hearing this made me extremely embarrassed, and I shook Lao Xu and asked him, "My Lao Xu, you're really something! We're not husband and wife, you have to get us two rooms! Wake up, wake up! Damn, what kind of alcohol tolerance do you have? I'm not even drunk yet and you're already asleep!"

Tian Li rolled her eyes at me, got up and left, saying, "Feng Yixi, are you satisfied now? But don't worry, Jingpo girls have the freedom to have one-night stands before marriage. I don't know if this custom still exists now. You can go out and try, just find a place to spend the night. Don't even think about staying upstairs here!" She went upstairs by herself, leaving me alone.

I had no choice but to sit downstairs at Old Xu's house, dozing off in a daze, listening to the drums, songs, and dancing from the funeral procession in the distance. I fell asleep in no time, and I don't know how much time passed before I remembered to go to the toilet. When I went outside, I couldn't find a suitable place. I saw a small wooden stake that looked like it was made of bamboo, so I held onto the round top and prepared to relieve myself there.

When I touched the short wooden stake, I realized it was very cold, icy to the touch, almost like it was sticking my palm to it. I was completely awake and wondered how this could be so eerie.

I slid down the wooden stake, and with a lot of effort, I finally managed to pull my hand back, which was stuck to the stake. I wanted to go around the stake and find a place further away, but when I turned around, I tripped over a pile of things on the ground and almost fell down. By the moonlight, I took a closer look and saw a soft thing curled up on the ground. It looked like a person, but it was covered in black fur. If I said it was an animal, it was too big. I couldn't see where its four legs were. What the hell was this thing?

After I kicked it, the thing wriggled and dodged to the side. I curiously moved closer to take a look, and it really was a living creature, but it exuded a chilling aura. I wondered if it was a rare species from the snow-capped mountains. I turned around and went around to look at the other side. As soon as I moved, two hands suddenly reached out from the shadow and grabbed my neck. The cold, dry claws dug into my skin, causing a sharp pain.

I was terrified and wanted to scream, but my neck was being choked and I couldn't make a sound. I kicked and struggled, trying to reach that thing, but I couldn't reach it. Soon, it choked me until my eyes rolled back. The moonlight in the sky was a ghastly white, and the distant drumbeats accompanied by a low, repetitive chanting filled the air. I was so unwilling to be strangled to death like this. All I could think about was that Tian Li shouldn't see me. It would be so humiliating to die like this outside the door!

I used my last bit of strength to drag the pile of things closer to the wooden stake, reached out and clung desperately to the top of the stake, wedging its two claws into the stake, struggling with all my might. I could even hear the claws cracking and breaking. Finally, the claws loosened a little and silently released me. Then, this hairy thing slowly crawled into the stake, squeezing itself in little by little, and calmed down as if nothing had happened.

I escaped death by a hair's breadth, and collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, far away from the wooden stake.

The shadows of the trees swayed, and a cool breeze blew. Suddenly, someone slapped me on the back, nearly scaring me out of my wits. I turned around and saw Tian Li, wearing a shirt, coming out to check on things. I immediately lost control and hugged Tian Li tightly, saying in a tearful voice, "My little Tian Tian, why do you always slap me on the back every time I see you? Do you know how scary that is? I almost died just now! It's truly a case of dying before achieving one's goal, often leaving heroes with tears in their eyes!"

Surprisingly, Tian Li didn't push me away this time. Instead, she reached out and hugged me, pressing my head against her chest and gently shaking me to comfort me: "It's okay, it's okay, a grown man doesn't cry."

Tian Li's soft, full breasts felt very comfortable to me. I squeezed my head closer and closer, not wanting to leave. Gradually, I couldn't suppress my wandering thoughts. I thought of Han Yena and felt a little ashamed. I felt it was very inappropriate. After struggling with my thoughts for a while, I finally struggled to sit up, not daring to look up into Tian Li's eyes.

It seemed as if Tian Li sighed softly: "The Jingpo people worship ghosts very much. There is usually a ghost stake outside the door, which is specifically for ghosts to live in. When I was in school, I heard a roommate from an ethnic minority say that it is very taboo to touch the ghost stake. Even the owner will not touch it. You didn't know that you almost lost your life. Sigh, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have been angry with you just now. When I heard the noise, I saw the ghost crawl into the ghost stake to sleep. From now on, I will never act impulsively again. It turns out that there are many things we don't know that are actually true."

Tian Li reached out and pulled me, saying in a low voice, "Why don't we go upstairs and rest? It's windy at night, and we have things to do tomorrow. We can't afford not to get a good rest."

I was so moved by Tian Li's gentleness that I was speechless for a moment. I never expected that beneath her usually strong and cold exterior, she would have such considerate words. "Go upstairs to rest? Does that mean you want to...?" I opened my mouth, stammering, "I, I, that's not good, is it? Old Xu said not to stay up too late. It's already past midnight, and you still want to...."

Tian Li blushed and scolded, "Feng Yixi, you! You're full of bad ideas! I'm not talking to you anymore! You can die however you want!" Then she turned and left.

I followed her in with a wry smile, watching Tian Li go upstairs. Her voluptuous body, encased in shorts, looked incredibly alluring. I couldn't help but mutter under my breath, "I just said I haven't showered in the last few days and need to take a good bath. I didn't mean anything by refusing. She didn't even let me finish. Honestly."

When Tian Li heard what I said, she paused for a moment, then angrily threw down a blanket and stopped talking to me. I could only sigh and, in the end, didn't dare to go upstairs with her. I hastily snuggled up in the corner of the room and fell asleep.

When we opened our eyes, it was already broad daylight. Old Xu reorganized the equipment we had prepared into three backpacks, one for each of us. We ate a simple meal and then set off.

I've never climbed a snow-capped mountain over 4,000 meters high, especially Youlong Mountain, which is located on the border of Miao territory. In such an obscure and remote mountain, there are hardly any good paths to take. Tian Li's physical fitness is obviously better than mine, not to mention Lao Xu, a Jingpo man. It seems that I am the worst climber among the three of us.

Old Xu had already drawn his long knife and was leading the way. He walked with increasing vigor, shouting loudly, "A man who can't wield a long knife can't go far from home; a woman who can't weave a sarong can't get married! Our Jingpo Achang long knife is a knife of life! Every one of us Jingpo men is a true man!"

Old Xu is a skilled knife wielder. On the easy downhill paths, you can often see him moving with light and agile steps, his wrists twirling nimbly, his movements fluid and graceful, like a dancer. During our lunch break, we asked Old Xu to give us a performance, but he waved his hand and said, "No, no, what I'm doing is 'fist dance,' not 'swinging fist dance,' it's not very good. After we get down the mountain, I'll get some 'string of songs' and I can perform the Ten-Knife Dance or 'Yi Wanwan' for you, those are the real knife dances."

Seeing that I was confused, Old Xu explained again: "Quan Ga emphasizes practical combat, solid footwork, low-profile movements, and powerful knife slashing and chopping. It is different from Bai Quan Ga in terms of advancing, retreating, attacking, and defending. Bai Quan Ga means waving a knife around, which is pretty but not practical."

After what happened last night, Tian Li and I felt much closer and dared to hold hands while walking. However, Tian Li would sometimes look thoughtful and absent-minded, as if she was thinking about something that made her unhappy.

As darkness fell, the three of them arrived at the campsite that Lao Xu had mentioned, without any major incident. Under a large rock, there was a shallow cave that provided natural shelter from the wind and rain, and the terrain also offered protection from wild animals—quite a good place.

Before nightfall, we quickly ate our fill, preparing to continue our climb tomorrow. Old Xu told us that tomorrow's path would become truly dangerous, with snow accumulation, ice caps, and crevasses, and we might even encounter a snowstorm, so we needed to get a good rest tonight. We discussed the order of night watch; since the latter half of the night was more dangerous, Old Xu was naturally assigned to it, and soon after, he went to sleep first.

I told Tian Li to go to sleep, but she refused. It was windy and cold on the mountain, and she was too embarrassed to come to my side, so I had no choice but to shamelessly run to her side and snuggle up to keep warm.

In the pitch-black, chilly night, I held Tian Li's soft, half-asleep body in my arms. The mountain was so quiet that I had no distracting thoughts. My eyes shone as I recalled my bizarre experiences over the past few days. Compared to my previous life as a white-collar worker in an office building, it was a completely different world. Although I was a military enthusiast back then and had participated in many outdoor activities, compared to this, it was child's play.

Tian Li hugged me tightly in her sleep, interrupting my thoughts. Looking at the young woman in the moonlight, I couldn't help but lower my head and kiss Tian Li's forehead. The wind was cool. I wondered how she, a girl, could instruct her subordinates in the police station. Maybe she was strong and calm on the outside, but a fire was burning inside her. I thought about Han Yena and wondered how she was doing now. I pondered these thoughts for a long time, and then sleepiness gradually crept in.

It wasn't until Lao Xu nudged me, signaling me to go to sleep and that it was his turn to oversee the place, that I leaned against Tian Li, and we fell soundly asleep.

I don't know how much time had passed, but when Lao Xu woke me up, my first feeling was that I was very cold. I looked at the sky and it was still dark. I was about to ask Lao Xu what was going on, whether something had happened, when Lao Xu gestured for me to be quiet and pointed to a place not far away.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Golden Corpse

Not far away, indistinctly lit, were a cluster of firelight. I tucked the winter coat into Tian Li's clothes and followed Lao Xu quietly outside, taking out my binoculars to examine the flames closely.

Upon looking around, I was startled to find that I had indeed run into the group of Han Chinese carrying sky lanterns. Most of them were sleeping, with hunting rifles and long spears slung over their backs. Two men, probably on night watch, couldn't stand the cold and had just lit a bonfire to drink and chat.

Old Xu whispered in my ear, "This group just came up here. They might have gotten lost on the way, bumped into something, and someone even died. I've been keeping an eye on them, and thankfully, they don't seem to be heading this way at all. There's not much game to hunt on Youlong Mountain. Judging by all the guns they're carrying, they must be the group of people who went missing a few years ago carrying sky lanterns. You absolutely mustn't alert them. Go back and tidy up the place, and let them leave first tomorrow."

The mountains were quiet, and the night wind wasn't strong. I vaguely heard two people discussing something. I heard one of them say, "Is it true that the boss told us to do this one last time?"

Another voice lowered its voice and said, "Oh, the boss himself...it seems it's true, all these years...that Han Yena from Beijing...this time it should be..." The rest was indistinct, but I was startled by the mention of "Han Yena from Beijing." Good heavens, could someone have sabotaged my girlfriend to harm her? She knows nothing about it. Was what I saw in Beijing during my daze all real?

Old Xu pulled me, who was full of suspicion, and quietly retreated. When it was almost dawn, I shook Tian Li awake and quietly told her not to make a sound, because something unexpected might happen.

After a long while, Old Xu returned and said, "It's nothing, they've already left. Judging from the direction they're heading, they're not going down the mountain to go back. They're going in the same direction as us, also heading towards the top of Youlong Mountain. It's really strange, what are you all going to do on that mountaintop?"

I figured Lao Xu was someone Qin Jianjun had entrusted to trust, and I wanted to let those people get away before we set off. So I briefly explained the situation to Lao Xu, mixing truth with falsehood, hoping he would understand: "Here's what happened. Ten years ago, Lao Qin contracted a strange, incurable disease. He heard that there was medicine in the Insect Valley in Youlong Mountain, so he braved all sorts of hardships to break in, only to unexpectedly discover a two-thousand-year-old tomb. It was very eerie; he almost couldn't escape. But in the end, he managed to get the medicine, but he dropped the prescription that showed how to use it in the Insect Valley. So this time, Lao Qin has come back to find that prescription. Since I have some knowledge of how to use this medicine, I'll have you take me up the mountain. There's a place called 'Black Flame Tower' or 'Luzhen Pavilion' at the top. I'll be responsible for finding that place. Once we meet up with Lao Qin, we can solve his incurable disease once and for all. Is that clear enough?"

Old Xu nodded, frowned, and said, "So you're a doctor? It seems Old Qin wants to take the prescription to some special place on the mountaintop for treatment. But if he can't find the prescription, or if he's delayed and can't get to the top of the snow mountain, are we just going to keep waiting?"

I really didn't know what to do in this situation, so I said, "I don't know, but I guess there might be a solution in Luzhen Pavilion. I still believe that he must have his reasons for doing this. I think we should be careful of the group of people in front of us. Old Qin told me about being followed. I've also suffered losses in Beijing, but I don't know if it's these people causing trouble."

Then I briefly recounted my experience of being bewitched by the Miao people in Beijing, and concluded by saying, "What I don't understand is how quickly these people can get things done. I was targeted as soon as I arrived in Beijing, so it's hard to be sure if they've also come to Nandan, Guangxi. Plus, I heard that person mention Han Yena from Beijing... and so on. I'm worried that something might happen to my girlfriend, so I'm even more uneasy. So, Lao Xu, you must find a way to get us to follow these people and find an opportunity to get rid of them together."

Old Xu was a little suspicious of my relationship with Tian Li. We were still embracing last night, so why was he saying this morning that I had another girlfriend? He gave Tian Li a strange look, shook his head and said, "You Han people, I don't understand. But I will do my best. For Lao Qin's sake, I will listen to his plan. Don't worry, you don't need to tell me. I will also take down these bad Han people carrying sky lanterns."

Tian Li silently packed her things, didn't even glance at me, and walked out first. Lao Xu and I were stunned for a moment, then quickly set off as well.

The mountain path became increasingly difficult to traverse, with some areas lacking any path at all. Fortunately, Lao Xu was very familiar with the terrain and led us forward step by step.

The wind picked up, and snowflakes quickly began to fall from the mountaintop. At this altitude of over 3,000 meters, the temperature changed rapidly. We took out our warm clothing and goggles, donned them, and prepared for the increasingly deep snow and biting wind. The entire morning was a battle against the snow and the cold wind. Fortunately, we hadn't yet reached the icy highlands, so I was managing. Aside from occasional shortness of breath and requests to slow down, I didn't encounter any major problems. Perhaps it was because I was walking slowly that I didn't overtake the group ahead of me; in fact, I could see their tracks along the way.

Around noon, Lao Xu gestured that we had returned to the place where we ate our dry rations. Shivering, we finished our meal. Then it started snowing, and the temperature plummeted. It seemed we were about to reach the snow line and then set foot on the frigid, snow-covered summit. The weather changed abruptly; the snowflakes were no longer like willow catkins or cotton wool. Large snow pellets and ice crystals were whipped up from the ground by the cold wind. The mountain became damp and chilly, and the wind and snow mixed with ice pellets lashed at us, making me suffer terribly.

Step by step, I followed behind and reached the snow line. It was almost dark. Old Xu was busy looking for a place to camp. We went down the mountain and found a sheltered snowdrift. This time it wasn't as comfortable as last night. The rocks behind us weren't big enough, and snow particles kept getting into our necks, making us shiver. In the freezing cold, chewing dry rations was really unpleasant. I found it tasteless and hard to swallow. I saw that Tian Li was in the same boat, frowning and unable to eat.

After staying in the snowdrift for a while, I couldn't stand it anymore and came out to stretch my arms and legs. At this time, the wind and snow had subsided a bit, and everything was not very dark because of the white snow. I tried to test my eyesight by touching the snowdrifts, so I carefully examined the shape of the mountain.

As the saying goes, "It takes three years to find the dragon, and ten years to pinpoint the burial site." The dragon head of Chinese feng shui originates from Kunlun, extending northward along the Tianshan, Yinshan, and Yanshan Mountains, appearing and disappearing before entering the Bohai Sea, then rising ashore to form the Changbai Mountains. In the middle are the Qilian and Bayan Kola Mountains. At the Qinling Mountains, the dragon head splits in two, one branch heading north to become the Taihang Mountains, and the other heading south to become the Daba Mountains, Nanling Mountains, and Wuyi Mountains, eventually entering the East China Sea. The southernmost point is the Hengduan Mountains, which turn south at the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and cross the border. These three giant dragons undulate and twist across the land, creating countless auspicious feng shui sites. The ancients often said, "Entering the mountains to find the dragon," meaning that only by going up to Kunlun can one follow the dragon veins to find the best feng shui.

The mountains in northern Guangxi all descend from the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. After a long two-day journey, we had no idea where we were. The mountains before us were surrounded by a dozen peaks, all seemingly of similar height. However, our direction was slightly westward. Looking back down the mountain, we saw only sparse forests, valleys, and pools scattered about. We couldn't discern any dragon's spine or dragon's head formation. In other words, I hadn't discovered that this was a dragon vein. If there were anything unusual about the mountaintop, it would be nothing more than a construction project involving earth and stone, carving out mountains and excavating tombs. At most, the mountain would have been hollowed out. After two thousand years of wind and rain erosion, the vegetation and rock distribution on the ground should have revealed some traces. But I just couldn't see any.

I looked at it from several different angles, and I started to get a little impatient. The "Secret Techniques of Tianyuan Mountain and Water" couldn't possibly be a lie. How could I not see the dragon veins even though I followed the formulas and methods in the book? How stupid of me!

Calm myself down and stabilize my emotions. I looked at it from another angle. The Rong King's underground palace was in the deep pool of the Insect Valley. The environment was artificially altered to create a water dragon pattern. Qin Jianjun said that there was a mystery about the top of the mountain. Could it be that he was implying that the mountain was not hollowed out, or that the mountain was actually built by humans? Looking at every mountain peak around me, I immediately rejected this idea. The amount of work involved was beyond human capabilities.

Although I can't see any major clues, I already feel that this mountaintop is indeed as Old Qin said, full of mystery, and faintly harbors a very evil aura. This is because the terrain and topography of the mountain do not conform to feng shui at all, and there is not even the slightest concept of feng shui. It's like a set of ten true/false questions, where you can either answer correctly or incorrectly. Even if you close your eyes and fill in the blanks randomly, you will still get some right. But I just happened to choose the wrong answer for all ten questions, which is very illogical. Something must have been moved here by human hands, otherwise it would never be like this!

I remember the landlady saying that fiery rocks often fall from the mountaintop. In my opinion, it's nothing more than a meteor shower. What did those people carrying sky lanterns bring down from the mountaintop that caused their drastic personality change? Right now, I'm finding it hard to figure out what the connection is.

In the latter half of the night, it was Lao Xu's turn to keep watch. Tian Li had already saved a spot for me next to her. I lay down next to Tian Li, full of doubts and unfathomable thoughts. The distant mountains were covered in white snow, and the mountaintops were shrouded in mist, emitting patches of black smoke. I could only hope that tomorrow's journey would completely unravel the mystery in my heart.

Perhaps it was fate, but this night was destined to be anything but peaceful. I was woken up shortly after falling asleep. The ground beneath my feet was shaking, and the rocks I was leaning against were swaying. My first thought was that it was an earthquake!

One muffled thud after another echoed in my ears—the sound of stones crashing heavily to the ground. Old Xu, in a panic, pulled me and Tian Li inside as fast as he could. When I came to my senses, I realized we'd encountered a meteor shower. These earthquake-like signs were all caused by meteorites. It seemed these were the "fire stones" the innkeeper had mentioned. But how could those carrying the sky lanterns have known about such an astronomical phenomenon tonight? Did they calculate it, or did they create it?

The chaotic meteor shower lasted for about five minutes before ending, and the surroundings returned to calm. Old Xu cautiously peeked out and came back with a sigh, "An avalanche! Luckily we were slow and didn't reach the top of the mountain, otherwise we would have been buried alive by now. But it's good, at least we won't have to worry about avalanches when we go up the mountain tomorrow."

Upon hearing about the avalanche, I hurriedly asked Lao Xu, "What about those people? Could they have been swallowed by the avalanche? Didn't the tracks we saw today indicate that they had already reached the summit?"

Old Xu shook his head: "Nobody knows. After an avalanche, no trace will be left. Hopefully, these bastards will be buried alive, which would be God helping us get rid of a menace. But I don't think it's that simple. As the saying goes, good people don't live long, but evil people live for a thousand years!"

At that moment, Tian Li secretly pinched me hard. I turned around and saw Tian Li staring at me silently with a pale face. She just gestured for me to look ahead. In the snow behind Lao Xu, there was a dark, blurry thing lying quietly. I grabbed him and pulled him over. Lao Xu reacted quickly. When he turned around, he had already taken out a long knife and held it diagonally across his chest.

Time flew by, and the dark, blurry thing remained in the same position it had just been discovered. From my perspective, this humanoid object had rolled down from not far away, most likely knocked onto the ground by the meteor shower earlier. With the help of the snow's reflection, Lao Xu walked up step by step, while Tian Li took out the gun, wary of the thing suddenly attacking and hurting people.

The tip of the long knife touched it lightly, making a clinking sound. It seemed to be a metal lump. Lao Xu and I immediately breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn't a living thing, everything would be easier. That night at Lao Xu's house, I was already terrified by this dark, blurry thing, afraid that it would stretch out its two claws and strangle me again.

Upon closer inspection, a chill ran down his spine. It was a person, but had been dead for quite some time. The clothing was that of an ancient warrior, complete with sword and saber. Every inch of skin, even the helmet, the wide-open eyes beneath it, and the gaping mouth, gleamed with a metallic sheen, giving the impression that the warrior had died in extreme agony. Old Xu gently scraped it with his knife, revealing a golden hue—it was a golden corpse!

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Gates of Hell

Golden Corpse!

Seeing the golden color in the snow, my first thought was of the people carrying sky lanterns. It turned out they were after gold. The amount of gold covering this one corpse was considerable. If I were to scrape off several corpses at once and carry all the gold down the mountain, I'm afraid I would be exhausted.

But how could such a thing exist in this place? Could it be that besides creating the 'Water Dragon Halo' divine treasure cave in the valley, the old King Rong also left himself an escape route on the mountaintop? But it's no wonder, this guy wasted all his time and energy on his affairs after death, no wonder his country was destroyed and his race wiped out.

I had no interest in scraping gold off a dead body. Old Xu, being a Jingpo person, deeply revered ghosts and gods and insisted on digging a pit to properly bury the ancient corpse, so I let him be. Only Tian Li showed the high vigilance of a people's police officer at this moment, and she showed no intention of putting down her gun. Fortunately, this vigilance saved my life.

Seeing that Lao Xu couldn't move it, I lent a hand and dragged the golden corpse to the newly dug pit. It wasn't as heavy as I had imagined. If it weren't for the lifelike teeth and tongue on the corpse's face, I would have suspected that this ancient corpse was just a gilded wooden statue. Looking down at the eyeballs carefully, I wanted to find some evidence to prove that it was just a wooden statue.

With a muffled thud, Tian Li's hunting rifle fired. I looked up and saw a tall, dark figure stumbling and running past me. Its body was covered in furry black blobs, swaying left and right as it ran, constantly shedding snow and pebbles. I was startled, but then I heard Lao Xu shout, "Quick, chase after it! Don't let it get away!"

Without thinking twice, I followed Lao Xu and Tian Li in pursuit. The thing ran even faster, and large chunks kept falling from its body. Its originally bulky body became much slimmer, and it quickly disappeared from sight. Lao Xu stopped and said, "Don't chase it anymore, it's too late, it's almost gone."

I asked Lao Xu, panting, "What is this thing? Lao Xu, tell me quickly. If those thugs aren't dead, they'll probably hear this shot. What do we do now?"

Old Xu led us back, and on the way he whispered something that, although it also happened near the top of the snow mountain, was far away from Youlong Mountain where we were now.

This is a story passed down among the Tibetan people: on the snow-capped mountains, every night, an animal that hides under the ice emerges and gathers to search for recently deceased corpses. It burrows into the corpse's clothing and devours the flesh, turning the body white. If it continues to attack living people and livestock, it grows larger and larger, eventually shrinking due to the exhaustion from its activity. If it fails to find a living person within two or three days, it disperses and burrows under the glacier to hide until it finds a new corpse. This creature prefers to burrow into snow gullies and ice pits, and only appears at night. Over seven hundred years ago, it caused a great disaster, killing countless people and livestock.

I asked Lao Xu, "So this isn't one thing, but a group? A lot of them gathered together?"

Old Xu nodded and said, "That's right. At most, a dozen or so would attach to a single corpse. They would absorb the flesh and blood from the corpse and become fat, like lumps of fat. From a distance, they would look like a chubby snowman. Tibetans call them 'Snow Maitreya.' They have been around for a long time and have been gradually forgotten by people."

I gasped, looking at Tian Li with lingering fear, and said, "That thing that almost pounced on me must have been this. If Tian Li hadn't fired, I would have died. It was fucking terrifying!"

Old Xu shook his head and said, "This shouldn't be the Snow Maitreya. The thing on the black shadow that ran away wasn't white; it was covered in black, fuzzy hair. A few years ago, the people carrying sky lanterns caused a lot of trouble and killed many locals. Later, the public security and armed police joined forces to go into the mountains to suppress the bandits, but only two escaped alive. According to them, the Snow Maitreya that is said to exist in Tibet has taken root on the top of Youlong Mountain. However, strangely, these Snow Maitreya have turned completely black and smell extremely foul. Now it seems that many of these golden corpses were buried in Youlong Mountain, and the Snow Maitreya mutated them after devouring their bones and flesh. We locals call this thing 'Black Maitreya.' Tibetans say that this thing is particularly afraid of salt. Its only weakness is that it can only come out at night. Even if it rains or snows during the day, it dares not show itself. However, I don't know if it still has these weaknesses after turning into Black Maitreya."

Finally, Old Xu said to me heavily, "We only have a little salt left. Black Maitreya will definitely come to cause trouble again. Those people carrying sky lanterns will know we're behind us when they hear the gunshots. They're probably waiting for a chance to launch a sneak attack. It looks like there will be a good show on the top of this snow mountain tonight. Everyone, don't go to sleep."

The golden corpse, the black Maitreya, and the thugs on the snowy mountaintop who could shoot at any moment—the more I thought about it, the more oppressed I felt. My mouth tasted bitter. I glanced at Tian Li; her expression was solemn, and she gripped the gun barrel tightly, showing much more composure than I did.

We picked up our equipment, realizing we couldn't stay here any longer. Black Maitreya had been injured and fled, and no one could guarantee it wasn't going to gather its companions. If those people carrying the sky lanterns sent men down to deal with us, our weapons would be insufficient to withstand a sneak attack.

After the wind subsided and the snow fell, we decided to take advantage of the calm and the snow stopped to climb up in the dark, determined to find a new place to rest and spend the night.

Before we even reached the avalanche site, the ice caps, crevasses, and ice crevasses caused us considerable trouble. We had no choice but to proceed cautiously, step by step. We still couldn't get very far before I stopped at the edge of a cliff blocking our way. Looking ahead, I said softly, "Tian Li, do you know what the Gates of Hell are?" My tone was surprisingly calm.

Tian Li was startled: "Old Feng, what's wrong with you now? Why are you suddenly bringing up such weird stuff? It's best not to think about ghosts or monsters in a place like this."

I looked up at the mountain with a wry smile. The wisps of black mist that had been quietly drifting among the cliffs and ruins had now gradually condensed and tangled. Wherever they went, countless faint figures floated, most of them with ferocious faces, staring blankly at us, as if they were slowly flowing and gathering together.

It was like a dream, but a black dream. I stared blankly at the cliff face, where a meteorite had punched a large hole, from which black smoke was billowing out. Old Xu and Tian Li were also staring in disbelief. The appearance of this cave was really unfortunate. Black Maitreya was secretly following behind, while we were blocked by the rocks. What was even more deadly was that there were three large characters on the rocks, in Qin seal script. Although I didn't recognize seal script, I still remembered these three characters because they had appeared more than once in the movies I had seen.

"gate of hell"!

Standing before these three large characters, we stared at each other, wide-eyed, and could only choose to remain silent.

With a loud shout, Old Xu swung his long sword and brought it down heavily behind us. In the flash of the blade, a black, furry ball on the ground squeaked and pounced into the air, like a hedgehog. Its black fur stood on end, and its fleshy underside was extremely sticky. It had no nose or eyes, only tiny mouths that kept opening and closing. You could imagine the terrifying consequences of being bitten! So this was the true form of Black Maitreya. Fortunately, there was only one. Old Xu chopped it into pieces with a few strokes and burrowed into the snow.

Ignoring the sweat on his brow, Old Xu said in a deep voice, "We can't stay here any longer. The Black Maitreya has already surrounded us. It seems we won't last until dawn if we don't go into the cave!"

I rummaged through my backpack and pulled out the headlamp and hunting knife that Lao Qin had prepared. At least I had some weapons. I only had one headlamp, so I took the lead and cautiously walked into the cave.

As soon as we entered the cave, a blood-curdling scream came from inside. Then, the painful howls kept reaching our ears. I couldn't help but grab Lao Xu and ask him, "Listen, isn't that the sound of being bitten by Black Maitreya?"

Old Xu shook his head in confusion: "No, it can't be. The Black Maitreya pounced all over me and followed the heat into my mouth first. It's impossible for someone to howl for so long. Could there be something else in this cave?"

I caught a glimpse of the growing number of Black Maitreya figures behind us, and knew I couldn't hesitate any longer. I quickly pulled Lao Xu and Tian Li into the cave, and took out the only bit of salt we had and sprinkled it at the entrance, hoping to hold off the Black Maitreya figures for a while so we could get further away.

The howling from deep within the cave gradually subsided, the sounds becoming faint and piercingly cold as they drifted over.

We walked a short distance and finally arrived at the place where the screams came from. Although I had already experienced many terrifying scenes, I was still terrified by the cruelty in front of me at this moment!

A man, who should have been a burly, imposing figure, stood upright, his hands clasped together, tightly bound to an iron bar. Several iron buckles were fastened around his neck, stomach, and calves, slowly rotating. Horrifyingly, beneath his feet was a round iron disc with several sharp knives fixed to it, blades facing upwards. With each rotation of the iron bar, the man passed over these knives, a strip of flesh being sliced off. Several piles of skin and bits of flesh had accumulated on the disc, and upon closer inspection, some internal organs could be seen wriggling. The man had been scraped to almost nothing by the sharp knives, but his head remained, his eye sockets bulging with blood. He had likely watched helplessly as he was cut to pieces, unable to escape, and died a painful death.