El beso inolvidable de Ghost Lips

Capítulo 59

The young master grew anxious and hurriedly said, "How could I not be hungry? Eat quickly! People need food to survive; you'll get hungry if you don't eat for a day. How many days have you gone without food?"

The girl just looked at me with disgust, neither taking the steamed buns or the kettle, nor saying a word. My heart sank to the bottom. Could it be that something really happened to the girl? But—she was standing right in front of me, perfectly fine. She could talk and laugh, and there was nothing wrong with her at all. However, her face was frighteningly pale, lifeless, and even her usually bright eyes seemed to be shrouded in a gloomy, ghostly aura.

"Girl, just eat a little!" I forced a smile and tried to persuade him. Old Zhang next to me had already changed his expression and slowly took two steps back. I saw his hand move and a strange red rope appeared in his hand.

I gave Old Zhang a look, signaling him not to make any rash moves, and was about to speak when the young master shoved me and said, "Old Xu, what's wrong with you? If the girl doesn't want to eat, fine, but who can eat anything here?"

I shook my head and didn't say anything. I remember very clearly that after we went out yesterday, we ran into the tenement building and ate like crazy without caring about anything else. Back then, if anyone had given me water and steamed buns, I would have called them my father. But now—the girl has been trapped inside for a day and a night longer than us, but she is refusing food as if nothing is wrong. This is completely illogical.

I took two steps back, about to say something, but at that moment, Huang Zhihua exclaimed in surprise—

"Old Xu, watch out!" I was startled and turned around abruptly, but I didn't see anything. I was stunned for a moment and involuntarily looked at Huang Zhihua with a questioning look.

Huang Zhihua opened his mouth, about to speak, when I suddenly felt a tightness on my ankle, as if something was grabbing it. I was immediately startled and looked down. I was terrified. There was a hand on my ankle, gripping it tightly. The hand seemed to have been soaking in the water for a very, very long time. Most of it was rotten and exposed, revealing the white bone. But this one hand was now firmly holding onto my ankle.

I was both shocked and furious, and struggled desperately. Huang Zhihua also ran over. He didn't dare to use a weapon or fire a gun, for fear of hurting me. He just desperately stomped on the hand that suddenly appeared...

But that hand was incredibly strong, gripping my ankle painfully. Just then, I heard the young master cry out in alarm beside me. Turning around, I saw that both of his feet were being grabbed by several strange hands at the same time. I didn't care about anything else and suddenly pulled out my bronze sword from behind me, slashing it down hard at the hand on my ankle.

I severed that hand with my sword, but it still bounced around on the beach a couple of times before stopping. I could clearly see that the hand was rotten and oozing yellow fluid. I don't know how long it had been dead, but it still had to come out of the beach to harm people.

In that brief moment of surprise, I heard the young master exclaim, "Old Xu, quickly pull me up!"

I didn't have time to examine the strange hand. I rushed to the young master's side, grabbed him tightly, and pulled with all my might. But instead of freeing him from the strange hand, I dragged several corpses out of the beach...

There were several mutilated, decaying corpses lying face down on the beach, clinging to the young master's ankles, as if they absolutely had to make him stay and keep him company.

I watched those horrifying, hideous corpses writhing and crawling on the beach, my heart pounding with fear. In that instant, the seemingly normal beach suddenly erupted with mutilated, rotting corpses from beneath, and even from the underground river. In a flash, I was surrounded. I frantically swung my ancient bronze sword, but I couldn't cut down so many rotting corpses.

I felt a chill run down my spine, and my hands and feet were trembling. These corpses, which had been dead for who knows how long, had inexplicably crawled out, as if suddenly given life, struggling incessantly on the ground. I saw... some of the rotting corpses even had ugly, terrifying corpse worms clinging to their bodies.

If I could, I would want to scream out the panic in my heart, but—right now I just want to laugh hysterically. What's wrong with me?

"Clang...clang..." Just as we were in a state of chaos, suddenly, I heard several strange gong sounds, which struck my heart hard and made me feel very uncomfortable. I was about to find the source of the sound when, at this moment, the young master suddenly exclaimed.

I quickly turned around and saw that although the young master had finally escaped the attack of the rotting corpse with the help of Old Man Zhang, he was also quite frightened. His face was as pale as earth, and he was not much different from the half-rotten corpse lying on the ground.

"Girl...where is the girl..." In his panic, the young master cried out in terror, for the girl was his life.

I looked up and around, and sure enough, all I could see were countless mutilated and rotting corpses crawling on the ground. The girl was nowhere to be seen. Under these circumstances, even if I didn't believe Old Ghost Chen's words, I had to believe that the girl was indeed suspicious.

“Fool…” Tears of despair streamed down Old Zhang’s face. “Don’t you understand? She’s not a girl anymore. She brought us here on purpose…”

Yes, that girl deliberately led us to our deaths. We'll all be left behind to become her grave offerings or her food. Didn't Old Chen say that zombies must rely on the flesh and blood of their own kind to survive? In my hazy vision, I seemed to see the girl baring her fangs, viciously lunging at me, then biting through my throat and devouring my flesh...

"Old Xu... Old Xu... What do we do now?" Huang Zhihua asked anxiously from the side.

I staggered back two steps, shaking my head helplessly. How could I know what to do now? Who could remain calm and think when faced with corpses scattered all over the ground, especially rotting corpses from an unknown era? Besides, my mind was in complete turmoil, and all I could think about was that girl…

Old Zhang was still clutching that strange red rope in his hand. To be honest, it was the first time I had ever seen such a bizarre rope. I knew it was the corpse-binding rope that was famous in their industry. If it were any other time, I would have grabbed the rope from his hand and studied it carefully. But now, the rotting corpses all over the ground were stirring restlessly.

I brandished my ancient bronze sword, hacking down several corpses haphazardly, but the number of rotting bodies kept increasing; I had no idea where so many decaying corpses had come from. I couldn't help but think of the scattered, incomplete remains in the Guangchuan Royal Mausoleum. Why were there so many mutilated corpses in these tombs?

Among the corpses scattered everywhere, I was unable to find a single intact body. Did the ancients really have the custom of dismembering people for burial?

Huang Zhihua held a replica military bayonet in his hand. His original military bayonet had been destroyed at the entrance of the ancient tomb. He didn't know where Old Zhang had bought this military bayonet. Although it wasn't a genuine product, it would still work. The young master held an entrenching tool in his hand, but tears streamed down his face. I understood his sadness. He had even told me privately that if this matter could be resolved, he would ask his aunt to propose marriage to the girl. Regardless of the girl's wishes, he wanted to give it a try.

I knew perfectly well that the girl was interested in me. If it weren't for the young master, I would have accepted her. Such a wonderful girl, once missed, would be hard to find again. But now—everything is over.

According to Old Chen, the girl is already dead...

Yes, she refused to eat, and I knew something was definitely wrong with her. I just didn't know if it was beyond saving. While I was lost in thought, more and more rotting corpses attacked us. Huang Zhihua was almost dragged down by the corpses when he wasn't paying attention.

If it weren't for the young master's desperate effort in smashing the head of one of the rotting corpses with his entrenching tool, Huang Zhihua might have been in serious trouble. And even though we chopped these mutilated corpses into pieces, it had no effect; they continued to charge at us...

Half a mutilated head was hanging from the young master's trouser leg, its remaining teeth biting the leg tightly. If he hadn't been wearing heavy rubber armor, he probably would have been bitten on the spot... Old Zhang's clothes were also staring intently at a hand that was nothing but bones, with a finger missing. Chen Laogui and I also had some human remains stuck to us. If it weren't for the will to survive, I probably would have gone crazy long ago.

My scalp tingled, and goosebumps rose all over my body. If I could, I would just smash my head against a wall and die. What... is this?

The young master kept shouting and yelling, but he still couldn't stop the rotting corpses from rushing over. Those who hadn't witnessed it firsthand couldn't imagine the kind of terror that seeped into their bones—these were once our kind, why are they still so fierce after death, as if they wouldn't be satisfied unless they left us behind to keep them company.

I instinctively brandished the ancient bronze sword, thinking that this was the end. With so many rotting corpses, it seemed like we couldn't escape. Besides, where could we run to?

"Clang...clang..." My consciousness seemed to have become blurred, and in a daze, I vaguely heard the sound of two gongs being struck.

I was suddenly startled. I calmed myself and tried to figure out where the gong sound had come from. I turned around and, through the layers of rotting, mutilated corpses, I saw a figure standing alone on the Longtan beach, illuminated by the miners' lamps above us. His eyes were bloodshot and his face was streaked with crimson tears. He was staring intently at us—it was the corpse driver.

I could see clearly that the hollowed-out gong was now in his hand, and with the sound of him striking the gong, these rotting and incomplete corpses began to attack us methodically.

It turned out that it was this old ghost causing trouble—I was shocked when I realized this. I knew that the Yin Gong was used to ward off ghosts, but could it have another function, such as controlling corpses?

Right, how could I be so stupid? Back when Wang Quansheng's body turned into a zombie, wasn't it Old Zhang who invited him over to drive Wang Quansheng's body back to Donghua Town? But in the end, although he brought Wang Quansheng's body to Donghua Town, he didn't go home; instead, he came here...

"Clang clang..." In the distance, the corpse driver's face twisted into a ferocious smile as he forcefully struck the gong in his hand. Instantly, countless mutilated corpses swept towards us once again, like the surging Yellow River.

"Old Xu, what are you daydreaming about? Stop him!" Huang Zhihua blocked my way, slashing down two crawling corpses and shoving me. I snapped out of my daze and hurriedly said, "Old Huang, look over there..." As I spoke, I brandished my bronze sword, protecting the young master as I slashed down several rotting corpses.

Thank goodness, these rotting corpses are not intelligent; they only know how to attack us on instinct. But even after we cut them to pieces, they still relentlessly charge at us.

The entire underground Dragon Beach was littered with limbs and remains. Human language seemed utterly inadequate in that instant; I felt numb, unable to comprehend why... why things that had lost their life force could still crawl out?

"Dong...Dong..." The sound of the gong struck my heart hard, and my heart couldn't help but tremble.

"Old Xu, this won't work, we have to take care of that thing!" Huang Zhihua was a soldier, and when soldiers are angry, their blood boils, and they dare to "do" anything.

Suddenly, a thought struck me, and I exclaimed, "Fire...that's it! Use fire!"

"That's right, Lao Xu, you're really smart!" Huang Zhihua exclaimed happily, "You hold them off for me, I'll deal with these ghosts." Goosebumps rose all over my body. These ghosts lying on the ground were once our kind...

Huang Zhihua frantically pulled out incendiary bombs from his backpack and threw them without thinking. The two bombs exploded in the rotting corpses, sending sparks flying everywhere. The rotting corpses on the dark ground began to struggle amidst the flying sparks, and some even let out shrill screams, striking us hard with each scream.

"Dang dang dang..." A series of rapid, hoarse gongs rang out, echoing in the pitch-black underground world. The echoes mixed with the shrill screams of the rotting corpses, making it extremely unpleasant to hear.

My God! It was like the wailing of ghosts, a living hell. My heart kept sinking lower and lower. I realized I couldn't take it anymore. My instinct was to cover my ears and shut out the sound, but it seemed to come from the depths of my own soul, tearing my eardrums apart and piercing my brain with each sound.

"Old Xu, give me a hand..." Huang Zhihua called out to me urgently.

I froze, only to see Huang Zhihua, holding an incendiary bomb, rush towards the rotting corpses scattered on the ground. Several rotting corpses grabbed him, and he stumbled, almost falling to the ground. His movement threw our group into chaos. Young Master was the first to give way, but luckily Old Chen was there to look after us. He was a seasoned veteran of the Southern Crawlers and had a knack for dealing with zombies. However, even he was now busy and flustered. To make matters worse, Old Zhang next to us seemed to have gone mad, his eyes glazed over, instinctively swinging the corpse-binding rope.

Ignoring Old Zhang's strange behavior, I rushed to Huang Zhihua's side with my bronze sword, helping him cut down several rotting corpses to free him. He then charged towards the corpse driver; his target was clear—the corpse driver.

With a deafening roar, flames burst forth in the darkness, illuminating the world with brilliant light.

"Clang clang clang..." The gong sounded again, like a sudden rain, but a figure was struggling painfully in the flames.

"Damn it, it's cooked perfectly..." the young master shouted.

Huang Zhihua freed his hands and threw a few more incendiary bombs. In an instant, flames leaped in all directions, and the rotting corpses squeaked and cried out in the flames, like the wails of ghosts...

We finally caught our breath. Huang Zhihua pulled me to a quiet spot, took several steps back, and watched as flames burned the mangled, rotting corpses. These were once our kind, but now they were ghosts. For some reason, I suddenly wanted to cry—

It was obvious that these rotting corpses were afraid of fire. Huang Zhihua, with a gloomy face, took out all the incendiary bombs and threw them all over. Soon, the area around us was engulfed in flames.

The scene was both spectacular and eerie. Once the rotting corpses were touched by the flames, they could not be extinguished, and even jumping into the water was useless. Naturally, they had no time to attack us. For a time, even the surface of the water was covered with patches of flames.

"Enough!" Suddenly, Old Zhang seemed to have gone mad, laughing desolately to the sky, and charged into the burning, rotting corpses without warning. I couldn't stop him, and only managed to tear off a piece of his clothing.

"Master, I'm here!" Old Zhang let out a shrill scream, a sound that seemed inhuman, like the howl of a wounded beast, or the vengeful spirit from hell demanding revenge. As he spoke, he rushed into the flames and embraced the burning corpse driver...

Such a sudden change left us all speechless. We could only watch helplessly as Old Zhang, clutching the corpse of the corpse driver, rolled around in the fire. I saw tears streaming down Old Chen's face. When he saw me looking at him, he immediately shook his head and explained, "His master was burned to death by him. That's how it is."

"Ah..." The young master exclaimed in shock, "You mean his master didn't die, but was actually burned alive by him?"

"You know nothing!" Old Chen's face was frighteningly pale, all traces of his composure from Huadong Town were gone. After a long while, he trembled as he said, "His master's corpse turned into a zombie after he died. He burned the body, but he and his master were like father and son. He just watched helplessly as his master, as if he were still alive, was burned to ashes..."

I suddenly realized that this had always been his nightmare, and now seeing the same scene, had he gone mad on the spot? I couldn't help but shudder. Girl... wasn't she just like she was alive now?

Old Zhang's body was covered in flames as he tumbled and fell into the water. I looked at Old Chen and asked coldly, "Why didn't you stop him just now? If you had pulled him up, he might not have died." I was trying to protect the young master and couldn't grab Old Zhang. Huang Zhihua was busy dealing with the rotting corpses. Old Chen had plenty of time to block Old Zhang, but he didn't move.

Looking at the tear stains on his face, I couldn't help but feel a bit of hypocrisy, like crocodile tears.

"Being able to die here is enough for him; what's wrong with that?" Old Chen seemed to have calmed down, took out a gas mask from his backpack, and put it on.

The pungent stench of burning corpses filled my nostrils. I quickly copied Old Chen and pulled out a gas mask, putting it on. Just as I was about to remind the young master, I suddenly noticed his gaze fixed intently on the distant water.

I froze, followed his gaze, and was immediately dumbfounded—My God! What was that? A water palace!

Indeed, I can see a huge palace on the water in the distance. It must be a large tomb. Could it be that this is not the Shadow Kunlun Eye of Wind?

"Quick, put on your gas mask! What are you standing there for? Are you looking to die?" Huang Zhihua shouted anxiously, putting on his gas mask as he spoke.

The young master didn't move, so I nudged him. He seemed to snap out of a daze, hurriedly put on his gas mask, and looked at me, asking, "Old Xu, did you see that?"

I nodded and said I saw it, a water palace! Probably another large tomb. Anyway, this is an ancient tomb, and no matter how many things there are, they can no longer surprise me. What could be more terrifying than being attacked by corpses everywhere as if they were alive? What could be more frightening than your friends becoming living dead?

"Shall we go over and take a look?" Huang Zhihua asked for everyone's opinion.

I nodded. Since things have come to this point, and so many people have died, in fact, when we entered this place, no one expected to be able to leave and see blue skies, white clouds, and gentle breezes.

He was already wearing a water suit, and because there had been a rotting corpse in the water earlier, Huang Zhihua was afraid of encountering something again, so he couldn't help but fire a flare at the water's surface. The flare drew a pale white arc in the darkness and fell far away on the water's surface. We could see clearly that not far from the flare, a magnificent and huge floating tomb stood tall.

"Ah..." I suddenly remembered that this floating tomb looked familiar. Wasn't it the one painted on the back of that gold and silk scroll?

"Be careful when you go into the water. If any of your companions go missing, don't dive underwater to look for them. Just take care of yourselves here..." Old Chen instructed us as we went into the water.

"Wait!" the young master suddenly exclaimed, "Old Xu, what kind of place does this place look like?"

I froze, instinctively looking around. The beach was pitted and uneven, with remnants of burning everywhere. The air was filled with a nauseating stench, mixed with the rotten yellow sand smell unique to the Yellow River, an indescribable stench.

"Yes, this place looks familiar to me too. I feel like I've seen it somewhere before," Huang Zhihua chimed in. "This place looks a lot like Longtan on the Yellow River, and that spot should be the eye of the Yellow River."

Hearing him say that, I looked around and sure enough, it was very similar to Longtan on the Yellow River. I couldn't help but think of Lao Cai. When the young master and I first came to Donghua Town, he had contracted the tenement building to use as a guesthouse. That night, he took us to broaden our horizons—and ended up having Shan Jun stay there with us.

I remember that night when we looked down from the hillside, we saw countless will-o'-the-wisps... And now, the remaining flames on Longtan have not been extinguished, emitting eerie blue light, just like that night.

Could it be that the small footprints on the Yellow River Dragon Beach were traces left by these decaying corpses when they went out to catch their breath?

I shook my head desperately. Why did I ever get greedy and buy Wang Quansheng's bronzes? If I survive to go back, I will never touch antiques again in my life. Even if I were to work on a construction site carrying bricks, I would never get my hands on anything from ancient tombs.

"This corresponds to the Yellow River Eye," Chen Laogui explained. "They've studied the Yellow River Eye for so long, so naturally they know a little more than we do."

"Corresponds?" Huang Zhihua asked, frowning, full of doubt. "This can correspond?"

Old Chen said that there is a Dragon Beach above and another Dragon Beach below. The two places are two completely isolated worlds, but they are almost identical in terms of geographical environment. In burial, this is called a pair of burials. Generally speaking, there is a tomb chamber above and a tomb chamber below.

The upper tomb chamber is the high platform we discovered by chance, which was later moved there by Professor Wang. The curse of the dragon coffin also started from there. The tomb below is the true burial place of the tomb's owner.

Chapter Ten: Destiny, Demon Emperor's Corpse

Old Chen reminded us to be very careful once we got into the water. The four of us went into the water, and since we were all wearing water suits, swimming across wasn't too difficult. The three of us were all excellent swimmers, and to our surprise, Old Chen was also a pretty good swimmer. I thought about it and it made sense; after all, he had lived by the Yellow River for so many years, it would be strange if he couldn't swim.

There were five of us when we came, but now there's one less. And what Old Chen said sent chills down my spine. Are we all going to die here in the end?

I couldn't help but ask Old Chen, "Where were you originally from? How did you end up doing this kind of thing?"

Old Chen seemed much easier to talk to than the deceased Old Zhang. He said that when he was a child, he was so poor that he had no food to eat, so he searched through mass graves. Later, he met his master, who took him in as an apprentice, thus officially entering the profession. After his master passed away, he stayed by the Yellow River to study the so-called "eye of the Yellow River".

The legend of the dragon in the Yellow River probably originated in the Han Dynasty. It was likely a deception created by Liu Qu, the King of Guangchuan, to mislead people. In the past, during times of drought or flood, there were some very cruel sacrificial practices to worship the dragon god.