Erreur Yin et Yang

Chapitre 17

Because of the enormity and resentment it caused, leading to endless wars, the "Ziwei Dou Shi" burial formation had been lost since the Qin and Han dynasties, and no feng shui master throughout history knew of it. Even the patriarch Zhang Sanlianzi only occasionally unearthed fragments from the tombs of his predecessors, recording them as unofficial historical tales and legends, without taking them seriously. I never imagined that today, I, a junior, would have the opportunity to see it; how fortunate I am!

Based on the incomplete descriptions in the *Sixteen-Character Yin-Yang Feng Shui Secret Technique*, I speculate that the true location of this tomb must be traced deep into the stalactite cave, one of the seven caves currently visible. According to ancient texts, this "Purple Star Fighting Formation" tomb has two paths to reach. The one currently before us is a path to the mortal realm; there is another path to the underworld. It is said that this underworld path is extremely treacherous, requiring passage through the Nine Netherworlds, crossing the Bridge of Helplessness, traversing the River of Ten Thousand Ghosts, and encountering vengeful spirits before reaching it. I have never heard of anyone ever traversing this underworld path.

As we walked into the cave, we saw stalactites that were round and crystal clear, with strange shapes. Some hung upside down from the cave ceiling, while others had grown from water droplets on the ground over the years. Each one was shaped in a wonderful way, like gods and Buddhas, lotus seats, people, animals, plants, and furniture. They were all kinds of things, and walking through the cave made people linger and forget to leave.

Shirley Yang and I listened to the dripping sound of water as we wound our way down a rugged path. The cave ceiling was covered with a dense layer of water droplets that fell from time to time, landing on our necks, faces, and arms, sending a shiver of coolness through us and temporarily relieving our fatigue.

The path leads diagonally deep into the cave, where everything is shrouded in white light, requiring no external light source. These stalactites are referred to as "stone marrow" in feng shui texts, meaning the essential bone structure of natural rocks. Large clusters of stalactites can gather water and energy, forming a yin magnetic field that illuminates acupoints; therefore, they are placed here as one of the seven star acupoints in the "Ziwei Dou Shi" (Purple Star Dipper Formation).

The further we went, the narrower and more difficult the path became, and the more moisture accumulated. Eventually, apart from the stalactites, the cave was completely shrouded in mist, forming an extremely thick curtain of water vapor that floated motionless in the air. As we walked through it, it felt like passing through one layer upon another of these three-dimensional curtains of water, which dissipated at the slightest touch, leaving us soaked to the bone.

Shirley Yang and I held hands and kept climbing over the stalactite forest filled with piles of rubble. Eventually, we lost our sense of direction. Everything around us was wet and white, and we couldn't find a way out. There was only emptiness around us, and the only sounds were our panting and footsteps. We were at our wits' end. We had been walking for more than an hour and had penetrated at least a thousand meters into the earth. We were in a dilemma.

I began to doubt my own judgment. Was this a dead end, a deliberately set trap?

Suddenly, a squeaking sound came from above. I looked up and saw half a pure white human face peeking out from behind the stalactites on the cave ceiling, winking and making faces at us, looking very excited.

Shirley Yang and I were startled and involuntarily took two steps back. How could there possibly be any surviving monsters in this ancient cave that extends deep into the earth?

Seeing that we were terrified, the face clapped and laughed with glee, and even used its large, hairy hands to scoop up water droplets from the cave ceiling and sprinkle them on us.

After calming myself down, I sensed that this thing didn't seem to mean any harm, so I gave Shirley Yang a look, signaling her to stay composed. I quietly backed away, crouching down and sneaking around behind a large cluster of stalagmites, trying to figure out what exactly this thing was.

I circled around to the side of the face, just about to peek out from the stalagmite bushes, when the ghostly thing spotted me at a glance, chuckled, pointed at me, and suddenly swung its hand to slap a bamboo stalk among the rocks on the cave ceiling.

Realizing my cover had been blown, I prepared to sacrifice myself and walk out. But before I knew it, the ground beneath my feet suddenly loosened and cracked as it slapped the stone bamboo. I cried out and involuntarily fell into the pit beneath me.

Volume One: The Ancient Tomb at the Cape, Chapter Thirty-Nine: The White Ape Monster at the Ancient Tomb at the Cape

A sharp pain shot through my back as I slammed into something at the bottom of the pit, crushing the firewood-like material with a crackling sound. Darkness descended upon me as the pit's ceiling snapped shut again, plunging me into complete darkness. I forced myself to roll over, grabbing a piece of firewood to use as a crutch, trying to get up. But the firewood, aged and rotten, snapped in two with a snap as I braced myself against the ground.

Damn it, I collapsed to the ground again, muttering curses as I got up.

Just then, I heard Shirley Yang calling my name anxiously from outside the cave, along with that damned white monster's clapping and laughter. I mumbled a reply and started groping around.

Suddenly, a bright light appeared before my eyes; a speck of green light emerged from the broken piece of firewood, floating erratically in mid-air. By the light, I realized with horror that the firewood in my hand was actually a human thigh bone. The green light was undoubtedly phosphorescence.

I muttered a curse, but the phosphorescence was a pity. Holding the thigh bone that I didn't know whose, I looked around and realized that it was a man-made pit.

It seemed I had just struck a pile of human bones. I kicked it, and suddenly felt a sharp pain in my foot. I lifted my leg and shone the phosphorescent light on my feet, and was horrified to find that the bottom of the cave was covered with a layer of sharp spears. Unfortunately, due to the passage of time, water droplets had solidified and slowly buried them. Otherwise, I would have been riddled with spears. I patted my chest with lingering fear and tentatively reached towards the cave wall.

Just as I touched the cave wall, there was a sudden whooshing sound above me, the cave lid opened, and light streamed in. I looked up and saw Shirley Yang's anxious, pretty face.

I waved to her and said, "It's nothing."

Suddenly, a strange ape leaped out from behind her, its body covered in white fur and skin, and tumbled down into the cave. I stepped back, and it frantically rummaged through the human bones at my feet, picking out a small, glittering, oval-shaped plaque. It bent down, grinned at me, and then, with a mighty leap, it darted out of the more than five-meter-deep pit, quickly climbing onto the stalagmites at the cave ceiling. There, it played with the plaque with obvious delight, laughing heartily.

I looked down at my feet, pulled out the only gleaming long knife from the pile of human bones and hung it at my waist. I grabbed the climbing rope that Shirley Yang had thrown down and was pulled out of the pit by her.

The white ape continued to play with itself on the cave ceiling. By the light, we could see that the small sign appeared to have a black and red skull symbol engraved on it, and on the other side, only a string of letters, seemingly a name. Needless to say, this was another one of those pirate badges or something similar.

The white ape turned its head and saw me crawling out of the trap, covered in dirt. It grinned and scratched its nose with its long, thin, white-haired fingers as if to humiliate me.

Faced with such an idiotic monster, I couldn't be bothered with it. I grabbed Shirley Yang and pulled her deeper into the earth.

Unexpectedly, this creature leaped down and bounded in front of us, blocking our path with both hands. I took a step back, angrily drew my long sword, pointed it at the white monster, and shouted, signaling it to leave. Shirley Yang quickly grabbed my hand, saying not to hurt it.

Seeing my reaction, the white ape chuckled, turned its head, pointed deep into the earth, and suddenly leaped onto the cave ceiling. In a few quick leaps, countless large and small pits suddenly split open in the middle of the path ahead. Seeing this, Shirley Yang and I dared not venture forward rashly.

The white ape grinned and leaped back into the depths, waving at us as it came from.

I glanced at Shirley Yang, and the two of us had no choice but to turn back and follow the white ape back the way we came. Reaching a place shrouded in mist, the white ape beckoned and leaped to the right. We passed through wisps of mist, circled around a large stone forest, and finally, a small, dark cave appeared in the cave wall.

Shirley Yang took out a cold firework, folded it to light, and threw it into the cave. The firework slid down the cave floor and landed at the open space at the end, where it was picked up by a white hand. A flash of light, and a white ape's comical smiling face appeared at the bottom of the cave, grinning.

I helped Shirley Yang take off her backpack, took out a wolf-eye flashlight, turned it on, and handed it to her, telling her to get down first while I stayed up above with a knife on guard.

Shirley Yang tied a long rope to the stalagmite in case she had to return. Watching her climb down the rope to the bottom of the cave, and once her feet were firmly planted on solid ground, Shirley Yang shone her flashlight down below to indicate that she was safe and everyone could go down.

I slid down to the bottom of the cave and stood side by side with Shirley Yang. We shone our wolf-eye flashlights through the cave and discovered that it was actually a large cave with a dry ground and some firewood. It was clearly the dwelling place of this white ape.

How ridiculous! This low-IQ creature couldn't possibly be so bored as to bring us here just to admire its doghouse, could it? I was filled with regret and turned to go back into the hole.

Shirley Yang grabbed me and pulled me deeper into the cave. There, a white ape bent down and grabbed a handful of jingling oval plaques from a corner, then began to sob. Shirley Yang took a bronze plaque, flipped it over to the other side with the skull and crossbones symbol, and read aloud: Elizabeth Jackson. A woman's name.

The plaques in the white ape's hand all bore names, such as Rick Mike and Jeff Yelliva, with many using "Killie" as a suffix, like Alec Kiliage, Jack Kiliage, Johnson Kiliage, and so on. The largest and brightest gold-plated plaque read "Killie Kiliage," clearly the name of a pirate captain.

"Kiliki. Kiliki," Shirley Yang murmured the name a few times, then suddenly turned around and excitedly said to me, "Ba Yi, I know who the owner of this tomb is."

"Who is it?" I asked hastily, knowing that Shirley Yang was always very knowledgeable. My heart trembled with nervous anticipation at the thought of the long-awaited answer finally being revealed.

"Spartacus, the leader of the gladiator slave revolt in ancient Greece, the great hero who fought against the Roman army," Shirley Yang said to me, enunciating each word clearly.

Spartacus, I remember him, I learned about him in my high school history book. But what deep-seated hatred did he have for that pirate captain named Kiriki Kiriki?

Spartacus was originally a Thracian from the northeastern Balkans. When the Romans invaded northern Greece, he was captured and sold into slavery as a gladiator, sent to a gladiator school in Capua for training. Later, his exceptional courage and resourcefulness inspired his companions to seize weapons and escape to Mount Vesuvius to launch a rebellion. Spartacus's rebel army quickly grew from over 70 gladiators to more than 100,000, and they repeatedly defeated the Roman army.

In 72 BC, Spartacus led his army along the Adriatic coast through the whole of Italy, defeating Governor Cassius's army at the Battle of Motina, and then marched south. The Roman Senate declared a state of emergency and ordered Crassus to lead a large army to suppress the rebellion.

That autumn, the rebel army suffered heavy losses at the Battle of Bruttion. Taking advantage of the situation, Spartacus allied with Cyricy Cyricy, the notorious pirate leader who dominated the Atlantic, planning to secretly lead his army across the Strait of Messina to Sicily in Cyricy's pirate ships. However, at the crucial moment, Cyricy Cyricy broke his promise, not only failing to provide ships but also betraying Spartacus's plan to the government forces. Spartacus's plan to build his own rafts to cross the sea also failed. The Roman army surrounded the rebels, and the Roman Senate also dispatched large armies from Spain and Thrace to reinforce them. Finally, in 71 BC, the rebellion was suppressed in a decisive battle in southern Apulia. Spartacus's whereabouts became unknown, and the remnants of the rebel army continued fighting in many parts of Italy for ten years.

After listening to Shirley Yang's detailed explanation, I finally understood.

Spartacus, the leader of the rebel army, was indeed a great man of great talent and wisdom. His extraordinary abilities and skillful leadership are evident in his tomb, which contains the "Ziwei Doushi" matrix, a technique lost for thousands of years. Unfortunately, he ultimately trusted the wrong person, which led to a fatal mistake. One wrong move, and the whole game was lost.

I breathed a sigh of relief. It seems this genius truly died with his eyes wide open, creating such a grand spectacle even in his dying moments, hoping that one day he would return to the mortal world to avenge himself and realize the grand ambitions he had never accomplished.

The white ape sobbed for a long time, then snatched the pirate badge from Shirley Yang's hand, kissed it deeply, buried it in the corner pit, and stomped on the soil with its large foot. For some reason, the white ape seemed to have a deep affection for this pile of things, a particular attachment. In the corner were two skeletons, neither human nor ape, tightly embracing each other, like a pair of lovers.

This is no place to linger. I turned to leave, but Shirley Yang gently patted the white ape's shoulder, preparing to return the way we came.

Unexpectedly, the white ape grinned and blocked Shirley Yang's path. It squeaked and jumped to another corner, brushed away the surface dirt, and casually pulled open a wooden plank on the ground, revealing another deep hole in the ground.

Volume One: The Ancient Tomb at the Cape - Chapter Forty: The Enchanting Sea Siren at the Ancient Tomb at the Cape

The white ape squeaked happily, looked at the cold firework in its hand, turned to smile at us, threw it back into the cave, then leaped into the cave entrance, shouting and yelling as it slid down into the cave with the cold firework.

Although we weren't sure if what lay below was the real tomb of Spartacus, Shirley Yang and I decided to go down and take a look. At this point, we had no better option than to take it one step at a time and hope for the best.

Shirley Yang and I slid down the cave one after the other, which was about several tens of meters deep. I stood in the pitch-black darkness and caught Shirley Yang as she slid down from above. Shirley Yang casually turned on her wolf-eye flashlight and discovered that we were in a spacious tomb chamber, but the white ape was nowhere to be found.

What's terrifying is that the tomb chamber, which is square and only thirty square meters in size, is piled high with stacks of white bones, forming a haystack that is half the height of a room. On top of the eerie white bone stacks, there are twenty or thirty skulls neatly arranged, sending chills down one's spine.

The heads, each with sunken eye sockets, stared at us with an empty, yet somewhat sorrowful look, as if mocking themselves or ridiculing our reality. I gently pulled Shirley Yang away from the piles of bones, lest some fleshy, winged serpent or other filthy creature crawl out.

However, the pile of bones remained quietly, seemingly covered in dust for a long time, without any suspicious changes. Shirley Yang carefully shone her wolf-eye flashlight on the pile of bones and said to me in surprise that there were not only human bones, but also non-human bones.

Sure enough, with Shirley Yang's guidance, I discovered that some of the bones in the pile had human upper bodies, but the lower body consisted of only one thick, fan-shaped tailbone. These tailbones were mostly underdeveloped, with rough joints, large and irregular shapes, forked ends, and uneven bone lines, indicating that the bones were deformed.

Furthermore, some of the skeletons are even stranger. Some have upper limbs that have been reduced to a short pair of fish fin bones, while others have foot bones that are five toes fused together into a single palm-shaped piece. And in the corner of the top layer of the bone pile, there is even a fish skull with a large forked mouth, yet it has high human cheekbones. It is simply incongruous, like a doll created by the creator's mischievous plaything.

I found it boring and, ignoring Shirley Yang's archaeological fascination, found a hidden door behind the pile of bones and pulled her out.

Outside the door was a dark passageway, branching out in all directions in a radial pattern. Some passageways were wide enough for two carriages to walk side by side, while others were so narrow that only one person could pass sideways. We were standing right at one of the radial points.

Based on my speculation, the dark chamber behind me might be an abandoned tool room or side chamber, or a craftsman's rest room, within the burial complex. Presumably, small excavation and tomb-building tools were kept here for future use. As for the tall pile of bones in that half-chamber, it's possible that they were built by white apes.

We stood in the maze of passageways, unsure which way to go. Shirley Yang shone her wolf-eye flashlight through each passageway for me to observe and reference.

As I was pondering this, a delicate laugh suddenly echoed through the dark passageway—a woman's laughter as clear and melodious as a copper bell. The soft, sweet laughter instantly conjured up an image of a beautiful, delicate, and fragile classical woman in my mind. I stood there, stunned, momentarily unable to remember what I was doing.

Shirley Yang whirled around and shone her wolf-eye flashlight in the air. The narrow passageway was empty; beyond the flashlight's beam lay only endless darkness. I turned back, as if I could see an indescribable, alluring temptation hidden within that endless darkness.

I walked stiffly into the narrow passageway. Shirley Yang called out twice, but seeing that I didn't turn around, she had no choice but to follow with her flashlight.

The passageway was rather narrow, winding and turning like a spider. Shirley Yang and I walked sideways, one in front of the other. The road was winding and full of turns, and we wandered around for a while, unable to remember where we were.

The air felt increasingly humid, and my face felt damp. The flashlight beam became dim and yellowish in the heavy humidity, only illuminating a spot four or five steps in front of me. Only the soft laughter and panting could be heard intermittently, occasionally punctuated by a few sounds, lingering in the distance.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, the view suddenly opened up before us. A wide marble-paved path stretched forward, sloping down at a 45-degree angle. The sound of laughter still echoed from the bottom of the slope ahead. Shirley Yang and I walked hand in hand, step by step. After about ten minutes, the path ended, and there was no further way forward at the bottom of the slope.

While it's said that the passageway ended, that's not entirely accurate. Instead, a stone staircase leads directly into the sea ahead. The seawater is dark and ripples gently, suggesting it's connected to the open ocean and experiences tidal cycles.

This stumped us. Amidst the gently rippling sea, a few low, sweet laughs could still be heard. But the sounds seemed to come from different directions, and Shirley Yang and I couldn't immediately pinpoint their origin.

Every time I heard that enchanting laughter, I couldn't help but feel my heart flutter, and my body subtly began to change. I secretly scolded myself for being so weak-willed; thankfully, Shirley Yang didn't notice, otherwise, where would I put my face? Holding her soft, warm hand tightly, I gradually mustered my courage and straightened my chest to face the predicament before me.

The giggling laughter was elusive, sometimes seeming to come from the depths of the water ahead, sometimes from underground, and sometimes even retreating back into the tunnel we had come from, sending chills down our spines. Damn it, could it be a female sea ghost who died unjustly, coming here specifically to seduce men's souls?

Shirley Yang glanced at me, bit her lip, and shone her wolf-eye flashlight on the water ahead, gesturing for us to go down to the water's edge to investigate.

We carefully made our way down the marble walls along the edge of the passageway to the stone steps by the water. I held my pirate sword as a watchful eye, while Shirley Yang shone her wolf-eye flashlight into the distance. The sea was deep, the surface gently rippling, and there was nothing amiss. After observing for a while, we still couldn't discern anything unusual.

Shirley Yang shook her head, turned off the flashlight, and I took her hand to return to the tunnel. It seemed that the giggling might have been a hallucination caused by our prolonged fatigue.

Suddenly, a beautiful song came from the depths of the sea behind me. The syllables were harmonious and melodious, the song was poignant and beautiful, and the lingering sound lingered in my ears, washing over me with the waves.

We turned around abruptly, and to our surprise, a bewitching young woman slowly rose from the seabed, enveloped in a pale yellow aura. Within the aura, this water beauty had long, wet hair cascading over her shoulders, delicate features, and a seductive figure. Her slender arms were clasped in front of her chest, partially concealing her bare upper body and the two delicate, important parts of her body.

She faced us from the depths of the water, her cherry-like lips barely moving as she sang and danced gracefully, like a celestial maiden descending to earth. Only her lower body remained hidden in the ripples, her small navel barely visible. Suddenly, she whirled around, and I vaguely saw a huge, golden fish tail flick out from her lower body before disappearing back into the water in the blink of an eye.

I was startled and pulled Shirley Yang behind me, shielding her in front of me.

Unexpectedly, Shirley Yang angrily pulled me aside, glared at me, pouted, and shone the flashlight on the fishman. The flashlight beam touched the orb of light on the fishman and immediately lost its brightness, as if it had been absorbed, far less bright than the pale yellow orb.

The water maiden's singing voice grew more and more melodious, and her dance moves became more and more graceful. Shirley Yang and I were instantly mesmerized, losing our senses and just staring blankly at her singing and dancing.

In the sea, the water sprite suddenly beckoned gently, pouted slightly, and called out to me, "Hu Bayi, Hu Bayi—"

For a moment, I was stunned into a daze, and subconsciously stepped onto the underwater stone steps and slowly walked towards her. The closer she got, the more charming she appeared. I couldn't take my eyes off her as she beckoned to me, and so I stepped into the sea and walked towards her.

The seawater gradually rose to my calves, thighs, chest, neck, and mouth, and it looked like I was about to be swallowed up. The water maiden's dance became even more frenzied, and her song even more seductive. Suddenly, the pale yellow light emanating from her entire body shone brightly, sparkling brilliantly.

Suddenly, Shirley Yang by the water let out a piercing scream, which sounded particularly harsh in the space filled only with her singing. My mind went blank, and I was caught off guard as my body sank underwater, choking on two mouthfuls of salty seawater that made me cough violently.

I suddenly came to my senses and realized that I was deep in the sea. I turned around hastily underwater and dove towards the water's edge. In my panic, I felt something chasing and biting me from behind.

I plunged into the water and just as I lifted my head out of the water, someone struck me hard, making me scream in pain.

Hearing Shirley Yang exclaim in surprise, "Hu Bayi!"

Shirley Yang reached out and pulled me out of the water. Just as we were about to run to the shore, I suddenly felt a sharp pain behind me. Something jumped out of the water and bit my buttock.

When I reached out, I couldn't knock it away.

"Run!" Shirley Yang screamed, grabbing me and running. I didn't have time to care about what was behind me and just ran frantically with Shirley Yang up the slope and along the path. The thing on my backside was extremely heavy, wobbling like a rock, but it didn't shake off even when we reached the top of the slope.

All that could be heard was a series of heavy objects leaping out of the water from the shore behind them, crashing loudly onto the stone steps.

After finally reaching the top of the slope, I could no longer bear the stinging pain in my buttocks and screamed like a pig being slaughtered.

Shirley Yang turned me around, shone her wolf-eye flashlight on me, and giggled.

At that moment, the sound of laughter made my heart pound. I couldn't help but turn around to look into the depths of the sea, only to find a quiet darkness. The Water Fairy, who had been enveloped by the pale yellow light, was nowhere to be seen.

However, on the stone steps by the water, countless heavy stones kept jumping out, each one baring its teeth and flapping its stone wings, slowly climbing up the slope.

In an instant, the slope was covered with these ugly stones, like toads hopping around.