Erreur Yin et Yang

Chapitre 28

Only Shirley Yang carefully lit a white candle in the southeast corner of the main hall, an old custom in tomb raiding. Watching the candlelight burn peacefully, she seemed to calm down.

Shirley Yang and I searched inside and outside the main hall, but found no hidden doors or passages. It seemed to be a completely enclosed circular yurt-shaped building, with no distinction between upper and lower levels or front and back secret chambers. Even if I had dug a tunnel from elsewhere, traversing more than thirty feet underground, it would have been difficult to break through this stone-bottomed structure and find an easy place to enter. However, this stone yurt does not necessarily prove that this is Genghis Khan's secret tomb.

Shirley Yang and I were both deflated and prepared to tell Fatty to retreat. Just then, suddenly, hyena-sized black ground squirrels squeezed out from the stone walls. They looked bizarre and silently swarmed in like dumplings being dropped into a pot. They all had blood-red eyes, three long whiskers on each side of their mouths, short limbs, and were crawling around us, baring their teeth.

Damn it, this is clearly a groundhog, how can it be so big? I tensed up immediately and shouted for Fatty to come over so we could concentrate our forces to defend against the enemy.

Shirley Yang, holding a pistol in both hands, fired with both hands, first shooting down several large black ground squirrels. These ground squirrels were extremely ugly and greedy; they swarmed forward and tore apart and devoured the few of their own kind that had just been shot, leaving not even a trace of their intestines or internal organs, almost licking the blood clean from the floor.

We were horrified, huddled together, as the black carpet-like swarm of rats cautiously closed in again. The fat man whispered, "What the hell are those things? How can they walk through the stone wall like invisible superheroes?"

Shirley Yang said that it should be a goblin. In Western legends, it is the soul of a hundred-year-old rat that has possessed a living rat again. It likes to eat carrion and often sneaks into newly buried graves in groups to eat human corpses and attack living animals.

I've never heard of this thing before. However, since it can pass through walls and devour its own kind, it's probably no benevolent creature. This is going to be a big problem.

I glanced around and whispered, “These things have short legs and are fat, so they probably aren’t good at jumping. We should move to the stone bed as soon as possible for safety and to make it easier to defend ourselves.”

Shirley Yang nodded and said, "Don't panic, proceed cautiously." She fired two shots, knocking down several large goblins. The other goblins swarmed forward, scrambling to devour their kind.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, I whispered a shout and urged them to run. The three of us rushed towards the stone bed, leaped onto it, and jumped into the bed full of jewels. The bed was quite large, about half the size of a house. We kicked open a space, and the three of us sat around it to hunt.

In the blink of an eye, the swarm of ground squirrels, numbering over a hundred, rapidly crawled towards the stone bed. The goblins at the front all lowered their heads and ran frantically, disappearing instantly into the stone bed and vanishing without a trace.

I cried out in alarm, and suddenly a swarm of rat heads emerged from the stone bed, desperately stretching their necks to bite at our feet. The sight was terrifying; in the blink of an eye, a group of snarling rat heads poked their heads out from the hard stone, ready to bite. Who could withstand that? It seemed the stone bed was about half a person's height, and the goblins, having concealed themselves within, weren't tall enough. They must have stood upright, staggering as far out as possible, trying to attack and prey on us.

The three of us panicked. Shirley Yang fired a barrage of shots at close range, while I frantically stomped on the layer of rat heads beneath my feet, bent over, and swept my sharp entrenching tool across the stone bed. Instantly, rat heads flew off, leaving a bloody mess, and the stone bed looked like it was covered in moldy, rotten mushrooms. Fatty wasn't to be outdone, wielding his saber and hacking and slashing with great enthusiasm. Before long, the stone bed was stained with blood, forming a small stream.

The goblins rushed forward one after another, then disappeared into the stone bed. Presumably, they first dragged down the corpses of the dead goblins, feasted on them, and made room before standing up and attacking us.

In the chaos, Shirley Yang cried out first, her trouser leg ripped by a goblin's fangs, nearly biting her ankle. It turned out her dual pistols were out of ammo. I rushed over and told her to jump. I swept my shovel back and forth at her feet, chopping off several rat heads with my entrenching tool. I looked around; even the pile of jewels was teeming with rat heads. Damn, there was nowhere to hide.

I glanced at the few cow and sheep hides piled quietly to one side and suddenly shouted, "Quick, jump onto the hides! Goblins can't get through them!" Fatty and I swung our knives and shovels to clear a path, rushed to the other side of the stone bed in a few strides, picked up a few cow and sheep hides, stacked them together, and hurriedly jumped onto them.

The situation improved slightly. We saw the cowhide and sheepskin soles under our feet suddenly rise and fall, and rat heads twitched. It seemed these creatures really couldn't wear leather. We stomped our feet hard, listening to the cracking sounds of bones breaking under our feet, like crushing sweet potatoes. Blood flowed from under the skin and seeped into the pile of jewels and jade.

Taking advantage of the situation, Shirley Yang loaded the magazines, tucked her two pistols into her waistband, and switched to another folding German entrenching tool. Together with me and Fatty, the three of us used our melee weapons to sweep away the goblin heads around the skin like weeds.

While stomping his feet and swinging the shovel with all his might, the fat man suddenly said cheerfully, "Aren't we just being good Samaritans, traveling all the way to Genghis Khan's tomb to learn how to shovel snow in winter?"

Upon hearing this, Shirley Yang and I exchanged a smile. Although we were all splattered with goblin blood, the scene was indeed a fitting metaphor; all that was missing was for each of us to breathe on our hands.

Seeing that most of the goblins had been wiped out, and blood was flowing all over the bed, but there were no corpses on the ground, I was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when I suddenly looked up and saw black-winged creatures squeezing out from the dome. They attached themselves to the dome, flapping their wings and staring at us with their big green eyes, as if waiting for a new round of attack.

I asked Shirley Yang in a low voice, "Are there flying goblins in Western legends?"

Upon hearing this, Shirley Yang looked up, her mouth agape in astonishment. She quickly looked down again, exclaiming, "Oh no! It's not a ghost blood bat again!" No, it wasn't a ghost blood bat. This was the result of a hundred-year-old rat's soul possessing a living bat, and it was a goblin, but a flying one.

I was both amused and exasperated, and muttered, "They even differentiate between flying goblins and crawling goblins? If that damned hundred-year-old rat spirit were attached to an elephant, it would have trampled this dome of the tomb to pieces and buried the three of us alive."

Shirley Yang laughed and said, "You also know that if it's not the same kind, it's very difficult for the spirit of a lower animal to possess you. It's only because bats and rats are close relatives that this is the case."

The fat man was also dumbfounded. He impatiently interrupted Shirley Yang, saying, "What do you mean by 'close relatives are not of the same kind'? Hurry up and think of a solution! Old Hu, you cunning strategist, hurry up and tell me a way, or it will possess you!"

I pursed my lips and said, "There's nothing I can do. Just keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't snatch you away."

The fat man suddenly cleared his throat, looked up and shouted, "Come on, you bunch of bastards!"

Before he finished speaking, all the flying spirits squeaked and swooped down in a massive swarm, as if they were just waiting for the fat man's command.

Volume Two, Chapter Fifty-Eight: Genghis Khan, the Pride of Heaven

Before I could even curse the fat man, the flying demons swarmed at us. The three of us ducked and swung our shovels, slaying more than ten demons, our blood splattering all over our faces and heads. Now we were truly in a mess, completely covered in blood. If any outsiders saw us like this, they would be terrified.

Jokes aside, the scene was incredibly dangerous. These flying spirits were even more difficult to deal with than goblins; they were swift and elusive, appearing and disappearing in an instant, as fast as ghosts. After this round of attacks, Fatty had a bloody scratch on his face, and Shirley Yang's hair was disheveled. A huge flying spirit pounced on my chest, its claws nearly slicing through my neck. Damn it, it was trying to strangle me to death! Luckily, the golden amulet with the pangolin claws that I always wore around my neck blocked the attack, giving me a real fright.

These flying spirits darted through the air like ghosts, splitting into two dark clouds that flew back to the dome, awaiting the next charge. They really had the style of Genghis Khan's battle formation. Could they be Genghis Khan's sacrificial soldiers transformed into something else?

Just then, Shirley Yang stared intently upwards, her brows furrowed. I was about to ask her what was wrong when I saw her raise two guns and fire at the dome. Something seemed to shatter in mid-air, falling silently to the ground with a thud onto the granite floor, breaking into glittering starlight scattered across the floor.

I shone my flashlight on it and saw a luminous substance on the ground, as thin as a cicada's wing, and this thing absorbed the light, so you really couldn't see it unless you looked closely.

Just then, the fat man shouted, "What's that?"

A small tuft of pure white, holy hair drifted down from the dome, floating left and right, leisurely without ever reaching the end. The group of flying spirits suddenly fell silent, frozen in place as if by magic, looking at them at first glance like a group of black statues, though they were still living beings.

It turned out that Shirley Yang had noticed that when the group of flying spirits circled back to the dome, they unnaturally split into two groups, and there seemed to be some kind of taboo at the dividing line. That's when she discovered that there seemed to be a box-like thing that was invisible to the naked eye hanging in the shadows under the dome.

Everything was desolate and lifeless. Then, a small tuft of hair fell, suddenly hovering three feet above the ground, as if afraid that the ground would defile the purity of that tuft of hair.

Shirley Yang, Fatty, and I shone our flashlights over it, only to see that the small tuft of hair reflected a dazzling silver light. A sudden heat surged through my chest, and the jade bead engraved with runes in my arms suddenly rolled onto the couch. The runes spun, shooting out beams of golden runes that enveloped the small tuft of silver hair, lingering for a long time.

The silver hair reflected a beam of light from the ground, shattering the ice, and shot up to the dome, silently turning all the flying spirits in the dome into black ash, which was then scattered by the wind.

The fat man asked in surprise in a low voice, "What is that?" I shook my head.

Shirley Yang closed her eyes and thought for a moment before saying, "It's the most sacred white camel mane of the Mongolian people, the soul-absorbing substance that Genghis Khan, a believer in shamanism, placed under his nose before his death."

Originally, shamanism believed that when a person dies, their soul leaves their body and attaches itself to the first camel hair they see. Therefore, a small tuft of the most precious and sacred white male camel mane was placed on the nose of Genghis Khan, who was about to die. When Genghis Khan stopped breathing and no longer blew on that tuft of hair, people believed that the Great Khan's soul had attached itself to that tuft of white male camel mane, and would be immortal, so it was treasured and worshipped.

Recently, within the cenotaph of Genghis Khan located in Ejin Horo Banner (meaning "Mausoleum of the Holy Lord" in Mongolian) on the Ordos Plateau in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, a small tuft of the most precious white camel mane has been enshrined for generations, said to be an object imbued with Genghis Khan's soul, for posterity to worship. However, it remains to be seen which of these two precious artifacts truly represents the soul of Genghis Khan.

Meanwhile, the light from the stone and jade talisman beads, clinging to the white camel's mane, manifested a magical power that lingered for a long time. We were stunned, unsure of what to do.

Suddenly, a majestic image of an ancient monarch, seated with legs spread wide, appeared faintly in the light. He had a broad face, a full forehead, a square jaw, wide-open phoenix eyes, a broad back and a powerful build, and wore a gray-blue robe over golden armor, giving him the air of a refined and elegant scholar-general.

We were completely captivated; this was clearly Genghis Khan, the great conqueror. But then, Genghis Khan's square face darkened, and he pointed with his right hand. Suddenly, three skeleton generals appeared in the hall, varying in height but all robust, riding armored horses and brandishing swords and spears, charging towards us. These were clearly the three skeleton generals I had dreamt of last night in the caravan, the ones who had been chasing and attacking us from outside.

Before I could even understand what was happening, a spear pierced through my body, and the entire horse and rider passed right through me. Shirley Yang was startled, and she and Fatty looked at me. They were unharmed; it was just a ghost that had passed right through me.

But after being pierced through twice by the fast-moving skeletons, I started to feel uneasy. I had a vague sense of unease, as if my three souls were being forced out of my body. I was horrified. These creatures wanted to possess our bodies by piercing through us, turning our souls into wandering ghosts!

I quickly explained the situation to Fatty and Shirley Yang, instructing everyone not to let their guard down, as this would only make things worse, and we must be on high alert.

Unexpectedly, the fat man began swinging his eight-foot-long saber repeatedly, gradually descending into a frenzy. His eyes turned bloodshot, he roared incessantly, and gesticulated wildly, completely out of control. Suddenly, the saber shone with a brilliant crimson light, and a skeletal spirit leaped from its blade, dressed exactly like the other three skeletal spirits. It roared and, riding an armored horse spirit, jumped off the saber—a miniature version of the skeleton general we encountered at the ruins of the "Ordo" camp in the spring.

As soon as the general with the saber appeared, the other three charging skeleton generals turned their horses and leaped away, seemingly wary of him, forming an encirclement. The four skeleton spirits stopped their horses and stared at each other, even the image of Genghis Khan remained silent.

Suddenly, the spirit of the saber bowed deeply to the image of Genghis Khan, as if performing a ritual of audience with a monarch. After the ceremony, he abruptly reined in his horse and took two steps back, loudly protesting with a passionate expression. Unfortunately, it was in Mongolian, which we could not understand.

The entire hall resounded with the righteous and stern accusations of the General of the Sabers, their echoes deafening. Shirley Yang listened for a long time before telling me and the now-quiet Fatty, "This General of the Sabers was named Temukha, a cousin of Genghis Khan. He was a master of military strategy, renowned for his military achievements, bravery, and exceptional martial arts skills, making him one of the top military commanders in the Mongol army. During Genghis Khan's western campaigns, most of the ingenious strategies for charges, battle formations, and sieges originated from Temukha. At that time, the Mongol cavalry revered Temukha and three other generals (the spear general Yimazhen, the archer general Odos, and the greatsword and iron shield general Zhongqi, who were present at the moment) as the 'Four Great War Gods' under Genghis Khan. Among them, General Temukha, in particular, was highly respected for his exceptional talent in both literature and martial arts, and for his intelligence far surpassing the other three."

When the westward expeditionary army reached Central Asia, it encountered fierce resistance from the inhabitants of Anatolia. After three years of fruitless fighting, supplies dwindled, and cavalry casualties were immense. Genghis Khan was furious and, disregarding the high walls and deep moats, launched a relentless siege from all sides. Finally, General Temuqa, leading his "Four Great War Gods," was the first to scale the city walls, open the gates, and capture Anatolia. Three years of setbacks were avenged in a single day. Genghis Khan was overjoyed and, surprisingly, declared that the old precedent would be reinstated, allowing the Mongol cavalry to massacre and plunder cities for three days, thus boosting the morale of the westward expedition.

Unexpectedly, Temukha, who was currently pacifying the people in the city, killed three commanders of a thousand men in the name of the deputy commander of the army, and strictly warned against massacring the city and disturbing the people. He also went to Genghis Khan's military camp and argued with him, demanding that the Great Khan rescind his order and abide by the three prohibitions he had made with the Taoist priest Qiu Chuji during the western expedition (namely, prohibiting the army from massacring the city, prohibiting the rape of women, and prohibiting the burning, killing and conscription of soldiers).

Genghis Khan always treated his generals like sons. Upon hearing the news that Temukha had killed three commanders of a thousand, and now that he had openly defied him, he was enraged and had him executed on the spot as a warning to his troops. However, after conquering Central Asia, the western expeditionary army, due to its deep penetration into enemy territory and its continued practice of massacres and burnings, caused panic among the residents of the western regions. The armies encountered fierce resistance from the cities along the way, and despite recovering most of their lost cities, they faced immense difficulties and were forced to retreat in disgrace, thus ending the western expedition.

Only then did Genghis Khan recall the loyalty and foresight shown by Temukha when he argued with him on the day of his death. Now, filled with regret, he buried Temukha's body in the spring "Ordo" camp on his homeland's grasslands and appointed him as the guardian deity of the camp, to be worshipped by his descendants for generations.

Based on my and Shirley Yang's current speculation, Genghis Khan must have killed his cousin Temukha in advance because Temukha was so famous in the army that he feared Temukha would overshadow him and cause a coup in the future, thus eliminating any future trouble.

At this moment, the saber-wielding warrior Temuhe continued to accuse Genghis Khan Temujin, and the other three warrior spirits finally couldn't bear to listen anymore. The spear-wielding warrior Yimazhen, the most hot-tempered of them all, shouted for them to stop, suddenly spurred his horse, and charged forward, thrusting his spear. The saber-wielding warrior Temuhe was enraged. He slightly sidestepped the spear, swung his saber to parry, and as the two horses passed each other, the long handle of his saber struck his opponent's lower back, causing Yimazhen to cough up blood and fall to the ground.

Enraged, the greatsword and iron shield warrior, Qi Shenzhong, swung his sword swiftly, slashing and hacking with unstoppable force. Unfortunately, before three rounds had passed, he was struck down from his horse by the saber-wielding warrior, Tie Muhe, who unleashed three consecutive blows from his horse.

Only the archer general, Odosi, made the saber-wielding warrior, Temuhe, somewhat wary, and he focused intently on dealing with the situation. Odosi turned around, drew his arrows, and nocked them at full strength. The arrows flew like shooting stars, one after another, causing the saber-wielding warrior, Temuhe, to scramble for air. But after the archer had fired six arrows in quick succession, as he was about to draw his own, Temuhe pulled on his reins, spurred his horse forward, and swung his saber repeatedly, forcing the archer to raise his bow in a desperate attempt to block. In just two blows, the bow was severed, and Temuhe fled in disarray.

The warrior Temuhe, wielding his saber, fought with increasing ferocity, turning his horse's head to question Genghis Khan as he pressed forward. The other three warriors spurred their horses forward, surrounding Temuhe and engaging in a fierce, tumultuous battle that was difficult to quell for a time.

Seeing the four war spirits fighting amongst themselves and getting into a chaotic mess, I was about to ask Shirley Yang what to do when Fatty, unable to contain himself any longer, suddenly roared, his voice as powerful as Zhang Fei's shout that severed the Dangyang Bridge, instantly silencing the chaotic atmosphere. The spirits all ceased fighting, retreated, and turned their horses to glare at us menacingly.

"Damn it, you fatso, aren't you asking for death?" Fatty Wang stepped forward, pointed at Genghis Khan, and said loudly, "That's where you went wrong. The former kingdom is gone, but today old friends gather. Why don't you bow your head, admit your mistakes, and renew your brotherhood?" (Sweat, swear, when did this Fatty Wang, a mere roughneck, become so pedantic? So pretentious!)

Wang Pangzi's sermon left the spirits speechless. Shirley Yang and I were on edge; if we angered them, they would gang up on us, and the three of us would soon lose our bodies, becoming lonely ghosts and bidding farewell to this world forever. This scene truly resembled "I Don't Want to Say Goodbye" (Here's a popular song; please applaud to enhance the atmosphere, haha...).

Five minutes of silence followed, then Genghis Khan's image appeared, and he laughed heartily. He rose, shook off the assembled war gods, and walked slowly to Temuhamma. He said in a deep voice, "Brother, I shouldn't have killed you unjustly in the past, harboring selfish motives for the throne. Now the world has changed, and glory has faded with time. If you truly wish for revenge, then give your brother a swift and decisive blow."

(Editor's Note: The following scene of the soul-stirring confrontation doesn't need to continue; everyone is free to improvise. No matter how bizarre your imagination, it's a perfect answer. Anyway, we all know the best and most perfect answer is nothing more than—four words: shake hands and make peace, then ascend to heaven together. Oops, wait, I accidentally wrote eight words again! My apologies!)

Afterwards, Shirley Yang, Fatty, and I finally understood that Genghis Khan did indeed practice sky burial, meaning his body was cremated and his ashes scattered. The Mongols have always revered the soul, treating the body with indifference, and the vast majority practiced sky burial after death.

Only that small tuft of the purest, most sacred white camel mane—the very essence of Genghis Khan's soul—was respectfully sealed in a waterproof plastic bag by Shirley Yang and remained suspended in the main hall as before. This was because, in her haste, Shirley Yang had shattered the crystal coffin that had once housed the white camel mane—a tiny box so thin it was almost invisible to the naked eye.

With the matter settled, the fat man dragged two large bronze bottles filled with jewels and jade, while Shirley Yang and I carefully stored the jade bead. We filed out of the thief's tunnel and returned to the surface.

We sealed off Genghis Khan's secret mausoleum exactly as it was, then walked down the hillside, turning back every few steps, wading through a stream, eating some roasted snake meat and drinking some mare's milk wine along the way. It took us a full half hour to return to the caravan. This long journey left the three of us panting heavily.

The next problem was that the caravan had crashed into a tree and couldn't be driven away immediately. Fatty and I struggled to pry the driver's seat back a little with a crowbar, checked the electrical system and engine, and thankfully, the damage wasn't too serious. After some fiddling, Fatty finally managed to start the caravan using a bare spark plug.

We breathed a sigh of relief, loaded our things into the car, and Shirley Yang, Fatty, and I jumped in one after the other. Since I was thinner than Fatty, I awkwardly squeezed into the driver's seat and drove. Little did we know that the real trouble was yet to come. We didn't know where the winding mountain road that looked like a white jade ribbon had gone; on the way back, the car slid along the rugged slopes, full of potholes, making us suffer terribly.

It seems we must have been led in by a bewitching path laid out by ghosts. Fortunately, that was our original intention—to find Genghis Khan's secret tomb. If we were ordinary passersby, we would have been killed by the spirit of the vengeful general Temujin.

After a bumpy ride that left us with herniated discs, as dusk approached, we drove our tattered but durable truck down the rugged mountains and onto a smooth road. Looking back at the mountains beyond mountains, we could no longer discern the exact location of Genghis Khan's secret tomb. Enveloped in mist, the mysterious site once again remained one of the world's greatest mysteries. Seeing the bewildered and doubtful looks in everyone's eyes, I was reminded of a line from Qin Guan's poem: "Countless mountains, fallen petals like rain, I cannot remember the way I came."

It seems that if we want to come back next time, we'll have to try our luck again and wait for the spirit of the saber to possess the fat man's body.

We drove along the main road, not knowing where we were going. It was almost dawn when we finally came across a road sign that clearly read "Sukhbaatar" in Mongolian and English. This was the small town in northern Mongolia that we had originally intended to reach the previous night. Damn it, we'd gone in a huge circle, but now we'd returned victorious.

After driving thirty kilometers, we indeed entered the small town of Sukhbaatar. The town was fast asleep. We knocked on the door of a motel and introduced ourselves as travelers looking for a place to stay for the night.

Shirley Yang said that the runic jade bead must be kept safe, as it is very likely the treasure that Robert, that old scoundrel, sent Black Jack and his gang to steal. Although its properties are not yet known, we must keep a close eye on it.

For safety reasons, Fatty and I shared a guest room. I kept the jade beads in Fatty's shirt pocket and placed them under the mattress.

Volume Two, Four Kingdoms Campaign, Chapter Fifty-Nine: The Strange Changes of the Soul-Seizing Pearl

The next day, I slept until almost noon before Shirley Yang knocked on the door to wake me. I mumbled an answer, opened my eyes, and saw Fatty still fast asleep. I got up, washed up, and went out to find Shirley Yang.

Shirley Yang and I discussed that the best course of action was to return to San Francisco as soon as possible. We secretly investigated the exact whereabouts of Yang's father, and then tried to use the jade beads we had as leverage to force Robert to exchange the hostages. However, since Yang's father reportedly disappeared mysteriously several years ago while exploring the ancient kingdom of Jingjue in the Western Regions, no one could be certain whether he was alive or dead, or even still in the world. But neither of us had the heart to bring it up, lest we hurt Shirley Yang's feelings.

After briefly explaining, I went back to the room to wake the fat man. The damn fat guy was still fast asleep, and I had to try everything to wake him. But as soon as he woke up, he started muttering to himself in a daze, saying things like, "I am Bishop Beqi, the Sahara Saint," and then, "I am the saber-wielding war god Temuhe! What are you all doing? Dare to provoke me? You'll pay with your lives!"

Oh no, this guy's possessed! I hurriedly called Shirley Yang. Shirley Yang flipped over the bed and found that the runic jade bead was shining with an unusual light, constantly swirling around.

We were completely baffled. Could it be that Fatty was possessed by the ghost of General Temukha, and the lingering memories hadn't faded yet? But what about the "Bieqi" bishop? Was he possessed again by the "Bieqi" statue in front of Genghis Khan's mausoleum? No way, that's too bizarre. Besides, Fatty was perfectly fine on the way back; could he have been possessed only after returning to the city?

I was completely baffled and paced anxiously. No matter how I tried to guide him, the fat man remained dazed, drooling, sometimes bursting into fervent indignation, sometimes muttering incantations, claiming to be Bishop "Bieqi" or the saber-wielding war god Temuhe, but he just wouldn't admit he was Wang Kaixuan, the fat man. I paced back and forth in the room, wringing my hands in frustration, and asked Shirley Yang what to do.

Shirley Yang watched intently as the runic jade bead emitted its radiant light, observing its changing effects on the fat man. Just when the bead finally returned to its original state and lost its luster, the fat man began convulsing, foaming at the mouth, like a mentally challenged patient having an epileptic seizure. He wouldn't wake up no matter how much she called him; this was worse than before, he might even convulse to death.

I hurriedly asked the hotel manager to call an emergency doctor, and the fat man was taken to a large hospital in the city. The doctor gave the fat man two injections of cardiac stimulants, performed subcutaneous tests and a cerebral cortex examination, but shook his head, indicating that he could not find the cause of the illness and that he needed to be hospitalized for observation.

Knowing full well that the runic jade bead was the culprit, Shirley Yang and I were at a loss. That afternoon, Shirley Yang finally contacted an overseas professor of history and religion studies online. After seeing the photos online, the professor hesitantly speculated that the runic jade bead might actually be a legendary otherworldly treasure from ancient Chinese shamanism—the Soul-Capturing Bead. Legend has it that this object is neither jade nor stone, covered in ancient runes that modern people cannot discern. Through the brilliant brilliance of the runes, the Soul-Capturing Bead's magical function can be activated, allowing it to absorb and release souls in specific environments, thereby controlling the surrounding three souls and seven spirits. It is said that ancient shamanistic bishops could use the Soul-Capturing Bead to communicate with the souls of the dead, obtain desired information, and even gain supernatural powers over the underworld.

However, this Soul-Capturing Pearl has only existed in legends, and there are no definite written or illustrated records to this day, so even this learned foreign professor could not confirm it.

The old professor couldn't explain how to save the souls of the living who were imprisoned or absorbed.

What to do now? Should they just let the fat man remain in a daze? The next day, the foreign professor consulted all the ancient texts and finally came to a tentative conclusion. He thought that perhaps they could try going to the Egyptian pyramids. According to the Egyptian pharaoh's texts, the main purpose of building the Great Pyramid was to preserve the bodies and souls of the king and pharaoh intact. The idea was that, after many years, through the radiating power of the Great Pyramid, the pharaoh's soul could be released, resurrected, and reborn to rule his kingdom once more.

Finally, the old professor said that among all the ancient religious beliefs in the world, perhaps only this one is relatively credible. We might as well give it a try, even if it's a last resort, since modern medical science cannot eradicate this kind of soul loss.

In addition, he warned Shirley Yang that she should set off as soon as possible, because if her soul was taken away by the Soul-Stealing Pearl for 2714 days, her body cells would definitely begin to degenerate and die, unlike other common soul loss syndromes.

It seems a trip to Egypt is inevitable. After discussing it with Shirley Yang, we decided that it's not advisable to expel the "Bieqi" and the remnant soul of Temuhe currently lurking within Fatty's body. Because if we find a sorcerer, they might be able to drive away the evil spirits using Maoshan magic, but Fatty would lose his sense of self and become a walking corpse, accelerating the death of his cells. This long journey would be futile; he'd be finished before we even reach Egypt.

Given the current situation, we have no choice but to embark on our journey with the two remaining souls.