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The three of them felt a chill run down their spines. When did he get on the bus? They hadn't even noticed!

No one answered. Caesar rolled up the parchment and looked at Situ Xiang: "It's strange. Since you all came to this oasis together, why is it that only college student named Zheng Hao who died?"

The three remained silent.

After a long silence, Yin Li finally spoke: "Perhaps Zheng Hao touched something he shouldn't have touched in the Oasis."

"Brilliant!" Caesar snapped his fingers. Yin Li ignored him, tightened her grip on Situ Xiang's hand, and said, "Situ, think about what strange things happened in the oasis back then. This is very important. Maybe it can solve the mystery of Zheng Hao's death."

Chapter Eighteen: Ghost Fire

Situ Xiang tried hard to recall what had happened that year. They arrived at the oasis at dusk. The desert was swirling with sandstorms, but the oasis was bathed in sunshine, with even the bright moonlight visible. To escape the sandstorm, they decided to spend the night there. He then went to the lake to replenish his freshwater supply, returned, and went to sleep. That night was very quiet; Zheng Hao never left his side. The next morning, Zheng Hao developed a fever, and everything seemed perfectly normal.

etc!

How come he never thought of this before? Maybe during the ten or so minutes he went to fetch water, Zheng Hao went out without telling him!

However, where he went remains a mystery to everyone.

Situ Xiang let out a long sigh, shook his head at Yin Li, who looked disappointed. She touched the gun in her hand and said, "You must come back alive."

"Don't worry, I will." Situ Xiang smiled gently, leaned in and kissed her forehead, then turned and walked out of the car. Yin Li stood there, her cheeks flushed again. Looking at his back, she suddenly felt like crying, gripping the gun handle tightly until her knuckles turned pale.

Qin Wen rolled her eyes. Xiao Li was hopeless. Women in love are all foolish.

Just then, an annoying voice rang in my ear: "Wen, shouldn't you give me a farewell kiss too?"

Qin Wen rolled her eyes and said very rudely, "Go to hell."

"How ruthless." Caesar cocked his gun with a very stylish gesture and said with a smile, "Apply more medicine to the wound on your neck, so it doesn't leave a scar."

This is intolerable!

Qin Wen grabbed a seat cushion and threw it at him. In the blink of an eye, he was outside the car, waving goodbye. Qin Wen gritted her teeth, thinking, "You brat, you might as well die in the oasis, preferably as a midnight snack for those monsters!"

She seemed to suddenly remember something, hesitated for a moment, and then shouted at that annoying person, "Hey, you said before that only I could get the treasure in the Holy Buddha Kingdom's cemetery, what exactly is that treasure?"

A strange smile appeared on that vampire-like handsome face. She saw him move his lips toward her, but no sound came out. Then he winked and got into Min Eun-joon's SUV.

The car started moving, but Qin Wen was still in shock, feeling a chill run through her chest.

Was she mistaken? Was the thing Caesar lip-reading spoke of really in the Mano Kingdom's cemetery? Why would they put that thing in the cemetery?

Yin Li saw her best friend staring blankly and felt a little strange. She waved her hand in front of her eyes and asked, "Xiao Wen, what's wrong?"

"Xiao Li, I feel a little scared." Qin Wen snuggled into her arms, and Yin Li comforted her, "Don't worry, they will come back alive."

“That’s not what I meant,” Qin Wen shook her head. “The things in that cemetery are too precious. Amazing treasures always bring disaster to the world. This treasure was probably the cause of all the tragedies more than 2,500 years ago. I’m so scared. Maybe this time, it will be an even more terrible tragedy.”

Yin Li was taken aback: "What kind of treasure is hidden in the tomb? It's so powerful!"

Qin Wen smiled wryly, shook her head, and said, "I don't want to say it; its name scares me."

Since she didn't want to talk about it, Yin Li wouldn't force her. He patted her shoulder and said, "Go and rest for a bit."

Qin Wen nodded and lay down on the sofa, but felt something in the crevice of the cushion. She pulled it out and saw that it was the parchment!

The two looked at each other in surprise. Had Caesar left this there on purpose?

Has he already resigned himself to death?

At this moment, Qin Wen suddenly began to feel that Caesar was not as bad as she had imagined!

I hope he can come back alive.

The car drove into the oasis. It was very quiet all around. The poplar forest was still beautiful, and the lake under the moonlight was tranquil and gentle. The monsters were gone, as if they had never appeared at all.

Hughes turned off the headlights, parked the SUV by the lake, and then used a hose to siphon water into the radiator. Everyone's hearts were in their throats, and they even held their breath.

The lake remained calm, and the monsters underwater seemed to be asleep, making no sound.

Just as the water was almost full, Marchey suddenly whispered, "Look, what's that?"

Everyone looked over, and something seemed to be flickering in the dense poplar forest, flashing and elusive, like...

Will-o'-the-wisp!

"It's a monster!" Hughes was stunned and raised his gun to shoot, but Min Eun-jun immediately raised his hand to stop him. "Wait, monsters in the water don't glow."

Situ Xiang's heart skipped a beat. Three years ago, when he was fetching water by the lake, he had also seen will-o'-the-wisps, which he had dismissed as a natural phenomenon. But now, he realized that most will-o'-the-wisps in nature were caused by phosphorus, which has an ignition point of 40 degrees Celsius, while the temperature in the desert at night was nowhere near that high!

That's not a will-o'-the-wisp!

Could these things be related to Zheng Hao's death?

He picked up his gun and walked toward the will-o'-the-wisps, but Caesar stopped him, saying with a grim face, "The bigger picture is what matters; don't create unnecessary trouble."

Situ Xiang glanced at him and said, "This is very important to me. Once you've stored the water, don't worry about me, you guys go first."

Everyone watched silently as he walked into the poplar forest with extremely light steps, without saying a word. Several large water tanks were already full. Miller said, "Mr. Min, let's get out of here quickly before those monsters discover us."

Min Eun-joon stared at the will-o'-the-wisps in the forest, then suddenly gave a strange smile and took out his pistol: "This looks interesting."

“Sir!” Miller frowned. Seeing that his persuasion was ineffective, he had no choice but to tell his two subordinates, “Follow them.”

Caesar felt a bit of a headache. Why were they all such willful fellows? Curiosity really can kill.

The forest was dark, with only scattered moonlight filtering through the dense foliage. The six of them walked on the withered leaves, making a very soft rustling sound. Two bright yellow will-o'-the-wisps flickered in the distance, yet they seemed to be alive, impossible to approach.

"Don't you guys feel like the will-o'-the-wisps are leading us somewhere?" Caesar suddenly asked, startling everyone, who involuntarily stopped in their tracks.

Just then, the two will-o'-the-wisps suddenly flew towards the six people. They warily raised their guns, but as the flames drew closer, they realized they were actually two butterflies, bright yellow with beautiful yellow flames burning around them. The group exchanged bewildered glances; the butterflies were getting closer and closer, and they didn't know how to react.

One of them flew towards Hughes and landed on his shoulder. He was taken aback, not feeling any heat, nor did it ignite. Miller removed the butterfly and said, "It's cold fire, don't be afraid."

Startled, the butterfly flapped its wings violently, scattering bright yellow powder onto his hand. He seemed to realize something and quickly let go. The powder, like liquid, seeped into his skin upon contact. His face paled, and he scratched frantically, but to no avail.

"Damn it!" Ma Xie raised his gun and shot the two butterflies through the air. The loud gunshot made the surrounding poplar trees tremble. Situ Xiang's expression changed: "Are you crazy!"

As soon as the gunshot rang out, Marcie regretted it. Miller was furious and punched him in the chest: "Are you trying to kill us?"

Before the words were finished, they heard rustling footsteps. There seemed to be a lot of people surrounding them from all directions. The six men immediately stood back to back, their guns already cocked.

Under the pale moonlight, a series of short figures slowly approached; they were surrounded.

"Charge back," Miller said. "There's no other way but to fight your way through!"

One of the monsters raised its head and let out a long, sharp, and piercing howl, no longer resembling a human. Then, two more monsters pounced from behind, creating a stench. Situ Xiang and Caesar immediately raised their Ghost M4 submachine guns and sprayed them with bullets; the two monsters were riddled with holes when they hit the ground.

The monsters became enraged and roared to the sky. Cold sweat beaded on the foreheads of the six men; the bullets they carried were simply not enough to kill so many monsters.

"Get back to the car!" Situ Xiang roared, firing in all directions. The other five men covered him as they rushed toward the SUV. One monster after another pounced on them, only to be shot down by bullets. The once peaceful poplar forest had become a terrifying battlefield that night, with dark red, murky blood spraying all over them.

The six men were in a frenzy, their eyes bloodshot and they were in a state of hysteria. When they finally returned to the lakeside by stepping over the corpses of the monsters, they found that the off-road vehicle was surrounded by countless monsters. The tires had been gnawed by sharp teeth and were riddled with holes. The water tank was also broken, and clear liquid was gushing out and flowing back into the lake.

Despair instantly gripped everyone's consciousness. They were running low on bullets, but the monsters seemed inexhaustible, swarming in droves as if determined to tear them to pieces.

Hughes screamed in agony as a chunk of flesh was torn from his arm by the monster's teeth. He knocked the monster unconscious with the butt of his gun, tore off his clothes to bandage it, but the blood kept flowing.

Marcel's gun was out of bullets at that moment, so he had to pull a sharp dagger from his boot and plunge it into the eye of the oncoming monster. The monster roared and rolled on the ground in pain. He shouted to Miller, "Captain! What do we do now?"

The captain killed a monster without turning his head: "Shut up! Even if you die, you can't die before me!"

Many monsters were still emerging from the lake. No matter how many they killed, the number of monsters remained the same. Caesar had also run out of bullets and threw his submachine gun hard on the ground.

Just then, two intense white lights pierced through the darkness of the night and shone directly towards everyone. Their vision blurred, and they quickly shielded their eyes with their hands.

Then they heard the monsters scream in terror.

Avoiding the bright light, they saw many monsters lying on the ground, clutching their faces and howling in agony, while the others disappeared into the water or the shadows of the forest. A familiar SUV drove up and stopped in front of them. Qin Wen opened the door and yelled at them, "Get in!"

Six people jumped into the car at lightning speed, instantly making the Hummer cramped. The driver was none other than Yin Li, who shouted, "Hold on tight!" Then she slammed on the gas, and the car shot off like a madman. Situ Xiang almost vomited up his dinner from the previous night: "Xiao Li, can you drive?"

"I drove a tractor when I was a child."

"What?" Caesar exclaimed. "Why are you driving?"

“Because I’ve never even driven a tractor.” Qin Wen shrugged helplessly. With a jolt, Ma Xie’s head hit the side of the vehicle, and he cried out in pain, “I swear, I’ll never get into a woman’s car in my life!”

Monsters were still ramming the car, but none dared approach the headlights. Situ Xiang frowned and said, "Why are you here? Didn't I tell you to wait outside?"

“If we wait outside, we’ll probably only be collecting your corpses,” Qin Wen said, pursing her lips. “Xiao Li and I discovered the weakness of those fishmen.”

“It’s their eyes,” Caesar realized. “Because they live underwater all year round, their eyes have degenerated and can’t stand strong light. For them, even car headlights are deadly.”

With a dizzying spin and a deafening crash, the car slammed into a large poplar tree and came to a complete stop.

Marcel's head was hit again. He pressed his bleeding wound and said bitterly, "Miss, do I have a blood feud with you?"

Yin Li didn't speak, staring straight ahead.

"Hey, miss, are you out of your mind?" Ma Xie tried to grab her shoulder, but Situ Xiang blocked him, so he had to pull back. Yin Li pointed to the spot illuminated by the car headlights and said, "Look at that!"

Following her finger, everyone looked out and saw a poplar tree that was almost as thick as three people could hug, with thick vines tangled around it. Curtain-like cascades hung down from the tree, and a dark cave could be vaguely seen through the vines.

The fish-men seemed to vanish suddenly, and the surroundings returned to a deathly silence.

The passengers remained silent for a while, the atmosphere becoming unusually awkward. After a long silence, Situ Xiang broke it, saying, "I'll go down and take a look."

He looked around carefully but saw no fish-men, as if they had never been there. His face was full of doubt. He walked to the tree hollow, cut the vines with his Swiss Army knife, and saw that there was a bottomless cave inside, so dark that he couldn't see his hand in front of his face, and he had no idea where it led.

A bright yellow flame rose from the cave. Startled, he took a step back and fired his gun. The butterfly fell to the ground.

Could it be... that this bottomless pit is the nest of these strange butterflies?

"Situ, how is it?" Everyone in the carriage came over. Yin Li looked at the butterfly that had lost its flame in surprise. She felt that she had seen it before. She searched her memory and immediately exclaimed.

"Ghost Butterfly!"

"Ghost Butterfly?"

“That’s right, this must be the legendary butterfly formed from the souls of the dead.” Yin Li’s expression was somewhat excited. “Buddhist scriptures say that sinners cannot be reincarnated or become Buddhas until they have atoned their sins. Their souls have nowhere to go and become wandering ghosts. Buddha saw them suffering in the mortal world and couldn’t bear it, so he turned them into butterflies and burned their bodies with Buddhist fire. After three hundred years, they can be reincarnated. I never expected to see such a legendary butterfly here. What a stroke of luck!”

Miller was covered in sweat and seemed unsteady on his feet. Yin Li felt his pulse and then his forehead: "He has a high fever, and his pulse is very strange. He's probably been poisoned!"

Hughes and Marcie rushed over to support him, saying, "He's been poisoned by the Ghost Butterfly. Is there any way to cure him?"

“The Ghostly Butterfly is a creature burdened with sin. The Buddha said there are three kinds of suffering in the world: greed, anger, and ignorance. These three sufferings are also three poisons, and the Ghostly Butterfly carries the toxins of these three poisons, making it extremely potent.” Yin Li bit her lower lip, pondering for a long time before saying, “The Buddhist scriptures don’t describe this much, only mentioning it briefly. I remember the Ghostly Butterfly only grows in fields of ‘Saha-Liu-Li Flowers.’ Everything in the world has its counterpart; perhaps the ‘Saha-Liu-Li Flowers’ can cure its poison, but…”

Are we adrift in this world?

Qin Wen was taken aback. Wasn't this the flower that Kui Ji loved most in her previous life? Back then on Chengtian Terrace, Kui Ji released a huge 'Saha Flowing Flower', which turned the soldiers on their way to war into man-eating ants!

"But what?" Marcie asked anxiously. "Please, miss, can't you finish your sentence at once?"

"The Saha Flower is a demonic flower!" Yin Li's expression gradually turned grave. "Legend has it that its fragrance can cause the darkness and desires in people's hearts to expand without limit, until they go mad and kill each other!"

Chapter Nineteen: The Vampire Tree