История безжалостной женщины-судебного врача, разрушившая жизнь её мужа

Глава 9

The dragon-snake separation guardian formation before them was actually a smokescreen. The reason Xie Qifeng hadn't realized it was because the tomb builders had hidden the male snake inside the stone dragon statue. It seemed the tomb builders had gone to great lengths. As for the large white snake before them, it had probably never been outside. Its skin, constantly in darkness and deprived of sunlight, had lost all its melanin, resulting in its white color. The lack of pupils meant that, having lived in darkness for so long, its eyes were still blind! It could only rely on its forked tongue to locate living creatures.

Before Xie Qifeng could explain, the large, white, eyeless snake, seeing that the group showed no sign of leaving, charged forward. Zhou Qiang, quick-witted and agile, snatched the Soul-Destroying Thorn from Shi Laoliu's hand and said without turning back, "Brother Laoliu, protect Liu Jincai. I'll handle things here." He then went to meet the snake. Xie Qifeng wanted to tell Zhou Qiang not to rush, but the words were already out of his mouth. Zhou Qiang was already facing off against the white snake.

Suddenly, a five-meter-long white snake leaped into the air and lunged at Zhou Qiang. Fortunately, Zhou Qiang was no pushover; he quickly ducked, and the snake grazed past his scalp. Zhou Qiang spun around abruptly, grabbing the snake's tail before it hit the ground. He raised his Soul-Destroying Dagger, but the snake's scales were unexpectedly smooth. With a powerful twist of its waist, it easily broke free from Zhou Qiang's grasp. The snake raised its tail, like a thick whip, and lashed out at Zhou Qiang's head. A series of sharp cracking sounds followed.

Zhou Qiang was, after all, only human. After being whipped a few times, he began to feel the sky darken and the ground go gray. He started to stagger as he walked. Taking advantage of this, the white snake turned its head, leaped up, and opened its blood-red maw, aiming at Zhou Qiang's head.

Just then, Xie Qifeng hurriedly shouted, "Stop! I'll release your companion!" Shi Laoliu and Liu Jincai, who were standing nearby, were completely bewildered, but the white snake seemed to understand Xie Qifeng's words. It temporarily closed its gaping maw and turned to look at Xie Qifeng. They saw Xie Qifeng run to the coffin, forcefully lift the stone dragon statue, and slam it to the ground. The stone dragon statue shattered from the impact, and the white snake quickly crawled towards it.

The group was stunned. Inside the stone dragon sculpture was a large black snake. A white snake coiled around the black snake several times, and then the two snakes crawled to Xie Qifeng's front, raising their bodies as if to kowtow. They seemed to be thanking Xie Qifeng for reuniting them. Xie Qifeng, as usual, smiled and said, "You're welcome, you're welcome." Then the two snakes slowly crawled out of the tomb.

Who says animals are heartless? A female snake waited faithfully for a male snake for nearly a thousand years. They were together day and night, yet unable to meet—how painful that must have been! And look at human marriages—how many couples are doomed to starve? How many abandon each other when disaster strikes? To abandon your loved ones and run away—that makes you less than an animal. Several people who witnessed this scene sighed sincerely.

Zhou Qiang was still crouching down, clutching his head. Although he was somewhat more awake, he still felt a little dizzy. It was all because of that thousand-year-old serpent. Although Zhou Qiang cursed under his breath, he had clearly seen what had just happened, and the smile on his face couldn't hide the envy in his heart. He wondered when he would find someone to spend his life with, unaware that Qin Shuang, the master of Miao Gu magic, was waiting for him at home.

Xie Qifeng walked over and helped Zhou Qiang up. Seeing the smile on Zhou Qiang's face, he knew he was unharmed, so he didn't ask any further questions. Liu Jincai suddenly remembered something, limped over to the coffin, and after taking out all the snakeskin, he was disappointed to find it empty. He said angrily, "Where are the He Shi Bi jade and the Kongming fan? Are the legends just rumors?"

Shi Laoliu also looked around. It seemed that no one had been to the grave, except for his two deceased senior brothers.

"The He Shi Bi is here!" Zhou Qiang exclaimed excitedly as he grabbed the bronze jar, then casually took out the blue oval object from inside the jar and showed it off.

Several people rushed over, examining the item in Zhou Qiang's hands. Zhou Qiang looked at them proudly and said, "Haha, it's still up to me." He then observed their expressions. Seeing that everyone was frowning, Zhou Qiang was puzzled and asked, "What's wrong? Why isn't everyone happy about getting the treasure?"

Xie Qifeng covered his forehead and said, "How could I have given birth to such a stupid senior brother? You can't even tell the difference between a snake egg and jade. What a failure. Don't embarrass yourself here." Hearing Xie Qifeng's words, Zhou Qiang took a closer look and realized that what he was holding was indeed a snake egg, and a blue one at that. He liked it very much, and seeing everyone frowning at the snake egg, he said, "Since you don't want it, then I'll take it." As he spoke, he put the snake egg into his bag, afraid that they might change their minds.

Liu Jincai sighed, and after a long while, he said dejectedly, "Forget it, since we don't have the He Shi Bi jade, let's all leave. We can't have come all this way for nothing. I'll take this jar back with me. At least I can sell it for some money, and if all else fails, I can do business for the rest of my life." Liu Jincai tried to grab the bronze jar, but he couldn't budge it and almost tripped.

Everyone was curious; the bronze jar was only slightly larger than a household washbasin, so how could it be so heavy? Old Shi said, "I'll try." He spat into his hands, rubbed them together, and grabbed the handles, trying to lift it, but couldn't. He then tried turning the bronze jar, and unexpectedly, it creaked and opened like two doors in the east wall of the tomb.

Zhou Qiang and Xie Qifeng stared in disbelief, while Liu Jincai laughed and said, "So this is a mechanism! The He Shi Bi must be behind the stone wall. Let's go in." The other three thought Liu Jincai would be weak and listless after being bitten by the white snake, but now Liu Jincai limped into the stone door.

Shi Laoliu sighed and followed. Zhou Qiang said to Xie Qifeng beside him in a serious tone, "See? People rarely resist temptation. For a piece of broken jade, they'd even risk their lives. You'd better learn from me how to be an honest and upright person, or don't blame me for not giving you face as your senior brother. Did you hear me? Hey, hey, where are you going? Wait for me!" Before he finished speaking, Xie Qifeng ignored Zhou Qiang and followed Shi Laoliu into the secret chamber behind the stone door. ==================================================================================== Chapter Fourteen: The Eighteen Arhats' Scheme - Yi Ge's Spirit - Collected and organized by

Behind the stone gate was a winding downward passage, its floor made of steps formed by stacked stones. Liu Jincai, limping, shone his flashlight around when he suddenly screamed. Zhou Qiang and Xie Qifeng quickened their pace behind him. They ran to Liu Jincai's side and asked, "What's wrong?"

Liu Jincai remained silent, his eyes filled with panic as he stared ahead, his fingers trembling as he pointed forward for Zhou Qiang. The three shone their flashlights and discovered it was yet another tomb chamber. This chamber shared similarities with the previous one in that it was supported by four pillars, each topped with a lamp. Shi Laoliu, with the flashlight in his mouth, lit candles on the pillars using the same method.

Only then did the group get a clear look at the tomb chamber, finally understanding why Liu Jincai had screamed earlier. Compared to the previous tomb chamber, this one was much larger, but everything before them was still unsettling. Along one wall of the inner chamber were many stone coffins. Zhou Qiang counted them; there were eighteen in total. He casually said to Xie Qifeng, "Junior brother, look at this..."

Cold sweat trickled down Xie Qifeng's forehead, but he didn't seem to care, muttering, "The Eighteen Arhats Formation." Shi Laoliu walked up to the coffins and examined them closely. He realized that every stone coffin looked exactly the same. After a moment's thought, Shi Laoliu walked over and said, "I've encountered similar multi-coffin formations before. This is just a smokescreen. Everyone, just open them one by one. You're sure to find the He Shi Bi jade."

“Wrong!” Xie Qifeng wiped his sweat. “This Eighteen Arhats Formation is not just an illusion. Look, all of you, these eighteen stone coffins are arranged neatly, and the colors and patterns on the outside of the stone coffins are exactly the same. But there is only one real coffin. The others are all traps. If we open the wrong coffin and trigger some trap, we might all lose our lives.”

Everyone gasped in shock. Liu Jincai hurriedly asked, "Is there a solution? You studied this, you should have a way, right?" The look in Liu Jincai's eyes was as if he wanted to devour Xie Qifeng whole. Xie Qifeng shook his head and said, "The book only records various yin house layouts and solutions for a few simple layouts. A layout as complex as this is only briefly mentioned in the book, something like the Eighteen Arhats Formation, supposedly decipherable with ghost eyes. We ordinary people simply can't understand it." Liu Jincai truly deflated upon hearing this, muttering, "What should we do?"

Shi Laoliu didn't quite agree after hearing this. Based on his experience of tomb raiding with his fellow apprentices, he was certain that he had indeed encountered similar multi-coffins before. Some of the coffins were empty, and some even contained poisonous insects, but they weren't as terrifying as Xie Qifeng described. So Shi Laoliu shared his thoughts with everyone.

Zhou Qiang was nonchalant and didn't seem to care, because Le Xipo had said he would have seven lives. Aside from the one he died at Gao Ruyi's house, he still had six lives left, so he wasn't worried. He glanced at the hesitant expressions on their faces, made a firm decision, and said, "It's alright, let's open two coffins first and see. If they hold up, we'll open them one by one. Maybe we'll find the real body in the first coffin, right? Don't be discouraged, everyone. With me, Zhou Qiang, here, you don't need to worry." He then confidently patted his chest.

The other three had been hesitant with their heads down, but after hearing Zhou Qiang's words, they all looked up at him. Liu Jincai and Shi Laoliu had initially thought the young man before them was just a loud, brainless hoodlum who knew a little magic, but seeing the sincerity in Zhou Qiang's eyes, they were impressed. He not only knew a little magic, but he was also a true man, a real hero, brave enough to face difficulties without fear. A strange sense of motivation arose within them.

Seeing Xie Qifeng still hesitant, Zhou Qiang reached out and patted his junior brother, who was half a head taller than him, saying, "Junior brother, you must remember the ancestral mantra of our Qi Yi Sect: 'The righteous energy of heaven and earth, only I can decide.' Since we believe it's right, we must bravely continue. Even if we fall, we will crawl to complete our mission, because we have an indomitable spirit in our hearts. Think about why we came to rob tombs? Think about those children sitting in warm classrooms reading aloud, and think about the good intentions of Granny and Master. Even if we die, it's worth it. Besides, we still have an unfinished mission. Since we have the protection of our ancestral master, how could we die so easily? Right?"

"Yes, senior brother, I'm going all out today." Xie Qifeng's voice became firm and resolute. "Yes, we're going all out." Liu Jincai and Shi Laoliu echoed. The three men's eyes instantly changed from hesitation to unwavering determination. All because of a young lad's words.

"So, which coffin should we start with?" the group asked Zhou Qiang in unison. Unbeknownst to them, Zhou Qiang had become the leader among the four. Zhou Qiang habitually scratched the back of his head and said, "I don't know. Let's hear what Sixth Brother and Brother Cai have to say first."

After hearing this, Shi Laoliu and Liu Jincai admired Zhou Qiang even more. This young man was not only courageous but also very respectful of his elders. Shi Laoliu smiled and said, "Liu Jincai, why don't you choose one first? After all, this is your family's ancestral tomb. Who knows, your ancestors might bless you and help you find the real coffin right away."

Liu Jincai laughed, and the eerie atmosphere vanished instantly. "Alright then, I won't allow it." With that, he limped towards the coffin in the middle.

"Wait a minute." Old Shi called out to Liu Jincai, and gave him the talisman he had just taken from the skeleton's neck. "Take this with you first, and give it to me after we get out of the tomb. It's for warding off evil spirits." After saying that, Liu Jincai looked at Old Shi with gratitude, not knowing what to say.

Zhou Qiang seemed to remember something as well. He took out a stick of Hundred Flowers Detoxifying Incense from his bag, lit it, and handed it to Liu Jincai, saying, "I almost forgot about this. Here, take this. In case there's any poisonous gas in the coffin, this can help detoxify everyone." After saying that, the four of them slowly approached the stone coffin in the middle.

Liu Jincai clasped his hands together, holding the antidote incense sticks, and kept muttering, "Ancestors, please bless us! Ancestors, please protect the Liu family line! It can't end here!" After saying this, the group walked to the coffins. Liu Jincai placed the antidote incense sticks on the lid of another stone coffin, and the group pushed together, knocking the lid to the ground. The four of them crowded around, shining flashlights inside.

"Is this Liu Shan?" Shi Laoliu and the others looked curiously at the corpse that could be vaguely seen inside the coffin. Liu Jincai said in a low voice, as if afraid of waking the corpse inside the coffin: "How would I know? I've never seen Liu Shan." Inside lay a corpse, its body sunken, but the bones were not exposed, because the bones were covered with a layer of yellow skin, and some flesh could be vaguely seen, which was quite disgusting.

Xie Qifeng shone his flashlight on the corpse's face. The face was still intact, which piqued everyone's curiosity. Most strangely, long nails were driven into the corpse's eyes, ears, and nostrils. The most disgusting part was the mouth; several nails were driven into the upper and lower lips, sealing it shut. Xie Qifeng asked with a bitter expression, "So cruel! How come nails are driven into all seven orifices of this corpse? If it's Liu Chan, who did this to him?" He then looked at the others. Shi Laoliu and Liu Jincai also had similarly grim expressions, while Zhou Qiang dared not look. One glance he had just made was enough to make him vomit. However, his mind was racing, as if he had just thought of something.

Suddenly, Zhou Qiang shouted, "Oh no, this is a trap!" In a flash, Zhou Qiang grabbed Xie Qifeng's arm and shoved him behind him. Shi Laoliu, naturally quick-witted, managed to pull Liu Jin back a few steps.

The corpse inside the coffin twitched its fingers, then sat up, gripping the edge of the coffin, occasionally twisting its neck as if stretching its muscles. =================================================================================== Chapter Fifteen: The Art of Black Magic - Yi Ge's Spirit - Collected and organized by

The three men shielded Liu Jincai behind them to prevent him from being injured again. In the dim candlelight, the corpse sitting upright in the coffin looked terrifying. Zhou Qiang suddenly remembered that not long after he became an apprentice, a stranger came to the village saying his wife and daughter had contracted a strange illness. So, Old Man Leshui took Zhou Qiang to the stranger's house.

The stranger's wife and daughter suffered from a strange illness: they couldn't go outside in the sun during the day, as sunlight would cause them intense pain. When Zhou Qiang met them, he noticed their skin was frighteningly pale, and each had a small black spot in their eye. Zhou Qiang described everything he saw to Old Man Leshui. Old Man Leshui nodded, then pulled the stranger aside and asked if he had recently offended anyone. The stranger scratched his head, saying he didn't know. As a businessman, offending business rivals was normal. Old Man Leshui didn't press further, only saying he was preparing to perform a ritual that evening.

After the stranger's wife and children fell asleep that night, Old Man Leshui began his ritual. He placed an incense stick and two paper figures, each over a meter tall, in the southeast corner of the stranger's house. The birth date and time of the stranger's son were written on the paper figures in gecko blood. Old Man Leshui and Zhou Qiang used their third eye to observe the unfolding events.

A moment later, the two saw a wisp of brown gas rise from above the head of the stranger and fly towards the paper figure. Just then, Old Man Leshui nudged Zhou Qiang, signaling him to grab the brown gas. Zhou Qiang darted forward, grabbed one wisp of the brown gas, and it instantly dispersed. A moment later, it coalesced again and floated towards the paper figure, completely ignoring Zhou Qiang.

Enraged, Zhou Qiang grabbed the Soul-Destroying Thorn from his lower back and stabbed it. The gas vanished instantly. Zhou Qiang remained vigilant, noticing that the other wisp of brown gas had also disappeared. Assuming the other gas had vanished, Zhou Qiang was about to walk towards Old Man Le Shui.

Suddenly, a gust of cold wind blew by, and one of the paper figures lunged at Zhou Qiang. At that critical moment, Old Man Leshui, who had somehow released a malevolent spirit, blocked the paper figure. Seeing the paper figure trying to escape, the spirit grabbed it by the head, pulled out the brown gas from within, and swallowed it. Zhou Qiang breathed a sigh of relief, secretly thinking how close he had come to disaster. Looking back at Old Man Leshui, he saw him already sitting with his legs crossed, listening to the radio.

Back home, Zhou Qiang inquired about the matter, and Old Man Le Shui explained, "The mother and daughter were afflicted by a curse. There are many types of curses; the ones I know of include physical curses, object curses, and flying curses. I've also heard of flying head curses. The mother and daughter were likely afflicted by a physical curse. The caster took one soul from two wandering ghosts and, according to their birth dates, embedded each soul into the mother and daughter's bodies. They now have an extra soul, and it's a yin soul, so it can't be exposed to light. Over time, their skin will turn deathly pale." "The black spots are just a characteristic of black magic," the old man said, coughing habitually. "We use incense to lure out one of the souls, and the wandering spirit will still seek refuge in the bodies of this mother and daughter. That's when the two paper figures smeared with gecko blood come in handy. Gecko blood is extremely yin, the opposite of chicken blood. The mother and daughter, with their strong yang energy, are naturally less comfortable than the paper figures smeared with gecko blood, so the wandering spirit will fly into the paper figures. We can then destroy it on its journey or on the paper figures."

Zhou Qiang nodded as if he understood, then asked, "Master, how are other forms of black magic used?" Old Man Le Shui laughed heartily, praising Zhou Qiang's eagerness to learn. Zhou Qiang chuckled sheepishly.

"I don't know much about the specifics of black magic. But it's nothing more than taking the ghost's three souls and seven spirits, using black magic insects, and employing needles, straw figures, and paper figures to cast the spell," the old man said mysteriously.

Needles? Upon hearing this, Zhou Qiang's skin crawled with goosebumps. From a young age, Zhou Qiang had been afraid of pain and needles, as evidenced by his reluctance to use his blood to open his third eye. He hadn't listened to anything else the old man Le Shui said, but he remembered the needle incident perfectly.

Facing the corpse in front of him, whose face was covered with needles, Zhou Qiang couldn't help but think of black magic. If it was black magic, it must be an evil spell that harmed people. That's why Zhou Qiang shouted just now, causing the others to take a few steps back.

"What kind of monster is this? A zombie? It doesn't look like the zombies we've seen before!" Shi Laoliu muttered. Zhou Qiang stared intently at the ancient corpse that had sat up and said, "This is a curse. The caster took two souls and one spirit from a ghost and placed them inside this ancient corpse's head, sealing its seven orifices with needles to prevent the souls from escaping. The fact that the corpse's head hasn't decayed proves this. When we opened the coffin, the ancient corpse sensed the yang energy of living people, so it sat up." Zhou Qiang rubbed his nose. "Not only that, this ancient corpse is covered in the venom of curse insects. Everyone be careful."

Before the words were even finished, the ancient corpse had already jumped out of the coffin and walked towards Zhou Qiang and his companions, making creaking sounds as its joints and bones rubbed together. Zhou Qiang and the others retreated hastily, knowing that the ancient corpse was poisonous and should not be approached lightly. Seeing that they were about to be cornered, Zhou Qiang realized he had nowhere to run but to fight back.

Zhou Qiang roared and charged forward, Soul-Destroying Thorn in hand. Although the ancient corpse had needles stuck in its eyelids, it could still sense the purple aura emanating from Zhou Qiang and took two steps back, not daring to attack rashly. Shi Laoliu and Xie Qifeng also wanted to help, but they were unarmed and would only die from poison if they went forward empty-handed.

In a moment of urgency, Xie Qifeng pulled off his coat and held it in his hand, revealing Le Xipo's treasure—the Evil-Repelling Armor. Xie Qifeng said to Shi Laoliu, "Sixth Brother, you just need to protect Liu Jincai. We'll handle the rest." Actually, Xie Qifeng wasn't confident either, but the person facing them was his senior brother. As fellow disciples, how could he stand idly by? If something happened to his senior brother, how would he explain it to their eldest master? Lost in thought, Xie Qifeng had already circled around to the back of the ancient corpse.

Xie Qifeng straightened his clothes, intending to wrap the ancient corpse in them to avoid getting contaminated with its venom. The ancient corpse wasn't stupid; it glanced back at Xie Qifeng, recognizing his heavy yin energy as an easy target. However, sensing the righteous energy emanating from Xie Qifeng's protective armor, it dared not attack rashly.

Zhou Qiang and Xie Qifeng approached the ancient corpse one after the other. The ancient corpse, sensing its inevitable demise, desperately lunged at Zhou Qiang. Zhou Qiang thought, "Damn it, why am I so unlucky? Am I easy to bully?" In the blink of an eye, the ancient corpse raised its withered claws and was upon Zhou Qiang. Zhou Qiang didn't dare to be careless, leaping back a small step and then dodging to the right.

Before the ancient corpse could even turn to the side, the Soul-Destroying Thorn had already severed one of its arms. The ancient corpse, however, felt no pain whatsoever. Zhou Qiang wasn't surprised, because the ancient corpse's body didn't contain his soul; it cleverly utilized the two souls and one spirit of a wandering ghost. With less of its own soul, it naturally couldn't feel pain.

As Zhou Qiang severed the ancient corpse's arm, its other claw had already grabbed him. More precisely, it had grabbed Zhou Qiang's most beloved green cotton-padded jacket, which he hadn't washed since he first wore it. Zhou Qiang was furious. This was a jacket his master had given him! He shouted, "Damn it, I'll kill you!"

Before Zhou Qiang could retaliate, the ancient corpse released him. White smoke rose from its claws, and the corpse seemed to be in great pain as it thrashed about. Zhou Qiang was puzzled; could it be that his purple aura had suppressed the corpse? Thinking this, he chopped off the corpse's other arm. He thought the corpse had lost its means of attack after losing its arm, but unexpectedly, the needles in its lips were forced open by its mouth, revealing its jagged black teeth. Just then, Xie Qifeng rushed from behind the corpse, wrapped it tightly in his coat, and hurriedly shouted, "Everyone, hurry! Put it back in the coffin!"

Liu Jincai and Shi Laoliu, who had been watching the commotion, also came to their senses and quickly grabbed the struggling ancient corpse and threw it into the coffin. Xie Qifeng held the ancient corpse down with both hands, and the other three, who didn't know where the strength came from, together lifted the stone coffin lid. As soon as Xie Qifeng let go, the ancient corpse sat up.

"Close it!" Xie Qifeng roared, and the men slammed the coffin lid shut, hitting the ancient corpse squarely on the head. The corpse thudded twice beneath them before falling silent. The men sat down on the ground, wiping their sweat and panting heavily. ====================================================================================== Chapter Sixteen: The Second Stone Coffin - Yi Ge's Spirit - Collected and Organized by

After resting for a while, Shi Laoliu leaned against the stone coffin and let out a long sigh, exclaiming, "That was really close! I never expected there to be any 'dirty' things I'd never seen before in this ancient tomb. Luckily, those two were there, otherwise I would be going down to see my master." He then laughed to himself. Liu Jincai said guiltily, "It's all my fault. Let's just leave it at that and go back. Otherwise, we might all lose our lives."

“Since we’re already here, let’s not go back. Besides, we haven’t encountered anything difficult to deal with yet. If we do, we can always run away later, right, Senior Brother?” Xie Qifeng smiled and patted Zhou Qiang on the shoulder. Zhou Qiang nodded and said, “That’s right, Junior Brother is right.”

Although it was only a few short words, it felt like a warm current flowing into Liu Jincai's heart. Facing these two unrelated children, he really didn't know how to thank them. Zhou Qiang saw Liu Jincai's feelings, stood up while supporting the coffin, and said to everyone, "Get up, everyone, let's continue our coffin-guessing game."

The three of them stood up laughing. Xie Qifeng flicked his bangs in a cool manner and said, "This game isn't fun at all, but it's still quite exciting." This remark caused everyone to burst into laughter again.

"Sixth Brother, go pick out a coffin! Maybe it'll be the real one," Zhou Qiang said to Shi Laoliu. Shi Laoliu stopped laughing, looked at the neatly arranged coffins, and walked towards the one on the far left against the wall. Shi Laoliu patted the coffin and said, "I feel it should be this one. Because men are on the left and women on the right, right? Last time my fellow disciples and I encountered a multi-coffin situation, the body was on the far left."

Zhou Qiang and the others walked to the coffin. Zhou Qiang frowned and said, "Opening it is no problem, but for safety's sake, let's open a small opening first to see if there are any monsters inside. If there are monsters inside, we can close the coffin directly to prevent us from being attacked."

The group nodded approvingly, then slowly pushed the stone coffin. The lid was pushed inch by inch, about the length of a hand, before Liu Jin shone his flashlight on it but still saw nothing. So, they pushed the lid a little more, but still found nothing inside. Zhou Qiang began to wonder and asked Xie Qifeng, "Junior brother, do you think there might be an empty coffin in this Eighteen Arhats Formation?"

Xie Qifeng thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "It shouldn't be. If there's an empty coffin, it won't achieve the purpose of protecting the deceased. At most, it'll just be a waste of time and effort, which isn't worthwhile." Zhou Qiang thought that made sense. The coffin lid was almost pushed to the middle, but there was nothing inside, which was indeed very strange.

Suddenly, Zhou Qiang was startled, and he and Xie Qifeng stared at each other, seemingly having reached the same conclusion. Since neither of them possessed the "Heavenly Eye," if there was something inside, it must be a ghost. A gust of cold wind blew out of the coffin, extinguishing the two lit candles. The tomb chamber instantly darkened. "Come on, let's all overturn the coffin lid!" Zhou Qiang commanded, and everyone shouted simultaneously, flipping the coffin lid over so that the inside of the lid was now facing them.

Zhou Qiang gasped. Inside the coffin lid were engraved the characters "束力" (Shu Li), followed by "令" (Ling), and then a jumble of other characters. It was clearly a Taoist talisman. Old Man Le Shui had once told Zhou Qiang about the different types of paper talismans used by various schools. Taoist talismans typically included "束力令" (Shu Li Ling) plus incantations. Buddhist talismans began with a sun and incantations. The Qi Yi Diagram had the character for "incantation" below it, followed by the character for "woman," and then the character for "diagram." A character could be added in the middle as an important element for specific divination techniques.

There was indeed a Taoist talisman on the coffin lid. Zhou Qiang didn't need to guess what it was; it was probably a talisman used to suppress ghosts. Zhou Qiang shouted, "Junior brother, open your third eye! There's a ghost in the coffin!" After saying that, he drew blood from his dantian to his brow, gripped the Soul-Destroying Thorn in his hand, and looked around warily.

Upon hearing this, Xie Qifeng immediately activated his Heavenly Eye, extending his left arm to shield Liu Jincai behind him, while his right fist creaked. Although Xie Qifeng didn't possess a proper weapon, the old man Le Shui had told him that because Xie Qifeng was a descendant of the Heavenly Yin Star, he carried icy yin energy, allowing him to see ghosts as food and make physical contact with them.

With two candles extinguished, the dim light blurred Zhou Qiang and the others' vision, making it impossible to see the evil spirit's location. Just as Zhou Qiang was about to tell Shi Laoliu to relight the candles, he suddenly saw a green head emerge from behind Shi Laoliu's shoulder. Zhou Qiang guessed it was the evil spirit and decided to pretend he hadn't seen anything. He then slowly approached Shi Laoliu and used his Soul-Slaying Strike to kill the evil spirit. As soon as Zhou Qiang took a step forward, the evil spirit smiled at him, then grabbed Shi Laoliu by the neck. Shi Laoliu painfully stuck out his tongue, his face turning deathly pale, and his eyes rolling upwards.

Zhou Qiang didn't dare to attack rashly. If he pushed the evil spirit too far and it strangled Shi Laoliu, things would get complicated. For a moment, they could only stand there in a stalemate. The evil spirit was only focused on its sinister laughter, neglecting one person: Xie Qifeng.

As soon as Zhou Qiang and the others opened the coffin lid, the evil spirit had already transformed into turbid vapor and floated out. Because neither Zhou Qiang nor Xie Qifeng had activated their third eye at the time, neither of them noticed the evil spirit's presence. The turbid vapor lingered in a corner of the tomb chamber, scrutinizing the four people. It first noticed the child in the green cotton-padded jacket, because the faint purple aura emanating from him was quite obvious, so the evil spirit sensed that the child in the green cotton-padded jacket was not easy to deal with. Then the evil spirit began to examine Liu Jincai. People have three flames on their bodies, invisible to the human eye, only visible to ghosts. Two flames are on his shoulders and one on his head, emitting a yellow light. Due to Liu Jincai's recent luck and mood, the three flames on his body were slightly weak, which still attracted the evil spirit's attention. Just as the evil spirit was about to approach, it saw a spiritual object hanging on Liu Jincai's chest, which was the tomb raiding talisman that Shi Laoliu had temporarily lent to Liu Jincai.

As mentioned earlier, the tomb-raiding talisman has the power to ward off evil spirits, so the evil spirit retreated to observe again. This time, the evil spirit noticed Xie Qifeng. Xie Qifeng's coat had already wrapped the ancient corpse and sealed it inside the coffin, and the evil-repelling armor he wore emitted a strong righteous energy, so the evil spirit dared not approach. In addition, the evil spirit also saw the three flames on Xie Qifeng's body. Except for the yellow flame on his head, the two flames on his shoulders were blue. To the evil spirit, this was at most a child possessed by a ghost or someone who was about to die, so it paid no attention to him. Little did it know that Xie Qifeng was the reincarnation of the Heavenly Yin Star.

The evil spirit noticed that the first few people all had weapons for self-defense, and only then did it notice Shi Laoliu. Upon seeing Shi Laoliu, the evil spirit was delighted; this kid had no weapon and nothing to defend himself, so he would strike first. Killing Shi Laoliu would allow him to die in place of Shi Laoliu, thus enabling him to be reincarnated. That was the evil spirit's plan. So the evil spirit blew out two candles and slowly approached Shi Laoliu from behind. ==================================================================================== Chapter Seventeen: Choosing a Coffin Requires a Trick - Yi Ge's Spirit - Collected and Organized by

The evil spirit and Zhou Qiang were locked in a stalemate, when suddenly Xie Qifeng rushed to Shi Laoliu's side and struck the evil spirit on the head with a fist as big as a small hammer. The poor evil spirit fell to the ground with a thud. It didn't have time to think about how Xie Qifeng was able to touch it with a mortal body, and Zhou Qiang also rushed up at lightning speed.

The demon rolled on the ground, dodging Zhou Qiang's Soul-Destroying Thorn. Just as it was about to get up and retaliate, Xie Qifeng had somehow circled behind it. He grabbed the demon by the neck and struck its head repeatedly until blood gushed out and its face was contorted beyond recognition. Seeing that the demon was powerless to fight back, Xie Qifeng gave Zhou Qiang a look. Zhou Qiang understood and took out a Qi-Changing Diagram, stepping forward to place it on the demon's forehead. Xie Qifeng released his grip and stood aside watching. The demon screamed a few times, its body writhing in agony as if drenched in sulfuric acid. Soon, white smoke rose from the demon's body, which slowly dissolved into blood, emitting a foul stench.

Xie Qifeng covered his nose and said to Zhou Qiang, "He's ascended to heaven!" Zhou Qiang laughed a few times and replied, "Yes, he's ascended to heaven again. Look at the celestial dew on the ground, do you want to try some?" As soon as he finished speaking, Xie Qifeng punched Zhou Qiang and then ran to Shi Laoliu's side.

At this moment, Liu Jincai pinched Shi Laoliu's philtrum, using all his strength, but Shi Laoliu still wouldn't wake up. Liu Jincai was so anxious he almost cried. Zhou Qiang and Xie Qifeng came over to check and saw that Shi Laoliu was only temporarily unconscious and should be fine. Liu Jincai said with a mournful face, "Young brother, what should we do?" Zhou Qiang rubbed his nose and said with a sinister smile, "Looks like we'll have to use my 'Auspicious Leaf Resurrection Technique'."

"The Auspicious Leaf Resurrection Technique!" Xie Qifeng had been following Zhou Qiang for some time and naturally knew what tricks Zhou Qiang was up to. Xie Qifeng had seen Zhou Qiang use this self-created Auspicious Leaf Resurrection Technique before! Judging from his expression, he didn't seem very satisfied, pretending to have a headache and rubbing his forehead, saying, "Senior brother, you're doing this again?"

Zhou Qiang chuckled, drew a Qi Transformation Diagram on the ground with his Soul-Destroying Thorn, and then dragged Shi Laoliu into the diagram like a dead dog. He then mumbled an incantation. Zhou Qiang slowly picked up Shi Laoliu's right index finger and plunged the Soul-Destroying Thorn in. The force was just right, not too deep, not too shallow, pulling it out as soon as it touched the muscle. Shi Laoliu cried out and sat up, looked at his bleeding finger, and then immediately put it in his mouth and sucked on it, as if afraid of wasting it.

Upon seeing that Shi Laoliu had come back to life, Liu Jincai exclaimed with ecstatic joy, "Thank God, thank God, he's not dead!" Xie Qifeng, standing to the side, kept shaking his head. Once Shi Laoliu had recovered his senses, Zhou Qiang gestured for everyone to gather around and talk.

“It’s my turn to choose a coffin this time. Don’t follow me. Come over when I call you. It’s safer that way.” Zhou Qiang looked at Xie Qifeng. “Junior brother, protect those two.” After saying that, the three of them took a few steps back and watched Zhou Qiang choose a coffin.

Having learned from his previous two experiences, Zhou Qiang remembered one thing: never open a coffin lightly, for opening a coffin always carries risk. Without hesitation, he walked directly to the coffin Shi Laoliu had chosen and looked at the other coffin. He crouched down and carefully tapped on it, then put his ear close to the coffin. He heard a slight disturbance inside, but it didn't escape his ears. Zhou Qiang stood up, pointed at the coffin, and turned to everyone, saying, "This coffin isn't real; there's something alive inside. I just heard some movement inside. It's probably a poisonous snake, centipede, spider, or some other venomous insect. So we can't open it."

After saying that, Zhou Qiang walked to the nearest coffin and did the same thing again, but this time he didn't hear a sound. Xie Qifeng shouted loudly from the side, "Is there any sound from this one? Should we open it and take a look?" Zhou Qiang shook his head, then picked up the Soul-Destroying Thorn and carefully pried open the coffin lid.

Zhou Qiang's Soul-Slaying Thorn had pried open a small hole in the coffin. He peered inside with wide eyes, but it was pitch black; he couldn't see anything. Even with a flashlight, the tiny opening—barely big enough to fit a bank card—was blinding. Just as Zhou Qiang was about to pull out the Soul-Slaying Thorn, a wisp of translucent green gas suddenly drifted out. Zhou Qiang immediately turned and ran back.

"Is that a ghost?" Liu Jincai asked, his voice trembling. Zhou Qiang shook his head and explained, "Although the gas formed from ghosts is a different color, it's definitely not transparent. Besides, you mortals can't see it at all. Since you can all see it, it's just poison gas." Liu Jincai gasped and quickly asked, "Then are we all poisoned?"

After listening, Xie Qifeng helplessly slapped his forehead and shook his head, speechless. Zhou Qiang, seeing that this man, well past thirty, couldn't even understand this, sighed and didn't bother to pay him any more attention. Only Shi Laoliu said to Liu Jincai, "You're such a pig! Didn't this young man light some kind of incense to ward off poison when he came in? What are you afraid of?" Upon hearing this, Liu Jincai's sorrow turned to joy, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhou Qiang said nothing and walked alone towards the coffins again. This time, he stopped at the one to the left of the coffin Liu Jincai had chosen. He did what he always did: listen for any sounds first, then poke a small gap to release the poison gas. He heard neither a sound nor smelled any poison gas. Zhou Qiang quickly waved, signaling everyone to come over. Liu Jincai, thinking he had found the He Shi Bi jade, completely forgot that his knee had been bitten by a large snake, and hopped over first.

Zhou Qiang whispered, "I'll choose this coffin. There shouldn't be any living creatures or poisonous gas inside. Let's open it and take a look." With that, the group pushed the coffin lid together, this time from front to back. This way, they could escape if anything went wrong, and if there was a corpse inside, they could start by checking from the feet. No resurrected corpse moves from the feet up. Even if the corpse moves, just showing two feet wouldn't get it out, making it easier for everyone to close the coffin lid again.

Sure enough, there was a corpse inside. Zhou Qiang and his companions were secretly pleased as they looked at the exposed feet in the coffin. But when the coffin lid was pushed up to the corpse's thighs, Zhou Qiang sensed something was wrong and shouted, "Stop!" The others looked at Zhou Qiang curiously, waiting for him to continue. Zhou Qiang picked up the Soul-Destroying Dagger and casually tapped the corpse's leg, making a clinking sound.

"Have you ever seen a corpse that hasn't decomposed after being dead for thousands of years?" Zhou Qiang glanced at the crowd. "If it were a person who had been dead for thousands of years, it would have turned to dust long ago. How could this be? Besides, this corpse is rock hard. Could it be..." Before Zhou Qiang could finish speaking, the others simultaneously exclaimed with wide eyes, "A zombie!"

Zhou Qiang nodded and hurriedly said, "What are you all standing there for? Quickly close the coffin lid!" The others snapped out of their daze and rushed to push the coffin lid shut. At this moment, the zombie inside began to reveal its true nature. Its lower limbs rose up, blocking the coffin lid as they pushed. Zhou Qiang's mind raced, trying to think of anything that could cure a zombie: glutinous rice? A soul-capturing bell? A peach wood sword? A corpse-suppressing talisman? Urine?

"That's right, zombies are afraid of boys' urine!" Zhou Qiang realized this. He ignored the coffin lid; the zombie wouldn't be able to get out anytime soon anyway. Zhou Qiang, loosening his belt towards the zombie's raised legs, said, "Zombies are afraid of boys' urine. Let's all pee on its legs. Whoever is a boy, come over here." Xie Qifeng then walked over and loosened his belt. Zhou Qiang looked curiously at Shi Laoliu and Liu Jincai, asking, "Are you boys?"

Shi Laoliu waved his hand awkwardly. Although he was single, he and his fellow apprentices had robbed several large tombs back in the day. After selling all the burial goods, they spent their days indulging in debauchery, including frequenting brothels. Liu Jincai, on the other hand, was over forty but unmarried like Shi Laoliu. The difference was that Shi Laoliu couldn't find a wife, while Liu Jincai, living in the capital, prioritized his career. Marriage would only bring trouble, and if he felt uncomfortable, he'd just go to a nightclub for some fun. Therefore, he was no longer a virgin.

Now, it was up to the two of them. Neither of them were shy, after all, there were four grown men and a zombie. They pulled down their pants and urinated on the zombie's legs. Xie Qifeng accidentally caught a glimpse of Zhou Qiang's genitals and stared at him with wide eyes, saying, "Senior brother, you're big enough."

The zombie's legs immediately emitted white smoke upon being smeared with the boy's urine. Its two thighs began to tremble, as if electrocuted, and after a couple of kicks, it collapsed. Zhou Qiang, forgetting to zip up his jeans, grabbed the coffin lid and shouted, "Quickly close the coffin lid!"

The four men roared and slammed the coffin lid shut again. ================================================================================== Chapter 18: The Art of Gathering Yin - Yi Ge's Spirit - Collected and organized by