“Xiao Wu Zi does have some ambition, you know.” Old Gong emerged from the night pot.
Actually, he could appear while he was in the water, but I don't know why he didn't come out.
Lao Gong has recently been intentionally letting me think more and deeply in some periods, which can be considered as a kind of tempering to my abilities.
"This person is the Xuan Chi Jin Xiang? It was all thanks to the Xuan Chi Jin Xiang that I was able to bring Ding Rui Pu here today. I am deeply grateful!" Wu Jin Lan bowed deeply.
"Sure, sure, you can arrange it later. Old Gong will have a good time enjoying myself." Lao Gong showed his big yellow teeth with great joy.
Then Lao Gong looked at me and glanced ahead with his peripheral vision.
"Sir, let's go."
"For a moment, I didn't move, just thinking deeply in my heart, saying, 'What about Fe Fang and Xu Jian, and what about Liang's family?'"
Wu Jin Lan said that the corpse forest above was impossible to pass through, which made me doubt.
Originally, when I entered here, I thought that they could also follow Xu Wang and Tao Mingyi up there, which would be like me hiding in the shadows as well.
If they can only turn back at the end, it might still cause many deaths for others to explore the way.
If the people in the Tomb of Corpse died out, would it be time for the Liang family?
"I know what you're worried about, but the Liang family is not the same as the Tomb of Corpse. Those people in the Tomb of Corpse, to put it simply, were driven by profit. Fe Fang offered enough compensation for them to go and die, so they weren't at a loss. Moreover, it was Fe Fang who sought out Master Youyang, not because you ordered him to come, and you were actually helping him. It's just that everyone has their own goals."
"The Liang family will explore the way? Except for Liang Jieshi, the other two might be uncles of Liang Yuxia's wife. There are two cross-dressers in the empress's entourage, and they don't say much on the journey. But if you ask them to go explore the way, it would definitely cause a confrontation on the spot."
"Even if we take a step back and say, the cross-dresser may not be very smart. He may think you've left too, and they might just turn around and go back without a word."
Lao Gong's words were logically very clear.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
Putting aside my scattered thoughts, I walked forward with Wu Jin Lan and his party.
I never expected that by a twist of fate, we originally intended to make Wu Jin Lan and the others the prey, but now they might be the ones to benefit from being close to water and gaining the moon first! We'll take advantage of it!
The path is very long, and its overall depth is at least the radius of the Corpse Forest.
As we walked further, we could see some wet footprints ahead that were not yet dry, and they could be distinguished as belonging to two people.
It's basically certain that it's Feng Huai Gu and Ding Rui Pu!
After walking for about twenty minutes, some statues began to appear on both sides of the sacred path, embedded in the interior of the cave walls.
There was our initial entry into the tomb, which was represented by Luanhou, a humanoid creature with a bird's head, quite peculiar. There were also cocoon-like figures that resembled humans but were not entirely human. The surface of these creatures was covered with tiny bugs, but they were just stone carvings and posed no real danger.
Further along, there were also stone statues to see.
The head resembled a human head, the body was round and resembled a fish, and the feet were like fins of a ghost creature.
Lao Gong did not identify what it was and kept smacking his lips.
Wu Jin Lan and the others exchanged looks with each other, looking very vigilant.
"Do you know what this ghost creature is?" I pondered.
"This creature is called Jianghuang. Although it looks human, it is not. It's also not a fish but a ghostly creature. Jianghuang City got its name many years ago because of this creature."
"This ghost creature lives in water all year round, feeding on humans, corpses, and energy," Wu Jin Lan explained cautiously.
"Water Corpse Ghost?" I asked again.
The most common contact for ghost catchers is with the water corpse ghost.
I haven't dived into the water to recover corpses very often, and now that I'm a Taoist, I go into the water even less. Besides, water corpse ghosts are mostly found in big rivers and streams.
"No, Jianghuang only appears within the range of Jianghuang City, and they can only survive with a strong vitality. Ghost catchers often bring Jianghuang to guard the graves, but Jianghuang is very rare and difficult to control. The deep pools inside should be still water, and Jianghuang cannot escape. Therefore, it can only stay trapped." Wu Jin Lan explained it very clearly.
"Since the apprentice can control ghosts, the master can too. Don't worry, son, if one comes our way, we'll kill it. How does it taste to eat a Jianghuang? The willow spirit won't roast it, so we might as well have some Jianghuang ourselves." Lao Gong spoke up to lighten the mood.
"Xuan Chi Jin Xiang joked. Eating Jianghuang is equivalent to consuming the vitality of the Yin Dragon Water, which humans cannot endure. It will attract water ghosts to torment them and even let water corpse ghosts crawl through doors, causing drowning and sudden death from water inhalation," Wu Jin Lan quickly said.
I still maintained my silence.
The path ahead featured a sequence of statues alternating between the three types of ghosts, coldly watching us these unwelcome guests as if they were observing the dead.
Actually, I have a terrifying idea.
That's right, the apprentice's skills are something the master can also master.
After all, when a master teaches a disciple, it's only possible for the disciple to learn everything incomplete, with the chance of being better than the master being rare.
What if...
Jianghuang will guard in the deep pool.
Not only Jianghuang, but also... Corpse Mites?
Wu Jin Lan did not recognize either Corpse Mites or Guanhou and did not say anything.
Moreover, the existence of the sacred path itself is a form of deterrence and a concept-based thing, which under normal circumstances would not appear in reality.
It's like the tombs of emperors, kings, marquises, and generals, which all have various auspicious animals, mythical creatures, and even human sculptures standing guard along the sacred path.
The idea of fengshui is too mystical. People can even grow roots and live on the ground, and I have seen Corpse Mites and Luanhou before. Their appearance here is not strange at all...
But Lao Gong didn't say much, and I'm not sure if he hadn't thought of it or if he deliberately didn't mention it.
Walking further along the path, at the end of the sacred path, things became quite peculiar. Ahead was a sealed cave mouth, similar to the Tai Sui at the previous cave entrance.
Above our heads is a cave, as if it was dug out by someone, but it's not very neat.
Hazy light was visible from above.
"Huh..." Lao Gong looked up.
Wu Jin Lan and the others also raised their heads, their eyes filled with a hint of suspicion.
"It shouldn't... Sacred paths won't open windows or have robber holes." Wu Jin Lan's suspicion turned into alertness.
"It seems someone has been here. He seems to be afraid to leave directly from this place and instead chose to dig a robber hole to go up," one of the gentlemen muttered an analysis.
I took a deep breath before saying seriously, "He doesn't leave from here for a reason. There is a high probability of encountering corpse mites or even Jianghuang in the deep pool if one goes directly in. What do you think the chances are?"
I directly put forward my conjecture.
"Probability isn't something you look at that way, Master. In my opinion, they should all be there," Lao Gong said shockingly.
"Before I could say anything, he continued, 'And then what? We just turn back and go home? With Ding Rui Pu here and Feng Huai Gu nearby, they will definitely be able to obtain what they want here. Their mastery of fengshui will improve greatly. In the future, we won't have much of a chance to stop them.'"
"Even if there are corpse mites and Jianghuang ahead, or even one hundred and eight Tibetan monks from Heichengsi Temple bathing, you would have to try your hand at killing them anyway?"
"Otherwise, not only would all our efforts be in vain, but we would also send her a generous gift!"
Lao Gong smiled and said, "Is that the way it is?"
"The robber hole should not have been dug by Feng Huai Gu, who would not destroy the tomb, and he is also old. The trace does not look like that of the previous Tibetan monk either, who would not go into the water directly and leave through the robber hole? What about Feng Huai Gu and others?" Wu Jin Lan fell into deep contemplation.
That adds two more possibilities.
Feng Huai Gu and Ding Rui Pu climbed up through the robber hole and faced the Tibetan monks directly.
Or, they might have squeezed out directly from the Tai Sui at the end of this sacred path and entered another deep pool!
The heart was pounding wildly.
For a moment, I couldn't quite decide what to do...
At that moment, Lao Gong suddenly jumped from my shoulder, plunged into the robber hole, and darted upwards.
He was clearly going to explore the way.
Just two minutes later, Lao Gong returned to my shoulder, and his eyeballs were as big as saucers, looking extremely terrifying!
"Madame, it's quite fierce up there. Master, if you want to go up, go take a look. There's no danger up there." Lao Gong said hoarsely.
I glanced at Wu Jin Lan, and he nodded in agreement.
Leaping nimbly, I plunged into the robber hole, using my hands and feet to climb upwards.
My speed was much slower than Lao Gong's. It was still quite deep, and I had to crawl for a teacup's worth of time before I emerged from the ground.
What I saw before me was a truly terrifying sight.
There were two corpses on the ground.
The Tibetan monk lay stiffly on the ground. His eyes, ears, nose, and mouth were all bleeding, and the blood had not dried yet.
His eyes were wide open, staring upwards, signifying that he had died without peace.
This was clearly Feng Huai Gu's doing. He used the chengling to make someone's head blow up like a drum.
The Master's hands and feet were weak, but he was still on a par with a real person.
Moreover, the monk had not only the wound from the chengling but also many bite and scratch marks on his head and face, as if caused by the Luanhou ghost creatures!
It seems there are indeed ghost creatures here.
Luanhou doesn't enter water, so it should be hiding in the woods?
To the left ahead is a deep pool, about the same size as the one outside the cave, surrounded by a circular forest around the deep pool.
Unlike the entrance we just came through, the forest here is densely packed all around.
The trees are not tall, at most three meters, with the trunk taking up two meters, and the patchy bark had wrinkled human faces on them. Their expressions varied from grotesque to desperate...
I roughly counted...
It's like 64 trees!?
I didn't have time to analyze those trees further. My eyes fell on another corpse.
That was Feng Huai Gu!
His eyes were wide open, just like the monk's, but the throat had a bloody hole. Blood flowed all over the ground, and some of it trickled into the circular deep pool, slowly spreading out like a blood stone's glow.
Feng Huai Gu did not seem to have suffered much pain; in fact, his mouth was even slightly curled up.
He was still smiling when he died?
"Madame used Feng Huai Gu to kill the Tibetan monk and then took advantage of Feng Huai Gu's lapse in alertness to kill him! Tsk tsk, women truly have the most poisonous hearts." Lao Gong was still on my shoulder.
Invisible to others, we had already entered the realm of the grim prison, where we could see the trees that had grown from humans. That's why Lao Gong's appearance was unrestricted.
Wu Jin Lan and the other gentlemen have all emerged.
Their eyes were filled with shock and awe, staring around in disbelief, and then towards Feng Huai Gu and the monk's corpses.
"Ding Rui Pu... Did she no longer need Feng Huai Gu's help? Did she go underwater? Can she enter an underwater tomb?" Wu Jin Lan seemed disbelief.
Lao Gong squinted his eyes, his face turning stern.
He muttered softly, "It shouldn't... It should... It shouldn't... right?"
