The Chronicles of the Tomb Robbers归档 - 第81页共91页

4 3 月 2025

110 Qinling Divine Tree – Chapter 35 – Out of Control

When we arrived, Master Liang told us that Boss Wang is a rough man who has been involved in the underworld since he was young and has a very low level of education. The only thing he can boast about is the family heirloom book “Records of the Robbery.” Such a person, when I was explaining the subconscious to him just now, surprisingly understood it right away and even gave examples. This indicates that he has some understanding of psychology, to some extent.

I felt something strange just now, but I didn’t pay much attention to it, thinking it was just a coincidence. Perhaps Boss Wang has noble sentiments, managing to find time to study psychology while engaging in deceitful activities, wanting to be a cultured member of the underworld. But looking at his violent demeanor, that seems unlikely.

Thinking about this, I couldn’t help but glance at Boss Wang, a strange premonition enveloping me, and I felt very odd—could it be that the person in front of me is not Boss Wang? He was deep in thought about the idea I proposed, momentarily unaware that I was looking at him with unusual eyes. Seizing the opportunity, I scrutinized his expression, his clothes, and many details about him.

I had never had much of an impression of Boss Wang. First, he rarely spoke, and second, his actions were not particularly outstanding. I had only seen him once or twice before climbing the bronze tree, and I didn’t have much memory to judge the authenticity of the person in front of me.

However, upon closer inspection, I felt as if I had discovered a problem, though I wasn’t sure. To verify my thoughts, I suddenly pretended to see something and waved my hand in front of him, softly calling out, “Boss Wang!”

Boss Wang turned his head immediately and asked, “What?”

“Don’t move!” I gestured for him to stay still and cautiously walked over to him step by step. He looked at me nervously, thinking there was something on his shoulder, glancing sideways. I reached his side, pressed on his chest, and thought to myself, “Oh no,” then stepped back without doing anything else.

He was confused and softly asked, “What are you doing? Is something wrong?”

At this point, I felt more certain, glanced at him, and said, “I think your clothes are very strange. Where did you buy them?”

Boss Wang looked at me with the expression of someone who has encountered a lunatic and laughed, “Are you kidding? Why are you suddenly asking me this?”

I replied, “I’m not kidding at all, Boss Wang. A few months ago, when I first went to dig for treasure, my uncle asked me to go buy supplies. At that time, I wanted to buy a mountaineering jacket like the one you’re wearing, but I didn’t buy it in the end. Do you know why? Because the two pockets on this jacket look big, but they are actually fake and just for decoration. I thought that for adventure gear, the more pockets, the better, so I bought another style.”

Boss Wang touched the two pockets, and his expression changed slightly.

I clapped my hands and said softly, “So I find it a bit strange. Where did you pull out that glow stick and your cigarettes from, hmm, Boss Wang?” A flash of insight crossed my mind, and I almost blurted out, “Or—would it be better to call you Old Itch?”

Boss Wang stared blankly at me for a long time before suddenly bursting into laughter. In an instant, his plump body seemed to deflate, much like a balloon losing air.

I watched as his face changed gradually, slowly transforming into the familiar visage of Old Yang, and I knew I had guessed correctly. He stretched his body and sighed, saying, “Wu Xie is indeed Wu Xie. Damn it, ever since you were little, you’ve been the only one who could fool me. I rarely get a chance to trick you, and yet you saw right through me.”

I looked at him coldly and asked, “Cut the crap. What are you playing at?”

He forced a bitter smile and waved his hand, saying, “Let me explain, let me explain! Ah! I knew it wouldn’t be so easy to pull this off.”

Seeing that I remained silent, he continued, “My intention isn’t to deceive you. However, this matter must be handled this way to be effective. Just wait until I finish explaining, and you’ll understand that I have my reasons.”

I noticed how effortlessly he controlled his appearance and realized that his mastery of this ability exceeded my imagination. It was clear he understood everything about the situation, which meant his purpose for coming here wasn’t about money. With such a power, money was no longer an issue.

But with that kind of ability, he was practically invincible. What other goals could he not achieve without coming to this godforsaken place? Was there something lacking in this power?

Regardless, I was now certain that from the moment he sought me out, I had fallen into a meticulously crafted trap. In other words, he had been lying from the very beginning, and I had been foolish enough to trust him. That damn son of a turtle! If I could control such power, I would turn him into a pig.

Old Yang noticed the change in my expression and realized that although I appeared calm on the surface, I was seething with rage inside. For a moment, he was at a loss for how to quell my anger, staring at me helplessly.

After a long pause, he suddenly sighed, as if coming to a realization, and pulled a photo from his pocket, saying, “Look at this, and then I’ll explain.”

I took it and shone my flashlight on it. The photo was of his mother, her hair already graying, likely from years of hard work. It seemed that during his time in prison, she had endured a lot. She had been beautiful in her youth and was kind to all of us; we all called her “Beautiful Aunt.” My dad and I would visit her several times a year.

I didn’t understand why he was showing me this photo and asked, “What do you mean by this?”

He sighed and smiled sadly, “I told you I needed money, right? Actually, I was lying. The reason I came here is for my mom. She passed away while I was in prison.”

I gasped, looking at him with extreme skepticism, furrowing my brow as I asked, “Your mom… passed away?”

He nodded silently, glancing at his hands as he spoke, “The day after I got out of prison, I rushed home, eager to surprise my mom. But when I opened the door, I was hit by a foul smell. My mom was slumped over the sewing machine, motionless. I thought she had a heart attack, so I rushed to help her. But when I lifted her up, do you know what the hell I saw?!”

Old Yang closed his eyes and groaned in pain, “Her face was stuck to the sewing machine, and when I pulled, it all came off. My God—”

I didn’t know that his mother had passed away and was at a loss for how to respond, just standing there staring at him. Old Yang was a very filial person; he would never joke about his mother in such a way.

He touched his forehead and continued, “After I took care of my mom’s remains, I was alone in the empty house and didn’t know what to do. I didn’t dare to sleep; whenever I lay down, I saw my mom’s face stuck to the sewing machine. I stayed like that for nine days, starving to death, thinking maybe it would be better to just die of hunger. But then, suddenly, I smelled something delicious coming from the kitchen, as if someone was cooking. I went over to take a look and saw my mom had actually appeared again. When she saw me, she said, ‘Wait a moment, it will be ready soon.'”

At this point, I realized what was going on.

Old Yang continued, “At first, I thought I was going crazy from missing my mom and was having hallucinations. But then I gradually realized something was wrong; this wasn’t a hallucination. Not only I, but even the vegetable seller saw my mom. That’s when I understood she had really come back, just like before, even the taste of the dishes she cooked was the same.

“If it were someone else, they might think they were seeing a ghost, but not me. I started to contemplate what was happening. Gradually, I noticed that there was an indescribable oddness in my surroundings, but I hadn’t pinpointed the key until one night I stayed up watching TV all night. Guess what? That night, there was a power outage, and my house was the only one in the entire neighborhood that still had power; all the appliances were running without needing to be plugged in.

“I didn’t know what was going on. At that time, my cousin wrote me a letter, telling me he was experiencing the same situation. Suddenly, it clicked; it was related to that bronze tree.

“I read a lot of books and learned that tree might be what ancient people referred to as the Wish Snake God Tree. My ability might have come from that bronze tree. At first, I was very happy, thinking I had struck it rich, but as I researched this ability and gradually began to control it, problems arose.

“Once you try to control this ability with your thoughts, if you can’t clear your mind, many things will mix together and become very messy. So one day, when I woke up, I saw my mom sitting with her back to me, sewing. The moment I saw her at the sewing machine, I was terrified. I tiptoed over, and you know what I saw? My God, my mom’s face…”

Old Yang made several gestures but couldn’t continue, letting out several long sighs.

I felt a chill in my heart, unable to imagine how terrifying that scene must have been.

Lao Yang suddenly produced a cigarette out of thin air, put it in his mouth, and without using a lighter, the cigarette ignited. He took a deep puff and then said, “Since that time, I realized the terrifying nature of this power, but I couldn’t accept it. I really wanted my mom to come back, so I had to find someone to help me—someone who knew my mom and had a very clean subconscious, and that’s you, Lao Wu. At the same time, I also need to eliminate my own abilities.”

I didn’t expect that Lao Yang’s goal was this. I said, “But, Lao Yang, this sounds like it’s going against the natural order. People can’t come back to life after they die.”

He replied, “Lao Wu, I’m not being greedy. I just want three years. If I can spend three more years with my mom, I would be satisfied. You’ve been to my house quite a few times; you wouldn’t want to see my mom die alone, would you?”

I sighed, thinking about whether I would dare to visit his house if his mom really came back to life. I wondered who had planted this sycamore tree here, as it seemed to possess such evil power. If a person could be materialized using that kind of power, could they still be considered a person?

After thinking for a long time, I shook my head. “I can’t do this, Lao Yang. Your mother has already died; she has returned to the earth. Just… let her go. Don’t hold on to her any longer.”

Lao Yang smiled. “It’s too late, Lao Wu. You don’t understand; this matter has nothing to do with whether you want to help or not. That’s also why I couldn’t tell you my purpose. Now, I think my goal has already been achieved.”

I didn’t understand what he meant and asked, “What do you mean?”

He raised his hand and said, “You should try to see if you can materialize something.”

I didn’t know what he was up to. I looked at my hand, imagining the image of a stone, trying to manifest my thoughts, but despite trying hard for a long time, my hand remained empty. There was no doubt that this ability was difficult to use; ordinary people cannot control their subconscious.

Lao Yang smugly said to me, “You see, this kind of power is useless when you try to force it. Otherwise, when I was hungry just now, a roast duck should have flown over to me. It only appears under specific circumstances, which is very difficult. Lao Wu, you can only guide it; you can’t use it. Even if trained, it would still be very hard. If you wanted to materialize a television here, such a complex thing could never be created.”

I looked at him and asked, “Are you saying this ability is passive? It needs psychological guidance?”

He nodded. “Yes, for example, the words I just said to you can already guide your thoughts in your brain, allowing me to materialize a person in my house hundreds of miles away.”

I was stunned, looking at him and saying, “Nonsense. Do you really think I believe everything you say?”

Lao Yang shook his head. Just then, the bronze tree and the entire amber shook suddenly. We both slipped under our feet and nearly fell, quickly grabbing onto the bronze chains nearby. Looking down, we saw something writhing in the abyss beneath us. With each movement, the bronze tree shook violently, making it hard for us to stand steady.

I held onto the bronze chain, feeling puzzled, and recalled something. I turned back to Lao Yang and asked, “By the way, that strange sound of ‘de…de…de…’ earlier, was that also made by you?”

Lao Yang looked down with a puzzled expression and nodded, saying, “Yeah, I used that sound to lure you into the root plate, and then I knocked out the boss Wang who was guarding outside. The radio interference was just to prevent you from hearing the sounds of my fight with him.”

I frowned and exclaimed, “Then what’s causing this shaking?”

Lao Yang’s expression changed as he replied, “I don’t know either. But, Lao Wu, what was your first impression of this bronze tree?”

Upon hearing him say that, I suddenly shivered. “I think… it leads to hell…” I said, looking down. “No way, you can’t be saying that what’s down there is…”

Lao Yang kicked me hard and shouted, “Idiot, don’t think recklessly!”

As soon as he finished speaking, a huge eye appeared in the dark depths below, its purple pupil narrowing into a strange, thin line like a cat’s.

4 3 月 2025

109 Qinling Divine Tree Chapter – Chapter 34 – Bold Hypothesis, Cautious Verification

The substance known as “corpse cocoon” was unearthed a few years ago in southern Sichuan and Inner Mongolia, but they were all about the size of a washbasin. Some resembled jade, while others looked like amber, with dried-up small animals or the bodies of children wrapped inside; there were few adult bodies. These items were generally discovered as burial goods, and no one knows how they were made.

According to ancient texts, this substance might have been used by alchemists during the pre-Qin period as a medicinal catalyst. It is said that they would immerse pregnant women who were less than a month along in a medicinal liquid until they died, then place them in a jar and bury them for seventeen years. When unearthed, the child inside would turn into a corpse cocoon. The outer layer is said to be the petrified substance of the placenta, and the amber color you see is actually the result of the amniotic fluid inside solidifying. Some people also claim that this is a type of embalming technique, where the body is wrapped in a special resin made from a mixture of traditional Chinese medicinal herbs to prevent moisture loss.

I had heard of the existence of such things, but due to their immense value, I had never handled them before. Now that I saw one, I wasn’t sure how to approach it. To ease the atmosphere between me and Boss Wang, I tentatively asked him a few questions.

Boss Wang told me that many years ago, when his great-grandfather was a high-ranking official in Hong Kong, he had seen treasures brought by wealthy immigrants fleeing the Japanese wars, including amber corpse cocoons.

There are large and small corpse cocoons, and the contents vary. Some are like ordinary insect amber, while others contain human bodies. His great-grandfather once saw a corpse cocoon with a little girl inside, about sixteen or seventeen years old, dressed in red, with her eyes closed as if she were peacefully sleeping, looking very lifelike.

Feeling pity for the girl, he took the opportunity when the boss wasn’t paying attention to burn it. At that time, amidst the chaos, the boss didn’t notice, but that night he had a dream in which the little girl in the red dress came to him, bowed her head, and thanked him.

Later, Boss Wang himself got into the antique business and encountered such items, but this was the first time he had seen one this large, where the contents were unclear.

I found it a bit surprising. Could it be that the “benefits better than the tomb of Qin Shi Huang” that Li Pipa mentioned referred to this? It couldn’t be! Although this item is indeed quite rare, it certainly doesn’t reach the level of being “better than the tomb of Qin Shi Huang.”

Boss Wang also found it strange, but he believed the information in “He Mu Ji” was reliable. He crouched down and carefully pressed against the surface of the amber, trying to see if there was anything extraordinary inside that was fused within the amber.

The amber was secured by a bronze chain, and he and I couldn’t both walk to one end at the same time, or we would lose our balance. So I stayed in place, holding onto the bronze chain, watching to see what he might discover.

Boss Wang looked up and down several times but still found nothing. He only mentioned that there seemed to be a layer of liquid flowing inside the amber, affecting its transparency. Aside from the black shadow, there was nothing else inside.

Looking around, I saw a pitch-black abyss below, with no signs indicating that one could climb down. At the top of the bronze tree, the mysterious object inside the coffin was this piece of amber.

We both fell silent, unable to say a word. Although this amber is valuable, it is so heavy that we can’t lift it with just the two of us. Everything here is meaningless to us; I can let it go, but Boss Wang, having come this far and with so many people having died, is certainly feeling very frustrated.

After a moment of silence, I felt that the issue lay with Li Pipa’s words, so I asked Boss Wang if Li Pipa had revealed anything on the way here, even if only a little. Given Li Pipa’s personality, he doesn’t seem like someone who can keep secrets, so he should have let something slip.

Boss Wang’s expression changed slightly as he said, “You have a good eye; Li Pipa is indeed not a tight-lipped person. However, strangely enough, this time he has been particularly secretive. I remember he only kept telling us that once we got here, we could have whatever we wanted and not to worry. He didn’t say anything else. This person likes to play the mystic and often dodges our questions like this.”

“Once we get here, we can have whatever we want,” I repeated, feeling puzzled. This statement seemed strange, as if it had some deeper meaning.

Then, a thought suddenly struck me, and I exclaimed inwardly, “Could it be that way?”

Boss Wang looked at me with a strange expression, confused about what I was thinking.

I excitedly scratched my head, my mind racing: Li Pipa said “once we get here,” which carries ambiguity. Perhaps they all misunderstood his meaning. The key point is that “to get here” means it’s not about what you can obtain, but rather that you must first reach that place. Once you’re there, you can have whatever you want!

In the materials that Old Master Qi provided me, I had seen a photo of cave paintings depicting a bronze tree, with many human-shaped figures kneeling beneath it. Many people believe that it represents ancient people praying for a good harvest. However, based on some pictographs captured in the photo, it seems they were making wishes. The records indicate that ancient people would wish upon this bronze tree and offer blood, and their wishes would come true.

This may seem like a superstition, but when I thought of Li Pipa’s words, I couldn’t help but connect the two.

Could it be that Li Pipa’s purpose in coming here is to believe that this bronze tree truly has the power to help people fulfill their wishes?

I suddenly wanted to laugh but couldn’t. If that were the case, it would indeed be an enormous benefit beyond compare. No worldly gain could ever be worth even a fraction of this benefit. However, this is fundamentally impossible. If this person truly had such a purpose, it would seem too unbelievable, and naturally, he couldn’t make that clear; otherwise, who would follow him?

I shared my thoughts with Boss Wang, and to my surprise, he didn’t find it amusing at all. Instead, it seemed he suddenly recalled something and said, “No, that’s not quite it. There may actually be some possibility to that.”

I gasped and thought, “No way,” and asked him how that could be.

He said, “Just now, when the two of us fell from above, as soon as I hit the ground, fearing you would ambush me, I immediately ran toward the center of the fog. At that moment, I also saw these bronze chains. However, when I passed through the middle of the chains, I didn’t fall; the ground was solid. But when I tried to ambush you the second time, I stepped into a void, and there was already a hole below. I thought I must have misjudged it in the fog and didn’t pay much attention at the time. Now that I think about it, it seems like that hole appeared out of nowhere.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

He replied, “What I mean is that when I first stepped on that spot, I thought there should be a coffin pit below, but when I stepped there, there wasn’t one. Then, when I tried to step there a second time, the coffin pit appeared. Does that count as my wish being fulfilled?”

I looked at him skeptically, thinking how could such a thing be possible? Was he confused after I hit him?

Seeing my disbelief, Boss Wang said, “It’s true. I’ve always found it strange that ‘The River Wood Collection’ has never been wrong. If Li Pipa mentioned this benefit, then he must be very confident; perhaps there really is such a possibility.”

I frowned, still unconvinced. In psychological terms, Li Pipa’s statement meant that once you reach this place, your subconscious can influence the surrounding environment, turning the imaginations within your subconscious into tangible objects.

If that’s the case, then the bronze tree really has such power, and everything we see now could be something we’ve created ourselves. The bronze tree wasn’t originally like this; the cave wasn’t originally like this; the corpses here weren’t originally like this.

If the owner of ‘The River Wood Collection’ knew about the bronze tree’s god-like ability to materialize things while climbing or interrogating the ancestors of the She people, then Li Pipa must have also wanted to obtain this power, which is why he incited these people to come to this place.

With this premise, Li Pipa’s words could be explained, but everything else becomes chaotic. This place is now a world where subconscious and reality intertwine. What is the true form of the bronze tree? What does this place look like?

Isn’t this situation too bizarre? Could it really happen?

When we climbed up, many things, like the monkey wearing a chi gu mask and the cavities in the rock walls, might be things we’ve manifested ourselves.

At first glance, this kind of power seems great, but upon further reflection, I feel an inexplicable terror. Human thoughts are uncontrollable. For example, if you possess this power and watch a horror movie, after watching, you might find the corpses from the movie hanging from the ceiling fan behind you, dripping blood. Or, if you walk through a cemetery, you might…

Perhaps those trained in psychology can control this power to some extent. Wouldn’t that mean they could control the world? Wait—suddenly, I thought of something.

The bronze branch that Lao Yang and the others dug up should also be a totem of this kind of wishing tree. His cousin secretly brought that bronze branch out; could it be that he knew this tree had such power? But how could he have gone mad? Now that the branch is in Lao Yang’s hands, does he also know the truth behind this matter?

I looked at the tree beside me and suddenly thought, if this is true, then I could make a wish on this tree to find out what is really going on. I immediately laughed; how could I possibly believe that? It was just a slightly larger piece of bronze, after all—

As I thought of this, I suddenly felt something unusual. A series of thoughts rushed through my mind, and my heart skipped a beat. I quickly turned my head and stared at Boss Wang.

4 3 月 2025

108 Qinling Divine Tree Chapter – Chapter 33 – Reconciliation

From here, the sound seems a bit different, carrying a hint of echo, as if it is coming from a very deep place. With the rhythm of the sound, I can also clearly feel the bronze chain vibrating slightly, as if the other end is pressing against a giant’s artery.

This phenomenon sends an irresistible chill through me because I don’t feel a single breeze blowing up from below, and neither of us can generate such high-frequency vibrations in the heavy bronze chain. What exactly is tugging at these bronze chains in the darkness below?

Boss Wang listens quietly, seemingly deep in thought. Logically, he should be more frightened than I am since he hasn’t experienced such a thing before, but his expression is surprisingly calm, as if he is judging something.

After a moment of tense silence, the sound finally subsides, and the bronze chains stop vibrating. I let out an inexplicable sigh of relief, feeling as if I might just collapse from the chains.

Boss Wang still doesn’t react. After thinking for a while, he takes out a cigarette, lights it, takes a deep drag, and then pulls out a small glow stick from his pocket, shaking it a couple of times to activate its brightness.

I don’t know what he intends to do and watch him coldly. Once the glow stick reaches its brightest, he suddenly tosses it down along the bronze chain, and the green beam spirals downward.

The light circle shrinks smaller and smaller, quickly disappearing from my view. I thought it would keep falling until it vanished into the darkness. Suddenly, at the visual limit of what I could see, the glow stick strikes something, bouncing off with a “bang” and flying sideways against the bronze wall before falling again, instantly disappearing from sight.

About fifty to sixty meters below the bronze chain, there indeed hangs something. Unfortunately, the glow stick’s light is too weak; I only caught a rough outline that seemed to be a crystal coffin, tinged with a hint of yellow, or perhaps it was a more common type of stone coffin (made of a semi-transparent yellow material).

Boss Wang looks at me provocatively, suddenly loosening his belt, flicking his lighter, and begins to slide down. Soon, he disappears into the darkness, leaving only a diminishing glow behind.

I hesitate for a moment, feeling an uneasy premonition. Boss Wang seems confident; he is knowledgeable about various strange items. Could it be that he already knows what lies below and intends to retrieve it? I recall what Lao Yang told me and, unwilling to fall into his hands so easily, I quickly grab my short-handled hunting knife and slide down after him.

The descent starts off fast, but the tree roots that were entwined above disappear below. As we approached the end, our speed slows down, and in about ten seconds, we reach the estimated height. I see the glow below has stopped, and I quickly tighten my legs to hold onto the chain and halt my descent.

Looking down, Boss Wang has reached the end of the chain, just a few meters above the spot where the glow stick struck. He is leaning down, using his lighter to illuminate the area, but the light is too weak to reveal the overall shape of the object. I can only see a yellow, crystal-like object hanging in mid-air.

I turned on the flashlight, and under the strong beam, the full appearance of the object was suddenly revealed. To my surprise, what hung beneath the bronze chains was not a Shang dynasty stone coffin, nor even a coffin at all, but a massive amber-like stone in the shape of a coffin. It seemed to be natural and was incredibly transparent. Under the flashlight’s glow, it reflected a glassy light akin to gold. Just a slight adjustment in the angle of the flashlight transformed the entire space into a dazzling spectacle, vibrant and extraordinary.

Four bronze chains hung down from above, embedded deep within the amber. Looking along the chains into the interior, I could see a human-shaped black shadow within the amber, very blurry, but I could barely make out a head and shoulders. The shadow’s shoulders rose high, resembling two humps, and the entire figure curled up, much like a fetus in the womb.

I had never seen anything like this before, and for a moment, I was utterly dumbfounded, unable to speak. Yet, Boss Wang remained surprisingly calm. After a brief observation, he slid down, tentatively trying to step onto the amber. I quickly shouted, “Stop!”

Boss Wang turned back, looking at me in confusion.

I said to him, “I’ve never seen such a large piece of amber; it could be copal. If you step on it, it might break.”

Boss Wang scoffed dismissively and said, “You don’t know anything. This isn’t amber; it’s a corpse cocoon.” With that, he stepped onto it, and indeed, the corpse cocoon held firm, swaying slightly without any sign of breaking.

Seeing that he was fine, I was unwilling to fall behind and relaxed my feet, sliding onto the amber corpse cocoon as well. At the same time, I reached for my short-handled hunting knife, intending to tuck it back into my waistband to avoid the awkwardness of holding a flashlight in one hand and a dagger in the other while navigating the slippery surface of the amber corpse cocoon.

Unexpectedly, Boss Wang misunderstood my intentions. Seeing me come down, he crouched defensively and drew his belt to brace against his chest, preparing for a fight. I was startled, and the short knife I had intended to tuck away was now raised in defense.

For a moment, the atmosphere became incredibly tense, but neither of us moved, as we both understood that in this place, even the slightest misstep could lead to disaster. Below us was a bottomless abyss; no matter how strong or fierce one might be, falling would mean certain death in just a second.

Boss Wang, being a person of the underworld, was able to take a step back. After a brief standoff, he waved his hand and said to me, “Young man, we’ve come this far; let’s take a step back. There’s no need for both of us to perish. It wouldn’t benefit either of us if one of us dies; this place is not something one person can escape from.”

I looked up at the ceiling and realized he was right. To climb out of here, at least two people were needed. As long as we remained down here, he likely wouldn’t dare to act against me; otherwise, he might face a fate even worse than mine. However, this person was very cunning and could not be trusted too easily.

I slowly lowered my hunting knife, made a gesture of reconciliation, and briefly explained the earlier radio interference incident to provide both sides with a way out. After all, I had also harbored intentions to kill earlier, and he wouldn’t easily drop his guard.

Boss Wang took out his walkie-talkie and, half in doubt, turned it on. Suddenly, a series of high-decibel static noises erupted from it, the sound extremely piercing, as if someone were screaming at the top of their lungs. Boss Wang felt his heart race and quickly turned off the walkie-talkie, cursing, “Damn it.”

I was also scared half to death; it must be very close to the source of the interference for the sound to be this unbearable. I couldn’t imagine there being such a terrifying sound in the world. If I listened for a few more seconds, I might just lose my mind and jump off.

Boss Wang fastened his belt back around his waist and said, “This time, I’ll admit I was wrong. You know, in our line of work, we have to be a bit more cautious.” He pointed to the swollen part of his face where I had hit him. “Young man, you didn’t hold back. Let’s call this even for now; we’ll settle our personal grievances later. What do you say?”

I sneered inwardly; his true nature had already been revealed. I was certain he had long planned to eliminate us after we got out. His words were merely a delaying tactic. However, at this moment, we still needed to use each other, so I nodded and tossed him the flashlight to indicate a balance.

We temporarily reached a truce, but I still didn’t dare to get too close to him, fearing he might suddenly push me off. He seemed to have the same concern; we tacitly guarded against each other while carefully crouching down to examine the corpse cocoon beneath us.

The surface of the corpse cocoon was covered in many naturally formed patterns, and its transparency was low, making it unlikely to see the body inside from the outside. It might require an X-ray scan or breaking the cocoon to see inside. The most peculiar thing was the shadowy human shape within; this should be the body wrapped inside, but its form was so strange that it hardly resembled a human at all.

4 3 月 2025

107 Qinling Divine Tree – Chapter 32 – Surprise Attack

The eerie sound we encountered suddenly appeared behind me. Although the noise was not loud, in the absolute silence of the coffin, it was as clear as thunder, causing my whole body to shudder, the muscles on my forehead to tense up, and cold sweat to break out all over me. This coffin was about six or seven meters long—not too long, not too short—judging by the sound, the source should be no more than a meter away from me, almost right against my back, at a distance where it could tap my shoulder. “D…d…” The rhythmic sound was like listening to someone knock on a door, sending a chill from the back of my neck all the way down to my heels.

For a moment, my entire body stiffened, unable to move. I considered whether to turn around and look or to pretend I hadn’t heard the sound and ignore it. But soon I realized, with a mix of laughter and tears, that I needed to calm down. At this moment, there was really no choice but to face it; fear and making excuses were simply a sign of waiting for death.

After a brief standoff, the ghostly sound neither drew closer nor receded. I took a deep breath, gritted my teeth, and tightened my grip on the short knife, slowly turning around to see what was behind me.

As I turned, the strange sound suddenly stopped. I focused my gaze, and in the gray mist behind me, there was nothing. The direction from which the strange sound had come was still a hazy expanse, disturbed only by my movement, which created some bizarre air currents that quickly settled back to their previous evenness.

I swallowed hard, feeling a bit surprised. I shone my flashlight around, finding no abnormalities; it was as if the sound had never existed. The sound had been so close to me just now, crystal clear, and it was definitely not an illusion. My turning motion had lasted only about a second; if the sound had come from a moving object, it couldn’t have disappeared so quickly. Could it be that the sound came from somewhere else? Had I misjudged?

Instinctively, I took a step forward, wanting to find the source of the sound. Suddenly, a figure lunged at me from the mist beside me. My eyes were sharp enough to catch the situation just in time, and I quickly crouched down. The figure missed grabbing me but still knocked me to the ground. I rolled over and looked back; the person who had collided with me was a stocky figure—it was Boss Wang, the one who had dragged me into this place.

I cursed under my breath, brandishing my short hunting knife, intending to settle things with him. To my surprise, he quickly dodged back into the mist, disappearing from sight.

I couldn’t help but spit in disdain. During our struggle, his dagger must have fallen outside. Now, fearing my short knife, he dared not confront me head-on and hid in the mist, waiting for me to approach before launching a surprise attack—completely different from his earlier arrogance. That bastard was definitely a coward.

However, on second thought, the situation here is so bizarre that this guy must have extraordinary courage. If it were me, without a flashlight or any weapon, I wouldn’t dare to ambush anyone; I would have already curled up in a corner, trembling. Fortunately, the fog here is thick as water, and any movement creates a very obvious trail. It wouldn’t be so easy for him to launch a surprise attack on me; otherwise, I would have already pinned him down after that last move.

As I thought about this, I found it strange. If the owner of that eerie sound was moving inside the coffin, there should be some signs of movement. However, when I looked just now, the fog was smooth, and it didn’t seem like anything had moved through it. Could it be that it has no physical form? Is it a ghost?

While remaining on guard against Boss Wang launching another surprise attack, I stood up. The space inside the coffin isn’t large; after rolling around, I didn’t know where I had landed, so I needed to quickly retreat to the side and find a way to climb up.

Overall, this place isn’t big. Now that I looked around, I was already close to the center of the coffin. Through the fog, I saw something in the central part; judging by the shadow, it seemed that many ropes hung down from the top of the coffin, reaching all the way to the bottom. I initially thought they were aerial roots of branches sticking to the top, but as I took a step forward and shone my flashlight, I realized they weren’t. Those things were bronze chains, about the thickness of a wrist, covered in fungi and banyan roots, winding from the top to the bottom. However, it seemed that the chains were only fixed between the top and bottom of the coffin; nothing was tied to them below.

This stone coffin is said to be huge, but in fact, coffins of this size have been found in the tombs of several aristocrats from the Western Han and the Five Dynasties with large lids. Although this is called a coffin, it would be more appropriate to refer to it as a coffin chamber. In a traditional burial, the inner coffin should be placed in the center of this chamber. For the wealthy, the stone coffin chamber would be closely surrounded by dozens of wooden coffins, extending all the way to the innermost edge.

Now that I had taken a few steps, I should at least see the general shape of the inner coffin according to the size of the coffin chamber. However, all I saw were a few chains, and there was nothing on the ground. Could it be that this chamber is completely empty? Where did that sound come from? What was the source of that eerie radio interference?

I was stunned for a long time, then took another step forward, wanting to walk to the middle of the bronze chains to see if there was any hatch on the bottom of the coffin they were tied to. Just as I took a step, I suddenly felt my foot give way, and I fell down. I quickly grabbed the bronze chain in front of me and slid down a few meters before stabilizing myself, drenched in cold sweat.

What the hell happened? It felt like I stepped into thin air! I was still shaken, and when I shone the flashlight downwards, I couldn’t see the ground. The fog below was particularly thick, and when I tried to step down, I found nothing beneath my feet; it seemed like there was a deep depression.

There’s definitely something odd about this. I thought that the chamber was embedded two meters into the sacrificial altar on top of the bronze tree, with nothing in between. It might be a multi-layered embedded coffin method like those from the Warring States period. Perhaps there’s a depression in the middle of this chamber called a coffin well, where the real coffin is located. I don’t know how deep this coffin well is, but it’s really dangerous. If I had stepped into thin air just now, I might have fallen to my death.

The several bronze chains here might be part of the lifting device used to lower the coffin into the coffin pit; the inner coffin containing the body should be right below me. Just as I was thinking about this, the fog nearby suddenly stirred again, and Boss Wang rushed over, this time wielding some kind of weapon, lunging at me fiercely. The fog was so thick here that he probably judged my position by the beam of my flashlight. Realizing something was wrong, I instinctively shouted, “Don’t! Stop!”

But it was too late. Boss Wang let out an “Aiya,” missed his footing, and fell down. I felt the iron chains below tremble violently, presumably because he grabbed onto them, and at the same time, I heard a squelching sound from my hand, and my body began to slide downward.

Turning my head, I realized that the mushroom-like fungi above were squeezing my hand, releasing a slippery, waxy liquid that made the bronze chains feel as if they were coated in oil. I panicked and quickly tried to insert my short knife into the chain’s hole, but damn it, it wouldn’t go in. In a few moments, the knife got stuck in the tree roots, and I had to twist hard to stop my body from sliding. At this point, I had already slid down more than ten meters, entering the interior of the coffin pit, inside the trunk of the Paulownia tree.

Boss Wang was hanging below me on the bronze chain, bloodied, about a foot away from me. He couldn’t hold onto the chain and barely managed to stop himself by threading his belt through a chain hole. I shined my flashlight on him, and he cursed while turning his head to avoid the blinding light.

Seeing that he posed no immediate threat to me, I looked around the coffin pit. The interior of the bronze tree trunk was similar to the outside, engraved with deep grooves resembling twin serpents, with tree roots winding down along the patterns. The fog inside was much thinner than above. I scanned the surroundings, eager to know how large this coffin pit in the center of the coffin chamber was; if it was too big, climbing out could be another major issue.

The coffin pit was rectangular, four meters long and two meters wide, just enough to accommodate a coffin comfortably. I could touch the walls of the pit with my hand, and perhaps due to the fog, the tree roots here were not infested with a lot of fungi, allowing me to see the natural color of the roots. There was a strange odor in the air of the coffin pit; perhaps it was because of the excessive fog outside that the filtering medium in my gas mask had started to dampen, reducing its effectiveness. I could feel the strange smell growing stronger, irritating my nose. It seemed that Boss Wang was also suffering.

Looking down, I was startled to see that the iron chains extended deep into the darkness below, into a place where my flashlight couldn’t reach. They were incredibly long; from here, the entire coffin pit appeared bottomless, looking as if it extended indefinitely downward.

No way? I thought, feeling a strange sensation. Could it be that the entire bronze tree is hollow? We had climbed up at least three hundred meters; how deep did this copper tree extend underground? If it was hollow, what could be at its bottom? The center of the Earth? Hell? What significance does this giant hollow cylindrical structure have standing here?

Boss Wang was also very surprised. The two of them remained silent, staring intently below. Suddenly, there were two eerie sounds, “thud… thud…” that echoed around us! Boss Wang and I exchanged a glance, and our gazes were all directed towards the dark abyss below. That sound actually came from the depths of this chasm.

4 3 月 2025

106 Qinling Divine Tree – Chapter 31 – Ghost Mist

In this narrow, dark space, next to a coffin, a ghostly call suddenly came through the intercom, resembling someone crying or trembling while reciting something. It startled me so much that I quickly turned down the volume and tried to see what was going on.

This is a military intercom produced by Moto, with a plastic shell that is very suitable for use in harsh conditions, so it shouldn’t malfunction easily. After switching it on and off a few times, the strange noise at first disappeared, but the speaker began to emit intermittent static sounds, as if someone was calling but the words were unclear. I shouted a few times, but there was no improvement, and changing frequencies didn’t help either.

Having tinkered with electronic devices, I knew that this kind of noise wasn’t due to a physical malfunction but rather caused by radio wave interference, which can arise from various sources—ranging from solar flares to household appliances, all producing similar effects. We were deep underground, so the chances of being affected by solar flares were slim; and in this remote cave in the mountains, there wouldn’t be any household appliances. Where was this interference coming from?

I moved the intercom around, searching for the source of the disturbance, and soon discovered that the noise intensified significantly whenever I brought it close to the massive coffin. If I moved it further away, the noise would lessen. This was very strange. Could the source of the interference actually be inside the coffin? I cautiously extended the intercom into the gap between the coffin lid and the body, and suddenly, the chaotic noise erupted to an astonishing volume, as if someone had screamed in agony. Startled, I nearly dropped the intercom into the coffin.

Oh no, I thought, it seems there’s definitely something inside the coffin emitting irregular electromagnetic waves. This was unbelievable—was it a natural phenomenon, or something more bizarre?

I knew that plants could emit weak electromagnetic signals, and these signals varied under different external conditions. For example, when you played soothing music for them, or cut them with a knife, they emitted two completely opposite signals, which is referred to as the language of plants. However, these signals are extremely weak; even specialized instruments might not detect them, let alone a regular intercom.

There are also certain specific situations that can produce strong electromagnetic wave interference under natural conditions, such as before an earthquake or during a volcanic eruption. However, this kind of interference is typically destructive and would never be as mild as what I was experiencing now.

Looking at the enormous coffin, I considered an unlikely possibility: strange electromagnetic wave interference often occurs near sites of mass slaughter or large burial grounds, continuously. Some say it is energy emitted from decaying corpses, while others believe it is information released by numerous spirits. Could the strong electromagnetic waves be emitted by the corpse inside the coffin?

The light here was extremely dim, and the pale roots of the old banyan tree, illuminated by the searchlight, looked like deformed snake bones. Coupled with the unsettling noise, it felt as if something inside the coffin was screaming, urging me to enter. I was covered in goosebumps and felt an overwhelming sense of dread, so I quickly took out the intercom and turned it off.

The surroundings fell silent, and I suddenly felt dizzy. Perhaps it was the humid air and strange smell here that made me start to feel oxygen-deprived. Looking around, I felt a chill in my heart, something I hadn’t experienced throughout my journey.

Boss Wang had been shouting outside, probably unable to hear my response. He was so anxious that he was jumping up and down. His shouts, filtered through layers of tree roots, had become very weak by the time they reached me, like trying to hear someone talking outside while being buried under several layers of blankets—it was hard to make out clearly.

Just a moment ago, I was considering luring Boss Wang over here to subdue him, but now I had changed my mind. I thought it might be better to temporarily retreat; this place felt eerie, and staying too long was making me uncomfortable all over. This was primarily due to being alone; if there were two or three people around me, I would feel much calmer.

After much consideration, I fell back into my old habit of being indecisive, unable to make up my mind. Boss Wang stopped shouting after a while, and I heard him curse loudly a few times before he fell silent, probably unsure of what to do. Knowing his temperament, he likely wouldn’t dare to come in and check. Although people like him are quite powerful in society, in such a bizarre place, especially hearing about coffins, they instinctively feel fear. Coffins represent death, something money and power cannot control; it signifies an authority that cannot be shaken by human efforts, which is something those who dig for treasures find difficult to comprehend.

Lost in thought, I suddenly heard that grinding sound again—a “de…de…de” noise—coming from somewhere, much clearer than when I was outside.

Now I could hear it distinctly; the sound resembled someone walking in wooden clogs on a stone floor, but it was steady, lacking the ebb and flow of someone pacing back and forth. Instead, it sounded like… someone was jumping continuously.

The sound was very rhythmic, one after another, and in this silent environment, it made my heart race. I had already been startled once, and now it felt like a death knell, causing my heart to tremble along with the rhythm.

For a moment, I felt strange—why was I so scared? I should have already overcome this fear. I took a moment to calm myself, removed my gas mask, and took a whiff of the real smell around me. Generally speaking, gas masks can filter out harmful odors, so the smell I sensed while wearing the mask was processed. Sometimes, the characteristic odors of toxic substances can be filtered out, but in special circumstances, toxins can still penetrate the mask, leading to poisoning.

The surrounding smell was extremely irritating to my nasal mucosa; I sneezed after taking just one breath, breaking out in a cold sweat, and quickly put my mask back on.

After listening for a while, I realized the sound wasn’t coming from elsewhere; based on its direction, it seemed to be emanating from inside the stone coffin.

I began to sweat, pulled out my long-handled hunting knife, and crawled toward the gap, wanting to listen more closely. However, my heartbeat grew louder, and by the time I reached the edge of the coffin’s gap, it felt like my heart was about to leap out of my throat.

I’m aware that I’ve been influenced by the environment here. For a while, I thought I had overcome this flaw, but it seems I haven’t. Having a vivid imagination is a major taboo in this line of work. I keep reminding myself to stay calm and collected, imagining the surroundings becoming brighter, realizing it’s not as dark as it seems. I take a few deep breaths and manage to calm my racing heart. I sigh and turn my ear, trying to discern what that sound really is.

But just then, the sound suddenly stops, plunging me into an eerie silence. I’m startled by this abrupt change, my whole body tensing up. At the same time, I suddenly feel something like a hand resting on my shoulder!

My scalp prickles, and my vision goes dark for a moment. In a panic, I swing my arm back with a knife, only to hit a tree root with my flashlight, extinguishing it immediately. The surroundings plunge into complete darkness, and then something wraps around my hand, twisting it backward. I’m so frightened that I lose the ability to think clearly, letting out a scream and using all my strength to try to turn around. In my struggle, I hear a crack as I step on a tree root that hasn’t fully hardened, and I suddenly sink down, falling into a shallow pit along with whatever was behind me.

As I fall, I suddenly hear someone curse, “You damn ghost!” Then the flashlight turns on. Boss Wang is pressing down on me tightly while shining the light in my eyes, nearly blinding me. I instinctively raise my hand to shield my face, and in a moment of panic, I slap him hard without holding back. My nose immediately feels cold, and I start bleeding.

After hitting me, he curses me again, saying, “You little bastard, you think you can mess with me? Go to hell!”

I quickly realize what’s happening. This fat guy from Guangdong actually had the guts to sneak in here. He probably thought I was playing tricks since I didn’t react, and out of caution, he didn’t turn on his flashlight when he sneaked in, fearing he’d fall for my tricks. He just happened to catch me while I was listening to that ghostly sound, and almost got stabbed in return. Now he probably thinks I want to kill him.

I want to explain, but he’s got me by the neck, and I can’t say a word. He seems really angry and slaps me again, making my ears ring. I feel a surge of anger and think to myself, “How dare you hit me like that?” It shows he doesn’t see me as a person at all. In a fit of rage, I charge at him, knocking him hard. We tumble together, exchanging punches and kicks, rolling toward the edge of a coffin. He’s stronger than me and gains the upper hand, pinning me down and trying to choke me. But the space is too low; when he lifts his head, he bangs it against a tree root, momentarily dazing himself. Seizing the opportunity, I kick him hard in the groin, flipping him over, then pounce on him to grab his flashlight, smashing it against his head to knock him out.

I pressed down on him, and seeing that he couldn’t move for the time being, I used my flashlight to illuminate the surroundings. I discovered that the birdman had not brought his gear or gun inside, likely thinking it was too cramped and fearing he might accidentally injure himself. I reached to search his body for his dagger, but suddenly he pushed me up, and like him, I bumped my head against the top, stars exploding in my vision. I quickly rolled to the side to avoid getting hit again. My brain felt like it was about to burst from my nose.

Boss Wang climbed up, his body covered in fine roots and crushed fungal plants, his face twisted in anger, gasping for breath, his eyes reddened. I knew he was filled with murderous intent. A person like him, who started as a thug and climbed his way up, would certainly have a heavy killing instinct, always wanting to eliminate his opponent. It seemed that this time, it would truly be a fight to the death.

After catching his breath, Boss Wang pulled out a dagger from his belt, gripping it fiercely as he charged toward me. My short hunting knife was a full half shorter than his dagger, and even if I managed to stab him, I wouldn’t hit any vital spots. At this moment, I had no choice but to use my flashlight as a weapon, shining it into his eyes. However, this fat man was extremely fierce, completely ignoring me. He turned his head to avoid the bright light and charged at me like lightning, slashing at my neck with one swift stroke. I ducked to the side, grabbing his hand with my left hand, while my right hand suddenly turned off the flashlight.

His eyes had grown accustomed to the bright light, and when it suddenly went dark, he instinctively paused for a moment. I noted the position of his head, raised the flashlight, and swung my arm for a strike. In the darkness, I heard a muffled grunt, and surprisingly, the flashlight lit up again. I shone it at his position and saw that he had already spat out a mouthful of blood and was collapsing there, seemingly on the verge of losing consciousness.

I didn’t know if he was pretending or if he had truly been knocked out. I kicked him hard toward the gap. If he wasn’t unconscious, he would definitely resist; otherwise, he would fall into the coffin. I kicked him several times in succession, and his feet slid in first. Unfortunately, when it got to his chest, he got stuck. I stepped up and delivered another kick, pushing him further inside.

Boss Wang was stuck like a dead fish for a long time before suddenly sliding into the gap. At that moment, I finally breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that he had indeed passed out. Just then, a fat hand suddenly reached out from the gap, grabbing my kicking foot and yanking it down with great force.

This was truly unexpected. I had already relaxed my entire body and felt a blur before I was dragged completely into the coffin. I was internally screaming that I was doomed; I had actually fallen in. This was truly unprecedented, and in my panic, I tried to grab onto something around me, but I couldn’t grasp anything and fell into endless darkness!

Boss Wang dragged me down as we slid. I had originally thought that the coffin was only about the height of a person, but upon entering, I realized something was off; there was a depression inside, clearly sunk into the copper tree. I slid down for about three to four meters before landing hard on something, causing me to wince in pain. At the same time, Boss Wang loosened his grip, seemingly wanting to pounce on me again.

I quickly used the flashlight to scan the surroundings, trying to see if Boss Wang was next to me. With a sweep of the light, all I could see was a haze, a gray mist obscuring everything, and I couldn’t see anything even half a meter away.

I stood up and swung the flashlight vigorously around, but I didn’t hit anything. The fog was so thick here that after Boss Wang fell, he must have been unable to see anything clearly and probably hid inside the mist.

I found it very strange—how could there be such dense fog inside this coffin? If it were incense, it shouldn’t linger for a thousand years. I reached out and stirred it; the fog was so thick that it felt almost like water. When I pushed it aside, a visible vortex of air appeared.

I couldn’t see anything clearly in the middle of the coffin, and I didn’t dare to step inside. I could only check if I could climb back up the side I had slid down. Looking up, I couldn’t see much either, only that tree roots were growing in through the gaps. They didn’t seem to be growing wildly inside but were clinging to the inner walls and bottom of the coffin like ivy. The roots were covered in a fuzz-like fungus that fell off when touched, somewhat resembling mold.

There were some relief carvings on the inner walls of the coffin that were not covered by the roots. I could tell at a glance that some of the patterns inside were in the same style as the four statues standing outside, but most of these patterns were obscured. The blade of my long knife was too thin; it was a bit laborious to cut the roots above. After cutting off some of the new, spreading root hairs, I found I had no way to deal with the main roots that had become hardened and stuck to the coffin wall. When I struck them, it felt like cutting into stone, leaving only a white line.

Despite this, I could still discern some content. It seemed to depict the scene of constructing a bronze ancient tree. The people depicted were wearing left-lap clothing. To my surprise, I noticed that the bronze tree above was segmented, suggesting that this giant cast artifact wasn’t made in one go but had likely been built up over several generations, section by section, before becoming such a magnificent piece of art.

There were many relief carvings, but I didn’t dare move around carelessly. After examining this section, I turned back to look at the fog and felt an inexplicable fear wash over me. I decided to step onto the nearby tree roots to try to climb back the way I came.

However, strangely, despite the roots seeming very suitable for climbing, I tried twice and quickly slid back down both times—it was like stepping on ice. When I touched the surface, I found that the fungus had become very slick and slippery after being compressed, like lubricant. It seemed quite difficult for one person to climb up.

I steadied my mind, wondering what to do. It looked like I had to scrape off the fungus above first to get up, or perhaps use the knife as a climbing pick; I wasn’t sure if that would work.

Just as I was pondering this, an unusually clear strange sound suddenly appeared behind me, seeming very close.

4 3 月 2025

105 Qinling Divine Tree – Chapter 30 – Old Routine

According to reason, it shouldn’t be difficult to see the face of that statue, but we were looking up from below. No matter where we went, due to the angle, we still couldn’t see it clearly. I felt frustrated, and my unease about the statue grew stronger.

Boss Wang probably felt the same way as I did; the more he wanted to see it, the less he could, and he grew anxious, his face turning pale. We changed several spots, but none were satisfactory. In the end, we decided to climb over the collapsed walkway first. The rock wall here was full of tree roots, so it wouldn’t be too difficult to climb. Besides, there were several layers of walkway below, so even if we slipped, we wouldn’t fall to our deaths; there was nothing to worry about.

We returned to the section of the collapsed walkway. Boss Wang checked the sturdiness of the hanging roots, secured his multifunctional pickaxe, and nimbly climbed up the cliff. I held the flashlight for him while cursing him for potentially falling down. Unfortunately, Boss Wang’s agility did not match his physique; in just a few moments, he had already climbed to the opposite side and jumped onto the walkway.

He turned back and tossed the multifunctional pickaxe back to me, then ran ahead, probably eager to see what was up there. I turned on my headlamp and climbed up the cliff, one hand holding the pickaxe and the other feeling my way along the roots. These roots had presumably grown for many years; they felt as hard as stone, unusually solid, and did not seem alive at all. The patterns on them resembled animal scales, and if one had poor eyesight, they might think they were looking at fossils of some ancient creature.

I climbed cautiously and slowly; halfway up, I heard Boss Wang call out, “Come over here! You can see better. It looks like there’s more than just… one statue inside that bundle of roots. I don’t know what exactly it is.”

Hearing his words, I gritted my teeth, used both hands and feet, and finally grabbed a root to swing over to the opposite side, then followed the beam of his flashlight. I saw he had already ascended three layers of the walkway and was holding binoculars, examining the situation near the copper tree. I looked in the direction he was pointing, and due to the change in angle, I could indeed see some objects wrapped in the tree roots, but it was still quite blurry.

I hurried to catch up, took the binoculars from him, and finally saw clearly that among the massive, snake-like bundle of roots, many rusty bronze arms were exposed. From the number, there should be at least four statues standing in four different directions. However, based on the exposed parts, I couldn’t accurately determine if they were all the same design; the other parts were deeply wrapped in the roots. From a rough estimate, they were quite large, probably similar in size to the stone statue we saw on the cliff.

What Lao Yang referred to as the “great benefit” couldn’t possibly be these terrifying tree roots; it must be the things wrapped inside them. But even if these statues held immense value, we couldn’t take them with us. There must be some other mysteries on the opposite side that we were unaware of; staying here wouldn’t lead to any discoveries. We had to go over to find out.

We continued along the plank road, as the distance between the cliff and the copper tree gradually decreased near the upper end of the cave, allowing us to see more clearly. At the top of the copper tree, there was a circular altar with four bronze statues facing in different directions. Initially, we thought that by changing our perspective, we could see the true forms of the statues, but the higher we went, the more disappointed we became. Their bodies and faces were tightly wrapped in the tree roots, and it seemed impossible to see them clearly without cutting away those roots.

We reached a point on the plank road that was basically parallel to the altar, and Boss Wang stopped for a moment. After observing, he said to me, “These four statues are placed at the corners, which means there must be something in the center. If we had our equipment, we could go a bit higher and use a spotlight to get a clear view. Unfortunately, all that stuff fell into the waterfall, so we can’t do anything about it. Young man, we need to get over there and see what’s up.” With that, he folded the blade end of the multi-functional pickaxe back, shaping it into a hook, and tied it to a rope, creating a grappling hook. Like a Western cowboy, he swung it a few times before throwing it out.

The multi-functional pickaxe followed a parabolic trajectory, hooking onto a tree root next to the altar on the opposite side. It wrapped around a few times and successfully hooked back onto the rope. Boss Wang tightened the rope, causing the tree root to shake slightly, startling many strange gray worms out of the gaps in the root, which scattered and fled quickly.

Boss Wang frowned and said, “Young man, it’s your turn to go first!”

I knew he was wary of those worms, and I cursed inwardly. I estimated the distance; it was much closer than when we had climbed earlier, so it should be manageable. I nodded and began to climb the rope.

After just a few steps, I couldn’t help but admire Boss Wang; he had thrown the rope perfectly. The two ends formed an angle of about sixty degrees downward. As long as I squeezed my legs around the rope, I would naturally slide to the other side without expending any effort. I glided through the air and landed on the tree root on the altar, immediately grabbing onto the roots above to steady myself.

Boss Wang made a gesture from the other side, signaling me to scout the situation first. I turned back and saw that those gray worms were not the dreaded chi gu; instead, they were a type of insect similar to cicada larvae. There were quite a few of them, but they shouldn’t pose any harm. I shooed them away and gestured to Boss Wang. He shone his flashlight around me to confirm that there were indeed no more worms before climbing up the rope.

The tree roots here were almost as thick as two or three of my thighs, intertwined and fused together at the points of contact, while the gaps formed hollow spaces. Over time, as more roots fused together, the hollows became interconnected. This was quite common in banyan tree groves; in areas with large banyan trees, entire forests could stick together, with one tree hole connecting to another, making it difficult to get out once inside, even more eerie than a ghost forest.

We clung to the tree roots and turned around, discovering that these roots were extremely ancient and thoroughly wrapped, obscuring what lay beneath. Since we couldn’t cut through the roots, we were at a loss for what to do. After a moment, Boss Wang suggested that we might be able to see something by looking through the hollows between the roots. Let’s split up and check each hole with our lights; we’re sure to find something.

I thought to myself, “It’s so thick, this is unlikely,” but he wasn’t prepared to discuss it with me; he just raised his hand for me to proceed. I faintly felt that this person was extremely violent, somewhat similar to the Wang Fatty I used to know. I wondered if they could be relatives. However, my Wang Fatty was much cuter and straightforward, while this person was too sinister.

The tree roots were tangled here, resembling a grave mound. When I shone my flashlight into the hollow cavities, I couldn’t see the bottom. We worked for a long time, sweating profusely, yet saw nothing. I even strained my back, causing me to break out in cold sweat.

Now, the two of us were at a loss. Boss Wang glanced at me and suddenly cursed, “Bastard, is that scoundrel Li Pipa plotting against me?” I was also perplexed. Since there was nothing here, why did Lao Yang emphasize it so much? He shouldn’t make such a boring joke. The problem still lay with us; where had we gone wrong?

Both of us fell silent, quietly pondering. I thought about the lies Lao Yang had told me along the way. Regardless of his motives, those lies were merely intended to lead me here, yet upon arrival, there was nothing to be seen. What was that so-called benefit that he couldn’t tell me, and even if I knew, I wouldn’t act on it? I still couldn’t figure it out.

Just as I was lost in thought, Boss Wang suddenly pushed me. I turned my head, about to speak, but he made a gesture for silence. I wondered what was going on. He waved his hand, carefully pulled me down, and urged me to listen closely to the roots.

I immediately focused and listened intently. There was no wind in this eerily silent cave, and pressed against the roots, I clearly heard a faint “de… de… de” sound coming from inside, like someone grinding their teeth from the cold.

The sound was not loud and would definitely go unnoticed if one wasn’t paying attention. It had a rhythmic quality, completely different from the sounds of a blood corpse, and it wasn’t the sound of insects crawling inside the tree.

Boss Wang whispered, “The intervals between each sound are the same, like a monk striking a wooden fish. It could be the sound of some mechanism in action. There is indeed something inside, but we don’t know whether it’s a living creature or a dead one.”

I began to break out in cold sweat; could it be that there were people grinding their teeth in these thousands-of-years-old tree roots? Had we encountered a tree demon? Just as I was about to speak, Boss Wang shook his head, pressed his lips together, raised his short rifle, and chambered a round, signaling for me to follow him quietly towards the sound. We approached a hollow at the base of a banyan tree and discovered that the sound was coming from there. Boss Wang shone his flashlight into the hole, and the sound abruptly stopped.

He glanced at me and softly said, “That’s right, it should be here. The thing mentioned in ‘He Mu Ji’ is inside, and we probably need to enter through here.”

I frowned and said, “The root system inside is very complex, much more so than the cave systems we encountered, and I don’t know if this copper pillar is hollow. If we recklessly go in, it could be dangerous.”

He nodded and said, “I understand, so we can’t both go in at the same time. One of us should go down first to scout the way.”

My heart sank, and I thought to myself, “You can’t be thinking of sending me in, right?”

Boss Wang saw me hesitate for a moment, lifted the short rifle, and said softly, “I’m too fat; you go down first. I’ll follow behind you and provide cover. Don’t worry, nothing will happen.” As he spoke, he gave me a push, sending me toward the hole.

I looked down and saw nothing but darkness. When I turned back, he was looking at me with a serious expression, a cold look on his face. I gritted my teeth, put on my headlamp again, and prepared to play the role of a scout. Just as I was about to go in, Boss Wang called me back, handed me a small walkie-talkie, and said, “If it gets deep inside, use this. Go on, young man; you have a bright future ahead.”

I cursed inwardly, took it, familiarized myself with how to use it, and then put it in my pocket. I said, “Boss Wang, let’s be straightforward. I’m risking my life for you, so you have to give me some weapons. If I end up dead in there, you won’t have a chance either, right? If you won’t give me a gun, at least give me a cold weapon, okay?”

Boss Wang glanced at me warily, probably thinking I had a point. Reluctantly, he pulled a small dagger from his boot and tossed it to me, while immediately pointing the rifle at me with a smile, saying, “You see, I’m a bit forgetful.”

I caught the dagger and realized it was a long-handled hunting knife, specifically for skinning. I thought to myself that having something was better than nothing. I grumbled, lowered my head, and crawled into the hole, smelling a musty odor. I put on my gas mask and continued to crawl inside.

It was very damp inside; the bark of the tree roots was completely different from the outside—very soft, and there were many unknown mushrooms growing inside. Many cicada larvae, startled by my presence, started to flee. After crawling for a while, I suddenly froze; there were at least several forks ahead. Which one should I take?

Upon closer inspection, I noticed a mark on one of the forks, likely drawn by someone before. Not thinking too much, I crawled toward the marked fork. After advancing a few meters, the space suddenly opened up, and my upper body was already sticking out.

Hanging at the entrance of the hole, I turned on my headlamp and shone it around. This was a small hollow space, filled with intertwined tree roots. To be honest, this was just a place where the roots were a bit sparser in the entire root ball. I was puzzled as to why this situation existed when I suddenly saw a corner of a stone slab protruding from among the roots.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a massive stone coffin. There was a coffin bed underneath, now wrapped tightly. Judging by the distance I had crawled, this must be the center of the sacrificial altar—exactly what we were looking for.

I used both hands and feet to reach the edge of the exposed stone coffin, and only then did I realize how extraordinarily large it was, almost like a miniature shipping container. The edge of the coffin lid was engraved with a circle of double-bodied snakes, just like on the copper tree. The rest of it was almost fused with the tree roots, and I couldn’t discern what kind of reliefs were on top.

Boss Wang shouted from outside a couple of times. I was so mesmerized by what I saw that I didn’t respond. He thought I had gone into the copper tree and asked through the walkie-talkie, “Young man, what’s in there?”

“There’s a coffin!” I replied, trying to find a spot where I could at least sit up; lying down was too uncomfortable.

“A coffin? Can you tell whose it is?”

I cursed, “How would I know? It’s not easy to get this coffin transported here. With such a grand display, the one lying inside might just be the creator of this bronze tree.” Placing one’s coffin here probably meant wanting to be closer to the heavenly palace when ascending. I had no idea who this person was to have such grand ambitions.

At that moment, I noticed that the lid of the coffin and the coffin body were not tightly sealed together. A section of tree root had already grown into the coffin through the gap, lifting the lid slightly. I found it strange and let out a sound of contemplation.

Boss Wang, feeling anxious, quickly asked, “What’s going on?”

“This coffin… the lid is not properly closed,” I replied, crawling over to the gap. Could it be that the coffin wasn’t sealed properly during the burial, allowing the tree root to grow inside?

I thought for a moment and felt that wasn’t likely. It was possible that a small root had grown beneath the coffin lid and, over time, thickened, lifting the lid. These roots spread out in all directions; perhaps they had filled the coffin completely. The outer layer was so hard that even if the tools we had could cut through, I had no idea when we would be able to dig it out.

I crawled to the edge of the gap and shone my exploration light inside. It seemed completely empty, a hazy gray, as if the light was being absorbed by something, revealing nothing.

In archaeology, extracting the coffin from the coffin chamber is usually the most troublesome task. Proper coffins are typically tightly fitted against the coffin walls, with at most a one-centimeter gap, so this one was quite unusual, having a significant amount of space inside. It was very strange, and I wondered what the significance was. By the time of the Western Zhou Dynasty, burial customs had already matured, and even royal nobles wouldn’t use such absurd burial methods. It seemed that the historian was right; this should be a royal tomb of a minority group from that time, and this country appeared to be quite powerful, at least comparable to the Western Zhou Dynasty.

I picked up the walkie-talkie and said, “This coffin is empty; I don’t know what’s inside. My exploration light isn’t as powerful as your flashlight; it’s too dark. You can come in; it’s very safe here.” As I spoke, I crawled toward the hole I had just discovered, thinking to myself that as soon as you poke your head out, I’ll trap you and see what you can do.

The walkie-talkie emitted some static interference, and I heard a few voices coming through, but I couldn’t make them out clearly.

“What?” I asked.

With several bursts of static interference, some strange sounds came through the walkie-talkie, very noisy and completely unintelligible.

“What?” I called out impatiently again.

4 3 月 2025

104 Qinling Divine Tree – Chapter 29 – Approaching

Liang Shiye pointed at me with his chin, a look of disdain on his face. I cursed him inwardly, thinking, “You traitor! I took care of you all the way here, and you treat me like this? If I had known, I would have taken you out back then to avoid future trouble.”

The fat boss took a solid fuel wind lamp out of his backpack, lit it, and placed it on the ground. This thing is used for high-altitude snow mountain expeditions; it provides both light and warmth, and suddenly the whole cave was illuminated. Then he tossed a few pieces of compressed biscuits to me, all the while keeping the muzzle of his short rifle pointed at me.

I caught the biscuits he threw and felt puzzled, thinking, “What’s going on here?” I immediately threw the biscuits back at him and said, “If you two are going to kill us, just do it. Why all this nonsense?”

Liang Shiye smirked and turned to the fat boss, saying, “I told you, Qingtou is still Qingtou, completely clueless about the situation.”

Boss Wang shook his head and tossed the biscuits back to me, saying, “Young man, if you’re out here in the world, you need to be sharp. If I’m giving you something to eat, it means I don’t plan to harm you. With your attitude, if you run into someone with a bad temper, you’re asking for trouble.”

This guy had a completely different demeanor compared to that old Tai. At first glance, old Tai looked like the kind of ruthless outlaw who wouldn’t blink at killing someone, but the fat boss seemed amicable, making people feel more at ease. However, the kick he had just delivered was quite powerful—not something an antique dealer could deliver. I couldn’t figure out his true identity at all.

Boss Wang glanced at me, seemingly reading the confusion on my face, took a deep drag on his cigarette, and continued, “I’m different from Lao Tai and the others. I’m a businessman. In the business world, there are no eternal friends or eternal enemies.”

Liang Shiye said, “Boss Wang, you might as well be straightforward with them. These two kids can’t think around corners. The one surnamed Wu is somewhat reasonable, but when the one who’s sleeping wakes up, he might still cause some trouble.”

Boss Wang chuckled and then said to me, “Alright, I won’t lie in front of you. I’ll be straightforward. I’m a businessman, and I don’t like to resort to knives and guns. Given the current situation, you can see for yourselves that even if you don’t fall into my hands, it will be hard for you to get out. Lao Tai is dead, and there’s no point in dealing with you. Think about it—do you want to cooperate with me? I guarantee you won’t lose anything and might even profit.”

Upon hearing this, I realized it was exactly what I had said to Liang Shiye earlier. Damn it, just a few hours later, and the tables have turned on me. How the tides have changed!

Seeing I had no response, he offered me a cigarette and said, “Even if you don’t agree, it’s fine. I’ll give you some gear so you can go down on your own. But carrying a sick person alone, how do you plan to navigate this path? Have you thought it through?”

He was speaking the truth, and I found myself a bit swayed. But then I thought, he has equipment and weapons, so why would he want to cooperate with me? Isn’t that just setting up a stall for someone else to come and make money? There must be a conspiracy; those who roam the rivers and lakes are too cunning. Just look at how Liang Shiye has been following us the whole way with a flattering demeanor. As soon as he found an opportunity, he immediately tried to take the lead. We were completely unprepared. Compared to them, we are really too naive. Their intention to collaborate with me must have some targeted purpose.

In an instant, a plan formed in my mind. I had to agree to their terms first, just like when Liang Shiye followed us back then, and later I could figure out a way to escape. Moreover, as he said, to safely bring Lao Yang down, at least one more person’s help is needed. Alone, I would be pushing it too far. These two clearly underestimated me, which was similar to the mistake I made back then. I was sure I could find an opportunity to turn the tables, at least to get my hands on a gun.

Thinking of this, my expression softened, and I feigned hesitation, asking him, “Alright, even if what you say makes sense, I can cooperate with you, but you must first let me know what exactly you need me to do.”

Boss Wang let out a sigh of relief and exchanged a glance with Liang Shiye, who then patted me on the back and said, “Those who know how to adapt to the times are the true elites. Little Wu, since you’ve agreed, we are all on the same side now. I won’t hide anything from you and will naturally tell you what I know, but this is a long story. How about we eat while we talk?”

As he leaned in, I really wanted to strangle him, but a glance at the gun in Boss Wang’s hand, still pointed in my direction, made me suppress my inner anger. I forced a smile and said, “Please go ahead.”

Liang Shiye looked at the copper tree outside and said, “Speaking of this thing, it’s quite remarkable. According to the records in ‘He Mu Ji’, the initial discovery of this copper tree was reported in the thirteenth year of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty—”

After Li Pipa’s death, Liang Shiye had carefully studied the chapters in ‘He Mu Ji’ regarding this tomb in a very short time. ‘He Mu Ji’ is a type of note written very casually, sometimes in a cipher, sometimes in Han characters, and a small portion is written in an unknown script. Most of the relevant section here is written in cipher, and currently, there are no more than twenty people on the mainland who can read it. Liang Shiye is one of them.

The cipher records three main events:

The first event is from the thirteenth year of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty, when a report came from a government mine supervisor in the Taibai Mountain area, indicating that some prospectors had discovered an ancient bronze pillar, whose base seemed to have been dug deep into the mountain, with no sign of reaching the bottom, leaving its depth unknown.

This matter has caused quite a stir locally. It is said that this pillar possesses spiritual qualities; the more you dig, the deeper it grows, and you will never reach the end. Some say it is the handle of the axe used by Pangu when he opened the heavens, and if you dig further, you might uncover the axe itself. There are even feng shui masters who claim that it is a nail driven down by the Jade Emperor to secure the dragon vein of the Qinling Mountains; otherwise, this earth dragon would fly up to the sky. This copper pillar extends eight hundred miles underground, and it cannot be dug any further; if it is, all of China will face misfortune.

Not long after, a mute army received a secret order to head to Mount Taibai to verify the truth of the legend, but this team of mute soldiers mysteriously disappeared (it is suspected they were killed by the guardians of the tomb). Four months later, another battalion of mute soldiers received orders again; this time, they found the bronze tree and led three thousand death row inmates to take over Mount Taibai, seal off the mountain, set up camp, and continue digging.

The second event occurred in the eighteenth spring of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei dynasty, where it is said that digging lasted for four years and three months. The three thousand death row inmates dug upwards through the cave we are currently in and downwards to the base of the mountain. They did not find the roots of the copper tree but unearthed a dragon-patterned stone box, which was hollow inside. It contained something, but there were no seams, and no matter how hard they tried, they could not open it. They dared not act recklessly and sent the box to the palace.

The third event is brief; at the end of the eighteenth year of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei dynasty, the “He Mu Ji” recorded that the emperor granted rewards, promoting everyone to a second-class nobility and giving each person a hundred taels of gold as a reward for the entire camp. The crowd got drunk, and the owner of the “He Mu Ji” and a few familiar soldiers, in their drunken stupor, made a bet to climb that ancient bronze tree.

(At this point in the article, the remainder is filled with unknown characters, and it is unclear whether they have any special significance. Master Liang cannot decipher them, which is truly regrettable.)

Master Liang told us that another boss, Li Pipa, can understand these things, but when asked what was written below, he resolutely refused to say, maintaining an air of mystery, though the reason remains unknown.

At the end of “He Mu Ji,” there is a section in Han characters documenting the climbing process. Above our current position, there is a walkway winding around the rock wall, which was prepared for the emperor to see in the end. Unfortunately, when they were close to the top, they could not continue, and while building the walkway, there were often people who fell off the cliff for no apparent reason, and it eventually came to nothing.

After we crawled out of the low cave, Boss Wang handed me a telescope while he shone a powerful flashlight for me. After adjusting the focus, I indeed saw a few sections of wooden walkways stuck to the cliff above, spiraling upwards. Our flashlight’s power was weak and could not reach that far, so we did not notice it at the time.

Boss Wang suggested that if we could reach that walkway, climbing along it would save us a lot of effort. However, there would surely be some oddities on the walkway. Master Liang is a scholar; he is fine with research but not with fighting, so this path must be taken by the two of us.

I am not as optimistic as he is. I looked through the telescope for a long time but still couldn’t clearly see what these walkways were like. The lighting here is too dim, and the edges of the walkways seem to be wrapped in something resembling plant roots, which is very different from the steel-structured walkways I have climbed in tourist areas. “The Collection of River Wood” was written during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and it has been a thousand years since it reached today. It is still unclear whether these walkways are intact, let alone whether they are sturdy.

Boss Wang said that this walkway was built for the emperor’s sightseeing, not as a temporary walkway for mining, so the materials and craftsmanship must have been very meticulous. Many ancient buildings from the Han Dynasty are still very sturdy, so he believes there is not much of a problem. If it really comes to it, we still have plenty of ropes, and with these walkways, climbing will naturally be much easier.

He spoke very decisively, without giving anyone a chance to negotiate. I cursed inwardly and had no choice but to refrain from voicing my opinion again. He and the lawyer Liang discussed briefly and decided to let me rest for another fifteen minutes, after which the fat boss would take me up, while lawyer Liang and Lao Yang stayed behind.

After taking a nap, I felt much more energized and ate a little something. Boss Wang also sat down and chatted with lawyer Liang in Cantonese. I couldn’t understand much, but I could roughly tell that their conversation was related to the “Qilin Blood.” I had a knot in my heart about this matter and thought that since our relationship with them had seemingly eased, it was a good opportunity to ask for clarification. So I asked lawyer Liang, what exactly is this “Qilin Blood”? Could it be harmful?

Lawyer Liang replied, “You don’t need to worry about this at all. I didn’t tell you everything earlier as a precaution, in case you wanted to run away and needed something to bargain with. Now that we have officially formed an alliance, I will explain it to you so that you won’t feel uneasy.”

Qilin Blood is a coagulated blood clump formed from Qilin blood; it is a very precious traditional Chinese medicine. However, it is not the blood of a real Qilin, but rather the sap of a plant called Qilin Blood Vine, also known as Blood Snake Vine, which generally grows in more southern regions.

The longer Qilin Blood is stored, the better its efficacy. Initially, it has only some ordinary medicinal uses, but in traditional Chinese medicine, there is a rare application for it: it can be used to fumigate corpses. In ancient times, some ethnic minorities and customs in mountain villages would place a piece of Qilin Blood on top of a corpse’s navel during burial, which could eliminate the corpse’s negative energy. Although the body would still decay, it would not attract maggots.

As Qilin Blood ages, it gradually changes from dark red to black, becoming darker with time. After a certain period, its properties change, becoming almost melt-in-your-mouth. If consumed, it prevents evil insects from coming near, and in summer, even mosquitoes wouldn’t dare to approach you.

Of course, this is just a legend. The old master only heard about it from others. Today, seeing such a situation for the first time, he began to believe it might be true. As for whether there would be any side effects, there are no related records. However, traditional Chinese medicine generally has very low toxicity, and he told me not to worry: “Rather than thinking about these things, I believe the most troublesome are those poisonous insects. The ‘He Mu Ji’ records that when the path was excavated, no such masks were found. Whether this is a trap set by ancient people or the handiwork of those who took the lives of thousands outside, I cannot be sure yet. When you go up, you should still be very careful and not be careless.”

We rested for a moment, but Old Yang still hadn’t regained consciousness. The chubby boss took off his gear and handed it to me. I put on my tactical headlamp, slung the rope over my shoulder, and continued towards the edge of the path above.

According to common logic, it shouldn’t be far to reach that path, but in reality, there is always a sense of helplessness. The distance I estimated always seemed much shorter than the actual distance. We expected to reach the top in an hour, but after half an hour, we barely managed to climb to the bottom of the path.

I then realized that the chubby boss was right; the path was very well preserved. It wasn’t because it was a path the emperor would walk on that it was built sturdily, but rather because it had been continuously maintained. There was still a layer of oil bamboo poles built as a scaffolding, which is very moisture-resistant. Even after hundreds of years of erosion, it remained very sturdy. Walking on it, I could hear the resilient creaking sound.

We were very close to the surface here, with many tree roots hanging down from the cliffs beside us, entwined with the railing like creeping plants. Some roots were very thick, almost like octopus tentacles blocking the path. The higher we went, the more of these there were, making it very difficult to walk. In some sections, the roots completely enveloped the path, and it was nearly impossible to find a foothold, so we had to use a machete to clear a way or simply crawl over.

Due to the invasion of tree roots, the rocks here had cracked, and stones occasionally fell. We had to hold our heads while also being cautious of our footing, making the walk feel even more exhausting than climbing.

We were so focused on walking that we lost track of how many loops we had made. Ahead, there was a very large gap in the path, almost ten meters wide, caused by the adjacent rocks breaking and collapsing. I gestured to indicate the distance and said to Boss Wang, “There’s no way to jump over this; we’ll have to use the rope.”

At this point, it had been almost an hour since we set off, but looking down from above, it seemed we hadn’t come up very far at all. It seemed impossible to reach the treetops within an hour. We had climbed too hastily, consuming a lot of energy, and had no choice but to take a break for now. This vertical cave was very cold and damp. After walking this stretch, my clothes were soaked with sweat, sticking to my body uncomfortably. It was hard to dry off quickly, making it easy to fall ill, so I had to find a way to warm up.

We found a tree root cave wrapped around a tree root and a boardwalk. Boss Wang took out a solid wind lamp and hung it on a tree root with a dagger. I took off my clothes to dry my underwear first, then hastily ate a little something. Boss Wang had a very serious expression; while talking to me, he used a powerful tactical flashlight to shine on the copper tree across from us. After a while, he said to me, “Come look, you can already see the top here. What do you see up there?”

I picked up the binoculars to observe. The top of the copper tree was only about ten meters above, and many tree roots were hanging down from the top of the cave, completely blocking that area. I could barely see that it was wrapped in a large mass of root systems, and a lot of root hairs were winding down along the copper tree. It was impossible to see clearly what was inside.

The boardwalk that spiraled up along the cave wall was much higher than the top of the copper tree. This was different from what was recorded in “The Collection of River Wood.” It was possible that after years of excavation, the heavy copper tree had a tendency to sink back into the rock layers, and after hundreds of years, its height had already dropped below the boardwalk.

The roots hanging down from the top of the cave might be the same large banyan trees we saw from the top of Jinyu Mountain, which were so large that it would take more than ten people to embrace them. Now it seemed that their root systems were even more spectacular than their branches and leaves. These things, resembling pale ghostly claws, twisted together like a giant hand gripping a copper pillar, as if trying to pull it out of hell. They also looked like a huge totem wrapped in a fossilized giant python, giving one goosebumps all over.

As I was engrossed in my observation, I heard Boss Wang say to me, “Look how dense the roots are; this indicates that the rock layer above must be the topsoil. This is a natural cave. The ancients couldn’t have come here by tunneling through the mountain; there must be a cave system above that leads outside. If we’re lucky, we might not have to go back the way we came.”

I felt a surge of joy at his implication. If we didn’t have to return the same way, it would indeed be a wonderful thing. However, this natural cave was bound to be no peaceful place, and whether we could get out remained to be seen. Boss Wang nudged me and said, “This is the situation at the top of the copper tree, but look over there in those piles of roots. It seems there’s a bronze statue. It’s too far away to see clearly; let’s find another place to take a closer look.”

Following the direction he pointed, I saw below the top of the pillar, amidst the tangled roots, two bronze arms that seemed to resemble the somewhat enchanting statue we had seen in the Clipper Valley. Back then, its face had been blown apart by tomb raiders, and I had a peculiar sixth sense at the time, feeling that there was something wrong with that face. Now, it was just right to take a look and see what this figure truly looked like.

4 3 月 2025

103 Qinchuan Divine Tree – Chapter 28 – Kirin Exhausted

I was surprised when he asked me that. My mind was blank, and I shook my head, saying, “So big? I don’t think I’ve eaten anything like that. What do you mean? What are you thinking, Liang Shiye?”

Liang Shiye took a little of my blood, smelled it, and said to me, “From what you just described, it reminds me of something. I once heard an old gentleman say that there is something that, when eaten by a person, can drive away evil spirits, and evil insects won’t come near. It’s a very rare traditional Chinese medicine. Think about it, have you eaten anything similar?”

I gasped, thinking of black shell-like things? Traditional Chinese medicine? This really stumped me. So much has happened recently, and I’ve been eating in a hurry most of the time. I haven’t been sick, and I usually don’t pay much attention to what I eat. Now, being suddenly asked, I really couldn’t remember anything.

Old Yang mocked me, saying, “I’ve only heard that black dog blood and rooster blood can drive away evil spirits. Who would’ve thought that our Old Wu has this ability too? Don’t tell anyone about this, or everyone will come to borrow your blood, and in a few days, you’ll be squeezed dry!” After saying this, he burst into laughter.

I cursed, “Can you have a little decency? What dog and chicken! I’ll tell you, human blood has always been the best for driving away evil, especially the blood of death row inmates. There are even people at the execution ground who ask forensic doctors to dip white cloths in it and hang them on the door beams. Don’t talk nonsense if you don’t understand.”

Seeing that I was getting anxious, Old Yang laughed triumphantly. After a couple of laughs, he suddenly exclaimed in pain, touching his back and grimacing. It seemed he had been hurt there earlier, and now the laughter was causing him pain.

I thought to myself, serves him right, and ignored him. I said to Liang Shiye, “If you can’t describe it more specifically, just saying it’s black and shell-like doesn’t help. There are too many things that fit that description. Does this thing have any obvious characteristics?”

Liang Shiye thought for a moment, looking a bit embarrassed, and said, “I’ve never seen it myself; I’ve only heard others describe it, and it’s been a long time. I really can’t remember if I try hard.”

I couldn’t help but feel disappointed and sighed.

Liang Shiye smiled and said, “Don’t take it too seriously, little brother. This isn’t a bad thing. If it weren’t for you just now, we would have been done for. I see this as fate; it’s all predestined. Think about it, in the future, when you go tomb raiding, with this capital, nothing will be too difficult!”

Hearing this, I felt quite uneasy. The way things have gone so far indicates that my life is in a bad state. If I continue to tomb raid, I’m probably looking for death. I looked up and said to them, “That being said, we haven’t tested it yet, and we don’t even know if it’s really my blood that’s working. If it weren’t for that, it would be troublesome. Let’s take this opportunity to hurry up and go up; we can talk about it after we pass this section.”

Liang Shiye wanted to rest a bit more, but seeing the lurking Gu insects around, he agreed with my idea. We started to climb a few steps again when Old Yang suddenly grabbed my hand and whispered, “Wait… wait a minute!”

I turned back and saw that his face was ashen, covered in cold sweat, and his expression was quite inappropriate. My heart sank, and I asked him what was wrong.

Old Yang was holding onto the rock with one hand and touching his back with the other, gritting his teeth as he said, “I don’t know what’s going on. Just now, after laughing, my back started to hurt terribly. It might have been when the rope broke and I got a bit injured. Can you take a look? Why does it hurt so much? I can’t even use my strength.”

The impact when the rope broke just now was quite severe. I had already felt pain all over my body, but the situation was urgent, and I didn’t have time to think about it. Now that the atmosphere has calmed down, these wounds are starting to act up. Lao Yang at the bottom of the rope hit himself much harder than we did; could it be that something is fractured?

I told him not to move and lifted his shirt. I saw a bruise on his back near the third rib, and there was even a slight dent. I pressed on it lightly, and he suddenly screamed like a pig being slaughtered, arching his back and nearly knocking me over.

I thought to myself that this injury might not be simple; just touching it caused such pain. Could it really be a fracture?

Lao Yang’s face twisted in pain as he struggled to turn his head and asked me how it was. I frowned, unsure of how to respond, and finally said, “Just looking at it doesn’t reveal much. But since you’re in so much pain, we can’t climb anymore. If the bone is already broken, doing any strenuous activity would be no joke. We need to find a flat place to examine it carefully.”

Lao Yang was eager to get up and struggled to rise, gritting his teeth and saying, “Forget the detailed check; our torches and flashlights won’t last long. We can’t stay here; let’s talk about it when we get to the top.”

Kong Shiye looked at his back, shook his head, and said, “No, Lao Yang, Xiao Wu is right. Your back is deformed; it definitely needs to be checked. If it really is a fracture, it needs immediate attention. Otherwise, the bone could easily puncture your chest cavity, and that would be disastrous. I know a bit about this; we’re not far from the top now, so there’s no reason to delay.”

Lao Yang wanted to argue with him a bit more, but perhaps the pain was too much; his words turned into groans. I noticed the small rock caves nearby, which seemed relatively flat. I exchanged glances with Kong Shiye, and without further discussion, the two of us helped him into one of the better rock caves. I took back the torch and placed it at the entrance to keep the insects out.

This cave was about seven or eight meters deep and less than a meter high. Because it had been shielded from sunlight for years, the air was very humid, and the rock walls were covered with spots corroded by mold. There seemed to be some signs of human activity, though they were not obvious. After going about five or six meters in, I could see the bottom of the cave, which was a rough rock surface. There was nothing else.

I checked to make sure there were no dangers before putting away my gun. Kong Shiye used a paddle to fashion a splint and tied it to Lao Yang’s back. Lao Yang’s face relaxed a bit. I thought to myself that this master is different; he knows everything. It seems that next time we go underground, we should find someone like him.

After Kong Shiye finished, I asked him about the situation. He lowered his voice and said, “The bone should be intact, but it’s definitely cracked. I’ve temporarily stabilized it; it shouldn’t hurt as much now. But Xiao Wu, you should really advise your friend; in his condition, he absolutely cannot climb any higher.”

I glanced at Master Liang and knew that he was hinting at something, likely suggesting that I should go down. He had hinted at this several times along the way; to be honest, this kind of adventure was really quite forced for him. I could tell he had long been considering retreat, but unfortunately, due to his stubbornness, he couldn’t bring it up. Now that he had found an excuse, he would naturally take the opportunity to elaborate.

However, this made me uncertain about whether to trust his words regarding Lao Yang’s injuries. Seeing my skepticism, Master Liang quickly added, “Little Wu, although I’m not on the same path as you guys, we all mix in the same world. There are some things I won’t gloss over. You should know this for yourself. To be honest, look at us right now. If we insist on going up, we might really die here this time.”

I glanced at Lao Yang, who was enduring pain and hadn’t noticed our conversation. I then patted Master Liang’s shoulder and quietly said to him, “We need to assess the situation. You should go rest now; it’s not the time to discuss this. Even if we decide to go down, we need to be well-rested first.”

Master Liang mumbled something, leaned to the side, and started rubbing his thigh without saying anything more. I checked the remaining supplies, sat down, rubbed my temples, and began to consider what Master Liang had said.

Initially, I wasn’t very interested in what Li Pipa had mentioned. If they had asked me to give up earlier, I wouldn’t have had any objections. But now that we had gone through so much to get here, it felt a bit reluctant to give up at this point, almost like a sense of retreating at the last moment. However, deep down, I knew Master Liang’s words made sense. One of us had a broken bone, another was in very unstable condition, and I myself had reached my physical limit. If we recklessly climbed up, it would truly be unwise.

But this made it difficult regarding Lao Yang. After all, he and I were in this together, and now to team up with outsiders against him might jeopardize our friendship. Although Master Liang seemed rather spineless, he was an old hand in this world, and this could very well be his way of dividing us. If I followed his line of thinking, I might end up walking into his trap. It was truly a dilemma.

After thinking it over, I couldn’t come to a conclusion, so I decided to stop thinking about it and take it one step at a time.

When I turned to look at them, Master Liang had already fallen asleep. He was exhausted and was already snoring. Lao Yang had also dozed off, but not very deeply, likely due to the injury on his back. This small hole, though damp and chilly, was much more comfortable than hanging outside. Seeing them sleep so soundly, an overwhelming fatigue washed over me. Though I forced myself not to sleep, I still unknowingly drifted off.

I slept extremely soundly, and when I woke up, my body felt soft and a pleasant tingling sensation spread throughout me. At this point, the torchlight was very dim, indicating that I had slept for quite a while. Peeking out, I noticed that the Gu insects had disappeared, with only a few scattered ones still clinging there.

I breathed a sigh of relief, turned on my flashlight, and looked up. From this angle, it seemed we were only about three to four hours away from the top of the copper tree. The things up there were almost within reach, and now to go down would truly feel like a waste.

Old Yang hasn’t woken up yet, but he looks peaceful and seems to be feeling much better. I turned to look at Mr. Liang, wanting to wake him up to discuss what to do next, but to my surprise, the spot where he was lying was empty—he wasn’t there.

“Hmm?” I instinctively froze for a moment, shining my flashlight deeper into the cave, but saw no trace of him. I thought to myself, where did he go? At that moment, I suddenly noticed that the paddle used to secure Old Yang’s injury was missing, and I broke out in a cold sweat. A sense of foreboding washed over me, and when I reached for my waist, I realized, of course, that my handgun was also gone!

“Bastard!” I cursed loudly. I really didn’t expect that someone who looked so cowardly would steal my gun and run away while I was asleep! But why didn’t he take the flashlight too? How could he move without a light source? I was so furious that I didn’t think carefully; I grabbed a torch and wanted to rush out to chase him. This guy was slow on his feet, and if he hadn’t gotten too far, I could definitely catch up.

As soon as I stepped out of the cave, I hadn’t even had time to discern whether he went up or down when suddenly, a dark shadow swung down from above. A kick landed squarely on my chest, and I felt a surge of air as I was forcefully knocked back into the cave. After hitting the ground, I gritted my teeth and tried to stand up, but my chin was struck again, and this blow was extremely hard—I nearly lost consciousness. In my daze, I saw a fat man with a cigarette in his mouth sneaking into the cave, holding a short rifle, with Mr. Liang following closely behind him, looking pale and tense.

I recognized that fat man with just one glance; he was one of the two bosses from Guangdong, the one named Wang. He pointed the gun at me and told me to move aside, then turned to Mr. Liang and asked, “Old Liang, which young fellow has ever had a taste of Qilin’s blood?”

4 3 月 2025

102 Qinling Divine Tree – Chapter 27 – Soaring in the Air

The signal flare fell down, sweeping across this area, and the faces began to move, all avoiding the scorching light sphere. It looked like a swarm of beetles with human faces. These must be the true forms of the Chigui that Liang Shiye mentioned. The ancients kept them in special masks, and they somehow thrived. Just a moment ago, I was still half in doubt, but I didn’t expect to encounter them so quickly, and in such large numbers.

The faces clung to the bronze tree riddled with crevices, and when illuminated by the flowing light, they displayed different expressions: some were in pain, some melancholic, some grimacing, and others grinning sinisterly. I had never seen such a bizarre sight; it made my hair stand on end.

Liang Shiye spoke passionately, but upon seeing the real thing, he faltered, trembling as he said to me, “T-two… two young sirs, these are all alive. Those Chigui are attached beneath the masks. What should we do? How can we get past them?”

“Don’t panic,” Lao Yang said. “Look at their reaction to the signal flare; these things must be afraid of light and heat. If we light up our torches and approach slowly, they won’t dare to touch us.”

I shook my head. “Don’t be so absolute. The temperature and brightness of the signal flare are extremely high, so of course they are afraid. A torch is different; don’t forget those monkeys we saw earlier. They fled at the sight of the signal flare, but when you try to scare them with a torch, they only retreat a little. I estimate that if you approach with a torch, not only will you not get through, but you’ll also get surrounded, making it difficult to escape later.”

“What do you suggest we do?” Lao Yang asked me. “Do you have any ideas?”

I replied, “I don’t have a ready-made plan, just a preliminary thought. I’m not sure if it will work.”

Lao Yang, impatient, said, “I know you have a lot of clever ideas, so hurry up and tell me.”

I pointed to the rock wall several dozen meters away and said, “It’s too dangerous to go straight up like this. If what Liang Shiye said is true, these living masks must have some way to crawl onto our faces. Charging in will certainly result in sacrifices. Instead, we should take a detour. Do you have any way to get us swinging over to the opposite rock wall? There are so many holes up there; it shouldn’t be too hard to climb, and we could take a good rest.”

Lao Yang looked in the direction I was pointing and exclaimed, “D-distant? Swing over there?”

I nodded and gestured, “That’s just my idea. Don’t we have a rope? Take it out and see if it’s long enough. If this doesn’t work, I think the only option left is to go down. Next time, we should bring a flamethrower.”

Lao Yang took down the rope coiled around his waist, one of the pieces of equipment he had taken from Uncle Tai. It had a U.aa label on it. This is the best climbing rope in the world, used by special forces, and it seems they are quite willing to spend money on gear.

Before we went to the Lu Wang Palace, I had helped Uncle San procure equipment and had researched a lot of information. So I knew that this type of rope, if it had a diameter of over ten millimeters, could withstand nearly three tons of impact force (like a sudden fall). It would easily support the weight of the three of us…

The strength was sufficient; I just didn’t know if the length would be enough. Lao Yang lowered it down the tree for a rough estimate and couldn’t help but exclaim, “Oh no!” The total length of the rope was only a little over ten meters, and we were still far short of reaching the opposite side.

“What should we do?” he asked me. “Even if we connect our belts, it still wouldn’t be enough.”

I squeezed the rope and realized it was a sixteen-centimeter double-strand rope. Suddenly, an idea struck me, and I said, “It’s fine. Let’s unravel the two strands of this rope and tie them together; that should be enough.”

“Little Wu, is that okay? This rope is so thin; it won’t break, right?” asked Liang Shiye. “Look, it’s even thinner than rice noodles. You better not mess around.”

“That’s what they say in foreign mountaineering magazines; they wouldn’t lie to us,” I replied.

I pulled back the outer layer of the rope, revealing a very thin nylon cord. I swallowed hard; it was really too thin. By common sense, such a thin rope definitely couldn’t bear our weight. However, the foreign materials did say that this reinforced nylon fiber with an eight-millimeter diameter could be used as a climbing auxiliary rope, and as long as there wasn’t a severe fall, it wouldn’t break easily. Of course, using such a rope carries certain risks, so it’s usually used in pairs. We only have one, so we’ll have to rely on divine protection.

I decided to trust high technology; surely we wouldn’t be that unlucky.

I handed the prepared rope to Lao Yang, who took out a water bottle from his backpack. He tied it with a sailor’s knot to use as a weight and swung it towards the opposite side. After several failed attempts, he finally looped it around a stone pillar on the other side. He pulled it tight, and the rope was secured very firmly.

“Alright,” Lao Yang said, “Finally got it done. Lao Wu, what about those stones over there? Are they reliable?”

“I don’t know,” I replied, thinking about what would happen if the stones weren’t stable. I would probably swing back to the bronze tree on this side, and if I were lucky, I might hit the trunk and get half-dead. If I were unlucky, I could end up getting impaled by the branches.

This end of the rope was also tied to a branch of the bronze tree. Lao Yang tied a rather special knot, so that when we crossed over, we could untie it on the other side. The knot was very complex, and it made my head spin. I asked him where he learned such skills, and he said it was from prison.

With everything ready, I gave the rope a final tug to confirm it was secure on both ends and called for them to start climbing. However, neither of them moved. I glanced at them and found they were looking at me with a “not a chance I’m going first” expression. Clearly, being the first to climb such a thin rope required a lot of courage. I called out a couple more times, but both shook their heads. I could only curse under my breath and muster the courage to go up first.

Before climbing, I handed my camera and backpack to Lao Yang and Liang Shiye to reduce my weight as much as possible. These items could be tied to the other end of the rope, and when Lao Yang untied it from a distance, they could be swung down and pulled back up. Lao Yang was also not too confident about the caves on the opposite side, so he handed me his pistol, just in case something unexpected happened.

I sighed, feeling like a martyr going to my death. I patted the shoulders of the two and turned to climb the rope.

The moment my feet left the rope, my nerves were almost as taut as the rope itself. I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth, bracing myself for the sharp sound of the rope snapping. To my surprise, the rope held, but it emitted a very uncomfortable creaking sound, a result of the knots tightening suddenly on both sides.

I kept telling myself not to look down, but my eyes involuntarily glanced down. Oh my god! I groaned and quickly turned my head, closing my eyes and reciting “Amitabha.”

Old Yang shouted, “Hey, Old Wu, what are you dawdling for? Hurry up and climb! Staying up there is more dangerous.”

I cursed Old Yang’s ancestors under my breath, took a deep breath, moved my hands and feet, and began to crawl across to the other side. This kind of rope has a certain elasticity, and with each step, it shook violently. I crawled with great peril, and the rope was so thin that it hurt my hands. Before long, I felt a bit powerless. As I crawled, my mind went blank, and I didn’t even know how I managed to step onto solid ground. My legs went soft, and I clung to the stone pillar, collapsing in a heap and gasping for breath.

I had the torch with me. I lit it and stuck it to the side. Looking over at Old Yang and the others, I saw Master Liang trembling as he crawled onto the rope. Old Yang held him back, telling him not to climb just yet and to let me check the situation here first. If it wasn’t suitable for climbing or if there were other dangers, we could save some energy.

I looked around at the several caves, all only half a person’s height, man-made but showing signs of stalactites forming after thousands of years of rainwater seepage. They were quite damp. These caves might be related to the project that built this giant tree.

Looking up, the distance between these caves was only three or four feet apart. Although climbing wouldn’t be very fluid, it wouldn’t be too difficult either. The caves were empty, with no dangers. What I had seen in the cave from the tree earlier was likely an optical illusion caused by changing light and shadow; in such a dim place, one’s nerves are bound to be a bit on edge.

I reassured myself while confirming my observations again, then raised my hand to wave at Old Yang.

Old Yang patted Master Liang, signaling him to go first. Master Liang rubbed his face with his hand and crawled up the rope toward me. Watching Master Liang climb the rope was a test of nerves; I won’t go into the details, but ten minutes later, I finally managed to pull the muddy, exhausted Master Liang to my side.

Finally, it was Old Yang’s turn. He took a deep breath, tied the flashlight to his hand, and carefully checked the knot on the other side before cautiously climbing onto the rope. He climbed quickly, and before long, he reached the middle section of the rope. At that moment, the stone pillar I was tied to suddenly made a strange noise. The three of us froze simultaneously, and Old Yang looked at me with a face full of terror. I turned my head and felt a jolt of fear—there was a crack appearing on the stone pillar.

This was bad! I turned and shouted, “Hurry up! This can’t hold!”

I called out several times, but Old Yang remained motionless, staring at me with wide eyes, and then he actually began to back away, gesturing for me to go back as well.

What are you doing? I thought, a sudden wave of ominous premonition washing over me.

Old Yang pointed desperately at the top of our heads, whispering, “Run…”

Both Liang Shiye and I looked up in surprise, and I was instantly stunned. The rock wall that had just been empty was now crawling with those human-faced masks, moving in clusters, making sounds as they slowly surrounded us like a tide. At first glance, it looked like countless people were pressed against the wall, looking down at us.

At that moment, I really wanted to slap myself; how stupid could I be? There were Chigu (a type of supernatural creature) in the trees, so why didn’t I think there could be something on the rock wall too? Now we were doomed. Was my fate going to be to become something like those monkeys and die here? I might as well just jump down and end it quickly.

Old Yang saw us in a daze and shouted, “Stop daydreaming! Come back! Cut the rope!”

Hearing this snapped me back to reality. I jumped back to the stone pillar in a few steps, leaped up onto the rope, and the impact yanked the rope down hard. The stone pillar emitted a series of chilling cracking sounds. Before I could steady myself, Liang Shiye jumped up too, stretching the rope by more than ten centimeters to its limit. I immediately heard an ominous sound, and then with a sharp crack, the world’s strongest rope finally met its end and snapped in two.

The eight-millimeter-wide rope indeed couldn’t bear the weight of three people. With a sharp sound, the knot on the side of the copper tree broke, and we swung through the air like a pendulum, crashing heavily against the cliff wall, leaving us disoriented and nearly vomiting blood.

Old Yang, who was at the bottom, took the hardest hit. He couldn’t hold onto the rope for a moment and started sliding down. In a panic, he grabbed onto a crevice in the rocks to stop himself. Liang Shiye and I were not much better off; my head grazed a sharp rock edge, leaving a cut that bled profusely. Liang Shiye was hanging there, losing strength, and the rope slipped through his hands, nearly sending him down completely. Luckily, Old Yang was below, preventing him from falling.

The stone pillar above continued to crack, threatening to break at any moment. I quickly reached out and grabbed a nearby stalagmite, jumping over to it and then pulling Liang Shiye over. He was so scared that he kept saying thank you, but before he could finish, a mask suddenly lunged down from above and landed on his face.

In that instant, I seemed to see several claw-like legs, like crab legs, stretching out from beneath the mask. Liang Shiye let out a pitiful “uh” as he tried to cover his face with his hands, but it was too late; the mask had already covered him. He desperately tried to pull off the mask, but it seemed to stick to his face, pulling back each time he tried to tear it away. I wanted to help him, but he was flailing around like a madman, and before I could get close, he knocked me over. I quickly grabbed the rope again and slid over to Old Yang, barely managing to stabilize myself.

I glanced at the bottomless abyss beneath my feet and cursed inwardly, just as I was about to go back up to help Liang Shiye. When I looked up, a large shadow, like a huge hand, descended from above and grabbed my face. Everything went dark, and I couldn’t see anything; I only felt several furry things trying to burrow into my mouth.

In the midst of panic, I could only grab a crack in the rock with one hand while using the other to pry off the mask, gritting my teeth to prevent that thing from getting in. After just a little effort, the mask surprisingly fell off by itself. I quickly threw it out, but unfortunately, it landed right on Old Yang’s backside. He cursed loudly and hastily smashed it down with the butt of his gun.

I let out a sigh of relief, but as I turned around, four or five Chigu (a type of creature) jumped toward me, startling me so much that I shivered. I raised my hand and fired four shots, but it was completely useless. Suddenly, more than ten of them surged toward us. Old Yang and I began to retreat downward. At that moment, I heard a wailing sound, and looking up, I saw that Master Liang had fallen victim; he was covered in Chigu. He shouted and struggled, trying to swat them off, but for every one he knocked off, more would spring up.

As I continued to retreat and fire, I exhausted all my bullets, but the situation showed no signs of improvement. The Chigu surged toward us like a tide from both sides. Turning my head, I saw that the rock walls around us were already crawling with these creatures. They were touching each other, and the air was filled with strange, incomprehensible sounds that made my head ache. A moment of distraction, and several of them leaped up, lunging straight for my face. One careless move could lead to disaster.

We kept retreating, but there was no way we could move faster than these creatures. Soon, we were surrounded tightly. Just when despair was about to set in, Old Yang fired his gun. The loud bang sent a wave of Chigu flying off above us, and the closest masks were immediately shattered, with fragments falling like snow from above.

However, in less than a second, the area of rock wall that had been cleared was quickly covered again by the Chigu behind it. Seeing it was useless, Old Yang quickly covered his head with his clothes and shouted at me, “Old Wu! I’ll cover you! Quickly wrap your mouth and go get the torch!”

I looked up and saw the torch stuck on a ledge I had grabbed earlier. There was no Chigu around it, clearly these creatures were indeed afraid of fire. But the distance between me and the torch was swarming with Chigu, making it impossible to climb up. I shouted to Old Yang, “You go! I’ll cover you!”

“I’m out of options! You take a chance!” Old Yang yelled back while wildly swinging his gun. “What bad luck!”

I looked at these creatures, trembling inside. The Chigu didn’t have much attacking power; it was just that there were too many of them, and they were protected by hard masks, making it difficult to kill them completely. Moreover, these were merely the remnants that had survived after thousands of years of reproduction. It was unimaginable how many of these things the ancients had created to protect this copper tree.

Old Yang once again shook off the Chigu on him, trying to crawl over to my side. But when he looked up at me, he suddenly froze and shouted, “Old Wu, what’s wrong with you?”

Seeing him standing there, several masks crawled onto his shoulder and began to make their way into the clothes on his face. I yelled, “What do you mean what’s wrong! Be careful!”

Only then did Old Yang react, hurriedly swatting off the Chigu on his shoulder. He then said to me, “Old Wu, I’m telling you—don’t you notice? Something’s not right!”

“What’s not right!” I pulled him over, impatiently shouting, “What time is it? Spit it out!”

“Look at you, you don’t have a single mask on you! How come they aren’t crawling on you? That’s impossible!”

I looked down and gasped. I glanced at Liang Shiye and Lao Yang, who were both covered in Chigu, unable to shake them off no matter how hard they tried. But I indeed had none on me.

My heart sank a little as I recalled that from the moment I arrived until now, aside from the one that had flown onto my face, there hadn’t been any crawling on me. In the chaos earlier, I hadn’t noticed and thought I was quite lucky, but now it seemed something was off. I quickly looked around and found that while those Chigu were also crawling toward me, as soon as they got close, they suddenly changed direction and crawled away, as if they were avoiding me like they would a torch.

“What’s going on?” I wondered, and instinctively raised my hand to grab the nearest mask. Before my hand even touched it, the group of Chigu had already retreated in a flurry.

I looked at Lao Yang, and he looked back at me, both of us baffled. Lao Yang exclaimed, “My goodness, this trick is really cool! Did you accidentally touch something with your hand? Check it out!”

I immediately looked at my hand, and aside from the blood and dirt left from my injury, there was nothing special.

This was strange. What were they afraid of? Could it be that their parasitism had some selectivity?

Seeing the way those Chigu retreated reminded me of the scene where the Muffled Oil Bottle repelled the corpse, and a question popped into my mind.

Wait a minute, could it be… blood?

How could that be? How could these vicious creatures possibly be afraid of the blood of an ordinary person like me?

I looked at my hand in confusion, my mind a jumble, unable to think clearly.

Meanwhile, Lao Yang was unable to hold out any longer. Reflexively, I reached out toward him, and to my astonishment, the Chigu clinging to him retreated like cockroaches fleeing from insecticide, the situation mirroring that of the corpse retreating from the Muffled Oil Bottle’s blood.

“No way!” My jaw dropped; I thought to myself, there’s no need to give me this kind of face.

Lao Yang still didn’t understand what was happening and shouted to climb up and grab the torch. I patted him and said, “Wait, something seems off.”

After saying that, I raised my hand and took a few steps toward the already convulsing Liang Shiye. Just a few steps, and the Chigu in that area retreated like a tide. The previously orderly sounds of masks being touched suddenly turned chaotic, overwhelmed by a terrified chattering sound.

Lao Yang stared at me in disbelief, as if looking at some kind of monster. I ignored him, crawled up, and placed my hand on Liang Shiye’s face. The mask suddenly heaved up, and I quickly grabbed it, pulling it off with force, along with a slimy “tongue”-like thing. Liang Shiye, who had been in a semi-conscious state, immediately vomited when that “tongue” was pulled from his throat, spraying himself all over.

The Chigu in my hand struggled violently, making it almost impossible to hold on. The tongue-like thing was too disgusting, so I had no choice but to smash it hard against the stone, splattering green juice all over my hand.

The nearby chi gu retreated, but did not go far, forming a huge encirclement around us that kept tightening. Lao Yang quickly pulled back the torch, sweeping it around to force them a little further away. At this moment, Master Liang coughed a couple of times, seemingly regaining consciousness. Lao Yang went to get the water bottle and retrieved the remaining rope. Unfortunately, all of our other gear and food were still up in the tree, and we had no idea how to get them back.

I poured some water into my hand and moistened Master Liang’s lips; he finally seemed to recover. When he saw me, tears streamed down his face. I was taken aback and quickly tossed him aside. Lao Yang, who had been on edge for too long, was a bit neurotic. I told him that with the torch lit, they definitely wouldn’t come closer, and he needed to relax, or else he would go crazy. Seeing that the chi gu indeed stopped approaching, he let out a sigh of relief and planted the torch in a spot between us. He immediately asked me, “Lao Wu, what’s going on? When did you become so powerful? Why didn’t you use it earlier and make us look so miserable?”

I looked at my hand, shook my head, and said, “I don’t fucking know either; I thought I was dreaming.”

Lao Yang glanced at the blood on my hand, sniffed it a bit, and still didn’t believe I was that strong. He asked me, “Did you touch anything special while you were coming over? Think carefully… Maybe you encountered the nemesis of those broken masks, and you don’t even know it.”

I thought for a moment. Everything I had touched, they had touched too. The only thing I hadn’t shared contact with was my blood. But that was impossible; if my blood was that powerful, I would have made a scene in the Royal Palace of Lu. Why waste it like that? So… could it be that I had gotten his blood on me back then, and it was still effective? No way—I shook my head, denying it to myself.

After hearing us talk about what had just happened, Master Liang asked what was going on. He had covered his eyes with the mask and hadn’t seen anything. Lao Yang, still intent on teasing me, said to him, “You don’t know, but Lao Wu just had a grand moment. Here’s what happened…”

Upon hearing this, Master Liang clicked his tongue and said, “Little Wu, have you ever eaten something that’s black and about this big—”

4 3 月 2025

101 Qinling Divine Tree – Chapter 26 – Chigu

The eyes of the mummified corpse had completely shriveled, leaving only two hollow black sockets. Its mouth was incredulously wide open, revealing broken teeth. The entire face had deformed due to dehydration, presenting a rather grotesque expression that made it hard to look at directly. From its teeth, it was evident that this mummified body was not a monkey, but a genuine human!

Old Yang was momentarily taken aback and said, “What’s going on? Old Wu, didn’t you just say it was a monkey? This… this… is clearly a person!”

I stammered, “I… I don’t know either. Just now, when I broke that mask, I really did see a monkey, a big yellow-haired one. This… this… has really confused me.” As I spoke, I tried to lean closer to see if it was just a trick of the light that had misled me.

Suddenly, Master Liang waved his hand, signaling me not to touch the corpse. He carefully stood up straight and turned the mask he was holding over. I noticed that behind the mask, in the mouth area, there was a fist-sized spiral protrusion resembling a snail shell, with a small hole on top. Master Liang held the mask up to his face and said to us, “It seems this mask has to be worn with the mouth open.”

Old Yang asked in surprise, “With the mouth open? Wouldn’t that feel like having a respirator stuffed in your mouth? How uncomfortable!”

Seeing the mummified corpse with its mouth wide open, I said to Master Liang, “Could it be that there’s something peculiar inside this snail shell? Why don’t you break it open and take a look? These masks must have grown into the flesh of these monkeys, covering their mouths and eyes. They must have some other way to eat and see.”

Master Liang inserted his pen into the hole and pried it open with force. The “snail shell” shattered, revealing something inside that resembled a segment of a crab’s leg. Master Liang pulled it out and discovered it was a worm he had never seen before, now fossilized. If he applied even a little pressure, it would break into several pieces.

“It seems this mask wasn’t willingly worn,” Master Liang said with a frown. “However, this thing is indeed man-made. Look at the patterns inside the mask; they are quite similar to the double-bodied snake on the tree, which must be related to the person who cast this copper tree.”

Old Yang took the mask and examined it with great interest for a long time, saying, “This worm should be an ancient species from the Western Zhou period; it might even be extinct now, which is why we don’t recognize it. Hey, look, this worm seems to be only half of it.”

After saying this, he looked at us and asked, “Where did the other half go?”

This worm was curled up in the protruding cavity of the mask’s mouth. Based on this, there was only one place where the other half of the worm could be. I realized this and instinctively looked into the mouth of the mummified corpse. Sure enough, in the dark cavern of its mouth, I saw another half of the worm attached to the position of the tongue, with the dried worm body extending into the corpse’s throat, seemingly entering some organ. Because the shriveled muscles of the corpse resembled the fossilized worm body, one might mistakenly think that the worm was a dried tongue if not examined closely.

Seeing this scene, Liang Shiye’s expression changed, and he shouted, “Quick, throw it away! Oh my God, throw it away! That mask might be alive!” After saying this, he slapped his hand down, knocking the mask out of Lao Yang’s hand. The mask fell rapidly into the darkness, crashing against a branch with a loud “bang,” shattering into pieces.

Lao Yang was startled by him and nearly lost his balance and fell, hurriedly asking what was wrong with him and what he meant by the mask being alive.

Liang Shiye coughed, looking quite regretful, scratching his head and furrowing his brows as he said, “I truly feel ashamed; how could I be so foolish? I should have thought of this earlier. This… copper tree, this sacrificial method, is clearly not something of our Han people. Sigh, I really am an idiot, utterly foolish!”

“What the hell are you babbling about?” Lao Yang snapped, “What idiot? What does that have to do with the mask? Can you just say what you mean?”

Liang Shiye waved his hand and said, “No, please be patient and listen to me. I have to start from the beginning, but how should I put it? It needs to begin with what we just talked about regarding blood sacrifices…”

It turns out that the practice of blood sacrifice was primarily used in the sacrificial activities of ethnic minorities during the Western Zhou period. Of course, the minorities back then were completely different from those we have today; most of those ethnic groups have either disappeared or merged into the Han ethnicity. Large-scale blood sacrifices are not recorded in the official history of the Han, but some sporadic findings have been discovered in minority sites. Unfortunately, due to the loss of language and writing, there are no more detailed records.

The sacred sites of these ethnic minorities are very holy, not only guarded by people but also protected by priests who use some kind of supernatural technique to keep their gods undisturbed. In the legends of these minorities, the process of casting spells is very mysterious, and this kind of supernatural technique has evolved into what is now depicted in novels as all-powerful sorcery.

Liang Shiye continued, explaining that sorcery had split during the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties, and again during the Song Dynasty. The sorcery before the Qin Dynasty was incredibly powerful, almost akin to modern superpowers, but all sorcery originated from insects, and it was called “Mǐnchóng Shù” back then. Those monkeys wearing masks and the mummified corpses, with their mysterious and inexplicable nature, might be products of this ancient sorcery.

He had once heard of a type of sorcery called “Chí Gǔ,” which could make a person very aggressive. The kind of bug hidden in the hollow space behind the mask, deep in the throat, might be the ancient form of Chí Gǔ. This bug could potentially affect the nervous systems of animals or humans, attacking unfamiliar outsiders. Therefore, when I smashed their masks, that monkey reverted to its true nature and instinctively began to distance itself from us.

Chí Gǔ can reproduce within its host, and when the host dies, they attach themselves to a certain place, such as the hollow of this mask, waiting for the next host to come near, then parasitically transferring in some manner.

This mummified corpse might well be that of a hunter who was hunting here at the time, unfortunate enough to encounter a dormant Chí Gǔ, resulting in being harmed by this ancient dark magic.

Of course, there are no records of such things, and it’s hard to know if they are real. However, it is an undeniable fact that there are insects hidden within the masks, deeply lodged in the throat. This is definitely not a trivial matter, and one must be cautious and prepared.

Hearing what Master Liang said, I got goosebumps. In fact, before coming here, the old man had mentioned similar things in the materials he gave me, but I had only skimmed through them, thinking it was just like a plot from an American movie. I never expected it to be true. Who would have thought that American sci-fi films would borrow from the techniques of our ancestors? I really don’t know whether to feel proud or ashamed.

Turning my head, I saw the eerie dry corpse still hanging there motionless, its pale mask appearing to smile mockingly, as if waiting for us to approach.

Old Yang’s face looked a bit pale, and he hesitated, asking Master Liang, “What you said is too terrifying. If this Chigu is attached, can we just pull it off immediately? There shouldn’t be any hidden dangers, right?”

Master Liang replied, “I’ve never encountered it either, but Chigu is very difficult to resolve. If it gets attached, there’s no way to simply pull it off. In situations like this, we should prioritize prevention. Let’s try to avoid getting too close to these dry corpses. Uncle Tai also fell down from here; someone like him, an old hand in the game, probably wouldn’t just slip. We need to be careful.”

Old Yang frowned, wanting to say something but hesitating. I asked him how much longer we would have to climb like this. If the branches above were so dense, we would probably die of exhaustion before reaching the top. Old Yang told me that it would become sparser above. When he was climbing, he only had a small flashlight, so the lighting was poor, and he didn’t notice these dry corpses. No monkeys attacked him, so he didn’t know where he had climbed to. But anyway, since ancient times, Mount Huashan has been a single pillar; as long as you climb up, you won’t end up anywhere else.

Feeling that this place was not suitable for lingering, I suggested that we move past this section first. There was also a fat boss with Master Liang; he was likely above us. If he reached the top first, it would be troublesome. If he ambushed us, the three of us might die without knowing why.

Old Yang said, “That makes sense. Wait a moment, I’ll fire a flare to see if there are any ambushes above.” Saying this, he took out a signal gun and shot straight up.

The signal flare flew to the top but didn’t hit anything. I felt a jolt in my heart; this type of flare can reach at least over 200 meters high. Could it be that we still had over 200 meters to climb? If so, that would be deadly.

The signal flare ignited, and looking up, I saw that not far above, the branches became sparser again. I couldn’t understand why it was designed this way. From below, the 200-meter range was not impossible to see; I could still make out some things, though I couldn’t tell what they were.

As the flare fell back down, Old Yang watched it for a while and said, “It seems that the fat boss from Guangdong is not lying in ambush up there. Maybe it’s just Uncle Tai who made it in here alive. After all, that coffin formation outside is not that easy… Hey, what are those things?”

When the signal flare landed about sixty meters away from us, we saw that on that section of the bronze trunk, there were quite a few protruding objects. Upon closer inspection, I felt a chill run down my spine and cold sweat break out all over my body. On that entire stretch of nearly ten meters, the bronze trunk was covered with one face after another, no! It should be said that they were those eerie masks.

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110 Qinling Divine Tree – Chapter 35 – Out of Control

109 Qinling Divine Tree Chapter – Chapter 34 – Bold Hypothesis, Cautious Verification

108 Qinling Divine Tree Chapter – Chapter 33 – Reconciliation

107 Qinling Divine Tree – Chapter 32 – Surprise Attack

106 Qinling Divine Tree – Chapter 31 – Ghost Mist

105 Qinling Divine Tree – Chapter 30 – Old Routine

104 Qinling Divine Tree – Chapter 29 – Approaching

103 Qinchuan Divine Tree – Chapter 28 – Kirin Exhausted

102 Qinling Divine Tree – Chapter 27 – Soaring in the Air

101 Qinling Divine Tree – Chapter 26 – Chigu

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分类目录归档：The Chronicles of the Tomb Robbers