Chapter 14: The Corpse Revives

Lao Qifeng’s voice was deep, echoing through the narrow passage. A chill ran down everyone’s spines.

The Miao border, far removed from the Central Plains, had always followed customs distinct from those of the heartland. Under the Great Shu Dynasty, it was merely a loose protectorate, never integrated with the Han people, and there was little in the way of trade or daily interaction. Moreover, after the events of fifteen years ago, the Miao territory had become all but a forbidden zone. If one wandered in without cause, never mind the risk of being killed by witchcraft or voodoo, one would likely find the Embroidered Uniform Guard knocking on their door for interrogation within days.

Thus, even though everyone present frequented the southern martial arts circles, and many were based in the Huguang region—not far from the Miao border—their actual understanding of the region and its people was minimal. And the less one understands, the more one’s imagination runs wild.

After a moment, the head of the Qingcheng Sect spoke up: "Leader Lao, are you perhaps being overly cautious? Sacrificing livestock is a practice in the Central Plains as well. It does not necessarily imply human sacrifice."

Lao Qifeng sighed. "Very well. It would be best if I were merely overthinking it. However, the Miao territory is rife with witchcraft and voodoo—bloody and bizarre. The prevalence of flesh and living sacrifices inside is not low. It is only natural that such arts would appear in the tomb of the Miao King." He paused, then added, "In any case, there is only one path forward. We shall see the result soon enough."

With no other route, the group had no choice but to bite the bullet. They lit their torches, remained on high alert, and proceeded with extreme caution. Li Miao and his two companions stayed at the very back.

After walking about one or two hundred meters, the group came to a sudden halt. Lao Qifeng’s suspicions were confirmed.

Human skeletons had appeared in the walls on both sides. These were not scattered remains, but complete skeletons in various postures. Some even had hand bones protruding from the masonry, fingers exposed, as if they had been walled up alive while struggling, suffocating just as they reached out.

No one spoke. Martial arts masters are no strangers to blood or blades, but faced with this sight, they could not help but feel a shiver of terror.

A short while later, someone took a step forward. The rest followed in silence. As they walked further, their hearts sank deeper. The skeletons were spaced at regular intervals, roughly two or three zhang apart. They were arranged by size, progressing from smaller animals to larger ones, which was how Lao Qifeng had deduced that human remains might appear further ahead. According to the pattern, after the human skeletons, one would expect even larger beasts like oxen or horses.

But that was not the case.

Following the human skeletons were figures crudely stitched together: skeletons with ram heads and human bodies, human bodies with sheep hooves, or human heads with sheep horns. They were all grotesque, appearing almost lifelike, their limbs stretching out from the walls as if to grab the travelers' sleeves and drag them into the stone.

Lao Qifeng stood silent for a moment, then gave a bitter laugh. "I guessed wrong."

"It seems the skeletons ahead are all hybrids of humans and other livestock," he muttered. "Human-sheep, human-pig, human-dog, human-chicken, human-rat... From the stone wall to this point, the size increased; further ahead, it must decrease. When we reach the point where human and rat bones are intermingled, we shall likely have reached the end of this path."

No one answered him. Even Lao Qifeng was merely speaking to vent his own anxiety.

The group pressed on, and the state of the walls matched his prediction exactly. These were all martial arts experts, the least of them being second-rate, and they subconsciously quickened their pace, reaching the end of the path in moments.

Before them stood a pair of heavy stone doors with no visible mechanism. Lao Qifeng stared at them for a while before turning to look at Li Miao, who had been following leisurely, chatting occasionally with Yong Jie and Yin Minjun.

"Master Li, would it be convenient for you to examine this mechanism and see if it can be opened?"

Li Miao heard the summons and smiled. "Leader Lao, there is no mechanism. It is simply a stone door that can be pushed open."

"The passage is too narrow; I shall not crowd you. You may push it open yourself," Lao Qifeng replied. He had no intention of being the one to open the door. Given the sinister nature of the place, he feared that the first person to touch it might trigger some disaster, which was why he had used the pretext of a mechanism to nudge Li Miao into doing it.

But Li Miao had deflected the request, clearly seeing through his ruse. Lao Qifeng had previously taken charge, establishing a position of dominance among the group. If he refused to act now and forced another to open the door, he risked losing his authority. Gritting his teeth, he channeled his internal energy into his feet, ready to dodge at a moment's notice, and pressed his hands against the stone doors.

*Rumble—*

The doors groaned and slowly parted. Beyond the rush of musty air and dust, there was nothing unusual. Just as the group let out a sigh of relief and Lao Qifeng began to relax, the situation turned in an instant!

"Aaah!!"

A sudden, blood-curdling scream erupted from the group!

Lao Qifeng spun around. A disciple of the Qingcheng Sect had collapsed to the ground, clutching his ankles and wailing in agony. From between his fingers, blackish-green blood gushed out incessantly!

The head of the Qingcheng Sect lunged forward, tapping a pressure point on the disciple’s neck to stabilize him before inspecting the wound. But the moment his fingertips brushed the disciple, the boy went deathly silent. He had lost his life in the blink of an eye!

"What happened? Who saw it!?" Lao Qifeng shouted in a panic. He recognized the disciple; he was the weakest among them, but even so, he was a genuine second-rate expert from a major sect! Under normal circumstances, it would have taken Lao Qifeng three or five moves to subdue him. How could he have died so easily, struggling for only a few seconds? The Miao King’s tomb was truly wicked! He should have deliberated more carefully before entering!

The Qingcheng Sect leader stood frozen, his hand still outstretched. A second-rate expert was the backbone of a sect; to have one die so inexplicably right before his eyes left him filled with grief and rage.

Just as he stood in a daze, a figure suddenly lunged toward him.

*Roar!—*

*Clack—*

*Thwack.*

The three sounds overlapped. The Qingcheng Sect leader scrambled backward. In that instant, the "dead" disciple had sat bolt upright, snapping his jaws toward the leader's fingers!

He was unharmed only because someone had reached out and slapped his hand away, causing the disciple’s teeth to snap together on empty air with a sharp *clack*.

He looked up to see the person who had saved him: it was Li Miao.

"Tsk, there’s another one," Li Miao said, eyeing the corpse before swinging his fist toward its skull.