Nightmare Apostle

Chapter 1239: Chapter 824: Human Root

The corpse, having soaked for too long, was beyond recognition, the pallid flesh swollen like it had been waxed.

The bodies were nearly stuck together, presenting a scene both shocking and disgusting.

Yang Xiao and his two companions had just eaten their fill; upon seeing this, their stomachs churned uncontrollably.

Maria’s face was ashen, her mouth tense, struggling to suppress the urge to vomit, when Yang Xiao offered a word of caution: "Don’t think about food."

Unfortunately, those words triggered a memory of the meat soup they had just consumed—the slick consistency, the greasy aroma—and the next second, unable to hold it back, she turned around and vomited.

Yang Xiao: "..."

Yang Xiao truly didn’t do it on purpose; he meant well, as he had also thought about it.

Although the corpses were beyond recognition, it could be ruled out that they were killed by Ghosts, as victims slain by Ghosts have their bodies shriveled and turn purplish blue.

The bodies had scant clothing, bare from the waist up, leading Yang Xiao to deduce these deceased were most likely Monk Slaves.

Judging by the twisted limbs, these poor Monk Slaves were likely stuffed alive into nets and then cast into the lake to drown. freēwebnovel.com

This closely resembles an ancient sacrificial ritual.

"Had enough of looking? If so, throw them back!" Maria’s sharp voice rang out, her stomach emptied of the meat soup, the strong stench of decay making her eager to leave.

Just as Adila, disgusted, tightened the rope to return the corpses to the lake bed, Yang Xiao suddenly spotted an anomaly wedged between the two corpses.

"Wait!"

Yang Xiao halted Adila, and a glint of red appeared in the gap between the bodies.

Adila soon noticed it too, stepping forward, he nudged it with the stick in his hand, eventually uncovering what seemed to be a box.

No wonder the bodies, despite being soaked, stayed submerged; it was this box weighing them down.

Taking the small knife Maria handed over, Adila, holding his breath, approached and swiftly sliced through the fishing net, causing the tangled bodies to scatter and reveal a dark red box nestled in the center.

The box was covered in unpleasant corpse fluid, yet it was intricately decorated, remarkably intact despite prolonged immersion, adorned with glistening gold motifs of beasts.

They were abstract representations of snakes and elephants, anthropomorphizing them as deities.

Yang Xiao and Adila had never seen such items in their town.

The box had a lock; Adila inserted a stick into the gap between the lock and the box, using force to pry it off.

Yang Xiao cautiously opened the box, and as the lid lifted, its contents astounded the trio—treasures filled the box, from decorative rare beasts like snakes and elephants to gold and silver goblets and cups, roughly counting at least a dozen items.

Some pieces were gem-studded, clearly of exceptional value, yet Yang Xiao could not fathom why such valuables were submerged in the lake.

Among the treasures was a conspicuous golden box placed in the center.

Accepting Adila’s stick, Yang Xiao fiddled around inside, ensuring safety before retrieving the wooden box.

Upon holding it, he found it not heavy, not solid gold, but gilded with a layer of gold leaf.

Opening the box, inside were six neatly arranged cylinders, each sealed with lacquer but seemingly openable, and each tied with a golden band.

At first glance, Yang Xiao found something familiar about these, as if he’d heard of them or seen them somewhere.

Adila, quicker to act, took out one cylinder, opened it, peered inside, then set it down, exhaling slowly.

"What is it?" Yang Xiao asked.

Adila turned, handing the cylinder to Yang Xiao, "Human root."

Yang Xiao furrowed his brows, and upon examining it, he was shocked to find it actually contained a male genital organ.

All 6 cylinders within the box held the same.

"Were these Monk Slaves castrated before death?"

Confused, Yang Xiao disrespectfully used the stick to lift the skirts of several corpses, discovering nothing amiss, each man’s treasure intact.

If not the Monk Slaves’ treasures, then whose could they be?

Who would accompany burial with so many treasures, and still... six of them?

The number six triggered some associations in Yang Xiao’s mind—the number of deceased High Monks was also six.

Could it be a coincidence?

Upon checking, the cylinders containing the organs had inscriptions, likely names, but they had blurred from long immersion.

Yang Xiao and Adila examined them one by one, finally identifying one name: Miduka.

Noting the name, they selected two dragon snake decorations from the box, then returned the wooden box to it before Yang Xiao and Adila worked together, pushing the corpses and the box back into the lake.

After completing this, the group quickly evacuated; only upon leaving the water and reaching the shore did the underlying unease begin to dissipate. freewebnovel.cσ๓

Securing the items, Yang Xiao and the four others turned toward the forest; soon they found a marked tree, adorned with a noticeable cloth strip left by Musa.

Behind a large tree that would require embracing by three people, they found discarded clothing.

"It’s Musa’s." Yang Xiao picked up the clothes, confirming their origin. This was where Aisha and Shari had tragically died last night, but their bodies were gone, likely taken by people sent by Pato Abbot.