Free Web NovelChapter 777: Chapter 585: Man-made Disaster_2
"I’ll go." At this moment, Yang Xiao stood up. With the Director and Xiang Fengchen, who claimed he would protect him, by his side, it might even be three times safer than being with these other people outside. Moreover, he wanted to see for himself what kind of figure this Ancestor really was.
Living Corpses differed from Zombies and Dead Bodies; they possessed their own consciousness, and at ordinary times, they appeared no different from living people. It was precisely this disguise that made them more difficult to deal with than other types of evil creatures. It was said that in ancient times, if a Living Corpse was found in a village, the entire village would be slaughtered; if one was found in a town, then the whole town. It was better to kill wrongly than to let one escape.
Fortunately, the number of Living Corpses was extremely rare, and without a certain fate and opportunity, it was very difficult for them to arise, thus preventing major chaos.
"Just the three of you, follow me closely, the rest wait outside." Upon finishing his statement, Steward Wu pushed open the door. The room inside was very dark, lit by a single candle. As the door swung open, a gust of wind came through, making the candle flicker and almost go out.
Once Yang Xiao and the others were all inside, Steward Wu, who had been guarding the door, followed in, and swiftly bolted the door shut.
"Upstairs." Steward Wu said softly, "The staircase is in the back."
Xiang Fengchen took the lead, with Nalan Shuo intending to let Yang Xiao walk second, while he remained last in line, keeping an eye on Steward Wu following them. However, Yang Xiao subtly nudged him, pushing him behind Xiang Fengchen, taking up the rear himself.
Soon, they found the staircase in the dimly lit space. The layout here was very similar to the tower they had bathed in upon entering the estate, the only difference being in size—the bathing tower was much larger.
The staircase creaked and groaned under their steps. Steeling themselves, they finally made it to the second floor. As they ascended, they saw a light; a longevity candle with a copper tray underneath was placed in the southeast corner of the room, emitting a faint glow.
The room was filled with various valuable paintings, calligraphy, and treasures. Even in such a dim environment, it dazzled the eyes. At that moment, Yang Xiao realized that this tower didn’t have any windows at all; the windows they had seen from outside were all fake. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
At the far end of the room was a wooden bed, the same as the one he had seen in the Longevity Hall the night before. A thick, plain-colored mosquito net was hanging above the bed. By the light of the dim candle, one could vaguely see someone lying inside, with an abnormally large head and a swollen, purplish hand poking halfway out of the mosquito net. The entire figure was still in a bizarre posture.
The sudden sight threw Yang Xiao off balance for a moment, while by now Steward Wu had sealed their way out.
"Come closer and pay your respects to the Ancestor," came the indifferent voice of Steward Wu from behind them. "After that, one of you will take his pulse. Tonight, for the Evil Exorcism, it’s best to know both the enemy and ourselves."
Looking at the candle in the southeast corner, Yang Xiao’s discomfort became even more tangible. He now realized what this place resembled—a tomb chamber. It was said that old-school tomb raiders, upon entering a tomb chamber, would habitually light a candle in the southeast corner.
There was a saying among tomb raiders: "Don’t touch gold until the cock crows and the light fades." Meaning, no matter how valuable the treasure found, if it’s daylight or the candle extinguishes by itself during the work, they were to put back the treasure exactly as it was, kowtow three times reverently to the tomb’s owner, and then retreat the way they came. Otherwise, they risked angering the spirit of the tomb owner and bringing misfortune upon themselves.
This made sense to modern people: tomb raiders could judge the oxygen levels in the tomb based on the candle’s flame. And in ancient times, the residences and burial grounds of nobility paid great attention to Feng Shui, with the southeast corner being the area of strongest energy flow. The entrance to a tomb was also typically located in the southeast direction. However, on this floor, there wasn’t even a single window.
Under Steward Wu’s coercion, the three formed a triangular formation and approached the Ancestor, spread out slightly. It wasn’t until they got close that Yang Xiao realized he’d seen wrong before—the Ancestor’s hand that was sticking out wasn’t swollen and purplish; it was actually wearing a purple glove.
The gloves had the kind where four fingers were joined together, quite thick, usually only worn in the extremely cold north, if he remembered correctly, they were called hand warmers.
Led by Xiang Fengchen, the three knelt down to kowtow to the Ancestor, their movements slow and soft, for fear of waking the "soundly sleeping" Ancestor.
The plain-colored mosquito net was thick and allowed little light to pass through. Yang Xiao could barely make out the outline of the Ancestor, wrapped in blankets, and the grotesquely huge head was due to wearing a mask. Now that he was closer, he could see that two horns like those of a deer, yet not quite the same, protruded slantwise from the mask. It was unclear of what material the mask was made, but it glowed with a phosphorescent light in the darkness, which was very mysterious.
"Ancestor, your junior has been presumptuous. I shall take your pulse now." Xiang Fengchen signaled with a motion of his hand, telling Yang Xiao and Nalan Shuo to be ready. Should anything unexpected happen, they were to back him up in a retreat.
Unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn’t abandon Xiang Fengchen; this man was a master of Feng Shui Lineage, playing a significant role in ancient-themed missions.
Behind the mosquito net, the Ancestor showed no reaction, whether dead or asleep. Xiang Fengchen approached and half-knelt, actually propping himself up on the balls of his feet without going down completely. Though it required more effort, it allowed him to retreat swiftly if attacked.
