I am Master Maoshan

Chapter 2007 The Skeleton Old Man
After saving the gray souls around them, everyone continued to explore along the dark and long tomb passage with mixed feelings.

They walked for a long time, about the time of an incense stick, and finally, a faint light appeared in front of them. As their pace quickened, a not very spacious tomb came into view, with only a seemingly ordinary coffin quietly placed inside.

This tomb chamber was completely different from what everyone imagined. The walls were simple and without any gorgeous decorations. There was not even a decent burial object around.

"This... is this Wu Peng's coffin?" Liu Jun looked at everything in front of him, his face full of confusion.

In his opinion, Wu Peng had a highly respected status, comparable to that of a national teacher, so his tomb should be magnificent. How could it be so shabby?

"That should be correct." Yao Guangxiao said in a deep voice, with a puzzled look in his eyes.

Liu Jun still found it hard to accept this fact, and shook his head slightly, trying to dispel the confusion in his heart. After all, who was the legendary Wu Peng? How could his tomb be so simple?
At this moment, Yang Xiao, a man who acted decisively, stood up. He didn't care about the possible traps hidden in the coffin, strode forward, and pushed open the heavy coffin lid. This abrupt and decisive action scared everyone present. They tensed up and looked at the inside of the coffin vigilantly, fearing that something unexpected would happen.

However, the surroundings were still quiet, without any movement. The coffin seemed to have been sleeping for a thousand years, and had long lost its former majesty and danger. It was empty, without any trace of any traps.

Seeing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and the tense atmosphere eased slightly. They gathered around the coffin cautiously, as if afraid of disturbing something, and began to carefully examine this seemingly ordinary but slightly weird coffin.

The surface of the coffin was mottled, and the traces of time were deeply imprinted on it, as if every inch of wood was telling a story of the past. Liu Jun narrowed his eyes and gradually frowned, as if he had discovered something wrong.

"It seems like something is missing." Liu Jun said with a twitch of his mouth.

Everyone looked at each other, their eyes full of confusion and surprise, and shouted in unison: "Where is the body in the coffin?" The voice echoed in the empty tomb, adding a bit of weirdness.

There was nothing in the coffin except a few worn-out quilts whose age could not be determined. The patterns on the quilts had long been blurred, and they gave off a musty smell that made people frown. Not to mention Wu Peng's body, there were no funeral objects in the coffin, making it look unusually empty.

Yang Xiao felt that everyone's eyes were focused on him. He waved his hands in panic and explained hurriedly: "Don't look at me. When I opened the coffin just now, there was really nothing inside. I don't know what's going on."

"A corpse can actually run away on its own?" Liu Jun frowned, his tone filled with a hint of disbelief and ridicule.

He looked around, trying to find some clues in the dim tomb, but found nothing except cold stone walls and scattered funerary objects.

"It's not impossible." Yao Guangxiao scratched his chin and said solemnly, "There are many traps here and secret passages extending in all directions. No one should be able to get in here except us, right? Unless..." His words stopped abruptly, as if he thought of some possibility that he didn't want to mention.

"Unless what?" Yang Xiao asked impatiently, and everyone's heart was in their throat.

"Unless someone knows the layout of the mechanisms here better than us." Yao Guangxiao said slowly.

At this moment, a slightly sharp and somewhat old voice suddenly sounded in the tomb, like a ghost: "No one knows, the mechanisms here were designed by me personally. Since I died, only a few of you can get here."

This voice was abrupt and cold, as if it came from the underworld. It instantly made everyone tense up and look around vigilantly. Their heartbeats quickened and their breathing became rapid, because they didn't realize there was someone else in the tomb. And from the meaning of the words, the person who spoke was the owner of this ancient tomb - Wu Peng!
"Who? Is it Master Wu Peng?" Liu Jun asked.

However, all he got in response was dead silence. The tomb once again fell into silence, with only the sounds of people's breathing and heartbeats echoing.

Everyone moved cautiously, trying to find the source of the sound, but there was nothing around except the cold stone walls and silent funeral objects.

"Could it be... that Wu Peng's ghost has returned?" Niya's voice was as thin as a thread, trembling with disbelief. Her face had turned as pale as paper, and her eyes were full of fear and confusion. She unconsciously moved closer to Liu Jun beside her, as if looking for a sense of security.

"It would be great if it really was a ghost." Yang Xiao curled his lips, with a hint of disdain and indifference on his face.

What he is best at is soul controlling. Those illusory souls can't cause any waves in front of him.

At this moment, the old and sharp voice suddenly sounded again, breaking the silence around: "You, young boy, you stepped on me, move to the side."

The sound was like a sharp blade in the cold wind, making people shiver.

Liu Jun was startled by the sudden sound. He lowered his head suddenly and felt some movement under his feet, so he quickly moved to the side.

Then, everyone saw that the soil Liu Jun had just stepped on began to wriggle slightly, as if something was struggling underneath. This scene made everyone's breathing quicken, and they stared at the soil nervously, afraid of missing any details.

Then, a pair of skeletal hands suddenly stretched out from the soil, with thin and dry fingers like dead branches. This sudden scene made everyone gasp, their eyes full of fear and disbelief.

Then, more and more bones began to appear, and they gradually pieced together, eventually forming a complete skeleton. The skeleton, wearing ragged clothes and with empty eyes, slowly crawled out of the mud, and every step was accompanied by the sound of falling mud and bones rubbing against each other, which made people shudder. Everyone present was stunned, staring blankly at the sudden skeleton.

"What are you looking at? Haven't you seen such a handsome skeleton?" Bai Gu snorted coldly.

Although it is difficult to tell his expression from his face of gray bones, judging from his tone, he should be showing disdain.

"Um, are you Master Wu Peng?" Liu Jun spoke cautiously first, with a barely perceptible tremor in his voice.

"What else? Can other people be buried in this main tomb? Are they qualified?" Bai Gu asked in a low and slightly sarcastic voice, which echoed in the empty tomb with a hint of barely perceptible sadness.

Liu Jun was secretly complaining in his heart. Although what he said made sense, how could the owner of the tomb choose to be buried in this cold yellow earth instead of sleeping in the luxurious coffin?
"Um, Master Wu Peng," Liu Jun spoke again, his tone more sincere, "I'm here to find the Nine Heavens Mysterious Yang Grass to detoxify and save people. This grass was cultivated by you, I hope you can help me.

As Liu Jun spoke, a kind smile appeared on his face and his eyes were full of anticipation.

"Yes," Bai Gu finally spoke, with a barely perceptible fluctuation in his voice, "but why should I give it to you?"

When Liu Jun heard Bai Gu say that there was Nine Heavens Mysterious Yang Grass, a bright smile immediately bloomed on his face, as if he saw the light of hope. However, when he heard the words "but why should I give it to you", the smile froze on his face in an instant, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help twitching.

He suddenly had the urge to smash the bones in front of him. Is this man a wizard? Are you sure he's not a poison master? He must be poisonous!
Liu Jun took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and spoke slowly, his voice firm and powerful: "Master Wu Peng, I know very well how precious and rare this Nine Heavens Mysterious Sun Grass is. But please believe that the medicine I'm looking for is to save my loved ones. I'm willing to pay any price, just ask you to give me a piece of Nine Heavens Mysterious Sun Grass."

"This Nine Heavens Mysterious Yang Grass is extremely precious. I am the only one who has a few of them in this world, but I don't want to give it to you." Bai Gu waved at the graceful Nia not far away, "You are the one who saved the souls outside, right? As a reward for you, you can make two wishes, and I will do my best to help you realize them."

Liu Jun couldn't help but frown when he heard this. This old man is really cunning. The key is that these two wishes are Nia's, and he can't force Nia to give up the two wishes to help him.

Upon hearing this, Nia said without hesitation: "I am willing to exchange one wish for five Nine Heavens Mysterious Yang Grasses."

Hearing this, the old man Bai Gu laughed and said, "You must have figured it out. I have many treasures here, many of which are hundreds or thousands of times more precious than the Nine Heavens Mysterious Yang Grass."

Nia replied firmly: "I've made up my mind. I want five stalks of Nine Heavens Mysterious Yang Grass."

At this time, Yao Guangxiao on the side became anxious, and he quickly said: "Wait, Nia, ask for more, he may have more than five!"

Nia was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at the old man with a sly look in her eyes: "Then I want ten plants."

Hearing this, the old man Bai Gu said in a tone of pain: "Ten plants is not a small number. Are you really sure you want to exchange one wish for these ten plants of Xuan Yang grass?"

Nia nodded heavily: "I'm sure."

Seeing this, the old man with white bones said no more. He just waved his hand lightly, and a ray of light flashed, and ten Nine Heavens Mysterious Sun Grasses emitting a faint mysterious light appeared in Nia's hand.

"Okay, girl, your first wish has come true." Although the old skeleton was smiling, his empty eye sockets and pale face still made people feel scared.

However, Nia seemed unaffected by these things. All she had eyes on were the ten Xuan Yang grasses that were emitting a faint glow.

Nia took the Xuanyang grass and without stopping, she turned around and handed it to Liu Jun who was standing beside her. Her movements were smooth and natural, as if she had planned all this in advance.

Liu Jun was not polite, he just silently took the Xuanyang grass and put it into his storage space. He knew that saying thank you would be too polite, and words of gratitude were too light. He would repay Nia's generosity in another place and in another way.

"Miss Nia, can you lend me a wish?" Yang Xiao on the side suddenly said.

Nia was slightly stunned when she heard this, then nodded and said yes. There was a hint of hesitation in her eyes, but she still agreed. After all, without the help of Yang Xiao and Yang Jun, they couldn't get here.

"Master Wu Peng," Yang Xiao turned to the old man with white bones and asked, "there are three emperor corpses in your tomb, right?"

There was a hint of respect and inquiry in his tone, and it was obvious that he was in awe of the legendary great wizard.

When the old man with white bones heard this, his hollow eyes seemed to flicker slightly. He looked Yang Xiao up and down, then smiled and said, "Oh, the descendant of Guigu Huang, I was wondering how to find the emperor's corpse. I have the emperor's corpse here, but it's up to you whether you can take it or not."

Hearing this, Yang Xiao raised a confident smile. He had gone to such great lengths to come here this time, not just to help Liu Jun, but the Emperor's corpse was his goal. He believed that his corpse-controlling skills would definitely allow him to take the Emperor's corpse away.