Ancient tomb excavation traces

The anxiety in my heart and that of the young Taoist priest was indescribable. We wanted to end this entanglement as soon as possible and get back to Bao Cai, but unfortunately, these things kept coming, like sand crabs in a muddy swamp, making that annoying noise.

The two skeletons surrounding Bao Cai emitted a faint phosphorescent glow, their withered claws gripping blackened, old swords. Scattered fragments of clothing clung to their bodies, suggesting they were two military generals. However, their swords were extremely heavy, hindering their speed.

Bao Cai was a clever man. He noticed the skeleton's weakness and quickly brandished his Mongolian knife haphazardly in front of him, while carefully retreating. Behind him was a crack, with transparent crystals resembling "Princess Anemones" on either side. If the slow-moving skeleton hadn't abandoned its greatsword, Bao Cai would definitely have had time to hide inside.

I yelled at him to prepare something to block the entrance, but he shakily crawled inside, ignoring everything and remaining silent. In the chaos, I saw the jade bottle roll out from his waist.

"Damn it!" Chen Yu also approached us at this moment. He saw the treasure that had fallen from Bao Cai's body and cursed, "No wonder he was so far away from us. He went to get the funerary artifact. What a damn greedy coward who doesn't care about his life!" As he spoke, he angrily kicked the skeleton away and said, "Let him stay in the crevice and become a meat sandwich!" Chen Yu cursed, but his body betrayed him. He kept hacking at the skeleton and headed towards Bao Cai's location with us.

In the midst of the chaotic battle, I was surprised to find that the two skeletons that had been attacking Bao Cai had stopped moving. Strangely, the outer layer of crystals in the crevice where Bao Cai had hidden was slowly closing in. I rubbed my eyes, and my heart seemed to stop beating at that moment.

"What's going on?" I muttered to myself, incredulously saying, "This damn thing looks like it's alive!"

Chen Yi chopped down a skeleton and asked urgently, "What are you daydreaming about, young master?"

I blankly pointed to where Bao Cai was. Chen Cai looked at it and exclaimed in astonishment, "Damn, why does it look like it's moving?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Bao Cai, hiding in the crevice, suddenly screamed, yelling, "Help! What...what's blocking...blocking the light! It stinks inside...ah! There's...there's a corpse here!"

His panicked shout made Chen Yi and I exchange glances, even more certain that we hadn't misread it.

Those things, like intertwined whiskers, weren't crystals, but some kind of transparent soft substance! A chill ran down my spine at this thought, and I said in a low voice, "Could they be like chameleons, changing with their surroundings? Normally they're hard solids, but they turn into soft creatures to hunt for food when they smell a living person?" This conjecture made me admire my own wildly imaginative mind.

Upon hearing this, Chen Yu spat, picked up his knife, and said, "If that's really the case, then this thing isn't picky at all; it's choosing Liu Baochai, this skinny monkey, for its dinner!"

"No..." At this moment, the young Taoist priest stared intently at the crack and said, "It's a ritual, we're being sacrificed!"

"What?" Chen Yu and I exclaimed in unison. Chen Yu frowned and asked, "Little Celestial Master, how did you know we were being sacrificed?"

The young Taoist priest said calmly, "If I'm not mistaken, the thing surrounding Brother Liu is a kind of sinister plant called 'Silkworm Cocoon.' It's attracted to human scent and, when feeding, it wraps itself around its prey like a cocoon, devouring their flesh. I noticed earlier that they were scattered on the cave wall in front of us, about ten in a fan shape. This isn't a coincidence; it must be a blood sacrifice. These skeletons are trying to force us into the crevice, or simply kill us to complete the sacrifice. That's the meaning of their existence..."

Holy crap, that thing is a plant? I was dumbfounded. The types of plants that grow in caves are usually very rare, at most some moss, lichen, algae, and the like. I never expected there to be something so ferocious. This made me worry about Bao Cai's safety.

The young Taoist priest frowned slightly. While dealing with the skeletons, he shouted, instructing Bao Cai to smear the rotten flesh from the bones inside his body so that they would think he was just a bloodless corpse.

Bao Cai replied with a sob in his voice, "Brother Bao, I'm not an expert in dismemberment. What am I supposed to do with all this rotten flesh? You guys better come and save me! This thing's tentacles look like sea cucumbers, it's disgusting... You guys... uh..." As he spoke, he began to dry heave.

Just when we were in a panic, our ancestor arrived at the lacquered wooden bridge where we were. Now the Mojinmen would continue to cover our retreat, while we few miscellaneous soldiers would go to rescue Baocai, who was trapped by the cocoon.

The firelight grew dimmer and dimmer, until it was almost impossible to see. We rushed across the bridge and onto the veranda, only then noticing in the dark water that there were clothes swaying and decaying corpses... Judging from their clothing, they were short robes from the late Eastern Han Dynasty. Clearly, they were gravediggers like us, but unfortunately, they didn't go inside and stayed here...

There were many corpses, and the scene in the water was somewhat eerie and unsettling. I dared not look at them for too long, fearing that I would be reminded of my own fate, so I quickened my pace.

At this moment, Bao Cai's panting sound was particularly noticeable, like the bellows in a blacksmith's hand. However, soon, his breathing turned into a shrill scream, and his calloused whiskers writhed, probing inside, sending chills down one's spine.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the young Taoist priest told Bao Cai to cover himself with as many bones as possible and not to make a sound. In the dark, although the vision of plants and animals deteriorates, they have excellent hearing. For cave plants like the silkworm cocoon, their sense of hearing may be even more sensitive.

Perhaps the young Taoist's kind suggestion had worked; I could no longer hear Bao Cai's frantic breathing, so I guessed he had begun to calm himself down and was hiding among the corpses. I breathed a sigh of relief. In times of crisis, it's better to hide for as long as possible; no one has the stamina to keep fighting head-on.

The three of us slowly approached, and I vaguely heard a sound like gears turning. The sound was muffled. I stopped and looked around in confusion, but apart from the creaking skeleton, there was nothing unusual. I lowered my guard and asked the young Taoist priest if this plant had any nemesis.

The young Taoist priest said he had only ever seen a cocoon-like plant once in his life, in a large canyon, when he and his master accidentally fell into a crevice. There, they found this plant; it prefers to eat fresh life and has no interest in rotten flesh, unlike vultures which will eat any kind of meat. What saved them was the flesh of those who had been dead for a long time. He and his master smeared a lot of bits of flesh from the dead, and finally, suppressing their nausea, they mustered their courage and escaped.

Smearing rotten flesh with something like that would be something even the timid Bao Cai wouldn't want to do, and even Chen Tan and I probably wouldn't have the guts to do it today. I wouldn't even dare to think about it.

The closer I got, the stronger the stench became, making me nauseous and my stomach churn. At that moment, I especially admired Bao Cai; he had managed to hide inside for so long…

The number of skeletons in front of us was not less, and we had more wounds than before. For the first time, I realized how tough my life was. In the past, whenever I had a minor illness or pain, my grandmother would always drag me to the hospital, which made me think that I was a walking pharmacy. But I never expected that I would be reborn at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. This can be considered as reality and environment stimulating a person's inner potential.

I wielded my Mongolian knife, experiencing both pain and pleasure. The short knife was perfect for close combat and created a sense of exhilaration. As a skeleton lunged at me, I raised my knife and cleaved it in two on the head. The creature's head instantly split in two. However, without using a talisman to ward off its spirit, its claws continued to move on the ground, making cracking sounds, which was quite terrifying.

"Not bad, dashing young master, you've mastered the sword to perfection!" Chen Yi couldn't help but praise. I told him that I'd been playing dungeons every day for the past few days and had practiced some sword skills.

Before we could say much, our ancestors had already advanced to our side. With them protecting us, we took the opportunity to run to the cocoon. When the thing sensed our approach, all its transparent tentacles pushed out in one direction, like sea anemones swaying in the water. They seemed very excited, making rustling sounds and cheering together.

"What a smug thing! Watch Grandpa chop it up!" Chen Yi couldn't stand the demonic plant and raised his knife to strike. The young Taoist priest quickly stopped him, saying that if several of these plants were cut down, they might get caught in other attacks and have difficulty escaping.

But I know Chen Yi. Once he's got the will to kill, who can stop him? Besides, he and Bao Cai are best friends. Although they often bicker, if the other is in danger, his anxiety will consume him. I know this very well because I feel the same way.

Chen and I shouted as we swung our knives at the defiant tendrils. After cutting off just a few, the creatures spurted out a clear sap, which was utterly disgusting. The few severed tendrils on the ground writhed like caterpillars, and I especially disliked that feeling. I kicked them a few more times, and as I crushed them, I heard a sound like a tomato being squeezed.

The sound was exhilarating. I looked up, about to turn around, when suddenly I saw shadowy figures looming in the darkness of the cave. I gasped. This time I looked more closely and saw that they were wearing dark purple robes. The patterns on the robes were indistinct, but I was certain they were all different.

I stared intently. The shadowy figures made no move, simply standing there like statues, yet even more eerie, for they were real people. The firelight was too dim; I couldn't see their expressions or faces. The only thing I could sense was coldness. They stood there, chillingly, like the cold indifference of bystanders watching condemned prisoners receive their punishment. And we were indeed facing death. Thinking this, a sudden, splitting headache shot through me. I pounded my forehead; it throbbed, growing stronger. I grimaced, wishing I could slit my scalp with a knife. Just as I raised the knife, a scream rang out, followed by someone yelling, "Damn it, Feng Liu, what are you doing?!"

I was completely confused. I slowly lowered the knife I had raised, and when I turned around, the fog was thick, and I couldn't see anything clearly. What I could vaguely make out was a deep blue lake and a beautiful figure playing the zither...

A witch from the State of Chu?

My heart tightened. I reached out and slowly approached, trying to see her face clearly. Suddenly, a figure in a white robe appeared in the mist. His hair was tied up with a bamboo hairpin, and his long, half-down hair danced in the wind with the peach blossoms—it was the young Taoist priest. He held a peach wood sword in his hand and leaped to my side with the lightness of a swallow. He took my hand and pierced my ring finger with a wooden awl. Blood gushed out. I looked at him silently. He said to me, "Brother Feng, wake up!"

His voice was slow and gentle, like a spring rain, yet still capable of nourishing the earth. At that moment, the pain in my fingers became clearer, just like my vision. It was as if I had just emerged from a dream. The young Taoist priest looked at me with concern, his earlier nonchalance gone. Meanwhile, Chen Yi's hand, holding the knife, was entangled in calluses. I could see the transparent tendrils gradually turning red, like those used for drawing blood in a hospital.

He was being sucked blood! In that instant, I snapped back to reality. Although I didn't know what had just happened, saving him was the priority. I raised my Mongolian knife, leaped forward, and gritted my teeth to cut off several of the calluses, but the thing was impossible to cut off completely. As soon as I removed some, more would gush out, which made me extremely frustrated, and my movements became increasingly chaotic.

Fortunately, the young Taoist priest reacted quickly, pulling Chen Yu away before the leeches could grow back. However, Chen Yu's hand was covered in leeches, which, though less active now that they were separated from their original bodies, still showed signs of life. They burrowed into the fat on his arm, looking like bloodthirsty leeches. Chen Yu grimaced in pain, and the young Taoist priest and I immediately helped him pull them off. His face turned red, veins bulged, and he couldn't help but spit out a few drops of saliva, looking extremely ferocious and terrifying.

Our ancestors have reached our side, but they're clearly exhausted. These three are having to fight a hundred skeletons; it's truly a difficult task for them. Now, his body is covered in wounds, and amidst the tattered clothes and blood, I can vaguely make out tattoos on his skin—scales that look like some kind of divine creature, but I can't quite make out what they are…

Grandpa never told me about the markings on our ancestors' bodies, and I didn't have time to ask. Liang Jiu was the most seriously injured, but he still kindly applied medicine to Chen Tiao first. When Chen Tiao got up, he kept muttering, "Revenge, I want revenge, that bastard sucked so much of Grandpa's blood..." He spoke weakly, his right hand holding the knife trembling uncontrollably, blood gushing out continuously.

I told him to put aside revenge for now, since Bao Cai was still inside and we didn't know if his condition was good or bad. After I said that, everyone started discussing countermeasures. Right now, there were skeletons behind us that were difficult to deal with, and we also had to rescue people from the pile of cocoons. The ancestor combined all our opinions and asked Chu Ba and the little Taoist to go to the pool and bring up a few corpses, while he and Chen Tiao brought torches.

He said that fire overcomes metal, metal overcomes wood, and wood generates fire. Plants belong to the wood element, and his red copper is the perfect match for fire. The combination of the two will surely be the nemesis of this plant. If that doesn't work, he should chop up those rotten corpses, smear the ash on himself, and rush in to save Bao Cai.

I can accept the former, but the latter is really a bit terrifying to me. But there's no other way; in the current situation, there's no way to break through unless we go to extremes.

After making the decision, the ancestor took a swig from his waist, then sprayed it onto the red copper scimitar. Chu Ba tacitly ignited the red copper, and the ancestor seized the opportunity to sweep his right hand toward the base of the cave where the beard was attached...

All things in the universe are interconnected and mutually restraining. When the cocoon encountered the burning red copper, it lost its demonic nature and was suddenly cut off. Moreover, it stopped growing. At the cut, it curled up and fell to the ground, emitting a foul chemical smell.

Everyone covered their noses. Although the operation had been very effective, the calluses were quite large, not just a small tuft. No matter how fast the ancestor was, he was still vulnerable to attack.

Old Tiao couldn't contain himself any longer. He yelled and charged forward, while we defended them against the skeletons. For a moment, we were locked in a fierce battle, but as long as we had a breath left, we couldn't give up. However, we were outnumbered, and even the bravest man couldn't withstand a group attack. Just when we were exhausted and starting to despair, we suddenly heard a loud, excited voice shouting, "Brothers, there's a way out!"