Wu Xin: The Monster Killer

Chapter 98 Half-human

Master Ma couldn't just stand there and surrender. He had no intention of caring for his daughter and his mad aunt any longer. He fixed his gaze on Savi ahead, dragged his cane, and started walking. As he passed Savi, he whispered, "Play it by ear!"

Saiwei gave a low "hmm," then winked at Shengyi and Wuxin. Without another word, he took off running towards his small courtyard. Shengyi, seeing this, quickly tried to pull Wuxin along, but Wuxin dodged to the side and waved her hand in a shoo-away gesture. Shengyi was taken aback, but didn't have time to ask, so she could only follow Saiwei, confused.

After Sheng Yi had walked some distance, Wu Xin caught up with him. He dared not let anyone touch him, because he had just touched Ma Tianjiao. If Ma Tianjiao's violent death was caused by a curse, then why did the Fifth Concubine, who hadn't gone down into the cave, also lose her mind? Could the curse be contagious?

He followed Saiwei and Shengyi at a distance, entering the courtyard with them. Saiwei, who always prided herself on her shrewdness, was momentarily at a loss. She stood silently in the center of the courtyard for over a minute, her mind gradually clearing. She turned and rushed into the east wing. Shengyi followed. Upon entering, she saw Saiwei open a large wardrobe against the wall, hiding a leather suitcase under layers of clothing. The suitcase was heavy and substantial, filled with stacks of crisp, new US dollars. Without waiting for Saiwei's instructions, Shengyi, as if struck by inspiration, went straight to the dressing table. He rummaged through the second concubine's jewelry box, quickly picking out the most valuable trinkets and swiftly stuffing them all into his inner pocket. Their movements were remarkably practiced, as if they had been ransacked several times in their past lives.

After slipping a large diamond ring onto her finger, Shengyi finally managed to speak: "Sister, what's going on? Big brother has led Japanese soldiers to surround the house. Are they going to officially start a war with Dad?"

Saiwei couldn't carry the suitcase with him, so he simply hid it in the large wardrobe, hoping to catch it off guard: "As long as they don't fire into the house, I don't care!" Suddenly, he caught sight of Wuxin outside the window, and Saiwei became furious, shouting, "What time is it? You still have time to wash your face?"

Wuxin did indeed thoroughly wash all his exposed skin with soap and changed into clean clothes, as a way of disinfecting. Unfortunately, the two people in the room didn't appreciate his good intentions. Not only did Saiwei yell angrily, but Shengyi was also reminded, "Oh no! I haven't brushed my teeth, washed my face, or combed my hair yet!"

But before he could even enter the bathroom, the butler came running from outside the courtyard. The butler, usually pampered and spoiled, had run the entire year's worth of errands this morning. Panting heavily, he entered the courtyard and knocked on the window, saying, "Second Miss, Third Young Master, please come quickly to the front building!"

With a loud bang, Saiwei flung open the entire window: "Brother, what's going on? What are the Japanese here for?"

The butler, panting, waved his hand, "The young master pointed a gun at the master's head, but the master didn't back down. The Japanese are silent, and there's a stalemate up front!"

Savi then asked, "What are we supposed to do? Play peacemaker?"

The butler's voice was hoarse from exhaustion: "It was the eldest young master who asked us to go. We all have to go. I'll inform you first, and then I'll go and call the fifth young master on the way!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the butler lifted his robe and turned to leave. Savi, looking bewildered, turned back and exchanged a glance with Sheng Yi. Sheng Yi asked, "Sister, are we going or not?"

Savi asked in a panic, "Can't we not go? My older brother even shot Dad... Something terrible is going to happen at home today!"

A seemingly unintentional voice suddenly rang out from outside the window: "I'll go with you."

Savi peered anxiously outside, when suddenly a thought, completely unrelated to the current situation, popped into his head: "Why isn't his hair growing?"

The thought, like a little bird, didn't linger in her mind, but flitted away lightly. Sheng Yi quickly rinsed her mouth and washed her face with cold water.

Saiwei, like a lead sheep, led Shengyi and Wuxin forward. They couldn't refuse; although everyone usually appeared harmonious, it was all a facade. Ma Yinghao didn't care about them, just as they didn't care about Ma Yinghao. Normally, when everyone was well-fed and watered, it was fine, but in the event of famine, the Ma family could simply close their doors and their own family could devour each other.

The three of them were halfway there when they saw Ma Junjie walking out from a sloping path ahead. Saiwei was annoyed by him now and ignored him with a cold face. He stopped, turned his head, glanced at his second sister and third brother, then silently took a step back. When they got closer, he automatically joined the group.

The four men walked in unison to the front of the house, where they saw a large group of fully armed Japanese soldiers standing at the entrance of the Western-style building where Master Ma lived. They weren't usually afraid of the Japanese, as their father had worked for the Japanese and risen to a high social class; however, they now considered that not all Japanese soldiers were of the same ilk, and the soldiers brought by Ma Yinghao probably wouldn't tolerate the Ma family's behavior. They paused slightly, but Saiwei, still leading the way, calmly and proudly entered the building.

As the four men entered the living room, they caught Master Ma roaring, "I haven't broken the law, so why should I be restricted in my freedom? Major General Yasakawa is my student, and General Inaba is my classmate. You're just a friend of Ma Yinghao, don't I have any friends?"

A Japanese officer in military uniform stood at attention before Master Ma, his lips tightly pressed together in a half-smile. He clearly understood all of Chinese but had no intention of replying. Ma Yinghao, leaning on his cane beside the officer, slowly raised his pistol, aiming it at Saiwei's forehead, as his younger siblings arrived. "Old man," he said, "don't refuse a polite offer and then suffer the consequences."

When Mr. Ma turned around, his brows furrowed immediately—he never cared about human lives, but Saiwei always seemed to be different. If Ma Yinghao had been aiming at Ma Junjie at that moment, he might have continued to be indifferent.

Suddenly, he stomped his foot hard and shouted through gritted teeth, "Tianjiao just died this morning, don't you understand the seriousness of the situation?"

Ma Yinghao kept his eyes fixed on Saiwei, and replied softly, "I've received news of Fourth Sister's death, and I've heard it was a mysterious one. Very well, this makes us even more interested in the treasures in the cave."

Then, he unexpectedly discovered Wuxin standing behind everyone. Wuxin was in the corner of the living room, silently staring at Saiwei. As if aware of Ma Yinghao's gaze, he looked up and glanced back, then lowered his head again, slowly and openly walking behind Saiwei.

Ma Yinghao withdrew his gaze, feeling somewhat uneasy. He had seen many strange people and monsters, but Wuxin felt particularly odd to him. He couldn't quite put his finger on what was strange about him, but while he could get along with Bai Liuli, he felt completely bewildered by Wuxin.

Seeing that Ma Yinghao kept his gun raised, Master Ma feared he might actually kill Saiwei. He mentally reviewed the whole situation again, nodded to himself, and then, without warning, changed his tune: "Fine, fine, you want the treasure? I'll give it to you. But I have conditions!"

At this point, he turned to the Japanese officer and switched to Japanese, saying, "Mr. Koyanagi, my fourth daughter died mysteriously this morning after coming into contact with one of the ancient cauldrons. I can open the tunnel, but my children and I will never go into the cave ourselves. You must guarantee our safety."

The Japanese officer, Osamu Koyanagi, immediately nodded: "I guarantee there will be no problem."

Master Ma sighed deeply, "Let's go!"

Master Ma, Xiao Liuzhi, and Ma Yinghao walked in side by side, followed by Saiwei and others. When they came out of the building, two Japanese soldiers had already carried Ma Tianjiao's body to the front of the building. Xiao Liuzhi and Ma Yinghao went over to take a look and saw that Ma Tianjiao was grinning from ear to ear, her eyes rolled back as she looked up at the sky, her skin was pale, her muscles were stiff, and the corners of her mouth were stretched open, almost to her ears.

The two new spectators immediately paled, exchanging a glance. Hearing about it was just that—hearing. Only seeing it with their own eyes could truly awe them. But awe was still just awe, nothing compared to the allure of the treasures in the cave. Especially after seeing the ancient cauldron carried in by a soldier behind them, the awe became even less significant. Xiao Liuzhi, relying solely on his intuition, knew that he and Ma Yinghao were about to do something big.

Mr. Ma resignedly walked towards the garden, saying nothing along the way. Meanwhile, his butler took the opportunity to hide inside the building, trying to make a phone call for help, but upon picking up the receiver, he discovered that the mansion's telephone line had been cut.

The group, without any entourage, arrived at the garden under the escort of Japanese soldiers. After successfully crossing the stream, Master Ma, following the example of the day before, climbed to a high vantage point and activated the mechanisms within the four pillars. Two burly soldiers, under Ma Yinghao's command, stepped forward and overturned the stone table. The hole in the ground was exposed to the light of day, but everything remained the same.

Master Ma consciously stood at a distance. Although Xiao Liuzhi glanced at the ancient cauldron from left to right, he was wary and only looked, never touching it. At this moment, he and Ma Yinghao stopped a meter away from the cave entrance, still not daring to approach, only craning their necks as far as possible. They could see that the cave entrance was square, and the four walls were either made of stone or cement, vertically downward like a shaft, about half a person deep. At the bottom, there was a low, sloping hole in the cave wall. Judging from the size of the sloping hole, even a slightly tall person could not squeeze through it.

Xiao Liuzhi thoughtfully raised his head, scrutinizing the group of skinny men from the Ma family ahead. He felt as if this cave was tailor-made for them. The skinny men from the Ma family noticed his gaze and couldn't help but shudder.

As if he could read minds, Ma Yinghao deliberately chose to say provocative things: "The hole is too small; most people can't squeeze in. Junjie, why don't you give it a try?"

Ma Junjie grabbed a large tree, his body stiff with tension, and forced out a reply through clenched teeth: "No!"

Ma Yinghao then looked at Saiwei. His second sister was the only one in the family who was still clear-headed and sensible, but he didn't want Master Ma to have another good heir.

He then smiled and said, "What about my second sister and third brother? Junjie is too young and wouldn't be of much use after he goes down there. You two are more suitable."

Saiwei and Shengyi's expressions changed completely: "Going down there is certain death, we're not going down!"

Old Master Ma slammed his cane on the ground: "Didn't we agree to guarantee our personal safety?"

Osamu Koyanagi switched to speaking Chinese: "It's not you, it's you."

He then raised a white-gloved hand and deftly waved it in mid-air. Several Japanese soldiers immediately stepped forward to pull Savi away. Savi was about to shout angrily when he heard Wuxin behind him say, "I'll go down."

Savi suddenly turned around: "No way!"

Wu Xin ignored them, walked past them, and went straight to Ma Yinghao: "Don't make things difficult for Saiwei and Shengyi, I'll go down the hole for them."

Ma Yinghao looked at him with great interest: "Aren't you afraid of dying?"

Wuxin took off his suit jacket and tossed it to Shengyi from a distance, then asked Ma Yinghao, "Do you have a flashlight? It must be very dark inside."

Xiao Liuzhi turned around and instructed the soldiers behind him, and soon someone brought him a flashlight. Wuxin took the flashlight, pressed the switch to test the light, and then turned to walk towards the cave entrance. Ma Yinghao stepped forward, doubting that he could enter the cave at all, but unexpectedly, after jumping into the vertical shaft, he landed on all fours, bent over, arched like a large snake, and disappeared into the sloping cave in a few twists and turns.

On the ground, Saiwei and Shengyi were both pale-faced, panting heavily with pain and hatred, because they suspected that Wuxin might not return. Meanwhile, Wuxin had already climbed a long way down the sloping tunnel.

The slope was firm and flat, initially cramped, but becoming more spacious as one went deeper. Because it sloped downwards, one couldn't feel their depth. Suddenly, the space opened up ahead, and he found himself in a spacious stone chamber.

He scrambled to his feet and shone his flashlight around. The stone chamber was square, with large and small boxes and cages lined the walls, each containing various strangely shaped vessels. The ancient cauldron that Ma Tianjiao was holding was clearly one of them.

Suddenly intrigued, he tried to spot some familiar items among them. He couldn't recall his origins at all, not even his age. He reached for a small earthenware bowl, a vague thought suddenly washing over him: "Even the rough porcelain bowls of today are better than this, yet I used to consider it a precious thing..."

His thoughts stopped there; he didn't know if he had ever used anything similar. He was also unsure of the object's authenticity. He casually put down the small ceramic basin, sat down on the floor, and shone his flashlight beam across the room. The chests and boxes were neatly arranged, which was fine, but the various objects on them cast strange shadows on the walls.

Lost in thought for a moment, Wuxin felt a sudden, inexplicable sense of dread. It wasn't the menacing shadows, but the loneliness. Surrounded by ancient artifacts, he feared time would rewind, forcing him to relive his life alongside them. He sprang to his feet, took a few steps forward, and suddenly noticed a small iron door on the wall opposite the cave entrance. The door wasn't locked, the hinges weren't even badly rusted, and it opened easily with a few pushes. He shone his flashlight and stepped inside, finding himself in yet another stone chamber.

The stone chamber was ordinary, no different from the outer room, yet it was empty except for a long, slender coffin placed in the corner. Staring blankly at the coffin for a moment, Wuxin quietly walked forward and discovered that the coffin wasn't completely sealed; at least the lid was loose.

He held the flashlight in his mouth and pushed hard on the coffin lid with both hands. Amidst the low scraping sound, he looked down and was startled.

There was indeed a person in the coffin, and the person was indeed dead, completely dead, having become a dried corpse.

The problem is, the body is only on the left side!

(End of this chapter)