Wu Xin: The Monster Killer

Chapter 99 Discrete

Wuxin was biting the flashlight; because his mouth had been open for so long, saliva was dripping from the corner of his mouth. Looking at the mummified corpse inside the coffin by the flashlight beam, he swallowed hard, thinking to himself, "Impressive knife skills!"

Indeed, it was excellent knife work; the cuts from head to toe were clean and precise, even the central thoracic vertebrae were evenly cleaved. He understood why the coffin was long and narrow—a normal coffin would be difficult to fit through the narrow entrance; the original inhabitants probably only dragged in planks and then assembled the coffin after reaching the stone chamber. And how much space could a half-mummified corpse possibly need? A narrow plank coffin would likely be sufficient to accommodate him.

Thinking of this, Wuxin touched the coffin board again—it was indeed not made of ancient wood, and the material was not even good; it was just an ordinary board.

He pushed the coffin lid open completely, holding a flashlight, and thoroughly examined the desiccated corpse. The corpse was shrunken and barely recognizable as human, completely naked, and judging from the single remaining testicle, it was definitely a man. Wuxin stared at him blankly for a long time, then suddenly smiled. His memory, though poor, wasn't completely gone. He had witnessed the scene inside the coffin a long, long time ago.

The mummified corpse's half-skull was filled with something, making it look like it was filled with a ladle of dried mud. A faint light flickered within the mud—the mummified corpse's soul, suppressed on the head. Of course, the soul was incomplete, as there was another half of the body. Where was the other half? It was hard to say.

At the same time, Wuxin was relieved. It turned out that Ma Tianjiao really did die from a curse. There was no poison or infectious disease. The Fifth Concubine was affected, probably because the ancient cauldron that Ma Tianjiao brought out had just seen the light of day and she had held it in her arms.

All the treasures in the room were cursed, and the curse took effect the moment they saw the light of day.

Wuxin didn't consider the items in the outer stone chamber as treasures at all. Some pottery was so old that its age was impossible to discern, some bronzes were rusted and worn, and what else was in the chest? Presumably, all of that was old stuff as well. In Wuxin's eyes, all of them combined weren't worth as much as a brand-new aluminum pot. But in the eyes of ordinary people, they were national treasures, involving grand topics such as "human history."

My stomach rumbled, and I didn't even realize I hadn't eaten breakfast yet.

Amidst the silence surrounding the mummified corpse, a profound stillness descended. Xiao Liuzhi stood beneath a small willow tree, his eyes wandering between the ancient cauldron in the soldier's hand and the cave entrance. Master Ma kept his distance from the entrance, his dry face expressionless. Saiwei and Shengyi stood side-by-side, motionless, staring at the cave entrance. Ma Junjie, his expression indifferent, still clung to the large tree.

Although everyone was in different forms, they were all thinking about roughly the same thing. Everyone was secretly calculating the time, but Wuxin had lingered inside for far too long.

Ma Yinghao leaned on his cane, moving slowly and silently. He was anxious, not wanting to leave. The situation was already complicated enough; if the cave could also be fatal, it would be adding insult to injury for him and Xiao Liuzhi. He circled the cave entrance, gazed at the opposite bank for a moment, then sighed listlessly, glancing into the cave.

In an instant, he was startled. Without him noticing, Wuxin had poked his head out of the slanted opening. He was lying on his back, arms wrapped around himself, his pale face turned towards the sky. His eyes suddenly shifted to Ma Yinghao above, and he said, "I saw what was happening inside clearly."

As soon as he spoke, a circle of heads immediately surrounded him. Ma Yinghao asked, "What's the scene inside?"

Without a word of calm, he replied, "There are two rooms inside. The first one has a bunch of junk piled up against the wall, like this—"

At this point, he moved his body, which was hidden in the sloping cave, and presented a green bronze wine cup upwards with his right hand.

Ma Yinghao and Xiao Liuzhi's eyes lit up immediately, but neither of them dared to reach down and take it.

Wuxin withdrew his hand, and heard a faint sound, as if he had thrown the bronze jue back into the secret passage: "The second room is empty, with only a coffin inside. The contents of the coffin are more interesting than the junk in the outer room, and I brought them out with me."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned his head, his hands seemingly dragging something forcefully through the slanted opening. A clump of dry, brittle hair suddenly burst out of the opening, followed by half a distorted human face, which, like Wuxin before, lay upside down, meeting the faces of the people above.

Old Master Ma had excellent eyesight and saw everything clearly. He immediately plopped down on the ground. Saiwei and Shengyi both let out a strange cry and took several steps back. Xiao Liuzhi's eyes almost popped out of their sockets, and even Ma Yinghao gasped, "What was that?"

Without thinking, he placed his hand on the dried corpse's shoulder and laboriously pressed him down again: "It should be a shaman. A shaman guarding the treasure in the cave!"

Ma Yinghao pointed at him with his cane, looking down at him condescendingly, and asked seriously, "What exactly happened?"

Wu Xin, lying face up, remained motionless, adopting an indifferent attitude: "It's nothing, just some kind of witchcraft. The shaman used his own life to cast a curse, specifically to protect the old treasure in the cave."

Ma Yinghao had long suspected him, and now, seeing his reaction, his suspicions were further confirmed. He quickly glanced at Sevier, then whispered to Wuxin in the cave, "You come out here!"

Wuxin tilted her head and looked at him: "How about I bring you one or two things while I'm at it? Like a broken earthenware pot or a rusty wine cup?"

Ma Yinghao sneered, "Do you want to kill me?"

Without thinking, she muttered softly, "You're so smart."

Then, swaying his shoulders, he slowly slithered upwards through the sloping hole like a long snake. Grabbing the ground with both hands, he used the momentum to leap back onto the surface. Turning to Savi, he smiled and said, "I'm alright."

Saiwei stared at him blankly, expressionless, wondering if he would end up like Ma Tianjiao, with at most two more days to live. Her gaze was both greedy and sorrowful; she remained silent, thinking to herself, "I will avenge you!"

Wuxin took a step closer to her, bent down slightly to look into her eyes: "Savi, I'm really fine."

Savi nodded, his voice choked in his throat, unable to utter a single word, only able to answer in his heart: "Don't worry, I'll risk my life to avenge you!"

Since she remained silent, Wuxin turned to Shengyi and said with a smile, "I'm hungry."

Sheng Yi, her face deathly pale, turned to Ma Yinghao with hatred and said, "You've driven him to the brink of death. Now, can't you at least give him a good meal?"

Then he said to Wuxin, "Wuxin, we were friends, and I will never forget you."

The more kind and gentle Wuxin was to the siblings, the more bitter and resentful they seemed, as if they had lost their parents. He was so hungry and anxious that he could barely manage a smile. Helpless, he swallowed hard, barely able to breathe.

Only Ma Yinghao stared thoughtfully at Wuxin, thinking that he might really be "fine".

The underground cave was surrounded by a squad of Japanese soldiers who looked like javelins, and the rest of the people temporarily left the garden.

They returned to the Western-style house where Master Ma lived. Saiwei's already thin face was now even more taut, as if he could no longer show any expression.

She dared not look at Wuxin again; even a single glance felt like a knife twisting in her heart. Servants brought food from the kitchen, laying it out on the long dining table. No one could eat, not even daring to enter the dining room. So she seated Wuxin at the head of the table, while she and Shengyi sat on either side. Seeing a steamer of small, hot buns in front of him, Wuxin immediately grabbed one. Afterward, he looked at Saiwei and Shengyi, asking, "Why aren't you eating?"

Then he suddenly became a little hesitant: "Does it mean you think I'm dirty?"

He picked up the entire steamer of buns: "Or, shall I go out to eat?"

Savi, who had been keeping a straight face, suddenly trembled, slammed her hand on the table, and shouted angrily, her voice trembling, "Nonsense! Who complained about you? Just eat! Eating won't shut you up!"

Sheng Yi waved at her across the table: "Sis, what are you doing? Don't yell at him!"

Saiwei turned his face away and burst into tears.

Wu Xin first stuffed the steamed bun into his mouth, then reached out and patted Saiwei on the shoulder: "Do you think I'm lying to you? I'm not lying, I'm really fine."

The steamed bun filled his mouth, bulging one cheek. Lowering his voice, as if seeing a ghost, he whispered to Sevi and Sheng Yi, "I know magic, I'm not afraid of curses."

Savi grinned and turned to him, his eyes still blurry with tears as he stopped wailing: "Really?"

Wuxin said to them in a serious tone, "Remember this, I will not die."

Saiwei and Shengyi stared at him blankly, feeling that he didn't seem to be lying, but his words didn't make sense or logic. He then picked up a bun, stuffed it into his mouth, and began to chew it heartily under their watchful eyes.

Wuxin ate half the food on the table all by himself. When Ma Yinghao walked in, Saiwei was trying to snatch the large soup ladle from his hand, fearing he would stuff himself to death. The reason Wuxin could eat and drink so much was simply to increase his strength so he could protect the siblings.

Ma Yinghao stopped at the doorway, not venturing further in. Staring intently at Wuxin, he asked, "The curse... how do we break it?"

Wuxin stood by the table and, as if out of control, let out a loud burp.

Ma Yinghao remained calm: "I'll ask you one more time, how do we break the curse?"

Wu Xin shook his head.

Ma Yinghao smiled: "I knew you wouldn't be honest."

He then knocked on the door with his cane. Several Japanese soldiers immediately rushed in and twisted Wuxin's arms behind his back. Saiwei and Shengyi simultaneously stood up and angrily demanded, "Brother, what exactly do you want?"

Ma Yinghao replied calmly, "I'll borrow your friend for a bit. If he's useful, I won't bother you anymore."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and left; the Japanese soldiers inside the restaurant brandished handcuffs, snapping them onto Wuxin's hands and shoving him out. Before leaving, Wuxin hurriedly said to the siblings, "Remember, I won't die!"

Saiwei chased the Japanese soldiers out of the restaurant, running and jumping upstairs. There was a gun in Master Ma's study upstairs; she was determined to shoot Ma Yinghao today!

Sheng Yi was at a loss, following the Japanese soldiers out blankly, watching them put Wu Xin into a car downstairs. Master Ma blocked Sai Wei on the stairs, refusing to let her act impulsively. Meanwhile, Ma Junjie huddled alone in a corner, feeling waves of cold wash over him, as if a chilling wind had seeped into his very bones, making him almost dizzy.

Xiao Jian was repeatedly lunging at him from the shadows. Xiao Jian desperately needed a body to save Wu Xin. But in broad daylight, his strength was weak, and he couldn't overpower Ma Junjie.

(End of this chapter)