"Old Jin, with your body, can you ride a big horse?"
Wang Kaixuan joked. He knew better than anyone how poor Big Gold Tooth's physique was.
"To be honest, my asthma is almost cured. Don't say a big horse, even a real horse is no problem now."
Big Gold Tooth puffed out his chest, looking proud. That night at the Christie's auction, he had helped Cao Yi and received several healing talismans. After using them, the asthma that had plagued him for decades was nearly gone.
Real horse!
Wang Kaixuan shivered; he knew better than to continue this topic, fearing what outrageous statements Big Gold Tooth might make next.
Moving on!
The wall murals changed to depict hunting and banquet scenes, with a woman frequently appearing. This woman was undoubtedly the tomb owner.
On the ground, there were many animal bones—cattle, horses, and sheep. Stepping on them made a creaking sound, adding to the eerie atmosphere of the dark tomb.
"These burial items, along with the scenes on the murals, suggest this woman was from the Khitan royal family," Big Gold Tooth said quietly.
"Look over there."
Wang Kaixuan pointed to one side.
Big Gold Tooth shone his flashlight there and jumped back in fright. The wall featured some grotesque faces.
"These are shaman masks. This woman is not only royal but also a shaman," Wang Kaixuan asserted.
Big Gold Tooth nodded, thinking the same.
Continuing forward, they encountered a set of stairs leading up to a skeletal knight riding a skeleton horse. Due to age, the skeleton knight was just a framework covered in tattered cloth and armor.
"Look at this guy, so impressive..."
Big Gold Tooth circled it, marveling.
"What impressive? It looks like a door guard," Wang Kaixuan replied, unimpressed.
Big Gold Tooth's smile froze, then vanished in an instant.
"There's a stone cave over there; let's check it out."
Wang Kaixuan walked toward the cave. After a few steps, he turned back to warn the group, "Don't touch anything here; if you trigger a mechanism, I can't save you."
Ying Caihong's expression remained unchanged, while Yoko looked annoyed again. Wang Kaixuan, seeing this, said no more and entered the cave, with Big Gold Tooth following closely behind.
Ying Caihong and Yoko approached the skeletal knight, searching for something.
"Master, look at the bronze emblem on the knight's abdomen. It's exactly the same as the one we found earlier," Yoko exclaimed, her face lighting up with excitement.
Ying Caihong, initially expressionless, showed signs of joy as she observed it closely. With this third emblem, she could find the Other Shore Flower.
Boom!
The skeletal knight and horse rose a foot, clearly triggered by Mark's removal of the emblem.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound of heavy objects falling echoed as several passage doors were sealed by massive stones, including the exit.
"All sealed?"
"What do we do?"
"Are we going to die here?"
...
The believers were calm, but the staff panicked.
"Everyone, don't panic. We can just blow the exit open," Mark stepped up to reassure them.
"Yes, we have explosives."
"At worst, we'll blast a way out."
"Exactly."
...
The staff's spirits calmed. Mark turned to see Ying Caihong looking at him with approval, boosting his confidence.
At that moment, the skeletal knight turned to dust and scattered with the wind. Mark and two believers standing too close were enveloped in the cloud.
"Cough, cough..."
"Cough, cough..."
The two believers began to cough.
Mark shook off the dust from his suit, laughing, "This dry corpse has been aired for a thousand years; it's extremely fragile. The wind from the closing stone door just turned it to dust."
The two believers coughed harder.
Mark didn't think much of it until he too started to cough, and his cough grew louder.
The two believers behind him clutched their necks, falling to the ground, faces twisted in pain.
"Cough, cough... so uncomfortable, cough, cough..."
Mark tore at his clothes, revealing skin turning black and stiffening, instilling fear within him.
"This dust is poisonous, cough, Master, save me!"
Mark crawled painfully toward Ying Caihong, desperate for help.
Having noticed Mark and the others acting strangely, Ying Caihong had retreated several steps. As Mark crawled toward her, she pulled out a tranquilizing agent from her ring and began to chant a made-up spell, "Enlightenment, liberation for all beings."
The followers behind her, including Yoko, echoed, "Enlightenment, liberation for all beings."
This method had no effect on Mark, who had already turned into a zombie. Ying Caihong shot Yoko a look.
Yoko understood and drew a sharp dagger, charging forward to stab Mark in the heart, and slashed the throats of the two believers in one smooth motion.
As she turned back, an unexpected event occurred: the fallen Mark and the others staggered back to their feet.
"Not dead!"
Yoko was shocked, almost dropping her dagger.
Now completely zombified, Mark and the others lunged from multiple directions, emitting a suffocating stench.
Yoko fought back with her dagger, narrowly escaping several times. During the chaos, some believers joined in, but if they touched a zombie, they immediately got infected.
Although Yoko was skilled, she found it hard to fend off so many and was forced to retreat. Just as despair set in, a whooshing sound cut through the air.
Before she could turn around, two zombies were pierced through by a seemingly ordinary wooden sword, strung together like beads on a vine.
"I arrived late,"
Cao Yi's warm voice echoed.
"Daoist Priest!"
"Daoist Priest!"
Ying Caihong and Yoko called out, their faces brightening with relief.
With Cao Yi present, things were sure to be resolved.
"I had a bit of a delay,"
Cao Yi emerged from the shadowy corner, wearing a blue robe, moving leisurely.
In truth, he had arrived some time ago and had been observing from the dark.
"Roar!"
Fully transformed into a zombie, Mark lunged at Yoko.
Cao Yi darted over like the wind, kicking the zombie Mark away, then pulled the peach wood sword from the two dead zombies and hurled it, piercing through Mark's almost impervious body.
"Dead?"
Yoko stared wide-eyed, unable to believe it.
The zombie she couldn't kill was easily dispatched by Cao Yi.