Both Tang Zhen and Old Yan were startled. Tang Zhen held a torch firmly in his left hand and quickly pulled out that peculiarly shaped weapon with his right hand. Old Yan also hurriedly took out his self-made musket and aimed it at that black thing.
That black thing was neither exactly like a dog nor completely different from one. Its whole body was covered with jet-black shiny hair. Its two eyes glimmered with a bluish-green light, staring motionlessly at the two of them.
Old Yan asked, "What's that thing in your hand? Does it work?"
Tang Zhen stared intently at that black object and replied, "This is called the Soul-Snatching Blade. It's specially used to deal with those big zombies."
At this time, it was after the Eight-Power Allied Forces had captured Beiping. Bandits were running rampant everywhere. Old Yan had also heard a little about tomb robbing. He knew that these big zombies referred to zombies and the like in ancient tombs. But using this Soul-Snatching Blade to deal with this black thing in front of them, the effect was unknown.
That black thing seemed to lose patience and slowly walked towards the two of them. Old Yan's heart was pounding. He raised his hand, preparing to shoot at that black thing.
Tang Zhen shouted, "Don't shoot! We need to catch it alive." His Soul-Snatching Blade in his right hand gently touched Old Yan's arm. With a loud bang, sparks flew everywhere. Old Yan raised his hand, and this shot hit the top of the tower solidly. The dust on the top of the tower fell rustlingly.
Old Yan was about to ask Tang Zhen why he stopped him from shooting. Suddenly, it became dark in front of his eyes. That black thing rushed in front of them like lightning. Its speed was as fast as a lightning flash. The two of them only felt a gust of fishy wind blowing towards them. In the critical moment, Old Yan had no time to think. He raised his musket to block. Tang Zhen's Soul-Snatching Blade on the side also slashed obliquely.
That black monster was extremely agile. It flipped in mid-air and with a whoosh, it fell back to its original place. Its pair of bluish-green eyes kept turning non-stop, as if thinking of a countermeasure.
Old Yan hurriedly reloaded the gunpowder and shouted angrily, "Tang Zhen, what are you doing?"
Tang Zhen said, "Dad, this is a living treasure called a corpse mastiff. We mustn't kill it. A dead one can be sold for ten thousand or eight thousand taels of silver. A live one is even more priceless. Dad, do as I say."
Tang Zhen slowly bent down. He handed the torch to Old Yan with his left hand, put down the Soul-Snatching Blade, opened the bag, took out that bag of glutinous rice, and slowly untied it. The whole movement was extremely slow for fear of startling the corpse mastiff on the opposite side. Tang Zhen took that bag of glutinous rice and sprinkled a circle more than two zhang wide in front of him. He took out two pills from his bosom. The pills were slightly yellow in color and emitted a stinky smell. He handed them to Old Yan and told Old Yan to swallow them. Old Yan swallowed them as he was told. Tang Zhen took out two cylinders from the bag again. He handed one to Old Yan and kept one for himself. In a low voice, he said, "Dad, let's aim at the corpse mastiff together. I'll count one, two, three. Then we'll press this black button together and spray it."
Old Yan nodded. The two stood on either side of that glutinous rice circle.
Tang Zhen stared closely at the corpse mastiff and said in a low voice, "One."
That corpse mastiff seemed to sense that the situation was unfavorable to it. A low growl came from its throat.
Tang Zhen said, "Two."
That corpse mastiff suddenly leaped up and pounced on the two of them.
Tang Zhen said, "Three!" The two almost simultaneously pressed the black button with their hands. The cylinder mechanism suddenly sprang open, and two faint wisps of smoke immediately sprayed onto the corpse mastiff. That corpse mastiff seemed to be very afraid of this smoke. It stopped its forward momentum in mid-air and fell to the ground. Right in the middle of that glutinous rice circle.
Tang Zhen rushed forward with one stride and rode on the corpse mastiff. With his arms exerting force, he tightly encircled the corpse mastiff's neck. That corpse mastiff struggled desperately and tried to turn its head. Tang Zhen held on tightly and wouldn't let go. Old Yan threw down the torch and also pressed on the corpse mastiff from behind.
After about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, that corpse mastiff finally let out a low growl. Its two front paws stretched forward and remained motionless.
Tang Zhen rolled off and sat on the ground, breathing heavily. After a while, he lit the fire starter. Old Yan was still tightly pressing down on the corpse mastiff. Tang Zhen smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Dad, it's okay. This corpse mastiff won't hurt people anymore. Come down. It's all right."
Old Yan was half-believing. He let go of the corpse mastiff. Sure enough, the corpse mastiff was still lying on the ground, motionless. It seemed to be exhausted as well.
Tang Zhen caught his breath and said, "This corpse mastiff has always been a spiritual creature raised by Maoshan Taoists to suppress zombies and evil spirits. As the saying goes, one mastiff emerges from ten dogs. Then put these ten little mastiffs together and don't feed them any food. Let them fight among themselves. In the end, the one left is the corpse mastiff. Then put this corpse mastiff into that ancient tomb and cast a spell. At that time, no matter how powerful a zombie is, it won't be able to turn fierce and harm people."
Old Yan asked, "But how can this corpse mastiff survive in the ancient tomb without food?"
Tang Zhen shook his head and said, "No ancient tomb is absolutely sealed. Some insects, mice, and ants like dark and damp places. Moreover, this corpse mastiff is like a camel in the desert. It has very strong abilities to endure hunger and thirst. After one meal, it can go without food for half a year. What's more, some corpse mastiffs can hibernate like bears. They won't wake up until the next winter when there are many insects and ants and abundant food."
Old Yan was constantly amazed as he listened. Tang Zhen continued, "This corpse mastiff also has one advantage. Because it likes to eat dead people or rotten things, it is especially sensitive to the smell of corpses. Taking a corpse mastiff to find ancient tombs is often twice the result with half the effort. So for us tomb raiders, having one corpse mastiff is worth two or three helpers. This corpse mastiff is also especially loyal. As long as you subdue it, it will follow you for the rest of your life. This is similar to Tibetan mastiffs from the Tibetan border."
Old Yan scratched his head and asked, "Then what's the matter with that circle of glutinous rice just now? Why is the corpse mastiff so afraid of that yellow powder smoke?"
Tang Zhen said, "That yellow powder is corpse-fixing powder. It is refined from nux vomica, wild fox gallbladder, and blood ladybugs. It is specially used to deal with big zombies. Strangely enough, although this corpse mastiff feeds on rotten corpses all year round, perhaps because of this, a lot of corpse qi accumulates on the corpse mastiff. So it can't bear the medicinal qi of this corpse-fixing powder. And glutinous rice is specially used to restrain corpse evil spirits. Using poison to counteract poison also neutralizes the medicinal qi of the corpse-fixing powder. So just now when the corpse mastiff fell, it could only fall into that circle of glutinous rice. There, the medicinal qi is the weakest, and the corpse mastiff can barely resist it. That is also our only chance to catch the corpse mastiff. Otherwise, the corpse mastiff comes and goes like the wind. Once it escapes, it will be very difficult to catch it."
As the two were talking, they saw the corpse mastiff slowly get up, come to Tang Zhen's side, gently rub against Tang Zhen's thigh, and then lie down beside Tang Zhen. Its demeanor was very docile.
Tang Zhen smiled and reached out to touch the corpse mastiff's head. The corpse mastiff didn't move at all. It was completely without the fierce look just now.
Tang Zhen frowned and said, "It's just that this seven-story pagoda is generally used to enshrine Buddhist relics and scriptures. There are very few built underground. What's the reason for this? Perhaps, perhaps?"
Old Yan hurriedly said, "Perhaps what?"
Tang Zhen frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "I guess it might be - a corpse-suppressing tower!"
Old Yan frowned and said in surprise, "A corpse-suppressing tower? I've never heard of it."
Tang Zhen said, "In the past, for some corpses that died violently in people's homes, such as those who hanged themselves, drowned, or were killed for their money, after being buried, people were afraid that the corpses' wronged souls would not disperse and turn fierce and harm people, so they came up with some methods. Some placed corpse-fixing pills in the mouths of the dead, and some invited talismans to suppress them. The most powerful one is the corpse-suppressing tower! According to legend, after being suppressed by a corpse-suppressing tower, the dead will never be reborn."
Hearing this, even though Old Yan was experienced and knowledgeable, he couldn't help shivering. Just at this moment, the fire starter in Tang Zhen's hand suddenly went out!