Chapter 12 - Coffin

Everyone was stunned.

In the first floor of this terror tower, there is actually such a small red lacquered coffin. It is truly beyond everyone's expectation.

Shorty Wang scratched his head and muttered, "Damn it. What the hell does this mean?!"

Tang Zhen frowned and fell into deep thought.

Yan Tieshan had his hands tucked in his sleeves and paced around the small red lacquered coffin continuously, as if looking for some clues.

Cui Zheng, also known as the Death Summoning Talisman, was also walking back and forth on the side, his expression solemn.

Feng Zhen's big eyes were staring wider and wider, his gaze firmly fixed on the red lacquered coffin. This coffin was placed on a small stone platform in the center of the room and was tightly bound by three silk ribbons on the outside. It looked ordinary and was no different from an ordinary coffin. Except for the bright red color that was somewhat dazzling, there was really nothing special about it. However, for people like Feng Zhen who often roam the Jianghu, the more seemingly ordinary something is, the more likely it is to hide great danger.

Feng Zhen raised his head and looked at the other four people and asked, "Tell me, what should we do? Should we open this small coffin or not?"

Shorty Wang shouted loudly, "Open it! Why not? We've already come here. What's the point of being so timid? If you don't dare to open it, I will." Saying that, he strode over. He stretched out his big hand covered with black hair and forcefully tore off the silk ribbons binding the coffin. Then he forcefully lifted the coffin lid of the red lacquered coffin.

Everyone rushed over in a clamor. Only a small yellow note was in the small coffin.

Feng Zhen put on gloves and carefully picked up that note. There were six characters written on it: Om Mani Padme Hum.

Shorty Wang asked curiously, "What's this thing?"

Tang Zhen replied, "This is the Six-syllable Great Bright Mantra."

Shorty Wang asked again, "What is the Six-syllable Great Bright Mantra?"

Tang Zhen explained, "The Six-syllable Great Bright Mantra is one of the most famous mantras in Buddhism. It is said that this true mantra can communicate the creation of heaven and earth, subdue demons and evil spirits, and has great supernatural powers. In the past, Sun Wukong who accompanied Tang Sanzang to fetch scriptures in the Western Paradise was trapped under the Five Finger Mountain by this Six-syllable Great Bright Mantra."

Feng Zhen put that note into his bosom.

Tang Zhen leaned forward and suddenly found that there was a small ball under the note in the coffin.

Shorty Wang asked strangely again, "What's this again?" Saying that, he walked forward and reached out to pull that ball. Unexpectedly, he couldn't pull it at all with this pull. He was surprised and exerted more force with his hand. Shouting "Up!", that ball was finally pulled out by him with force.

Only a loud "boom" was heard. Dust flew everywhere. The stone platform next to the red lacquered coffin suddenly collapsed, revealing a large hole more than three zhang wide.

The five people only felt a sinking feeling under their feet. Suddenly, they all fell down. Tang Zhen was greatly shocked. His body tilted and he couldn't hold onto the fire stick. The fire stick flew out and fell on the ground and was instantly extinguished. In an instant, it was pitch black all around.

This hole was not very deep. After a moment, everyone's feet touched the ground. Tang Zhen hurriedly took out the Soul-Snatching Blade and held it in front of him vigilantly, fearing that he might encounter some ambush in this pitch-black large cave. After a while, the dust gradually settled. Everyone opened their eyes and saw that it was pitch black all around, as if they were in another huge tomb chamber.

Feng Zhen said in a suppressed voice, "Everyone don't move first. Take a Qi-avoiding Pill." Saying that, he took out five pills from his bosom and groped and put them one by one into the hands of the five people. The five people swallowed them as he said.

That Qi-avoiding Pill is specially used to restrain the corpse qi in tombs. Ordinary tombs are sealed underground for many years. After decades or even a hundred years, the air inside cannot circulate. Before the corpse decays, it will first expand and be filled with corpse qi. This kind of corpse qi will not dissipate even after several hundred years. Even if there is no corpse qi, the air that has not flowed for decades or a hundred years in this tomb chamber will also be harmful to the human body. Once people inhale this toxic gas, at lightest, they will feel dizzy and have a headache. At worst, they will be poisoned and die. It really can't be taken lightly.

Tang Zhen's fire stick had already fallen on the ground just now. At this time, he came to his senses and hurriedly went to look for it. Tang Zhen vaguely remembered that the fire stick seemed to have fallen next to his left hand. He reached out to touch it but found nothing. He was shocked. So he reached out and groped on both sides. Finally, two feet away on his right side, he touched the fallen fire stick. He hurriedly struck a flint to light it.

Under the faint firelight, it could be seen that this tomb chamber was about three zhang high. The dome was made of blue bricks. The four walls were cast with a mixture of clay and glutinous rice juice and were extremely hard. There were some exquisite paintings on the walls. And in this huge and empty tomb chamber, two coffins were placed flat diagonally towards the southeast.

One was a black coffin.

One was a white coffin.

These five people were stunned again. In their hearts, they couldn't help but feel a jolt.

When they saw that small red lacquered coffin just now above, everyone was already puzzled. Unexpectedly, two more coffins suddenly appeared here. And one is a black coffin and the other is a white coffin. The white coffin is as white as jade, and the black coffin is as black as ink. It is really extremely strange. The five people looked at each other. Feng Zhen said, "Since we have come, let's take a look first." The other four people nodded and gathered around.

Tang Zhen walked to the southeast corner of the tomb chamber and lit a candle. The candle flame flickered and swayed, stretching the shadows of the five people long.

Shorty Wang said, "Fourth brother, isn't there a fire stick? Why light a candle?"

Tang Zhen explained with a smile, "This is the rule of our Mojin Xiaowei. When entering a tomb to search for treasures, we must first light a candle in the southeast corner. Only then can we search for treasures boldly. When the rooster crows and the light goes out, we must immediately stop and return along the original way. Otherwise, the founder will not bless us. This is called the return of souls at the fifth watch when the rooster crows."

Shorty Wang said disdainfully, "Only your Mojin Xiaowei have so many stinky rules."

The five people gathered in front of the coffin. They saw that the two coffins were placed flat on the ground. Each coffin was tightly bound by four extremely thick iron chains. However, there were no traces of coffin nails on the coffin lids.

The three people were shocked again. What on earth is this? Could there be some demons and ghosts hidden in the coffin?

Feng Zhen said, "Since we have come here, no matter what is hidden in this coffin, we have to take a look. Second brother, you and I open this black coffin. Third brother and fifth brother, you two open that white coffin. I'll count one, two, three. Let's open it together. Did everyone hear clearly?"

Everyone nodded. Feng Zhen and Yan Tieshan were in one group. Cui Zheng and Shorty Wang were in one group. The two sides quickly untied those four iron chains. One person at each end held the bottom end of the coffin lid with both hands. Feng Zhen shouted, "One. Two. Three."

The four people exerted force at the same time and the coffin lid was suddenly lifted up.

The four people were all greatly shocked. The fire stick in Tang Zhen's hand almost fell to the ground again.

The scene in front of them was extremely weired to the extreme.

In that pitch-black coffin lay a young woman in all white mourning clothes with a pale face. That woman had delicate features and a beautiful face. There was a small red mole on her brow.

And that white coffin seemed to be made of pure jade and was completely transparent. Inside lay a middle-aged man in all black clothes, black hat, black shoes, and black pants. That man had a full beard, his eyes were closed tightly, and his thick eyebrows were deeply furrowed.

Shorty Wang cursed, "Damn it. It's really fucking strange. What does this mean? Boss, there is a person in white clothes in the black coffin, and a person in black clothes in the white coffin. Is this doing magic tricks? It's really fucking weird."

Tang Zhen walked to the wall and carefully examined the paintings on the wall. There were five paintings in sequence on the wall.

The first painting showed a man and a woman. The man had a full beard. The woman was very young and beautiful. The two were hugging tightly. And on the ground lay a young man with a pitch-black face, twisted in pain.

The second painting showed that the man with the full beard and the woman had been tied together and put in a large wooden cage. A group of villagers were slowly putting them into the water. The leader was the man lying on the ground in the first painting. It seemed that they were going to drown these two people. That man seemed to be saying something, with a fierce expression on his face. And above were dozens of ferocious evil spirits with claws and teeth. The evil spirits were painted so terrifyingly that they seemed to be ready to devour people.

The third painting showed a group of villagers lying on the ground, each with a painful expression on their faces. Another group of people stood around helplessly.

The fourth painting showed a group of villagers. Among the villagers, a person who looked like a mage was casting spells and chanting incantations. He was holding a note in his hand. The note was about to be put into a small red lacquered coffin on the ground.

The fifth painting showed a group of craftsmen building a seven-story pagoda. That mage stood by the pagoda with his hands hanging down and a smile on his face.

These several paintings on the wall were painted vividly. The expressions of everyone were lifelike.

The other four people also gathered around. Tang Zhen said, "Big brother, second brother, third brother, fifth brother. Look, this painting seems to be of this couple in the coffin. According to the speculation in the painting, this woman and this bearded man have an adulterous relationship. The two conspired to poison and intended to kill the woman's husband. Looking at the man lying on the ground with a pitch-black face, it should be due to poisoning."

Feng Zhen nodded and said, "Yes."

Tang Zhen continued, "Judging from the meaning in this painting, this adulterous couple should soon be exposed. The woman's husband was rescued. But this adulterous couple will be drowned in a wooden cage by the people of this clan. This bearded man uttered a poisonous curse before he died and cursed the people of this clan. What is this curse? Third brother should be able to guess."

That Cui Zheng was known as the Death Summoning Talisman. He was good at using talismans and could command ghosts and resist demons. He had heard a lot about things like the Gu and curse talismans. At the moment, he nodded: "It's the evil spirit curse."

Tang Zhen continued, "The people of this clan were cursed. They must have found a Maoshan Taoist priest to use magic to subdue these two evil spirits. And fearing that the magic power was not enough, they also built this seven-story pagoda on top of the coffins, hoping to use the boundless supernatural power of Buddhism to restrain these two evil spirits.

Cui Zheng suddenly shook his head and said, "It's not an evil spirit."

Yan Tieshan frowned: "Not an evil spirit? Then what is it? Second brother?"

Cui Zheng said word by word, "It's the Black and White Fiends!"