Volume Three: The Fox Spirit Tomb Chapter One: Poisoned by Corpse Venom

After saying this, Xu Tian made an inviting gesture, signaling us to go upstairs to talk. I nodded and followed him into the shop.

On the third floor, a large table stood in the center, already set with a steaming hot pot.

Although Li Kun and I had eaten something earlier, it had only been a hasty bite. The moment the fragrance of the hot pot reached us, both of us could not help but inhale deeply. Li Kun grinned at Xu Tian and said, “Old Xu, you really know how to treat a man, ha ha.” With that, he hurried to sit down.

Xu Tian turned to me and said, “Brother Liu, come on, let’s eat first. We can talk business after we finish.”

I nodded and sat down beside Li Kun. Xu Tian poured a cup of liquor and said to Li Kun and me, “It seems the two of you must have run into plenty of trouble on this tomb expedition. The danger inside a general’s tomb is common knowledge. You two truly deserve to be called the modern Dragon-Seeking Celestial Masters. Such skill is enough to earn anyone’s admiration. Come, let me toast the both of you.”

I lifted my glass, and Li Kun wiped the grease from his mouth and raised his cup to clink with mine.

After downing the liquor in one gulp, Li Kun said, “Old Xu, you have no idea how dangerous this trip was. Getting out alive was pure luck. The traps and mechanisms inside are one thing, but especially that female corpse. Her body was like steel plate. Bullets hit her and did nothing at all.”

After hearing Li Kun’s words, Xu Tian drew in a sharp breath. “A female corpse? Her body like an iron plate?” He looked at the two of us, his eyes full of shock.

Xu Tian continued, “Then how did you two escape that female corpse’s pursuit?”

Li Kun sighed. “Well, that’s all thanks to Old Liu. He found a short blade inside the tomb. Otherwise, the two of us would have ended up like those people before us.”

Xu Tian turned to look at me then, his eyes brimming with astonishment. “A short blade? Old Liu, what kind of thing could possibly have killed that female corpse? Did you bring it back? Hurry up and show me.”

Seeing Xu Tian’s astonished expression, I nodded, reached into my coat, took out the short blade, and handed it to him.

The moment Xu Tian saw the ancient-looking blade, he carefully took it with both hands. One glance was all it took for him to cry out in surprise.

Seeing his reaction, I was puzzled and asked, “Old Xu, do you know where this short blade comes from?”

Xu Tian held the blade in his palm and studied its scabbard closely. Smacking his lips, he said, “I don’t know its exact origin, but just from the material of the scabbard alone, you can tell this is no ordinary weapon.”

He walked over to a display shelf, picked up a magnifying glass, and began examining it carefully. After a short while, he looked up at me and said, “The material of this scabbard is highly unusual. The craftsman who forged this blade was clearly a master. Judging by the workmanship, this weapon should date back to the early years of the Song Dynasty.”

At this, Li Kun and I both set down our chopsticks and stood up, walking over to Xu Tian’s side and sitting down one by one.

Xu Tian went on, “In the early Song Dynasty, there really was such a master craftsman. But in his lifetime, the finest weapons he ever forged were only two. One was a longsword made for a woman, called the Cold Water Sword. It is said that when this sword was forged, many powerful and wealthy figures of the time wanted to buy it to present to the woman they loved.”

“But in the end, it was bought at an astronomical price by a woman. The price she paid was enough to buy an entire city. Its sharpness was beyond question, and it could cut through steel as if it were mud, even severing a single hair. It is also said that it was forged from some kind of buried ice metal. No matter the season, the whole sword was always cold to the touch, and anyone ordinary who touched it would have frost form on their hand.”

Li Kun asked, “Didn’t you say there were two weapons? What was the other one? Could it be the short blade in front of us?”

Xu Tian shook his head. “I’m not entirely sure about that. But legend says the other weapon really was a short blade. And after that master craftsman finished forging it, he vanished without a trace, as though he had evaporated from the world. Yet the short blade was left behind on the forging platform in the workshop.”

“As for the master himself, he disappeared completely. His two apprentices were waiting right outside the door, and if they had not gone in to bring him a meal, they would never have known he was gone.”

Listening to Xu Tian say so much, I seemed to dimly guess something. If what he said was true, then the short blade before us should be the final weapon that master ever forged, an unparalleled divine weapon of the age.

The craftsman’s disappearance was likely closely tied to this blade. Or perhaps he had acquired some secret art of weapon forging, which was why he could create the short blade before us, a weapon that could restore injuries and seemed to possess a mind of its own.

Thinking of this, I asked Xu Tian, “Old Xu, then do you know what sort of history this short blade has?”

Xu Tian shook his head. “In this world, the only people who might know are probably the master craftsman’s two disciples, because they were also the ones who named the blade.”

Hearing this, I nodded. Then Xu Tian took hold of the hilt with one hand and the scabbard with the other, slowly drawing the short blade free.

The instant it left the scabbard, the blade flashed brilliantly beneath the lamp light. It gleamed like a bright crescent moon, clean and vivid in color, as though it were brand new. There was no sign at all that this was an ancient divine weapon passed down from the Song Dynasty.

The moment the blade was fully drawn, Xu Tian could not help exclaiming, “What a blade!” With that, he gripped the hilt in his right hand and laid the blade flat across his palm.

I was startled by this. The sharpness of this blade could not be underestimated. If he were careless for even a moment and applied the slightest force, it could cut right through Xu Tian’s entire hand.

I hastily said, “Old Xu, be careful. This blade is extraordinarily sharp.”

Xu Tian nodded at me, then took the magnifying glass and went over to the window in the sunlight to inspect it carefully.

After studying it for a while, Xu Tian could not stop clicking his tongue in admiration. He sighed, “I don’t know what this blade was forged from. It has such beautiful color, yet its killing power is this terrifying. It is like a peerless beauty whose entire body is covered in blades. One careless moment, and it can take a man’s life. Truly a magnificent treasure.”

As he spoke, Xu Tian extended a finger toward the blade.

The instant his fingertip touched the blade, he felt a sharp sting in his hand, and at once drops of blood began to fall one after another.

Seeing this, Xu Tian drew a sharp breath and said, “This really is a divine weapon of legend. Just touching it can open a wound. It is truly beyond belief.”

After speaking, Xu Tian turned to look at us and slowly walked over, saying as he came, “Old Liu, this blade can be considered the finest treasure I have ever seen in all these years. If...”

Before he could finish, Xu Tian suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his head. White stars swam before his eyes, a wave of dizziness crashed into his mind, and a heart-wrenching pain shot through the palm of his right hand.

He let out a miserable cry. Then his footing slipped, and Li Kun and I only heard a heavy thud as Xu Tian’s entire body crashed hard to the floor, the short blade in his hand slipping free and flying away.

Seeing Xu Tian suddenly collapse like this, Li Kun and I were both shocked. We called out to him in unison and rushed over together.

When we reached his side, I hurriedly bent down, lifted Xu Tian up, and placed him on the sofa.

I reached out to test his breathing, and Li Kun quickly asked, “Old Liu, what happened to Xu Tian?”

I said to Li Kun, “I don’t know why, but Xu Tian has fainted.”

Just as the words left my mouth, my eyes happened to fall on Xu Tian’s right hand. To my shock, the palm of his right hand had turned a bluish purple, and the discoloration was spreading upward at a visible pace.

Seeing this, I knew something was terribly wrong. I looked at Xu Tian’s face and saw that it had gone deathly pale, while his lips were slowly turning black.

At once, I thought of something and shouted to Li Kun, “This is bad, Xu Tian has been poisoned by corpse toxin! Old Li, hurry to the kitchen and get some glutinous rice. Quickly!”

As soon as I said this, Li Kun nodded in panic and rushed toward the kitchen.

I then looked at Xu Tian’s hand and saw a wound about an inch long on the index finger of his right hand, and black vapor was actually rising from it.

The instant I saw that wound, I understood. Xu Tian must have used his hand to test the sharpness of the blade. Damn it, how had this turned into corpse toxin?

I swiftly grabbed both of Xu Tian’s arms and tightened my grip, trying to slow the circulation of his blood, then turned to look toward the kitchen.

Li Kun was running back out from the kitchen with an iron basin in his arms. “Old Liu, the glutinous rice is here!” he shouted as he came.

I shouted back, “Hurry!”

Li Kun reached my side and asked, “Old Liu, how is he? He’s not dead, is he?”

I said, “What nonsense are you spouting? He’s been poisoned by corpse toxin. I need to use the glutinous rice to suppress the toxin in his body first.”