Chapter Twenty-Six: Demise (Please Bookmark and Recommend)

(Going on VIP next week, Old Bei feels anxious and cannot sleep at night, wondering if any friends will generously offer their monthly tickets and how the book will perform. Having come this far, Old Bei will definitely forge ahead and fight to the end. Please give me your support and confidence when the time comes, so we can build a more perfect *The Loess Chronicles* together.)

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Zhang Yadong's body suddenly shuddered, and his entire frame deflated like a leaking balloon, collapsing in an instant. Before we could even figure out what was happening, we saw that only Zhang Yaxi's clothes were left on the ground in front of Zhang Yadong.

Zhang Yadong was completely dumbfounded on the spot, and the rest of us were scared out of our wits.

Huasheng, clearly not expecting this either, rushed forward and grabbed the clothes and pants on the ground to see what was underneath.

However, there was nothing on the ground but brick tiles.

Even if there was a trapdoor, how could Zhang Yaxi have stripped off his clothes and slipped into it right before everyone's eyes? More importantly, we had all seen him deflate with our own eyes. I really couldn't find the words to describe that state; it was as if he had dissolved into thin air in that very instant.

"Ah!" Zhang Yadong suddenly shrieked, then frantically snatched Zhang Yaxi's clothes from Huasheng's hands.

He ran into the shadows to one side, curling up with his brother's clothes. After trembling and weeping for a moment, he suddenly looked up and said, "It's here... it's here... Professor, it's here..."

Professor Chen was sweating profusely. Stepping forward, he said, "Yadong, don't be afraid. Nothing is going to happen. Your brother... Yaxi might have just..."

"Stay back!" Zhang Yadong suddenly roared as he stood up. He pointed at Huasheng, then at the rest of us. "You... I know it's you! I know it is among you!"

"Zhang Yadong, stop talking nonsense!" Zhuge Xuan barked.

"I'm not talking nonsense!" This time, Zhang Yadong seemed to have completely lost his mind. "It's you!" He pointed at me. "You are the Nether Spectre..."

"Nether..." I froze.

Zhang Yadong suddenly looked at Professor Chen. "Or maybe... maybe it's you... I know it's one of you! You killed my brother!"

Zhuge Xuan panted heavily, her right hand secretly forming a hand-blade. "Zhang Yadong, pull yourself together, or else..."

"Whoa..."

Just as Zhuge Xuan was about to rush at Zhang Yadong, Fatty suddenly stepped in front of her.

"What do you think you're doing?" Zhuge Xuan glared coldly at Fatty.

Fatty snorted. "And what do *you* think you're doing?"

Zhuge Xuan refused to back down. "I am handling the internal affairs of our archaeological team. It's none of your business. If we don't stop Zhang Yadong now, he'll definitely go mad."

Fatty was thinking the same thing as me. The "Nether Spectre" Zhang Yadong mentioned must have something to do with Professor Chen and his group's goal. If we didn't clear this up now, we would surely suffer for it later.

I walked up to Fatty's side and said to Zhuge Xuan, "We don't think Zhang Yadong is mad. In fact, he might be the most clear-headed one among us right now."

Fatty chimed in, "Exactly. Professor Chen, we've known each other for a while now. It's better to lay everything out on the table."

Professor Chen's face was grim as he stared at Zhang Yadong behind us.

Zhuge Xuan said, "You are only here to act as our bodyguards. There is no need for you to know this. Let me remind you, don't forget who you really are. If word of this gets out, even if you survive this place, don't dream of leaving the village outside."

Fatty burst out laughing. "Little girl, you dare threaten your Lord Fatty? Hmph, I won't bother trading threats with you. Bottom line: if you don't make things clear now, nobody is going any further. Right, Little Master Hua?"

Fatty looked at Huasheng as he finished.

"Little Master Hua?" Zhuge Xuan and Professor Chen looked at Huasheng in confusion.

Knowing it was time for a showdown, I said to Huasheng, "Huasheng, is that man opposite us really your uncle?"

"Zixiang, what are they talking about?" Professor Chen walked up to Huasheng.

After a moment of silence, Huasheng suddenly looked up, offered his uncle a smile, slowly took off his glasses, and tossed them to the ground.

"Uncle, we can talk about that later," Huasheng said in standard Mandarin. "For now, it's better to make clear your purpose for coming here."

Seeing that familiar expression, a sense of relief washed over me. More importantly, Huasheng shared our thoughts. Even though his uncle stood opposite him, I felt there was some sort of rift in the way Huasheng looked at him.

Professor Chen's face grew darker. He stared at Huasheng but refused to answer.

"Since you refuse to speak, let Lord Fatty do the asking." With that, Fatty turned to look at Zhang Yadong.

Zhang Yadong had curled up on the ground again, clutching Zhang Yaxi's clothes tightly. As soon as Fatty turned around, he grew alert.

"Little brother, don't be afraid. Tell me, what exactly did you come down here to do? And what on earth is this Nether Spectre?" Fatty paused to think. "Tell me the truth. If you do, Uncle Fatty here has some candy for you."

"Tsk, can you cut the nonsense?" I slapped Fatty.

Zhang Yadong looked at Fatty warily. "Don't come near me! I'm not afraid of you! My brother is dead, I'll fight you to the death!"

Fatty grimaced. "Damn, is he really out of his mind?"

"The Eldest Mistress sent us," Zhang Yadong suddenly mumbled, contrary to our expectations. "The Eldest Mistress said that if we find the Nether Spectre, we can find the location of the 'Three Heavens Treasury'..." As he spoke, Zhang Yadong suddenly crawled on the ground, flashing us a sinister grin. "Once we find the Three Heavens Treasury, we can go to Mongolia. The grasslands, the cattle, the sheep..."

Then, Zhang Yadong began to babble incoherently.

"We'll be rich! We'll strike it rich! My brother and I can go abroad, we can be wealthy men. No one can stop us. Whoever tries to stop us, we'll kill them. Yes, the Eldest Mistress said, kill, kill..."

Zhang Yadong's expression was hair-raising. I turned to Huasheng and asked, "What is the 'Three Heavens Treasury'?"

Huasheng did not answer, but a faint trace of anger flickered in his eyes. He slowly looked toward Professor Chen, who began to avoid Huasheng's gaze.

"Even you..." Huasheng swallowed the rest of his words. Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward and lifted Zhang Yadong off the ground with one hand.

Huasheng's action startled Professor Chen and Zhuge Xuan. Fatty, however, seemed delighted to see Huasheng show his true colors, and smugly blocked Professor Chen, who wanted to step in.

"Where is that woman hiding?" Huasheng's voice was icy—so cold that it barely sounded like him. For a fleeting moment, I even sensed a wave of killing intent emanating from him.

Zhang Yadong was completely disoriented, his head shaking uncontrollably. "No, I can't say. If I say it, I'll die..."

The moment the word "die" left his mouth, Huasheng's hand clamped onto Zhang Yadong's throat. Instantly, Zhang Yadong could no longer breathe.

I had witnessed Huasheng's strength firsthand. His hand could punch through stone slabs; snapping Zhang Yadong's neck would be as easy as crushing an ant.

"Huasheng, he's already lost his mind," I said, stepping forward to grab Huasheng's arm.

"No, he hasn't," Huasheng said with absolute certainty.

Just as I was feeling confused, I saw Zhang Yadong's face turn red as he began to nod frantically.

Huasheng released his grip, and Zhang Yadong immediately broke into a fit of coughing, gasping desperately for air.

"Damn, kid, were you faking it just now?" Fatty asked.

"Speak," Huasheng said, taking a step forward.

Zhang Yadong retreated a step, looking at Huasheng with sheer terror. "Don't kill me. I'll tell you everything I know."

"Where is that woman?" Huasheng asked again.

"The Eldest Mistress?" Zhang Yadong craned his neck erratically, then broke into a manic grin, pointing his finger toward the ceiling. "She's in the sky, watching us. Hehehe... She's watching you, hehehe..."

Now, I was almost certain that Zhang Yadong had truly gone mad. Huasheng stared at him for a moment before seemingly giving up as well.

Suddenly, Zhang Yadong let out a sharp cry of pain, clutched his stomach, and began to writhe in agony on the ground.

"Yadong!" Professor Chen immediately threw himself forward and held Zhang Yadong.

"Ahhh!!!" Zhang Yadong shrieked at the top of his lungs, struggling violently.

"Fatty!" I shouted.

Fatty cursed and lunged forward to pin Zhang Yadong down.

Pinning someone down was usually no trouble for Fatty, but something was wrong with Zhang Yadong. His body arched high, as if something inside his belly was trying to claw its way out.

Zhuge Xuan stepped forward to check his pulse, but suddenly, a streak of blood began to seep through the clothes over Zhang Yadong's abdomen.

"Tear his clothes open!" Professor Chen shouted.

Zhuge Xuan ripped Zhang Yadong's shirt open. One look, and Professor Chen, Fatty, and Zhuge Xuan all scrambled back in horror.

Zhang Yadong's belly had split open. What appeared before our eyes was not his internal organs, but a slimy, writhing mass of something.

Fatty and my faces drained of color. Gritting his teeth, Fatty hissed, "Damn it, isn't that a Tudu Bite?"