Chapter Forty: Zombies?

It took me quite a while to finally calm down, and then I asked Peanut, "Didn't you just go down there?"

Peanut shook his head. "That man is too formidable. The deeper we go, the greater the hidden dangers. I used this opportunity to see if he'd slip up, but I didn't expect he'd be so frank. I originally thought he was after the Blue-blooded Dragon Pattern, but his target was you."

"But why? What does he want to do by capturing me?" I was filled with confusion. Too many things had happened at once, and my mind couldn't process it, so I could only ask Peanut.

But the way he grinned told me that asking was futile.

"Your affairs are yours to ponder," Peanut said, taking the backpack from my hands and slinging it over his shoulder. "Let's keep moving."

"Still going?" I remembered what Tan Wei had said earlier, thinking that this was probably not the correct location for the ancient tomb, and there must be other dangers ahead. "Didn't you hear what he said just now?"

Peanut smiled and sighed, "Even if you got to choose again, what chances would you have? It's not over yet—no one knows how it'll end."

I had nothing more to say. Compared to Peanut's steadfastness, I truly fell short.

We continued downwards. I had thought that the slope would grow endlessly steeper, finally turning into a sheer drop, but after twenty minutes of walking, the incline surprisingly eased.

Moving forward, the slope became a straight path, and there were bends as well. After passing a bend, a stone door appeared before us, wide open.

Shining my flashlight around, I saw that the door was set at the edge of a deep ravine within the mountain. On either side of the entrance stood rows of stone-carved bamboo; it was clear that they had once been painted, but now, all that remained were mottled stains.

As soon as we reached the stone door, I sensed something was amiss inside.

"Peanut, there's light inside," I whispered.

Peanut looked puzzled, pausing at the doorway, as if listening to what was happening within. Then he gestured for me to follow closely and keep quiet.

So we slowed our pace, inching into the stone door.

Inside was a passageway hewn by hand, spacious enough. As soon as we entered, we saw a ninety-degree turn; the source of light was coming from beyond the corner. The brightness was considerable, making the passage ahead seem very well-lit.

We moved forward. After the turn, another straight corridor stretched ahead, over a hundred meters long. Torches, blazing brightly, hung on both sides of the stone walls, and along the corridor, several side chambers appeared in parallel.

"Looks like your luck isn't too bad," Peanut suddenly remarked. "This tomb passage has side chambers—we might actually be on the right path."

Delight welled up in my heart, but I quickly whispered, "All these torches are burning—could there be people here?"

"These torches were probably lit when your father and his people came through. It's quiet inside for now. Let's check out the side chambers—maybe we'll find some clues," Peanut replied. I nodded.

After all the effort, finally seeing a glimmer of hope made my heart race with excitement, itching to dash down the tomb passage to see what lay ahead.

Peanut led me into one side chamber. My flashlight swept over the darkness, and I saw the place was piled with earth-colored ceramic jars. The jars were stacked layer upon layer, each about as tall as an adult's calf, reaching up to the ceiling. There must have been at least eight hundred, possibly a thousand.

"What do these jars hold?" I asked Peanut.

"Best not to look," Peanut said, scanning the chamber before preparing to leave.

"Hey, there's one out of place." I spotted a jar lying on its side behind the door, squatted down and picked it up.

As I drew near, a foul stench hit me from inside the jar. Covering my nose, I shone my flashlight inside, seeing a mass of viscous liquid.

"What is this? Why does it smell so awful?"

Peanut hardly paid it any mind. "It's probably human organs dissolved in medicinal fluid—a type of rot. It's said to treat rheumatism."

At his words, I sprang up. "Damn, how do you know all these disgusting things?" I muttered, following Peanut out.

Just then, Peanut seemed to notice something on the floor, suddenly crouching down. Turning, I saw him running his hand over the stone slabs. Looking closer, I realized there was a long mark on the ground—a drag mark, about ten centimeters wide, irregular, but judging by the color, it looked fresh.

"This mark appeared in the last couple of days. We need to be careful," Peanut said, rising and looking down the passage.

We continued inspecting the side chambers, but the rest were empty, except for one at the corner, which contained a coffin.

The sight of the coffin startled me, especially as its lid lay discarded on the floor. Peanut was surprised as well, but then we found the coffin itself was empty. Oddly, a moldy rag was spread on the bottom, neatly folded as if someone had slept inside it, sending chills all over me.

"This tomb passage has been disturbed; its contents appear to have been removed," Peanut said.

"Tan Wei mentioned he came here with someone before—maybe they took everything."

Peanut was noncommittal, gazing at the coffin. Suddenly, a noise came from behind us. Both of us jumped; Peanut quickly dragged me behind the wall of the side chamber and switched off the flashlight.

We stood opposite the chamber's door, and with the light off, the room was pitch-black, but we could see the entrance.

The noise echoed thunderously in the narrow tomb passage, sounding terrifying. I even held my breath, fearing any sound might alert whatever was outside.

At first, I wondered if it was someone from my father's group. But after listening for a while, I noticed the sound was strange, as if someone was dragging something heavy, struggling along.

Boom... The sound would go for a bit, then pause. Each time silence fell, my heart contracted.

The noise grew closer, seemingly coming from around the corner.

Boom...

Very close now.

Suddenly, I saw a huge shadow on the floor. It looked like a person, but the head was disproportionately large. I was so frightened my teeth chattered, and Peanut clamped my mouth shut, stopping me from making any sound.

At that moment, I forgot the pain of his grip, staring intently at the shadow inching towards us from the corner.

After what felt like an eternity, a towering figure appeared at the doorway.

That... that was a person, but definitely not human. My mind reeled. Standing at the door was the silhouette of someone clad in ancient armor, head encased in a massive helmet, body bulky and wrapped in armor, making my scalp crawl.

It shuffled forward, legs stiff, like a zombie.

Even more terrifying, it was dragging something in its hand. As it passed our chamber, I finally saw—a long, enormous weapon bristling with spikes. The drag mark on the ground was clearly caused by this.

Listening to the thunderous noise at the entrance, I wished I could clutch my heart to stop any sound from escaping.

A zombie... damn, is this a joke? Something I'd stopped believing in as a child was now walking right before my eyes. I felt icy chills from my forehead to my heels. Peanut's grip trembled slightly—clearly, even he was shocked by such a sight.

Suddenly, the noise outside stopped. The ancient weapon dragged on the ground was still partly visible, and the zombie seemed to halt.

My heart skipped a beat. Peanut's hand released mine—though I couldn't see, I sensed he was preparing to act.

"Don't let it find us, don't let it find us..." I prayed silently, but the footsteps outside started coming back.

I heard Peanut swallow. Judging by the situation, the thing outside had sensed us.

"Damn, looks like two men together are too 'yang' for this place," I thought wildly, as the armored figure returned to the chamber door, turning its head.

"That's it," I cursed inwardly, beginning to contemplate how I might die.

The thing at the door suddenly placed its weapon against the tomb wall. The way it did so seemed... off. It wasn't about to enter but stood at the entrance, raising both hands.

Seeing its pose, which resembled surrender, I nearly burst out in laughter.

Then the zombie lowered its hands, then stretched them straight out in front of itself.

Watching its stance, I thought, no mistake—wasn't this exactly like the zombies in movies? Next, it'd surely hop in. I wondered if Peanut had any experience dealing with such zombies—should I help or just run?

As I was thinking, the thing lowered its hands again. Then, it raised them over its head, then brought them back in front...

After it repeated this several times, I grew more and more puzzled. Damn... these movements were oddly familiar... wasn't this like the sixth set of radio calisthenics?

"No, no, that's impossible," I shook my head, muttering, "If zombies evolve to this level, there's no hope for humanity."

Just as I thought this, the zombie outside suddenly spoke.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight; two, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight..."

What the hell! No way! Is this 'Attack on Titan—made in China'?

Even if it's a zombie, it shouldn't speak human language—let alone in a Beijing accent. I was on the verge of collapse. Watching it count beats while doing exercises, I became more convinced—that really was radio calisthenics.

A grimacing ghost is one thing, but a zombie doing radio calisthenics must be a person.

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