Chapter 15: The Stone Coffin

*Snap!*

A crisp sound rang out, and the skull shattered instantly. Grayish-white matter splattered everywhere, landing on the hemlines of those standing nearby.

Li Miao watched the headless corpse, pondering to himself. This was not the tough-skinned, brawny Gu-soldier of the Ming Cult, but rather an instinctive reaction of a host manipulated by a Gu insect in search of food. He had only used a fraction of his strength, intending to test the waters.

A Gu insect controlling a corpse is not something just any body can sustain, nor can just any Gu insect perform the task. Gu insects come in pairs: mother and child. Child Gu are plentiful as long as there is enough material, but the mother Gu is extremely rare; even a high-ranking shaman would typically possess only two or three. Only the mother Gu has the sentience and ability to control a host to forage.

The situation just now was that as soon as Lao Qifeng pushed open the stone door, a Gu insect had scurried out along the ground from the gap. Its movement was masked by the sound of the door, and in the dim light, it had gone unnoticed by the group. It crawled along the ground, climbed up the disciple's ankle, and burrowed straight into his flesh.

The head of the Qingcheng Sect, having realized that Li Miao had just saved him, spoke up hurriedly. "Many thanks to Hero Li for your intervention."

Li Miao waved his hand, signaling that no more need be said.

Lao Qifeng, however, interjected. "Hero Li, the situation has clearly spiraled out of control. I fear the witchcraft and Gu arts of Miao territory are at play here. No matter how high our martial arts, our lives are at risk."

"I must be blunt, then," he said, looking at Li Miao with a deep, stern gaze. "When you opened that stone wall, I sensed something was amiss. This place was explored by the tomb-raiders of the Mountain-Moving Sect. That they could open that wall is no surprise, but as a wandering martial artist, where did you learn the art of mechanisms?"

"Furthermore, your martial arts skills are not exactly the most prominent among us. Earlier, even Master Hao of the Qingcheng Sect could not react in time. How were you able to foresee it and appear at his side to save him?"

Lao Qifeng turned to Elder Yin Minjun. "Elder Yin, your Hengshan Sect was not supposed to participate in this, yet you brought these two friends along; the whole affair is suspicious."

"Under normal circumstances, I would not slight the Hengshan Sect by pressing for answers, but given the current situation, I must insist on an explanation."

The flickering firelight cast deep shadows across everyone’s faces, forming a loose circle around Li Miao, Yongjie, and Yin Minjun. Master Hao of the Qingcheng Sect, who had intended to approach Li Miao to offer formal thanks, stopped in his tracks, staring intensely at him without a word.

With their lives at stake and no foundation of trust between them, the seeds of suspicion, once sown, were difficult to suppress.

As this eerie silence spread, and as Yin Minjun gripped her sword hilt and Yongjie clenched his fists, Li Miao suddenly let out a mocking laugh.

"They say the Beggar Sect is wealthy and has assets in every trade, but I never expected the leader to moonlight as a storyteller."

"Is it not ridiculous that you find everything to be a grand conspiracy simply because you are narrow-minded?"

"You!" Lao Qifeng, having been rebuffed so bluntly, felt he was losing face.

"First," Li Miao continued, "mechanism arts are rare, but they are not extinct. The Mohists, the Tang Clan, the Mountain-Movers, and the Ridge-Lifters all have traditions. Is it really so strange that one might occasionally come across a stray manual?"

"Second, I know you all have little experience with Gu arts, but I have. In the tomb of the Miao King, is it so hard to guess that Gu insects are at work? Was it a mistake for me to be vigilant after seeing that friend get injured and to save Master Hao?"

"Third," Li Miao swept his gaze across the group. "I was the one who arrived late. Don't make it sound as if I lured you all in here."

"There is no turning back now, and we don't know how many more traps or Gu insects lie ahead. I am the only one who understands a thing or two about them. Are you certain... you want to turn against me now?"

Once these words were spoken, the faint hostility of the crowd diminished. True enough, no matter how suspicious Li Miao might be, they still relied on him to handle the traps and guard against the Gu. If they turned on him now, their chances of making it out alive would only shrink further.

Lao Qifeng remained silent for a long moment, then offered a low apology to Li Miao before turning to push the stone door open slowly.

The group stepped inside and fell into a stunned silence.

Beyond the stone door lay a vast, square hall spanning a hundred feet. The hall was adorned with carved pillars and painted beams; tattered silk hung from the walls, which were etched with primitive and bizarre patterns.

In the center of the hall stood an enormous circular platform, upon which rested a massive stone coffin. Thick iron chains, as wide as a human arm, were wrapped around it, while nine additional chains dangled from the ceiling, suspending the coffin in mid-air.

On the floor beneath the coffin, dozens of figures in ornate, ancient attire sat in a kneeling position.

After a long silence, Lao Qifeng spoke in a loud, clear voice: "Are these Miao sacrificial rites?"

"We have strayed into this place and disturbed the ancestral mausoleum. We mean no harm and intend to leave at once. Could someone point the way?"

His voice echoed through the vast hall for a long time before finally fading away. The dozens of figures did not react in the slightest.

Lao Qifeng and several of the most skilled martial artists, on guard, carefully approached one of the figures. The person wore a light veil over their head, their face bowed, motionless.

The head of the Qingcheng Sect drew his sword, gently lifted the veil, and tilted the person's chin up to see if they were alive.

Upon seeing the face, they all gasped in unison!

She was a young woman, but the flesh on her eyes, nose, mouth, and ears had been cruelly scraped away, leaving only dark, hollow pits—she looked like a demon!

Hideous, crisscrossing scars covered her cheeks, stitched together with thick black thread. From within the wounds, several tentacles protruded, gently swaying.

Her jaw and fingers were coated in a layer of congealed corpse oil. It was clear she had been dead for quite some time, yet the body showed no signs of decay, remaining as lifelike as ever.

"Do not touch these corpses. Look at the coffin," Lao Qifeng said through gritted teeth.

The situation was bizarre, but there was no turning back; they had to push forward.

They carefully circled around the kneeling corpses and finally approached the platform holding the stone coffin. Seeing that the corpses showed no abnormal reactions, Lao Qifeng let out a long sigh of relief.

Judging by the tentacles protruding from the wounds, the bodies likely contained living Gu insects. With dozens of such corpses around, if they were to disturb these insects, it would be impossible to escape. He only hoped that the clue to their exit lay within the stone coffin before them.

Just as Lao Qifeng was lost in thought, the leader of the Kongtong Sect stepped onto the platform.

*Plap.*

He was a master of martial arts, and having employed his light-foot technique, the sound of his step was barely audible.

Yet, at that tiny sound, a "creak-creak" noise erupted from all around them.

Lao Qifeng whipped his head around, his pupils contracting sharply.

The dozens of kneeling corpses all around them had suddenly raised their heads, their hollow, dark sockets fixed directly upon the group.