"Heh heh, if we don't open the coffin soon, it's going to die. Do you really want to watch it die?" Elder Mu tore off all the paper talismans covering the coffin.
Senior Brother Hai and I looked at each other in bewilderment. Could there be some special significance to opening the coffin?
"Senior Mu, won't opening it let it escape and harm people again?" Senior Brother Hai was also suspicious. He didn't dare move closer. His cultivation was still slowly increasing and had already reached the late stage. With advancement imminent, he had no choice but to sit cross-legged and enter meditation, converting the energy.
"Don't worry. It was merely being used by someone else. If it had wanted to kill us back then, it would not have been difficult. Any living being capable of enduring pain and struggling against adversity must have something exceptional about it. Since we now have a chance to help it, why don't we let it out and have a talk?" Elder Mu was a man of great wisdom. He had once taught me many things and was half a master to Grandma.
After all the paper talismans had been removed, the coffin lid flew open with a bang. A dim black soul-form stubbornly drifted out, lingering in the air with a sinister chill. This soul-form was somewhat different from ordinary ones; its shape resembled a single brushstroke rendered in ink wash.
"What exactly are you, sir? Why are you beneath Dragon-Carrying Village, and how long have you been here?" Elder Mu asked. He crossed his claws.
"Why should I tell you? Just because you released me?" The soul-form's tenacity exceeded all expectations. In its present state, where it could vanish with the wind at any moment, it was actually still holding on stubbornly.