Yingzi's scream scared Fatty Wang and Hu Bayi so badly that they dropped to their knees. They pressed their palms together and recited the words they'd prepared beforehand. "Please don't take offense! Please don't take offense! Have mercy on us. We're short on food and clothing, and we had no choice but to borrow a few little things to trade for some money..."
"Hahaha..."
Hu Ming couldn't help laughing at the sight. But when he looked at the creature in the coffin, he had to admit it was pretty ugly. Still, it hadn't undergone corpse transformation.
By then, Hu Bayi and Fatty Wang had recovered, and Fatty hurried over to the coffin they'd opened earlier to take a quick look inside.
He couldn't help grimacing. "Yikes... Look at this guy! He's so ugly!"
Fatty hadn't expected the man to look so ugly even after death. The words slipped out of his mouth, and now he understood why Yingzi had been frightened when she saw him.
After all, with his features slightly twisted and his nose and mouth crooked, he was hard even for Fatty to look at. Hu Bayi heard Fatty's comment, too.
A glimmer of amusement flashed in Hu Bayi's eyes. He quietly crept up behind Fatty, leaned close, then suddenly said, "You fat bastard, are you trying to get yourself killed?"
Fatty, who'd been watching the corpse, jumped. When he turned and saw Hu Bayi, he grumbled, "Is scaring people really that fun?"
Hu Ming answered for Hu Bayi. "Scaring people isn't much fun, but scaring you, Brother Fatty? That's especially fun."
Fatty shot him an exasperated look.
Hu Bayi checked the candle and, seeing that it was fine, said, "Let's get started."
Fatty was about to reach in, but Hu Ming stopped him. "You idiot, you're going to take things out with your bare hands? Aren't you afraid of catching Corpse Poison? Where are the gloves I told you to bring?"
Fatty paused, then immediately pulled out the gloves and handed them around. After putting his on, Hu Ming used the remaining corpse-binding rope to loop around the giant zombie's ankles like shackles. He didn't dare tie its feet completely, afraid it might break free.
Once Hu Ming had finished, the others began taking the porcelain and pottery out of the coffin.
Hu Ming took only porcelain. There were quite a few pieces, more than a dozen. He picked up four or five and pretended to put them in his backpack, but secretly stashed them in his storage space instead.
Hu Bayi took a single piece of porcelain. Looking at Hu Ming and Fatty Wang, he said, "Mingzi, this doesn't seem right. Our ancestors' rules have been followed for thousands of years."
Hu Ming glanced at Hu Bayi. "It's fine. Times have changed, so the rules can change, too!"
Then he turned to Fatty. "Let's offer it some incense and pay our respects. That'll count as showing courtesy first."
Now only a mask and a pair of Jade Pendants remained inside the coffin.
Hu Bayi said to Hu Ming, "Mingzi, something's wrong."
The candle flame suddenly wavered, flickering unsteadily as it hissed. Then the tomb plunged into darkness...
Fatty couldn't help exclaiming, "Damn, the candle went out!"
Fatty was so scared that he didn't dare move.
Hu Bayi asked, "What do we do?" Fatty took out his dagger, while Yingzi gripped her Hunting Rifle nervously.
A flash of icy light passed through Hu Ming's eyes. He said calmly, "Old Hu, light the candle again. We'll negotiate. If it won't listen, we'll deal with it directly! Damn it, I refuse to believe we can't handle this thing."
Hu Bayi gave Hu Ming a thumbs-up. "Mingzi, those things you said just now were seriously badass! I bet you're the only Mojin Lieutenant in the past few thousand years—and the only tomb robber—to say something like that."
As he spoke, Hu Bayi lit a new candle, and the tomb chamber brightened again.
After what had happened to the candle, they all turned on their flashlights as well.
After a while, Hu Ming checked the candle, then looked at Fatty. "Fatty, let's continue."
Fatty's voice trembled. "Continue? Mingzi, are you sure?"
Hu Ming nodded firmly. Fatty took a deep breath and reached for the pair of Jade Pendants.
Suddenly, the dim tomb chamber turned a ghostly green. The light flickered eerily.
Hu Bayi asked nervously, "Mingzi, the candle's turned green! What the hell is going on?"
Fatty was nervous, too. "Damn, Old Hu, what's happening? Maybe... maybe we should all hurry out of here. This place is terrifying."
At that moment, Old Hu, Fatty, and Yingzi suddenly panicked. They were frightened and began talking all at once.
Fatty glanced at the corpse, then yelled in terror, "Fuck! Mingzi, it moved!"
"It actually moved!" Fatty saw that the man lying in the coffin had suddenly grown red hair all over his body. It was getting longer and longer, and more and more terrifying.
Hu Ming frowned, quickly snatched the mask from beside the corpse's face, then said to Fatty, "Get back!"
Fatty immediately retreated to Yingzi's side, and Hu Bayi did the same.
The creature in the coffin slowly reached out its withered hands and gripped the edge.
Fatty's eyes widened. "Damn!"
The next instant, there was a sudden BOOM! The once-sturdy coffin was torn apart.
Fatty cried out, "Shit, it's risen from the dead! It's risen from the dead!"
The red-haired monster suddenly sat up. Its hollow, green-lit eyes swept over everyone in the room as it made a strange sound.
Hu Ming had also moved to the side. He stared coldly at the monster, knowing that the sound it had just made was Corpse Language.
"Mingzi, Old Hu, what do we do?" Fatty was terrified now. The moment he saw the corpse rise, he remembered all the stories Hu Ming had told him.
"What do we do? What do we do?" Yingzi said, turning around and trying to leave.
But it was already too late.
The giant immediately grabbed a stone coffin lid nearby and hurled it with all his strength.
The stone coffin lid slammed with perfect accuracy into the entrance they'd come through, wedging itself in place.
Fatty cursed. "Shit! Mingzi, the exit's blocked!"
Hu Ming wasn't the least bit flustered. "Yeah, I know."
Seeing everyone standing still, the giant zombie tried to walk over and grab Hu Ming and the others. But before it could take a step, black smoke rose from its foot.
Hu Ming had already scattered sticky rice all around the area. The giant zombie had stepped on some, and the pain made it pull its foot back.
Hu Bayi saw that the sticky rice beneath the giant zombie had turned black.
Fatty was delighted. "Great! Sticky rice works on it."
Perhaps Fatty's laughter enraged it. The giant zombie roared, then picked up the weapon buried with it—a Wolf Tooth Club. It aimed at them and hurled the club their way.
Fatty and Yingzi panicked when they saw the hundred-pound Wolf Tooth Club hurtling toward them. Luckily, Hu Bayi was beside them and shoved them out of the way in time. The club barely missed Fatty and Yingzi before smashing into the wall behind them, punching a hole right through it.
Hu Ming's eyes narrowed at the sight. He was glad he hadn't challenged the giant zombie to a one-on-one fight just because he'd trained in Baji Quan for over twenty years. He'd probably have been done for.
Coming back to his senses, Hu Ming took out a handful of sticky rice and threw it at the giant zombie. Sparks flew as the rice hit its body, and it roared in pain. Because of the corpse-binding rope around its feet, it couldn't take a long stride, so it could only watch Hu Ming act recklessly right in front of it.
Seeing the giant zombie rage, Hu Ming didn't press his luck. Just then, Hu Bayi called out, "Mingzi, there's a passage here! Let's get out this way!"
Hu Ming looked over and saw that Hu Bayi and the others had somehow already entered the hole the giant zombie had smashed open.
Hu Ming hurried around the giant zombie and ran toward Hu Bayi.
Before leaving, he wrapped the corpse-binding rope around the creature and hoisted it up. Ignoring the giant zombie's furious roars, he hurried after Hu Bayi and the others.
Before you continue