Diary

March 8, 1956.

I've been digging for nearly five days, and I can say for certain that this strange ancient tomb is the legendary tomb of the Gu King.

Ridiculous. I wonder who built a temple outside. Was it to suppress the Gu here, or to investigate their secrets?

But from the looks of it, those monks went mad first. Heh, how interesting.

March 12.

Damn it, this place is seriously cursed. I nearly lost my life here today. It's practically a nest of poison, crawling with bugs.

Thank goodness I brought Master Liu of the Bai family to hold things together. Otherwise, I, Hu Seventh Master, would've been done for.

March 17.

Good heavens! I've never seen anything like this in my life. I asked Master Liu what the thing was, and he actually said he didn't know either.

Heh, if even an old immortal like Master Liu doesn't know what it is, it must be something good. Too bad I can't take it.

But from what he said, this thing seems to be connected to immortality.

No, I'm going back in tomorrow to see what's down there.

March 18.

Hahaha! I didn't find anything else, but I did find a crystal bed. Too bad it's huge. My Ruyi Flying Hook can only drag it this far, and I can't haul it any farther out.

Forget it. I'll leave it here and sleep on it. It's a lot more comfortable than the ground.

I'll go back tomorrow and see if I can get my hands on some valuable treasures.

March 19.

Why do I have such a bad feeling today? I'm going down one more time. If I don't make it back, just assume I'm dead. This place is a fine burial site, anyway.

March 22.

I, Hu Seventh Master, am back.

Well, actually, I've been back for two days, but I just couldn't bring myself to write in this diary. Then again, I get bored if I don't.

Damn it, I wish there were someone to talk to around here. If only I'd brought Xiao Doumiao along.

No, Xiao Doumiao's too young. If I die, how will he survive? Wouldn't that mean the Hu family line ends with me?

I should've brought my eldest brother's son. What was his name again? Hu Ankang. What a lousy name. My brother even brought five catties of pork to ask some old scholar to name him.

Bah, the Qing dynasty is gone...

As he read the diary in his hands, Xu Tong unwittingly lay down on the crystal bed. He found the diary far more interesting than a novel.

This guy who called himself Hu Seventh Master was either a chatterbox or a closeted romantic.

Every line was steeped in sarcasm.

But besides all the snark, the diary didn't just confirm his guess; it also proved that this wasn't some damn Ascension Bureau, but a mysterious ancient Miao tomb.

And this Hu Seventh Master seemed to have the spirit of Zhao Zilong himself, having gone in and out of this tomb again and again.

This cave seemed to be his temporary home.

Judging by the jars and pots scattered around, he'd spent quite a while here. Even Xu Tong, fearless as he was, couldn't help admiring Hu Seventh Master.

After all, the diary said this place was a nest of poison, crawling with venomous bugs, not to mention the female corpses infested with them. You had to be unusually gutsy to live here.

Also, who was Master Liu, mentioned in the diary? Hadn't Hu Seventh Master said he was alone?

Curious, Xu Tong simply lay on the crystal bed and began reading on.

It was clear that Hu Seventh Master had often been bored out of his mind here. The next few days' entries were full of scattered complaints.

For example, the female corpses looked good on the outside, but their muscles had turned into something like dried loofah, with bugs firmly controlling them.

He guessed that the women's skin hadn't rotted because the temperature here was low, and because their flesh had probably been specially treated.

The diary also mentioned the cold pool they'd passed on the way in.

Hu Seventh Master had even tried going down into it, but had nearly frozen to death.

According to the diary, the bottom of the cold pool was covered in crystallized corpses, both human and insect. It seemed to be either the insects' lair or their graveyard.

In any case, after one attempt, Hu Seventh Master never went back there.

Two pages later, the entries began to grow more agitated.

April 1.

Damn it, damn it, damn it! You can all go to hell! I never should've come to this godforsaken place.

April 2.

I refuse to believe that some little Gu King from Miao territory can defy heaven. I'm a disciple of the Chuma Clan. I've never been afraid of trouble.

I plan to go in again tonight. This time, I'll figure out what's going on.

If I can't get to the bottom of this place, I'll use explosives to blow the whole damn thing up.

April 5.

I think I may have been wrong.

I found the guy buried inside, but the tomb was empty. There were no remains at all.

I found a stele, but I couldn't understand what was written on it. Damn it, if I'd known, I would've brought my American camera. It was a treasure my uncle brought back from America for me.

But how strange. If the coffin was empty, why go to all that trouble to create such a bizarre tomb?

I feel like I've overlooked something. No, I need to think this through. I plan to perform a ritual tonight and summon Master Liu again.

That old geezer has enjoyed the incense offerings of generations of the Hu family, but he pinches pennies whenever I ask him for a little help.

April... the eighth, I think.

Just as I expected, that thing really isn't dead.

Master Liu said it may have achieved immortality.

Too bad you can't see the look in that old geezer's eyes. My God, it was just like that thirty-year-old bachelor from the village seeing a prostitute. His eyes were practically glowing green.

He was practically green with envy. Too bad his true form isn't here. With only the Summoning Tablet, he couldn't devour that thing even if he wanted to.

But this thing is seriously ominous. If it keeps living, who knows what kind of trouble it'll cause? I reckon the temple above was built to suppress it.

Too bad the monks in the temple were all useless. They failed to suppress it and were instead led astray by it.

But I can't beat it either. How about I head back first and bring Master Liu's true body here?

Hmm... that's a good idea.

April... (crossed out)... Any damn day of the month.

Bastard! I'm trapped here. That thing must have sensed me and doesn't want me to leave. It's got me, Seventh Master, penned in here.

You half-witted thing! You think your grandpa can't handle you?

Just you wait. I'll show you what Seventh Master can do...

Xu Tong frowned as he read this far. He had a vague feeling that something bad was going to happen to Hu Seventh Master, and hurriedly turned to the next page.

But the next page was blank.

"Could it be..."

His heart lurched. He didn't know Hu Seventh Master, but he still couldn't help worrying for him—or, more accurately, for themselves.

After all, the things written in the diary were too bizarre to believe.

What exactly was the thing it described? The diary didn't say, but every line reeked of something sinister.

With that thought, he uneasily turned two more pages.

When he reached the last page of the thin diary, Xu Tong suddenly froze.

There, written crookedly in blood, were six large characters:

[Beware the shadows. Run!]