The person before him knew some of ancient Egypt's secrets, even knew that he had once served as High Priest. Yet since he had suffered the punishment of insect devouring, he was ultimately probably just "one whose name had been erased from the stele," no longer included in the Pharaoh's orthodox records of priestly names—
And he was not of the Amun dynasty's bloodline.
That rather surprised Imhotep.
But Li Jiye clearly had no way to answer his question right now.
The snake-like strip of mummy wrapping looked thin and fragile, yet after coiling around Old Li's arm, neck, and face, it displayed an incomprehensible toughness.
Gray traces and strange symbols spread continuously from it, covering the living man's body. Blood even seeped from between the bandages!
It was sucking his blood!
The veins on Li Jiye's body bulged almost instinctively as he tried to struggle. Seeing this, the mummy before him instead reminded him, "Do not worry. It is indeed a curse, usually used on guards within Pharaohs' tombs, turning them into incorruptible corpse guards who sleep within the mausoleum and protect their king for ages."
"But I have suppressed the effect of this spell. While it takes part of your vitality, it will also grant you the strength of a corpse guard. Furthermore, it can conceal the dense aura of life on your body."
"Ordinary methods are useless. Only this method can help you evade some of the special monsters in this place—"
"After all, some of them were exceptionally troublesome even for me while I was alive—"
"Mm, such vigorous life force—you alone are probably worth the flesh and blood of dozens, perhaps hundreds, of slaves—"
Perhaps sensing something through this "bandage" that had fallen from his own body, Imhotep took a deep, intoxicated breath.
—Though a