Chapter 78: Testing the Corpse

The sudden sound from within the stone coffin startled the three of us.

Instantly, a vivid memory flashed through my mind: my former squad leader, after rising from the dead, wearing a ferocious grimace, possessing supernatural strength, and exhibiting the bloodthirsty frenzy of a demon.

Crucially, the teeth-grinding noise made by the unknown entity inside the stone coffin was chillingly similar to the prelude of my old squad leader's corpse rising from the dead.

I had no idea why the Japanese had failed to take the "thing" inside the coffin with them, nor did I know why the coffin was stirring. All I knew was that it was very likely a "resurrected corpse," or what tomb raiders referred to as a "zongzi."

If that creature managed to break out, it would undoubtedly tear the three of us to shreds.

Overwhelmed by painful memories, I plopped my rear end directly onto the stone coffin while shouting to Little Ah-Si and Zhao Shuihe, "I'll hold it down here! You two run first! There's probably a corpse inside that's about to wake up. If it gets out, we're goners for sure."

Zhao Shuihe had never witnessed such a terrifying scene, and her breathing grew somewhat rapid as a result. Compared to her panic, however, Little Ah-Si appeared exceptionally calm and composed.

Ah-Si suddenly chuckled and said to me, "Brother Tian, Little Ah-Si is not joking around. Even if there is a corpse in this stone coffin, you don't need to be afraid."

His words carried an air of absolute confidence, which somehow managed to soothe my fluttering heart and calm me down quite a bit.

I knew that Little Ah-Si had previously dabbled in the trade of tomb raiding. Furthermore, he possessed a physical advantage, and had it not been for their tomb-raiding boss's terrible luck, he might still have been an earth-shoveling grave robber to this day.

I wasn't entirely sure how formidable his skills were, but at least he had spent over half a year making a living by "digging food out of the earth." Surely, he was far more capable in this domain than I was.

Therefore, I asked anxiously, "Do you have a plan?"

"Let's test it out!" Little Ah-Si laughed. "Whether it's a corpse or not, we'll know with a single test!"

I stared in astonishment and asked, "How do we test it?"

"It's simple!" After uttering those words, Little Ah-Si revealed a bizarre method to me.

Back when he was working as a tomb-roiding novice—a "Gold-Toucher"—in subterranean tombs alongside a gang of thieves, he had once learned a secret technique from their boss on how to identify a corpse through a coffin lid.

The boss had claimed that this technique was invented by the two-hundred-and-fiftieth generation Celestial Master Zhang of the Mount Mao and Dragon-Tiger Sect. Later, it was passed down to the Xiangxi Corpse-Driving Clan, and from the Corpse-Driving Clan, it flowed into the hands of the thirty-eighth generation grandmaster of the Gold-Toucher sect, and from the Gold-Toucher...

"Cut the crap! Get to the point!" Hearing Little Ah-Si rattle off a checklist of names while the teeth-grinding sound beneath my backside grew louder and louder, my face turned green.

What I needed was a method, not idle gossip about his seven aunts and eight uncles!

At that moment, Little Ah-Si offered an awkward laugh and immediately skipped to the chase.

He told me that his boss had told him that his boss's master had told his boss that to figure out whether there was a corpse inside a coffin without opening it, there was an extremely simple trick known as the "Yin-Yang Corpse-Discernment Method."

According to legend, a corpse was the product of an inert, gloomy corpse still clinging to a lingering breath of living yang energy. As long as one could find a corresponding object made of yin materials that still retained a trace of living yang energy, one could test for the presence of a corpse based on the principle that "likes repel and opposites attract." His former tomb-raiding boss had once tested this theory and found it quite reliable, though he had never actually encountered a genuine corpse himself.

The logic was simple enough, but the pressing issue was: where on earth was I supposed to find an object made of "yin material that still retains yang energy"? I had never even heard of such a thing.

After I voiced my doubts to Little Ah-Si, he nodded and told me, "I knew you'd never heard of it, which is why I've already figured it out. You can make one right now!"

This was the very first time I had ever heard of a magical test for corpses that could be handcrafted on the spot. Filled with curiosity, I asked, "How do you make it?"

Faced with my question, Little Ah-Si glanced awkwardly at Zhao Shuihe and said, "Take a lock of hair from her temple, mix it with the blood of a young boy, and you'll have an item made of yin material that still retains living yang energy."

Upon hearing Little Ah-Si's explanation, it sounded rather straightforward. I let out a sigh of relief and said politely to Zhao Shuihe, "Sacrifice a couple of strands of hair! In this critical moment, give us a hand."

Zhao Shuihe sneered and replied, "The hair is not a problem. But the real question is: are you still a virgin boy?"

Zhao Shuihe's question carried profound implications. How could she possibly look down on me like that?

Of course I was! But the real issue was: why did it always have to be my blood?

Along this entire journey, I had already suffered enough misfortune. Earlier, in the nether shop, Little Ah-Si had bitten me until I looked like a piece of honeycomb briquette; then Little Jiu had planted a Gu poison in me; I had been stung all over by the Beacon-Flame King and its toxic insects; and just yesterday, I had been covered in scratches from fighting a cat spirit.

In a little over half a month, I had sustained more than a dozen injuries. No matter how much blood I had in my body, it wouldn't be enough to keep bleeding like this! Could everyone please show a little mercy and let me off the hook for once without shedding blood?

Therefore, wearing a pained expression, I said, "My whole body is covered in wounds as it is. Can you seriously not use my blood?"

As I spoke, I pointed at Little Ah-Si and added, "You took several bites out of me last time, and we haven't even settled that score yet! This time, why don't you bleed a little for the cause?"

Hearing my words, Little Ah-Si shook his head with an apologetic expression.

Immediately afterward, he uttered a sentence that dealt a catastrophic blow to my self-esteem!

This jerk actually told me: "That buddy hasn't been a virgin for two years now, so I can't help you there!"

Little Ah-Si's words hit me like a bolt of lightning out of a clear blue sky, like a violent gale sweeping across the plains, rocking my fragile soul left and right, and causing Zhao Shuihe to laugh her teeth off!

I realized with utter despair that even Little Ah-Si was no longer a virgin, yet I couldn't even find a girlfriend. Was the heavens truly blind?!

Under the weight of these multiple blows, I swayed unsteadily, barely managing to keep my balance.

To make matters worse, Zhao Shuihe began to tease me again. "Oh, come on! What's the big deal? Just give me that butcher knife of yours, and later on, Great-Grandma here will take you out to find a girlfriend! You're just way too conservative in your thinking. My brother-in-law told me that men and women getting together is really just a fifty-yuan problem—"

"Shut your mouth! Don't you dare insult the purity of my soul!" I protested frantically, feeling a profound sense of sorrow over Zhao Shuihe's appalling upbringing.

Was this how "Su Zizuo" educated children? No wonder people had looked down on them for over half a century. The kids they raised were just like petty street punks—what a failure!

Speechless and resigned, I pulled out my small knife, hardened my heart, and gave my little finger a slice. Then, I took the strands of hair from Zhao Shuihe and stained them with a bit of blood.

I handed the blood-soaked hair over to Ah-Si.

Ah-Si took the hair and swiftly tied the foot-long strands of black silk into a bizarre knot. With a sudden burst of strength, a single droplet of fresh blood actually oozed out from the hair knot.

My droplet of blood clung delicately to the very end of the hair knot, trembling precariously as if it might detach at any second.

Ah-Si held the hand carrying the hair and slowly brought it closer to the stone coffin.

Ah-Si told the two of us, "My boss said that if there is a zongzi inside, the blood on the hair will detach on its own and stick to the coffin like a nail encountering a magnet. If there isn't, it won't fall off the hair at all."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shuihe and I both held our breath, staring intently at the blood droplet on the hair to see how it would react next.