Chapter Forty-One: The Corrosion of Evil

“Book…”

“What book?”

Zhang Qinglin and Cheng Che asked in unison.

Li Qingpeng walked slowly toward the center of the burial chamber, stared at the stone door opposite for half a minute, then raised his hand to point at the top of the door. He withdrew his hand and turned to Zhang Qinglin and the others, speaking softly, “The Record of Evil Corrosion!”

Baroque Lingda stood at the entrance where they had come in, arms crossed, gazing straight ahead. As Zhang Qinglin moved toward Li Qingpeng, Baroque Lingda’s eyes shifted right, glancing at the candle in the corner.

The candle’s flame suddenly flickered, changing color rapidly, and the wax dripped down at an alarming rate. The other oil lamps in the chamber began to flicker as well. Baroque Lingda drew a military knife from his waist and, with swift precision, slashed across his right thigh.

He flung the knife aside, venom and all, and on the ground lay a bisected poisonous insect—identical to the ones they’d seen before.

“Don’t move!” Li Qingpeng barked at Zhang Qinglin.

Zhang Qinglin halted at once, his heart pounding. Had a poisonous bug crawled onto him?

Cheng Che stood frozen, not daring to move. “What kind of bug is this? Why are they everywhere?”

“This is a Blood Gu. It’s about the size of a human fist and resembles a crab. When people move, it crawls into their ears, destroys the throat, feeds on brain matter, and finally emerges from the mouth. It fears neither light nor fire. Once it enters the ear, death is certain!” Li Qingpeng whispered, narrating while keeping a close eye on Zhang Qinglin’s shoulder.

Cheng Che’s legs trembled as he watched a Blood Gu crawling slowly over Zhang Qinglin’s shoulder. He shouted, “Old Zhang, don’t move! Whatever you do, don’t move!”

Baroque Lingda gripped his knife and lunged to Zhang Qinglin’s side.

“Slash… slash…”

Three Blood Gu were sliced off Zhang Qinglin. Baroque Lingda twisted his head and shouted, “This isn’t good…”

Li Qingpeng frowned. “It looks like we can’t stay here. Dada, withdraw!”

Blood Gu were appearing in greater numbers on both sides; they had to leave immediately.

Cheng Che hid behind Baroque Lingda. “Old Zhang, this way—come on!”

Zhang Qinglin looked where Cheng Che pointed—a small wooden door. The two of them rushed over in a few steps.

“Hey, Cheng Che, call them to join us,” Zhang Qinglin turned to look at Li Qingpeng and Baroque Lingda.

“At a time like this, why worry about them? Let’s get out—I'm not dying here…” Cheng Che felt around the wooden door, but it was completely sealed. He pushed and kicked, but nothing worked.

Li Qingpeng glanced at Baroque Lingda, nodded. “Dada, you go first, I’ll cover.”

Baroque Lingda strode to the stone door opposite, pulled out a curved shovel from his bag, inserted it into a circular indentation, and turned it quickly. With a swift pull—

The stone door opened with a crunch, sliding to both sides. Baroque Lingda flipped through, standing before Zhang Qinglin and Cheng Che. They rushed out of the burial chamber.

Li Qingpeng watched them leave, stopped fiddling with his handgun, stood at the stone door, and scattered a bag of powder into the air.

After they departed, the top of the chamber revealed a human head leaking blood, suspended above…

Leaving the burial chamber, Cheng Che remained silent, likely petrified.

When Li Qingpeng caught up, he explained to Zhang Qinglin and the others that, judging by the passages and chambers they’d passed, the traps and poisons suggested this was a mute tomb.

According to the information, near Hulu Mountain there was indeed an ancient tomb—the burial place of the third-generation King of Chu from the Western Han Dynasty. The bronze box was hidden here.

They also learned the Wu family had previously entered this tomb, so to find the true burial chamber, they needed to locate a Wu family member.

Zhang Qinglin knew they referred to Da Zhuang, but how could Da Zhuang have come here? Was he really feigning ignorance?

They traversed the passage and saw the stone door to the next burial chamber was open. Entering cautiously, everyone heightened their alertness. The chamber was pitch-black. Li Qingpeng walked ahead, illuminating with his flashlight. Several wooden coffins lay inside, most of their lids damaged.

The scene suggested a fierce struggle had occurred. Zhang Qinglin noticed a desiccated skeleton before the second coffin, a knife embedded in its thigh, with a canteen and a pen nearby.

“Whimper… whimper…”

A sudden sound from the darkness startled everyone. Was someone else in the chamber?

Or…

The sound faded. Li Qingpeng carefully swept his flashlight deeper.

“Who’s there? Come out!”

“Whimper… whimper…”

“It’s not a corpse, is it…” Cheng Che shivered.

“Cheng Che, stop talking nonsense. Shut up!” Zhang Qinglin listened closely; the sound seemed familiar.

In the quiet, Li Qingpeng slowly approached the last coffin.

He gripped his pistol, chambered a round. “I won’t repeat myself—come out, or I’ll bring you out.” Li Qingpeng shouted.

Suddenly, a figure appeared from behind the last coffin, startling Zhang Qinglin and Cheng Che. They quickly urged Li Qingpeng to stop.

“Da Zhuang!” Zhang Qinglin exclaimed.

Da Zhuang stood before the coffin, shielding his eyes from their flashlight.

…

“Da Zhuang, I know you’re guarding some secret, but Boss Ma and the others are looking for you. I overheard them—they said you have the map?” Zhang Qinglin sat beside Da Zhuang, asking quietly.

“Heh, you’re quite something, Da Zhuang. Hiding so deep. Old Zhang, see, I told you he’s just pretending to be dumb…” Cheng Che came over, pointing at Da Zhuang.

“Cheng Che, go see if Peng-ge has any food.” As Cheng Che walked away, Zhang Qinglin turned, “Da Zhuang, the key you gave me—what is it really for?” he pressed.

“Uncle… Uncle…”

Da Zhuang tilted his head, watching Cheng Che walk away, and glanced at Li Qingpeng and Baroque Lingda standing at the chamber’s entrance. His gaze returned to Zhang Qinglin.

A grave expression appeared on Da Zhuang’s face; his eyes became bright and unusually calm.

“I know why you’re here. I know you’re searching for Jiang Haiyan…” Da Zhuang whispered.

Zhang Qinglin was shocked—he’d mentioned Uncle Jiang’s name, speaking fluently and with a magnetic voice. Zhang Qinglin’s face showed astonishment and excitement.

Just as Zhang Qinglin was about to stand and speak, Da Zhuang’s powerful hand pressed him down. Da Zhuang glanced at the chamber entrance, saw the others hadn’t noticed, and continued, “Let me finish. I’ll only speak to you—here, I trust only you.”

Zhang Qinglin sat back, trying to calm himself.

“What you seek isn’t in this tomb. Boss Ma and his group are after it, too. I know it must not fall into their hands. Uncle said only descendants of the Zhang family can possess it. Now, I’ve finally met a Zhang descendant. The key I gave you—guard it well. Unless you die, never let it out of your sight. Only your key can open the box.

And Jiang Haiyan—he’s my second uncle. His real name is Wu Daoyi. He abandoned his family, betrayed his kin, and brought disaster upon the Wu family. I’ve been searching for him, and recently, he snuck back…” Da Zhuang’s voice carried anger.

Zhang Qinglin interrupted, “I won’t discuss the key now, but how could Uncle Jiang be your second uncle? He’s upright and trustworthy—not what you describe.”

“Believe it or not, ask him yourself when you see him again. Also, if you find the ‘Record of Evil Corrosion’ in the main chamber, don’t touch it,” Da Zhuang advised.

“Why?” Zhang Qinglin pressed.

Da Zhuang looked at him, his gaze tinged with sorrow. “Because it’s a cursed book.”

“Old Zhang, there’s only this—half for you and half for Da Zhuang.” Cheng Che came over, handing them a flatbread.

Da Zhuang heard Cheng Che’s footsteps and fell silent, reverting to his previous demeanor.

Zhang Qinglin paused, handed the bread from Cheng Che to Da Zhuang, watching as Cheng Che squatted before Da Zhuang, scrutinizing him with curiosity.

Zhang Qinglin nudged Cheng Che, “What are you doing?”

“Old Zhang, do you think what Old Seven said is true?” Cheng Che stood up, dusting his clothes.

Zhang Qinglin looked at Da Zhuang. He sensed Da Zhuang was hiding his true self from Cheng Che, pretending to be simple-minded to keep secrets from him.

“True or not, I promised Grandma to take care of Da Zhuang. She entrusted him to us, so we must protect him.”

“Old Zhang, aren’t you afraid he’s a fraud?” Cheng Che whispered.

“When did you become so suspicious? Anyway, we can’t leave him behind.” Zhang Qinglin stared at Cheng Che’s worried, troubled expression.

At that moment, Li Qingpeng called over, waving, “Hey, hurry up! Someone’s coming!”

The group packed quickly and followed Li Qingpeng out of the chamber.

Soon after, Boss Ma and his group rushed in. Old Seven collapsed before the coffin.

Wu Ye’s face was wounded; he and his remaining men scanned the chamber. Boss Ma inspected the coffins, found nothing, and sat to rest.

“We keep moving in circles—side chambers everywhere, can’t find the main chamber. Damn frustrating,” Wu Ye slapped a coffin lid angrily.

Mosaic approached to comfort him, “Guangen, don’t lose hope. The owner of this tomb set up such complex traps and scale—the main chamber’s treasures must be priceless. If we pull this off, we’ll live comfortably for decades. Let’s rest and search again; we’ll find it.”

“Uncle, Wu Uncle, look—someone’s been here.” Old Seven got up and walked to a patch of damp ground, where water and bread crumbs were clearly visible.

Mosaic and the others saw it and immediately moved out.

……

“It’s said the ‘Record of Evil Corrosion’ documents: All things parasitize spirit, corrode soul; no resentment, no sorrow, no hatred, no killing—all are permissible.

If calamity entwines the world, recording birth, aging, sickness, death—peace is forever lost.

There are three volumes of the ‘Record of Evil Corrosion,’ chronicling life, all things, and soul. These contain a million years of history—a book of wonder.

The first volume, ‘Life,’ was excavated by tomb robbers. But after centuries sealed underground, exposure to air and sunlight caused it to instantly decay—its contents vanished before they could be revealed, a great pity,” Li Qingpeng explained as he walked, scanning their surroundings.

“So it’s not one book but three? Which one are we looking for, and what use is it?” Cheng Che asked from behind.

Li Qingpeng stopped and shook his head, “You’re too coarse to appreciate its value. Its contents aren’t for people like us to comprehend.”

Zhang Qinglin and Da Zhuang walked behind. Da Zhuang whispered, “We’re almost at the main chamber. Remember my words—don’t touch the ‘Record of Evil Corrosion’ here!”

Zhang Qinglin nodded, gazing ahead. “Understood, but I have another question…”