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墨書 Inktalez
Jar was a method we had never encountered before, truly unimaginable.
Suddenly, from the mouth of Jar, a decayed and eerie claw emerged, climbing over the edge, followed closely by a second hand.
Zhang Tong had just straightened up when he saw the two sinister claws appear. He gasped in shock, momentarily frozen like a wooden statue, unsure of what to do. Someone with his background had never experienced anything like this.
I took a deep breath and pulled out Black Donkey Hoof.
Fat Ma aimed his machine gun at Jar, ready for action. If it weren't for Zhang Tong stopping him from shooting Jar, Fat Ma would have likely already opened fire.
I instructed Zhang Tong and the others to step back a bit.
Suddenly, just as I was distracted, I felt something hanging around my neck. When I came to my senses, I realized that two of my souls had been scared away; there was a one-meter tall Zongzi wrapped around my waist.
At that moment, my mind was completely blank, and I couldn't react.
Fortunately, Fat Ma rushed over and locked his machine gun onto Zongzi's neck.
Sweat poured down my forehead like rain. With the help of the light, I caught a glimpse of Zongzi. Its skin was entirely rotted, and its face was unrecognizable; it seemed that bugs were crawling out of its mouth. I nearly lost my lunch.
“Old Sun, how can this Zongzi be so strong?” Fat Ma gritted his teeth as he dragged Zongzi backward.
My hands were tightly gripped by it, making it impossible to exert any force. My mind was in chaos: “ Fat Ma, put in some effort!” But when I saw the veins bulging on Fat Ma's forehead, I knew he was already giving it his all.
I looked down at the Zongzi in front of me—damn it, its strength was extraordinary. If it weren't for Fat Ma holding its neck, my career in Panning for Gold would have ended right there.
“Hey, you! What are you still standing there for?” Fat Ma shouted.
At that moment, a hand shot forward with lightning speed and shoved Black Donkey Hoof into Zongzi's mouth. It was then that I felt my body lighten and realized I could move again.
Fat Ma stumbled backward a few steps after losing his point of support, nearly falling over. He quickly released one hand while gripping the machine gun tightly with the other.
After steadying himself, he cursed under his breath.
Zongzi lay on the ground, a Black Donkey Hoof lodged in its mouth, looking exceptionally fierce. Black liquid oozed from its mouth, emitting a foul stench.
This was clearly an immature Zongzi, yet it possessed surprising strength.
I stretched my limbs; my arms ached, and my nervousness had not fully subsided—all thanks to this Zongzi.
Fat Ma slung a few guns back around his neck, squinting with a smile as he fumbled around Little Zongzi, but he was sorely disappointed to find no Mingqi.
He wiped his hands and muttered complaints.
I still couldn't wrap my head around what had just happened. How did Zongzi suddenly pounce on me? My thoughts were still stuck on how it had turned into a Zombie.
Everything felt so unbelievable.
"Are you okay?" Zhang Tong approached me, her voice tinged with urgency.
I shook my head.
The Jar stood intact in its original spot, but it was now empty, and there was an additional Zongzi on the ground. It all seemed to have happened in an instant.
I wiped the sweat from my forehead and fell silent again.
Zhang Tong dared not approach the Jar any closer, staring at the pool of black liquid on the ground, still shaken.
"Is it dead?" she asked, pointing at the Zongzi on the ground.
"Originally, it was dead; it's a Zombie now."
"A Zombie?"
"Yes."
Zhang Tong steadied her breath. Although she pretended to be calm, I could still hear the panic in her voice.
Fat Ma chimed in, "It's nothing serious, just a Little Zongzi, nothing at all." Fat Ma had already lost interest in the several Jars.
There were three more Jars. One was the same size as the one that had already been opened, while the other two were relatively larger. If the chances of encountering a burial Zombie were this high, then it was very likely that the other three Jars would also contain something similar.
Moreover, the Zongzi trapped inside these Jars seemed to possess considerable strength. Without several people working together, they wouldn't be able to handle it; even Fat Ma's bulk wouldn't be enough.
"For safety's sake, I suggest we don't open these Jars anymore."
"I agree," Fat Ma supported me, standing up after patting his backside.
Zhang Tong fell silent, holding a brush and standing there in a daze, and the other three did the same. Finally, she said, "I need data, and you all promised me."
Hearing those words, I understood what she meant.
Fat Ma turned to the three team members behind Zhang Tong and said, "You go ahead and open the lid; I'll cover for you. As soon as any Zongzi appears, I'll take care of them." Fat Ma was pushing them hard.
The three young people had seen what had happened earlier and were too scared to move, barely whispering among themselves.
"Don't waste time," Fat Ma urged.
Zhang Tong's expression darkened as she glanced back at the others with a hint of frustration. But it wasn't entirely their fault; they had just graduated from university, and this was their first real experience in archaeology.
Finally, Zhang Tong pressed her lips together and clenched her fists. "I'll go."
Fat Ma's laughter froze.
Zhang Tong had already taken a step forward. As she passed by me, I grabbed her hand and said, "Let me handle this."
Zhang Tong hesitated for a moment, and I quickly walked toward Jar. "Fatty, help me light it up."
Fat Ma snapped back to attention and replied, "Sure thing!"
With that, he hurriedly followed behind me, and the Mud Man trailed along as well. Just as I was about to take action, my gaze was drawn to the talisman-like paper stuck on Jar.
Isn't it strange? Why would someone stick something like this on? To ward off evil? That doesn't seem to make sense.
I scanned the lid of Jar that had been opened earlier; the seal was already gone. Could the high probability of zombies be related to these talismans?
"What are you thinking?" Fat Ma asked.
"Look at these strange seals."
Fat Ma and the Mud Man both turned their attention to the seals on Jar. "Aren't they just two pieces of paper?" With that, Fat Ma reached out and tore off the seals before I could react.
I looked at Jar in a panic, fearing it would suddenly change, but after a while, nothing happened. Was I just overthinking it?
I didn't wait any longer and said, "If anything goes wrong, retreat quickly." With that, I opened the lid of Jar.
As the lid came off, a faint medicinal scent wafted out but dissipated quickly in the air.
The dark opening of Jar was exposed once again, and the three of us instinctively took a few steps back.
"Is everything alright?"
"It seems like it really is," Old Sun replied.
"Don't let your guard down."
Zhang Tong was nervously watching our every move from behind.
After a few more minutes, I began to feel more certain that there was nothing wrong. I moved closer to the Jar, which was the same size as the one I had opened earlier.
To be honest, I still felt a bit uneasy, as the events from before were still fresh in my mind.
I shone my flashlight inside, and a face that was beyond recognition came into view. The Jar was narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, and due to its insufficient height, the body inside was curled up, with its legs bent awkwardly. The entire form had completely distorted.
The corpse in the Jar had its eyes tightly shut, and the skin on its face resembled peeling potato skin—fragmented and not entirely dried out.
Three deep wrinkles on its forehead seemed to be pressed into the skull, and the skin had a brownish hue. Sparse hair remained on the wrinkled scalp.
From its facial features, it appeared to be a child, probably over a meter tall. Just like the one before, it was another Little Zongzi. However, I dared not underestimate it; I had learned my lesson, as evidenced by the claw marks still on my sleeve.
I guessed that these Jars were likely used to bury minors. While such customs could be understood, I wondered why they were made slightly smaller than the bodies.
Moreover, based on my knowledge, when a child dies, adults typically do not bury them; they usually opt for cremation and scatter the ashes in mountains or rivers. This is well-documented; I had read an article about it before. Of course, there might be exceptions where some would choose burial, but that would be rare.
"Old Sun, step aside; let me take a look."
Fat Ma squeezed to the front. Upon seeing the corpse inside the Jar, he was initially startled. However, Fat Ma was not easily shaken by such things.
He reached in with his hand to feel around inside. After confirming it was safe, he touched it for a while before a smile spread across his face as he pulled out a square plaque from within.
Fat Ma's sharp eyes caught sight of me, and his smile faded. "Mud Person, here's a plaque for you."
"I don't want it."
"Old Sun, this is for you."
I knew Fat Ma wasn't being generous; it was probably worthless, but I took it anyway. The square plaque was engraved with a complex rune, resembling more of a mark than anything else.
After some more fussing, Fat Ma finally gave up, muttering to himself, "Well, that was a waste of effort."
I held the square plaque without any conclusions in mind when I suddenly remembered that Zhang Tong and the others were still around. I called out to Zhang Tong.
Her eyes lit up; she had been watching Fat Ma pull out the plaque but hadn’t dared to approach. As soon as I called her name, she hurried over.
I handed her the wooden plaque. She took it in her hands, brushed it off with a small brush, and then examined it seriously. After a while, she seemed to fall into deep thought.
Suddenly, she called out, "Residual Anger, come take a look." Soon after, a person wearing thick glasses approached. Without hesitation, Zhang Tong handed the plaque to him.
He leaned in so close that his eyelids nearly touched the square plaque. As time passed, his hands began to tremble slightly, and his excitement was palpable. "The pattern on this plaque should represent a family mark. If we can figure out which family it belongs to, it will be crucial for our research."
"Do you have any leads?" I asked, noticing his enthusiasm.
"Yes," he replied. "My major in archaeology focused specifically on this area of knowledge, so I've seen many ancient family marks before. Let me take another look and I'll let you know shortly."
Seeing how focused he was, I decided not to disturb him further.
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