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墨書 Inktalez
The face of the Old Mountain Master had turned a deep purple, an eerie sight, with his eyes cold and devoid of life.
We were all stunned, momentarily unable to move.
The Old Mountain Master slowly turned his head and began to walk toward the Ebony Coffin.
Black Glasses paused for a second, but quickly grabbed the Old Mountain Master, saying, "You can't go in there."
The Old Mountain Master ignored him and continued toward the coffin.
Xiao Nan's voice trembled as she called out to the Old Mountain Master, "Master!"
But the Old Mountain Master seemed to have lost his sanity, remaining unresponsive and completely emotionless.
Black Glasses raised his voice, insisting, "You can't go in there." He then pulled hard on the Old Mountain Master to try to drag him back.
In response, the Old Mountain Master grabbed Black Glasses by his clothing and lifted him off the ground. With a shove, Black Glasses fell backward off the stone platform, immediately spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Fat Ma couldn't help but exclaim, "So the Old Mountain Master is this strong!"
The three of us remained frozen in place, unable to act. Xiao Nan's calls for her master were now tinged with sobs.
The Old Mountain Master did not attack Black Glasses further; instead, he continued his advance toward the Ebony Coffin.
Black Glasses got up from the ground and continued toward the stone platform. Soon, Black Glasses was pushed down again.
One of Old Mountain Master's feet had already stepped inside.
I glanced at Black Glasses, whose face was pale, and he got back up again.
I sighed and stepped forward to grab Old Mountain Master, calling out, “Old Mountain Master.”
Old Mountain Master turned to look at me, and as I held his hand, I couldn't help but loosen my grip for a moment. But then I tightened it again.
At that moment, Black Glasses climbed onto the stone platform again and joined me in holding onto Old Mountain Master.
However, the next moment, I felt Old Mountain Master's strength, and I was pushed down to the ground.
Old Mountain Master seemed possessed, determined to move toward the Ebony Coffin without hesitation.
Seeing me fall to the ground, Fat Ma immediately shouted, “Old Mountain Master, I respect you as a senior, but anyone who wants to harm my buddy has to ask Fat Master first.”
Saying this, he boldly stepped forward and pulled on Old Mountain Master, trying to drag him back.
Before Fat Ma could understand the situation, I hurriedly shouted, “Watch out, Fatty.” But before I could finish my sentence, Fat Ma fell down as well. He complained, “How can this old man be so strong!”
Xiao Nan also tried to step forward but was stopped by the mud person.
Black Glasses pounded the ground with his fist and got back up. I said, “We can't stop him.”
"Don't worry about it," Black Glasses replied.
With that, he quickly stepped onto the stone platform. At that moment, Old Mountain Master had already entered, and Black Glasses wrapped his arms around him.
Old Mountain Master shook vigorously, sending Black Glasses flying.
The situation was dire; if he fell, he would either die or be incapacitated.
I struggled to get up and called out to Fat Ma. The two of us hurried onto the stone platform and grabbed Black Glasses' legs. Fat Ma and I strained as we began to spin, but soon we both tumbled off the platform, screaming in unison as we became human cushions.
The Mud Man moved in, using his hand like a knife to strike at Old Mountain Master's neck, but it had no effect whatsoever.
The Mud Man quickly retreated, ready to act again, but I shouted at him, "It's useless."
Black Glasses tried to move forward but was held back by Fat Ma and me. Fat Ma said, "You think we're going to be your human cushion again? No way!"
Old Mountain Master lay down in the coffin, which surprisingly began to close on its own before slowly sinking into the ground where Wildcat was located.
Black Glasses managed to break free from our grip, but it was too late.
Soon, the opening on the stone platform was covered by a hidden door.
Black Glasses stood still on the stone platform. At that moment, Xiao Nan also broke free from the Mud Man and collapsed onto the stone platform, crying out in distress, "Master... Master."
But there was no response from below.
After a while, Black Glasses pulled Xiao Nan up and stepped down from the stone platform.
None of us spoke; the situation had unfolded abruptly. Life can change in an instant, and sometimes it feels like a living person can simply vanish without warning.
I took a cigarette from the clay figure and offered it to Black Glasses, who declined.
Fat Ma smiled at me and said, "Old Sun, give it to me. I want one."
I tossed it to Fat Ma. He caught it and took a deep drag, exhaling a thick cloud of smoke that gradually dispersed into the air.
"Are you all leaving?" I asked.
Black Glasses shook his head. Xiao Nan stubbornly declared, "I must rescue my master."
Suddenly, I felt a warmth in my throat. I quickly covered my mouth with my hand and coughed a few times, knowing I must have coughed up blood again.
The clay figure helped me regulate my breathing.
I lowered my fist, gripping my clothes tightly as I wiped away the bloodstains.
Fat Ma asked, "Old Sun, what do we do next?"
I pondered for a moment, surveying the tomb chamber again. The foul odor still lingered, mixed with a strong blood stench.
I felt uncertain inside, a wave of fatigue washing over me at that moment. I shook my head to keep myself alert.
The person we needed to save was still not rescued.
"Let's go!" I said softly.
We continued deeper into the tomb.
Xiao Nan caught up with me, pleading, "Brother Sun, you have to help me save my master."
I looked at Xiao Nan and asked, "How old are you this year?"
Xiao Nan appeared slightly surprised but replied, "I'm 16."
I continued to ask, "How long have you been in this line of work?"
"I've been learning from my master since I was little, but this is my first time going out," Xiao Nan answered.
I sighed lightly. The Mud Man interjected, "After this trip, you should quit this line of work."
Xiao Nan remained silent. I didn't respond either. We both fell into silence.
Fat Ma, oblivious to the tension, said, "What else can you do if you don't do this?"
The Mud Man grew a bit irritated. "Any other job is better than this one."
Fat Ma was about to say more, but I stopped him. The argument ended there.
The tomb path was long, constructed from large mountain stones that had been polished to a smooth shine. Gradually, murals and inscriptions began to appear on the surface.
The characters were traditional Chinese characters, which had been in use for five thousand years.
The text was sparse, primarily consisting of murals, and over the passage of time, the writing had become somewhat unclear, though the murals remained discernible.
These murals and inscriptions were typically used to record and celebrate the achievements of the tomb's owner throughout their life.
I studied them carefully; the murals were quite strange. They seemed not to document a person's life but rather appeared as chaotic expressions that failed to connect coherently.
One mural depicted a vast room where a solitary figure sat, holding an intricately designed sword adorned with elaborate patterns.
The second mural showed another person working in the fields, planting rice seedlings.
Then the third mural illustrated someone fishing by the riverbank. However, when I saw the fish in his bucket, I was struck with shock.
Though it merely outlined the fish's head, it was precisely this outline that left me astounded.
It was a Bronze Fish Head, I affirmed in my mind. Ever since Fat Ma had given it to me in the Northwest, I had kept it close as a pendant.
Could there be some connection hidden within this?
I collected my thoughts and looked down; the fourth mural depicted the Xing'an Range, vast and endless, rendered very realistically. There were no figures in this fourth painting.
When I turned to the fifth mural, it was surprisingly blurry and hard to discern; this continued with the subsequent ones until the seventh mural revealed an expanse of endless yellow sand. In that vast desert stood a solitary figure, but like the first mural, their features were indistinguishable.
I was thinking about what lay ahead, but there was nothing left.
At that moment, I turned back to look at the words above.
There were only two characters; they alternated back and forth, life and death, death and life, death, death… the last character was death. A chill ran through me as I read it.
I carefully compared it with the drawings.
The first image represented life, the second represented death, the third also represented death… until the seventh image, which was also death.
I couldn't understand what it meant.
I asked them, "Did you understand?"
They all shook their heads. Xiao Nan asked, "Brother Sun, did you understand?"
I shook my head as well.
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