Chapter 1398 The Beast on the Bronze Coffin (1/2)

”Yu Xuan, now that I am a part of the Outer Sky Shelter territory, perhaps you could tell me more about what I will be walking into? The more intel I have going in, the better I can perform.” Han Sen knew the mission would be dangerous, so he would have preferred going in with at least some semblance of an idea of what he might face.

Yu Xuan looked at Qing Le, prompting him to speak. He said, ”Unfortunately, we don't know much about the shelter. And as for what our previous team faced on the inside, there is no proof that can verify the claims made by the three who made it out.”

Han Sen wasn't sure what the implication was, but he frowned.

He allowed Qing Le to continue talking, after a pause. ”The three men that returned claimed the same things, but when pressed to elaborate, their explanations for what transpired when they were all killed were different. Still, we were fortunate to hear much of anything, with the pain they were in following their escape.”

”What did they tell you, then?” Han Sen asked, with a frown.

”They told us that when they entered, they saw something horrible in front of the palace there. That was where most of the men who entered died. Three made it out, as we have stated.”

Qing Le went on to say, ”But the three men described what killed them differently.”

Han Sen didn't say a word.

Qing Le continued, ”They all said they saw a bronze coffin inside the palace. On this coffin was said to reside a fox or a cat with a red body. They all spoke of this, so we can assume that part to be fairly sound.”

Han Sen thought to himself, ”A nine-life cat, maybe?”

”Was the cat alive? Or was it something inanimate?” Han Sen asked. If it really was associated with Blood Legion, being a nine-life cat, there was every chance he could survive.

Han Sen was proficient with the Blood-Pulse Sutra, and furthermore, he was in possession of the pendant. Perhaps the shelter was warded to prevent those who weren't affiliated with Blood Legion from entering. If anything transpired on the inside, the least Han Sen could do was pretend he was a member.

”I am not sure. The details were sparse,” Qing Le said, shaking his head in regret. ”One of them said a beast emerged and slew everyone there. Another said there was the statue of a beast there, and that everybody simply started to die after they opened the coffin. The other person claimed that, after seeing a beast there, they all started killing themselves.”

”Could they all be hallucinating different things?” Han Sen asked.

”It is not out of the realm of possibilities, but then, why would they have died after escaping with their lives?” Yu Xuan said.

Han Sen nodded. There was no reason for the perfectly capable humans to die, if all they had experienced were hallucinations. There was something wrong with all this, there was no doubt about that.

”How did they die? Were they severely wounded or something?” Han Sen asked.

”They... had no wounds. Their blood crystallized, clogging the blood flow and preventing proper operation of their organs,” Qing Le explained.