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Everyone saw what that thing was after it stopped. It was the corpse of a naked girl, with her head slanted and hands hugged around her legs. There was not a speck of hair on her, and her skin complexion was unusually white, almost like the color of the stalagmite. As such, no one noticed the corpse when it was buried under the roots of the rock formation.
”Quzhizhang human sacrifice?” Meng Fuyao mumbled to herself.
In the past, she had participated in archaeological excavations at The Guangfulin Site of Ancient Culture and encountered such burial mounds before. However, this corpse was abnormal. Though the limbs were bent, the corpse was not facing upwards or sideways. It was at that moment that she remembered that she was in an alternate world, and the way how dynasties changed, or the cultural habits of the present world, differed from her past. The skills she had learned, such as dating techniques in archaeology, lithology, and taboos about tombs were no longer applicable in the current context. She could only utilize her instinct and basic inferencing skills, based on her experiences in past excavations.
For example, it was unusual for this girl that was sacrificed to be buried alone in the stalagmite. Meng Fuyao carefully checked and realized that the thing was actually a very thin layer of jade. It was likely that a huge piece of jade was hollowed out in the middle and the girl's corpse was put inside.
Under scrutinization, Meng Fuyao realized that the corpse's finger was slightly tilted and pointing towards a direction. Meng Fuyao straightened the corpse, and as expected, the finger pointed to the bottom of the stalagmites, where a hole appeared due to cracks in the rock formation.
The wind blew out from the bottom of the hole and circulated around the empty cave. Everyone glanced at the corpse that was as white as jade quietly lying by Meng Fuyao's foot. They felt very uncomfortable, as they stared at the pale-green luminescence of the corpse's flesh under the shine of the stalactites.
Ji Yu helped the soldier who pushed down the stalagmites to stand up. The soldier was only momentarily stunned earlier on, and now embarrassed, he shyly looked down. Everyone smiled knowingly at him - even for one who had experienced a hundred battles, in this thousand-year eerie tomb of the Gun Tribe whereby every step could signify danger, it was only normal for him to be shocked at seeing such a thing.
However, as the soldier took another glance at the thing, he gave a loud cry once more.
”Her head was tilted up just now! Not in this way!”
This cry touched a nerve in Meng Fuyao. Ji Yu frowned and asked, ”Were you so shocked that you saw wrongly?”
”No!” screamed the soldier. ”I saw it with my own eyes. She looked up and gave me a look. Her eyes were green, so I, so I… ”
”Burn her,” said Zhan Beiye. He walked over in big strides, his sword pointing towards the corpse. As a red beam of light flashed past the blade, the corpse tried to roll away as if it sensed danger, but it was blocked by Meng Fuyao's knife.
”This should be the 'Guard Door Virgin' of the Gun Tribe. They would always choose a girl born in the Yin year, Yin month and Yin day and separate her from her parents. Every day, she is fed cheese made from goat milk and mixed using a secret recipe, to keep her complexion crystal-clear. When she turns five, she would be cruelly killed and used to guard the entrance of a tomb. This thing is extremely resentful, and we must get rid of it.”
”No,” Meng Fuyao said after some thought, ”If this thing could be disposed by burning, the Gun Tribe wouldn't have used her to guard the tomb. There must be something up their sleeves to place her here.”
She looked around and spotted a tortoiseshell that was attached to the pouch hanging on Ji Yu's waist. She felt a sense of joy and said, ”This is good stuff. Come, offer it to us.”
Ji Yu was evidently uncomfortable. He hesitated for a moment before taking it down. Meng Fuyao laughed and said, ”Your little lover gave you this? Don't worry, I will explain it to you in the future.”
Ji Yu's face turned slightly red, and he looked away. Seeing such a demeanor coming from a resolute youth like him, she could not help but laugh even harder in a teasing manner. Everyone smiled knowingly, and the tense atmosphere in the sinister cave was slightly assuaged.
Meng Fuyao split the tortoiseshell into two, one of which she pinched into a powder form and sprinkled it over the corpse. Suddenly, the corpse contracted and raised its head!
Her green eyes flashed an ominous light in the darkness. There was no focus in her eyes, but she looked like she was staring at everyone. Upon coming into contact with her murderous glance, a cold burst rose from everyone's abdomen. A faint yellow light emerged from her transparent stomach, and the light flashed brighter and brighter, like a cluster of eerie colors.
The temperature suddenly rose, as though someone was boiling soup in the vicinity. There was no steam, but everyone could feel the heat crawling into their bones.
All of them stepped back, but Meng Fuyao did not move. Zhan Beiye stepped in front of her, but Meng Fuyao pushed him away and said, ”You have too much Yang in your body. This thing is afraid of you, and more trouble might arise. Don't worry, nothing will happen.”
She took a step forward, looked into the pair of green eyes and said in a low voice, ”Go.”
As the tortoiseshell powder landed on it, the green eyes slowly turned white and the stomach bloated, as though there was something in the body that wanted to burst out but could not. The collisions created loud bangs while the faint yellow light flashed continuously, gradually disappearing only after a long while.
Meng Fuyao had been staring at it anxiously. Seeing the light disappear, she heaved a sigh of relief. She passed the remaining half of the tortoiseshell to Ji Yu and said, ”The tortoise shell is a sacred treasure that fends off evil spirits. It is one of the favorite items of tomb raiders so keep it properly.”
Walking towards the opening of the hole, Meng Fuyao said, ”We can go down now.”
Ji Yu snatched the tortoiseshell and held it tightly in his palms. He was about to slide down the hole, but Meng Fuyao stopped him, carefully inspecting the hole before saying, ”Don't slide! Keep your arms and legs on the walls in a spider posture and slowly go down. You must not choose the easy way out and slide down!”