Chapter 58: The Black Water Coffin

Page Two.

The rice and flour conjured by the Jade of Wishes turned into yellow mud, the gold and silver into filth, and the beauties into vengeful ghosts demanding lives.

The entire population of the feudal kingdom perished.

Page Three.

Countless monkeys were locked in iron cages, surrounded by trainers wielding long whips, forcing the caged monkeys to don elegant attire, eat human food, and wear jewelry of gold and silver.

Page Four.

Most monkeys died during the training, but one succeeded in passing a certain human test.

Apart from its monkey face, its clothing, movements, and behavior were nearly indistinguishable from those of a human.

Page Five.

The king of the human kingdom placed the Jade of Wishes, strung as a necklace, around the neck of the monkey that had passed the test. Once again, countless treasures and delicacies rained from the heavens.

The remaining citizens cheered and celebrated once more.

Page Six.

The monkey lay on an altar shaped like a pyramid, surrounded by countless monkeys wearing human masks and adorned with gold and silver, sending their monkey king off in splendor.

Around the monkey king’s coffin, one by one, struggling humans were pushed onto the altar as sacrifices, each one forced to wear grotesque monkey-head masks, both absurd and comical.

Thus the story ended.

Meng Dejun swallowed hard.

“If I’m not mistaken, the meaning of the last mural is that the monkeys are conducting human funerals?”

It was more than just funerals. The whole story exuded an eerie feeling.

If the murals were true, then the Jade of Wishes really could fulfill people’s desires, allowing the people of that feudal kingdom to enjoy a period of prosperity during the chaos of war.

But for reasons unknown, all the treasures and delicacies acquired through the Jade of Wishes turned into something strange.

The ancient kingdom was nearly destroyed by the yellow mud meant to be eaten.

Then, the surviving people attempted to train monkeys to regain control of the Jade of Wishes.

This was the part of the story Bai Xian found most perplexing.

Why use monkeys instead of humans?

Of course, judging from the outcome, this strategy had clearly backfired.

In the end, the monkeys donned masks and transformed into humans, while the humans, wearing monkey heads, became the sacrificial offerings.

“There’s still one thing I don’t understand: what connection is there between the events depicted in these stories and Professor Ma coming all the way out here?” Meng Dejun asked in confusion.

As Bai Xian was scrutinizing the murals, her ears twitched and her gaze pierced the darkness of the corridor, focusing on the entrance beneath the coffin.

“I don’t know what Ma Yu wants with the Jade of Wishes, but we’re in trouble now.”

Page Two.

Almost as if to confirm Bai Xian’s words.

No sooner had she spoken than a familiar, strange cry echoed from the entrance.

Ooh ooh~ squeak squeak~ chirp chirp~

Bai Xian’s iron spear quivered in her hand.

“Run!”

Meng Dejun had no idea why she suddenly told him to run.

But his instincts took over, and he hurried after Bai Xian.

Sounds seemed to emanate from the corridor behind him; curiosity compelled him to glance back.

In the darkness.

Dozens of glowing green eyes darted toward them, advancing swiftly.

Judging by the rhythm of their movements, their speed was astonishing.

He instinctively aimed his flashlight behind him.

A host of monkeys, each over half a man’s height, with eerie, ghastly oversized human-face masks, each mask etched with a disturbing, ambiguous smile, rushed forward.

A chill shot through Meng Dejun’s heart as he recalled a term he’d once seen online.

The uncanny valley effect.

When humans encounter something very similar to themselves, but with subtle differences, it triggers an instinctive sense of unease and terror.

For example, if you see a pattern or shadow resembling a human face in your house, you can’t help but want to destroy it, otherwise you’ll lie awake all night as if something is watching you from the darkness.

Like the masks on these monkeys’ faces: exquisitely carved, nearly identical to human faces.

Yet they were twice the size, perched atop monkey heads, giving a sinister impression of someone watching you with a cold, mocking smile.

A shiver ran through Meng Dejun; he let out a startled cry and chased after Bai Xian.

He barely cleared the corridor when a flash of cold light swept past.

“Move!”

Meng Dejun instinctively ducked; the iron spear brushed his hair as it shot forward.

With a dull thud, the lead monkeys in masks were skewered, strung together on the spear.

Bai Xian’s eyes were icy, her aura escalating, as she shook her arms and hurled the corpses away.

In the narrow corridor, her two-meter spear was hard to wield, so she retreated for now.

But in the spacious burial chamber, no matter how bizarre the monkeys’ behavior, they remained monkeys; however many came, they were not enough to withstand her.

Unless…

Unless their numbers exceeded what she could handle.

And the surging tide of monkeys flooding before her had clearly reached that threshold.

Page Three.

Meng Dejun was about to praise her marksmanship, but saw the previously formidable Bai Xian had already stowed her spear and was sprinting away.

Yet, “run” wasn’t quite right; with Meng Dejun dragging her down, Bai Xian was forced to slow, fighting and retreating toward the pyramid-shaped altar in the chamber.

Upon entering, she spotted a familiar figure atop the pyramid.

The figure belonged to the missing Ma Yu.

…

Ma Yu now looked wild and disheveled, his clothes soaked in mud and corpse oil, completely stripped of his former gentility.

His face bore traces of madness, and he jammed his crowbar into the seam of the coffin atop the “pyramid.”

Using the weight of his entire body, he pressed down.

The heavily decayed lid instantly split, opening a head-sized gap.

A jet of black water spilled from the fissure, accompanied by a stench as pungent as that of a dead rat.

Ma Yu pressed harder, and the lid finally toppled aside.

Inside the coffin.

It was filled with foul, reeking black water, a layer of half-congealed corpse oil floating atop.

Within the water, a corpse shorter than a human was faintly visible.

This body had undergone complete saponification, enveloped in a slimy, whitish layer of corpse oil—utterly repulsive.

But Ma Yu’s attention was entirely fixed on the green jade disk, the size of a mobile phone, resting on the corpse’s chest.

Despite the black water and corpse oil, the jade disk glowed with an uncanny light, haunting the heart like a nightmare and tempting one to touch it.

Ma Yu immediately reached for the jade, only to find the black water too deep for his arm to reach.

He plunged his entire upper body into the water, letting the corpse-soaked liquid wash over his head.

At last, his hand closed over the coveted jade.

Just as he was about to pull back.

The corpse in the black water shuddered slightly and reached out, grabbing Ma Yu’s arm.

He felt a slippery, clammy sensation on the back of his hand, and his whole body was being dragged into the coffin’s black water.

Simultaneously, another rotting hand seized the jade, attempting to wrest it away.

At this moment, some unknown force surged through Ma Yu.

He suddenly swung his free fist down, slamming it onto the corpse in the coffin.

Ordinarily, a punch in water would lack force, but Ma Yu’s blow landed with surprising solidity.

Even Bai Xian, on the slope of the “pyramid,” could hear the muffled impact.