noveltune Chapter 96: The Old Pit of Corpses and Mud, the Giant Zombie Awakens
Chapter 96: The Old Pit of Corpses and Mud, the Giant Zombie Awakens
When the old van arrived at the old manor site, the moon was already high in the sky. With the headlights off, all that could be heard was the soft rustling of the weeds being pressed down by the night wind.
This place is some distance from the village. To the north lies an abandoned orchard, and to the south is a barren slope. The pit where the old farmer dug out the Zhenhai Iron is at the foot of the slope. From a distance, it looks like just a collapsed earthen pit, but when you get closer, you can see that the pit is strangely dark.
The moonlight spread across the wild grass, making the tips of the blades shine with a cold light, but the bottom of the pit was shrouded in darkness, so the light couldn't penetrate.
Tieguai Li got out of the car first and tapped the car door twice with a wrench.
"Be careful, the ground is soft."
Zhou Banxian followed, carrying his compass. The moment his shoes touched the soil, the compass needle veered off course towards the pit.
"The original mine still recognizes iron."
Tang Wanqing placed the compass box beside the carriage and bent down to untangle the red thread.
"First lay the first layer of copper coin lines, and the Zhenhai iron should not be too close to the pit."
Master Ma said, "Get the wooden box off the cart, nine feet away from the pit."
Zhou Jie's cousin and Tieguai Li worked together to lift the wooden box down. The box was so heavy that it weighed heavily on their hands. An old cotton quilt was placed underneath, and a red thread was wrapped around the edge of the box, its color already faded.
Cheng Xiaojin stood beside the car, her hands still wrapped in towels, her fingertips hidden in the fabric, even the wind felt painful.
Tang Wanqing looked up at him.
"Stand still, I didn't tell you not to move."
Cheng Xiaojin looked around, but his mouth was still busy.
"I have a pretty high status now, almost like one of those exhibits in a museum that you can't touch."
Tieguai Li steadied the box and patted the dirt off his knees.
"The exhibits are valuable; you're just temporarily storing old stock."
Zhou Banxian stared at the edge of the pit, not even bothering to touch the wine pot.
"Stop joking, Old Keng has spoken."
Following his gaze, everyone saw that half of the edge of the old pit had collapsed, and the soil slid inward along the slope. Dampness rose from the bottom of the pit but did not rise; it just clung to the ground, circling around the wooden box.
Tang Wanqing raised her hand and tossed out a copper coin. She pulled the red thread, and it first formed a circle outside the pit.
"Master Ma, draw up the battle formation diagram."
Master Ma took out the array diagram wrapped in red cloth from the black cloth bag, placed it on a dry wooden board, and pressed it down on the edge of the board as he removed his hand.
Zhou Banxian squatted on the north side of the original pit and placed the compass on the ground.
"The original position is here. Don't rush to measure the seven steps and three inches. First, check the bottom of the pit. If the bottom of the pit is empty, it's useless to measure it."
Tieguai Li took out a probe, with an iron nail tied to the end and a piece of hemp rope attached to it.
"I'll investigate."
Cheng Xiaojin said, "Brother Li, don't lower the pole too deep; pull it back as soon as you encounter water."
Tieguai Li glared at him.
"Do you think this is my first time digging up a corpse pit?"
Cheng Xiaojin grinned.
"This is the first time I've ever encountered Yao Guangxiao's after-sales service issues."
Despite his cursing, Tieguai Li became even more steady in his hands.
"That's true."
He lowered the probe into the pit. As soon as the probe head entered the pit, the rope became damp, and the moisture climbed up the rope strands. He pressed down on his wrist and probed down little by little.
"One foot."
Zhou Banxian stared at the compass.
"Two feet."
Tang Wanqing used a red thread to press down the edge of the pit, and the copper coin made a muffled sound as it touched the soil.
"Three feet."
Tieguai Li stopped with his wrist.
"That's it."
Cheng Xiaojin asked, "What does it feel like?"
Tieguai Li frowned and twisted his fingers half a turn around the end of the pole.
"It's not like soil, it's soft, and it even has a drag bar."
Master Ma said, "Take it."
When the probe was pulled out, the tip of the rod was covered with a clump of dark brown stuff, which was dripping water from the nail. Inside were old strips of cloth, pieces of rust, and a piece of finger bone that had been soaked in water and turned white.
Zhou's cousin took half a step back, his heel snapping a piece of dry grass.
Tieguai Li also cursed.
"What is this thing?"
Zhou Banxian took a closer look, his face tightening.
"Stake-body mud".
Tang Wanqing gripped the copper coin tightly.
"A corpse protecting the stake?"
Cheng Xiaojin turned to look at Master Ma.
Master Ma's face remained calm as he lightly tapped the lid of his teacup in his hand.
"The piles were put down during the Yongle period. The piles needed to be protected by people. The third pile was used to guard the water outlet. Back then, there were many pile protectors."
Tieguai Li stared at the severed finger bone, his Adam's apple bobbing.
"Buried alive?"
Zhou Banxian shook his head.
"Not necessarily. Most likely, it's the remains of the grave protector who died and was placed in the grave. His bones and blood were used to protect the grave. When the Zhenhai Iron was pulled out, the Yin Water and Sha (negative energy) were soaked in it. The corpse mud and rust were mixed together and it still guarded the pit."
Cheng Xiaojin twitched the corner of his mouth.
"Just guard the gate, but don't guard the wrong one."
A muffled thud came from the bottom of the pit, and the muddy water churned up.
Tang Wanqing shouted, "Back off!"
Tieguai Li dragged the probe backward, and the black mud at the edge of the pit bulged up, revealing a hand first. The hand was covered in mud, and the wrist was wrapped with a rusty chain. The five fingers looked like rotten wooden stakes.
Next comes the shoulders, then the head, then half the body.
A humanoid figure crawled out of the pit, covered in black mud, with half a waist tag hanging on its chest. The words on the tag were covered by rust, and only the character "craftsman" was still legible.
It opened its mouth, and muddy water flowed down the corner of its mouth.
"one……"
Zhou Bansian cursed, "Even the guards are starting to count?"
Tang Wanqing tossed out three copper coins, which stuck to its forehead, and the red thread tightened.
The thing paused for a moment.
The next moment, the corpse mud rose up and swallowed the copper coin.
Tieguai Li grabbed an iron nail and charged forward, driving the nail into its shoulder.
"Go back to the pit!"
The nail went in halfway, but the corpse mud wrapped around the nail and swallowed it as well.
Tieguai Li withdrew his hand and stepped back, a piece of his sleeve being torn off by the mud and water.
"This zongzi is too weird, the mud itself seems to have come to life!"
Cheng Xiaojin stared at the thing's chest, his ear slightly turned toward the pit opening.
"It has roots."
Tang Wanqing stood in front of the wooden box, the red thread taut between her fingers.
"It came from Zhenhai Railway."
The large rice dumpling dragged the chain toward the wooden box, mud and water gushing out with each step, and it mumbled incoherently as it counted.
Master Ma moved the formation diagram back half a foot.
"Don't let it touch the box."
Zhou Banxian sprayed a mouthful of wine towards the compass, but the aroma was suppressed by the dampness upon landing.
"It wants to drag the Zhenhai Iron back to its original pit. It has guarded this place for six hundred years and only recognizes the old location."
Cheng Xiaojin raised his hands half an inch, then pressed them back to his sides.
Tang Wanqing immediately looked at him.
"You can't touch it."
Cheng Xiaojin nodded.
"I know."
He listened intently to the metallic clang from the large rice dumpling's chest, his fingers, wrapped in a towel, twitching slightly in his palm.
A 50% feel is simply not enough at this point.
He could only rely on listening.
"It had something on its chest, covered in rust, and the sound didn't dissipate."
Tieguai Li asked, "What?"
Cheng Xiaojin stared at the bottom of the waist tag.
"The protective iron scales on the stakes may be the protective pieces that were nailed to the iron roots of Zhenhai back then. If we pry them out, we can find out why they were guarded wrongly."
Tang Wanqing said, "If we can't pry it out, it's just a pile of mud and iron."
Cheng Xiaojin looked into the car.
"Is the braising pot still there?"
Tieguai Li was stunned for a moment.
"There was only half a bucket of soup left, and the proprietress, Mrs. Tong, told me to take it with me, saying it would be something to eat on the way."
Cheng Xiaojin said, "Give it to me."
Tang Wanqing frowned.
"What are you going to do?"
Cheng Xiaojin said, "Let it have a sip of hot soup. The gatekeeper has been soaked in dark water for so many years. It doesn't recognize the magic artifact, but it should recognize the hot soup."
Tieguai Li ran back to the car, took out the thermos, and as soon as he opened the lid, the smell of braised food wafted out, and the oil was not completely cooled.
Cheng Xiaojin directed, "Pour in the stove ash, mugwort ash, and dried ginger slices."
Tieguai Li was quick and stirred all the ingredients into the soup, causing the soup to foam and adding a bitter taste of mugwort to the braised flavor.
Zhou Banxian's lips twitched as he watched.
Cheng Xiaojin took the long-handled spoon from Tieguai Li, but didn't touch the soup; he just held the spoon handle through the towel.
The giant rice dumpling had already reached the copper coin line. Tang Wanqing pressed it down with the red thread, and the red thread was burned by the corpse mud, leaving black dots on it.
"quick!"
Tieguai Li picked up the thermos, and Cheng Xiaojin scooped up a spoonful of hot soup mixed with stove ash and splashed it onto the chest of the big zongzi.
With a sizzle, the corpse mud receded to both sides, and the hot oil, mixed with stove ash, scalded a rusty patch onto its chest.
The giant rice dumpling stepped back for the first time.
Tieguai Li's eyes lit up.
"It works!"
Cheng Xiaojin shouted, "Brother Li, right in the center of his chest, below the rust!"
Tieguai Li, carrying a clock-shaped knife, pressed himself against the edge of the pit, his prosthetic leg wedged against the edge, and with a flick of his wrist, the tip of the knife pierced into the rusty shell.
The sludge immediately crawled up the tip of the knife.
Tang Wanqing tossed out two copper coins to press down the corpse mud.
"I'll give you three breaths."
Zhou Banxian sprayed wine.
"one."
Tieguai Li gritted his teeth and pried it open.
"two."
The mud clung to the back of his hand, and the muddy water seeped into his sleeve through his fingers.
Cheng Xiaojin whispered, "Move half an inch to the left, there's a hollow sound."
Tieguai Li's knife tip veered off course, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged.
"three."
He pried out a piece of iron scale the size of a palm.
As the iron scales detached from its body, the giant zongzi let out a muffled roar, the chains rattled loudly, and it staggered back two steps, half of its body collapsing back to the edge of the pit.
Tieguai Li flicked the iron scales onto the dry cloth, his hand still covered in black mud.
"It's too hot to handle."
Cheng Xiaojin squatted down, but instead of touching it directly, he placed an old ashtray next to the iron scale.
A faint, lingering sound emanated from within the iron scales.
"Off-center..."
Zhou Banxian leaned closer, forgetting to drink even with the wine pot hanging beside him.
"What did it say?"
Cheng Xiaojin's face tightened, and he touched the edge of the iron scales with his fingers through the towel.
The iron scales trembled slightly.
The sound lingered intermittently.
"Off position...not on the ground..."
Tang Wanqing looked up.
"Not on the ground?"
The sounds from within the iron scales rose from the water vapor.
"Underwater."
No one answered on the wasteland. The night wind swept through the abandoned orchard, and the withered branches bumped against each other, making a dry, crackling sound.
In the original pit, the giant rice dumpling was still lying on the edge, muddy water dripping down its mouth.
As Zhou Banxian looked at the compass, the smell of alcohol on his breath dissipated.
"The seven-step-three-inch measurement is for the ground. If it were underwater, the Zhenhai Iron would just miss when it was inserted."
Cheng Xiaojin stared at the iron scale, his fingertips wrapped in a towel pressed against his knee, and it took him a long time to speak.
"Seven steps and three inches, and we're not done yet."