How can we distinguish between reality and illusion? If this stone chamber and the prophecies in the prophet’s stone box are merely illusions created by the Corpse Flower, when did these illusions actually begin?
I felt my brain struggling with such a complex question. If only Shirley Yang could help analyze it; even combining my thoughts with Fatty’s wouldn’t match up to her half.
Noticing I was lost in thought again, Fatty nudged me. “What’s up, Old Hu? Why do you keep staring into space? Are we going to deal with this American girl or not?”
I motioned for Fatty to keep an eye on Professor Chen and leaned closer to Shirley Yang. “You said your grandfather was also a tomb raider before going to America. How can I trust you without proof?”
Shirley Yang glared at me, annoyed. “You thief! Whether you believe me or not is up to you… Look at the relic hanging around my neck; that should be enough.”
“Relic?” Could it be a Mojin talisman? I noticed she had two necklaces around her neck. Pulling them out, I saw one was a cross, and the other was indeed a talisman made from a pangolin’s claw.
This item is extremely rare in the world; not every tomb raider possesses one, and most have never even seen it. The value of such an item varies by the person; while the talisman itself isn’t worth much and could be ignored by a scavenger, for generations of tomb raiders, it is priceless, symbolizing their experience.
I examined Shirley Yang’s talisman closely. Compared to it, the two talismans Big Gold Tooth had given Fatty and me were practically worthless.
Shirley Yang’s talisman was clearly an artifact from the Later Han period. The two characters “Mojin” were carved with strength and elegance, made from the sharpest pangolin claws, slightly transparent like black crystal. Despite its age, it showed no signs of wear. The base was wrapped in a circle of gold thread, and the entire piece was engraved with protective flying tiger patterns.
In contrast, our talismans were clearly fake, poorly crafted, and artificially aged. Damn it, Big Gold Tooth had tricked us with fakes! No wonder we had never managed to use them.
I held Shirley Yang’s talisman for a long time, reluctant to let it go. I really didn’t want to return it.
“Give it back!” Shirley Yang exclaimed. “If you want to harm me, that’s one thing, but you can’t expect to rob me too!”
I hung the talisman back around her neck. “Since your grandfather was also a tomb raider, why do you keep calling us thieves? Aren’t you insulting your own grandfather? There’s a reason for how I’m treating you.” I then recounted the stone painting prophecy from the second stone box to her, concluding, “This might all be a death illusion created by the Corpse Flower, but until we confirm that, I can’t let you go.”
After hearing this, Shirley Yang’s expression softened slightly. “Then you better think of a way out of this. Do you think being tied up is comfortable? Just wait; you’ll get a taste of it too.”
I stood up and paced around the room, staring at the stone painting on the second stone box. I was too afraid to act rashly. If this prophecy wasn’t an illusion but real, then opening the second stone box without killing someone would immediately summon a vengeful spirit to kill everyone else. I felt more uneasy than stepping on a landmine; at least with a landmine, I would only blow myself up. The truth of this prophecy was tied to four lives, making it an incredibly difficult choice.
Professor Chen had lost his mind, and Shirley Yang was becoming increasingly suspicious. I had no choice but to discuss it with Fatty. I shared my deductions with him, knowing he probably couldn’t help much, but I hoped to relieve some of the pressure on my shoulders.
Fatty nodded after listening. “Oh, I get it now. You’re worried we’re still trapped in that illusion created by the Fxxking flower. If you’d told me earlier, I could have solved this little problem right away.”
I was surprised. “You can tell? This is serious; we can’t mess around. One wrong move, and we lose everything.”
Without saying a word, Fatty slapped me across the face. His speed caught me off guard, and I felt the sting on my cheek.
I was about to explode in anger when Fatty asked, “So? Does it hurt?”
I rubbed my face and replied, “How dare you hit your father? If I slapped you, you’d know how it feels.” As soon as I said that, I realized: if I could feel pain, then we weren’t trapped in an illusion. It seemed we weren’t under the control of the Corpse Flower after all.
I turned back to press Shirley Yang for more answers, but out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the stone painting on the second stone box had changed. I rushed over to take a closer look, only to see that the three paintings were slowly fading away, leaving only a small empty stone box with a lid, sealed with cowhide lacquer, meant to preserve valuable items inside.
The first stone box showed no changes; the prophecies remained intact, still depicting four people opening the first stone box.
What was going on? Was there a mix of truth and illusion? I pulled Fatty over to see what was happening with the second stone box. He looked and said, “Aren’t those still the same three paintings?”
I slapped him again. “Look again! Are there any paintings left?”
Fatty covered his face and said, “Uh… now there aren’t any. Damn it, this is really spooky. Let me see what’s inside.” With that, he reached out to open the second stone box.
I exclaimed, “Your hands are too quick! I just wanted you to take a look, not to do anything else.” However, when the second stone box opened, nothing happened. The four of us were fine; there was no vengeful spirit coming to kill anyone.
Based on my experience, we had indeed been visually manipulated by the Corpse Flower. Its power was far beyond our expectations; it could create illusions not just on the stone beams of the Ghost Cave.
When I had tried to rush across the stone beam to rescue Sa Dipeng, I had fallen into its trap. Fatty and Shirley Yang had saved me. At that moment, I had glanced back and seen the petals of the Corpse Flower, which had been closed, now fully opened, facing us.
From that point on, the range of the Corpse Flower’s illusion had expanded. After our searchlight went out, many black snakes appeared. Judging by the situation at the time, two of us couldn’t move, yet none of us were bitten by the snakes. It was truly a miracle; now it seemed those snakes were all mere illusions.
The Corpse Flower had created the illusion of so many black snakes attacking us to force us into the crevice of the mountain, effectively burying ourselves alive. Unexpectedly, we ended up escaping further into the prophet’s tomb.
Although the Corpse Flower was powerful, its control had limits. Being too far away, it couldn’t create strong illusions anymore, so it altered the simplest structure of the stone paintings to tempt us into turning against each other.
Moreover, the terrifying aspect of the Corpse Flower was that it didn’t create illusions through the five senses. As long as you had seen it once and remembered its alluring colors, you would be enchanted within a certain distance. The farther away you were, the weaker the illusion’s power became.
Even if one or two people survived in the end, they would be mentally shattered from having killed their own companions, ensuring that the secrets of the ancient city of Jingjue would never be revealed. How malicious!
At that moment, Fatty had pulled out an ancient book made of sheepskin from the second stone box. I guessed it contained the prophet’s revelations and the secrets of the lost ancient kingdom and the Ghost Cave.
I was about to take a look at the sheepskin book when I remembered that Shirley Yang was still tied up on the ground. I set the book down and prepared to free her. Although she had been having strange dreams about the Ghost Cave, I didn’t think she was possessed by an evil spirit or reincarnated as a monster queen. Treating her this way was just too much.
Shirley Yang was face down on the ground, covered in dirt and tears, looking like a performer in a Beijing opera with a painted face. When she saw me approaching, she angrily said, “You old fool, hurry up and untie me!”
I explained everything that had happened to her, then, gritting my teeth, I slapped her across the face and untied the leather straps binding her hands.
“I had no choice but to resort to this,” I said. “You can hit me back if you want; go ahead and give me a few slaps.” I turned my head, bracing myself for her retaliation. I figured she wouldn’t stop until she knocked out a couple of my teeth.
To my surprise, Shirley Yang wiped the dirt off her face but didn’t hit me. Instead, she said, “I don’t want to argue with you right now. We’ll settle this later. Right now, we need to find a way to escape.”
Shirley Yang took out a small box from her bag. Inside was a tiny pill. She opened it, inhaled the contents in front of her nose, and then handed me two pieces, urging Fatty and me to smell them as well.
“This is a highly concentrated extract of alcohol and wormwood,” she explained. “Its strong odor stimulates the brain’s frontal lobe through the nasal mucosa, keeping you alert. It’s used to help with detoxification and to counteract cravings. Foreign explorers often carry a few in case of emergencies. In extreme hunger and fatigue, it can stimulate the brain and prevent fainting. However, it shouldn’t be used too frequently, as it can cause strong side effects. As for whether it can counter the illusions of the Corpse Flower, that’s uncertain.”
I thought about how the Corpse Flower created illusions through the five senses, and since those illusions originated in the brain, Shirley Yang’s stimulating drug might help suppress the hallucinations to some extent.
I handed a pill to Fatty and opened one for myself, inhaling deeply. A foul odor rushed into my nostrils, making me cough, but soon I felt my heavy head lighten significantly, which was quite pleasant.
“Why didn’t you bring this out before?” I asked. “If you had given us a few pills on the stone beam, we could have uprooted that demon flower and avoided being trapped here, caught between a rock and a hard place.”
Shirley Yang replied, “When you ran back from the stone beam and explained what was happening, we realized the Corpse Flower was causing hallucinations for those on the beam. Then we were attacked by countless black snakes. In just a few minutes, we had no idea those snakes were also illusions created by the flower. Besides, I suspect the Corpse Flower isn’t that simple. It has a power that strikes at the heart. If we get too close, I doubt this drug won’t be effective.”
Among the five of us who entered the tomb, only Chen and Ye were out of their minds—one was stimulated, and the other was unconscious. Now that Ye Yixin was dead, Professor Chen was acting crazy. He must not have been deceived by the Corpse Flower. His condition reminded us of the British expedition team that had previously entered the ruins of the ancient city of Jingjue. The only survivor from that team was a madman, likely driven insane after witnessing his companions kill each other.
Professor Chen had experienced extreme emotional highs and lows in a single day. First, he mourned the death of his assistant, Hao Aiguo, then he made one astonishing discovery after another in the Jingjue ruins, only to suddenly see two of his own students die. Such drastic emotional swings can severely impact a person’s nerves, especially for someone of his age. Eventually, he broke down completely and lost his sanity.
Thinking about all this, I nodded gravely and said to Shirley Yang, “That Corpse Flower is truly formidable. Thankfully, we have remained united and close, preventing it from sowing discord among us and avoiding a tragedy of mutual destruction. Looking back, it’s really frightening, but at least the prophet have protected us from making a grave mistake.”
Shirley Yang suddenly frowned and said, “Hu Bayi, you’re being too cunning, shifting all the blame onto others. Do you know how much I trust you? Not only did you deceive me and refuse to tell me the truth, but you also suspect that I’m… some kind of monster. Have you thought about how I feel? Do you know what it’s like to be tied up like livestock, waiting for you two to interrogate and slaughter me?”
I held my head and groaned, “Oh no, my head is starting to hurt again. I need to sit down and rest for a bit. Fatty, quickly show Miss Yang that sheepskin book from the sage and see if there’s any way to escape.” With that, I took the opportunity to slip over to Professor Chen’s side, not daring to speak to Shirley Yang again.
Fortunately, Shirley Yang wasn’t the type to hold a grudge. Seeing me back off, she didn’t pursue the matter further and began flipping through the ancient sheepskin book.
I silently lamented my situation. With her personality, I knew I wouldn’t be able to escape her wrath later. Today’s events had gone too far, and with so many people dead, the money Fatty and I had worked hard for was down the drain again. Damn it, why was I so unlucky?
Curiosity got the better of me as I wondered what was in that ancient book. Shirley Yang’s serious expression made it hard to tell if she was happy or worried. Since the sage had prophet our arrival at his tomb and the opening of the stone box, he must have left us something. What could it be? I couldn’t hold back any longer and asked, “What’s in the sage’s book?”
Holding the sheepskin book, Shirley Yang replied, “It’s filled with drawings by the sage, and it seems to contain a lot about the Ghost Cave.”
I had no desire to return to the Ghost Cave, but more importantly, I wanted to know if there was a way out. I didn’t want to rush Shirley Yang, so I patiently listened to her.
She continued, “To understand the whole story, we need to start from the beginning; otherwise, we might not be able to interpret the final drawings. The beginning talks about a sacred mountain in the ancient Western Regions, which is the Mount Zagalama we’re currently on. This mountain is surrounded by rivers and is rich in flora and fauna, inhabited by four tribes…”
Fatty and I exchanged glances, thinking that this American girl was going to start from the very beginning. It was frustrating; we were both anxious to find out how to escape this cramped, oppressive tomb, but we didn’t dare to speak up. We just looked at each other, fidgeting in our seats.
Shirley Yang continued, “But good times don’t last. People discovered a bottomless cave in Mount Zagalama, and no one could reach the bottom. Everyone wanted to know what kind of world lay within. Among the four tribes, there was a high priest who ordered the creation of a jade eye, hoping to use the power of the true god to see whether the bottomless pit was auspicious or evil. During a large festival, instead of gaining insight into the cave, disaster struck. First, the high priest went blind and died under mysterious circumstances. Then, a dangerous snake appeared nearby, threatening the safety of both people and livestock. There were many of these snakes, each with a strange eye on their heads, and their venom was deadly, killing countless beings. The four tribes elected two saints favored by the true god to lead warriors from their tribes to kill the mother snake, a creature with a human head and a snake body, possessing four limbs. It laid eggs that looked like eyes, each capable of hatching hundreds of these monstrous snakes. If they were allowed to breed, the consequences would be unimaginable.”
Fatty and I were astonished. “Wow, so there really were human-headed snakes in ancient times? Good thing we didn’t encounter any; that would have been tough to deal with.”
Shirley Yang said, “The sage likely did deal with snakes, but the human-headed snake may not have been real. Ancient people often exaggerated important events, much like the battles between the Yan Emperor, the Yellow Emperor, and Chi You in China. What might have been a skirmish between a few hundred people was depicted in ancient records as a grand, epic battle involving gods and beasts.”
I gave her a thumbs up and praised, “That’s a great insight! What happened next? Can you summarize it quickly?”
Shirley Yang shot me a glare before continuing, “After the snake creatures were wiped out, the sage threw their bodies into the bottomless pit beneath Mount Zagalama. The saints received a divine revelation that this cave was a source of disaster, and the jade eye had opened the door to calamity. Following this, a prophet was born in one of the tribes, a child with the gift of prophecy. Then, the prophet began to foretell events concerning Mount Zagalama. After the death of the sage, he was buried in Mount Zagalama. The prophet could predict significant events thousands of years into the future through rituals, but his foresight was limited to the vicinity of Mount Zagalama. This was likely because the sage, revered as a god by the tribe, was buried here, and the prophet’s abilities were granted by the two sages and the true god.”
Finally, we were getting to the main point. I listened intently to Shirley Yang, hoping the prophet’s predictions would provide a way out of this cursed place. The answers regarding life and death were about to be revealed, and my heart began to race.
Shirley Yang continued, “Don’t be so tense. I flipped through the book earlier, and it seems there are insights toward the end that could help us leave Mount Zagalama, but we need to refer back to the earlier content. Don’t rush; let’s take it step by step.”
Just as I was fully focused on her words, I suddenly noticed Professor Chen’s eyes widen as he pointed at the sheepskin book in Shirley Yang’s hands. “Whatever you do, don’t look the rest of the contents!”