Cataclysm Chapter 112: The Roofless Crypt 04

Chapter 112: The Roofless Crypt 04

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

 

The entire building of the Roofless Crypt had white walls and black tiles, stacked in layers, and once you entered, you would easily get lost. After jumping through a window and into the inner corridor, he found that the place was filled with countless small rooms, each about twenty square meters, all locked. They looked like coffins, though no one knew what they held inside.

Kou Xuanling ran up to the fifth floor, where the rooms were bigger, unlike the four floors below, which were all like coffin rooms. From the corridor, he could see the houses outside, which didn’t differ much from the hotel rooms outside. But once you opened the door, you would find the interior decorated in an antique style.

This haunted house was called the “Old House,” a strange name, but once you understood its meaning, it would send a chill down your spine. “Coffin” was another name for the Old House. The butler and the master lived on the fifth floor of this eerie building. Kou Xuanling walked down the corridor, suddenly turned back, and found it empty.

He always had the feeling that something was watching him, but there was nowhere in the corridor that could hide someone. He looked at the doors on either side, peering through the peepholes into the darkness. After staring for a while, he saw nothing and turned to leave. Just as he turned around, a sharp, dark claw passed through the peephole, scratched a few times, and then quickly retreated.

When Kou Xuanling looked back, he didn’t see anything. So, he didn’t know that behind every door in the corridor, countless things were watching him through the peepholes. Every time he peered into a room, he was actually making eye contact with what was inside.

He remembered that when the butler had brought him in, he had casually pointed to the master’s bedroom, and he had remembered the route. When he reached the door of the bedroom, the lock was an old-fashioned one, easy to open. He knocked a few times, but when no one responded, he pried the lock open with some cardboard and wire, slipped inside, and closed the door behind him to observe the room’s layout.

The room was decorated in dark red, with velvet fabric hanging all around, and the decorations were also in an old-fashioned style. On the table was a red lantern, a copper mirror, and a string of blackwood beads. Blackwood, also known as “yinchen wood” or “blackwood ghost beads,” was an evil object used to summon spirits.

Kou Xuanling picked up the copper mirror and was momentarily stunned when he saw a clear figure in it. Suddenly, he heard a faint ‘crack,’ looked up, and saw the door handle moving. He glanced around, placed the copper mirror back in its original spot, then gracefully jumped onto the bed, rolling onto the elegant four-poster bed, hiding completely and able to see the scene outside the bed.

The master of the Old House entered the room and first looked at the copper mirror on the table, his expression showing slight confusion. Then he sniffed the air to check if anything had entered the room. Kou Xuanling held his breath, suppressing his presence, watching as the master’s steps moved toward the bed, getting closer and closer. The master’s expression grew more serious, as if he had truly caught a scent.

Kou Xuanling didn’t dare to move, his heart pounding in his chest. Just as the master was about to approach the bed, he heard the sound of the copper mirror falling. The master turned around and saw a hideous little ghost crawling out of the mirror, heading straight for the door. Enraged, the master instantly transformed into an ugly eight-foot-tall demon, grabbing the little ghost and swallowing it whole.

Kou Xuanling covered his mouth as the clear sounds of chewing and swallowing reached his ears. After the little ghost was eaten, the master returned to his previous graceful, middle-aged appearance. He picked up the copper mirror that had fallen to the ground, set it back in place, lit the red lantern, and hung it by the window. He also put on the blackwood beads and walked toward the bed.

Kou Xuanling hid on the far side of the bed, pressed against the wall, the high blankets and decorations perfectly hiding him. The demon-like creature clasped its hands in front of its stomach and closed its eyes to rest. A few minutes later, it started snoring, falling into a deep sleep.

Kou Xuanling waited another ten minutes, then saw the demon suddenly open its eyes and turn its face to look directly at him. His heart skipped a beat, but he knew that because of the angle, the demon couldn’t see him. It stared in his direction for several minutes before turning its face back, closing its eyes again. This time, it didn’t open them, but Kou Xuanling didn’t dare to leave. After almost half an hour, he quietly slipped out.

He glanced back at the blackwood beads on the demon’s wrist and the red lantern hanging outside the window. He hid the copper mirror in his chest and opened the window, taking it with him. When he jumped out the window, he was face to face with the red lantern. Suddenly, he realized it wasn’t a lantern, but a fat human head painted red. The head’s eyes were tightly shut, and it was fast asleep.

Kou Xuanling carefully avoided the head. Just as he succeeded, the head suddenly opened its eyes and they were face-to-face. The next moment, the head opened its mouth to scream, which frightened Kou Xuanling so much that he almost twisted off the head. But in the next second, he realized the head couldn’t make a sound because its mouth was a dark hollow with no tongue.

When he managed to escape safely, the head angrily shook, waking up the other heads. They all saw it and started laughing, whispering to each other, mocking the head for trying to speak again. It was because of its incessant chatter that its tongue had been cut off.

Zhang Qiudao was trapped in a house without gravestones. The rooms inside were like tombs. The ceiling was arched, with no beams, and there were no windows, completely sealed. The furnishings inside resembled ancient tomb relics, and even the bed looked like a stone coffin. He tried to open the door but couldn’t find a doorknob or lock, realizing it was a stone door.

Because he was trapped inside, he didn’t know that outside, a group of short, shriveled old men had appeared. These old men were pitch-black, their movements stiff. They stopped in front of Zhang Qiudao’s door, holding brushes, inkstones, and water basins. They revealed their fingers, all of which were missing. Some were missing a thumb, while others were missing three or four fingers. The leader of the old men picked up a brush, dipped it in blood ink from the inkstone, and slowly wrote the first character on the stone door: Zhang.

Inside, Zhang Qiudao heard a scratching sound and pressed himself against the wall to listen. From the sound, he couldn’t tell what was happening outside, but it certainly didn’t seem like anything good. He took a few steps back and looked around, remembering that before entering the building, he had seen many red lanterns, each with a window behind it.

This meant there should be at least one window in the place, and the wall was thin enough that it could be broken to escape. For some reason, he had the distinct feeling that once the ‘scratching’ sound stopped, something terrifying would happen.

Following his memory, he knocked on the door, and finally found a spot with a wall thickness different from the others. He grabbed a bronze candelabra from the room and began hitting the wall. When the creatures outside heard the sound of the wall being struck, they stopped writing and let out a chaotic, screeching sound, followed by frantic banging on the door.

Zhang Qiudao worked faster, lifting the half-man-high bronze candelabra and pounding it against the wall. Soon, a small hole appeared. Outside, the gloomy, rainy weather still persisted, but he could see the red lanterns’ flickering light.

The stone door emitted loud banging sounds, and dust and stone debris fell in torrents. The door seemed as if it was about to be shattered, revealing the ugly faces of the old men outside.

Zhang Qiudao kept pounding along the hole, and soon, he created a hole big enough for him to crawl through. As he threw away the candelabra and stuck his legs out to crawl out, the stone door suddenly collapsed. The group of old ghosts rushed forward immediately. With his upper body still inside, Zhang Qiudao swiftly performed hand seals and used the nine-character mantra to kill the first old ghost trying to claw at him. The others stood frozen, terrified.

Zhang Qiudao slipped out like a fish, and the red lanterns outside the window shuddered, too afraid to make a sound. The rain quickly dampened the wicks inside the lanterns, extinguishing their flames, and the lanterns turned into pale, numb human heads.

The old ghosts in the room began pacing restlessly, their throats making grumbling sounds, like bubbles breaking in a murky, rotten swamp. Faintly, Zhang Qiudao could hear them uttering the words “Tianshi…” and “Sneaking in, kill…”

On the collapsed stone door, the blood-red marks hadn’t dried yet, coated with dust, but it was still possible to make out the words “Zhang Qiudao’s Mo,” with the last stroke of the character “Mo” drawing a long blood streak. It was meant to be the character for “tomb.”

Chen Yang had no idea what was happening to the others, only that the thing in the room next door was incredibly unfriendly. Before he could think further, the long needle stuck into the hole was pulled back, and someone knocked on the door.

It was the mistress’s voice, softly asking, “Are you asleep?”

Chen Yang narrowed his eyes slightly and replied, “Not yet.”

The mistress’s voice and the knocking immediately disappeared. Chen Yang crept quietly, hiding in a corner where the peephole couldn’t see him, pressing his ear against the door to listen to the sounds outside. There were no footsteps. He couldn’t tell whether the mistress had moved silently or hadn’t moved at all.

Since he was hiding below the peephole, he couldn’t see what was happening outside. Therefore, he had no idea that the mistress had been peering through the peephole, especially after she couldn’t see anyone, and then stared intently at the bed.

After a long while, just as Chen Yang was beginning to relax and was about to stretch his stiff, numb limbs, he heard the mistress ask, “Are you asleep?”

This time, Chen Yang didn’t answer and instead noticed the doorknob turning up and down. The mistress was outside, trying to sneak in. Without thinking, Chen Yang nimbly leapt over the table, jumped to the window, opened it, and took down the head lantern from outside. He blew out the candle flame and threw it onto the bed. The moment the flame went out, the lantern transformed back into a human head.

Chen Yang then hid in the closet, peering through a gap as the mistress entered. Due to the angle, he could only see her from the waist down. She walked past the closet, her arms hanging at her sides, holding a delicate small hammer and an iron rod.

Chen Yang frowned, but as the mistress walked past the closet, she stopped and backed up, standing beside it for a long time. He covered his nose and mouth, trying to make no noise, and then noticed the wardrobe above him opening. A pair of hands reached in, feeling around before pulling out a piece of clothing. The wardrobe was then closed again. The mistress changed into the clothes she had taken out, neatly folding her own clothes and placing them on the table.

Chen Yang took a closer look, his pupils tightening. He realized that the clothes the mistress had taken off included her human skin. The mistress, completely naked, put on the clothes, exposing wrists that were covered in red muscles.

She walked slowly toward the bed, touched the human head on it, then lifted the black hair to place the iron rod over the skull. With the iron hammer, she began to pry it open. Once the skull was cracked, she leaned in to suck the brain matter.

Chen Yang quickly opened the wardrobe, stole the mistress’s human skin, and hid back inside. The mistress continued to pry at the skull for a long time, but when she couldn’t get to the brain, she realized something was wrong. She picked up the entire head and discovered it was a lantern. She immediately understood she’d been tricked and furiously slammed the head against the wall with a low growl.

The mistress then walked over, intending to put her clothes back on, but found the human skin was missing. This completely enraged her. She let out a roar and began pacing around the room, overturning the table and the large bed. Then she opened the door and walked out, closing it behind her.

Chen Yang was about to take the opportunity to escape, but as soon as he moved, he sensed something was off. How could the mistress, in such a rage, remember to quietly close the door? So he stayed still.

Sure enough, when the mistress couldn’t find him, she suppressed her breathing and deliberately lightened her footsteps, creating a quiet, tense atmosphere in the room. She circled around, her long nails scraping the walls, making an extremely piercing sound. Finally, her gaze landed on the wardrobe.

Chen Yang watched the mistress approach, his right hand resting on a copper coin on his left arm. Just as she placed her hand on the wardrobe’s doorknob, it seemed like she heard something. She looked toward the window, then turned and left.

Chen Yang accidentally pressed a button in the corner, causing the folding fan blades above to unfold, dividing the wardrobe into two parts: two-thirds above, one-third below. He hid in the bottom third of the wardrobe. The moment the mistress returned, she suddenly lunged at the wardrobe, sticking her head close to the fan blades, her long nails scraping them.

Just then, a young woman suddenly appeared at the door, shouting, “…The Tianshi has broken in, hurry to assemble!”

The mistress left in frustration, casting a venomous glare at the fan blades. With a ‘click,’ the door was fully shut.

Chen Yang emerged, still holding the mistress’s human skin. Sweat was dripping from his palms and forehead, his heart pounding like a drum. He could have subdued the mistress directly, but he couldn’t afford to raise the alarm.

Until he found the true source of the grudge, he couldn’t make a big move. So, he kept avoiding the mistress. According to the rules of spirits and ghosts, as long as their true form wasn’t exposed to him directly, the mistress wouldn’t reveal her true face.

Chen Yang suspected that the mistress was following some kind of rule. Ancient texts and folklore about ghosts and JingGuai often mentioned that these creatures typically used human greed—lust, wealth, power, wine, and so on—to lure people to their doom. Ghosts couldn’t kill without reason, or they would be held accountable by the King of Hell.

But they could deceive and manipulate people through disguise, either pushing them to suicide or killing them in their sleep, leaving them confused and unaware of their deaths. In the afterlife, they wouldn’t know the cause of their death and would be unable to report it, ending up trapped in a city of wrongful deaths to wait for their lives to expire.

The Roofless Crypt likely followed the same rules, causing anyone who entered to die silently and without a trace. Chen Yang and the other nine Tianshis weren’t human when they entered the Roofless Crypt, but they were still living souls.

The ghosts in the crypt were aware of their living souls and would do whatever they could to consume them. Once a living soul was consumed, the ghosts would occupy their body and return to the living world. That was why so many ghosts were waiting to take over their bodies, though they dared not kill openly.

The young woman had mentioned the Tianshi, which likely meant one of them had been discovered. Chen Yang suspected they would soon make the connection between the ten living souls and the Tianshis, and he didn’t have much time to uncover the source.

But at that moment, he had no clue where to start.

Du Shuo had said that the source would appear on their own, as it too wanted to occupy a Tianshi’s body and leave the crypt.

The only ones present now were the mistress, the young woman, the woman in black with the black umbrella he encountered on the path of no return, and the old man in the stone alley.

The old man had mentioned that the bathhouse business was thriving, implying a large number of ghosts. With many ghosts, there should be plenty of information to uncover. So, Chen Yang climbed out of the window and began to descend from the fifth floor. As he did, the lantern heads saw him and began whispering, wanting to report him.

Chen Yang freed one hand and swiftly cut down one of the lantern heads that was shouting about reporting him. The other lantern heads immediately closed their mouths, no longer daring to speak. After watching him escape, they dared to whisper again, but just a few minutes later, a ghostly hand shot out from behind them, pulling some of the lantern heads back into the house. After a while, they were thrown back out.

This caused most of the lanterns to stay quiet.

After leaving the crypt, Chen Yang returned to the stone alley. The white cloth with “Cloud Bathhouse” written on it swayed in the wind. The red lanterns emitted a harsh, creaky sound, and the incessant rain created a sense of discomfort just standing at the entrance.

The old man stood at the door. When he saw Chen Yang approaching, he didn’t show any surprise. Instead, he smiled and asked, “Are you going in again?”

Chen Yang looked at the old man and replied, “Mn.”

The old man’s eyes lit up with surprise for a moment, and he personally lifted the curtain to usher Chen Yang inside. Beyond the curtain was a wooden screen, and after passing it, they came to a counter. Behind the counter stood a stiff woman, with old account books and an abacus in front of her. There was a sliding wooden door in front of the counter, and stairs to the left of the counter.

The old man led Chen Yang to register and called to the woman to take the registration. “She’s my daughter-in-law. If you have any requests, you can tell her; she will fulfill any request you have.” He repeated “any request.”

The woman asked for his name and birth details, but Chen Yang was unwilling to provide them. Unable to proceed with the registration, the old man’s expression darkened. Chen Yang remained unfazed and said, “Didn’t you say you would fulfill any request of mine? My request now is not to ask for my name and birth details.”

The old man was enraged, pounding the counter, but he couldn’t refuse. The woman, having heard Chen Yang’s words, stopped asking and instead asked, “Do you want to go to the upstairs or downstairs bath?”

Chen Yang replied, “Upstairs.”

“Okay,” the woman said, handing him a wooden plaque, a wooden basin, and a towel. “Enjoy your time.”

The old man, furious, tried to stop the woman, but Chen Yang had already taken the items and started up the stairs. After climbing five or six steps, he looked back. The woman was still stiffly tapping on the abacus, while the old man, with a gloomy expression and murky eyes, stared at him.

Chen Yang turned his gaze away and continued up the stairs. The upstairs was quiet, with countless sliding doors. No sound came from behind them, but shadows could be seen through each door. As he passed one, a middle-aged man came out.

The middle-aged man’s eyes were vacant, his face pale. When he saw Chen Yang, he bowed and asked, “Do you have a wooden plaque?”

Chen Yang handed it to him, and the man glanced at it before saying, “Room 13. Please come with me.”

The middle-aged man, slightly hunched over, led the way, and the floor beneath them was wet. Chen Yang glanced down and noticed the hem of the man’s clothes was soaked. The man stopped at the door of Room 13, hung the wooden plaque, and opened the door. Suddenly, two boys rushed out.

The middle-aged man became enraged and immediately kicked both boys to the ground, cursing angrily, “No noise allowed!”

The two boys, completely silent, were kicked to the corner. They stood up without a sound and stared coldly at the middle-aged man. After inviting Chen Yang into the bath, the middle-aged man dragged the two boys outside. Chen Yang stopped him, saying, “Let them stay.”

The middle-aged man humbly pushed the boys in front of Chen Yang. “I hope you are satisfied with our service.”

The door closed, and the two boys stared at Chen Yang with emotionless faces. Chen Yang squatted down and asked, “What are you most afraid of?”

The two boys answered in unison, “Father.” Their tone was monotone and eerie.

Chen Yang asked, “Anything else?”

The two boys answered in unison once more, “On rainy days, guests come. White firewood thrown into the boiler, the bathwater boils the white pig. Watch the stove, add firewood, slaughter the white pig, and clean the bath. It’s busy and tiring, we’re most afraid of it.”

Chen Yang’s fingers moved slightly, feeling that the eerie, monotonous chanting from the two children was unsettling. He then asked, “What is the white pig?”

The boys immediately sealed their lips and stared blankly, not answering.

Chen Yang thought they simply didn’t want to answer, but then suddenly, a realization hit him—they had already answered. He was the “white pig.” All the guests who bathed in the bathhouse were waiting to be slaughtered, referred to as “white pigs.”

His eyes narrowed slightly. “Why do you slaughter the white pigs?”

“To pay for expenses,” they replied flatly.

“Why do most guests come on rainy days?”

The boys’ expressions shifted, and fear flashed in their eyes. They retreated, looking both fearful and greedy. “Do you have candy? We want candy. If you give us candy, we’ll tell you.”

Chen Yang took two pieces of candy from his pocket and offered them to them. The moment they saw the candy, their faces turned sour. “This is not candy!! You’re lying!!” They seemed to want to get angry, but since Chen Yang was the guest, they suppressed their anger.

Chen Yang had a good idea of what they meant—the candy they were expecting was likely the kind mixed with human blood. So, he pulled out the human skin of the woman he had stolen earlier. The moment the two boys saw it, they snatched it from his hands and began to tear into it wildly. They consumed it all in a frenzy, and soon, they were burping and seemed much more at ease in their manner.

They said, “Because he likes rainy days the most.”

“On rainy days, guests come.”

 

 

 

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