Cataclysm Chapter 115: The Roofless Crypt 07

Chapter 115: The Roofless Crypt 07

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

 

Zhang Qiudao closed the door and signaled for silence by holding up his finger. “Shh, stay quiet for now.” He then noticed Mao Zhen and furrowed his brow slightly, but there was no time for questions. The three of them quickly hid inside a cupboard.

Moments later, there was a loud banging on the door. It seemed as though whatever was outside had realized there were no terrified screams coming from inside, and the banging stopped abruptly. After a brief silence, the sound of something heavy, like stone scraping against the ground, echoed through the room. Zhang Qiudao grabbed both of them and whispered, “Not yet. It’s still here.”

After a while, the sound faded, but then it returned. This time, the thing outside used a key to unlock the door.

The scraping sound of stone was even clearer inside the room, and through the small gap in the cupboard, Chen Yang could make out the creature’s feet, wearing heavy stone shoes coated in cinnabar to ward off evil spirits. Each step it took, the shoes emitted a screeching sound as they scraped against the ground. The creature held a bloodstained axe in its right hand and was heading straight for the cupboard.

Chen Yang instinctively placed his hand on the whip at his waist, but Zhang Qiudao gently shook his head, signaling for him to remain still. Sure enough, the creature bypassed the cupboard, destroying the desk and bed, searching for something it had yet to find. After a while, it turned to leave. However, before it did, it closed the door, paused, and then re-entered, peering inside. It muttered something indistinctly, then closed the door once again and moved on to the next room.

Chen Yang opened the cupboard door and surveyed the room. The desk and bed had been destroyed, but the cupboard remained untouched. He turned to Zhang Qiudao and asked, “What was that thing? And how did you get involved with it?”

Zhang Qiudao let out a sigh of relief. “I accidentally stumbled into this house while escaping. It’s a mindless monster that never gives up. No matter what I do to shake it off, it always comes after me.” He pointed at the destroyed furniture and the untouched cupboard. “I hid in the bed and desk before, so it keeps checking those places. The cupboard, however, was never used as a hiding spot, so it didn’t know to check there.”

Chen Yang only saw the creature’s lower half earlier, but it seemed to be about two meters tall. Though he hadn’t seen its upper body, he believed Zhang Qiudao’s account, especially since the creature had locked the door each time it entered and left. It hadn’t hacked the door with the axe like other ghosts, but instead used a key to open it. This suggested it was different from the other entities in the house.

Zhang Qiudao looked at Mao Zhen and then turned to Chen Yang. “Who is he? Another ghost from the shadow mansion?” He couldn’t recall anyone matching Mao Zhen’s appearance among the Taoist priests who had entered before.

Chen Yang responded, “Mao Zhen, a Taoist priest who fell here over twenty years ago. He’s Mao Xiaoli’s uncle.”

Zhang Qiudao’s suspicion didn’t ease. “Mao Xiaoli’s uncle is a vegetable now, still lying in a hospital bed. Mao Zhen’s soul is in a detached state, and if you were really Xiaoli’s uncle, she should recognize you.”

“Mao Xiaoli is here too?” “Am I still alive?” Both Chen Yang and Mao Zhen asked simultaneously. Chen Yang sounded surprised, while Mao Zhen expressed joy. Zhang Qiudao turned to them, his expression filled with doubt. “You’re a living soul, and you didn’t even realize you’re alive?”

Mao Zhen waved his hand. “My soul has been detached from my body for over twenty years, and the resentment from this place has eroded it. I lost connection with my body long ago.” He sighed. “When I first realized I had lost touch with my body, I thought I was truly dead. I became depressed for a long time. It was during that time that the sixth building in the mansion was constructed. I don’t know the owner of the sixth building or its internal structure, so I won’t be able to help you with that.”

Chen Yang paused and asked, “Is this building the sixth one?”

Mao Zhen replied, “Yes.”

Zhang Qiudao urged the group to leave the room quickly. “We don’t have much time. That axe-wielding monster will find us soon. It’s mindless but has an incredibly sharp sense of smell, which is why I’ve been unable to shake it off. I cast an invisibility charm on the door when I came in, masking the room’s yang energy, but it won’t last long. We need to leave now and head for Mao Xiaoying.”

The three of them opened the door and walked down the hallway. The hallway was eerily empty, and despite moving cautiously, their footsteps were still audible. Zhang Qiudao spoke up, “Let’s head to the third floor. The fifth floor is free of ghosts, but that axe-wielding monster will keep searching and causing trouble. We’ll take the elevator. If we use the stairs, it will follow us and we won’t be able to escape.”

Chen Yang asked, “Where is the axe-wielding monster?”

Zhang Qiudao shook his head. “I don’t know.” He paused, pressing his ear against a door. “Listen.” After a few seconds, he straightened up. “It’s not here.”

Chen Yang and Mao Zhen repeated the process, walking cautiously and listening at each door, trying to locate the axe-wielding monster. When they reached the door closest to the elevator, Chen Yang pressed his ear to it. There was no sound. As they got closer to the elevator, fewer doors remained, which meant the chance of the monster being in those rooms grew higher.

Chen Yang shook his head at Zhang Qiudao and Mao Zhen, signaling that there was no sound inside. But just as he was about to stand up, he noticed a movement in the peephole of the door. A realization hit him—there was an eye behind the peephole. Before he could even think, his body reacted faster than his mind. He quickly pulled back just as a sharp axe blade slammed into the spot where he had been standing.

It turned out the axe-wielding monster had discovered them. In a fit of rage, it swung its axe and shattered the door. The axe became embedded in the door, and the monster charged into the hallway. Chen Yang shouted, “Run!”

At the same time, Zhang Qiudao and Mao Zhen sprinted toward the elevator, hitting the button to call it. The axe-wielding monster was already upon them, blocking Chen Yang’s escape and attacking him relentlessly.

The axe struck the walls, leaving deep gouges and sending sparks flying. Along with the sparks came the monster’s enraged roars, a mix of frustration and fury. Zhang Qiudao’s expression changed as he heard the distorted shout. “This is bad.”

Mao Zhen, confused, asked, “What’s wrong?”

Just as the elevator doors opened, the three of them rushed in. Zhang Qiudao called out, “Hurry, get in!”

Chen Yang, dodging the axe, ran for the elevator. Halfway there, a horrible, screeching sound echoed in his ears. It was like nails scraping against a blackboard or a shovel scraping against a metal pot—sharp, high-pitched, and never-ending. It felt as if the sound flooded his ears from all directions, leaving no place to escape, causing immense pain.

Chen Yang almost faltered under the assault of the sound but forced himself to keep moving. He pulled out his whip and used it to ensnare the axe, attempting to hold the monster off. The axe-wielding monster was over two meters tall and loomed like a mountain, terrifying in its massive form. Its body was shrouded in darkness, making its face impossible to see, but its tiny, misshapen head stood out in contrast to its gigantic frame.

The monster, with its immense strength, tried to use the whip’s tension to pull Chen Yang toward it. It attempted to strangle him, aiming to rip his head off. But Chen Yang used the momentum, letting himself be pulled closer, and slapped a lightning charm onto the monster’s palm. He then stepped on its shoulder, swiftly yanking off its black hood.

To his surprise, he found a large hole in the back of the monster’s head, completely empty. There was no brain or any other vital matter inside.

The axe-wielding monster noticed the hood was gone and panicked, quickly trying to cover its head again. In that brief moment of confusion, Chen Yang broke free, sliding into the elevator. The doors closed just as the monster turned around and ran toward them, trying to pry the doors open. When it realized it couldn’t, it let out a furious roar and turned to leave, taking the stairs down.

The elevator doors opened on the third floor, and the three of them stepped out into the hallway. The lights flickered ominously, and the doors to the rooms were narrow, resembling old Western-style prison doors. Each was bound with iron chains and nailed shut.

As they walked forward, they could hear unsettling sounds from behind the doors. Occasionally, a door would suddenly bang violently, and sometimes, they could hear the sounds of swallowing or licking—ominous signs that the malicious spirits inside had detected the presence of living souls.

Mao Zhen spoke up, “Every building here has a master. The fifth floor is where the masters live and host guests. Generally, no ghosts are allowed to reside there. But you never know with some twisted individuals. For example, the female master of the nameless house likes to place guests in rooms next to ones with ghosts to frighten them. She believes that once the soul is terrified, its mind becomes very active, and that makes it especially delicious.”

Chen Yang recalled his encounter with the sadistic female master who enjoyed cracking open skulls and drinking the brain matter. She was indeed a twisted individual.

Mao Zhen continued, “But the master of the sixth building—the axe-wielding monster—is said to have no brain, relying only on brute force. He’s the most loyal and obedient, so he follows the rules. The fifth floor will never house malevolent spirits. That’s why resentful souls prefer to reside here, in the sixth building. It’s quiet, and the monsters here aren’t as greedy or repulsive as elsewhere.”

Upon hearing Mao Zhen’s words, he seemed to casually glance at Zhang Qiudao before saying, “Go to the room at the end. It contains the keys to all the rooms on the third floor, and it’s the only place without any malicious ghosts.”

Mao Zhen stopped, sharing a knowing smile with Chen Yang. Chen Yang watched Zhang Qiudao’s back as he walked ahead, his expression unreadable. Zhang Qiudao turned around and asked, “Why are you stopping?”

Chen Yang and Mao Zhen continued walking, reaching the room at the end. Zhang Qiudao opened the door and stepped inside. Chen Yang, noticing this, asked, “No lock?”

Zhang Qiudao replied, “I came here before. I didn’t lock it when I left.”

Chen Yang raised an eyebrow, “Every Tianshi shows up in different houses. You and Mao Xiaoying appeared in the sixth building. So, who was the first to appear in the sixth building?”

Zhang Qiudao replied, “Neither of us.”

Chen Yang was confused, “What do you mean?”

Zhang Qiudao continued, “I originally appeared at the Unmarked Tombs. If you count the order, I should have been in the third building. In that building, there were no ghosts. I was then pushed into a pitch-black room by someone’s black hand. Those rooms were tombs. Once I was locked inside, a group of old ghosts appeared outside, carving the door like it was a gravestone. They treated the room as a tomb and tried to trap me inside. After I managed to escape, I realized that the building was called ‘Unmarked Tombs.’ It was a large mausoleum.” Zhang Qiudao closed the door behind him.

Chen Yang examined the small room they had entered. It had a similar ancient, elegant style to other rooms, but the decorations were sparse. Instead, there were more wine bottles, barrels, and torture devices.

Mao Zhen spoke up, “I’ve heard of Unmarked Tombs. When I first entered, I went there. Later, when I was imprisoned, I asked a nearby ghost about it. The purpose of Unmarked Tombs was to house the souls of those buried alive. The ones who buried them were old and shriveled, looking like a group of ancient ghosts. They would push anyone who accidentally entered into the tomb and carve gravestones outside. Once the gravestones were finished, the person was permanently trapped inside.”

Zhang Qiudao nodded, “That’s correct. When I escaped, the word ‘tombstone’ was almost complete.”

Chen Yang shivered, “Sounds terrifying.” He bent down to press on a wine barrel lid and opened it, revealing a corpse inside. After a pause, he quickly closed the lid again.

At that moment, Mao Xiaoying suddenly walked out from behind the wine barrel, startling everyone.

Had it not been for Mao Xiaoying being the future brother-in-law, Zhang Qiudao would’ve probably grabbed the barrel and thrown it at him. Mao Xiaoying, realizing he had startled them, sheepishly explained, “I thought you guys knew I was here.”

Chen Yang responded, “If you didn’t say anything, how were we supposed to know?”

“Oh, okay,” Mao Xiaoying said, then turned his attention to Chen Yang and Mao Zhen, asking Zhang Qiudao, “Brother-in-law, are you sure they’re actually Tianshis who came in?”

Chen Yang looked between Mao Xiaoying and Zhang Qiudao with suspicion. “Wait, you called him what?”

Mao Xiaoying casually replied, “Brother-in-law.”

Chen Yang, shocked, asked, “Lili agreed to be with you?”

Zhang Qiudao responded, “Not yet. I’m still in pursuit.”

Chen Yang was left speechless. “What?”

Mao Xiaoying laughed and said, “It’s fine, I’ll catch up eventually. I believe in you, brother-in-law. You’re great. I’m calling you ‘brother-in-law’ early, just practice a few more times, and you won’t mix it up when we’re out of here.” He sighed contentedly, clearly pleased. “Really great, a young talent.”

Chen Yang raised an eyebrow, “You two just met, how do you already know that Zhang Qiudao is so great?” He was still unsure. Is it really okay to be so casual with calling him brother-in-law when Mao Xiaoli hasn’t even agreed to be with him? Mao Xiaoying seemed too eager. With his mind full of questions, Chen Yang struggled to hold them back.

Mao Xiaoying answered matter-of-factly, “The fact that he found Xiaoli’s goodness, liked her, and is pursuing her proves he’s excellent.”

Chen Yang, under his breath, muttered, “So casual.”

Mao Zhen rolled his eyes. “Because most women in the Mao family are more focused on Taoist practices, prosperity, or making money than on getting married and having children. So, they mostly end up as old maids. Every time a girl in the family reaches the age to have a boyfriend, the men in our family hope they start relationships early.”

Mao Xiaoying was taken aback. “How do you know?”

He paused, then added, “You look really familiar. Have we met somewhere?”

Chen Yang replied flatly, “He’s your uncle.”

Mao Xiaoying was confused. “My uncle is still in the hospital, I visit him regularly every month. He didn’t look this good, wasn’t as handsome, more like a pretty boy.”

Mao Zhen was struck with disbelief. He covered his face dramatically, “Is that how I look in the mortal world? Have I really aged that much?”

Chen Yang deadpanned, “Wake up, you’ve been locked away for over twenty years. You’re in your forties in the mortal world. Plus, you’ve been in a vegetative state for over two decades, surviving only on glucose and liquid nutrients. Your body is probably very frail. The fact that you haven’t turned into a grotesque version of yourself is a sign that your relatives took good care of you.”

Mao Zhen immediately fell into despair, “Why am I still alive? Maybe it would be better to just die.”

Mao Xiaoying, confused, asked, “He really is my uncle?”

Chen Yang confirmed, “According to him, yes. So we came to ask you if you recognize him.”

Mao Xiaoying shook his head. “I definitely don’t recognize him. By the time I was born, he was already in bed. By the time I could remember, my uncle was already not so handsome.”

When Mao Zhen heard “not so handsome,” he completely lost any motivation to keep living. Meanwhile, Mao Xiaoying continued, “But at least our family has this tradition of taking family photos every year. We always include everyone within three generations. My dad always said that when my uncle was still alive, he was so vain, he’d never want to be in a photo lying on a hospital bed. So after every photo shoot, the pictures of my uncle would be edited to make him look like his younger self.”

Chen Yang looked in surprise as Mao Xiaoying pulled out a folded family photo from his pocket. “You carry a family photo around?”

Mao Xiaoying unfolded the photo, saying, “When I came in, my dad told me to keep an eye out for my uncle. If I found him, I was supposed to bring him back, so he asked me to bring the photo to recognize him.”

Chen Yang laughed, “You really are prepared.”

As Mao Xiaoying opened the photo, Chen Yang and Zhang Qiudao moved closer to see. Comparing Mao Zhen’s appearance with the photo, it was unmistakable—they looked exactly the same. Even the smile was similar, bright, and confident. He had once been a brilliant man.

Once Mao Xiaoying confirmed that this was indeed his uncle, he was overjoyed and wanted to hug him. “Uncle, let’s hug.”

Mao Zhen, coldly, pushed him away. He wasn’t interested in a hug. The fact that he had gone from a handsome young man to an old, frail version of himself had struck him deeply, draining all his will to continue living.

Mao Xiaoying said encouragingly, “It’s okay, uncle. As long as you wake up, you can rehabilitate. If you work hard enough, you’ll be able to recover your body and looks. Believe me, even if you’re in your forties, you’ll still be a handsome uncle. Handsome uncles are very popular these days.”

“Really?” Mao Zhen asked, looking for reassurance. When he saw both Chen Yang and Zhang Qiudao nod, he felt a small boost of energy. He looked at Mao Xiaoying and said, “Don’t call me uncle, I’m still young, I’m only eighteen.”

Mao Xiaoying, grinning, answered, “Okay, uncle.”

Chen Yang couldn’t help but laugh, but just then, everyone heard the sound of stones scraping along the floor, growing louder as it approached.

“Here comes the Axe Ghost.”

Mao Zhen couldn’t take it anymore and hissed, covering his ears. “The sound of his stone shoes scraping against the floor is unbearable. Why does he wear stone shoes?”

Chen Yang explained, “In ancient tombs, some people of high status would wear jade shoes. When jade was scarce, they would use stone instead. The shoes he’s wearing are stone-soled shoes, which were rarely seen in tombs because not many ghosts could walk in such heavy shoes. When they did appear, it usually meant the tomb owner was a general. These shoes often had cinnabar painted on the soles, which were believed to ward off evil spirits. Now, since we’re all souls, if we get kicked by such shoes, it would still hurt.”

Bang! Bang! Bang! The loud noises signified that the Axe Ghost was completely enraged. It didn’t hesitate to release the evil spirits from the small rooms, aiming to break down the door and find Chen Yang and the others. This particular Axe Ghost lacked intelligence, so it didn’t realize that Chen Yang and the others might not even be inside the small rooms. This ignorance, however, meant that there was nowhere to hide.

The door of the small room was smashed open, and the Axe Ghost peered through the hole, about the size of a fist. Some evil spirits tried to escape through the gap, only to be cleaved in half by the Axe Ghost’s axe or kicked into oblivion by its stone shoes. Even though it was possible to flee, the spirits were too afraid to move.

Chen Yang quietly closed the door and turned to the others, “This one’s tough to deal with.”

Mao Zhen remarked, “If the source of resentment awakens, it will certainly choose to stay in the sixth building. To find the source of resentment and seal it, we should stay in the sixth building.”

Mao Xiaoying added, “I heard Chen Qingdai, the president, say that the source of resentment will come to seek us. Maybe it’s already by Tianshi’s side, using an identity that can make us lower our guard.”

Mao Zhen’s expression turned serious. “But if it comes to us first, we lose the initiative. We must act before it does, perform the Soul Releasing Ceremony to dissipate the resentment, and seal the source. By the way, who can do ‘Break the City’?”

‘Break the City’ refers to a Soul Releasing Ceremony related to the King of Hell, Ksitigarbha, and is practiced in some areas of the mortal world by monks and Taoists. It’s a grand ritual that helps guide lost souls and release them from purgatory. Since the Roofless Crypt is an embodiment of Ksitigarbha’s realm, the ‘Break the City’ ceremony can be used here.

Mao Xiaoying’s eyes flashed. “We all can.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Yang nodded, “Yes, we all can. During the Soul Releasing Ceremony, all the souls in the underworld will be drawn to it. They long for reincarnation, but with our current abilities, we cannot release all the souls. Once the resentment in the underworld is dissipated and the source is sealed, they can’t return to the mortal world, and will once again be trapped in the underworld. So, they’ll try to cause trouble while we perform the ceremony.”

Zhang Qiudao added, “So, everyone must participate in the Soul Releasing Ceremony, to prevent the spirits from interfering. If one falls, another Tianshi will step in.”

Mao Zhen seemed to be unaware of the others’ probing, as he suddenly realized, “So things have changed now. In our time, only the best Tianshi could learn the ‘Break the City’ Soul Releasing Ceremony. One Tianshi alone could handle it. Other Tianshi were there to protect, as a measure to prevent the spirits from tempting them with distractions.”

Chen Yang responded, “Tianshi these days are harder to tempt.” He glanced at Zhang Qiudao and Mao Xiaoying, both of whom nodded in agreement, confirming that Mao Zhen wasn’t lying. When Mao Zhen gave him a puzzled look, Chen Yang flashed an innocent smile, “It’s because we’re all excellent.”

 

 

The ‘Break the City’ ritual, a traditional practice in Minnan and Taiwanese folk beliefs, mimics the Soul Releasing Ceremony performed by Ksitigarbha, the King of Hell. The ritual is designed to release the souls of the wronged dead trapped in purgatory, alleviating their suffering and ensuring they are not left to haunt the living.

 

 

 

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