Cataclysm Chapter 73: Grave Relocation 6; Kui Xuan

Chapter 73: Grave Relocation 6; Kui Xuan

Translated by Shiya of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

 

After the road was gone, the three of them could only go further inside the main chamber. The main chamber has two side chambers near the tomb door. The tunnel was full of scattered gold, silver and jewels, as well as fine bronze products. There were also six chess pieces on the floor for children’s educational fun, which were made of polished jade and very valuable.

In the side chamber next to it, a bronze wooden horse, a rattle, a glazed lamp, and other objects  were scattered in a messy manner. Some of them belonged to the Warring States period, and some of them only appeared in the Song Dynasty.

Chen Yang picked up a rattle, which was very worn, but had a smooth surface as if it had been held in the palm of someone’s hand and played with often. He looked up into the side room and found four sarcophagi inside.

Chen Yang and Kou Xuanling, the two of them looked at each other, and both went in to see the side rooms. Lu Xiuzhi stood in the middle of the road with his head down and seemed to be in deep thought. Then suddenly he looked up ahead, his eyes cold and murderous.

The air seems to have invisible things fleeing rapidly with a burst of rapid laughter, inaudible to the humans, ear-piercing and bizarre.

Kou Xuanling emerged from the side room and called out to Lu Xiuzhi in confusion, “Ah Zhi?”

Lu Xiuzhi turned his head and smiled, “I’m coming.” After saying that he went into the side room with Kou Xuanling to check the sarcophagus. On the other side, Chen Yang tried to push the sarcophagus, and surprisingly, he really pushed it open.

The sarcophagus lid was so heavy that the body inside was revealed, and when Chen Yang took a look, his pupils constricted, “Maojiang!” ¹

The corpse inside the sarcophagus was as lifelike as a real person, with pale cheeks but full of muscle. The hair was black, the nails of the fingers were three centimeters long, with a blue and purple cold hue. This was a female corpse, wearing a thin, broad-sleeved dress, typical of the Warring States lady servants’ clothings. Her black hair coiled into a bun. Her face and whole body was covered in short white hair. Her wrists and limbs all nailed with iron nails into the sarcophagus’ interior.

The sarcophagus is vertically taller than the length and width. Inside the coffin, the body had its eyes closed, it was kneeling in the sarcophagus facing southeast. Her arms were fixed with long nails. The wrists and feet were also penetrated by long nails. Obviously this is a human martyr and was fixed in this posture and sealed in the sarcophagus. Chen Yang did not know whether it was due to the Thirty-six Guangsha Formation or the heavy resentment, but this corpse has also been cultivated to become a Maojiang.

The woman had expensive clothing, she was also buried with five Dings and four Guis. Although the Warring States period has collapsed culture in music and mannerisms, in the construction of this tomb, the people respected the Zhou dynasty. They paid attention to the rites and music of the Zhou dynasty ritual system as they constructed this tomb. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, there were strict requirements for burial specifications: Nine Dings and eight Guis for the emperor, seven Dings and six Guis for the vassals, and five Dings and four Guis for the scholar ².

Ding and Gui symbolize the status in the Shang and Zhou period, and the same applies to the status grading in ancient tombs. So these lady servants were not of low status, only higher status people were used as human martyrs. In ancient times, there were also strict specifications for treating people as burial goods, which were divided into human martyrs, human offerings and human sacrifices. Among them, the status of human martyrs cannot be low, it must be a person close to the tomb owner. As for the human offerings, their status was usually not too different from human sacrifices despite being a higher level.

Only sometimes the human offerings will require young children, because in ancient times people believed that the young boy and girl were the reincarnation of transcendents. If they were killed in the tomb they could be taken to ascend to immortality. In this ancient tomb, there were human sacrifices, but there were no young children as human offerings, but the tomb owner was a nine-year-old girl, she was used as the eye of the formation, that was enough cruelty already. 

Chen Yang was afraid of waking up the Maojiang in front of him, so he slowly pushed the sarcophagus lid back up.

He had pushed to leave only a five-centimeter gap, suddenly a hand violently blocked the sarcophagus lid. Long nails on the sarcophagus lid scratched out an ear-piercing sharp sound.

Chen Yang’s pupils tightened, the next second he moved to the side to take off the red rope on the wrist. The sarcophagus lid, as fast as lightning, was vigorously kicked away and it hit the wall raising a lot of dust.

Chen Yang’s action was sharp with the red rope wrapped around the sarcophagus lid. Inside, the Maojiang opened its eyes to fly out when it was injured by the red rope with the Yang Qi. Fiercely bounced back to the bottom of the coffin, it issued a harsh scream. Chen Yang saw this and sped up wrapping up the sarcophagus so that the Maojiang inside could not leave.

The Maojiang’s dead eyes looked at Chen Yang, grinning with red lips and white teeth. Between the lips were two sharp teeth flashing in cold light. Chen Yang raised his finger and his other fingers between the five thunder spirit talisman. In the sarcophagus, the Maojiang, seeing the situation, suddenly let out a sharp whistle. Then the other three sarcophagus coffin lid began moving. Chen Yang placed another evil spirit talisman on the forehead of the Maojiang, temporarily sealing its breath.

Then he quickly put down his backpack and brought out the vermilion and clear wine. He mixed  everything and while stirring he looked at the three sarcophagi on the side. Taking out a brush, with vermilion sand, he drew the Evil charm on the sarcophagus, temporarily sealing them with the Yang Qi. Most of the Jiangshis in ancient tombs were evil and purely Yin. Yin and evil things were afraid of Yang, so it was temporarily suppressed.

When Chen Yang drew the evil spirit charm on the third sarcophagus, the sarcophagus lid was kicked off halfway through the painting. He quickly dodged out of the way in time, but he failed to stop the deadly Maojiang from running outside. The Maojiang dashed towards Chen Yang, its ten finger nails were hard as steel knives, flashing green and purple light. Chen Yang raised his arm to block the attack of the Maojiang. The Maojiang’s five fingers tightened to form a blade, slashing towards Chen Yang’s neck. He leaned back and grabbed the Maojiang’s shoulder, using it as a leverage point, propelling himself to the back side of the Maojiang. Chen Yang held his brush stained with vermilion and drew the evil spirit talisman directly on the Maojiang’s back.

The Maojiang was wounded by the Yang Qi, it twisted its torso and faced Chen Yang, angrily aiming at Chen Yang’s forehead. Chen Yang raised his eyes, flipped his wrist and put the brush up against his palm, which was burned with black marks. 

Chen Yang then held the brush with his mouth while his arms moved together to seal Maojiang’s hands. He kicked its knees with heavy force, but they refused to bend. Maojiang’s body was like a bronze wall, the force was infinite. Chen Yang was thrown onto the red rope sealed sarcophagus.

The Maojiang inside the sarcophagus ignored the red rope burning its hands. It outstretched its arms to grab Chen Yang’s neck. Its nails looked like they would be inserted into his neck soon, Chen Yang let go of the brush from his mouth. The brush fell down just perfectly to brush past the Maojiang’s finger. Another Maojiang whisked away from where it was before, as it lunged for Chen Yang. He glanced at the corner to see the red rope knot. He gently pulled on the red rope and the ancient copper coin fell through his fingers to his palm, the coin touched the Maojiang behind him. This led to the Maojiang retreating behind him.

Chen Yang used the red rope to tie up the Maojiang in front of him, still aiming for his head. The red rope kept burning the Maojiang, eventually rendering it incapacitated. When Chen Yang loosened the red rope from the Maojiang, he restrung the ancient bronze coin back to the rope. The Maojiang shrunk inside the sarcophagus, it looked poor and aggrieved.

At this time, a Jiangshi whistle came from inside the main chamber. Hearing the whistle, the Maojiangs dared not attack Chen Yang anymore. The Maojiang at Chen Yang’s feet, which was whipped by Chen Yang’s rope, shivered heavily and limped back to its sarcophagus. It even pulled out the stone lid that had embedded itself in the wall during the fight back out, it pulled on the lid to cover itself. All the while looking wronged as it glanced at Chen Yang. 

Chen Yang, “…” It was almost like they were being bullied by them.

He backed up and left the chamber, not dropping his guard. When he went out, he saw Kou Xuanling holding onto Lu Xiuzhi who also came out from another chamber. Kou Xuanling told him, “We found four sarcophagi inside, they were human martyrs. The status was quite high, similar to that of a guard, and they were very skilled. Ah Zhi was even injured by them.”

Lu Xiuzhi was injured by them? Chen Yang’s left eyebrow raised high, looking at Lu Xiuzhi. The latter returned his gaze with ripple-free eyes. Chen Yang instantly understood, and sent a sympathetic look at the ignorant Kou Xuanling. It would seem that his ‘falling’ date is near.

Chen Yang, “Did you hear the whistle?”

Kou Xuanling, “Yes. It was because they heard the whistle that the four Maojiangs inside stopped attacking us.”

Chen Yang, “After the side chambers are the front chamber and the back chamber. The tomb owner was buried in the back room. The whistler just now is at least higher rank than the eight Maojiangs in the east and west side chambers, not only in life, but also in death.”

If the eight beings in the east and west side chambers were already Maojiangs, then the owner must be a thousand-year-old Feijiang. A thousand-year-old Feijiang was good at magic, not afraid of sunlight, and was almost like a living person. The corpse’s blood contained poison, just one drop can turn another person into a Jiangshi.

Previously in the Changhe Coffin Home there was a Feijiang, in order to deal with it, three Shangqing Tianshis fell. It was obvious how difficult a Feijiang is to fight.

The three of them were in a heavy mood and more careful and vigilant as they passed the tombstone to reach the front chamber. The front chamber was magnificently decorated, with seven Dings and six Guis, the specifications of a retainer. There were also many clay pots and porcelain bowls, valuable treasures from the Warring States period and the Song dynasty, as well as pearls that rolled all over the floor. The front chamber was like the main living room of an ancient mansion, with tables, chairs and oil lamps.

In the front chamber stood a woman in a modern white dress, with her back to them. It was quite a big mystery to have a modernly dressed woman standing in an ancient tomb.

Chen Yang stepped forward and calmly asked, “Who are you?”

She kept her back to the crowd and said, “What if I said I was the tomb owner?”

“Your ‘if’ already denied that you are the tomb owner.” Chen Yang said calmly.

She laughed softly, “I asked something stupid.” After a pause, she asked, “Can you guys solve the Rubik’s Cube?” Her voice was slightly distressed, “My little master can’t solve the Rubik’s Cube and is very unhappy right now. I can’t solve it either. If you can solve it, I can help you get out of the tomb.”

Kou Xuanling said, “We came here to stop you from changing Bijia Mountain and Tiewei Mountain into the eight hells, and also to stop you from setting the Thirty-Six Guangsha Formation there. You also ruined the feng shui of Bijia Mountain by burying a bronze coffin within the boundaries of my Kou family’s ancestral tomb, leading to the destruction of my Kou family’s ancestral tomb. This is considered a great offense.”

The woman was slightly stunned, then laughed, “Sorry, my little master is a bit capricious. She just got tired of living here and remembered the good landscape of Bijia Mountain, so she buried the bronze coffin in your Kou family’s ancestral tomb. She wanted to remind you to relocate your tomb. As for the Thirty-six Guangsha Formation, she just read some Buddhist books and tried imitating.” Her words were full of doting, although apologetic but not very sincere, she seemed very indulgent of her little master.

Chen Yang was now sure that the little master she was talking about was the eye of the Thirty-six Guangsha Formation, the nine-year-old girl buried here. And the woman was her vassal. He said, “Others built good ancestral graves, and you can just occupy it suddenly if you wanted to? It’s year 8012 and slavery is not a thing anymore. If you take up someone’s ancestral tomb and ruin their feng shui, you’ll naturally be beaten.”

The woman turned around and looked at Chen Yang with a smile.

When Chen Yang and Kou Xuanling saw her, they both changed their expressions, “Xu Ani?”

The woman said with a smile, “I’m not her.”

Chen Yang’s eyes changed, “You are the hostess of the Fortune House?”

“Yes. I told you we would meet again. Hello, Chen Yang, my surname is Ji, my name is Jiang.” Ji was the national surname of the Zhou Dynasty, for her to be called Ji Jiang, she must be a royal princess of the Zhou Dynasty. She nodded and said, “I was indeed a princess, but I was so low in status that I was beheaded and killed in the tomb as a vassal to revive the Zhou Dynasty. Also to assist the young master. Originally, I was just a soul, but later Xu Ani sought out this ancient tomb and begged the young master for a drop of Jiangshi blood. I made an agreement with her that after a thousand years, she would automatically give up her body to me and I am able to walk here now.”

Chen Yang, “Why did you look for me?”

“Because you are a highly Ying person?”

“So?”

Ji Jiang said, “Don’t be nervous, I’m not trying to harm you. You are the most Yin person, my young master’s fate is also special like you, she carries the Hua Gai star. Unfortunately, she was used as a revenge tool against the Jin State and imprisoned in this ancient tomb for 2,000 years. If you can bring my young master out of the tomb, you won’t have to worry about the Bijia Mountain and the eight hells.”

Chen Yang sneered, “So I have to bring a Feijiang out of the ancient tomb?”

Ji Jiang sighed, “My little master is just playful and has no concept of good and evil. That’s why I let her follow you. You have your own sense of good and evil in your heart, others can’t shake your faith. If you are here, then the little master will not be reckless.”

Chen Yang shook his head, “No, I don’t agree.”

The danger of the Feijiang was not only in its own strength, but also in how intense the corpse poison contained in its blood was. There was a time when the Wu Lingjiu could destroy a prosperous kingdom with just Jiangshi blood, let alone the Feijiang itself. Thinking about this, Chen Yang’s eyebrows jumped, “Seven hundred years ago, the Feijiang blood poison in Wu Lingjiu’s possession was obtained from this ancient tomb?”

Ji Jiang fixed her eyes on Chen Yang and said calmly, “Yes. We were all tricked. Xu Ani did not want to fulfill her promise to give me her body, and he partnered with Wu Lingjiu. Wu Lingjiu has the same physique as you and could take the little master out to see the world. But he scammed the young master for her blood, so he had to be punished. I also scammed him though, the Feijiang blood in his hand was just a diluted Maojiang blood, not enough to turn a person into a Jiangshi.”

“Sorry, a Feijiang is like a time bomb that can dye a city into Jiangshis. If she is uncontrollable and suddenly gets angry, she will also drag the people in my branch division down with her. I can’t irresponsibly bring a Feijiang into the world just because you asked me to.”

Ji Jiang said, “The young master has never drank blood before.”

“That’s because she’s never seen a human before.” Chen Yang finished his rebuttal and then realized that he was wrong. Chen Yang said, “The dead ones outside, are they not humans you killed?”

Ji Jiang, “Have you seen the human sacrifices in the side chamber? They have very low status and have no self-control, they can’t restrain the urge to eat human flesh when they smell Yang Qi. What happened in the outer chamber was unknown to the inner chamber, we were in deep sleep at that time. When we woke up we found out that the tomb had been dug and that many people had died. When those people died, it had nothing to do with our young master. We can only blame them for being greedy, the craftsmen knew they were digging in the wrong place but continued to dig, they were greedy for the burial goods in the tomb.”

Seeing Chen Yang and Kou Xuanling both look unmoved, Ji Jiang said with a sigh, “A child who was imprisoned in the clan because of her physique, and when she finally could leave, she was killed in the tomb as revenge for another kingdom, where could she learn right and wrong from? Although many people died because of her, could it really be blamed on her? She just wanted to move after such a long time, but she knows that she needs to inform you beforehand, the bronze coffin was originally her coffin. She does not know good and evil, but she still knows her manners.”

At this time, from behind Ji Jiang came a girl’s cold voice, “Jiang, there is Yang Qi?”

Ji Jiang turned sideways, Chen Yang and others saw the owner of the tomb, a girl dressed in luxurious clothes, due to years without sunlight, her skin tone was abnormally white. Her features were delicate and lovely, and her expression was cold. At a closer look, the eyes were dark, and on closer inspection she had double pupils.

Double pupils in ancient times are a symbol of the emperor, plus the girl’s fate with the Hua Gai Star, her fate was truly special and very noble. But as a woman, especially born in a Fangshi³ family, she was quite scorned.

The girl stared at Chen Yang, after a while it was as if a million starry lights were flowing out of her eyes. She walked up to Chen Yang and said, “Chen XiaoYang?”

Chen Yang, “My name is Chen Yang, you can call me big brother.”

The girl said, “I am more than two thousand years older than you.”

“The one in my family is even older than you. In terms of seniority and height, you have to call me big brother.” When facing the girl, Chen Yang couldn’t be cruel enough to put on a cold face.

The girl’s eyes were smiling, “My name is Kui Xuan. Kui is the surname of the descendants of Emperor Yan and Dayu, and Xuan means beautiful.” Before the Warring States, people were honored by their surnames, and each surname could be traced back to its honored origin. It was easy to see that the girl was proud of her surname.

“Kui Xuan?”

“Yes.” The girl held out her hand, “Can you hug me?”

Kou Xuanling was about to say something to stop her, not sure if this was a deliberate deception by Ji Jiang and Kui Xuan, but Lu Xiuzhi pulled him back and shook his head in silence, so Kou Xuanling just stood and watched, not saying anything.

Chen Yang squatted down and stared at Kui Xuan, and finally picked her up. Kui Xuan wrapped her arms around Chen Yang’s neck and smiled contentedly. She whispered on Chen Yang’s neck, “I am very happy.”

Chen Yang did not understand, “Mn?”

Kui Xuan smiled and said, “I like Chen XiaoYang. I knew Chen XiaoYang was in danger, but could only save Chen XiaoYang when it was very late. I’m sorry, Chen XiaoYang.”

Chen Yang sounded confused, “What are you talking about?”

Chen Yang sighed and said, “I’m sorry, I can’t take the responsibility to bring you out.”

The Feijiang is too dangerous, and even if Kui Xuan can control her nature, he can’t guarantee that Kui Xuan won’t shed Feijiang blood accidentally outside. What’s more, she has no concept of good and evil, she believes that killing is wrong and doing anything else is fine. For example, destroying the feng shui of the Bijia Mountain and the feng shui of the Kou family’s ancestral tomb is something that will harm three generations of people.

Kui Xuan shook her head, “It’s okay, I met Chen XiaoYang.” She got off Chen Yang, her tiny hands could only wrap around two of his fingers. She pulled Chen Yang into the back chamber, her own tomb. As if wanting to give Chen Yang all the treasures she treasured impatiently, she held her arms full of worthless folk toys, “For you.”

Coyly looking forward to giving her treasures to her favorite person, hoping that he will also like it. As long as the person she likes is happy, then she will be happy too.

Chen Yang received Kui Xuan’s arms full of treasures, and Kui Xuan instantly smiled with arched eyebrows. She dug her upper body into the sarcophagus, her short legs were high up on the outside to keep her balance, scavenged her favorite treasures from inside again and ran back to Chen Yang to sit down quickly, “This is a toy Jiang brought from outside, she said it is a toy that many people can’t buy, it is very valuable.”

She solemnly opened a jade box and carefully held out the contents, which was a jewelry embedded music box with the year 1710 on the box. It was preserved very well, so it was obvious how much Kui Xuan liked this music box. She handed the music box and the jade box to Chen Yang solemnly, “It’s for you.”

Her little face was a bit stiff, it seems like she was quite reluctant but still willing to give the music box to Chen Yang.

Chen Yang was amused but also puzzled, “Why give it to me?”

“I like Chen XiaoYang.” When she said this, Kui Xuan was also very serious.

Chen Yang, “Why do you like me?”

“Comfy.” Kui Xuan leaned closer to Chen Yang and said seriously, “Chen XiaoYang’s scent makes me feel very comfortable. Other than that, I just like Chen Yang.” She stretched out her index finger and pressed it against Chen Yang’s heart, “There seems to be something here all the time, from blurred to clear, firm and unbreakable. I’ve been watching you for a long time.”

Chen Yang’s eyes became strange, “You’ve been looking at me? Do you know me?”

“I do. Jiang said that only the most Yin person could bring me out of the tomb. Wu LingJiu lied to Jiang and Jiang said she would observe him. She also told me about you, so I knew you.” That’s why she gradually liked him more and more, because they were the same kind of people,  Chen XiaoYang became an existence that she aspires to be, becoming the light in her world.

“You just said you were very late to save me… What do you mean?”

Kui Xuan smiled at him, took his finger and said, “Does Chen XiaoYang want to see Wu Kui?”

Chen Yang’s pupils suddenly constricted, Wu Kui was the Wu grandpa’s real name. “Do you know where Grandpa Wu is?” Grandpa Wu appeared in his dreams a few times after his death, but never told him the specifics.

Kui Xuan answered, “He is the Ping City Underworld Official, Wu Kui.”

Chen Yang had a flash of light in his mind, remembering that when he came to Ping city, Du Shuo vaguely instructed him that if he encountered difficulties he could go to find the Ping City Underworld Official. Usually he directly asks Chen Yang to call him when faced with problems.

Clang, clang, clang. The bell charmed three times, the Western bell in the tomb room struck at two o’clock sharp. Kui Xuan took Chen Yang’s hand and walked outside the main chamber, “At this time, the door of the tomb can be opened from the inside, you should go out quickly.”

Hearing that, Chen Yang asked, “What about you?”

Kui Xuan was puzzled and Chen Yang whispered, “Don’t you want me to take you out?”

Kui Xuan, “You feel very difficult.” She shook her head and said, “I don’t want to be a bother to you.” After a pause, she added, “I didn’t know the Kou family was your friend, I won’t go to live in Bijia Mountain anymore, please don’t resent me.”

Chen Yang’s heart clenched, feeling a bit sour and uncomfortable. It wasn’t because Kui Xuan had backed down, after all, what she had done was really wrong. But perhaps everyone will be moved when faced with this heavy weight of love.

Kui Xuan said to Kou Xuanling, “The river god beast in Bijia Mountain was supposed to suppress something in the ancient tomb’s water pool, as long as it was salvaged, and the mud are cleaned up, the feng shui of Bijia Mountain could still be restored as before.”

Ji Jiang stood in front of Kui Xuan, who looked calm, “Jiang, will you also send Chen XiaoYang out together with me?”

After a long time, Ji Jiang sighed, “Yes.”

Kui Xuan sent Chen Yang out through another tomb door, which was opened according to the eight trigrams to match the time.

Before Chen Yang left, Ji Jiang ran out of the tomb door and said to him, “Ghost Arts of the Wu tribe comes from the Zhou Dynasty and even earlier from the Fangshis, the Wu tribe worshiped the Qing Yi God⁴. Nuba ⁵dressed in blue was said to be the originator of Jiangshis. Kui Xuan’s mother’s clan had a Nuba bloodline, though it has become very thin to the point it is almost non-existent. By the time Kui Xuan arrived, the bloodline began to reappear. You should know that the Nuba does not suck blood, and Kui Xuan does not depend on sucking blood to live. If you want to know more, ask Wu Kui, and the Fengdu Emperor. After you have gained a better understanding, please re-consider whether you want to take Kui Xuan out of the ancient tomb.”

 

The author has something to say.

Remember when the mistress of the wishing house and Chen Yang said they would meet again earlier? Remember when they caught Xu Ani and said that somehow she didn’t look like a Feijiang? Xu Ani got into someone else’s skin and disguised as someone else, and then ran into the cat ghost’s body, why didn’t she run back into her own body if she was a Feijiang? This is the reason why, since the blood they got was diluted.

In addition, Wu LingJiu did not know that the woman who followed him was no longer Xu Ani, otherwise he would have run away in fear.

Five Dings and four Guis: Both are bronze vessels.

隗 (Kui): A surname. Pronounced differently in different regions, with wei and yu.

 

 

 

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