Chapter 327: The Divine Tomb of the Underground Palace (14)
Faced with Ye Li’s obvious delight, the general only glanced at him indifferently before turning his gaze back to Yan Shixun. He showed no trace of disappointment from his unspoken feelings being brushed aside, remaining calm and composed as ever.
Only then did the King of Hell feel a slight sense of relief.
It wasn’t just because it seemed the two of them wouldn’t fight again, but because that familiar sense of stability had finally returned.
Rational to the point of coldness. Unshakably strong.
This was the very same general who had once left him awestruck a thousand years ago—a peak representation of the ultimate limits mortals could reach.
As for a certain current Lord of Fengdu…
The King of Hell glanced at Ye Li, who still stuck close to Yan Shixun like a bodyguard protecting a precious treasure, not leaving his side for even a second. He shook his head with a trace of helplessness.
Success and failure alike stemmed from Yan Shixun. He had never imagined that the very man who had once subdued Fengdu and saved the Great Dao in a time of crisis could also become a source of such headaches.
What good were emotions, really? How could love ever be more important than the Great Dao?
—A question that had puzzled the King of Hell, who had been single for several millennia since his creation.
Forget it.
With a swift motion, his folding fan traced a smooth arc through the air and landed neatly back in his hand. The King of Hell shook his head, deciding not to waste more thought trying to understand Ye Li’s mind.
The wild wolf leading the group up front moved with a sleek, powerful gait, each step revealing the fluid muscle movement beneath its thick fur.
It glanced back at Yan Shixun from time to time, as if checking to make sure they were keeping up. Only then did it continue ahead, leading them deeper into the yizhuang.
Along the way, the collapsed ruins of former homes made Yan Shixun’s heart feel heavy and unsettled.
The mountain breeze and bright moon remained unchanged, but the villagers who had once loyally guarded the graves here had perished more than a hundred years ago. Now, only headless corpses lay quietly in their coffins, awaiting ghost deities to come and retrieve their bones.
In that moment, Yan Shixun felt as though he had brushed against the edge of the Great Dao, understanding the reason it had led them here.
It wasn’t just for Ye Li’s old remains, but also for the others who had ties to Ye Li and died tragic deaths.
The villagers who lived here had shown loyalty and righteousness through generations. They didn’t deserve to become lonely, wandering ghosts after death.
If the living, out of malice, had driven nine-inch nails into their skulls to trap their souls and prevent them from seeking justice in the underworld or in Fengdu, then let the underworld and Fengdu come to them, to hear their grievances and their rage.
Yan Shixun’s expression turned slightly dazed for a brief second. But when he saw the wild wolf stopping ahead, patiently waiting for him to catch up, a faint smile returned to his face, and he followed.
Aside from the villagers who had been massacred, the yizhuang also held corpses from other villages—people who had died and been dumped here because their families refused to pay for proper burials. These bodies had all been placed here and forgotten along with the abandoned yizhuang.
As Yan Shixun and the others passed by, they heard knocking—thump, thump!—from the houses on either side of the road that had once stored corpses and remained relatively intact. The sounds were accompanied by the grating screech of fingernails scraping against wooden boards.
It was as if the corpses placed here could sense the living aura on Yan Shixun and became excited, trying to break through their thin coffins to attack the living.
Even the doors to the houses bulged inward repeatedly, as if something was slamming into them from inside, trying to get out.
But before Yan Shixun could react, the wild wolf swept its cold, ghostly green eyes across the surroundings.
In an instant, the knocking and scratching noises vanished completely, as if snuffed out by fear of the wolf’s dominance.
Seeing this, Yan Shixun raised an eyebrow, looking at the wild wolf ahead with interest.
But the wolf seemed long accustomed to such reactions. It withdrew its gaze without emotion and kept walking. Its silver-gray fur rose and fell with each step, like moonlight flowing across its back.
This scene made Yan Shixun’s fingers itch—he couldn’t help but want to feel how smooth that fur was.
With a chuckle, he lowered his voice and said to Ye Li beside him, “It reminds me of Xingxing. That child, when he’s not smiling, has the same predatory air as a wolf. Pity he can only hold it for three seconds.”
The wild wolf up front, who actually understood what he said: …
It stopped, turned its head, and gave Yan Shixun a long look—an expression that looked almost like a silent eye-roll—before continuing forward.
Its look seemed to say: That so-called Xingxing—how could he even compare to me?
Yan Shixun’s eyes were filled with even more amusement.
He had already suspected that the wild wolf had gained sentience—not only could it follow the instructions of spirits, but it also seemed to understand what they were saying. So, he had casually tested it.
Sure enough.
As for taking advantage of Lu Xingxing, Yan Shixun didn’t see anything wrong with it at all. In fact, he happily considered it a kind of praise for Lu Xingxing.
—If a husky found out it was mistaken for a wolf, of course it would be thrilled.
The wild wolf seemed to sense Yan Shixun’s gaze. It lazily swished its thick, smooth tail, but as if aware of Yan Shixun’s hidden intentions, it no longer looked back. Instead, it buried its head forward and ran deeper into the yizhuang, eager to lead Yan Shixun to the entrance of the burial grounds as quickly as possible.
After crossing a few mounds of ruins and earth, the wild wolf finally stopped under a massive banyan tree. It turned around and silently stared at Yan Shixun.
This banyan tree was extraordinarily large—at least a dozen meters tall, with a trunk so thick that several grown men wouldn’t be able to wrap their arms around it. There was even a house built beneath it, completely surrounded by the tree’s spreading aerial roots.
The aerial roots had descended to the ground and taken root like trees themselves. The entire area was covered in a chaotic web of surface roots, looking like giant pythons entangled across the earth. If one wasn’t careful, it was easy to trip over the crisscrossing roots.
It was a stunning sight of a single tree forming an entire forest, far larger than any banyan tree Yan Shixun had ever seen.
To get a full view of the tree, he had to step back several paces and crane his neck to look up.
Unfortunately, this tree was already dead. Only its enormous trunk remained, stretching out in the moonlight like claws and fangs—at a glance, it resembled a fierce and snarling ghost.
The wild wolf, however, casually swished its tail and nimbly hopped over the sprawling roots. It stopped atop one of the raised, withered root structures, looking lazy yet expectant, as if waiting for Yan Shixun to catch up.
When Yan Shixun withdrew his gaze and saw the wolf’s posture, he couldn’t help but chuckle and say, “Is this your way of thoughtfully waiting for me, or are you subtly expressing your disdain, getting back at me for testing you earlier?”
The wolf snorted loudly, turned its head with a proud tilt, and walked away.
It looked almost like a person scoffing in disdain.
Yan Shixun shook his head, smiling, and murmured, “Now that I look at you again, you really do remind me of Xingxing.”
But the wild wolf was indeed the best guide.
Only after jumping into the maze of roots behind the wolf did Yan Shixun truly feel how complex the terrain was.
Huge stones and withered trees twisted and blocked the way, while dead shrubs and thick weeds covered all traces. A moment’s distraction could leave one trapped among the tangled branches, stuck by the legs.
And yet, every path the wild wolf took just so happened to be easier to walk on, saving Yan Shixun a lot of strength and time.
It was precisely because of this that Yan Shixun finally understood why, over a hundred years ago, villagers from other towns had searched every corner of this closed-off village and still failed to find the burial ground.
—Who would’ve thought that the so-called treasure was hidden beneath a tangled forest of roots, like a natural labyrinth?
When the wild wolf finally stopped completely at a certain spot, no longer moving forward but silently watching Yan Shixun, he lowered his gaze toward its paws and finally spotted the entrance to the burial ground.
The wild wolf stretched out its sharp claws and scraped away the dead branches and leaves on the ground, revealing a portion of the truth.
Beneath the massive root system, there was a hollow space hidden beneath dead underbrush.
A crack-like opening in the ground yawned in the darkness, bottomless and pitch black.
A cold wind seemed to waft up from below, instantly causing the surrounding temperature to drop noticeably.
Yan Shixun paused for a moment, then walked steadily toward the opening. When the wild wolf let out a low rumbling sound from its throat, he carefully stopped, crouched down, and swept away the dead branches covering the ground, revealing the full entrance.
As expected, it was the mouth of a karst cave.
Chilly, damp air rose from below, accompanied by the faint sound of dripping water.
With the covering now fully removed, the musty, decayed smell that had been trapped inside for years suddenly rushed out, causing even the King of Hell to involuntarily take a few steps back, frown, and show a hint of disgust.
But Yan Shixun chuckled.
Who could’ve imagined that those kind-hearted villagers a thousand years ago had cleverly used the landscape to hide so many bones in a place no outsider would ever find?
An underground karst cave.
The spot the wolf had indicated was precisely on the edge of the cave entrance.
Though neither man nor wolf had said a word beforehand, their coordination was seamless.
Yan Shixun looked up at the wild wolf, only to see it quickly avert its gaze and lift its chin.
The wolf raised its head high, clearly not intending to interact with Yan Shixun any further, and simply continued its task with cold indifference.
Aside from its lazily swaying tail, which gave away its inner thoughts, the wild wolf didn’t move.
Yan Shixun was amused.
He chuckled as he stood up, his movements nimble as he stepped onto a tree root nearby and nimbly leapt over it, steadying himself beside the wild wolf. Then, before the wolf could react, he swiftly reached out and rubbed its fluffy, upright ear.
“Thanks. You did great.”
“When we head down below to look for the Bone Burial Ground, we’ll trouble you to keep an eye on things up here. When we’re back, I’ll treat you to some candy.”
The wild wolf’s eyes instantly widened in disbelief as it stared at Yan Shixun, stunned that his speed had been so fast it hadn’t even had time to react.
However, Yan Shixun didn’t give the wolf a chance to respond. He simply nodded at Ye Li and said, “Let’s go.”
Before the words had fully left his mouth, he was already leaping toward the cave entrance.
Ye Li followed close behind, disappearing into the pitch-black cave along with Yan Shixun.
The King of Hell shrugged and smiled. “That couple… each one is more decisive than the other.”
As he spoke, he turned slightly and looked at the general, tilting his chin toward the cave entrance to indicate, “Shall we go together? Or you first?”
The general answered with action rather than words.
“…Figures.”
The King of Hell sighed helplessly. “With Yan Shixun around, how could he possibly want to linger here for even a moment longer?”
But just before jumping into the cave, the King of Hell’s ears twitched slightly, as if he had heard something. He slowly turned his head, his gaze cold and calm as he looked toward the yizhuang behind them.
Rustle, rustle…
It sounded like something was dragging its feet through the darkness, gradually approaching their direction.
“A full moon… a perfect night for a corpse to turn,”
The King of Hell curled his lips into a smile, devoid of warmth. Then he turned back to look at the wild wolf that was still watching him.
The wild wolf pointed its snout toward the cave entrance, seemingly asking: You’re not going down? Planning to desert?
The King of Hell: Sure, everything has a spirit, and I’ve seen my share of strange creatures, but this wolf… isn’t it too clever? Why do I feel like I just saw a human-like expression on a wolf’s face? Am I imagining things?
He eyed the wild wolf suspiciously, nearly convinced that it might be an undercover agent sent by the Great Dao sect.
The wild wolf clearly understood the King of Hell’s look. It lazily rolled its eyes and turned around to flop onto the ground right then and there.
Whatever.
That posture practically shouted: Jump if you want. If not, don’t disturb my nap.
The King of Hell: “…………”
Did you act like that toward Yan Shixun just now too?
“Forget it.”
The King of Hell smiled and nodded politely to the wolf. “Since you don’t need help, then until we return—”
His eyes swept coldly behind him. “—those trash over there, I’ll trouble you to deal with them.”
With that, the King of Hell gathered his sleeves and stepped forward, letting himself fall freely into the ground’s cave entrance and immediately plummet down.
A sharp, frigid wind caught his long robes, making them billow like crane wings, rustling fiercely in the air.
Meanwhile, the wild wolf flicked its tail and lazily rested its head on its front paws.
In the surrounding darkness, faint green lights flickered and floated.
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