Volume II – The General’s Tomb Chapter Forty-Seven – Encounter with the Three-Eyed Serpent People

When Li Kun actually tried to carry the golden nanmu coffin out, I was utterly at a loss, torn between laughter and tears. I turned to him, half crying and half smiling, and said, "Old Li, have you gone mad for money? This coffin may be worth a fortune, but have you thought about it? How could we possibly carry something this heavy out?"

Li Kun scratched his head at my words, but stubbornly refused to admit it. "I was just speaking offhand. I just want to open the lid and see what that old scoundrel looks like now. As long as he isn't like his wife, it'll be fine."

I shook my head and smiled. "Hold on. Let's light the incense for warding off ghosts first. If anything happens, at least we'll be able to see it."

Li Kun nodded in agreement. "Right, we need to be careful this time. I don't want to risk my life against corpse demons again. If it hadn’t been for that knife, I reckon both of us would have ended up in here."

As Li Kun spoke, I placed my backpack on the ground, took out the incense sticks for ghost offerings, and struck a match to light them one by one. Using my flashlight, I searched the surroundings and found a crack in the floor, then planted the five incense sticks there.

After finishing, Li Kun handed me the crowbar while he grabbed the entrenching tool, signaling he was ready.

We positioned ourselves on opposite sides of the coffin. I examined its lid, which was adorned with many paintings, but time had rendered them blurry; only traces of color remained.

I wedged the crowbar into the seam of the coffin lid while Li Kun mirrored my action on the other side with the shovel. I applied a bit of force, and with a crisp crack, the lid moved. Together, we pressed down, and with a creaking sound, the massive lid was pried open.

Once the lid was off, we moved to the front, bracing our hands against it and pushing, the wood groaning as it slid forward, slowly revealing the coffin’s interior.

But the moment the lid opened, a stench beyond description assaulted us. Instinctively, we raised our hands to cover our noses and mouths. Li Kun remarked, "Even a coffin worth its weight in gold can't stop a corpse from rotting."

After that, we shone our flashlights inside, and what we saw made our jaws drop. Li Kun’s eyes were wide, and he fumbled so badly he dropped his flashlight to the floor.

I, too, gasped at the sight. The contents of this coffin could surprise anyone.

Inside, the shriveled male corpse was wrapped in a suit of pure gold armor, and atop its head rested a solid gold crown. At the front of the crown was a huge, gleaming gemstone embedded.

I looked closer: could this glowing gem be the famed luminous pearl of ancient times?

A golden mask covered the mummy’s face, shaped bizarrely like a skull, but with two long, slender antennae extending forward, about ten centimeters in length.

What shocked me most, though, was the last item: in the corpse’s right hand was a dazzling long sword.

The entire scabbard was black, with vein-like patterns running down from the hilt, giving it a bold appearance. What stunned us was that the sword showed not a hint of rust, only a layer of dust.

Li Kun bent down to retrieve his flashlight and quickly shone it into the coffin, exclaiming in awe, "My goodness, Liu, am I seeing things? Pinch me—I must be hallucinating. Everything in here is gold? Gold armor, gold crown, and look at that pearl—it's still glowing!"

"And the mask is gold, too. And that sword—is it forged from steel? Why does it look so new?"

Unable to restrain his curiosity, Li Kun strode to the middle of the coffin, bent down, and grabbed the sword from the mummy’s hand.

He pried the dead fingers loose and pulled the sword free.

I walked over, peering at the sword in his hand.

Previously, I could only glimpse its outline, but now I saw its full form.

The sword was about one and a half meters long, with clear, vein-like carvings on the scabbard—like veins on an arm. There were ten dark red lines in total, making it look eerily strange in the hand.

Li Kun clicked his tongue. "This is a treasure. After all these years, it hasn’t corroded at all—definitely not an ordinary sword."

I nodded. "Right. For a general to be buried holding it, it must be extraordinary."

Li Kun said, "I wonder what kind of weapon it is from the Song dynasty." He gripped the hilt and drew the sword.

As the blade left the scabbard, a chill flashed, and the thin, bright blade gleamed sharply in the flashlight’s beam. As he drew it, a buzzing sound resonated from the sword.

At that sound, our hairs stood on end, and we exclaimed together, "What a sword!"

We exchanged smiles, admiring the blade. Not a trace of rust marred it, and it kept shimmering with cold light. A long blood groove ran from the hilt to the tip.

Li Kun swung it a few times, then glanced around, raised his arm, and brought the sword down on the coffin lid. With a crisp crack, the blade sank deep into the golden nanmu wood.

Seeing Li Kun wield the sword like a machete, I couldn’t help but laugh. "This sword is sharp, though not quite as sharp as that long knife, but it’s more than enough to deal with ordinary corpse demons. But—" I looked at the burly Li Kun and broke into laughter.

Li Kun stared at me, puzzled. "What is it, Liu? Finish your sentence. You sound like a salesman."

I asked, "A salesman? What do you mean?"

Li Kun rolled his eyes. "Someone who always keeps you guessing."

I burst out laughing, and Li Kun continued, "Enough laughing—so what is it?"

I glanced at him, then at the slender sword in his hand. "It’s just… you, a big, burly man, holding such a delicate sword—it looks odd, like a weird uncle with a child’s lollipop." I laughed again.

Li Kun spat, "You’re the weird uncle. Your whole family is weird uncles. What’s wrong with me holding a sword? I like swords. I was born to use swords. I even dreamed I was a swordsman once."

I grinned mischievously. "Yes, yes, you were born for the sword. You’re the most sword-like of all."

Li Kun raised his hand and slapped me, about to retort—but suddenly he froze, eyes wary, breath quickening, staring behind me.

Seeing Li Kun so serious, I knew something was behind me. With his temperament, he wouldn’t act like this otherwise.

I slowly turned, raising my flashlight and shining it behind me.

The moment I turned, I saw a huge figure, over two meters tall, at the half-open bronze gate. My heart sank—it was the three-eyed serpent man who had almost killed me earlier.

My spirits plummeted. We had just fought the undead woman and barely made it to the main chamber, only to run into this creature again.

And the serpent man’s defenses were only slightly weaker than the undead woman’s. Worse, Li Kun and I were almost out of ammunition. Li Kun had used all his bullets to keep the undead woman at bay; now I was left with a single magazine, which wouldn’t be enough to kill this thing.

Were we really going to have to fight this monster to the death? If so, our chances were slim—things were looking bad.

I pondered for a moment, then realized a possible solution. Unlike the undead woman’s steel body, the three-eyed serpent man was flesh and blood. That meant we still had a chance.

To kill him, we’d have to destroy all three of his exposed eyes. If we managed that, he’d be a blind serpent, helpless against us.