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I returned to the cabin with Jiao Ba, both of us holding flashlights. This time, with the flashlight in hand, the passage looked clearer, but I couldn't shake off a bad feeling. I was afraid that some monster would suddenly leap out from the water beneath us. All the while, Jiao Ba kept mumbling, "Brother Yi, can we not go? Let's go back! It's too dangerous..."
"Shut up and keep moving," I said, dragging Jiao Ba along as we reached the last cabin door. We entered one after the other. I shone the flashlight around, revealing a cabin full of bones. Naturally, I shivered again, but this time Jiao Ba was surprisingly calm, his face betraying no emotion.
Next, I directed the flashlight at the coffin. The moment I did, I was startled by what I saw. The coffin was perfectly positioned in the center. I remembered clearly that the figure in black had opened the coffin lid halfway, but now it was shut tight with no signs of having been moved. What was going on? At that moment, I felt a chill run down my spine, and cold sweat began to trickle down my forehead.
"Lao Ba, look! I remember that coffin lid was halfway open, but... how did it close again?" I turned to Jiao Ba with a pale face.
Jiao Ba's expression was equally grim as he stared at the coffin and said slowly, "It must have been that female corpse who closed it herself." After saying this, he looked at me with a strange expression.
"Are you kidding me? I'm asking you seriously! What is going on?" I was getting a bit angry; even at this moment, he was trying to scare me.
Jiao Ba shook his head gently and replied, "I don't know; I've never encountered anything like this before. Could it be that figure in black trying to scare us?"
I swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "He shouldn't need to do this. He could easily find a way to kill us; this method seems too low-level."
Jiao Ba's face darkened again as he shook his head in confusion. There was nothing else to do but check it out. Gathering my courage, I stepped closer to the coffin and beckoned Jiao Ba over. "Lao Ba, come help me open the coffin lid."
Jiao Ba shook his head vigorously again and said, "No, no, no! I'm not going near that thing. Brother Yi, let's just leave! It's too cold in here."
Hearing him say that made me realize just how much colder it had become in the cabin. My entire body felt icy all of a sudden; even when I exhaled, white mist formed in front of me. This was bizarre—how could it be so cold in here during summer? It only strengthened my belief that the female corpse inside the coffin was definitely not simple.
I glared at Jiao Ba and growled, "Hurry up! If you keep hesitating, I'll kick you."
Seeing that I was genuinely anxious, Jiao Ba sighed and reluctantly walked over. We positioned ourselves by the coffin lid together. I whispered as I counted down: "One, two, three—push."
We both held our breath and exerted our strength simultaneously. My face turned a deep shade of red, but the Coffin Lid only shifted slightly. After resting for a few seconds, we pushed again, managing to move the Coffin Lid halfway.
Suddenly, I recalled the man in black from earlier. He had effortlessly pushed the Coffin Lid open by himself. The memory of his feline-like eyes made me feel uneasy; it was something beyond human capability. Yet, I refused to believe in supernatural explanations. I preferred to think that he was simply extraordinarily strong.
Jiao Ba and I repeated our efforts several times, and with a loud 'thud,' the Coffin Lid finally opened completely. I quickly shone my flashlight into the coffin to see the female corpse inside, while Jiao Ba stood beside me, staring intently. The corpse lay there undisturbed, her eyes tightly closed, wearing a serene expression.
This time, I took a closer look. The woman appeared to be around thirty years old—youthful and dignified. I wondered why she had passed away so young. She wore a hairpin on her head, her hands resting on her abdomen; one hand was flat while the other was clenched into a fist. On her left wrist was a Jade Bracelet.
Her clothing was quite luxurious, made of golden silk satin, clearly not something an ordinary person would wear. However, the blanket covering her had rotted away, making it impossible to discern its original appearance.
I found this puzzling: why had her blanket decayed while she remained so well-preserved? Could it be true what Jiao Ba said—that she was some sort of Demon Worm Corpse? I still had my doubts. I remembered that in 1972, an undeteriorated Han Dynasty female corpse was excavated from Mawangdui. They claimed it was intact, but it merely meant that the muscle tissue was relatively well-preserved. Compared to the corpse before me, that one seemed trivial.
At that moment, I noticed a small yellow paper beneath the woman's neck, about the size of a cigarette box. It appeared to have some red markings on it—something I couldn't decipher. "What is this paper for?" I asked casually as I reached out to tear it off.
Jiao Ba grabbed my arm with a terrified expression and said, "Don't touch it! That looks like a talisman meant to suppress this corpse."
"A talisman? Where did it come from?" My first suspicion fell on the man in black; he was truly enigmatic.
Jiao Ba sneered and said, "He probably left it behind. Seems like he's quite skilled—not only in martial arts but also in Taoist practices."
I continued examining the corpse but asked Jiao Ba curiously, "Do you think like I do, Lao Ba? What do you think that man in black is doing here? If this yellow paper really is his doing, does that mean this corpse holds some secret?"
Jiao Ba took my flashlight and carefully inspected the corpse from top to bottom again. Squinting his eyes, he said, "This woman is extraordinary! Judging by her clothing and accessories, even if she wasn't royalty during her lifetime, she must have been a daughter of some high-ranking official or noble family. Look at that hairpin; it's not something just anyone could possess. Even daughters of officials back then might not have had the means to wear something like that."
I lowered my head and closely examined the hairpin on the corpse's head. Knowing little about such things, I felt it wasn't anything special: "What's so remarkable about this hairpin? It looks like just a gold pin to me; any wealthy official or merchant could afford one."
Jiao Ba scoffed and shook his head, saying, "You're mistaken. The hairpin she's wearing isn't just any ordinary gold pin. Look closely at the top; it's inlaid with a phoenix. Just this detail alone indicates it's quite special. Moreover, the craftsmanship of this hairpin is flawless, which suggests that this woman must have been someone of great power in her lifetime, or at least from a family of significant influence."
I wasn't particularly interested in her status, so I casually asked, "Which dynasty does this female corpse belong to?"
"It should be as Mai Lao said; she's from the Ming Dynasty," Jiao Ba replied earnestly.
So it really was a Ming Dynasty person. I was eager to uncover the secrets surrounding this corpse that had prompted the man in black to take such risks: "I feel like this corpse must hold some secret; otherwise, that man wouldn't have come here at night. I need to search and see if I can find something valuable."
After saying that, I immediately began to rummage through things. In truth, I had another thought in mind—I hoped to find some treasures. After all the trouble we had gone through at sea, aside from some broken bottles and jars, we hadn't found anything worthwhile. This corpse had kept me awake for several nights; I absolutely needed to find something of value.
Jiao Ba intended to stop me but was pushed aside. Seeing that he couldn't dissuade me, he could only watch from the side. I searched around the coffin thoroughly but found nothing valuable—essentially, I came up empty-handed.
Jiao Bayi quickly urged me again, "Alright, Brother Yi, since we can't find any treasures, let's head back! I'm freezing."
I was cold too, but just as I was about to turn back, I suddenly noticed that the female corpse's right hand was clenched into a fist. I hadn't thought much of it before, but now it seemed suspicious—could she be holding something?
I hurriedly reached out to pry open her right hand. Just as I was about to succeed, Jiao Ba gasped in horror and shouted, "Brother Yi, look..."
I turned my head forward and gasped! The female corpse was staring at me with wide-open eyes...
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