Chapter 55 - Sacred Mountain in Myanmar (Part IX)

Chen Shaoxian and his companions were startled by the sound and swiftly aimed their guns toward its source, focusing all their lights in that direction.

Meanwhile, the incessant creaking of doors filled the air. Knowing there was no way back, Chen Shaoxian led his team forward, just as the sound of massive boulders hitting the ground thundered from behind.

They ran quickly down the slope, the doors along the hallway creaking periodically, with no more rooms appearing on either side.

As they rounded a bend, they halted abruptly, shocked by the sight before them-walls densely lined with desiccated corpses hanging all the way into the dark depths. The faces of these bodies were contorted, and from the chest down, they were ripped open, their organs nowhere to be seen.

The attire of these corpses varied, including some Westerners among them. Although their upper bodies were torn apart, the clothes scattered around suggested they were members of the expedition teams mentioned in the reports.

Chen Shaoxian and his team continued forward cautiously, their hearts filled with unease at the gruesome scene.

Bringing up the rear, Song Yumu suddenly felt something touch his shoulder, sending a shiver down his spine. He reached out to brush it off, but just then, something soft brushed against his face. Glancing sideways in the light, Song Yumu almost screamed.

Behind him was a mummy, its dry hands resting on his shoulders, face pressed against his, its nose seeming to sniff at something but unable to draw in any air. Judging by the length of the hair, it was a female corpse.

If it had been a living person, their current proximity might have seemed intimate, but this was merely a mummy.

Song Yumu was so frightened that he couldn’t even feel his pulse. He stood there trembling, swallowing hard for fear of disturbing the mummy and having it take a bite at him. Stammering, he pressed his voice down and said, “There’s something on my back.” Before he could finish, the mummy seemed to sense something and rushed towards Song Yumu’s mouth to sniff. After sniffing, it tried to press its mouth against Song Yumu’s, as if to give him a peck.

Just then, someone pulled the mummy’s head away and flung it off Song Yumu’s body with a strong toss. Due to the excessive force, both arms of the mummy were torn off and hung over Song Yumu’s shoulders.

Hearing Song Yumu’s trembling voice, Chen Shaoxian turned around and saw the mummy lying on Song Yumu’s back. He hurried over and yanked the mummy off of him.

Song Yumu quickly jumped up and spat out saliva while Chen Shaoxian called out, “Xiao Yang, the flamethrower.” A blast of intense heat then sprayed out behind them, illuminating the cave as if with a torch. Song Yumu, aided by the light of the fire, saw a dense crowd of mummies behind them, which caught fire upon contact. The mummies hissed as flames erupted from their bodies, and suddenly, blue figures emerged from those burning mummies, burrowing into the soil and rocks above. The mummies, now with blue figures emerged, fell to the ground and continued to burn.

The flames quickly spread along the mummies on both sides, speeding inward and lighting up the entire cave like torches.

Chen Shaoxian and the others, using the light from these humanoid torches, quickly moved further inside.

As they walked, Song Yumu asked, “Shaoxian, what the hell are these things?” After speaking, he spat out saliva again.

Seeing Song Yumu’s reaction, Chen Shaoxian chuckled and teased, “Song-Ge, how’s the taste of a foreign Xiao Qian? It’s like the international version of ‘A Chinese Ghost Story¹,'” making everyone else laugh. Chen Shaoxian pointed at the burning mummies and explained, “These are wandering spirits. These people didn’t believe they were dead after being killed, their souls trapped within their bodies. They like to cling to anything warm. Now that their bodies are destroyed, they can finally rest in peace.”

At that moment, Xiao Zhuang suddenly crouched down, picking up some fragments from the ground and said with some excitement, “These are pieces of the communicator.” Before he could finish, they saw figures moving ahead under the light of the fire, revealing their forms.

These figures seemed to fear the flames on both sides, clustering together and shuffling forward, making a scraping noise. Their faces resembled the incomplete visages of zombies from movies, their exposed skin emitting a bluish-gray hue. Suddenly, a tearing roar came from behind them, and they quickened their pace, rushing towards Chen Shaoxian and his group.

Yang Xiao’ang saw these people charging at them as if wielding a flamethrower.

Frightened, Chen Shaoxian quickly intervened, realizing that if these Earthbound Spirits were ignited, anyone they embraced upon reaching them would suffer greatly.

Chen Shaoxian raised his shotgun and shouted, “Fire!” At the pull of the trigger, the shotgun pellets sprayed out. The others also fired, their guns spewing flames at the approaching Earthbound Spirits.

The bullets were specially treated head-exploding rounds. Hitting the bodies of the Earthbound Spirits, they burst open, and the cinnabar inside the ammunition scattered, splashing inside the bodies of the Earthbound Spirits and instantly burning. The visible bluish-gray skin of the Earthbound Spirits quickly turned to charred black.

As the flames continued to spew, the Earthbound Spirits in front self-ignited, the color of their flames a distinct cyan-green. Those behind them, clearly fearful of the flames, retreated together.

But just then, a moaning howl sounded from behind Chen Shaoxian and his group.

Hearing this, Chen Shaoxian blurted out, “Damn, the Mountain Deity is seeking revenge.”

Footnote:

1. 1. A Chinese Ghost Story(倩女幽魂):“A Chinese Ghost Story” (倩女幽魂) is a classic Chinese tale that combines romance, horror, and fantasy. The story revolves around a kind-hearted scholar who falls in love with a beautiful ghost named Xiao Qian.