Cavern of the Blood Zombies (2011) (10 page)

Uncle Three walked very cautiously as he led us forward; each step took a long time. The light from our lamps wasn’t very strong and the space before us looked as dark as what we left behind. It was quite a bit like being back in the water cave, and I felt terribly uncomfortable. After half an hour of walking, the tunnel began to curve upward so we knew we had probably gone halfway.

And then we saw a robbers’ tunnel and Uncle Three was taken aback. His biggest fear was that some early bird had already caught the worm and he promptly went over to investigate.

As far as we could tell, this robbers’ tunnel had been dug recently. Even the soil still had a fresh, newly excavated smell to it. I asked Uncle Three, “The old man said that a group of people came down to the valley two weeks ago. Could they have dug this tunnel?”

“I can’t tell. But it was done hastily and carelessly. It’s plain that it wasn’t dug to enter this place, but rather to get out of it in a hurry! I’m afraid someone else has beaten us to the treasures.”

“Don’t be discouraged, Master Three. If they really were proficient robbers, they would have exited from the same route they used to enter. It looks to me as though something bad happened. I’m sure the treasures are still untouched,” Panzi assured him.

Uncle Three nodded and we walked on. Since someone had already crossed the perimeter before us, we didn’t need to be so cautious anymore.

We increased our pace and walked for another fifteen minutes, when we reached a wider corridor. This section was double the width of the first, the decorations more exquisite. It seemed as though we had arrived at the main area of the grave. At the end of the corridor lay a vast jade door. We were sure it had been opened, probably from the other side. Next to the door were two carved statues of hungry ghosts, one of which held an imperial seal. Both of their bodies were entirely black.

Uncle Three inspected the jade door and found that its trap had already been dismantled. We went through the portal. The space was far-reaching inside, and it was exceedingly dark. The glow of the miner’s lamps was inadequate for such blackness and could only dimly pierce it, but still we could make out the broad outline of the chamber.

This we knew ought to be the main tomb. Panzi swept his miner’s lamp across the room and cried out, “Why are there so many coffins?”

In the absence of a strong light, it was very difficult to see clearly what was inside this tomb. I swept my eyes across the room, and saw many coffins lying in the middle of the tomb. At first glance, I could tell that they were arranged in some sort of order other than the customary formal, neat alignment. The ceiling was covered with magnificent murals surrounded by square blocks of stone panels that were thickly covered with words. I put my lamp on the ground, and Panzi put his more or less on the same spot directly across me. As our outline had shown us, there were two small rooms on either side of the main tomb, looking like little ears.

Uncle Three and I walked to the first stone coffin. We lit a match, and discovered that this coffin was completely different from the one we saw when we first entered the cave. It was carved with inscriptions and when I took a look, I could actually read some of them.

The text chronicled the life of the deceased in this coffin, identifying him as a marquis who had served under the emperor of the State of Lu. This person was born with a ghost seal which he could use to borrow soldiers from the world of the dead, and so he had never lost a war. He was hailed by the State of Lu as the Ruler of Dead Soldiers.

One day, he asked to see the emperor of the State of Lu, and explained that there was a rebellion in the world of the dead. Since he had borrowed soldiers from this realm, he had to go back to the king of the dead to return the favor and help that sovereign. He needed permission from the emperor of the State of Lu to go back and perform this duty. The emperor of the State of Lu granted his wish and the Ruler of Dead Soldiers knelt down, placed his two hands on the ground in thanks, and died sitting down like a monk.

The emperor of the State of Lu thought he would return and set up an underground palace for him. He kept the body safe, hoping that the Ruler would continue to fight for him when he came back. The inscription went on and on with elaborate descriptions of the Ruler’s many battles. Once he showed his ghost seal, the soldiers from the world of the dead would plunder all the souls of their enemies.

Panzi listened as I translated and sighed, “What power. It was too bad that the Ruler of Dead Soldiers died young. Otherwise the State of Lu would have been the one to unify the six Warring States.”

I laughed. “That isn’t necessarily true. Our ancestors were really good at exaggerating. If the State of Lu’s Ruler of Dead Soldiers could borrow soldiers from the dead of the underworld, then what’s-his-name from the State of Qi could rely on heaven’s army. I recall there was also a general who could fly. You must have read the Roll of the Mountain and the Sea, right?”

“In any case, now we know whose grave we are robbing. But there are so many coffins here. Which one would be his?” Panzi asked.

I read the inscriptions on a few other coffins which all said more or less the same thing. We counted a total of seven coffins, the same number as the stars in the Big Dipper. None of the coffins contained any clue as to who might be in them. As I was studying some inscription that I didn’t understand, Big Kui shouted, “Look guys! This stone coffin has been opened!”

I walked over to have a look. Sure enough, the cover of the coffin was not completely sealed and there were many fresh shaft marks that showed it had recently been pried open. Uncle Three took our crowbar out of the backpack and removed the coffin’s cover bit by bit. Then he put the lamp inside to look. Panzi made a strange noise, and glanced at us with a look of confusion. “How come there’s a foreigner inside?”

We looked, and not only was there a foreigner in the coffin, but the body was very fresh, looking as though it had been dead for no more than a week. Panzi was about to reach in and dig around for clues but Poker-face grabbed his shoulder, evidently with great force because Panzi screamed.

“Don’t move,” Poker-face told him, “the owner of the tomb is right under him!”

We looked. There was another corpse beneath the foreigner’s body but we couldn’t see what it looked like. Uncle Three took out his black donkey’s hoof and said, “It’s probably something terrible—perhaps a mummy or a zombie. He who strikes first gains the advantage.”

At this moment, Big Kui pulled at the back of my shirt and took me aside. Since he was usually quite frank and straightforward, I was worried and asked him what was going on. He pointed at the shadows on the wall opposite the spot where we had placed our miner’s lamps and whispered, “Look. This is your shadow, right?”

I snapped, “What, are you afraid of shadows now?” Big Kui’s face looked white and terrified. His lips trembled as I spoke. Impossible, I thought, is he really such a coward? He motioned for me to be silent. Then he pointed to the shadows. “This is mine. This one is

Panzi’s. This one is Master Three’s. This one is the guy you call Poker-face. Do you see my point? With you, we have only five, correct?”

I nodded. Big Kui pointed at another shadow that stood alone, not near our dark outlines, and asked, sounding as if he were about to cry, “Whose shadow is that?”

I examined the shadow carefully. Its head was bowed at first, then as it was raised, it became huge, and almost wider than its shoulders. My scalp tingled, and I shouted “There’s a ghost!”

Everyone turned around and looked at me, but I could not stop shouting. I pointed to the shadow and then turned my head to see what could be casting it—it was a monster with a bulging, oversized head, more terrifying than anything I could imagine. In its hands was a strange weapon that I couldn’t identify. Poker-face picked up his miner’s lamp so we could all look at this hideous creature more clearly. It was like…like a big crock placed over a man’s head…Shit, I thought, as my fear changed into blazing anger, who is this asshole?

It was no monster—just a man whose head was covered with a big crock like a mask. Two holes in the crock revealed two glaring eyes staring at us from within. He held a flashlight in his hand.

I felt stupid for overreacting but we were all still alarmed by the appearance of this person. For a minute we stood staring and then Panzi exploded, “Whoever you are, I’m going to shoot you.” As he pulled out his gun, the stranger yelled and ran rapidly toward the tunnel, but Panzi took aim and the crock on the man’s head shattered.

“Damn you,” the man yelled as he raced into the tunnel, “I’ll be back and make you wish you’d never seen me.” Running as quickly as though his feet were sliding on oil, he disappeared into the darkness.

Poker-face cursed and muttered, “We can’t let him get far into that tunnel. If he touches the stone coffin in there, we’re all dead.” Picking up the iron sword he had bought from Uncle Three, he raced into the black tunnel.

Panzi wanted to follow him to lend a hand but Uncle Three pulled him back, yelling, “What kind of worthless help could you offer? Go take a look at the two small ear chambers and find out where this fellow came from.”

I went to the ear chamber on the right and saw a robbers’ tunnel leading from the stone wall. In the corner of the chamber was a brightly burning candle which gave off a green glow. So, I thought, this guy is searching for gold. A bag which he had apparently left behind lay on the ground, and when I opened it I found tools, batteries, and a drawing of a map of the tomb.

Although the map wasn’t very legible, I could tell right away that the squares on it represented the seven coffins. There were many notes scrawled on the paper, all written in different handwriting. They seemed to be notes made by several people during a discussion. On the edge of the map was a big question mark, and the words
Seven Deceptive Coffins
.

My muscles tightened. I had seen these words somewhere before. Then I remembered. I had read about them in my grandfather’s journal. Of these seven coffins, only one was real. The other six all held traps which were triggered when the coffins were opened.

The dead foreigner whom we had found in the coffin obviously had no idea of the danger and thought all seven of the coffins held treasure. When he opened the wrong one, he was dragged into the coffin and killed. His partner presumably saw this and ran away in terror. Then he probably dug a tunnel in the corridor and fled.

This seemed a logical explanation, and clutching the drawing of the map, I decided to show it to my uncle. But when I came out of the small ear chamber, I found only one lamp flickering in the dark. Uncle Three, Big Kui, and Panzi were all gone!

Going into the other ear chamber, I found nobody. I picked up the miner’s lamp and yelled at the top of my lungs, “Uncle Three!”

They would never run away and leave me behind, unless something terrible had happened. There must have been trouble, but I had heard no sound of a scuffle. Big Kui at least would have screamed if there had been a fight or any other sort of danger.

However, the only answer to my call was my own echo. The black tomb, the seven coffins, and the corpse of a foreign stranger were all that were with me. I suddenly remembered that I was not a professional grave robber. It was impossible for me to wait in this tomb. Even if there wasn’t an actual monster, my imagination alone would easily scare me to death.

I yelled again, and desperately prayed that someone would answer right away. But all around me was only silence and stillness. The lamp that I held began to flicker as if the battery was losing strength. I began to sweat heavily, as my brain conjured up a series of confusing thoughts.

If this silence had continued, I might have been able to calm myself down. Instead I heard the cover of a stone coffin pop and make a clicking sound. I had no idea which of the seven had made this noise. I started to feel dizzy, and my heart beat so fast I almost threw up my Adam’s apple. Retreating to the side of the wall, I saw a flash of light and turned around. The candle in the ear chamber had flared up and burned out.

I sighed and thought, I didn’t take anything from you. Why did you have to blow out the light? I turned back to look at the coffins. The corpse inside the coffin that had already been opened was now in a sitting position and so was the foreigner’s body, almost as though they had both sat up at the same time. The good news was that neither of them was staring at me.

I dared not look anymore. Closing my eyes, on trembling feet I tiptoed carefully toward the wall. Then I leaped into the ear chamber in as catlike a manner as I was able to manage.

In my grandfather’s journal, he discussed his techniques on how to increase flagging courage. His theory was if you couldn’t see what frightened you, you could pretend it had never been there. I reckoned he was right. I would never be able to think straight if I kept staring at those corpses sitting upright in their coffins.

I put my lamp on the floor where no light would shine out of the chamber and began to rummage frantically in the bag left behind by the guy Panzi had shot at. All I could find were some broken cookies and some papers covered with drawings and scribbled writing. If the guy had anything important, he had to be carrying it with him.