This was the second white-faced monster I had seen, similar in appearance to the first one, just a bit more burly. It hung its head, swaying slightly, showing a strong aversion to the light, and backed away a few steps, revealing its sharp teeth and letting out a low growl.
Why did it appear in the secret room? What about the tiny monster that looked like a witch before?
"Anzi, prepare the crossbow, Changping, bring out the big net and catch this guy first!" Gu Yu directed calmly. The white-faced monster was not stupid, it could easily see who among us was the leader, and it suddenly clapped both claws on the ground and charged towards Gu Yu.
"Be careful." Zhu Zi shouted loudly from the rear. The white-faced monster was very fast, running like a beast, emitting low growls from time to time. At that moment, Wei Changping quickly turned the large lamp on his hand, the strong light shining on the white-faced monster, which panicked and screamed, no longer daring to charge forward.
"Bang! Bang!"
Several loud noises came in succession. Upon closer inspection, Dian was holding a crossbow that was almost the same length as my arm, continuously shooting several bolts at the pale-faced monster, each arrow with a strange flame landing around the creature.
"This aiming is way off," the fat guy cursed strangely. But as soon as he spoke, the arrows that had fallen on the ground suddenly exploded with a huge bang and terrifying shock, instantly affecting the pale-faced monster.
A large amount of smoke and dust rose from the ground, the pale-faced monster was blown to pieces, and after the smoke and shattered stones settled, we could see fragments of meat and splashes of blood all over the ground.
"Dynamite! These people are so fierce! They even have dynamite?" Luoqiong exclaimed in surprise.
I was also surprised. The use of dynamite on crossbow arrows was not their invention; as early as the Ming Dynasty, after the use of gunpowder began, similar methods had appeared. However, daring to be so reckless underground, and being able to accurately time the fuses and blow up the pale-faced monster, the skill and craftsmanship involved were quite extraordinary!
"The name Dian may not be well-known in the martial world, but that doesn't mean he isn't skilled. In this circle, many people rely on the protection of big names to make a living. The title of 'San Shan Mountain Master' represents not only Lingju's skills, but also the power of his underlings. And these forces are made up of hundreds of people like Dian and Wei Changping," Zhuzi's words were not wrong. In our circle, there's really no top expert, and one's power base is far more important than their own fists.
The injured pale-faced monster was half-lying on the ground, making a "whining" sound with white flesh turning out from the wounds, blood flowing down along the skin.
"An did well. The power of the dynamite was adjusted perfectly," Guyu praised. At this point, Wei Changping slowly walked forward with a huge net, and with a sudden throw, a giant net fell from the sky, covering the pale-faced monster. Then, Wei Changping pulled the net, and the loosely hanging net was instantly tightened!
"This net has three intersecting ropes on it, and with one pull, the entire net can be tightened. It's an ingenious device. I've seen hunters use it before, and I've always wanted to learn it," Luoqiong whispered.
The pale-faced monster struggled within the net, but its strength was of no use against the tough material of the net. Even its claws couldn't tear the net apart.
"Done. Check it out, boss!" Wei Changping turned around and smiled.
The three of them easily subdued the pale-faced monster in a few minutes, while we, on the other hand, had almost faced death last time. It was clear that this was the difference between veterans and novices.
Guyu walked up to the net, and the pale-faced monster, gasping for breath and heavily injured, looked uncomfortably. It raised its head and looked at Guyu with a pair of dark eyes, making some low sounds.
Guyu suddenly reached out and grabbed the pale-faced monster's neck, then yanked it down onto the ground and looked down at its neck area. There was a particularly obvious "中" character branded on its neck, just like what we had seen before!
"This is a sentry," Guyu said in a low voice. I could clearly hear it from behind and couldn't help asking, "Sentry? What does that mean?"
Guyu stood up, took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a puff, saying, "It seems you all don't know much. Zhuzi, did you not tell them everything?"
His words left me stupefied. Could it be that Zhuzi was hiding something from us?
I turned to look at Zhuzi, and a strange expression appeared on his face. Before I could ask, he spoke up, "I originally planned to tell you all about it in more depth at a later time, but now that the situation has changed, I think I'll go ahead and reveal it. We have done a more thorough investigation into the origins of these pale-faced monsters and this underground river. This is a base of the Zhongtianmen witchcraft' a place dominated by the necromancers within the Zhongtianmen."
"Corpse Witch?"
I've never heard of this term before, but just by the name alone, I knew it couldn't be anything righteous.
"The so-called Corpse Witch is a branch that split off from the corpse refiners in the early years. They possess some of the abilities of the corpse refiners, understand how to refine corpses, and also know how to control and manipulate them. However, instead of continuing down this path, they began to research necromancy on the bodies. They found that when living people eat the flesh of a zombie, these individuals would become like beasts, but with greater strength, faster speed, greatly enhanced physical abilities, lower intelligence, and fear of light. However, the descendants of the Corpse Witch were few in number, and weak in power. After being constantly hunted down, they chose to join the larger faction of Zhongtianmen for protection. These pale-faced monsters are the result of the Corpse Witch joining Zhongtianmen and the creatures they created within it. These people were originally living, but after eating zombie flesh, they became half-zombie, half-human monsters. There is not much corpse energy in their bodies, but they can live for years by consuming the flesh and blood of corpses. They possess astonishing strength and have a ferocious nature."
Pearl's words instantly made me think of Lingxing. Previously, Lingxing had told me in the ancient temple that this referred to people who had eaten zombie flesh. At that time, he must have already known about the pale-faced monsters and Zhongtianmen, but he didn't tell me directly, just gave me a hint.
"What about the small creature we saw before?"
I distinctly remembered the previous pale-faced monster kneeling before the small creature, obviously indicating an unequal status.
"If I'm not mistaken, the small creature we saw should be a Corpse Witch, and one who has joined Zhongtianmen."
Pearl's words sounded flawless, but on careful consideration, there were a lot of anomalies! The timing was off! Zhongtianmen was a folk organization that existed during the Kangxi period, 300 years ago. Are the Corpse Witch who were alive at that time still alive now? Doesn't that make them immortal?
"Corpse Witches who have lived for three hundred years? Does it mean that Zhongtianmen still exists today? There are still Corpse Witches in modern times?"
Fatty also noticed this point and asked in amazement.
But the answer was still unknown. Gu Yu released his hand, lit a cigarette, and said, "Whether it's Zhongtianmen or three hundred years, our only purpose in coming here is to explore the treasure. Changping, first secure the net at the well, and then we'll enter the secret chamber. I have a feeling that we're going to strike it rich soon."
The door to the secret chamber was wide open, and it was quiet inside. I stood at the doorway holding a flashlight and looked inside. The lighting was not good, and I could barely see anything, except for the faint outline of a coffin placed in the middle.
"Don't rush in, let's explore the surroundings first. This place may not be safe."
Gu Yu stood at the doorway and took out two paper men from his pocket, then placed them at the entrance to the dark chamber. He pointed a finger and muttered something, and the paper men slowly rose from the ground without any external force, swaying slightly as if being led by a thread, gradually standing up.
"These are the two little ghosts I've raised. Okay, let's go inside and scout."
Gu Yu whispered, and the two paper men, without any external assistance, slowly walked into the dark secret chamber.