Chapter 5 Buried Objects

Chapter 5: Buried Objects

Humans are beings capable of creating miracles.

Because people always do things that are beyond common sense.

Even though they knew the dangers ahead were immense, for the unknown qi objects, several people were willing to risk their lives, to gamble on an uncertain future.

Because gambling with one’s life isn’t scary; what’s scary is if the opponent’s stakes aren’t high enough.

Although Li Yi wasn’t the first to act, his efficiency was the highest.

Because most of the danger had been drawn away by Wang Hu, Wei Li, and Zhang Kaiwen, there were only a few strange Hordes of Walking Corpses wriggling in the mud in front of him, and those few corpses were quickly surging towards the others, ignoring his presence.

It was precisely because of this that he dared to take this gamble.

“It’s very close.”

Li Yi’s heart was pounding. He was getting closer and closer to the isolated grave, so much so that he could already clearly see the characters on the broken tombstone. However, the characters were twisted like tadpoles, unlike any historical script; it was an unknown language and culture.

He dared not stop for a moment and continued to advance at his fastest speed.

At the same time.

A scream of unwillingness suddenly echoed not far away.

Li Yi’s eyelids twitched, and he instinctively glanced in that direction.

The man named Zhang Kaiwen was half-submerged in the mud, entangled by three or four strange corpses, and his body was rapidly sinking, as if he was about to completely disappear from this world. Although he struggled desperately, it was still useless.

Those mud-covered corpses seemed terrifyingly heavy, something an ordinary person simply couldn’t contend with.

“I’m not willing to fail; I was just a little bit short.”

Zhang Kaiwen was still shouting and struggling, but soon, his head was pressed into the mud by a dirty, cold hand.

Once buried, all his struggles ceased abruptly, leaving only one mud-covered arm exposed, twisted, grotesque, and rigid.

“So, everyone who dies here becomes a corpse in the mud, forever trapped here, unable to escape.”

Li Yi felt a chill in his heart, but he quickly stopped looking, gritting his teeth and continuing forward.

Because he saw that after Zhang Kaiwen died, the nearby mud wriggled, and those terrifying corpses raised their heads, letting out painful wails, and began to approach him again.

Even though they were rolling in the mud, their approach speed was very fast, completely defying logic.

“Is Zhang Kaiwen dead?” Wei Li also became increasingly anxious at this moment.

Because with one less person to share the pressure, his danger increased by several folds.

However, his speed of movement had already reached its limit; he didn’t know if he could make it to the other side, but he knew he had no way back, neither before nor now.

“Strength, damn it, hurry up and get out of my body! It’s still broad daylight; it’s not time for you to sleep yet!” Suddenly, a shout and a roar echoed in the darkness.

Wang Hu was covered in mud. He once again burst forth with unimaginable strength, breaking free from the restraint of a corpse in the mud, then running and leaping like a beast. In a short moment, he actually surpassed Li Yi, creating a miracle and being the first to reach the vicinity of the isolated grave.

Beside the isolated grave, the soil was firm and covered with wild grass; stepping on it did not cause sinking.

“How did that guy do it?” Wei Li, being a doctor, was a bit stunned at this moment. He felt that Wang Hu, an ordinary person, had completely subverted common sense.

Being entangled by that thing, could one really break free and escape by just shouting a few times?

What a joke.

Li Yi, gasping for breath, stopped at this moment. His path was better than the others, and he had now arrived at the isolated grave, surprisingly without incident.

There was no time to worry about the dangers around them; they had to get the item and leave as quickly as possible.

As observed before, this isolated grave seemed to have been visited by tomb robbers; the coffin lid was overturned to the side, and the tomb owner’s bones were discarded nearby. The empty coffin contained only a pile of tattered clothes, no burial objects at all, and no qi objects were visible.

Li Yi and Wang Hu seemed to have come up empty-handed.

But the next moment, Wang Hu unhesitatingly picked up the mummified corpse on the ground.

“Unknown powerhouse, your bones haven’t decayed after so many years. Come with me, Wang Hu! I’ll take you with me to subvert this world, hahahaha!” He burst into laughter, then took the mummified corpse and left without looking back in one direction.

His actions startled Li Yi.

No one knew what qi objects were; they should just take whatever they could.

He rushed over, rolled up the pile of tattered clothes in the coffin, and then turned and ran.

As he turned, he saw Wei Li, who had just arrived.

The two exchanged glances, neither interfering with the other.

Wei Li immediately headed for the scattered offerings next to the tombstone, because there were some artifacts scattered beside the offerings.

Like Li Yi and Wang Hu, he picked them up and fled.

Because everyone knew that they couldn’t linger here, nor could they be greedy and take other things, or it would delay their escape time.

The three dispersed and left. As for whether the things in their hands were qi objects or valuable, only Heaven knew now.

The corpses in the mud were still wailing and wriggling. These terrifying things seemed to have rioted, breaking free from the mud’s restraint and beginning to crawl aimlessly in all directions.

The monstrous roars even reached outside the building.

“Someone has obtained a qi object that stores the deceased’s resentment. Only when a qi object storing resentment leaves its original place will the vengeful spirits and malevolent ghosts, bound by resentment, lose control and spread everywhere.”

“But how is this possible? They were all just five ordinary people. How could they have successfully survived the Earthbound Spirit’s grasp?”

“Could it be that someone truly has an extraordinary destiny? Or was it just pure luck?”

The woman who had activated her Spiritual Medium ability had a look of surprise flash in her eyes. She had initially thought that those few people had no hope at all and would be completely wiped out on the second basement level, but she hadn’t expected a miracle to actually occur.

“Since they’ve got the items, it’s our turn to collect.” Crow’s deep voice now revealed a hint of excitement.

“Don’t rush, we can’t get close to this building yet.”

The woman’s eyes revealed a bright light. In her sight, countless vengeful spirits and malevolent ghosts were scattered and floating around the collapsed building. Many of these malevolent ghosts noticed her presence and all rushed towards her, but these vengeful spirits and malevolent ghosts quickly dissipated in mid-air.

Without the qi objects to sustain them, these things couldn’t amount to anything and would soon dissipate completely.

This polluted world, while hindering human cultivation, also indirectly protected the people of this world.

Otherwise, after the Tian Qing Event, ghosts and fierce creatures would have already been running rampant all over the world.

“Someone’s coming out.”

Suddenly, Crow’s gaze shifted towards the entrance of the abandoned building.

In the darkness, accompanied by weary gasps, a figure ran out in a panic.

“Help, help me!” The person was shouting.

“It’s the woman named Liu Yan.”

Crow immediately recognized the person: “She’s actually the first one to escape alive? I guess she didn’t venture into the core area, which is good. The probability of surviving without being greedy is quite high. Wait, something’s not right. What’s on her?”

To a normal person, Liu Yan was just running away, but in Crow’s sight, a cold, stiff, strange corpse was extending a twisted hand, grabbing her ankle, being carried along by her as she fled, while its body was gradually disappearing, as if integrating into her body.

As the malevolent ghost’s form gradually dissipated, Liu Yan’s living aura was weakening at a visible speed.

“She’s possessed by a ghost.”

The tall woman beside them said coldly, “This ghost is different from other vengeful spirits. This thing has gained some power; it actually knows to possess a living person to reincarnate. Once successful, Liu Yan will turn into something called a Hordes of Walking Corpses. We can’t let her leave here alive; we must kill her immediately. If we let her go, a Hordes of Walking Corpses would become terrifying if it started cultivating.”

No sooner had she finished speaking than a flicker of light appeared in her eyes again.

Eyewitness!

Suddenly, Liu Yan’s eyes rolled back, and she lost her balance, falling directly to the ground. Then, blood flowed from her seven orifices, and she died on the spot.

“Stop!”

At this moment, an angry shout rang out, and a car sped over. The people in the car tried to stop this scene, but it seemed they were too late.

Before the car had even fully stopped, a figure agilely rushed out of the vehicle.

“I’ve been following you guys for a long time. I didn’t expect you to come to the Waste District to kill people. Do you really think there are no investigators in Tianchang City who dare to deal with you outlaws?” The person, his face filled with anger, strode over.

“Investigator, Wang Jian? When did he start targeting us?” Crow’s expression changed slightly.

“Since we’ve been discovered, let’s just deal with him.”

The tall woman’s face was cold, not caring in the slightest about having casually killed someone just now.

“Have your eyes already activated the Spiritual Medium? You’re not old, yet you have such talent in cultivation. Who are you?” Wang Jian scrutinized the woman before him and asked.

“My name is Ning Wu, and I am a cultivator, not a criminal. My actions just now were for a reason. That woman was already possessed by a malevolent ghost; even if I hadn’t acted, she wouldn’t have lived for more than three days. Moreover, letting her go would only bring greater trouble to the city. Wang Jian, as an investigator, you wouldn’t want ghosts causing deaths in your jurisdiction, would you?” Ning Wu said.

“You say she’s possessed by a ghost, and I’m supposed to believe you?” Wang Jian stared at her and said, “Your accomplices have tricked three groups of people in the Old City. The first group was fifteen people, the second was ten, and today is the third group of five. Each group of people disappeared and never reappeared. Based on that alone, I now have the right to get rid of you all.”

Ning Wu said, “In this world, it’s normal to pay people to do dangerous things. I didn’t force anyone to do anything wrong.”

Suddenly.

She sensed something and abruptly turned her head to look towards the building behind her.

“Bang!”

Accompanied by the sound of breaking glass, Wang Hu, covered in mud and looking very disheveled, burst out of a window. He was carrying a mummified corpse in his hand, and then he fled in another direction without looking back.

“Wang Hu, where are you going?” Crow reacted and shouted loudly.

“It seems he’s not satisfied with the two million; he wants to take the item and run. Hmph, how greedy, but also a bit naive.”

Ning Wu’s slender legs suddenly pushed off, and she instantly left her original spot.

Her figure rapidly swept across the ground, leaving a long black shadow in their sight.

Her speed was incredibly fast, simply beyond the comprehension of a normal person.

However, the next moment.

Ning Wu’s figure suddenly froze.

“This distance is beyond the scope of an eyewitness, isn’t it? Trying to pursue and kill? Do you take me for granted?”

Wang Jian intercepted Ning Wu, and the two briefly exchanged blows.

“Bang!”

With a muffled sound, a cloud of dust rose around them.

Ning Wu retreated repeatedly, the sleeves on her arms torn into several pieces, leaving a bruise on her fair skin.

“You—” Ning Wu’s eyes widened in anger, feeling greatly enraged.

“I’ll go after him,” Crow said.

But just as he was about to act, a red dot appeared on his body, and a strong sense of danger locked onto him.

“Try it. Let’s see if your legs are faster than my sniper’s bullets.” Wang Jian glanced at Crow and said.

Crow dared not act rashly, only standing in place with a gloomy expression.

Although he had cultivated, he was still human, and being hit could result in death.

“Bang!”

Another sound of breaking glass rang out.

Li Yi’s figure appeared; he was equally disheveled, but at least he had escaped the building alive.

“Li Yi, stop! Don’t even think about running. Is the item in your hand from there? Put it down, and I’ll give you two million later.” Crow shouted.

“Transfer the money now, and I’ll put the item down immediately.” Li Yi stopped, turned around, and said.

Crow said, “I can’t transfer the money to you now. You’ll get your share after this is over.”

“No money, then what’s the point? Do you take me for a fool? You’re clearly trying to keep the money, get the item, and then silence me.” Li Yi finished speaking and turned to run.

He had just understood that Investigator Wang Jian was confronting Crow and his group.

No wonder the dangerous woman who had activated her Spiritual Medium hadn’t tried to stop Wang Hu when he ran earlier.

Seeing Li Yi run, Crow was so furious he wanted to kill someone. He knew that these two people had run off with items in their hands, and it was possible that what they held were qi objects.

“These people who value money more than their lives, I shouldn’t have involved them from the start.”

However, no sooner had Li Yi left than Wei Li also escaped the building from another location. He was injured and in very poor condition, but he had still survived.

Yet, when he saw the two fleeing individuals and Liu Yan’s corpse, bleeding from her seven orifices on the ground, he fell silent for a moment.

Immediately after, he frantically ran off in a different direction.

Seeing the last person also run off with an item, not only was Crow furious enough to kill, but Ning Wu was also so angry she nearly spit out blood.

“Wang Jian, let me catch those few people. I need to retrieve some things that belong to me. How about I go back with you to assist with the investigation then? I can promise you, I absolutely will not harm them.”

She was extremely anxious, feeling as if the duck she had in hand had flown away.

However, she dared not reveal anything about the qi objects, otherwise, it wouldn’t just be an investigator like Wang Jian coming after her; it would probably be all the cultivators in Tianchang City causing her trouble.

“They are victims, and they are ordinary people. It’s best to let them leave. Although I don’t know what they took, it’s not important to me. My responsibility is to keep the two of you here.” Wang Jian unceremoniously rejected Ning Wu’s proposal.

“Wang Jian, you will regret this.”

Ning Wu immediately gritted her teeth, only able to watch as the three individuals disappeared from her sight.

“I can only find them later.”

“Are you coming back with me to be investigated, or will you continue to resist? Choose one.” Wang Jian said.

Ning Wu closed her eyes, calmed herself down, and then said, “I’ll go back with you to assist with the investigation, but before that, I need to make a phone call.”

“Okay, as long as you don’t resist.” Wang Jian said.

Although he was confident he could take down the person in front of him, he didn’t want to fight with these vicious criminals.