What is the most terrifying thing in this imperial tomb, which has been sleeping for over two thousand years?
It wasn't that one person was missing, but that one person had been added!
When a team member named Xiao Zhao, with a trembling voice, reminded everyone that there was an extra person among the thirteen experts lying on the ground, everyone shivered, their minds went blank.
Especially after witnessing Lin Zhitong's "Dou Qi Transforms into Horse" move, they had already come to believe that ghosts and gods existed in this world.
So, was this extra person human or a ghost?
Of all the people present, Yan Shouyi and Lin Zhitong reacted most calmly.
Lin Zhitong frowned. She hadn't detected any Yin energy nearby, so logically, there shouldn't be a ghost.
Yan Shouyi was even less inclined to believe that the extra person was a ghost.
Even if it were a ghost, so what?
With Yan Shouyi and Lin Zhitong's current abilities, any ordinary minor ghost who dared to act arrogantly in front of them would be asking for death.
If it were a ghost king, they might pay more attention, but let's not forget, Lin Zhitong's Soul Summoning Bell was currently housing a female ghost king.
Taohua Ying was not to be trifled with either.
The two were fearless and unconcerned, instead worrying that the extra individual was not a ghost.
"Everyone, stay away from the experts."
Yan Shouyi instructed the others to retreat and stepped forward to inspect.
Outside the underground city gate, only the sound of the lake city's mercury river flowed.
Yan Shouyi walked to the experts lying scattered about, one by one turning them over and helping them put on the gas masks they wore at their waists.
The first ten experts were all fine, with no issues.
But when Yan Shouyi reached the eleventh expert, an unexpected situation arose.
That expert, facing the ground, was lying prone, yet his shoulders were trembling continuously.
It was as if he was trying hard to suppress a laugh, trying not to be discovered.
Yan Shouyi frowned, patted the expert's shoulder, and asked, "Are you awake?"
But the expert remained unresponsive, still lying there.
Seeing such a bizarre scene, everyone's hearts pounded. Liang Yinqiu suspected that this expert might also be afflicted by ač (gu) worm.
Yan Shouyi took a deep breath, grabbed the expert's shoulders, and flipped him over.
However, what he saw was a woman's face!
This expert was 1.8 meters tall, with a standard male physique, but when flipped over, he had a woman's face!
Even more bizarre, this face bore a ghastly, maniacal smile, its eyes wide open, almost bulging out of their sockets, the pupils completely black!
"Yi hahahahaha!"
The expert suddenly let out a piercing scream and, pushing Yan Shouyi aside, charged towards Liang Yinqiu!
As if unaccustomed to human locomotion, the expert stumbled after only a few steps, but he paid it no mind. Instead, he crawled forward rapidly on all fours, like a spider!
Liang Yinqiu was so terrified by the sight that her legs went stiff, and she even forgot to flee.
Wang Sihhuai, experienced and bold in self-healing, also had his mind go blank. Although he instinctively blocked in front of Liang Yinqiu, he had no idea what to do next.
Yan Shouyi's eyes narrowed, and he shouted sternly, "Brat, stop him!"
Lin Zhitong reacted swiftly, flashing in front of Wang Sihhuai and then delivering a knee strike to the expert's chin!
The immense force sent the expert somersaulting.
At this moment, Yan Shouyi also caught up, stepped on the expert's back, and grabbed his hair, forcibly lifting his head.
"Professor Liang, do you recognize this person?" Yan Shouyi asked.
Li Yang and Xia Zhi turned their heads away, not daring to look directly at this ghoul-like figure.
Liang Yinqiu, having lived more than half her life, was considerably braver.
She regained her composure, looked carefully, and then shook her head.
Lin Zhitong noticed that this person's clothes and equipment were a hodgepodge, seemingly scavenged from other experts.
He was indeed not part of the expert team!
No...
He wasn't human at all!
Seeing the figure still struggling, Lin Zhitong retracted her Red God Umbrella and pierced his back with its tip, pinning him firmly to the ground!
Xia Qi couldn't help but scream, while Wang Sihhuai said sternly, "Miss Lin, you are killing him!"
"He's not human," Lin Zhitong stated calmly.
"Not human?"
Wang Sihhuai peered closer. The expert's jaw had been smashed by Lin Zhitong, yet it was still opening and closing, oblivious to pain.
His body was pierced by the Red God Umbrella, but he seemed unconcerned, even struggling madly, trying to enlarge the wound to break free.
From several wounds on his body, Wang Sihhuai saw no blood, only countless pieces of rotting flesh.
"It's just a walking corpse," Lin Zhitong said.
Yan Shouyi nodded. He hadn't smelled Yin energy earlier, but he had detected a strong stench of decay. However, being in an imperial tomb, decay was quite normal.
That's why he hadn't taken it seriously.
The figure before them was a very ordinary walking corpse, not even a proper zombie.
If Luo Ning were here, she wouldn't even bother controlling it. Yan Shouyi himself had been caught off guard, which was why he was startled.
Wang Sihhuai asked cautiously, "What do you plan to do with it?"
Yan Shouyi took out a Taoist talisman, placed it on the head of the figure at his feet, and then recited an incantation.
The talisman immediately ignited into a ball of flame, instantly burning the small zombie to ashes.
Lin Zhitong also withdrew her Red God Umbrella and casually flicked it, cleaning the dirt from its tip.
Having witnessed their skills, Wang Sihhuai was completely convinced.
The team members recalled their condescending attitude towards Yan Shouyi on the surface and felt ashamed. They were fortunate that Yan Shouyi was good-natured and didn't hold it against them, otherwise, they wouldn't have enough lives to die.
After dealing with the "mischievous" zombie that had infiltrated the experts, Yan Shouyi inspected everything one more time. Once he confirmed there were no further issues, he allowed Wang Sihhuai's team members to commence the rescue.
Each rescue team member carried a simple stretcher. After tying the experts to them, they could be easily dragged or carried on their backs.
Since they had charted their path on the way in, the return journey should also be uneventful.
However, Yan Shouyi and Lin Zhitong remained somewhat uneasy.
If there were zombies in the outer city, there shouldn't be just one.
This was too strange.
Therefore, while the team members were rescuing the experts, Yan Shouyi squatted at the spot where the zombie had been incinerated, examining the residue in the ashes.
Soon, he made a discovery.
The Taoist talisman used was specifically for burning zombies. Apart from zombies, flammable fabrics would also burn.
But beyond that, other things were unaffected.
And within the ashes, Yan Shouyi found a pool of dirty mercury.
His expression darkened. He glanced at the mercury moat not far away and sternly warned everyone, "Everyone, stay away from the mercury river!"