The coffin lid was pushed open, and a wave of rotten mold assaulted the senses, revealing the "main occupant" within.
It was a remarkably well-preserved skeleton.
Judging by its bone structure, the person in the coffin had been a woman.
It was unclear who she had offended in her final moments, but her limbs had been broken and bent inwards, bound to the rest of her skeletal remains.
Normal bones were a pale white, but this one was as black as ink throughout.
It seemed she had consumed a large amount of potent poison before her death.
On the skull, both rows of teeth were still present, slightly parted, as if smiling at me.
I felt a slight surprise, but not from the macabre appearance of the remains.
My master taught me divination of yin fortunes, often using remains or the faces of malevolent spirits to test me. I had seen sights ten, even a hundred times more terrifying than this.
My uncertainty with the yin fortune was due to the powerful obsession that ascended with the moldy scent.
Yin fortune masters understood yin and yang, and avoided the five corruptions, making them highly sensitive to the obsessions of yin people and things.
The obsession emanating from this skeleton was likely larger than all the ones I had encountered before combined.
What immense injustice had this deceased person suffered in life!
"Hey, buddy, since you agreed to perform the yin fortune, hurry up!"
Wang Jun, seeing my hesitation, grew impatient and grumbled, "This treasure has been buried for nearly a thousand years. If you dawdle any longer, it'll all oxidize!"
His words made me understand. This group of people were grave robbers, engaged in the business of digging up tombs.
This thousand-year-old ancient skeleton must have been unearthed from some deep mountain tomb.
It was no wonder they carried that nauseating moldy smell; it was the unique scent of grave robbers, ingrained from years of tomb raiding, impossible to wash away.
I glanced down. The skeleton and some of the silk cloth in the coffin indeed showed signs of oxidation and decay.
However, it wasn't as severe as Wang Jun described.
My desire to wake my father, coupled with the allure of a million-dollar reward, made me hesitate no longer. I took out six ancient coins, bowed deeply to the skeleton in the coffin, and said, "Forgive me."
Then, I grabbed an iron bowl and tossed the coins nine times.
As I obtained the first divination, I let out a soft "Hmm."
When I had all the divinations, my brow furrowed, utterly perplexed.
The yin fortune taught by my master followed a "six-line" divination pattern, meaning I should have only needed to toss the coins six times.
However, yin fortune had its own rules: the first three divinations obtained were all purely yin omens, considered "废卦" (fei gua – invalid fortunes).
What was a purely yin omen?
Ancient coins had heads and tails. The heads, bearing characters like "通宝" (tong bao) or "元宝" (yuan bao), were the yang side.
The tails, featuring plain backs or sun and moon patterns, were the yin side.
If all six ancient coins landed with the yin side facing up, the resulting divination was a "purely yin omen."
Because divining for yin people and things required breaking yin and yang, crossing the Styx, and consulting the registers, the first three divinations had to be purely yin omens.
From the fourth divination onwards, the omens returned to normal, allowing the divination of the fortune and misfortune of yin people and things.
But when I divined for the skeleton before me, I received nine consecutive purely yin omens.
This was completely against the norm.
Statistically, this was a one-in-ten-thousand possibility.
"How could this be so eerie? Was I influenced by a powerful obsession, causing all nine divinations to become invalid fortunes?"
As I pondered the reason, a chill suddenly rose from the depths of my heart.
Hiss—
I shivered involuntarily.
When I steadied myself and looked again, Sun Chuang, Wang Jun, and the others, along with the red sandalwood coffin, had all vanished.
I found myself in a narrow, cramped alley.
Looking up, the surrounding buildings were characteristic of a small Jiangnan town. Rain dripped from the grey eaves, carrying a palpable chill within the heavy dampness.
Not far from me, a graceful figure, dressed in ancient attire, was half-crouched on the ground, her back to me.
She extended her delicate hands, throwing long, white, strip-like objects into a brazier before her.
"Little brother, come, come over here!"
Although her back was to me, and I couldn't see her speak, I could pinpoint the direction of her voice. She was beckoning me.
Who was this woman? Why was she summoning me?
I reached into my pocket and felt a jade amulet hanging around my neck, which brought me some reassurance. I then walked towards her.
My master had told me: "One foot in yin and yang, half your life hanging by a thread." Dealing with malevolent entities frequently was extremely dangerous.
For my safety, he had specially made this jade amulet for me, inscribed with protective array nodes he had meticulously carved, capable of safeguarding me.
Approaching the woman, I didn't have time to examine her face, my gaze immediately drawn to the brazier.
In the blazing flames, what was being burned was not firewood!
It was clearly human bones!
"Little brother, look quickly, look at my eyes!"
The woman stood up, her right hand cupped to partially cover her face, but her extremely alluring eyes were fixed on me.
Boom—
As our eyes met, my mind exploded, as if something had detonated within my brain.
I even experienced a brief moment of blankness.
After this brief void, a torrent of information surged into my mind like a tidal wave.
Her name was Sui Wan'er. She was born during the Tang Dynasty and died shortly after the "Xuanwu Gate Incident."
Sui Wan'er had lived a life of prominence, but died in extreme suffering. Not only had she endured unspeakable humiliation and torture, but her limbs had been forcibly broken, and she had been subjected to acupuncture with a hundred needles, making her life worse than death.
Finally, she was suffocated to death by having her face covered with paper soaked in water.
...
"This is bad. Why do I know so much about this stranger from ancient times?"
"She asked me to look at her eyes, just so I would know all this?"
"No, that's not right. She must have a bigger scheme."
"She wants my life!"
A moment of clarity suddenly dawned in my mind. I quickly took two steps back, silently recited the "Clear Mind Mantra," and broke free from the woman's captivating gaze.
At the same time, I faintly heard a light "crack" from my pocket.
The scene before me darkened, then brightened again.
The Jiangnan alleyway was gone. I was back in the dilapidated rural house.
"Qingyun, Qingyun... what's wrong?"
Sun Chuang shook my arm, calling out softly. His face was etched with anxiety, and his eyes held a trace of unease and fear.
I waved my hand and said, "It's nothing." I reached up and wiped my face, only to find my hand covered in crimson.
Blood trickled from my nostrils, and my ears buzzed. I had suffered a minor but significant setback.
Wang Jun didn't care about my well-being; he only cared about the fate and fortune of the ancient skeleton. If this skeleton posed no danger, it wouldn't bring the buyer fatal misfortune, and he could sell it for a hefty price.
"Hey, little brother, you can't be this tight-lipped."
Wang Jun ordered his men to close the coffin lid and said impatiently, "Say something! What's the origin of this skeleton? Can it cause death?"
I was about to tell the truth, to say, "This thing is extremely eerie. Send it back where it came from immediately."
However, the words that came out of my mouth were: "Cause death? This skeleton is nothing special. It's just an ordinary maid who died in ancient times."
"Sell it, sell it quickly. But it must be sold nearby; absolutely do not take it far."
"With Qingfeng Mountain as the boundary, do not go beyond twenty li."
These grave robbers and Sun Chuang had likely dealt with each other more than once, and they trusted the yin fortune master he brought, which was me.
Upon hearing my words, they immediately cheered with joy.
Wang Jun promptly transferred a million yuan to Sun Chuang and then directed his men to carry the coffin away. Sun Chuang chased after them, seemingly wanting to discuss another deal with the grave robbers.
I was left alone in the dilapidated house.
I stood rooted to the spot, my eyes wide open, my teeth lightly clattering, making a "ge ge ge" sound.
This time, I felt both fear and a flicker of anger.
Just now, I had been controlled by an inexplicable force.
Those last words, "it can be sold," were absolutely not what I wanted to say!!!