"Fold a thousand paper cranes, and tie a red streamer~"
"May good luck come to all kind people every day~"
...
What Zhang Haike gave was indeed effective. The music was powerful and resonant, making it feel as exhilarating as attending a concert.
"Wow, this is so fitting!" Upon hearing about the paper cranes and red streamers, Fatty couldn't help but look at the pale face and bright red lips of the humanoid figure and exclaimed with a tone of pride.
However, his pleasant thoughts were soon shattered by Xiao Zhang, who had been diligently working like a busy bee, meticulously inspecting this underworld artifact.
"...It's not paper."
Zhang Qiling slowly withdrew his finger, his gaze on the object now carrying a hint of solemnity.
Seeing Zhang Qiling's expression, Wu Tianzhen, who had been forced into silence for a long time, had a flash of inspiration. He felt that this scene was somewhat similar to their experience in Cangshan.
Driven by this sense of familiarity, he bravely forced open his microphone:
"Xiao Ge, this isn't... human skin, is it?"
Xiao Wu had been expecting a look of admiration from Xiao Ge, but Zhang Qiling displayed a look of questioning and bewilderment that was completely different from his anticipation.
"No, it's monkey skin."
"You can't judge a book by its cover, tsk tsk tsk!" Hei Yanjing chimed in, arms crossed. "I'm truly shocked that Wu Tianzhen's mind is constantly occupied by such terrifying things. It's truly astonishing."
"It's too scary, the fragile me doesn't dare to walk with you anymore~"
Wu Tianzhen: ? Did you even speak human words just now?
"How would I know? Aren't most things in this forbidden land made of human skin—"
Wu Tianzhen's rebuttal was cut short as he suddenly realized the flaw in his logic.
This place was Mount Emei, teeming with monkeys!
The reason for using human skin instead of paper or bamboo slips was to increase the preservation time of the artifacts, much like carving words onto tortoise shells.
But now, with monkeys readily available, why would anyone go to the trouble of using human skin and bearing the infamy?
Wu Tianzhen: ...Is this what they call adapting to local conditions?
While it wasn't very friendly to the monkeys, it had to be said that upon learning that the artifact was neither human skin nor paper, but monkey skin, the eerie atmosphere of the underworld was significantly dispelled once again.
Fatty even turned off the festive "Good Fortune Comes," choosing to play the "Great Compassion Mantra," stating that he wanted to send off the souls of these nameless monkeys.
"Whoa, then why didn't you play one for those monkeys up there?" Wu Tianzhen, having regained control of his microphone, was no longer willing to stay silent. He'd rather endure the occasional itch on his face and speak.
"??? Damn it, were those things up there even considered monkeys?!" Fatty questioned Wu Tianzhen's inquiry. "Those things attacked us, so they weren't innocent monkeys, they were class enemies!"
"It's already humane of Fatty to not roast and eat them. Should I still handle their afterlife? Wouldn't that make me a big sucker?!"
Later, Wu Tianzhen and Fatty resumed their crosstalk performance, their "Forbidden Land Tour." Hei Yanjing, as usual, was an observer, leaving only two ambitious handsome men to study the monkey-skin figure.
Xie Yuchen observed the construction of the monkey-skin figure and said softly, "Such a complex shape, and the connections of these monkey skins are so well-hidden. The skill of the original creator was not low."
He looked at Zhang Qiling, who seemed lost in thought, "This thing is inside the tree trunk. I'm afraid the blood that those human-faced beans absorbed came from here."
"What do you say, Patriarch Zhang?"
Patriarch Zhang remained silent. He looked up at Xie Yuchen, then slowly turned his gaze back to the monkey-skin figure.
This monkey-skin figure was not hollow. His fingers slowly traced the seams between the monkey skins, clearly sensing something hard inside, as if a stone was encased within the monkey skin.
He felt a pang of guilt for the jumping human-faced beans earlier. Although Wu Tianzhen hadn't mentioned the chaos caused by his mistake when he applied the bandage, he still felt a subtle sense of caution.
Faqiu Finger meticulously examined the monkey-skin figure. Once he was certain there was no immediate danger within—
With a "swish," his fingers, like a sword, parted the incredibly tough monkey skin with almost no resistance, tearing open a gap!
Xie Yuchen immediately followed his movement, shining his flashlight.
Beneath the covering of monkey skin, a hard object resembling black jade was revealed, emitting a cold light.
But the moment the flashlight beam hit it, the blackness of the substance gradually receded, transforming into a strange semi-transparency.
And within this semi-transparency, the dark shadows floating and shifting inside became exceptionally prominent.
"This is—" Xie Yuchen keenly sensed something was wrong. He frowned and watched for a moment, a look of pity appearing on his face.
"What is it, what is it, Xiao Ge?" Fatty, who was playfully bickering with Wu Tianzhen, noticed the progress of the "business group" up ahead. The glint of black jade immediately energized him.
"Did you find something good? Let me see, let me see!"
He took two quick steps forward, intending to rush over, but Zhang Qiling reached out and stopped him just as he was about to get close.
Zhang Qiling lightly held back Fatty, as if suddenly remembering something, and gently reminded him:
"Inside here, there are dead people."
After a moment of thought, Xiao Zhang added:
"Many."
Although his tone was calm, his meaning was clear: he thought Fatty would be scared by the dead people.
Fatty, suddenly having his courage questioned: ???
He opened his mouth, about to prove his innocence, but then he remembered himself screaming at the sight of dead bones at the entrance earlier.
Looking at Zhang Qiling's expressionless face (You don't have to look if you're scared), Fatty was momentarily at a loss for how to explain that he wasn't really scared just now.
Wu Tianzhen, on the other hand, had no such trouble. He sidestepped Fatty and looked directly into the monkey skin—
Within the semi-transparent substance, it seemed to be filled with an unknown liquid, and countless human organs were floating within it.
As the liquid rippled, a swollen human head within the liquid slowly turned, meeting Wu Tianzhen's gaze.