To the east of Dajiang, south of Outer Mongolia, lies ‘Juwang City’ in the northwest of Zhongzhou, a secluded paradise nestled among the mountains.
It is far from the provincial capital, free from the complex webs of interests; it is not a transportation hub and lacks the bustling streets of a thriving metropolis. What Juwang City has are undulating mountains, lush green forests, and the auspicious ‘treasure basin’ terrain.
With the development of the information era, the picturesque ‘eighteen winding roads through the forest, green waters winding around the mountains’ of Juwang City have been turned into a tourist attraction. The slogan [Work diligently at dawn, return with a hoe in the evening] has brought in quite a few retirees.
Gradually, the peaceful Juwang City became home to many elderly wealthy businessmen, professors, and researchers. It also attracted a group of old doctors who came here to tend to flowers and plants. The slow-paced lifestyle and rich cultural atmosphere made the city low-key yet profound, introverted yet deep.
It was just like its name ‘Juwang’ – a place where only those of high moral standing lived, and where people desired peace and prosperity. Even as the outside world roared with chaos, this ‘paradise’ remained as tranquil as ever.
However recently, the number of people coming to Juwang City to ‘seek refuge’ has been increasing…
On Sixi Street, in the Eight Treasure Hall.
In the front hall, which was filled with the fragrance of Chinese medicine, the now plumper Yu Mingyang was dangling one leg, allowing the old doctor to apply medicine and feel his bones, before putting on a splint and bandages.
“The medicine is being absorbed well, and the bones are healing fast. Others would need a hundred days for such an injury, but I reckon you’ll be running around in two months at most,” the old doctor chuckled. “You survived a plane crash, and yet here you are, really lucky!”
“Grandpa Song, don’t even mention it…” Yu Mingyang’s face fell when he thought of the monsters from Lingdong and the plane crash, “I almost died young, and the psychological trauma is huge. I can’t even think of taking a train or high-speed rail now. I just want to stay here at your Eight Treasure Hall for my retirement. No other reason, just for the safety!”
“Though Juwang City does have the occasional small earthquake, it’s not near the sea, doesn’t have any boundary gates, and isn’t haunted. It’s truly a ‘three-no treasure land,’ much safer than the outside world.”
Yu Mingyang sighed deeply: “I’ve been browsing Weibo lately, and I really feel like the end of the world is coming. I heard there’s a prophecy about something happening in the northwest, talking about ‘zombies from the Great Tomb.’ It’s got the military and civilians in the northwest all worked up. When I think about it, Juwang City is still the safest. I’m here to rest my leg and preserve my life!”
The old doctor laughed heartily: “Hahaha! Juwang City is indeed very safe. No wonder you refuse to return to Yanjing, insisting on coming here to rest your leg.”
The older generations of the Yu and Song families were neighbors in the same large courtyard, and their relationship was excellent. Old Doctor Song had watched Yu Mingyang grow up, almost treating him like a grandson. They had been together for eighteen years.
Later, Old Doctor Song answered the call from the country and came to Juwang City to research local poisonous creatures and plants. So, he left Yanjing and chose to retire in Juwang City.
After many years, Old Doctor Song had become the main doctor at the Eight Treasure Hall, while Yu Mingyang was the first younger generation in recent years to want to stay with him for an extended period.
Even though this little monkey just wanted to rest his leg and save his life, Old Doctor Song was still very pleased.
“If you want to bask in the sun, I can have Xiao Yang take you outside for a walk?”
“Don’t even think about it!” Yu Mingyang declined politely. “I know the ‘Eight Treasure Hall’ is just a cover. The real core is a research lab. If you push me outside to sunbathe under the guise of science, I can’t bear it!”
Old Doctor Song laughed heartily: “Alright, you little trickster… but you must remember, you can walk anywhere in Juwang City, but the mountains and forests should be avoided. There are too many poisonous creatures and plants; it’s easy to fall into their traps.”
Juwang City had everything, but the dangers hidden in the mountains and forests were too many. Throughout history, many had tried to navigate them, but only one path in and out had been successful.
“Your parents entrusted you to me, and I’ll make sure your leg heals properly. No matter what monsters, immortals, or zombie tombs are outside, they won’t affect Juwang City.”
“Just focus on healing your leg, little monkey.”
Indeed, Juwang City had been peaceful for centuries. Aside from a particularly low birth rate, there were no major problems. The monsters along the coast couldn’t make it to the northwest, the monsters at the boundary gates couldn’t leave Lingdong, and even the Great Tomb in the northwest had no connection to Juwang City.
What should be worried about were the big cities that had unearthed many tombs!
There were many others with the same idea. All of Zhongzhou’s attention was focused on a few special cities in the northwest, but they ignored the factor of “human greed.”
No matter how strict the precautions, some things always slip through. The Great Tombs have both Yin and Yang, but only the Yang Tombs are recorded in history.
As for the Yin Tombs, they are often hidden deeper underground or in denser forests, feeding on vitality and essence. If fate allows, they will resurface and bring disaster.
Yang tombs can be touched, but Yin tombs should not be. But humans are always drawn to what they shouldn’t touch…
At 3:00 PM on January 31st, the sky over Juwang City was dark and heavy.
The black clouds piled up, covering the entire mountain range and lingering without dispersing. It looked like a heavy rain was about to fall, but half an hour passed without a single drop.
At that moment, the construction team several miles outside the city had not yet wrapped up. Due to the recent development boom in Juwang City, the tourism developers had lively ideas and decided to “build roads.”
Juwang City had excellent resources; there couldn’t just be one way in and out. If they could add another, the city would see more income. Then, they could also develop real estate, attracting young people to work, invest, and do business. Perhaps in ten years, Juwang City would be as prosperous as the provincial capital.
After many complicated procedures, the road construction plan began. The developers hired a lot of workers under the condition of three hundred packages of food and lodging per day. Since the work began, they had dug several miles of road. However, the mountain forests were too vast, and they still hadn’t reached the end.
“Didn’t the country issue a notice online? All projects must stop these days, especially excavation work,” a young worker wiped sweat from his forehead, “And it looks like it’s about to rain. Are we really not stopping?”
The foreman, smoking a cigarette and relaxing in the excavator, taunted, “Stop? Are you going to pay for the three hundred bucks?”
The young worker paused and didn’t respond.
“Are you dumb? The country said they’d pay compensation for the missed work. You’re still making money on top of that. Isn’t three hundred bucks a good deal for a day’s work?” The foreman puffed out smoke. “And what’s this about the Great Tomb being unearthed? What does that have to do with us? I’ve been doing excavation work for thirty years. If digging a bit could uncover a Great Tomb, do you think I’d still be here working with you?”
“I’d be living the high life by now!” The foreman and others all laughed.
“If we really uncover something, don’t rush to run,” another one joked. “Stuff some good things into your pockets, and we won’t have to work for the rest of our lives.”
“You’re really something, I love that idea! Hahaha…”
The young worker grabbed a towel to wipe his sweat, feeling the environment growing increasingly stifling. After working a bit more, he couldn’t take it anymore. “Don’t you feel suffocated? It’s so hard to breathe. My heart’s racing.”
“Stop pretending to be dead,” someone shot him a look. “It’s humid on rainy days, but it doesn’t stop us from working and making money.”
The young worker lowered his head, thinking of his ailing mother and his younger sister who was about to start school, finally bowing his head to life.
They worked for another half hour, and finally, the heavy clouds above filled with water, and a torrential downpour began. The workers stood on the freshly dug road, as countless streams of water gathered to wash away the soil and plants, turning the ground into a slippery, muddy mess.
Walking forward meant facing a road full of unknown plants. Retreating meant evacuating the workers but not the vehicles. The road was too slippery, and taking the car could lead to an accident. But walking ten miles in the winter rain was unbearable!
In the end, everyone could only hide in the work shed, waiting for the rain to stop.
“Boom—” The thunder roared and surged above, like silver serpents twisting through the clouds. It illuminated the sky brightly, striking the mountaintop with a heavy thunderclap, and a moment later, the sound of exploding boulders echoed through the air.
Soon after, the rainwater gathered into a rapid torrent, crashing down through the vast forests and plants, with more and more muddy water flowing downhill, dragging entire sections of the mountain’s surface as if it were a large mudslide.
At this point, no one could stay calm! The workers abandoned the work shed and excavators, instinctively climbing uphill, knowing that if they stayed put, they would be buried alive by the mudslide, no matter what toxic plants they might step on.
“Damn! We need to get the boss to add more money, it’s a mudslide!”
Up until this moment, many of them were still thinking about money. It wasn’t that they didn’t understand the danger or didn’t care about their lives, but money occupied too much of their lives. To survive, people had to spend money, and without money, there was no way to feed themselves. That was all.
“Boom!” A lightning bolt struck at the foot of the mountain. Under the constant rush of mud and rocks, countless boulders fell, smashing into the same spot, opening up a pitch-black door.
Yes, a door.
A door with a pure black base, inscribed with blood-red runes, buried deep at the foot of the mountain in the shadow. It was so deeply buried that, without the forceful wash of the mudslide, it would never have revealed itself.
At this moment, it sat quietly at the foot of the mountain, as the torrential rain and mud washed away the blood-colored runes… As the runes darkened, the black door seemed to undergo a transformation, emitting a deadly allure.
It was so tempting to push it open!
“Brothers, do you think we’re going to get rich?” someone murmured. “Do you think that’s where the ancient emperors hid their gold and treasures?”
“We’re rich, we’re rich…” The foreman laughed maniacally. “Money we can’t even spend! We’re going to have endless money! Let’s go, let’s go, let’s see what’s down there! If there’s gold and silver, I’ll go outside and buy a small one.”
Their eyes were wide with greed as they walked through the heavy rain toward the door.
The young worker was quick to act and reached out to stop them: “Don’t go! Do you remember the prophecy about the Great Tomb unearthed? You guys…” The next moment, his face was punched sideways, and he was violently thrown to the ground.
Dazed, he looked up, seeing his coworkers now with fierce, terrifying expressions. “Don’t block our path, Zhang Yan. If you don’t want to get rich, we do…”
“Yeah, we want it… There’s money there…” They stumbled forward toward the black door, their movements like puppets under the spell of greed.
Zhang Yan shuddered in fear!
He practically crawled and scrambled toward Juwang City, his frozen fingers desperately reaching for his phone, only to realize that his 200-yuan old phone had no signal in the deep mountains and forests.
When he turned around, his possessed coworkers were already getting closer to the door.
He couldn’t stop them, nor dared to. In this world, there were too many people who would lose their humanity for money. There was no way but to ask for help.
Zhang Yan ran with all his strength. At the same time, the black door was slowly opening.
The rain poured down in sheets, weaving a murky curtain and reducing visibility on the road to a minimum. Two SUVs were crawling along the winding mountain path, the windshield wipers struggling but making little progress.
“Boom!” The thunder crashed again.
Qi Xinli furrowed his brows. “What the hell is this weather?”
“Watch your words, be careful not to tempt fate,” Ji Si, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly spoke up. “The elders want the younger ones to speak auspicious words for a reason. Some people are spiritually sensitive without realizing it. If you speak the wrong words and it comes true, that wouldn’t be good.”
Qi Xinli quickly corrected himself: “Look at this weather, the rain is washing away the impurities and the lightning is purging the filth. Amitabha, may all be well!”
Si Nuocheng and Ji Si: …
“Thunder in winter is not a good omen,” Ji Si changed the subject. “Including this lightning, there have already been nine strikes. It seems the Great Tomb has been unearthed.”
Qi Xinli muttered to himself: “We rushed here for five days, and we still didn’t make it in time?”
Given the high danger of flying and the lack of flexibility on high-speed rail, they chose to drive instead. They had driven from the southern coastal areas directly to the northwest, to Juwang, alternating driving for ten hours a day, but still ended up late.
Si Nuocheng frowned: “The navigation shows only one road, there’s no way to change direction.”
“Since it’s confirmed that Juwang City is the source of the problem, why not ask the authorities for help?” Qi Xinli said, “We can’t get in, but the military helicopters can surely reach us. One call, and…”
Ji Si suddenly spoke: “Don’t make things worse.”
The two fell silent, the only sound was the relentless rain hitting the car.
“The new prophecy doesn’t specify the location for a reason,” Ji Si continued, “Look carefully at the terrain of Juwang City. It’s surrounded by mountains, with similar elevation all around, and a concave center, surrounded by poisonous plants and obstacles. What does that remind you of?”
Seeing that neither of them spoke, Ji Si continued slowly: “Humans live in the center, as if they were domesticated chickens and ducks. The mountains on all sides are like fences, and the poisonous obstacles are like traps. They are surrounded, waiting for the day when they are slaughtered.”
Si Nuocheng: … Wasn’t this supposed to be a paradise?
Qi Xinli: … Wasn’t this supposed to be a retirement haven?
“Juwang City is not a land of good feng shui. In fact, it could even be called a land of misfortune. It was intentionally made to resemble a ‘treasure basin,’ covered by lush forests, which misled many feng shui experts.”
Ji Si continued: “If you strip away the illusion of Juwang City, it is a giant Yin-sha Bagua formation.”
“The mountains surrounding Juwang City form the eight gates of the Bagua, equivalent to the eight gates of life, death, injury, and harm. The only way out of Juwang City is through the ‘life gate,’ and all other paths lead to dead ends.”
“If you try to push through, you’ll either encounter poisonous snakes or wild beasts, or face landslides. Even if you’re lucky enough to escape the formation, the aftereffects are considerable. For example, if you leave through the ‘injury gate,’ you’ll die of severe illness and exhaustion. If you leave through the ‘harm gate,’ you’ll likely be killed by bandits.”
“You can only escape through the life gate, and if I were to reveal the location, what do you think the consequences would be?”
The result, of course, would be that the people of Juwang City would run desperately toward the exit, while the military would be trying to enter the city. With only one way in, they might end up going toward another gate.
In that case, the casualties would be devastating…
Ji Si didn’t want to get too involved, nor did he want to risk any lives. Sometimes, trying to be clever only makes things worse, so it was better to say nothing from the beginning.
He gently stroked the Zouxin scepter and continued: “The population of Juwang City is already fixed. If we try to secretly take the lambs out or pour in a lot of fresh blood, it might stir the Zombie King and make it go berserk.”
The people of Juwang City were essentially the food in the Zombie King’s bowl, and it had been watching over them for thousands of years. If it suddenly had food, it wouldn’t be easy to just take it away. If someone were to snatch its bowl and throw it on the ground, it would probably get so enraged that it could evolve into a drought demon at any moment!
So why bother?
Just fill the bowl with food, add a couple of delicious awakened ones, and let it believe that humans can never escape its grasp. Only then will the Bagua formation stabilize.
“At the end of January and the beginning of February, when the two months overlap at midnight, the Yin energy will be at its peak. It should come out to hunt, and you two have a deadly attraction to it.”
“As for whether to stay in the city and fight, or go to the Zombie King’s lair for the battle, that’s up to you.”
…….
The heavy rain poured relentlessly, and the off-road vehicles had been driving through the mountain roads for nearly two hours before they finally reached Juwang City, with the police vehicles closely following behind.
Though Juwang City was referred to as a “city,” it was actually quite small in size. The infrastructure was fairly well-developed, but the entertainment options were limited. There were no large hospitals, no grand hotels, nor big shopping malls—just streets rich with ancient charm, old black-and-white houses, and wine cellars where travelers could stay.
As they got out of the cars, they saw four men rushing through the downpour, carrying a stretcher. A blood-soaked young man lay on it, his face pale and lips purple. His right shoulder was exposed, and there were five dark, gaping holes clearly visible on his body.
“Doctor Song! Help! Please, help!”
Inside the Eight Treasure Hall, several doctors in white coats rushed out to meet them, immediately taking over the young man’s care. “Is this poisoning? Didn’t we say not to go too deep into the… wait, these holes…”
Old Doctor Song crouched down to examine the wounds closely, instinctively positioning his fingers like claws and comparing the size of the holes. “This looks like the marks of human claws.”
“Claws?” The man carrying the stretcher was shocked. “Who could have such long nails? No, who could leave five gaping holes like this with one swipe? This isn’t a martial arts TV show, and these holes are turning black.”
“Ha… Ha…” The veins on Zhang Yan’s face bulged, resembling a dark, spiderweb-like pattern spreading across his face. He seemed like he wanted to say something, but only gasping noises came from his throat.
Soon, his eyes were bloodshot, and his body began to twitch uncontrollably. One of his fingernails grew longer, and around the blood holes, blue spots and white hairs began to form. This transformation was visible to the naked eye and was truly terrifying!
It sent a chill down everyone’s spine, and those around him quickly stepped back, fearing they might catch some horrible disease.
“Ha…” Zhang Yan shook his head with great difficulty. “Ha… ha…”
Perhaps realizing he couldn’t speak, he forced himself to calm down and began tracing characters on the back of Old Doctor Song’s hand. One stroke, then another, but the character for “zombie” had too many strokes, and after failing three times, he shakily switched to a new word—Run!
Run! Quickly!
“Run?” Old Doctor Song paused, instinctively sensing something wasn’t right.
Run? What should we be running from? Is… something wrong?
Before Old Doctor Song could process his thoughts, a smooth voice suddenly echoed in the hall: “Everyone, stay away from him. He’s been scratched by a flying zombie. In a short while, he’ll turn into one himself.”
Flying zombies? Turn into a corpse?
The group turned toward the voice and saw a handsome young man in a black robe, holding a scepter, walking toward them calmly through the downpour. Despite the heavy rain, not a single drop fell on him.
As the hall lights illuminated him, it was as if golden sunlight spread across a snowy field. It dazzled the eyes and warmed the heart, like a spring breeze sweeping away fear and cold, making people instinctively trust him and want to be close to him.
Old Doctor Song stood up. “Excuse me, may I ask…”
“Please prepare some cooked glutinous rice, fresh chicken blood, and cinnabar powder. I believe Eight Treasure Hall should have these ingredients,” Ji Si said, glancing at the medicine cabinet, “Crush the cedar and salt and mix them together, forming a circle around him.”
Seeing that they were still in a daze, Ji Si smiled and added, “Hurry up, or it’ll be too late.”
As if to respond to his words, Zhang Yan on the stretcher suddenly let out a sharp, haunting scream: “Awoo—”
It sounded like a wolf or a tiger, but more like a ghostly howl. His sharp teeth grew longer inside his mouth as he rolled his eyes and twisted on the ground. The blue spots on his shoulder spread to his neck, and even his nails grew longer.
The scream was so chilling it sent goosebumps all over everyone. It felt as if a monster had set its eyes on them.
They no longer dared to delay, rushing to prepare the things Ji Si needed. At that moment, another terrifying ghostly howl rang out in the distance, piercing through the rainstorm and clearly echoing in their ears.
It was bone-chilling!
“What was that?”
“What’s that sound? A tiger? A wolf?”
The crowd began to stir, and the residents of Juwang City instinctively gathered by the windows, peering outside to see what was happening. They breathed in the air, and the energy of human life spread out, drifting far with the wind.
“Awoo—” The second howl sounded even closer.
Ji Si turned his head, looking at Si Nuocheng and Qi Xinli, whose energy was not yet restrained, and sighed lightly. “Plans never survive the changes. You no longer get to choose where you fight. They’re almost here.”
“I overestimated their composure and underestimated your attraction to the undead.”
The power of stars, the strength of a Buddha’s child, the flesh and blood of awakened ones were the perfect supplement for zombies. As soon as they smelled the scent, they would swarm like water tiger fish hunting, with no end until one of them perished!
Upon hearing this, both Si Nuocheng and Qi Xinli’s expressions tightened.
There was no need for more words. Si Nuocheng pushed off the ground, jumping several meters in a single bound, and landed on top of the highest building in the city. Qi Xinli ran outside to notify Team Leader Shen Yunling to prepare for battle, then quickly scaled a high point, sitting cross-legged to meditate and enter a steady state.
Si Nuocheng made his move, and a faint golden spider web spread across the top of Juwang City.
Qi Xinli spoke, “Do you think you can handle whatever comes, even if it’s a large number?”
“Of course,” came the confident reply.
※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※
PS:
Si Nuocheng: “I’ve got several game accounts, not just one.”
Qi Xinli: “…Jealousy is making me lose my purity!”
Ji Si: “Don’t worry, I’m the GM. I’ll just ban this cheater account right now.”
Si Nuocheng: …
PS:
Qi Xinli: “Great Vajra Dragon! Great Law Spell! World-Honored Ksitigarbha! Prajna Buddhas! Prajna Mama Boom!”
Si Nuocheng: “Reporting the cheat.”
Ji Si: “Alright, this one gets banned too.”
Qi Xinli: …
PS:
Zheng Gege: “I’ve already overworked myself by pampering the Yan and Tan consorts. You guys actually want me to pamper the light novel concubine? This world, which requires so much energy, is so cold. The only warmth left is in my imperial tomb!”
