Chapter 38: Thirty-Six Murals

Realizing there was no way to escape this time, Black Sunglasses braced himself for a desperate fight. But as the struggle wore on, he noticed that the blood corpse's power seemed to be waning, though he didn't understand why. Despite suffering numerous wounds, he managed to survive. Only then did I discover he actually carried a small packet of explosives with him. Though the packet was small, its contents were potent—enough to cause significant destruction.

With a slight smile, Black Sunglasses said, "On my way here, I sensed that thing was catching up to me, so I planted the explosives in a spot ahead. I lured it over, and then—well, you know."

I immediately asked whether the explosion had killed the blood corpse, but what concerned me even more was that crimson pill. Black Sunglasses shook his head, telling me the blood corpse hadn't died. He hadn't seen it with his own eyes, but his instincts assured him it still lived.

"Why are you suddenly so talkative?" I asked, puzzled.

After stamping out his last cigarette, Black Sunglasses replied flatly, "Maybe because both of us are going to die here anyway—so it doesn’t matter if I say a little more to you."

A sudden chill ran through me. Did he think there was no way out? He just shook his head without speaking. After a short rest, he suddenly said, "Hurry up—we have to go. It’s coming."

He tried to stand, but as soon as he pushed himself up, his wounds opened again, dark blood oozing out. It was clear he was poisoned.

"Damn it, am I really going to die here? And you, kid—this is all your fault."

Despite his cursing, I could hear no real anger in his voice, only resignation. Truthfully, I really wanted to know his name, and why he wanted that crimson pill so badly. But I knew he would never tell me, so I didn’t ask.

"Actually, I’m not afraid of dying," I suddenly said, forcing a smile as I stood. Drawing a deep breath, I strode forward without looking back. Let Black Sunglasses rest where he was. After coming this far, I wasn’t about to sit and wait for death. I also knew there was no way back.

I didn’t know whether Black Sunglasses followed, but I pressed on ahead. I might as well face this blood corpse myself—and if the chance arose, I'd try to reclaim the crimson pill.

It wasn’t long before a powerful stench of blood assaulted my nose, as if there were a massive pool of blood ahead. The further I went, the more nauseating the odor became.

Where was the blood corpse? I scanned my surroundings. The marks of the recent explosion were obvious; both walls were almost blasted through. Yet there was no sign of the creature. Like Black Sunglasses had said, I doubted it had been blown to pieces. That meant it was still alive and had left this spot. As there was only one way forward, the fact that I hadn’t seen it meant it was somewhere ahead.

I pressed on. The bloody stench grew more and more abnormal. Could there be a slaughterhouse ahead? But even after a thousand years, no slaughterhouse should reek this strongly. I took a slow breath and quickened my pace.

The tunnel soon ended, and what I saw at the end left me inexplicably shaken. Before me lay a vast pool, in the center of which was a platform holding a black object I couldn’t identify. The pool was about the size of a small soccer field, filled with black liquid streaked with solidified red—dark, almost black, with a suffocating stench of blood. I didn’t need to guess what it was; it was clearly blood, though I had no idea from what creature.

A sudden terror gripped me. What if this was human blood? How many people would it take to fill such a pool? But that was only speculation. The walls around me were covered in lifelike murals, as if recounting a history.

I meant only to glance at them, but after looking at the first mural, I felt myself drawn in. To my surprise, I could understand the scenes depicted.

The murals told how the ancient nation of Guli, fleeing war, migrated into the desert and built a small city-state. For decades it thrived, until chaos swept the Western Regions and an invading power conquered all before it, soon reaching Guli. Unable to resist, Guli was crushed; the victorious army breached the gates, only to find the city empty—a ghost town.

How could an entire nation vanish? Perplexed, I studied the next mural. It showed people gathered around a well, beneath which there was a shelter. All the inhabitants had retreated underground.

The murals suggested this underground refuge was here, and the well was likely the one I had descended. In the next scene, a leader guided the people deeper underground, until they reached what looked like an altar—possibly this very place. The leader seemed to be making a speech, and then, one by one, the entire population… killed themselves. Their blood flowed into a vast pool. All kept leaping in, and from the pool, a monster emerged. To me it looked like a demon—huge, serpent-like. Could this be the legendary Candle Nine Yin? The creature painted here was identical to what I’d seen depicted in the Dragon Mountain Range. Countless smaller creatures appeared in the pool—I suspected they were parasitic worms.

With these, Guli instantly annihilated its invaders—but everyone died in the process. Then I wondered: what happened to their leader, and to the last king of Guli? Where did he go? There were thirty-six murals in all, and I’d looked at nearly every one. Some details eluded me, but I had the general idea.

Lost in thought, I was suddenly overwhelmed by a surge of blood reek from behind. Instinctively I dodged—and saw the blood corpse. It was almost unrecognizable, its body turned pale purple, shrunken and riddled with wounds—likely from the explosion. What was it really?

It seemed utterly drained now, cowering in a corner and shuddering. Gritting my teeth, I seized my short blade and rushed at it. One must strike when the enemy is weak; otherwise, this thing was far too dangerous.

In a flash, I was upon it, stabbing my blade through its throat, pinning it in place. When it barely reacted, I searched for the crimson pill—and found it still in its mouth. Yet only half remained; the rest had either dissolved or been bitten, likely absorbed or crushed.

Half was enough. I quickly pocketed the fragment, determined not to lose it this time. As I did, the blood corpse suddenly opened its eyes—empty sockets, utterly hollow and terrifying. It let out a piercing, mournful scream. I yanked out my black-gold short blade, ready to deliver the final blow, but just then the scream ceased. Its entire body began to rot at a shocking rate, decaying before my eyes. I staggered back, barely able to watch such a grotesque and revolting sight.

Soon, nothing was left but a skeleton. Only then did I notice that its bones were purple, with a tailbone whose nature I couldn’t guess.

At that moment, it seemed as if a distant, ethereal voice called to me. The sound was both near and far, impossible to grasp or follow. I thought I was hallucinating, but it came again, battering my mind. My consciousness began to slip away, my legs moving against my will. My thoughts turned sluggish, as if I were bewitched. Though I could sense my state, I had completely lost control of my body.

My vision blurred. I strained to see, and realized I was standing on a bridge, swaying precariously, on the verge of falling. Eventually, oblivion took me, and I felt unbearably sleepy.

I don’t know how long I slept. Suddenly, a voice pierced my eardrums—a sound that seemed to cut through my soul, dragging me back to consciousness. I realized I was lying on something cold and hard. I was still so tired, but instinct urged me to open my eyes. Forcing them open, I saw a figure—it looked… it looked like Black Sunglasses.

Time slipped by in a daze. When I opened my eyes again, darkness enveloped me, but a sliver of light pierced my vision, dazzlingly bright.

“You’re awake. If you didn’t wake up, I really was going to leave you.”

It was Black Sunglasses’ voice. I used to find it grating, but now it filled me with a sense of safety.

“What happened to me? Where am I? Why does my head feel so heavy, so exhausted…”