Chapter 49: Soul-Calming Powder

Just as I was struggling to keep myself safe, Li Ling suddenly shoved me hard, sending me sprawling to the ground. Before I could ask what she was doing, I realized that the spot where I had been standing was now riddled with the tendrils of corpse-scented flowers. But in the next second, Li Ling herself was ensnared by countless vines. I rushed forward with my dagger to rescue him, but before I could reach him, my own feet were caught. And so, whether it was me, Li Ling, Old Ghost, Old Han, or even the lifeless bodies around us, all were entangled by the corpse-scented flower.

It was as if the flower had been provoked—its vines unfurled, whipping through the air. As I was shaken, I felt my insides shift painfully. Very soon, I saw the corpse-scented flower begin to devour the bodies. The dead were wrapped and digested bit by bit, making my scalp tingle with dread. After it finished consuming the corpses, it turned its attention to us, the living. No—there had to be a way out. I swung my dagger with all my strength, but the vines were far too thick and numerous; it was useless.

I even felt the vines tightening around me, as if tiny plants were crawling over my skin. Just then, I heard a loud shout. Turning, I saw Old Han yelling, "Use the Soul Suppressing Powder! The Soul Suppressing Powder!"

What was that? Before I could ask, Old Ghost shouted, "It's in Da Shan's bag, on the ground!"

I saw the backpack lying on the ground. Though I had no idea what Soul Suppressing Powder was, Old Han seemed to know a lot—maybe it was truly the solution. I struggled desperately to break free from the vines. The next moment, a gunshot rang out, and the vine holding me snapped. It was Li Ling. Though her waist was bound by vines, her hands still gripped a rifle, and in such an unstable position, her marksmanship amazed me.

But this was no time to marvel. I quickly slashed through several thinner branches with my dagger and managed to break free, leaping to the ground. Old Ghost shouted, "The black bag—there's Soul Suppressing Powder inside! Hurry, or we'll all die here!"

I wanted to seize the chance to escape and leave them behind, but Li Ling was still here—I couldn't just abandon her. Gritting my teeth, I dodged the attacking branches, grabbed the black backpack, and tore it open. Inside, there was indeed something wrapped in parchment. I opened it to find a silvery powder. I had no idea what it was made of, something I’d have to study later. Just then, several branches lunged at me. I quickly dumped out some of the silver powder, and the vines recoiled as if encountering their nemesis, hastily withdrawing.

Seeing its effect, I was about to grab a handful to scatter, when Old Han shouted, "Don't scatter it! Sprinkle it at the roots!"

He surely wouldn't lie to me now—if he did, he'd suffer too. I grabbed a handful and sprinkled it at the roots of the corpse-scented flower inside the black stone coffin. The flower convulsed violently, as if struck by a powerful stimulus. All the vines began to rapidly retract.

It seemed the Soul Suppressing Powder was indeed effective. After a while, Li Ling, Old Ghost, and the others broke free from the vines and landed on the ground. The corpse-scented flower gradually withdrew into the black stone coffin.

At that moment, Old Han said, "The Soul Suppressing Powder we made isn’t complete—it can only suppress the corpse-scented flower for about half an hour. We need to leave now."

Before I could speak, Old Ghost asked, "How do we get out?"

Old Han glanced at me, then answered without hesitation, "I know the way out. We’ll retrace our steps—when the time comes, I’ll handle it."

Old Ghost nodded and turned to me. "Kid, you’ve killed several of our brothers. I'll let it go, but you need to hand over that bead from earlier. Of course, I can pay you for it. What do you say?"

Li Ling started to speak, but I interrupted her: "Heh, I’m not short on money. Besides, I don’t trust you at all."

Old Ghost’s face darkened, and he began to lead Old Han back the way we came. He knew this wasn’t the time to fight me. As we descended the ladder, he said, "I’ll give you time to think—until we get out."

To be honest, I did want to find a chance to kill them both. But Old Han seemed to know the way out. If I killed them, we'd have a hard time escaping ourselves. Best to wait and see.

We kept a certain distance as we walked. Li Ling whispered to me, "Keep that item safe. If you need money, I have it."

"I know you’re not short on money, but neither am I. Don’t worry, that item is very important to me—more important than my life." Seeing Li Ling about to speak again, I continued, "I understand what you mean, but trust me, I’ll let you know the results after I study it, or I’ll hand it over to you. But you must believe, it’s truly, truly crucial to me."

Li Ling hesitated, as if she had something to say, but soon fell silent, responding only with a quiet "mm." This woman—I felt an inexplicable trust toward her, even though I sensed she was hiding something from me. But that was normal; everyone has secrets. I certainly do.

On the ladder, Li Ling and I followed behind, Old Ghost and Old Han ahead. Every few steps, one of them would glance back, wary of a sneak attack.

As we walked, I handed the pale blue bead to Li Ling. She was surprised I’d let her study it for now. After examining it, she told me it was probably a pill. Another pill—what were the red and blue pills, really? Lost in thought, I handed her the half red pill as well. She was quite surprised, shaking her head as she looked at the two pills, then whispered to me, "Honestly, it’s hard to tell what these pills are for without proper equipment. If we have the chance, we should use professional instruments to analyze their contents. Most ancient pills weren’t good—they often contained toxic substances. Mercury, for example, could cause serious harm."

I knew that. Most ancient pills were made for longevity, or more common purposes like virility, stopping bleeding, or treating illness. Li Ling was right—even if I brought them back, I wouldn’t try them lightly. I certainly wouldn’t swallow them, especially since they came from the mouths of corpses and wax figures—disgusting aside, who knows if taking them would kill me.

After some thought, I decided to entrust both pills to Li Ling for research. She was excited at first, then became serious. "Thank you so much for trusting me. Don’t worry, as soon as we get out, I’ll start the research. I’ll let you know the results right away, and I’ll return both pills."

I nodded. These items, together, were worth nearly a million at the price Old Ghost offered. What’s more, the pills might be tied to the fate of the Tomb-Guarding clan and myself. They were extremely important. I didn’t know why, but handing them to Li Ling felt right—deep down, I trusted her.

I said nothing, but became more cautious. The ladder wasn’t very long now—we were nearly at the end. All I needed was to get out, and to watch out for Old Ghost. But with only two men left, they wouldn’t cause much trouble. They had guns, but so did I; when we descended earlier, I had seized a pistol from a corpse and tucked it into my pocket.

As for actual fighting, Old Ghost might not be able to beat me. He was more experienced and ruthless, but if it came to a real fight, I wouldn’t be intimidated.

Entering the ancient tower again, I noticed Old Ghost and Old Han were using our method—one in front, one behind—moving quickly through the tower. Liang Qiu was still waiting below. Seeing us descend the rope, he was elated. But recalling the zombie-like creature, seeing Liang Qiu stirred unease in me.

Seeing Old Ghost and Old Han, Liang Qiu grew nervous, his hands trembling as he held his gun. Old Ghost showed no reaction to his men’s corpses. People like him must have killed countless others—such calm only comes with a heavy body count. And since those were his own men, his coldness was shocking. But then again, I’d killed several of his people myself, and didn’t hesitate.

"Kid, think carefully—holding onto that item will bring you a world of trouble."

I sneered and drew my black-gold dagger. At this range, a gun would be of little use. I was confident I could close the distance in less than a second, and my blade would reach him before he could draw his gun.