"Peter Clark, you go get it. Damn it, if I ever bring him out again, I deserve to be eaten by a zongzi." Uncle Samuel took the black donkey hoof, spat on it twice, and said, "Look at Samuel Smith's skills, nephew, watch closely. This thousand-year-old zongzi is a rare sight. If I don't succeed, just shoot me in the head and let your Uncle Samuel die quickly!"

I pulled him back. "Are you sure about this?" Actually, I wasn't particularly scared. After all, I'd never encountered something like this before. The woman in the plain clothes, with her slender figure and the mournful look in her back, did make me feel a bit sad. But in horror movies, those long-haired women in white never look that scary when they turn around. Still, my heart was pounding hard.

At that moment, Silent William also pressed Uncle Samuel's shoulder and said, "The black donkey hoof is for dealing with zombies. I'm afraid this thing isn't a zombie. Let me do it." He took out a long object from his bag—I recognized it as the dragon-spine blade he bought from my Uncle Samuel. He unwrapped the cloth, and sure enough, inside was a pitch-black ancient sword, which looked like it was made of black gold.

He slashed the ancient sword across the back of his own hand, then stood at the bow of the boat and let his blood drip into the water. As soon as the first drop fell, there was a loud "splash," and all the corpse beetles, as if they'd seen a ghost, crawled out of the corpses and frantically tried to get away from our boat. In an instant, all the corpse beetles in the water and in the corpses around our boat had vanished without a trace.

Blood quickly covered Silent William's hand. He pointed his bloody hand at the woman in white, and to our shock, she actually knelt down. We were stunned. Silent William said to Uncle Samuel, "Go! Whatever you do, don't look back!"

Although I really wanted to see what that woman looked like, the thought that I might see a mummified face if I turned around made me decide not to risk it. Uncle Samuel and Peter Clark rowed with all their might, and finally we saw a gradually shrinking opening ahead, much like the one we entered through. It seemed this tunnel was at the center of the mountain, and after both sides were dug through, this waterway was formed. This made it a capillary-like structure with narrow entrances and exits on both sides. Even if the water level on both sides covered the openings, it would still stay dry inside.

We gradually sailed into the tomb tunnel and had to duck our heads. Before entering, I had a thought—since we couldn't look back, I decided to check the reflection in the water to see if she was following us. It would have been better not to look. When I did, I nearly fainted: in the water's reflection, some unknown thing was clinging to my back. I was about to scream and couldn't help wanting to turn around, when I felt a heavy blow to the back of my head. Everything went black and I knew nothing more.

Chapter Seven: Over a Hundred Severed Heads

I had no idea how much time had passed. I kept having all sorts of chaotic dreams. In a haze, I seemed to see a woman in white with her back to me. I wanted to see her face, so I ran in front of her, but still only saw her back. I kept running, but no matter what, I could only see her back. Just as I was wondering what was going on, I suddenly realized she had a back on both sides. I screamed and woke up, opening my eyes to see the blood-red sunset and the sky!

"Awake?" Peter Clark's big face grinned at me.

I squinted to adjust to the light. Peter Clark pointed at the sky. "See that? Damn, we finally made it out!"

I rubbed the back of my head. "You brat, was it you who hit me?"

"If I didn't, what else could I do? We told you not to look back, you almost got us all killed."

My memory suddenly returned. I quickly felt my back, wanting to see if that thing was still there. Peter Clark laughed loudly. "Relax, it's gone."

"What was that thing?" I still felt lingering fear.

"Little William said it was called a 'Kui.' Actually, it's just the soul of that female zongzi in white. She just borrowed your yang energy to get out of the corpse tunnel. But as for the details, Little William didn't tell us. He only said a few words before passing out," Uncle Samuel said as he rowed. "But it looks like Little William is really something. That thousand-year-old zongzi actually knelt to him. Who knows what kind of skills he has!"

I sat up and saw Silent William and Frank Carter leaning against each other, both sleeping soundly. I smiled. I hadn't thought much of it on the way in, but now, seeing the sky, I felt especially comfortable. I asked, "Who is he, really?"

Uncle Samuel shook his head. "I really don't know. I asked a friend in Changsha to recommend an experienced helper, and they introduced him. I only know his surname is Zhang. Along the way, I tried to sound him out several times, but he was either sleeping or daydreaming. I have no idea about his background. But the person who introduced him is very reputable in this line of work, so I think we can trust him."

Hearing this, I felt the man was even more mysterious. But since Uncle Samuel said so, there was no point in asking further. I looked ahead and asked Peter Clark, "Can you see the village yet?"

"Looks like it's just up ahead."

Uncle Samuel pointed at the scattered lights in the distance. "Looks like the village isn't as rundown as we thought. There are even electric lights."