novelraw Chapter 13 : Chapter 13
Chapter 13 : Chapter 13
Chapter 13: The Red-Clothed Immortal Maiden
With the ghostly clouds parted, the tomb forest, though still draped in wisps of mist, was no longer shrouded as before. Visibility widened, giving the sensation of walking through a chaotic graveyard.
The grave mounds, seven or eight meters tall, were scattered unevenly.
Ancient, heavy stone tombstones towered over me as I passed beneath.
Some had ghost flags, others prayer banners, rustling eerily in the wind.
Who was buried here?
Why on a ship?
Were they being taken home, or was this a unique burial ritual?
How did they die? Who built these graves and tombstones? Where did the builders go?
The bronze ship brimmed with mystery, hinting at an ancient, epic tale—crafted by unknown hands, once glorious, silent on Earth for millennia.
Was it now returning to its origin?
Or continuing an ancient journey?
Driven by curiosity and a thirst for knowledge, I searched the tomb forest for half an hour until I heard wind chimes.
“Ding ding!”
Bone chimes hung on a three-meter-tall bluestone tombstone, their sound clear and melodious.
Said to be bone, they gleamed like jade, etched with unreadable mystic symbols.
The string threading the chimes was woven silver, unspoiled by millennia.
On the bluestone was a painting, its colors unfaded, vivid, and lifelike.
In it, vibrant clouds framed a celestial maiden, breathtakingly beautiful.
She stood as if atop clouds, gazing down at the mortal world, her red dress vibrant, her hair adorned with ornate pins, her eyes so vivid I felt she could step from the stone.
“Could a peerless immortal maiden be buried in this grave?”
My gaze returned to the bone chimes, tempted to pluck them for study.
They must be imperishable too, right?
“Splash!”
I leaped, legs surging with power.
Suddenly, the scorching airflow in my right foot’s sole erupted, making my body feel light, soaring upward. I landed atop the three-meter tombstone.
Swaying to steady myself.
I looked down from the height of a single story, disbelief washing over me.
After achieving my extraordinary feat, could I now scale walls and leap rooftops?
The sensation was exhilarating, enough to thrill anyone.
Calming myself, I reached for the chimes. But as my hand touched the bone pieces, dizziness hit, and a vision of a stunning red-clothed immortal maiden appeared.
Her graceful, enchanting figure layered over itself, pressing toward me.
“Thud!”
I fell from the tombstone, head spinning as if I’d ridden hours on a bumpy mountain road.
“This thing’s definitely eerie—can’t touch it!”
If it were easy to take, the chimes would’ve been snatched by other team members long ago.
But my curiosity and desire to explore were strong, so I’d risked it.
Using the Jade Void Breathing Technique, I channeled the scorching airflow from my right foot along the silver veins to my head. Moments later, the dizziness faded, and I recovered.
I bowed respectfully to the tombstone’s painting: “Junior meant no offense—please, senior, don’t take it to heart… I need to retrieve the Tao Ancestor Tai Chi Fish and Yellow Dragon Sword, so I may offend again. As a heavenly immortal, you wouldn’t hold a grudge against a mortal, right?”
After three careful bows, I climbed the massive grave mound behind the tombstone.
“Senior Brother wouldn’t bury them too deep… Found it!”
Searching inch by inch in the gray-white grave soil, I found a metal lump at the mound’s top. Brushing away the dirt, it was indeed the Tao Ancestor Tai Chi Fish.
One green fish eye, one red, both soybean-sized.
It looked like an ordinary ancient ornament, no special aura.
“This red eye must be the Buddha’s relic they all want. In its microscopic form, is it really a planet?”
How to activate it?
Before I could put the Tai Chi Fish back around my neck, the tombstone’s chimes rang loudly. A chilling sense of danger hit, prickling my skin, as if a blade were at my back.
Trouble…
“Swish swish!”
Too late to escape.
Black hair sprouted from the grave soil, wrapping my legs.
“Is this a corpse rising? I already paid my respects… Is this senior really that petty?”
The black hair grew fast, coiling from my legs to my waist, then to my arms and head.
I channeled the scorching airflow from my right foot through the thirteen silver veins, unleashing my full strength to struggle.
I lasted one breath.
With a thud, the hair pulled me down, sinking me into the grave’s base.
I’m done!
What was happening?
Cai Yutong and her team dug graves for planting without facing such calamity. I just came to reclaim my belongings—why did I provoke such a terrifying entity?
Was I really so unlucky to meet a petty ghost?
…
“Brother Meng, Old Liu and the others worked themselves to the bone fixing the generator these seven days. You’ve got to tell Captain Gao to give them a couple of good meals—today’s worth celebrating, right?”
Chen Hong followed Zhao Meng, advocating for the engineering team.
“Of course, they get top credit.”
Zhao Meng stepped into the freezer cabin, his face changing instantly.
Old Liu and several engineering team members lay unconscious on the floor, with only Xie Jin standing, hands behind his back.
The cabin was messy, dimly lit, but Xie Jin’s cold, smirking eyes were clear.
“Bang!”
A burly security team member, 1.8 meters tall, ambushed from the door’s left, swinging a steel pipe at the frame. If Zhao Meng’s reaction had been a split second slower, his skull would’ve been crushed.
“Ambush—get out!”
Zhao Meng warned Chen Hong, retreating from the cabin, raising his rifle to counter.
Another security member leaped from behind, locking Zhao Meng’s torso and arms, growling as he tried to slam him into the wall.
Zhao Meng, trained in martial arts since childhood and a seasoned soldier, reacted swiftly.
Before being slammed, he kicked the wall first, leveraging the force to send both himself and the attacker crashing to the ground.
Breaking free, Zhao Meng flipped, landing a hammer-like fist.
“Thud!”
The punch struck the attacker’s face, blood streaming from his mouth as he passed out.
The steel pipe wielder charged, swinging again.
Zhao Meng, unable to grab his rifle, rolled forward, kicking the man’s groin. Amid screams, the pipe clanged to the floor, the attacker collapsing, trembling.
Zhao Meng grabbed the pipe, elbowing the man’s temple, knocking him out.
In moments, he dispatched two ambushers.
Before he could fully stand, a third attacker rushed from the shadows, hitting his back with a stun gun.
“Zzt zzt!”
Zhao Meng trembled, muscles numb, barely able to move.
From the front, Xie Jin charged, leaping with a flying knee aimed at Zhao Meng’s chest.
A hit would shatter ribs and heart.
In this life-or-death moment, Zhao Meng broke free from the stun gun, rolling aside. Despite his body’s weakness, survival instinct drove him to bite his tongue, rallying his spirit to hurl the pipe.
“Thud!” The pipe hit the third attacker’s hand, dislodging the stun gun.
Zhao Meng grabbed the rifle, chambering a round, aiming at Xie Jin, who had just landed, his face cold, eyes blazing with killing intent.
“Bang!”
“Crack…”
From the shadows behind, Chen Hong, wielding a rebar wrapped in black cloth, smashed it with full force onto Zhao Meng’s right shoulder.
Bone snapped.
Zhao Meng’s towering, iron-like frame couldn’t withstand it. He roared in pain, collapsing, the rifle clattering to the ground.
Struggling not to fall, he turned slowly, lips trembling, staring at Chen Hong in disbelief.
No one knew Zhao Meng’s strength better than Chen Hong, so his strike was merciless.
It had to be fast and ruthless.
Chen Hong’s face lost all trace of his sunny smile, now only cold and stern. He swung the rebar again, shattering Zhao Meng’s knees.
“Thud!”
Knees exploded, legs folding backward.
Unable to stand, Zhao Meng nearly fainted from pain. Chen Hong tossed the rebar, picked up the rifle, checked its bullets, and finally relaxed.
Looking at Zhao Meng’s pale face and angry, confused, unwilling eyes, Chen Hong snapped, “I know what you’re thinking. Don’t blame me!”
“Didn’t I suggest you lead our brothers to take out Gao Xin and become captain of the research vessel, even the bronze ship? Then everyone would obey us—whatever we say, they do. Tell them to kneel, they wouldn’t dare stand.”
“Those useless old, weak, and sick should’ve been killed to save food.”
“With control of supplies and distribution, we could do anything, survive to the end. But…”
“You’re too rigid! No ambition or ruthlessness, still bound by old rules. If you won’t act, I will—I don’t want to die.”
Xie Jin, wary of the rifle in Chen Hong’s hands, smiled, “Well done. With Zhao Meng down, no one else matters. Give me the gun, and I’ll tell my cousin you get top credit.”
“This gun stays with me for now.”
Chen Hong wasn’t foolish enough to hand it over, keeping an eye on Xie Jin while stripping Zhao Meng’s coat.
Beneath was a purple leather armor, a blood-red handprint with strange scriptures at its center, like a mysterious organization’s emblem.
Touching the armor felt cold.
“This must be corpse armor from the skeletons, imperishable. No wonder he broke free from the stun gun.”
Chen Hong, delighted, removed the armor from Zhao Meng and donned it.
The armor seemed to resize, fitting Chen Hong perfectly despite his slighter build.
Xie Jin, unable to deal with Chen Hong now, suppressed his anger, saying warmly, “Search him quick—does he have the Buddha’s relic?”
Chen Hong searched, disappointed: “It’s probably still with his junior brother.”
Zhao Meng, resigned, flared with rage at this, roaring, “Chen Hong, if you harm my junior brother, I’ll make you die without a corpse!”
Chen Hong looked at him pityingly: “If you could stand, I’d believe you. Brother Meng, you taught me to be bold and fight, not to rage impotently. How’d you forget?”
Xie Jin stepped over, grinding his foot on Zhao Meng’s chest, sneering, “So worked up—means the relic’s with him, right?”
Zhao Meng, with unknown strength, tried to rise with his uninjured hand.
But how could he match Xie Jin?
Chen Hong said, “Why bother with a broken man? We haven’t secured control—don’t waste time.”
Xie Jin, staring at Chen Hong walking out with the rifle, crouched and searched Zhao Meng again.
Nothing.
“Tie them all up and take them to the deck. By the way, have you seen Cai Yutong?” Xie Jin’s ambitions weren’t as grand as Xie Tianshu’s. To him, winning Cai Yutong was worth more than the relic.
A security member said, “She’s probably at the planting area with the grad students. She didn’t eat the drugged breakfast.”