Chapter Ninety: The Yellow Box

At that moment, a man in his fifties slowly walked over from the side road, carrying a small package whose contents were unknown. I jogged forward, preparing to ask him about the situation.

“Grandpa, I heard there are strange noises in these mountains?”

Since none of us were familiar with the area, it was best to be fully prepared.

“Whose children are you?” The old man raised his head, his cloudy eyes settling on me.

“We came here specifically to explore, sir. Could you please tell us what’s going on inside?”

He nodded gently and replied, “You won’t understand the sounds from the back mountain during the day, but some strong young men from the town have gone there. They all say they saw a light in a cave, though I don’t know exactly where it is…”

With that, the old man skirted around us and continued on his way. He seemed odd, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it; perhaps he was just eccentric.

“What should we do? Do we wait until night?” Chen Chen asked me.

In truth, waiting for night when the strange noises appeared would make them easier to find, but daytime offered clear paths. Each had its advantage, but I decided to go during the day.

After all, visibility was better and it was relatively safer in daylight. Who knows what strange things might emerge at night?

“We’ll go now,” I said, and took the lead toward the mountain. Chen Chen and the other two followed, cautiously feeling their way forward.

The mountain was not high, but it was vast, making it tricky to search. After some discussion, we decided to split up; whoever found something would shout or send a message.

I chose to head straight up, while Chen Chen went left and Li Zijian went right.

For safety, I drew my knife, marking the trees with cuts as I walked.

It was a wild mountain, sparsely wooded, with large rocks blocking the way.

Fortunately, after climbing a bit, the trees disappeared altogether, giving me a much broader view.

Along the way, I encountered many small snakes. They posed no threat, but I’d been bitten as a child and had a lingering fear.

But there was no choice; I pressed on.

Persistence paid off. Soon, I sensed a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy nearby.

It couldn’t have been Chen Chen or Li Zijian—it must be the cave.

I quickened my pace, circling the area several times, but found no entrance.

Disheartened, I sat on a large rock and lit a cigarette.

I was certain I’d detected spiritual energy, yet nothing was in sight.

Looking around, I spotted something suspicious—a pile of dead leaves pushed beside a large rock, with flies constantly emerging from within.

A sense of unease hit me. I tossed away my cigarette and went to investigate.

Firstly, why would there be dead leaves in the middle of summer? Secondly, why were flies coming out from beneath them?

The leaves were hidden behind the rock, so I hadn’t noticed them before.

I gently poked inside with my knife and hit something hard. The spiritual energy I’d sensed was coming from there!

I quickly used my knife to clear the leaves, and the sight before me made my stomach churn. Unable to hold back, I vomited.

There was a corpse buried underneath!

The body leaned against the rock, with a sword placed beside it.

It had long been infested by rats and snakes—a truly revolting scene.

My lips trembling, I chased away the snakes and rats, then picked up the sword beside the corpse.

At first glance I thought the sword was damaged, but upon closer inspection, it bore blue-black patterns, some seemingly orderly, others not.

The spiritual energy I’d sensed emanated from the sword. It seemed I’d stumbled upon a treasure.

I also noticed a ring on the corpse’s hand. After some hesitation, I muttered quietly, “Well… waste not, want not…”

With that, I took the ring.

It appeared crudely made, but on closer look, the white stone embedded in it was slowly rotating—quite remarkable!

I reached into the ring and found a trove of items.

There were all sorts of weapons, dazzling in their variety, though they were ordinary arms with nothing special about them.

Aside from those, there was a set of yellow clothing—likely what the deceased had worn in life.

I took out the clothing and draped it over the corpse, then continued searching the ring for more treasures.

In a corner, I found a small bottle.

Curious, I took it out. If I guessed correctly, it was a pill of some kind.

Sure enough, inside was a white pill, though it had no discernible scent.

I put it back in the ring, intending to ask Second Uncle about it later.

The rest were miscellaneous items. I took everything belonging to the deceased, placed them beside him, and then bowed deeply.

“Um… wishing you good health… all the best, uh… no offense intended…”

I mumbled awkwardly for a while before carefully leaving.

I decided to look for Chen Chen, since there was nothing else of interest nearby apart from the corpse.

Suddenly, I heard someone shouting.

“Help!”

It was Li Zijian’s voice. I hurried toward the sound, nearly tripping in my rush.

He wasn’t far. In a few minutes, I arrived.

From a distance, I saw Li Zijian lounging on a large rock, smoking leisurely, showing no sign of danger.

At that moment, Chen Chen came from another direction. Seeing Li Zijian unharmed, his face was exasperated.

“What the hell… what’s the matter?” I asked Li Zijian, half laughing, half crying.

“Nothing. I just found a suspicious cave,” he said, pointing behind him. Sure enough, there was a cave about the height of a person.

It didn’t look as deep as the one in Bamboo City—rather, it was quite shallow.

Yet inside, it was pitch black. Nothing could be seen, except for a faint glow.

Excited, I clapped my hands. This must be the token of the Ghost King.

I glanced at Chen Chen, who lingered at the cave entrance, and decided to go in first. Drawing my long knife, I used my phone for light.

Inside, it was damp, with puddles of varying sizes on the ground, but none of that mattered.

Water dripped from the walls, plopping into the pools below.

After only a few steps, I reached the end, where a broken wooden table stood with a yellow box atop it.

The glow came from the box.

I picked up the box, intending to open it outside the cave. But I hadn’t taken a few steps when a terrifying roar echoed from behind me.

I froze, then bolted for the exit.

Judging by the sound, it was either a malignant spirit or a wild beast. If it was an ordinary animal, that was manageable; but if it was a creature left by the Ghost King, the difference would be vast.