Otherworldly Merchant

I panicked and struggled in the coffin. However, my reaction just made the villagers walk faster. Shortly after, water seeped into the coffin through the slits at the bottom.

I panted and watched the water under my body. Before the water reached my nose, I wanted to jump off. However, the folks were well-prepared this time. They cruelly hit my head with an iron shovel, making me fall back into the coffin.

“You bastards!” I cursed.

I had to find a way to escape. Otherwise, I would drown if the water went above my head.

I didn’t know how Li Mazi and Senior Shu were doing over there. If they hadn’t gotten the man yet, then I didn’t know what else to do.

The higher the expectation, the greater the disappointment. I had waited for a long time and began to feel desperate as no one came to save me. At this moment, the water had almost swallowed me. I couldn’t do anything but sit in the coffin.

Luckily, all the villagers had entered the lake. They swam toward the ancient tomb and ignored me.

The entrance to the tomb in the middle of the lake was wide. It was around three or four meters tall. The two people holding the coffin were able to easily enter the tomb.

The interior of the tomb was pitch black, and I couldn’t see anything.

I thought that if I didn’t jump out of the coffin now, I would never be able to escape. I didn’t utter a sound but flexed my body and prepared to jump.

However, something clung to my legs right as I was about to jump.

I was startled and quickly lowered my head to see. However, the water had filled the coffin. I couldn’t see what was holding my feet.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake that thing off my legs. I knew that it was probably the Corpse Scattered Essence.

When those beads came in contact with water, they became like super glue. While I was trying to find a solution, the sticky thing acted like an arm and crawled up my left. Soon after, it reached my spine.

What the heck is this? The small hand felt soft and smooth, just like a woman's hand, and it could move people’s hearts. I turned to see, and a woman wearing red ancient clothes hovered in the dark. I didn’t see her facial expression, but her seductive scent filled the air and reached my nostrils.

There was definitely something wrong, though. I was already covered in water, so how could I smell this woman’s body fragrance? I tried to breathe, but it wasn’t comfortable at all. I wanted to wiggle, but the woman clung onto me like a snake. She entangled me and didn’t want to let me go.

While cursing Li Mazi and Senior Shu, I thought about how to escape. But before I could do anything, I suddenly saw a dazzling light that aimed right in my direction!

I was startled but still took the chance to follow the light.

It reminded me of what Old Zhao had told us previously. He told us that after the young men saw the white light in the ancient tomb, the skeletons on the ground began to move. Was this white light able to revive the skeletons?

In that case, even if I didn’t drown, I could guess how I would end up...

The villagers who were carrying the coffin stopped and placed the coffin down. As the white light illuminated the place, I saw the skeletons stand up one after another. They formed a group and blocked my vision. I couldn’t see the situation inside the tomb.

At this time, my first thought was to run away.

However, the red-dressed woman kept hugging me, and I couldn’t shake her off.

I had previously contemplated how I would leave this world, but I had never thought that I would die in such a humiliating way.

”Honey, come to me.” The red-dressed woman softly whispered in my ear. The white light had become so strong that I couldn’t open my eyes.

Then, I discovered that I was able to move my hands and legs again. I hurried to run away.

However, I soon discovered that I wasn't in the water anymore. But before I could understand what was going on, someone whipped my back. I turned to look and was shocked to find myself in a strange place.

There was no water, and neither the coffin nor the woman in the red dress were around. It seemed I was inside an enormous stone mine. The blazing sun was high in the sky, and the heat scorched the sweaty workers underneath.

Those workers wore ancient clothes. Their ragged clothes couldn’t cover the bruises on their bodies, and many had collapsed due to their terrible conditions. However, the soldiers that watched them with whips in their hands didn't give them a chance to rest. As soon as they stopped working, the workers would get whipped.

Just as I turned around and attempted to run, one of the soldiers lashed at me.

I understood that I was brought to a fairyland created by the Corpse Scattered Essence.

The Corpse Scattered Essence was the granular condensation of scattered souls and spirits. These crystals contained extremely strong resentful energy. Once they gathered, their energies could combine and create powerful illusions.

Anybody who got lost in this land would be trapped forever if they failed to leave in time.

I was flustered. In a place like this, my low-level magic can’t do anything. Moreover, what about Li Mazi and Senior Shu? Can they even come to this ancient tomb and save me? 

While I was deep in thought, another whip came and hit my back. I felt a sharp pain, just as if someone had poured strong acid onto my body.

I was enraged and turned around.

Right after, I saw a soldier. The soldier glared at me as he cursed, “Get back to work! If you don’t, I’ll cut your head off!”

Then, he drew his saber out of its sheath to threaten me.

That guy was really scary, so I turned around and hurried to carry the stones.

At the same time, I heard loud screaming, which eventually became weaker and weaker. I curiously turned my head to look and saw a worn-out worker hiding behind a rock to rest. Then, a soldier found him and started whipping him with all his might.

The worker begged for the soldier to stop. In the end, the soldier saw that the poor man couldn’t resist the whips any longer, so he spared him and walked away.

When that poor man turned around, I felt both happy and desperate as that worker was Senior Shu!

I felt desperate because if Senior Shu was here, it meant that there was no one left out there to save me. I felt happy because I wasn’t the only one getting a beating.

When the soldier wasn’t paying attention, I seized the chance and threw a rock at Senior Shu.

Senior Shu froze for a moment then turned to look in my direction. When he saw me, he immediately had tears in his eyes. He looked as if he had seen his long lost father.

We secretly approached each other and pretended to work. I whispered, “Senior, why are you here? Where’s Li Mazi?”

“Sigh, it’s a long story! It was a big trap, and we fell into it. And here I was thinking to live the rest of my life peacefully! As for Li Mazi, you should pray for him. Only God knows if that fake man has killed him or not!”

My heart sank. “Damn, I have to save him.”

Senior Shu couldn’t hold in his laughter, which earned him several whips.

“Kiddo, stop joking. You want to save Li Mazi? Think of a way to get out of here first!”

I felt really sad. We had messed up big time.

I discussed an escape plan with Senior Shu. However, the soldiers were everywhere, and we could see their base in the distance. There was a battalion big enough to encircle this quarry. It wasn’t easy to run away.

Senior Shu and I had been enslaved for the whole day. We were exhausted. Eventually, when the sun went down the mountain, all the workers rushed to the hills.

Our dinner included cold steamed buns and old pickles; they didn’t even give us water. How could people survive like this?

After dinner, we were forced to go to a shack to sleep. The shack was horribly stinky and as hot as a steamer. I felt that a pig pen was much better than this. Senior Shu and I were desperate. Were we going to be trapped in this fairyland for the rest of our lives?

As if that wasn’t enough, everything felt so real. I could feel every bitter moment of it. My body was sore and exhausted. If modern people were thrown into this land, maybe only one out of ten would survive.

In this dirty, scorching shack, we finally fell asleep. The strenuous work during the day had worn us out.