Chapter 524: Non-standard Routine

"Someone who died a violent death..." Zu An's expression was peculiar. In the world of *Ghost Blows Out the Light*, this would certainly mean a "big zongzi"—a zombie or mummy—was about to appear.

Mi Li pointed at the tomb owner's body. "Look, he has a total of seven wounds on him, six of which are concentrated on his left side—his left arm, thigh, and pelvis. All these wounds, some healed and some fresh, are from blunt and sharp objects, indicating he was subjected to brutal attacks when he died."

"Could it be a human sacrifice?" Zu An asked. They had encountered too many human sacrifices on their journey, and given the customs of the Yin-Shang period, it was entirely possible something like this had occurred.

Mi Li shook her head. "It's unlikely. While the Yin-Shang people were fond of human sacrifices, they typically used captives from enemy states. Even when using their own people, they would never sacrifice a general of such high status. Judging by his wounds, he most likely died in battle, and his body was honorably interred here by the Shang King."

"Oh," Zu An acknowledged, finding her analysis very reasonable.

"What's that?" Pei Mianman suddenly exclaimed. While the two of them were talking, she had been carefully examining the contents of the coffin and had just spotted something unusual.

Zu An looked closely and saw a bronze prosthetic hand on the corpse's right side. The hand's shape was almost indistinguishable from a real one; even fingernails were visible.

The back of the hand was adorned with patterns like the *taotie* motif and cloud scrolls, lending it an eerie aesthetic.

At this point, Mi Li said, "This must have been the fatal injury the tomb owner sustained in life. His hand was severed on the battlefield, causing him to bleed to death. It seems the Shang dynasty soldiers couldn't find his hand amidst the chaos of battle, so they had to create a prosthetic for him to ensure his body was complete for burial."

"A prosthetic?" Zu An's expression was odd. As he explained to Pei Mianman, he was filled with awe, marveling that prosthetics existed in such ancient times.

Pei Mianman couldn't help but exclaim, "A general who fell in battle truly deserves respect."

While reflecting, they searched through the coffin. Although it contained numerous precious gold and jade artifacts, they couldn't find the jade *cong* they were looking for.

Zu An was about to replace the coffin lid and leave when Mi Li asked, surprised, "You're just going to leave like that?"

"What else?" Zu An asked, bewildered, not understanding her implication.

"You're not taking any of these treasures? You have space in your Glazed Pearl for them anyway," Mi Li said, looking distraught. "This is like entering a treasure mountain and leaving empty-handed."

Since their souls were now bound, and reshaping her body in the future might require substantial wealth, Mi Li naturally wanted Zu An to acquire as much treasure as possible.

Zu An shook his head, refusing. "I'm not a tomb robber. Since these were the tomb owner's personal effects, he must have cherished them deeply. How could I take what was so dear to him?"

"How pedantic!" Unable to persuade him, Mi Li turned her face away, pouting and sulking.

Rage points from Mi Li +22, +22, +22...

Pei Mianman clearly had no interest in the burial goods either. After they carefully replaced the coffin lid, they turned to leave.

Suddenly, a creaking sound came from behind them. Both their hearts skipped a beat, and they hastily turned around.

They saw that the recently closed coffin lid had suddenly shifted a bit to the side, revealing a gap.

Pei Mianman felt a chill. "Ah Zu, you closed it properly, didn't you?"

Zu An swallowed hard. "I did."

Could it be reanimating?

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than a withered hand suddenly stretched out from the coffin and gripped its edge. A chilling gust of wind swept through the entire tomb, making it noticeably colder than before.

"Ah!" Pei Mianman shrieked in terror. Even for cultivators, the sight was utterly horrifying.

"Let's go!" Realizing the gravity of the situation, Zu An urgently pulled Pei Mianman, trying to make their escape.

"Moooo!"

A powerful bellow echoed, and a colossal figure charged towards them.

The sheer force of the charge made them dare not meet it head-on. They quickly dodged aside, only then getting a clear look at what it was.

It was a gigantic water buffalo, identical in appearance to the ox-shaped ritual vessel they had seen in the tomb passage, but many times its size.

Looking towards the corner where the ox vessel had been, the bronze *Niu Zun* was indeed gone.

At that moment, with a loud bang, the adjacent coffin lid was completely flung open, and the mummified corpse inside slowly rose to its feet.

Zu An: "..."

Pei Mianman: "..."

Meanwhile, the water buffalo gleefully trotted over to the mummy and began nuzzling against it, displaying an incredibly intimate bond.

Zu An couldn't help but say, "Senior, we were just passing through. We didn't steal anything from your tomb; in fact, we even covered your coffin lid before we left. There's really no need for you to personally see us off."

The mummy seemed to have heard him. It turned its head to stare, faint eyeballs visible within its sockets. Its mouth opened and closed, and a harsh, grating voice emerged: "Outsiders... intruders... die..."

With a mere wave of its hand, a long *ge* (halberd) flew from the coffin into its grasp, and it then slashed directly forward.

A wave of green *qi* instantly surged towards them. Zu An and Pei Mianman hastily deployed their respective defensive techniques. With a loud bang, both were flung backward against the wall, sending sand and dust raining down.

Feeling his vital energy churning and the web of his hand throbbing, Zu An's expression darkened. The opponent's casual strike possessed such immense power; its combat strength far surpassed that of the previous skeleton warrior.

If they couldn't even defeat that skeleton warrior, how could they possibly contend with this general?

Zu An was utterly frustrated. Shouldn't the usual trope involve some fifth or sixth-rank villain showing off in front of him, arrogantly proclaiming the disparity in their levels, only to then be spectacularly defeated by him?

Instead, everyone he encountered now was either a ninth-rank, eighth-rank, or Grandmaster-level super expert. He was either getting beaten or on his way to getting beaten. *Damn it*, was he even allowed to live anymore?

*Damn it!*

At that moment, the skeleton general, presumably named Yachang, prepared to step out. Subconsciously, it seemed to attempt to kick away the obstruction in front of it. However, its leg paused midway, and it looked down to see it was its own coffin, where it would continue to rest later. So, it changed its mind and simply leaped out.

Zu An gritted his teeth and instantly employed the Sunflower Phantoms movement technique, conjuring two illusory figures that charged at the general.

General Yachang swung his long *ge*, directly striking both phantoms. However, the figures quickly shattered, and the sensation of cutting through empty air caused the general to pause.

In that instant, Zu An had already appeared behind the general, swinging his sword directly towards its skull.

His previous experience with the skeleton warriors outside had taught him that these creatures' weakness lay in their heads. So, this time, he intended to surprise the general and see if he could launch a successful sneak attack.

If General Yachang had been alive, such a sneak attack would undoubtedly have been useless given the disparity in their cultivation levels. But now, as a mummified corpse, its consciousness and agility were certainly inferior to its former self, offering Zu An a fighting chance.

Indeed, the general fell for it. Zu An was overjoyed and swiftly thrust his sword forward.

Just as the sword was about to pierce the back of its skull, a thunderous "Moooo!" erupted, and a colossal figure slammed into Zu An.

It was the enormous buffalo that had previously been the ox-shaped vessel, now protecting its master. Zu An was sent flying as if struck by a massive truck.

Zu An coughed up a mouthful of blood, feeling half of his body both aching and numb. Had his physique not been remarkably resilient, an ordinary cultivator would likely have had half their ribs shattered by that impact.

The buffalo continued to bellow, charging at him again, its two massive horns gleaming coldly. If it gored him, he would undoubtedly be disemboweled.

"Be careful, Ah Zu!" Pei Mianman also launched her attack. With a flick of her jade-like palm, a black fireball flew towards the buffalo and exploded directly in front of it.

The ox bellowed repeatedly, prancing around uncontrollably. Unfortunately, the black flames were unique, and the fire on its body simply could not be extinguished.

At that moment, General Yachang approached the buffalo, extending a palm to caress its back. Wisps of black *qi* emanated from its touch, and wherever they spread, the flames slowly died out.

Then, he turned to Pei Mianman and snarled, "You harmed my beloved ox. Die!"