I walked around the mass grave and quickly figured out what was going on.
After completing the construction of the Ze King's tomb, Ashiyi was ordered to exterminate all the slaves.
As a renowned feng shui master, he feared that killing too many people would damage his karma and bring retribution upon his descendants. Therefore, he built this simple mass grave to bury the corpses and comfort the souls of the dead.
In order not to disrupt the feng shui of the Ze King's tomb, and to ensure that these spirits would continue to be enslaved by Hu Shahu after death, A Shi Yi chose the foot of the mountain as the burial site for the slaves and built only a simple rammed earth tomb.
This rammed earth is generally solid, but it couldn't withstand the roots of the ancient pine tree that had penetrated it. The ancient pine tree gradually withered and rotted due to the corrosive effects of the corpses under the tomb, forming a natural passage into the mass grave.
Many large burial complexes, especially those from minority regimes and the Shang, Zhou, Qin, Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties, contain records and cases of human sacrifice. Numerous slave skeletons have been excavated around many large tombs.
This is the first time I've ever seen so many human bones. Stepping on these bones gives me a creepy feeling.
But the situation was critical at the moment, and I couldn't worry about anything else. I held the torch and walked towards Jiang Man.
After walking a few steps, my feelings became even more complicated.
After many years, these bones have become as brittle as biscuits, and you can crush a piece with one step. However, the ground beneath the bones feels sticky.
This is corpse mud formed by mixing corpse oil and soil. Due to the oil content, this corpse mud stores a large number of bacteria and is also a favorite food of many poisonous insects. It is even more toxic than cadaverine. Not to mention entering the human body, even getting it on the skin can be dangerous.
Legend has it that in the Miao region, there are many sorcerers who practice evil arts and specifically seek out this corpse mud to make poisons, with each gram costing more than gold.
My concern isn't that the corpse mud will get on me, but that it might get on Jiang Man's wounds. If that happens, things will become really complicated.
Upon seeing Jiang Man's wound, I punched myself in the head. As luck would have it, the bone that pierced Jiang Man's leg was indeed covered in dark brown grime.
"Duan Tao, come help me!"
Jiang Man hadn't yet realized the seriousness of the situation. Seeing me approach with a torch, she said, "I remember you have a first-aid kit in your backpack. Find the iodine and bandages inside. I haven't injured any tendons or bones. After I pull out this broken bone that's piercing my skin, disinfect it with the iodine, then press a triangular bandage against my wound, and finally tie it tightly. Got it?"
"Jiang Man, actually this thing..."
I wanted to tell Jiang Man that there was sludge on the bones, but after hesitating for a moment, I didn't say it: "We're out of iodine, so we only have alcohol left. It will hurt a little, so bear with it."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Man wrapped a leg bone in her clothes and bit it in her mouth: "Come on!"
"Well……"
As I poured alcohol onto her wound, Jiang Man let out a groan, her fair face covered in cold sweat.
After bandaging Jiang Man's wound, I helped her up: "How are you? Can you still move?"
Jiang Man tried to move her thigh, and even the corner of her mouth twitched: "It hurts a lot! But I can bear it!"
I pointed to the vines behind me: "You ride on my neck, then climb up the vines and find another piece of vine to throw down to me."
Seeing me bend down under the vines, Jiang Man joked, "Duan Tao, aren't you afraid I'll abandon you here?"
I countered, "Is this really necessary?"
"Boring."
Seeing that I wasn't scared at all, Jiang Man pouted and climbed onto my shoulders.
After two attempts, I finally managed to lift Jiang Man up.
When I returned to the ground, I was completely exhausted. Just then, security personnel appeared in the distance and searched for me. I could only help Jiang Man escape. After running for several kilometers, I finally collapsed on the ground, utterly exhausted.
My mercury poisoning worsened, and I could no longer speak. I started vomiting, and when the stomach acid reached my throat, it felt like swallowing a piece of burning coal. I felt dizzy and disoriented, as if I hadn't slept for days and nights.
Jiang Man seemed at a loss about my situation. The only way she could take care of me was to risk going to the riverbank and using a bowl she had carved out of a piece of rotten wood to fetch some river water for me, but I couldn't drink a single drop.
In just half an hour, my condition began to deteriorate rapidly. Not only did my mouth start drooling, but my body also started to convulse involuntarily, and I had severe diarrhea. However, I didn't even have the strength to get up and ended up losing control of my bladder.
Jiang Man smelled the strange odor in the air, hesitated for a moment, and then reached out to unzip my rat-patterned coat.
Seeing Jiang Man's actions, I grabbed her wrist tightly: "What... are you doing!"
Jiang Man reached behind her back and pulled out her underwear: "The rat costume you're wearing is waterproof and not breathable. Leaving excrement inside will only make your condition worse. Let me wipe your body for you."
I opened my mouth, wanting to stop Jiang Man, but unfortunately I couldn't say anything.
Jiang Man pushed my arm away and glared at me, saying, "What kind of time is this to be so chauvinistic! Is your life more important or your face? We're partners, the most important thing is to survive together!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Jiang Man turned me over, and began to wipe the filth off my body with her underwear.
At that moment, I felt extremely unwell, but a warm feeling washed over me.
I have never met my parents since I can remember. I was raised by my grandfather.
My grandfather was a rigid person. Although he took great care of me, I only gradually came to understand the way he expressed his love after I grew up.
This was the first time a woman had taken care of me like Jiang Man did. This kind of gentleness from the opposite sex made me feel like I was melting.
We had already exposed our identities once by using an open flame. When Jiang Man saw me shivering, she hesitated for a moment and then used the same method I had used before, unbuttoning her clothes and hugging me.
Feeling Jiang Man's body temperature, I leaned on her shoulder and finally fell into a deep sleep.
I was woken up by the urge to suffocate.
The worsening mercury poisoning not only caused swelling in my throat, but also in my nasal cavity, making it very difficult to inhale.
Once I calmed down a bit, I noticed that Jiang Man beside me was also trembling.
At first, I thought she was cold, and I was about to hug her tightly when she snuggled into my arms and said in a broken voice, "Duan...Duan Tao...Why...I feel...so cold here!"
Hearing Jiang Man say that, I pressed my forehead against hers, and it felt like pressing a hot coal against hers.
Her cadaveric poison has flared up!
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