Chapter 34: The Monster of the Ancient Tomb

The rampaging Black Skull, growing stronger by the minute, was subdued by Li Changluo with such a... base and shameless trick. Now it stood in place, frantically clawing at the underpants, desperate to break free. It yearned to return to its natural state, unencumbered and alone. Yet... there was simply no way to escape these worldly constraints. How embarrassing.

“We’ve only just entered the tomb and already run into such a formidable opponent. Luckily, Li, you had no sense of shame and thought up that plan to deal with it.”

“The last time we came here it was much easier. Truly, after three days apart, one must look at a person with new eyes.” Hei Wa tried his best to show off his knowledge of idioms.

“Isn’t that saying meant as an insult? Why does it sound like you’re praising him?” Xiao Qing shook her head, looking at Hei Wa with adorable puzzlement.

She had already returned to her human form, but this opponent truly taxed her strength. It was purely a matter of brute force, and she, too, was at a loss.

“Isn’t it praise?” Hei Wa replied with a simple smile, having completely forgotten all the “heartfelt truths” Li Changluo had just said to him.

But Li Changluo was troubled. “I don’t think things are right here. This place has changed; it’s not the tomb I used to know.”

“Should we make a retreat?”

“We can’t leave now,” someone replied from deeper in the passage.

But this voice belonged to none of them.

“Who’s there?” Li Changluo stared alertly into the depths of the tomb passage.

“It’s Fatty! Is it really you?” Xiao Qing recognized the voice instantly. She called out happily into the darkness.

Sure enough, a figure slowly emerged from the corridor. When Li Changluo and Hei Wa saw who it was, they tacitly lit cigarettes, turned away, and pretended to chat as if nothing had happened.

“Your face is as dark and handsome as ever.”

“Hahaha, you can’t carve rotten wood, but thank you for the compliment. And your underwear is quite roomy.”

“Well cared for, hahaha.”

Laughter echoed through the tomb.

A foreign-looking black man and a delicate young fellow were now boasting inside the ancient tomb, making the already eerie place even more awkward.

“I told you to stay at the tavern. What are you doing here?” The jubilant Fatty greeted Xiao Qing before finally noticing Li Changluo and Hei Wa.

“These two?”

“They’re my friends. They came with me to look for you,” Xiao Qing replied happily, wanting to introduce them, but noticed the two were acting oddly, looking uncomfortable.

“Xiao Qing, we’ve found who we came for. Mission accomplished—let’s get out of here!” Li Changluo walked ahead, not bothering to look back.

“Wait! Don’t go any further,” Fatty commanded.

Li Changluo halted, but still didn’t turn around to face Fatty.

Had they recognized him? It was just some stolen luggage—no reason to bear a grudge, right? Was it really just about the underwear…? Fortunately, his glass bead was still usable.

Damn it. I’ll own up. Am I supposed to be afraid of you?

So, Li Changluo forcibly turned Hei Wa’s face toward Fatty, making them stand face to face.

Four eyes met. Li Changluo boldly guessed that Fatty would greet Hei Wa’s foreign mother in a friendly way.

Yet... everything remained calm.

“So dark!” Fatty simply exclaimed, staring at Hei Wa, apparently not recognizing him.

Li Changluo was astonished. Even the grudge over the underwear could be overlooked?

He slowly turned around as well, but the moment he saw Fatty’s attire, he shouted, “That’s not Fatty!”

“But it is!” Xiao Qing rubbed her eyes, certain it was the Fatty she knew.

“Look, Hei Wa, he’s wearing clothes,” Li Changluo said warily, eyeing this suspicious Fatty.

“Clothes?!” Hei Wa seemed equally confused, but his gaze toward Li Changluo was complicated.

“His clothes—we stripped him bare last time,” Li Changluo reminded Hei Wa.

Hei Wa and Xiao Qing fell silent, but their eyes stayed on Li Changluo, filled with complicated emotions.

Damn, is this the silent suffering of men and women?

“Idiot, our monster clothes can’t be destroyed or lost,” Xiao Qing huffed, looking at Li Changluo as if he was a fool.

“What do you mean?” Li Changluo was baffled.

“Monsters who come to this world always wear the last clothes they had in life. These clothes are like a part of their bodies. Even if lost or destroyed, they can use demon energy to restore them instantly.”

Hei Wa explained, though he felt awkward, as if something was off.

That’s it—without an idiom, even speaking feels uncomfortable…

“Will the clothes lost before disappear?” Li Changluo subconsciously patted his own underwear, realizing it was still there—Fatty’s underwear was still on him.

“They won’t,” Xiao Qing replied with certainty.

“So, it’s a goldmine! I can use demon energy to produce clothes endlessly, at no cost!” He could stop being a demon and start selling clothes to humans.

Isn’t that a sweet deal?

“Humans can’t wear them. It’s like the paper clothes burned for ghosts—no one would wear those,” Fatty shattered Li Changluo’s dreams of getting rich.

“You just said we can’t leave. What did you mean?” Li Changluo quickly changed the subject, trying to sound serious.

It was abrupt, with no segue, but at least it eased his embarrassment over his ignorance.

How was I supposed to know about the clothes?

Blame me?

“This place seems to be under the control of some mysterious force. There are many monsters in the tomb, most without demon energy,” Fatty explained.

“For us monsters, demon energy is like life itself. There are many here just like that one.” Fatty pointed to the Black Skull, still struggling to remove its paper underwear.

“What does that have to do with us getting out?” Li Changluo asked.

“The entire tomb is affected by this mysterious force—it’s been turned into a monster itself…” Fatty didn’t finish his words when, as if in response, the entire tomb began to tremble.

A moment later, the shaking stopped.

Li Changluo then realized that, when they had first entered the tomb, it had also trembled like this. They’d thought nothing of it, assuming it was just an earthquake.

After all, who would imagine that an entire tomb could become a monster?

“The exit is right in front of us. Can’t we just walk out?” Li Changluo asked, feeling a bit uncertain.

“I thought the same at first. But this is already my third time getting lost in the tomb,” Fatty replied.

“Luckily, the monsters here, affected by the mysterious force, lack demon energy. They can’t harm us. But we still can’t find the source of that mysterious force…”

“We might end up trapped forever inside the body of this tomb monster.”