Evil Spirits Carrying A Coffin

Chapter 11 Earth Platform

“Oh no, there are more and more of those things. We have to get out of here.”

The moment he heard the sound, Hammer’s expression changed instantly. He followed Second Grandfather and ran to the side. Several men stayed at the rear, following Lu Yifa to provide cover.

Sure enough, only a few seconds later, movement erupted above the roof beams. Groups of pitch black human faced birds appeared, including several larger, more humanoid ones circling over the corpses of their fallen kind. After circling once, they swooped straight toward us, and the rest followed.

One human faced bird alone was already terrifying. Faced with so many of them, no one dared to stop and fight.

As they ran, the continuous roar of gunfire echoed behind them, making everyone’s scalp tingle. No one knew what had triggered the creatures, but they chased relentlessly, seemingly indifferent to how many of them had already been killed.

With no other choice, the group could only lower their heads and sprint toward the back of the main hall, desperately searching for somewhere to hide.

Unexpectedly, before they had gone very far, a miserable scream rang out. Turning back, we saw a man being seized by a human faced bird. Before anyone could react, the black shapes swarmed him, accompanied by a burst of horrifying sounds.

Moments later, the human faced birds scattered. One mangled body dropped heavily to the ground. There was not a single intact spot left on him. His flesh had been torn apart.

Seeing this, Hammer’s eyes burned with rage and he was about to turn back and charge at them, but Second Grandfather grabbed him and dragged him forward. Hammer took a few heavy breaths and then continued running with his head down.

Suddenly, a stone wall appeared ahead. Beside it was a staircase descending downward, seemingly leading into some kind of tunnel. The rest of the area was a dead end with no other exits. Gritting his teeth, Hammer rushed down the stairs.

Second Grandfather followed immediately after.

Once everyone had descended, the human faced birds, for reasons unknown, did not dare to follow. Only then did we all finally breathe a sigh of relief. None of us knew what those creatures truly were, but their species was terrifying beyond measure.

I exhaled slowly, raised my flashlight, and swept it across the surroundings. The beam illuminated a stone wall. Due to its age, it was covered in moss. As the light moved across it, I seemed to notice something carved into the surface.

I walked over and gently brushed away the moss, revealing fragmented engravings. The images were broken and indistinct, and I could not make out their meaning.

Second Grandfather came over at that moment. He glanced at the mural a few times, then lost interest and began examining the layout of the passage instead, searching for other possible routes. After all, with the human faced birds above, there was absolutely no way back.

“Second Master, what do we do now?” Lu Yifa asked as he approached.

He had been firing from the rear earlier, and his entire body was covered in dirt. Because they had entered the mountains in a hurry, he had not brought many supplies and could only endure it.

“What else can we do but keep moving forward?” Second Grandfather replied calmly, pointing deeper into the passage. “Now that we are in here, there is no turning back.”

“Move.”

Hearing this, Lu Yifa nodded and walked ahead with Hammer. I had no choice but to abandon the murals and follow them.

The passage was of unknown length. We walked for a long time without seeing the end. I glanced at my watch and realized it was nearly four in the afternoon. It had already been about a full day since we entered the mountains.

They continued forward until Hammer suddenly turned around and made a gesture for silence. Seeing this, Second Grandfather raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop.

After exchanging gestures for a while, I finally understood. Hammer was indicating that there seemed to be something ahead.

“Quiet. Keep your voices down,” Second Grandfather gestured, giving permission to scout ahead and see what it was.

Hammer handed his backpack to Lu Yifa, slung his gun over his shoulder, and tiptoed forward.

After waiting for about two minutes, they received Hammer’s signal. Everyone immediately moved toward him. They found Hammer standing in a corner, and at his feet lay another body. It was unclear whether the person was dead or alive.

“Dead?” Lu Yifa asked after a glance.

“Yes,” Hammer replied. “I do not know who put him here. He was propped upright. It looks intentional.”

Hammer’s palm was smeared with several dark traces.

“Damn it. Who else could it be? It must be that group ahead of us,” Lu Yifa cursed, raising his gun and aiming forward. He looked eager to rush ahead and open fire, especially since one of their people had already lost his life.

“One word,” Second Grandfather said.

Lu Yifa immediately fell silent, glancing at him, though the anger had not fully faded from his face.

“No matter who they are,” Second Grandfather continued coldly, “anyone who provokes the Zhou family will never be spared.”

Hearing this, Lu Yifa’s expression finally eased. Hammer patted him on the shoulder without saying anything.

“Keep moving. We must catch up with them.”

Hammer nodded and continued leading the way with Lu Yifa. After another ten minutes or so, something finally changed ahead. The passage was no longer monotonous.

Before us lay a massive earthen platform. Beside it was a stair like passage, likely the route up.

Hammer stepped forward and pressed on the steps. After confirming there were no traps, the group followed and climbed upward. They had no idea how the platform had been constructed. Its texture was as solid as stone, yet it looked entirely natural from the outside.

It was a spectacular sight, but we were not archaeologists, and it held no particular value for us.

Soon, they reached the top of the earthen platform. Several stone pillars stood there, each carved with a skull. The grim appearance made it clear that this people’s worship of skulls had reached an extreme level. Otherwise, such imagery would not appear everywhere.

Beyond the stone pillars, the platform extended into a single long path. There was nothing else around it. The road stretched far ahead, disappearing into a distant darkness.