64: The past of Jiangcheng, stone ox carrying coffin

Chen Ziliang’s response was quick.

Minutes after the message was sent, he called.

Lu Ming had no idea what the guy was up to; the mechanical roar came from the phone.

“Brother Lu, it’s true that nothing can be hidden from you. We just started construction, and you already got the news.”

Lu Ming was stunned: “Construction? Construction of what?”

“Uh… you don’t know? Weren’t you looking for the archives of that stone coffin?”

Chen Ziliang then realized he had let something slip.

Then, he hurriedly lowered his voice.

“Didn’t the rumors of an immortal corpse at the bottom of the Jiangyin River make a huge splash a while ago? Someone from above came down. It’s said to be a researcher from the White Tiger Bureau. He has great power, and with a single order, he’s made things difficult for us logistics guys…”

“To build a cofferdam and divert the river, we even brought in construction teams from the neighboring city. These past few days, we’ve been as busy as civil engineering veterans.”

Lu Ming held his phone, his brows furrowed.

Directly finding civil engineering veterans to build a cofferdam and divert the river?

Is this how the officials do it? Simple and brutal!

No fancy tricks, just pump out the water and get to work!

In comparison, the Five Yin Sect’s evil cultivators seemed somewhat clownish.

However, the White Tiger Bureau’s madmen attached far more importance to that “immortal corpse” than he had expected.

Not only did they issue a high bounty mission on the Night Watch Division, but they also traveled thousands of miles to a small place like Jiangcheng.

Could it be that Zhao Qingge’s intelligence was wrong?

Was there really an immortal in the stone coffin?

“How’s the construction progress?” Lu Ming immediately became interested.

Chen Ziliang on the other end of the phone sighed, and the mechanical roar in the background suddenly weakened, as if he had deliberately walked to a secluded spot: “How could it be that fast? The Dragon King Bay section of the water is very eerie. The water drained during the day mysteriously fills up again at night.”

“By the way, Brother Lu,” Chen Ziliang suddenly lowered his voice, with a hint of probing in his tone, “You suddenly asked about this. You wouldn’t be taking on the ‘corpse retrieval’ mission from the White Tiger Bureau, would you?”

Lu Ming did not deny it: “Yes, I’m currently short of a tiny bit of contribution.”

Chen Ziliang on the other end of the phone gasped instantly:

“Brother Lu, this matter is not easy to handle. Our current water pumping will definitely not escape the notice of those sects and rogue cultivators. As for these people, the higher-ups’ attitude is neither encouragement nor prohibition.”

“That is to say, not only will you have to find that stone coffin before other Night Watchers, but you also have to be careful of those rogue cultivators from various walks of life. With rumors of becoming immortal involved, it might even attract quite a few old monsters.”

After Lu Ming finished listening, he fell silent for a moment.

The situation was more troublesome than he had expected.

Those sect rogue cultivators were not a concern, but those old monsters who had lived for a long time had to be guarded against.

But it was still the same saying: the bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish. Even if the plan fell through, getting out safely should not be a big problem.

“Alright, I understand. Send me the archives first; I’ll study them.”

“Okay, Brother Lu! I’ll send them to you right away!”

...Less than half a minute after hanging up, Lu Ming’s phone popped up an encrypted compressed package.

Inside were the archives from back then.

Three hundred years ago, Jiangnan suffered a once-in-a-century drought.

After several years, not a drop of rain fell, the land cracked, and rivers ran dry, and even the Jiangyin River was not spared.

At that time, the county magistrate of Jiangcheng, considering that a long drought would inevitably lead to floods, decided to organize a group of laborers to clear the river channel while the Jiangyin River was dry.

Firstly, it could prevent floods, and secondly, it could clear the navigation channel.

The dredging project proceeded in full swing for a month.

It had been smooth sailing, but strange things happened when they reached the Dragon King Bay section.

The entire Jiangyin River basin was almost dry, yet the water level in Dragon King Bay only dropped slightly, revealing dense caves.

Dragon King Bay was located in a turbulent area, and there were many hidden reefs at the bottom of the river.

Over the years, countless passing ships had sunk there.

Therefore, rumors about this place had never ceased for hundreds of years.

Some said that a Dragon King lived at the bottom of the river, and every so often, he would stir up huge waves, causing ships to be buried at the bottom of the river.

Most of the local people had heard this rumor and immediately said they wouldn't do it.

After all, no one wanted to anger the Dragon King.

The county magistrate was already distraught by the drought, and now that this strange incident occurred in Dragon King Bay, he was even more anxious.

He sent a few yamen runners to investigate the situation.

The men took a small boat and, guided by a local boatman, rowed into the cave.

Unexpectedly, they completely disappeared after entering.

It wasn’t until three days later that a moo sound came from deep within the cave.

The moo was dull and long, as if it came from deep underground, shaking the entire ground of Dragon King Bay slightly.

Then, a series of “clanging” sounds came from deep within the cave, as if heavy objects were being dragged by chains.

The county magistrate and the crowd of laborers, who were anxiously waiting on the bank, had faces full of fear.

A moment later.

A completely greenish stone ox walked out of the cave.

On the back of the stone ox was a huge white jade stone coffin.

The surface of the stone coffin was carved with complex and strange patterns, and the edge of the coffin lid was inlaid with a circle of dark red dragon-patterned jade.

“Stone ox… carrying a coffin?”

Seeing this strange scene, many laborers cried out in alarm: “The Dragon King has manifested! This is the Dragon King punishing us!”

His words were like a bomb, exploding in the crowd.

Everyone retreated in fear, many already turning to flee.

The county magistrate stared intently at the white jade stone coffin, his pupils constricting.

He suddenly remembered the “Strange Tales of Jiangzuo” that his teacher had shown him when he was studying at the Imperial Academy in his youth.

One page recorded the legend of “Water Vein Suppressors.”

In ancient times, fierce creatures often caused mischief in areas where rivers overflowed. The ancient sages used exotic beasts as guides, carrying specially made coffins to suppress water veins. These coffins either sealed malevolent spirits or contained treasures.

The coffin body decorations all had significance. Dragon patterns often indicated national-level important artifacts.

The county magistrate suppressed the panic in his heart and muttered to himself: “If it’s just a suppressor, why would it voluntarily come out of the cave?”

After a while, the stone ox suddenly stopped.

The county magistrate also regained some composure.

“Don’t panic, everyone!”

“It’s just a strange phenomenon at the bottom of the river. Where is there any Dragon King’s punishment? If there were really gods, how could they watch the common people suffer such a great drought?”

“Whoever goes forward first and opens the coffin and burns it for me! This county magistrate will reward fifty taels of silver, and your family’s taxes will be halved from now on!”

Under heavy rewards, there would surely be brave men.

Soon, the stone coffin was pried open.

Inside, there was no gold, silver, or jewels, no silk or satin, only a corpse dressed in a dark ancient robe.

The corpse’s face was intact, and its skin was like jade.

As if smelling the breath of living people, he opened his eerie eyes, and a strange smile spread across his lips.

This bizarre scene sent shivers down the spines of everyone present… The end of the archives was very concise, just a few sentences.

“The ancient corpse awakened, and all humans and livestock in Jiangcheng County perished. We were ordered to execute this fiend.”

“The ancient corpse has regenerative abilities and is suspected to be an ‘evil corpse’ among ancient cultivators. We could not completely eliminate it, so we sealed it in the Thousand Caves.”

“In this battle, a total of seventy-eight Night Watchers were killed or injured!”

—White Tiger Department, Bai Wuxin…