Volume One: Eight Coffin Corpse Field Chapter 34: Tomb Monkeys

To my surprise, after I finished speaking, Ma Su inexplicably became furious. He glared at me and cursed indignantly, "Those so-called experts are talking nonsense. They generalize from the particular. Since ancient times, countless effective folk remedies have been passed down among the people—these are the wisdom of our ancestors. It's precisely those so-called famous doctors and specialists who, fearing people will trust these remedies and thereby harm their own interests, fabricate stories about fake remedies and launch vicious attacks. In fact, genuine folk prescriptions have been proven effective through countless instances. I have done specialized research in this area..."

After spending some time with Professor Ma, I had come to understand him better. He was not one to follow rules or act according to convention; he seemed to exist on the fringes of academia, an eccentric outlier among orthodox scholars. More often than not, his behavior was that of an odd old man. Compared to other proper professors, he was an oddity, more like a maverick scholar. Some of his views ran directly counter to traditional theories. But such things are not really about right or wrong. As he often said, only what has been truly proven is correct. For instance, these masks soaked in ram urine—whether they could really ward off tomb miasma and corpse vapors—given his certainty, I believed he must have tested them.

I thought to myself that I should find an opportunity to consult Old Ma for a few good remedies; who knows, they might come in handy if I ever had to explore haunted houses with Third Uncle. But at that moment, I was preoccupied with worry for Third Uncle and Liang Yue’s safety, so I pressed impatiently, "Alright, alright, Old Ma, you’re the best. We’re counting on you this time. Let’s pick up the pace and keep moving."

Ma Su shook his head. "No, we don’t know how much tomb miasma remains in here. If we rush, something could go wrong. The miasma that’s settled here is highly toxic. In these conditions, once poisoned, there’s no saving you. We need to keep an eye on the color of the candle flame made from this cypress oil. If anything unusual happens, we must change our plan immediately."

I nodded. Though I was anxious, I knew Ma Su was right, so I had no choice but to follow him at a cautious pace.

As we walked, we examined the passageway. All signs indicated that it was man-made. Still, I remained skeptical about Ma Su’s claim that there were ancient tombs below us.

I had read a few novels about tomb raiding, and in them, ancient tombs were usually deep in the mountains. Who would ever expect tomb raiding in a bustling city?

Ma Su, on the other hand, seemed to have discovered a new continent. He strode ahead, bubbling with excitement, as if he wouldn’t rest until he found a tomb.

At that moment, though we were walking the same road, Ma Su and I had different goals. Mine was to find out what happened to Third Uncle and Liang Yue; Ma Su was single-mindedly hoping to discover something novel.

So, trailing behind him, I couldn’t resist asking, "Old Ma, you say there’s an eighty percent chance there’s a tomb down here—what makes you so sure?"

Without looking back, Ma Su replied, "Because of the tomb miasma leaking out here—and that monkey that attacked me."

"That monkey? You know where it came from?" I asked.

Ma Su continued, "More or less. I’m about eighty percent sure."

I gave a wry smile. "Old Ma, why is it always eighty percent with you? Can’t you ever be a hundred percent certain?"

Ma Su snorted. "In academic matters, until the final proof is in, nothing is ever a hundred percent. But let me be clear—when I, Ma Su, say eighty percent, I’ve never been wrong. All that’s left is the final step of verification; it’s basically a sure thing."

I knew Ma Su was eccentric, but he was unquestionably knowledgeable.

So I quickly asked, "Then tell me, what exactly is that creature?"

Ma Su answered as he walked, "At first, when I was attacked, I wasn’t sure. Later, when I found that entrance, plus the tomb miasma rising from below, I could basically conclude that thing is called a tomb monkey."

I scoffed, "And here I thought it was something unusual."

Ma Su stopped abruptly, turned to me, and asked, "What? You know about tomb monkeys?"

I nodded. "What’s so special about that? Isn’t it just a female monkey? Do you really need to research the gender of animals in academia? But how could you tell it was a female monkey at a glance?"

Ma Su’s face turned green as I finished. Pointing at me, he snapped, "You brat, stop messing around! I said tomb monkey as in tomb, not female monkey! How could you mix that up?"

Only then did I realize my mistake and scratched my head sheepishly.

Ma Su resumed walking, explaining as he went, "If you want to classify the tomb-guarding monkey, it should be considered a type of funerary guardian beast. Such creatures were common in ancient tombs—there are many accounts: beast faces, human faces, antlers, and so on. They were meant to ward off evil spirits and protect the soul of the deceased, serving as spiritual guardians. The Rites of Zhou mention a monster called Wang Xiang, which feeds on the brains and livers of corpses. There is also a divine beast called Fang Xiangshi, who can drive away Wang Xiang, so families would often place a Fang Xiangshi statue beside the tomb to guard against monsters. This Fang Xiangshi had the body of a beast and the face of a man. Archaeologists in Xi’an once excavated a Tang Dynasty tomb in the Weiqu area of Chang’an that contained such a beast with a human face. Later, by the Qing Dynasty, someone discovered a type of monkey that closely resembled these guardian beasts. So, during burials, people would sometimes capture a live monkey to be buried with the deceased in hopes of protecting their soul. That’s how the tomb-guarding monkey came about."

After hearing Ma Su’s explanation, I was both impressed by his erudition and outraged. I couldn’t help cursing, "Burying live monkeys with the dead? That’s sickening. It’s a wonder the monkeys don’t seek revenge on the deceased’s soul, let alone protect it!"

Ma Su waved his hand. "You’re mistaken. These monkeys are called tomb-guarding monkeys because they possess a special ability, akin to the hibernation of cold-blooded animals. They can adjust their bodies within the tomb, entering a state that preserves their vital signs. In other words, they can survive on nothing but the earth’s vapors in the grave. Of course, I suspect not all of them survive; certain conditions must be met. When the opportunity arises, they revive. The monkey that attacked us just now, I believe, was one of these tomb-guarding monkeys."

I was stunned. "That’s unbelievable. Buried underground for centuries, and it can still be alive?"

Ma Su, unable to contain his excitement, gestured animatedly, "The world is full of wonders. There are so many unknown fields waiting for us to explore. This is the first time I’ve ever seen a live tomb monkey. There are no historical records on how long they can survive. If what we saw today was really a tomb monkey, it would be a major discovery for paleozoology."

Listening to Ma Su’s enthusiastic lecture, I kept walking, and soon we had covered a considerable distance.

As we rounded a bend, a light suddenly appeared ahead of us.

I quickly pulled Ma Su down to crouch. Along the entire passage we had traveled, both sides were pitch black—only our candles provided illumination. Now that there was light ahead, we had to be cautious.

We crouched, listening carefully, but heard no movement ahead. We exchanged glances and moved forward a bit, discovering that the space ahead opened up. The area widened, revealing a chamber with numerous oil lamps burning on the surrounding walls.

Ma Su walked over and sniffed the lamp oil. "This seems to be ancient cypress oil. Very few people know how to use this as lamp oil—whoever did this is no ordinary person."

Since the chamber was already lit, I extinguished my candle. I also noticed that the chamber had three entrances. Apart from the one we’d just come through, there were two more: one on the left, one on the right.

We’d reached a fork in the road.

I asked Ma Su, "Old Ma, which way do we go?"

Ma Su was still absorbed in studying the lamp oil. My question snapped him out of it, and after glancing at the two other entrances, he nodded, "Don’t worry, I have a way."

With that, Ma Su took the glass jar from his bag and shook it under the lamp light, then opened the lid.

The fire beetle inside, which had been nearly dead from battering itself against the coffin, had recovered during its time in the jar. Now, with a buzz, it flew out.

The fire beetle circled in the air a few times, then flew straight into the left-hand passage.

It moved swiftly; in the blink of an eye, its light had vanished down the corridor.

Ma Su waved me on. "Quick, follow it! The fire beetle can smell corpse vapor."

The beetle was heading toward the scent of death—clearly, the end of that passage was where the tomb lay.

Without hesitation, Ma Su dashed down the left passage, and I hurried after him.

But just as Ma Su was about to enter, I noticed something odd.

Next to the entrance hung an oil lamp, its light illuminating the doorway. I saw that a spiderweb stretched across the entrance, unbroken, covering most of the opening.

I quickly grabbed Ma Su and pointed to the web.

He realized at once—since we were tracking the tomb monkey, and the spiderweb was intact, it meant the monkey hadn’t passed through this passage.

We checked the other passage, and found a similar web blocking its entrance.

This was strange. Ma Su and I looked at each other, baffled.

We had chased the monkey all this way, but hadn’t seen a trace of it. Now, both passages were sealed by undisturbed spiderwebs, suggesting the tomb monkey hadn’t left through either.

So where had the tomb monkey gone?

(End of this chapter)