“Oh hell no—!!”

  I flung myself backward so hard that I almost sat on the floor. My heart was thumping like a drum in a funeral parade. The creature stood right in front of me, raised a set of pitch-black claws—

  Only to… stop.

  And stand there.

  Obediently.

  Like a well-trained oversized dog.

  I shivered all over and screamed inwardly,

  “System! What the hell is this situation!?”

  The system’s voice was ice-cold.

  [Most likely you still carry traces of the purple jade’s aura. It recognizes you. It won’t attack without cause.]

  “Oh… good… scared me half to death!”

  I patted my chest, feeling sweat soak through my inner robes. But seriously—what was this thing? Not human, not ghost… a whole new flavor of nightmare.

  I couldn’t help blurting out, “So what is it actually? This gravekeeper you mentioned—is it a person or a ghost?”

  Lian finally spoke, voice as cold as stone.

  “Neither human nor ghost.”

  “?” My eyes widened.

  “A half-man, half-corpse,” he said lightly. “Chosen from among the living. Their birth date matches the tomb owner’s. They are sealed into the coffin alive, tempered for forty-nine days with secret rites. Their soul is chained to the master of the tomb. Dead yet not decayed. Afterward, they guard the tomb forever—neither alive nor dead.”

  My scalp tingled violently.

  “So basically they’re forced to be gravekeeping roommates forever? That’s messed up.”

  Lian’s gaze flickered, but he did not respond.

  “As for why it recognizes that purple jade… even I cannot say.”

  “Exactly,” Hua chimed in lazily, fanning himself, looking positively delighted to rub salt in. “Clearly it should’ve recognized you, but apparently it thinks you’re useless and decided to recognize the jade instead.”

  “Get lost!”

  I rolled my eyes and shouted mentally,

  “System! Quick! Dig up everything about the jade and this corpse-thing!”

  The system: […]

  [Host, do you take me for an encyclopedia?]

  Me: ???

  Then it suddenly drawled,

  […But I do know the answer.]

  I nearly choked.

  “Could you not pause dramatically like that? I’m dying here.”

  [The national seal is a legendary extreme-yang artifact.] the system said unhurriedly.

  [And the gravekeeper, being half-man half-corpse, is an extreme-yin body. Yin that never dissipates, yang that never scatters. When the two meet, they attract each other like magnets. Perfect match. Unbreakable bond.]

  I stared.

  “…So it’s literally yin-yang attraction? Seriously?”

  But something in my gut lurched.

  Wait… extreme yin and yang?

  Why did that sound familiar?

  My eyes brightened suddenly.

  A memory of something Lian said days ago flashed back—

  “The Daily Evergreen grows only in places of extreme yin and extreme yang. Only where heaven and earth collide can that flower take root.”

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Wasn’t that the cure for my brother and me?!

  I went stiff from head to toe.

  “No way… no way no way—so where the hell is this extreme yin-yang place?”

  Hua caught my expression and raised a brow.

  “Gong, that look on your face… did you think of something nasty again?”

  Lian’s gaze sharpened, cold as a blade.

  “Speak clearly. What did you realize?”

  I: “…”

  I couldn’t exactly tell them I had a system babysitting me.

  My heart squeezed tight. I stammered,

  “I—I’m not sure. Just… the jade attracts this half-corpse thing, right? Yin and yang attraction or whatever. That made me think of the Daily Evergreen you mentioned… maybe there’s a connection?”

  I felt guilty just saying it and dropped my gaze quickly.

  But what was the extreme yin-yang place? My brain was twisting itself into a pretzel.

  Lian didn’t answer immediately. A faint shadow crossed his eyes.

  “Extreme yin and yang is not mere folklore… And the jade and the gravekeeper share a yin nature. It might relate to something the Blood Lotus Cult is tracking.”

  I dared not mention the national seal hidden in the jade, so I pressed on,

  “What thing? Is that why you followed those tomb robbers in here?”

  Hua flicked his fan open, giving me a sideways glance.

  He didn’t answer—smiled instead.

  Lian only said coolly, “When the time comes, you will know.”

  My curiosity was clawing at me. I opened my mouth to push—

  When suddenly a low “woooo—” rumbled beside me.

  The half-corpse gravekeeper jolted upright, its round eyes bulging. Like a hunting dog catching a scent, it raised its head sharply, staring at the roof.

  I followed its gaze instinctively—

  And every hair on me stood up.

  From the stone dome above, several ropes dropped silently.

  A moment later, gray-clad figures slid down like spiders.

  My eyes bulged.

  “Wh—what?! Weren’t they all dead or crushed by traps!?”

  The gray-clad men looked like they’d crawled straight out of the shadows.

  Lian’s eyes turned razor-sharp, sleeve shifting with hidden weapons.

  Hua simply gave a silky laugh.

  “Well. Seems this tomb isn’t satisfied with killing us via corpses. The living want a turn too.”

  The gravekeeper growled low and deep, a sound that made my bones vibrate.

  Its entire body went taut, eyes locked on the intruders like a starving wolf.

  The gray-clad men had barely landed before they met its gaze.

  The creature roared, a deafening, guttural sound—

  Then charged.

  “Crunch—splatter—crack!”

  One gray-clad man went down screaming, torn apart before he could lift his blade. Others rushed forward, knives drawn. The chamber filled with screams, steel, and firelight.

  I was still staring dumbly when—

  Something tightened abruptly around my neck.

  A gray-clad man had silently circled behind me.

  He locked an arm around me and pressed a blade to my throat.

  “Don’t move,” he hissed. The blade was ice-cold.

  Cold sweat ran down my back.

  I saw Lian and Hua both freeze, unable to break free of their own opponents.

  The blade was about to cut skin when a spark went off in my brain.

  “Hua! Throw me the jade!”

  Hua stared, stunned that I’d dare boss him around now.

  But seeing I was about to die, he clicked his tongue.

  “Catch!”

  He flicked his fan, and the jade sliced through the air.

  I twisted desperately, barely catching it without slitting my own throat.

  Heart pounding, I raised the jade high and screamed—

  “Hey! Over here! Sic ’im!”

  The gravekeeper’s head snapped toward me.

  Its blood-red eyes locked onto the jade, nose flaring—

  Then it let out a furious roar.

  It abandoned its current prey and shot toward me like a missile.

  “Not me! Not me! HIM! HIM!”

  I pointed frantically at the man choking me.

  Too late.

  The gravekeeper crashed into us both, slamming us to the ground.

  The gray-clad man only had time for one scream before the creature pinned him and tore his throat open in one savage bite. Blood sprayed across my face.

  I lay there trembling, half-crushed, staring as the creature slowly turned its head toward me.

  Its face was covered in gore.

  But then—it wagged the stump of its tailbone and panted at me, eyes shining like it wanted praise.

  “…”

  My soul nearly left my body.

  “You’re terrifying! Wagging won’t fix that!!”

  Lian watched silently, lips pressed tight, as if restraining some emotion.

  Hua, on the other hand, burst out laughing.

  “Well well, my dear Gong. This beast is more loyal to you than you are to yourself. Why not just put a leash on it?”

  I rolled my eyes so hard it almost sprained something, shook the purple jade again, and pointed at the remaining gray-clad intruders.

  “Go! Bite them! Leave none standing!”

  The gravekeeper gave another low, murderous growl, then launched itself forward like a blood-soaked missile.

  In the blink of an eye it turned into a full-on killing machine, tearing those gray-clad men apart until they were screaming for ancestors they’d never met.

  Blood mist filled the burial chamber, and for some ridiculous reason, all I could think was:

  Huh… my dog is really brave today.