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6.19% My life as a Tomb Raider in Nanyang / Chapter 7: Firecracker Tan

Chapter 7: Firecracker Tan

"Stand aside," Firecracker Tan said as he opened his backpack.

He took out a few brown tubes resembling dynamite, walked back, counting the steps to the small tunnel we came through, then carefully selected the appropriate length for the fuse and inserted it into the dynamite.

"Time for some fun! Go back at least ten meters and cover your ears," he instructed.

We hurriedly moved back to the small tunnel, squatted down, and used our fingers to cover our ears.

Then we heard him shout, "Get ready, 3…2…1…!"

He came running toward us and nearly tripped.

Luckily, he recovered quickly and cowered down beside us.

"Boom!!!"

A loud explosion echoed, and I felt the blast wave brush across my face.

Amy Lee quickly radioed Kurnawan, "Kurnawan, are we still clear? Over."

"Yes, the coast is clear. Over."

Amy Lee sighed with relief and then motioned for us to proceed.

We returned to where the wall had been obstructing our path.

The explosion had created a hole in the wall, just big enough for us to get through.

Inside was the main chamber of the tomb.

There was a coffin, with a reddish tint, emitting a pleasant aroma.

I knew immediately that it was made of sandalwood.

As of today, the price of sandalwood can easily fetch $200 per kilogram, which made me wonder what other valuables could be hidden inside.

All around the chamber, there were copper coins, jewelry, and porcelain vases scattered about.

Bobby got excited and began stuffing the copper coins and jewelry into a black trash bag.

"Sam, come and help me," he called out, motioning me over.

I quickly obliged; after all, I wanted to make money too.

While helping Bobby, I turned to see what Amy Lee and the rest of the team were doing.

To my surprise, they weren't very interested in the burial treasures.

Their attention was focused solely on the coffin.

Sea Snake Fang and Firecracker Tan took out crowbars, and together they pried open the coffin lid.

They then stepped back and covered their noses and mouths with their shirts.

This was done to let any poisonous gas escape—what we call "尸毒" in Chinese, literally meaning "corpse poison."

After a few minutes, they used their hands to fan away any remaining gas.

Then they leaned in to take a closer look inside the coffin.

Curious, I joined in and peered into the coffin.

There was a skeletal head, with the rest of the body having already decomposed.

I noticed something inside the skeleton's mouth and carefully pried it open to reveal a huge pearl.

My instinct told me that, of all the burial treasures in this chamber, this pearl was the most valuable.

I quickly passed the pearl to Bobby; it seemed safer in his hands than anyone else's in the team.

However, the pearl wasn't what Amy Lee was looking for.

"That's it? There should be a map pinpointing the location of the gold ingots," she muttered.

Amy rummaged through the remains of the skeleton, but to no avail.

There was no map to be found.

"Maybe it's here somewhere in the chamber," Amy Lee mumbled as she kept searching, and the rest of us began to look for the map as well.

"Look, Sam, there's a hole in the wall," Bobby said, as he put his hand into the hole, trying to dig out whatever was inside.

"Stop, pull out your hand!" I tried to warn him, but it was too late.

He suddenly cried out in pain and yanked his hand out of the hole.

Bobby shook his hand vigorously, and then something fell out of his grasp.

It was a red-colored worm.

The worm quickly scurried away, but Sea Snake Fang stepped on it, causing green liquid to ooze out from its carcass.

The worm died instantly.

A foul smell filled the air, reminiscent of rotten meat crawling with maggots, and just the thought of it made me nearly vomit.

Just in case, I took a picture of the red-colored worm.

"Argh…my hand," Bobby groaned, his right hand now swollen to twice the size of his other hand.

The worm must have been poisonous.

I hurriedly took out my water bottle, washed the bite wound on his hand, and then bandaged it up.

Amy Lee came over, checked his condition, and glanced at her watch.

"It's already 4 AM; villagers will start their day soon. Let's call it a day and get Bobby back to Pontianak for treatment."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and we left the tomb, closing it up with the soil we had dug out earlier.

By the time we arrived in Pontianak, it was 8 AM.

We knocked on the doors of several clinics, but no one answered; the doctors hadn't started arriving yet.

Fortunately, one clinic had a doctor living on the second floor.

He reluctantly opened the door after seeing Bobby's condition.

Within a few hours, Bobby's condition had worsened.

The white bandage had become soaked in red and yellow fluids, and inflammation had already set in.

The doctor shook his head, cleaned the wound with alcohol, and gave Bobby some injections.

Bobby eventually calmed down and fell asleep.

With Bobby looking much better, we decided to head back to the hotel.

I carried Bobby into his room and then went to Amy's room.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine. Here," Sea Snake Fang comforted me, offering me a cigarette.

"Thanks," I replied, lighting up the cigarette, taking a deep puff, and exhaling a huge sigh.

Amy Lee was on the phone with someone. "There was nothing inside. Are you sure about your lead?" she asked, nodding continuously before ending the call.

After a few moments of silence, she looked up and said, "The lead should be correct. No one would be able to lie with my father's three-spirit powder.

"The map should be in the tomb somewhere. Let's get Bobby okay again before we make our next move. I will do my best not to leave anyone behind."

"Help me!" Just as she finished speaking, a loud scream echoed from downstairs.


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
ShinyZebra ShinyZebra

Collect this book to your library so you can find it again. Any comments is greatly appreciated. Power Vote too!

Chapter 8: The Bomoh (Witch Doctor)

We rushed downstairs, and nothing could have prepared us for what we saw.

The hotel staff were gathered around the kitchen, staring in horror with wide-open eyes and hands covering their mouths.

I pushed past them to get a look.

And there was Bobby, crouched in the freezer, feasting on raw meat. He even paused a few times to wipe the blood stains from his mouth.

"What are you doing? Stop it!" I shouted, grabbing his hands and pulling them behind his back, trying to usher him out of the kitchen.

"Let me go, I'm still hungry!" Bobby protested, struggling to break free from my grip.

Sea Snake Fang quickly came to my aid and delivered a swift chop to the back of Bobby's neck.

Bobby immediately fell unconscious.

"I think we have no choice. Let's get him to the hospital," I said, my voice laced with urgency.

Amy Lee moved swiftly, and I followed close behind.

"You guys go ahead. I'll think of an excuse and calm the hotel staff," Kurnawan said.

Amy Lee nodded, trusting Kurnawan to handle the situation without hesitation.

We cleaned the bloodstains off Bobby with whatever we could find.

I also noticed that his right hand had gotten worse.

It now appeared to be about three times the size of his left hand, grotesquely swollen.

After what felt like an eternity, we finally reached the hospital. Bobby was admitted immediately, and the medical staff began tending to the pus and blood oozing from his wound.

He was also running a dangerously high fever.

"He should improve by tomorrow. We'll monitor his condition and inform you if anything changes," the doctor in charge said before leaving.

Amy Lee and Sea Snake Fang decided to leave, but I stayed with Bobby for a while longer.

Once I was sure he was resting as comfortably as possible, I stepped outside the hospital and lit a cigarette.

What a turn of events.

Bobby had been alive and kicking just last night.

Now, no one could be sure what was happening to him.

I had a hunch Bobby might not recover by tomorrow.

My stomach growled, reminding me that I hadn't had a proper meal yet.

I flagged down a taxi and headed back to the hotel, thinking longingly of the Bebek Goreng (fried duck rice) from the nearby food stall.

The rest of the day was spent replenishing the supplies we had used up.

Kurnawan had managed to convince the hotel staff that Bobby's high fever had caused him to act unconsciously.

He explained that Bobby might have been hungry but couldn't distinguish what he was eating.

The next day couldn't come fast enough for me.

I was eager to see how Bobby was doing.

After all, I was the one who had convinced him to join this trip.

The first thing we did the next day was head straight to the hospital.

Bobby's condition remained unchanged. His fever was still running high, and his right hand was still swollen and infected.

"Doctor, you said he'd be better today. Why is he still the same as yesterday?" I asked, my voice tinged with frustration.

"I've administered antibiotics for the infection, as well as medication to suppress the fever. He should be better today, but sometimes these things take time. I can't guarantee a 100% recovery just yet," the doctor replied, shaking his head as he noted down his observations.

Hearing this, I decided to trust my instincts.

This situation needed to be addressed by the supernatural.

It wasn't just a simple case of infection.

I asked Kurnawan to follow me, and we made our way to the Snooker parlor.

As we entered, the friendly boss behind the counter recognized me immediately. His face brightened up with a smile.

"You again! And you brought a new friend? Let me give you a discount," he said cheerfully.

"I'm not here for Snooker," I replied, getting straight to the point. I showed him my handphone and swiped to the picture of the red worm. "Do you have any idea what this is?"

The boss squinted at the screen, then put on his reading glasses and brought the phone closer to his face. He shook his head after a moment. "I've never seen anything like this around here, but I know someone who might be able to help you."

"Who? Could you introduce me to him?" I asked anxiously.

I handed him a packet of cigarettes and ten IDR $100K notes.

He felt the money, his smile widening even further. "There's a Bomoh (witch doctor) living near the river, a few streets down the road. You know, like the Bomohs in Pulau Besar who deal in black and white magic. His name is Tok Pak. Let me draw you a map."

He turned to the counter, grabbed a pen, and sketched a simple map on his notepad.

I looked at the map. It wasn't fancy, but it was clear and straight to the point.

It led to a house by the river, near a banana tree.

My heart skipped a beat. Banana trees are notorious for being the residence of the Pontianak spirit. In Malay folklore, the Pontianak is a female vampire and the ghost of a woman who died in childbirth. She is said to live in banana trees near houses, with long black hair, pointed nails, and a sickly-sweet frangipani scent. The Pontianak is rumored to be able to disembowel men with her nails and sniff out prey through laundry left out to dry. If you suddenly smell that sweet frangipani scent at night, be cautious—the Pontianak is nearby.

And who else but a Bomoh would want a banana tree so close to his house?

Kurnawan drove me there, and we parked the car before beginning our search for Tok Pak. We asked around, but the villagers were reluctant to help. They glanced at the map, shook their heads, and quickly walked away, avoiding eye contact.

Finally, we found a friendly kid who was willing to assist us.

Of course, I didn't offer the kid any cigarettes; a cold ice cream did the trick.

"That's Tok Pak's house over there. I can only take you this far," the kid said, pointing to a small hut in front of us before running off as fast as he could.

The house was small, built with wood and a zinc roof.

Next to it stood the banana tree.

The atmosphere around the house felt eerie and unnervingly quiet.

There were a few chickens in a coop nearby, but they hardly made any noise.

We knocked on the door, but it didn't open, even though we could hear sounds from inside.

I peered through the window to see if anyone was home.

Inside, a young woman was kneeling, chanting prayers.

In front of her stood an old man, dressed in a shirt and sarong.

He was carefully placing tree roots into a glass full of oil.

Suddenly, his gaze snapped to mine.

My heart started pounding, and I clutched my chest as a sharp pain shot through it.


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
ShinyZebra ShinyZebra

Collect this book to your library so you can find it again. Any comments is greatly appreciated. Power Vote too!

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