Rising from the Ashes (Andrew) novel Chapter 1539

The stone coffin was stacked with a dazzling layer of gold, silver, and gems. Even with just a sliver of torchlight, everything sparkled like a treasure chest straight out of a dream.

That scorching wave of greed surged up and filled every inch of Darius' mind and body.

"I'm rich… I'm filthy rich…" he muttered, practically shaking with excitement.

Shoulder braced against the heavy lid, he threw his full weight into pushing it open even more. Finally, with a series of harsh, grinding screeches, the several-hundred-pound stone lid slid open by two-thirds.

That gap was more than enough, and he could easily crawl inside and grab whatever he wanted. However, instead of diving in, Darius crept back to the doorway and peeked outside again.

He had no idea if Lenny had caught wind of all the noise he had made just now. After a quick glance, he let out a relieved breath.

He thought, 'Thank goodness! That greedy bastard is still too focused on looting, completely oblivious to what's going on over here.'

He leaned over and took another look inside, practically drooling at the sight of all the glittering gems and jewelry. Yet, right in the center of all that treasure was a mummified corpse.

The dead guy was dressed in some kind of old-timey official uniform.

Darius was not exactly a scholar—he barely finished grade school. However, even he could tell that outfit was something from the Crimson Dynasty or whatever era those dramas always show.

It was a robe embroidered with ornate gold patterns, and it even had a matching hat.

Feeling smug, Darius nodded. He silently praised himself for watching a lot of period dramas as a kid, as that helped him recognize the outfit so quickly.

With a trembling hand, he reached out—his eyes instantly locking onto the artifact beside the corpse's skull: a Governor's Luck Stick. He remembered hearing that only noble officials back then could own something like that.

However, just as his fingers brushed against the stick, something strange happened. He felt a hand grab his wrist.

Moreover, that was not even the worst part. What truly made Darius's heart slam into his throat was the expression on the corpse's face.

Its rows of yellowed, rotting teeth were slightly parted as if it were smiling. Its hollow eye sockets and shriveled cheeks were barely held together by leathery skin. Only about three strands of dry, white hair clung to its scalp, and the rest was just cracked, dead flesh.

As Darius thought the corpse was smiling at him, his whole body broke out into a cold sweat.

His mouth hung open, and tears nearly welled in his eyes. His legs were shaking uncontrollably, and he almost collapsed headfirst into the coffin.

"Corpse awakening…" That was the only thing his brain could come up with.

To his surprise, even after several long seconds, the mummy did not move again.