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When Han Sen touched the pendant, he was scalded by the heat it had generated .
"The pendant did not have a reaction to the leader of Blood Legion, assuming that was who he was . But why is it reacting so strongly to this? Is this the real Nine-Life Cat? Or maybe what I saw was an apparition, and the bones of the leader actually reside in this coffin . " There was a lot to question and a lot to be wary of .
Still, assuming that was true, Han Sen noted that it would be very strange for the coffin to be placed where it was . Authority figures or leaders of much renown weren't known for making their resting places at the entrances of their palaces .
The group walked forward until they were only three meters away from the coffin . There, they could now see the creature clearly, and make out all of its distinct features .
The so-called beast was curled up, and it had its head tucked beneath its tail . There was not, however, any lifeforce that Han Sen could detect .
But suddenly, the tail moved . Unsure about what this meant, everyone stopped in their tracks and remained dead still . They peered at the creature with intense, twitching eyes .
"It's alive!" Xu Yanmeng hollered .
The creature's tail swung again, like the slow lashing of a whip . The creature unfurled to look at the group that was approaching, and it did so with eyes that looked like a couple of red sirens .
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"It's alive!" Zhong Sanxiao also called out, trembling as he took one step back in fear .
The creature really did look like a cat, complete with oval eyes . Its gaze was menacing and cold, but it wasn't directly threatening .
Everyone readied themselves for a fight . The group that had come before them encountered this creature and died shortly after, after all .
But the motionless standoff went on longer than anticipated . The cold, uncaring gaze of the cat developed into one of disinterest after a certain amount of time elapsed .
After a while, with the prospect of immediate danger diminishing, Zhong Sanxiao said, "Now is the time to strike . It's not attacking, so let's take advantage of that . "
Everyone knew it might be for the best to remove the stranger-danger that cat might-or-might-not pose, but they'd have to do it together, if they chose to attack it .
"No," Mister Li said, with a resolute voice . "It is not hostile to us . If we provoke it, and make it hostile, we may not even live long enough to regret it . "
"We can't just stand here, though," Zhong Sanxiao pleaded .
Mister Li said, "We can continue to approach it delicately, and assuming it does not do anything more, we will try to open the coffin . "
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Everyone in the team looked at each other, to see how they each felt about that . Although they were all worried about what might happen, they all agreed it was best to approach the coffin slowly without directly inviting hostility from the cat .
Each step they took was slow and steady, exercised with great care and caution . And each time one foot settled back on the ground, they looked at the beast intently, to see if it had moved at all .
When they reached the coffin, the cat had not moved an inch . It merely looked at them, with its tail brushing softly against the coffin it rested upon .
Everyone approached the coffin from a different direction, surrounding it . Strangely, the creature seemed to be watching Han Sen .
"Get a firm grip around the edges, and lift it up," Mister Li commanded softly .
They placed their hands around the smoothed edges of the coffin and dug their fingers as far they could underneath it .
They did not care much for the coffin or what might rest inside . Their main worry was how the creature would behave once they began moving the lid . They feared it was ready to pounce .
"Three . . . two . . . one . . . " When Mister Li finished the countdown, everyone heaved the hefty lid up .
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The combined strength of the group removed the lid with ease . They lifted it as high and as straight as they could, and strangely, the cat did not move an inch .
The beast looked as disinterested as it first had, and it didn't seem to care about what they were doing .
Their mission was to find out what was in the coffin . Once they caught a glimpse of what was inside, they could return . With the lid safely removed, they all stole a glance inside . What they saw surprised them .
It was empty . There was not a single thing inside it .
"It's empty? Why is it empty?" Wang Zhao asked aloud .
Old Qiu then drew attention to the vacant lid of the coffin, with a voice that trembled and shook . "The creature is gone . "
Everyone turned to look where Old Qiu was staring .
The cat was gone . It was as if it had completely vanished into thin air .
"Where did it go?" Xu Yanmeng asked, looking around in a near-panic, fearing a sudden ambush or pounce .
Everyone thought it most strange, and did the same . But no one was able to see where it might have wandered off to .
"Look, we've seen what's inside the coffin . We can leave now; we've done what was requested of us . We really should get moving before something ill falls upon us," Wang Zhao suggested, trying his best to conceal the nervousness that tried to break up his words .
"Okay . Let's put the lid back before leaving," Mister Li said .
When they lifted the lid up and set it back down on the coffin, their faces changed .
It made Xu Yanmeng scream at the top of his lungs, and he yelled, "The suction! I can't get my hands free . "
"Me, too! Oh f*ck . " Zhong Sanxiao tried to pull his hand free, but he was unable to .
Everyone was suffering the same misfortune, finding their hands to be stuck in a vacuum stemming from the coffin . They couldn't get their hands free .
Han Sen held onto the lid like the rest, pretending he was suffering the same fate . Truthfully, the suction that gripped the others didn't seem to be affecting him .
His compatriots already thought poorly enough of him as it was, so he made sure not to reveal his fortune .