The Lost Tomb : Tibetan Sea Flower

Chapter 18: Corpse Fragrance

These smells were hidden in the fragrance of the Tibetan incense, indicating that the smell was actually quite strong. But because the blankets also had a unique scent, and there were so many charcoal ovens baking on the side, Poker-face didn't immediately distinguish the smell.

These odors must have been brought in with the Tibetan incense and should be in the stoves carried by the Tibetans.

It was the smell of a corpse.

The Tibetans put everything around the girl and quickly left. They didn't seem to want to stay at all.

There seemed to be nothing special about this move, but Poker-face still felt like something was wrong. He looked around at the blankets and the patterns on them. In response to the smell, he involuntarily touched his waist to grab his weapon, but there was nothing there. He forgot that he had brought nothing this time.

Why did he suddenly become alert? Because he saw the pattern on the blanket.

There were many traditional patterns in Tibet, and if these blankets were made in different periods, the patterns on them should have been diversified. Although all the blankets here had slightly different styles, they were all painted with the same pattern.

It was called "King Yama Riding the Dead" [1], and the picture showed King Yama riding a female corpse through the mountains and rivers [2]. Poker-face suddenly knew the girl's real identity.

"King Yama Riding the Dead" first appeared on an iron tangka [3]. It was a thin piece of iron inlaid with gold and silver foil showing the pattern of King Yama riding a female corpse in the mountains. The tangka was surrounded by a circle of trailing decorative iron lines with many skull patterns in the middle.

Yama was called "Yama Raja" in Sanskrit [4] so this tangka was also called "Iron Yama Raja Riding the Dead". Such patterns were especially rare before the appearance of tangka. Many people often thought that these were only the exaggerated shapes of stepping on corpses and people, which were especially common with the statues of Tibetan gods. But it was later discovered that such thinking was wrong, because on the iron Yama Raja, the shape of the woman's corpse was sometimes even more prominent than that of the King of Hell.

Female corpses generally had ferocious faces, blind eyes, and crawled on their elbows and knees. The whole person was like an evil ghost, but the breasts were full and obviously had female characteristics.

Poker-face looked at where the girl's hands and feet were cut off and remembered her blind eyes. Maybe this girl was King Yama's mount?

Poker-face was all too familiar with corpses, and knew the girl must be alive. He had a growing sense of foreboding. He had a certain understanding of King Yama riding a corpse, but he didn't understand why the girl appeared here in this state.

Was she a sacrifice to Yama? Or was it a kind of ceremony?

While thinking, the fragrance on the other side became stronger. Poker-face heard the girl groaning in pain, but he couldn't see the specific situation through the various blankets.

Poker-face wasn't curious about these sorts of things. If he was somewhere else, he would certainly ignore them, but everything here had something to do with his purpose. He had to know where this was and who these Tibetans were.

So Poker-face went over and found a corner. Through the gap between the blankets, he saw the stove near the girl burning. The strange smell and the smell of the Tibetan incense were mixed together and billowed out violently.

He was unsure why, but the girl looked to be in a lot of pain, as if these scents strongly stimulated her.

Poker-face slowly walked over and found that the girl's face had turned grey, just like the color of the woman's corpse carved on the silver foil in the pictures on the blankets. The girl had lost her mind and was groaning in pain, with the strange incense burners beside her.