Corpse Retriever

Even if everyone practiced different methods, belonged to different factions, and understood the Heavenly Dao in different ways, in the end, they all lived together in this same jianghu. When they looked up into the distance, they could still catch sight of one another.”

”So it seems that not only your senior brother, but you as well, Daoist, admire that Dragon King of the Liu Clan.”

”Naturally.”

”Though people say everything turns to nothing, that death is like a lamp going out, I still truly hope you get what you wish for, Daoist.”

When Yuxuzi heard that, the fish scales on his body gave a faint tremble.

It was almost impossible to notice, but Li Zhuiyuan caught it.

The moment he had heard that sentence, the other man’s mind had clearly jolted. He had suppressed it as hard as he could, yet a trace still slipped through.

Admiration was admiration, but right now, he truly did not want to see that Dragon King. He did not even dare... think about him.

The little stream passed through the village road and stretched all the way to the mortuary.

Pointing at the six coffins set out in the yard, Li Zhuiyuan asked, ”Daoist, when we came in earlier, I checked those coffins. Those six people had stayed here before?””Yes. When they first entered, the ghosts and malevolent thoughts everywhere terrified them, so they chose to hide inside the coffins for a while. I really do not know what they were thinking.

”Later, seeing that they had been tormented badly enough, this poor Daoist stepped in and protected them. At the very least, I preserved a sliver of life and hope for them.”

Li Zhuiyuan said apologetically, ”In the end, I still let you down, Daoist.”

Yuxuzi waved a hand. ”No one is perfect. So long as your conscience is clear, that is enough. Young friend, helping me suppress and kill this malevolent creature was already a great merit.”

The five of them walked to the end of the village.

The ”stream” wound onward, continuing into the distance.

Yuxuzi stopped walking and looked at the lamp in his hand. He reached out and gently stroked the white flame on it, his eyes flowing with remembrance and reluctance.

At last, he held the lamp out toward Li Zhuiyuan. ”Young friend, I must trouble you to take this outside and snuff it out.”

Li Zhuiyuan was holding the stone slab with both hands, so he looked at Tan Wenbin.

Tan Wenbin reached out and took it. The instant he touched it, it felt as though he were holding another person’s still-beating heart.

Yuxuzi once again gave the four of them a solemn bow. ”Thank you for your hard work, all of you. The righteous path is not alone!”

Li Zhuiyuan nodded to Yuxuzi. Tan Wenbin, Runsheng, and Yin Meng returned the gesture with cupped fists.

Then Yuxuzi remained where he stood.

The four of them followed the ”stream” onward, putting some distance between themselves and him. Just as they were about to step into the boundary where the formation changed, Li Zhuiyuan said:

”Stay with me.”

Tan Wenbin held the lamp in his right hand and grabbed Li Zhuiyuan’s shoulder with his left.

Behind him, Yin Meng and Runsheng each took hold of the shoulder of the person in front.

Step by step, the four of them moved forward. But just as they were about to walk into the formation barrier, a shout came from behind:

”Stop!”

Li Zhuiyuan halted and turned back.

Yuxuzi’s face was twisted in pain. He had collapsed to the ground, struggle showing in his eyes, one arm stretched out toward them.

”It’s deceiving you. Stop. Do not fall for it!”

Li Zhuiyuan immediately turned and walked back, with the other three following close behind.

Seeing them return, Yuxuzi’s face showed relief, but in the next instant, black mist began to rise from his body.

”Ahhh!”

Yuxuzi let out a scream, as though an invisible chain had wrapped around his neck and was yanking him violently backward.

”That lamp flame is not mine. It belongs to that creature. That creature used it to control me and trick you. Do not fall for its trap!”

After that shout, not only black mist but flames began to rise from Yuxuzi’s body, making him look terrifying.

As for Yuxuzi himself, his face shifted constantly, one moment kind, the next full of hatred.

”Throw away that lamp and go, quickly! I will continue suppressing it. This is my mission. Go, go!”

Tan Wenbin looked at the lamp in his hand, then at Li Zhuiyuan. ”Brother Yuan, this thing...”

”Throw it away.”

”Oh. Okay.” Tan Wenbin tossed the lamp from his hand. It hit the ground with a clack and rolled several times across the dirt, yet the flame still did not go out.

Li Zhuiyuan then said to Runsheng and Yin Meng, ”Help the Daoist. Fight the evil thing.”

Runsheng and Yin Meng rushed forward at once.

Yuxuzi shouted, ”Ignore me. Go!”

The moment he finished shouting, the expression on his face turned hateful again.

Runsheng gripped the Yellow River Spade and swung it directly at Yuxuzi.

Hatred-faced Yuxuzi raised the hand covered in fish scales and caught the Yellow River Spade.

Clang!

Runsheng was startled. With the strength he had now, even a rock would crack under that spade strike, but this Daoist had caught it with one hand?

Yin Meng held the Demon-Suppressing Whip and slid sideways. The whip snapped out and coiled around Yuxuzi’s right leg.

That leg had originally been half-transparent, but the moment the whip touched it, the fish scales shifted over to the place that had been bare.

Then the leg flicked hard. Yin Meng lost her balance and had no choice but to rise onto her toes, clutching the whip as she slid along with it.

You could not tell without crossing hands, but once they actually engaged, it became obvious just how terrifying the strength of hatred-faced Yuxuzi really was.

Runsheng pulled back the Yellow River Spade, his clothes swelling, then slammed it forward again.

Yuxuzi clenched a fist and smashed it straight into the spade.

Bang!

Yuxuzi stood firmly in place without budging, while Runsheng was shaken back several steps in a row. But once Runsheng stopped himself, he gathered strength again and rushed back in, swinging the Yellow River Spade once more.

Seizing the opportunity, Yin Meng reeled in the whip with one hand, using the force to pull herself toward Yuxuzi. Once she was close enough, she took out a handful of powder from her pocket with her other hand and flung it forward.

A cloud of gray mist burst open.

She had meant it as a setup for Runsheng’s next strike, hoping to disrupt the other side’s senses.

Who would have thought Yuxuzi would open his mouth and take a fierce inhale, sucking all of the gray mist straight inside.

In the next instant, Yuxuzi swept his scaled arm across his body to block Runsheng’s attack, then lunged forward, driving in with his shoulder.

Bang!

Runsheng was sent reeling back again. A hole was burned through the clothes on his chest, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

Tan Wenbin stared wide-eyed. ”Is he even still human?”

Li Zhuiyuan replied, ”He was never human to begin with.”

The boy’s tone was calm, as though none of this surprised him in the least.

”Then I’m going to help too!”

Tan Wenbin charged forward shouting, holding the Seven-Star Hook in his left hand and the Black Umbrella of Rebirth in his right.

Partly he was trying to boost morale, and partly he was warning his two teammates: I’m coming, be careful not to get hit by me or thrown off.

Seeing that the Daoist had actually managed to force Runsheng back, Tan Wenbin did not dare go in for close combat. Instead, after stopping at a distance, he flicked his left hand and the Seven-Star Hook extended, stabbing toward Yuxuzi.

Thud...

The tip of the Seven-Star Hook sank into Yuxuzi’s chest.

”Holy shit!”

Tan Wenbin shouted in disbelief. Even he had not expected himself to be this amazing.

Runsheng and Yin Meng were equally baffled.

From behind them, Li Zhuiyuan gave a reminder. ”He changed faces.”

Only then did they realize that Yuxuzi’s hateful face had turned kind again.

That left the three of them with a question: now that he had changed faces, should they still attack?

Very quickly, that stopped being a question, because Brother Yuan behind them had not said not to attack. Which meant... keep going!

Tan Wenbin pressed the mechanism on the handle of the Seven-Star Hook with his left hand. The sharpest section at the tip split open into two hooked blades, locking around Yuxuzi’s chest.

Runsheng’s clothes bulged and flattened three times in succession. After wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, he raised the spade again and charged.

This blow struck Yuxuzi square in the chest and sent him flying.

”Damn...” Tan Wenbin had Yuxuzi hooked, but Runsheng’s strength was too great. Once the man was knocked flying, the Seven-Star Hook flew out with him, throwing Tan Wenbin off balance and sending him sprawling to the ground.

Runsheng did not stop. He pressed the attack.

The moment Yuxuzi hit the ground, Runsheng was already on him again with another swing.

Smack!

Yuxuzi was sent flying once more.

Runsheng kept chasing him.

But this time, Yuxuzi landed first. Just as he was about to rise, Runsheng’s spade came down.

Yuxuzi’s kindly face shifted back into a hateful one. He grabbed the spade, and the flames on his body ran up his arm and onto the weapon.

Yin Meng’s whip came down, cracking in front of Yuxuzi. A spray of green crystals shook loose from the whip, and the instant they touched the flames on his body, they burst like fireworks with a sharp sizzling crackle.

Yuxuzi’s movements were forced to slow. Runsheng raised a leg and kicked Yuxuzi in the chest.

Bang!

The kick landed solidly, yet Yuxuzi endured it head-on and was not knocked back.

By then Tan Wenbin had already gotten up. He rushed over, grabbed one end of the Seven-Star Hook, then fished four Dissolution of Evil Talismans from his pocket with his left hand and hung them on the small hook at one end. Then he shoved hard.

The four talismans slid along the long shaft of the Seven-Star Hook to the tip and struck Yuxuzi square in the chest.

Pop! Pop!

Four explosions rang out in succession, blasting fish scales off Yuxuzi’s body in every direction.

And just then, the hatred on Yuxuzi’s face changed back into kindness.

Runsheng immediately felt the tremendous force that had been contesting him for the Yellow River Spade disappear. He exerted himself at once and heaved upward, lifting Yuxuzi’s whole body into the air. Then he brought him smashing down into the ground.

Kindly-faced Yuxuzi forced out the words, ”Thank you... for helping me... find release...”

Runsheng raised the spade and continued smashing it down at Yuxuzi.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Yin Meng moved closer. She did not join the attack directly, instead preparing her powder so she could support Runsheng the next time Yuxuzi changed faces.

Tan Wenbin, meanwhile, hurriedly shoved every talisman he had on him along the Seven-Star Hook in one frantic stream. Every time he sent another batch forward, explosions sounded from Yuxuzi’s body.

But he was having too much fun with it, and before long his talisman stock was completely empty.

He wanted to ask his companions to lend him some talismans, but Yin Meng was on full alert and Runsheng was swinging his spade so hard it looked ready to smoke. It was honestly too embarrassing to speak up.

Turning back, he looked at Li Zhuiyuan and saw that from beginning to end, the boy had shown no intention of joining the battle.

Tan Wenbin seemed to realize something. Straightening up, he patted the dust from his clothes. He really did have to learn from Brother Yuan and be steady.

Now every time Runsheng brought the spade down, another spray of fish scales burst from Yuxuzi’s body.

The more he smashed, the more scales flew free. Before long, fish scales lay everywhere, building into a thick layer all around them.

Those scales kept growing from Yuxuzi’s body, automatically shifting to shield whatever place was being struck.

Kindly-faced Yuxuzi looked calm, his fists clenched tight, as though he were struggling against the other presence inside himself.

As long as the hateful face did not come out, there was no danger. Runsheng could smash away as much as he pleased.

At last, the scales stopped growing so quickly. What had once covered half his body began to shrink back.

After still more blows, the fish scales on Yuxuzi’s body dwindled until only a palm-sized patch remained.

Runsheng gripped the spade with both hands and smashed down with all his strength once more.

Bang!

The last patch of fish scales shattered completely, leaving Yuxuzi’s body clean and bare.

Crack!

And the Yellow River Spade in Runsheng’s hands could finally take no more, breaking cleanly into two pieces.

Runsheng staggered back. Muscles all over his body were spasming.

It was the first time he had beaten someone so hard that he himself was nearly too exhausted to stand.

Even with all sixteen qi seas in his body storing power for him, he had still reached the point where he could barely keep going.

There was no helping it. When fighting a person, there was normally give and take, or if one strike failed, you could wait for another opening. But this had been standing right in front of the other side and hitting him again and again without pause. Every blow had been full force, leaving no chance to breathe.

A thick carpet of fish scales covered the ground underfoot, and even the soles of his shoes slipped a little on them.

Runsheng could hardly imagine how difficult it would have been to beat that many fish scales off Yuxuzi if he had stayed hatred-faced the whole time... almost impossible, really.

Because hatred-faced Yuxuzi would have fought back.

Unless Li Zhuiyuan had stepped in to help him.

Runsheng glanced back and saw that Li Zhuiyuan was only now strolling over.

As Li Zhuiyuan walked, his shoes kept kicking up fish scales, as though he were walking on a winter road and casually brushing snow aside.

Kindly-faced Yuxuzi lay on the ground, weakly lifting both hands as he said,

”I never thought I would still have a day as clean as this.”

Li Zhuiyuan walked up to him, crouched down, and placed both hands on Yuxuzi’s shoulders.

”Daoist, you’ve worked hard.”

Yuxuzi looked at Li Zhuiyuan and said, ”It is all right. Disaster was averted. It just controlled me a moment ago.”

”Mm. Thank you for warning us in time, Daoist.”

Roar!

From the head of the village came the furious howl of the giant fish, thick with unwillingness, and that cry was growing nearer and nearer, as though it were racing this way from over there.

Yuxuzi turned his head toward the sound, and a relieved smile appeared on his face.

”This is my mission, and even more, my destiny. You should go. I will remain here and continue suppressing it. I will never let it have another chance to harm the human world.

”The method it taught you for leaving is real. Follow that ’stream’ and the markings on the stone slab, and you can leave this place. But you must not bring that lamp with you.”

”Daoist...”

”Go, quickly. If you do not leave now, it may arrive at any moment. You have cut off its hope of escaping this place. It is enraged. I will help you and hold it back.”

The scene was unspeakably tragic and moving.

Runsheng, Yin Meng, and Tan Wenbin were all affected.

It could be said that any normal person would find it hard not to be moved at a moment like this.

And yet at times like this, they all instinctively looked at Li Zhuiyuan first.

And from his face, they discovered a faintly amused smile.

The same thought rose in all three of them at once: Damn it, we got emotional too early.

”Daoist, I have already memorized everything on the stone slab. Do I still need to bring it?”

”You had better take it anyway. It is safer that way, less chance of anything going wrong.”

”But Daoist, it is too heavy. I do not want to carry it.”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The tremors inside the village were drawing closer and closer. That giant fish would appear very soon.

The muscles on Yuxuzi’s face also began twitching along with the tremors.

His gaze was gradually darkening, his expression slowly sinking.

It was not the hateful face, but it was no longer kind either.

”Young friend, what exactly are you talking about?”

”I’m saying...”

At Li Zhuiyuan’s hands, the space within sight suddenly began to twist violently.

If one were observing by Walking the shade, one would see two thick masses of Karmic fire rising from the boy’s hands.

And those hands had been resting on Yuxuzi’s shoulders the whole time.

The Karmic fire now began to leap from the boy’s hands and spread across Yuxuzi’s body.

”Ahhh!!!”

Yuxuzi let out a scream.

The last one to enjoy this sort of Karmic fire treatment had been Granny Yu.

And now Daoist Yuxuzi was enjoying it too.

The difference was that although Granny Yu had not fully revived at the time, her bones and flesh had still been extremely tough, forcing Li Zhuiyuan to cling to her back and burn her for quite a long time.

But Daoist Yuxuzi had just had every last scale beaten off him. It was like he had willingly turned himself into a shelled egg that had already been peeled, soft and exposed, delivered right into Li Zhuiyuan’s hands.

The Karmic fire could burn and rage across him without the slightest obstruction.

Yuxuzi cried out in agony, ”Why? Why? Why?!”

Li Zhuiyuan said, ”Should I thank you for thinking so highly of me? You even added an extra layer to the performance. What, did you guess I would not obediently walk in just like that?”

”Of course you would not. You only came in here for the thrill of it. You have no reverence for the Heavenly Dao, and by nature you are suspicious. You showed all of that yourself.

”So I knew that earlier, you would not obediently enter the way I told you to, because you were suspicious of me. From the start, you never truly believed me.”

”Daoist, is there not another possibility? That what you saw from me was also exactly what I wanted you to see?”

Under the blaze of the Karmic fire, Yuxuzi’s face turned hideously twisted. ”Why? It already came. How could you still not believe it? How could you still not run?”

In the first round of acting, Yuxuzi had felt things were not secure. He believed Li Zhuiyuan would not trust him.

So he added a second round for himself.

In that second round, he played an ”awakened” Daoist, battling the consciousness of the creature in a desperate struggle.

For that, he had not hesitated to sacrifice so many of the fish scales on his body, leaving himself badly weakened, all just to win back trust in the second round.

But whether Li Zhuiyuan trusted him or not was secondary. The main thing was the furious approach of the giant fish, which brought an overwhelming pressure from reality itself.

He had thought that no matter how suspicious the boy remained, panic would still set in, and then he would choose to believe and hurry to leave.

He had thought the whole design was ingenious. Yet the boy remained utterly unmoved, as though he had seen through every step from the start.

”Why? Why did it turn out like this?!”

Even more painful than the scorching Karmic fire was the dense, unbearable confusion in his heart.

He believed that perhaps in this world there truly were brilliant people who could see through all disguises, but the boy’s reaction seemed to say that he had not seen through it at all.

No matter how well Yuxuzi acted, no matter how exquisite his design, even if he had achieved utter perfection, in the boy’s eyes it was still as ridiculous as stripping naked and dancing around for all to see.

That was what Yuxuzi could not understand most. Why? On what grounds?

Li Zhuiyuan did not answer him. He simply continued releasing Karmic fire.

Clumps of white mist rose up. Filled with bitter hatred and bewilderment, Yuxuzi became more and more transparent, until at last he completely vanished.

Li Zhuiyuan patted his hands together, stood up, and closed his eyes, feeling slightly dizzy.

Tan Wenbin immediately pulled out a bottle of Jianlibao from his bag, snapped it open, and handed it over.

Li Zhuiyuan took it and gulped the whole thing down in one go.

Meanwhile, Runsheng picked up half of the broken Yellow River Spade and smashed it into the stone brick.

Bang!

The brick cracked open. Inside was another lamp, this one with a black flame.

Yin Meng said, ”If we had carried that stone slab out, then it really would have escaped, right? But those fish that appeared at the three households in Min’an Town, were they not released from here too?”

Li Zhuiyuan said, ”They were released from here. The formation here only targets it.”

Yin Meng asked, ”Then why did it not have those fish carry this lamp out for it?”

Li Zhuiyuan replied, ”Maybe because those fish could not resist the temptation of the Soul-banner. Those fish all had thoughts and ambitions of their own. They were not completely under its control, especially not in front of something like this.”

After all, those were fish with dreams and aspirations.

Runsheng asked, ”So just now, it really was lying there on purpose and letting me hit it as much as I wanted?”

Tan Wenbin cut in, ”Yes. Exactly. Treasure opponents like that. You will have a hard time meeting a second one in this lifetime.”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The tremors were growing closer.

The giant fish had come ashore from the river, crossed through the village, and now its form could already be seen.

It had not flopped its way up. It had swum its way here. Though it had left the water, the ground beneath it wherever it passed had become a swamp.

And those booming sounds were the vibrations from its tail sweeping back and forth.

When such a huge fish was in the water, the impression it gave was not quite so exaggerated. But once it had fully come ashore and stood before you, the sense of overwhelming threat and pressure became so thick it felt almost liquid.

Tan Wenbin tossed his own Yellow River Spade to Runsheng.

Then Runsheng gripped the spade and stepped in front of Li Zhuiyuan.

”Brother Runsheng?”

”Xiaoyuan, I can still open all my qi seas.”

Though he was exhausted, he still had his trump card left.

”Brother Binbin, there is a finished diagram in my backpack. Follow what is drawn on it and go set the Ritual Flags in the back.”

”Got it!”

Tan Wenbin immediately grabbed the bag and ran off.

For him, setting Ritual Flags according to a diagram was hardly a new task. Practice had made him quick, and he worked with the ease of a seasoned laborer mixing concrete.

What Li Zhuiyuan had told Tan Wenbin to set up was the formation for leaving.

The method Yuxuzi had mentioned earlier would indeed have worked too, but it required Li Zhuiyuan himself to lead the way, because Yin Meng and Runsheng could not use Walking the shade.

So from the standpoint of efficiency, it was much better to have Tan Wenbin set up one that everyone could pass through more simply.

That way, Li Zhuiyuan could stay and choose to kill this monster, while still preserving the option of leading everyone out quickly if things turned bad.

Taken to an even greater extreme, they could fight it for a while, leave at once, recover outside the formation, then come back in and fight it again. Since it could not leave the formation, they could wear it down over and over until it finally died from the attrition.

Yin Meng took a can of yellow peach from her backpack.

Except the can no longer contained peaches or syrup. Inside was only a thick, multicolored paste.

Runsheng glanced at it and asked, ”What is that?”

Yin Meng said, ”A dish I cooked myself. There was some left over from last time.”

As she spoke, she smeared the leftovers from the can onto the Demon-Suppressing Whip and reminded him:

”It is corrosive. When the fight starts, watch out.”

The last time, that fish that liked eating rats had exploded right in front of her, and the liquid it burst into had corroded the entire room into pits and holes.

At first, Yin Meng had assumed that kind of fish was naturally corrosive.

Later, after hearing how the fish on Tan Wenbin and Runsheng’s side had behaved when they died, she realized that it was not the fish that had been corrosive.

It was her cooking.

Boom, boom, boom!

The giant fish had arrived, stopping several dozen meters away from them.

Its condition was actually terrible. Back when it had still been in the water, it could hide it somewhat, but now that it was fully exposed, it was obvious that huge portions of its body were rotting, with fish bones showing through in some places.

Beneath one thin membrane, faint dark-red clusters could be seen, shaped almost like a honeycomb.

Yin Meng pointed over there and asked, ”Are those fish eggs?”

Runsheng answered, ”Probably.”

Those tiny fish, and the somewhat larger ones too, had all hatched from there.

Yin Meng said, ”After we kill the fish, I want to get some roe and cook with it.”

Runsheng said, ”Do not use the shop’s wok.”

Roar!

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