Upon seeing the three, Chen Hao's face paled, and he stammered, "Zhang Tong, they're Taoist priests. I think we should just go back!"
I glared at him and sternly said, "Call them Boss."
Chen Hao was extremely reluctant, but he still called out, and began to persuade me to give up.
If I hadn't anticipated his cowardice and assumed the role of boss ahead of time, instilling a sense of dependence and fear in him, he would have fled long ago.
The Corpse Suppression Drum must not be surrendered. Uncle Li and the people of Lijia Village are far more formidable than the three before us. This opportunity cannot be missed.
While Chen Hao was rambling, Liu Rou and the other two sneaked into the village and headed straight for Uncle Li's house.
Uncle Li's mother was in her seventies, her eyes were blurry, so Liu Rou and the others easily made their way in. I'd been to Uncle Li's house before and knew the Corpse Suppression Drum was hidden in a coffin.
The coffin was sealed with eighteen copper nails and covered with talismans to suppress corpses. Grandpa said it was likely holding a white-haired zombie. Uncle Li had been using corpse qi to nourish the drum. If the white-haired zombie's qi was completely absorbed, the drum would be incredibly powerful, forcing even a thousand-year-old zombie to surrender.
Liu Rou and the others sneaked inside, and soon after, roars emanated from Uncle Li's house. They had opened the coffin and provoked the white-haired zombie.
I quietly circled to the main entrance, hiding behind a pile of firewood, just in time to see the old zombie, covered in white hair, chasing Liu Rou and the others out. Its long fur obscured its face, making it look less intimidating. It roared like a mad beast.
The white-haired zombie's hair was impervious to fire and water, capable of withstanding ordinary swords and knives. It also possessed immense strength; if caught, it could tear a person in two with its bare hands.
Before coming here, I was pondering how to deal with it. I wanted to have Chen Hao distract it, but I was worried that wouldn't be reliable. Now, the old zombie has set its sights on Liu Rou, and she's in trouble. I saw the Corpse Suppression Drum being held by a young man, and I secretly rejoiced. If they got confused, I'd have a chance to snatch it, and I wouldn't have to worry about being pounced on by the White-Haired Zombie.
However, after leaving Uncle Li's house, Liu Rou saw the old zombie relentlessly pursuing her. She turned back and angrily said, "Look at you, pathetic creature! I wanted to spare your life, but if you don't know how to behave, don't blame me for being rude."
The zombie, being dumb, couldn't understand human language, and continued to pounce.
Just then, Liu Rou pulled out a purple talisman, muttered a few words, and threw it towards the White-Haired Zombie. The talisman struck the Zombie's forehead, sparking a burst of fire. His stiff body was sent flying backwards, landing on the ground, twitching and unable to stand.
I had been planning a sneak attack, but seeing this, I quickly stopped. Chen Hao, standing nearby, said fearfully, "See? Even the White-Haired Zombie couldn't handle it. If I were to encounter him, I'd be utterly annihilated."
The talisman's power was terrifying, but such a powerful talisman must be valuable, and Liu Rou wouldn't have too many on her. Her earlier plea for sympathy with the old zombie was just empty boasting.
I turned to Chen Hao and said, "Go build a ghost wall for them."
Chen Hao said with a bitter face, "Ghost walls are child's play. They might fool ordinary people, but they can easily defeat even a white-haired zombie. That's definitely not going to work."
This kid...
I encouraged him, saying, "You have the Yin Jade. Use the Yin energy within to build a ghost wall. They don't have the purple talisman, so they definitely can't break it."
After a long delay, Liu Rou and the others had already reached the mill. I whacked Chen Hao on the head several times, threatening him repeatedly, before he finally agreed to give it a try.
We chased after them, and once we caught up, Chen Hao floated past, circling the three of us. I was anxious. I wondered what this kid was holding back on. Liu Rou couldn't even see him anymore, and he wasn't going to take action?
Just as I was getting anxious, Liu Rou and the other two, seemingly lost, began circling along the main road, following Chen Hao.
So that's what a ghost wall is; no wonder some places call it a ghost circle.
But Liu Rou and the others were Taoists, and after a few circles, they realized something was amiss. They stopped to cast spells and burn several yellow talismans. However, Chen Hao used the Yin energy from the Yin Jade, which ordinary talismans couldn't break.
Seeing Liu Rou struggling with the purple talisman paper, I felt relieved and picked up a stone to move over. Seeing me approach, Chen Hao circled even faster, his Yin energy blinding him. I walked over, but Liu Rou and the others didn't notice me.
I didn't think of holding back. Fearing I wasn't strong enough, I summoned my Yang energy and, raising the stone, smashed it hard against the back of the boy holding the Corpse Suppression Drum's head.
The boy cried out, blood splattering from his head. He instinctively covered his head with his hands. I hurried to grab the Corpse Suppression Drum from his hand, but he couldn't hold it steady with one hand, and I snatched it from him.
After I succeeded, I turned and ran towards Shiao Mountain, calling out to Chen Hao to hold on a little longer.
But the boy saw me running and immediately followed me.
The ghost wall was gone. The boy whose head I had smashed saw me, covered his head, and shouted, "Senior Sister Liu, the Corpse Suppression Drum has been stolen."
As he shouted, Liu Rou was already chasing me, throwing two talismans at me.
I dodged the talismans and ran away at full speed.
Luckily, Liu Rou and the others were city dwellers and weren't used to the mountain roads, so they bumped into each other. Although they were bigger than me, they couldn't outrun me for a while.
As I ran, I felt a chill on my buttocks. I reached out and touched my pants, and the crotch was torn.
On the way up the mountain, the female corpse had dragged me down, and my pants were almost torn. Now, running, they were completely torn.
Unable to catch up, Liu Rou shone her flashlight at me. Seeing my butt, she flew into a rage, cursing, "Where did you come from, you little b*st*rd? You have no shame!"
I let her scold me until I reached the top of the hill, where I stopped. I gave the Corpse Suppression Drum to Chen Hao, asking him to take it back to Uncle Fu. Then, standing at the entrance to the Corpse Clan, I said to Liu Rou, "You have no shame! You're so young, yet you're chasing after men."
Liu Rou was furious and was about to come over and beat me up, but two young men, who had come after her, held her back and whispered, "Senior Sister, the Corpse Clan's territory is up ahead."
What are you afraid of? Liu Rou glared at them. "We don't dare go in, so how could he dare?"
I was so breathless from being chased, I was so angry that I wanted to curse them out, hoping I could lure them inside and freeze them. But just then, Uncle Li and a dozen other men arrived at the top of the hill.
Seeing Uncle Li approach, I pointed at Liu Rou and said, "Uncle Li, they stole your Corpse Suppression Drum."
Uncle Li's face was stern, and the Li family members following him immediately surrounded Liu Rou and the other two.
Seeing that Uncle Li had more men than her and that the Corpse-Suppressing Drum was no longer in her possession, Liu Rou hurriedly explained to Uncle Li, "Don't be fooled by him! We are disciples of Maoshan. This guy is just crying wolf! He's sent the Corpse-Suppressing Drum to Shi'ao Mountain."
Uncle Li's brows furrowed even deeper, but he didn't mention the Corpse-Suppressing Drum. Instead, he looked at me and urged me to follow him back.
I didn't answer him, but kept backing away until I reached a frost-covered area.
Uncle Li smiled thoughtfully. Turning back, he said to Liu Rou, "Let's not talk about the Corpse-Suppressing Drum first. I want to meet your elders."
Chen Hao also called Uncle Fu over. Seeing Uncle Fu, Uncle Li gestured for Liu Rou to come down the mountain and talk, as if he wasn't too keen on meeting him.
Liu Rou, sensing the hidden meaning in Uncle Li's words, glared at me fiercely, then followed Uncle Li down the mountain.
Uncle Li's expression as he left made me uneasy. Had he caught me feigning ignorance of his villainy and conspiring with Maoshan to harm me?
But thinking about it, I wasn't afraid. As long as I stayed in Shiao Mountain, my parents and grandfather wouldn't be in danger. The worst that could happen was that I wouldn't leave the mountain again.
Uncle Fu watched Uncle Li and the others leave without a word.
Back in the stone house, I found a rag and wrapped it around my hips. Uncle Fu dismantled the corpse-suppressing drum, found a stone pot, filled it with water, and boiled the cowhide.
Exhausted, I fished two pieces of meat from the copper pot, ate them, and fell asleep on the stone bed. When I woke the next day, the cowhide in the stone pot had been boiled into a paste. Uncle Fu placed the paste in a wooden bowl and told me to apply the paste to the female corpse.
Inside the bronze coffin, I nervously held the wooden bowl and a small brush, applying the cowhide paste to all the exposed skin of the female corpse. Since I couldn't brush under her clothes, I asked Uncle Fu what to do.
Uncle Fu turned his back, coughed twice, and said, "Undress." I don't have a gender identity, so I was about to do as I was told when the corpse's eyelids suddenly fluttered and a gurgling sound came from her throat. Uncle Fu hurriedly said, "Never mind," and carried me out.
Dinner was still meat. While I ate, I mentioned Uncle Li's intention to talk to Liu Rou's elders. I was worried they might join forces to take on Shi'ao Mountain.
Uncle Fu sighed and explained that Maoshan is a branch of the Maoshan Sect, divided into the Northern and Southern Maoshans. Their ancestors, Ge Hong and Tao Hongjing, once vowed to subdue all the corpses in the world, and thus fought the corpse clan for countless years until they retreated into obscurity. A few years ago, the Liu family came to power, and the Northern and Southern Maoshans merged, growing in power. They might be planning to attack the corpse clan again.
From what he said, Liu Rou stole the corpse-suppressing drum not to capture me, but simply to deal with the corpse clan. This made it even more likely that Uncle Li would join forces with Maoshan.
Uncle Fu and I were talking when Chen Hao suddenly called out from outside, calling for someone to come.
Uncle Fu and I left the stone house and saw a long-haired young man in a green Taoist robe, holding a gray oil-paper umbrella, walking in through the frost.
My brows furrowed slightly. Now that I had acquired Yang Yuan, my eyes could also detect the movement of Yin and Yang energies, and I realized that the Yin energy of Shiao Mountain was completely blocked out by the oil-paper umbrella.
The young man was handsome, in his early twenties, with elegant manners and a certain sage-like aura. Seeing Uncle Fu and me emerge, he stopped in the distance and said loudly, "I am Liu Qingfeng, a disciple of Maoshan. Nice to meet you, Senior."
Uncle Fu nodded and asked what he was doing here.
Liu Qingfeng pulled a note from his pocket, gestured with his finger on it, and the note fluttered towards me like a butterfly.
I reached out to take it, but Uncle Fu grabbed me. As he reached out, he concentrated a powerful Yang Yuan. The moment it touched the envelope, a crackling sound emanated, and a golden talisman materialized, shattered by the Yang Yuan.
Liu Qingfeng smiled casually, bowed, and turned to leave.
Back at the stone house, Uncle Fu opened the letter, his brow furrowing as he read it. It was an invitation to the Xuan Sect's once-a-decade gathering in three years.
Uncle Fu explained that during the heyday of the Yang Jing lineage, for some reason, the Xuan Sect would always invite the Yang Xiu lineage to their gatherings, but we hadn't received an invitation in nearly seventy years.
I was a little surprised. After all, the Yang Xiu lineage is a Corpse Clan, so how could they be recognized by the Xuan Sect?
When I asked him this question, Uncle Fu's face darkened. He simply said it was a Corpse Clan secret and refused to discuss it further. I didn't press the issue, but continued, "I had just stolen the Corpse Suppression Drum last night. Sending a letter less than a day later means there's something fishy going on. We absolutely must not go."
This… Uncle Fu looked at me with some trepidation. He wanted to use the Yang Cultivation lineage to contact the outside world and dissuade Maoshan from attacking the Corpse Clan.
But Maoshan had been fighting the Corpse Clan for countless years, so it wasn't a conflict that could be resolved with just one gathering. It made no difference whether I went or not.
Also, three years might seem like a long time, but I was only eleven at the time. Cultivating the Yang Meridian is not easy, and without the help of the female corpse, it was uncertain whether I would even be able to achieve enlightenment after three years.
Uncle Fu put away his uneasiness, smiled, put down the invitation, and said, "We'll discuss this later. Now, I have two things to tell you. First, since you and the young lady are husband and wife, you can't keep calling her the female corpse. You have to call her what the female corpse calls you."
I nodded guiltily and said perfunctorily, "Then I'll call her my wife from now on."
But in my heart, I thought, she is a female corpse. But what she calls me isn't the key. Once I've learned the skills, I can just sneak away.
Uncle Fu nodded with satisfaction and continued, "The second thing is, starting tomorrow, you will sleep in the young lady's coffin at night."