Uncle Fu saw me looking at him warily, handed me the collar, and said, "Look for yourself."
I turned the collar over and over, but found nothing wrong. It was a beautifully crafted longevity collar. After Uncle Fu left, I called Chen Hao over, put it on him, and then took it off.
He didn't cry out in pain. It took me two tries before I finally got the collar on my neck. Chen Hao transformed into a gust of cold wind, clinging to the collar, and instantly lost all his breath.
I tried to take it off and put it on again, and after several attempts without any problems, I finally put it on with confidence. I turned back to sort the items in the bronze coffin and said to the corpse, "Wife, I may have to go down the mountain tomorrow. Remember to think of me."
As I spoke, I took a jade pendant and took it in my hand. I glanced at her, then slowly closed the coffin.
Before leaving, I wanted to go back to the village. I didn't dare show up during the day, so I could only sneak back with Chen Hao at night.
The house was overgrown with weeds, a desolate place that made me sad.
Chen Hao went to Wu Laogou's house and visited his parents again.
Separated by the Yin and Yang, he didn't show up to meet us, only observing from afar.
In the early morning, we quietly left the village and returned to Shi'ao Mountain. Passing a wasteland on the way, a pile of weeds by the roadside suddenly moved, as if something was hidden inside.
Thinking it was a rabbit, I quickly crouched down to catch it, but just after taking two steps forward, the weeds and dirt suddenly exploded, and a rotting corpse jumped out.
If I hadn't lived in Shi'ao Mountain for three years, I would have been terrified. I took a few steps back and recognized it as Liu Degui!
I thought he had been killed by the people from Lijia Village that night, but I didn't expect him to escape.
The moonlight was bleak, and on his muddy face, his eyes had long since rotted away, scabbed over with scabs.
His clothes were a glistening black, tattered and unable to conceal his decaying body. Bones were exposed in places, and a sinister aura emanated from the filth as he stood erect.
I noticed a crack between his eyebrows, revealing a vertical eye.
The center of the eyebrows is where the spiritual orifice is located. According to legend, those with spiritual wisdom can open this eye and discern good from evil, truth from falsehood. But Liu Degui was dead, unable to possess spiritual energy. Moreover, his vertical eye was cloudy, a whitish black tinge, filled with sinister resentment.
Zombies are inert but not rotten, but Liu Degui, despite being rotten, could still move like a zombie.
Hiss! I gasped. Was it a resentful corpse, or was it one with a resentful eye?
Both resentment and spiritual energy can converge into the spiritual orifice, but to be able to open the vertical eye, how much resentment must he possess?
Liu Degui didn't pounce immediately. Instead, he squinted at me with resentful eyes, exhaled, and mumbled, "I hate you."
I don't know how Uncle Li tricked him into stealing the female corpse, but he couldn't hate me. As I retreated, I quietly pulled a Tianyang Talisman from my pocket and held it in my hand, saying, "I wasn't the one who harmed you, why are you blocking my way?"
Chen Hao hid behind me, his voice shrouded in the chilling wind, saying, "Boss, he hates Grandpa Wu and is here to find me."
I quickly jumped away when I heard that. Liu Degui leaped, a foul stench filling my nostrils. As expected, he lunged straight for Chen Hao.
I'll give you a talisman! I turned and swung the Tianyang Talisman at Liu Degui's forehead. As it flew close, it crackled and burst into flames, transforming into five wrist-thick bolts of lightning that fell down. Liu Degui was struck by the lightning, his entire body smoking and he paused for a moment.
But as the saying goes, much thunder, little rain. Liu Degui was filled with Yin energy, and the Tianyang Talisman, which destroys Yang, couldn't hurt him.
Seeing it was ineffective, I turned and ran, not caring about Chen Hao. He was a ghost, and he could escape faster than I could. Waiting for him would be courting death. Liu Degui, enraged by my talisman, roared again, "I hate you." He lunged at me quickly, the Longevity Circle trembling. Chen Hao ducked inside, refusing to help.
I emptied my pockets and threw all five Tianyang Talismans out. Thunder roared through the mountain. Liu Degui, smoldering, continued to pursue me.
The Corpse Tribe is hopelessly poor, unable to even wield a proper weapon. If only I had something, I wouldn't be in such a mess. Muttering to myself, I turned back as I ran, not paying attention to what was ahead, and bumped headfirst into something.
At first I thought I'd hit a tree, but soon realized it was soft. Looking up, I saw the female corpse, standing stiffly at the intersection.
Wife! Are you up?
I was a little surprised. She hadn't left the bronze coffin in three years. I'd assumed she'd stay there forever, never to come out. I hid behind her, and Liu Degui caught up.
I was about to have the female corpse deal with him, but before I could say anything, Liu Degui collapsed to his knees and kowtowed repeatedly.
The female corpse stood speechless, unable to speak.
Liu Degui turned to me again and continued to kowtow.
I was puzzled. If he was simply frightened, he should have run away. Why was he kowtowed? Just as I was confused, Chen Hao said through his collar, "Boss, a ghost laughs with resentment, a corpse kneels with a request. He has something to ask of you!"
Revenge him? That's impossible. There are over a hundred people in Lijia Village, and their spit could drown me.
My gaze returned to Liu Degui. He hadn't turned to bones in three years because he'd been hiding near Shi'ao Mountain. But the yin energy here is not as strong as on the mountaintop. In two years, he would have rotted to bones. Did he want me to let him into Shi'ao Mountain?
I tried to ask, "Do you want to go to Shi'ao Mountain?"
Liu Degui stopped kowtowing and nodded repeatedly. The flesh on his neck was half rotten, and his head looked like it would fall off at any moment. It was a bit scary. I hurriedly said, "Okay, okay, it's okay for you to go, but your enemy is Li Shengnong, understand? Wu Laogou has nothing to do with this. Don't bother Chen Hao again."
Resentment has a certain intelligence, and Liu Degui nodded repeatedly.
I looked at the corpse and asked tentatively, "Wife, should we let him go to the mountains?"
I was afraid she wouldn't agree, after all, she was the master of Shiao Mountain. Then I said, "Resentful corpses are rare. He has absorbed the Yin Qi and his body has not decayed. He would be a good guardian for our family in the future."
The corpse's throat gurgled, but once you get used to it, it wasn't so scary. Even if it was just that sound, it was actually quite pleasant. If she spoke, it would definitely sound very nice.
After a while of gurgling, she suddenly uttered a muffled "hmm." Although it was unclear, it still startled me. Is she going to speak?
Zombies speaking human language, then...
I shuddered, but I was still quite excited. Every night before bed, she would gurgle for about half an hour, a real chatterbox. If she could talk, I could chat with her.
With the corpse's consent, I let Liu Degui follow, but not too close; the stench of decay was truly unbearable.
The corpse kept her eyes closed, and I held her hand the entire way, worried she wouldn't see.
In the mountains, Liu Degui found a stone pit and lay down. Seeing his trembling, I wasn't worried he'd cause trouble. Surrounded by zombies with centuries of cultivation, he couldn't cause any trouble.
I led the corpse back to the bronze coffin. Once inside, she didn't let go, clinging tightly to me.
I knew she was worried I'd be in danger, so after a moment's thought, I said, "Don't worry, I'll take care of myself, and I'll be back with you in a few days."
I said it, but I didn't really mean it. A human and a corpse couldn't possibly be husband and wife. With all the wonderful world out there, who would be willing to stay here forever?
The female corpse chuckled for a long time, finally managing to utter a muffled "hmm" with difficulty. She took a hairpin from her hair and handed it to me.
I took it. She closed her eyes, a faint smile on her face, like a happy young wife.
Seeing her expression, I hesitated. For three years, I'd gotten used to having her around, used to calling her "wife" all the time.
Am I really going to leave and never come back?
Perhaps I'm too young to understand what love is, but my heart was in turmoil. I hurriedly took the hairpin, broke free from her hand, and ran to the riverside for some quiet time, but my heart grew increasingly confused.
Chen Hao emerged from his immortality collar and asked, "Boss, are we really not coming back?"
I didn't know, so I didn't answer.
I sat for a long time, until dark. I still had no answer, so I simply gave up thinking about it.
Uncle Fu went out yesterday and hasn't returned since. I went back to the stone house to drink some soup. He returned around midnight, saying he'd be leaving at 4:00 AM and that Liu Qingfeng would send a car to pick him up. It would be safer to follow them on the way.
I grumbled, intending to stay in the stone house until midnight. But when I saw the bronze coffin was still open, I knew she was waiting for me, so I finally returned to the coffin.
The corpse's throat kept gurgling all night, and she kept saying a lot to me, but I couldn't understand what she was saying.
Towards dawn, Uncle Fu called out to me. The corpse's eyelids fluttered, as if she wanted to open them, but she didn't.
I crawled over to the side of the coffin and sat down. My heart was pounding, so I returned to the coffin, kissed her on the cheek, and then left.
Uncle Fu led me over the back mountain. At dawn, we came upon a road with two cars parked on the side. Liu Qingfeng was waiting eagerly, and he greeted us from afar.
But just as I got out, a stuttering voice came from another car. "Master, Master, Master, Senior Sister, yes, yes, yes..."
I couldn't recognize the stutterer, but Liu Rou's voice was. She interrupted him and said coldly, "I know, he's the one who hit you."
Liu Rou and the others were in the other car; they only heard the voice but didn't see the person. Three years had passed, and they were all eighteen or nineteen years old, so they must have changed a lot.
After getting in the car, Uncle Fu whispered worriedly, "The boy you injured three years ago has a sequelae: a stutter. Be careful of their revenge this time."
My brows furrowed. I hadn't intended to hurt him back then. I just thought I was young and wouldn't hurt without the Yang Yuan.
But the feud was already established, and nothing I said would help.