Chapter 23: The Living Dead

Seeing me head toward the underside of the bridge without a second thought, the old beggar hopped around in a frenzy of anxiety.

"Young man, don't go there! That filthy thing is vicious; you’ll end up being snatched as a scapegoat!"

"Young man! Hey! Young man! Why won't you listen to reason?"

I chuckled, thinking to myself that the old beggar was quite the soft-hearted soul. Unfortunately, he had no idea that I was far from an ordinary person. My entire profession was built on dealing with these filthy things.

I strode beneath the bridge and spotted a figure lying on a sheet of cardboard in the distance. This cardboard was likely the old beggar's home, before Director Song had snatched it away, occupying the nest like a cuckoo and claiming the beggar's bed for herself. At this moment, Director Song lay face-down, perfectly still and quiet. Even as I approached, she showed no reaction.

"Strange. Could it be that this living corpse lost its utility after hexing my wife and was simply discarded?" I muttered to myself. "Why is there no response?"

Walking up close, I reached out and flipped Director Song’s remains over to face me. The body was ice-cold and rigid, eyes shut tight, expression serene and motionless. I couldn't help but exhale in relief. "The tricks on her must have worn off. It seems she was abandoned after being used and has reverted to a common corpse. This makes things easier; I can just take her back to the teahouse and complete the job."

With that, I straightened her arms and legs, rolled her up in the cardboard, hoisted her onto my shoulder, and prepared to head home. But the very moment I lifted her, a chill of icy wind brushed against my neck. Having lived in a potter's field for years, I was all too familiar with this particular draft.

I whipped my head around, and at that exact moment, I saw Director Song on my shoulder snap her eyes open! They were blood-red, as if she had been pulling all-nighters for days on end.

A corpse opening its eyes—a vengeful spirit rising from the dead! It seemed the tricks on Director Song were still active; everything before had been a mere ruse to ambush me.

"Agh!"

Director Song, eyes wide open, suddenly bared her blood-stained maw and lunged at my neck with a roar. Fortunately, my reflexes were sharp; I backhanded her across the face.

"Playing tricks and acting like a ghost? You’re asking for a beating!"

That slap sent Director Song flying off my shoulder and onto the ground with a thud, leaving her dazed and confused. But the living corpse wasn't giving up; she struggled to crawl out of the cardboard, stood up, and pounced at me again.

This creature was, after all, a reanimated corpse, and at first glance, it was indeed terrifying. But while she might scare others, she couldn't scare me. I grew up sleeping in coffins in the potter's field; dealing with corpses was my daily bread. I had worn clothes stripped from the dead since I was a child—how could I possibly be afraid of them?

"Little thing, who do you think you're scaring? Come here and be a punching bag for your Granddaddy Mazi!"

I sneered and kicked her hard in the chest. With a bang, she was sent flying backward, kneeling as she hit the ground, and with a wet gag, she spat out a mass of sticky, white, writhing things. I looked down and nearly retched. The mass consisted of countless tiny white snakes—the exact same ones found in my wife’s eye patch!

A thought struck me, and I realized the truth. "So that's how it is! Someone is controlling these snakes to parasitize Director Song’s corpse, manipulating her through the snakes to turn her into a mobile, living corpse!"

Suddenly, a cold voice echoed from behind me: "Hehe, Lin Mazi, you are indeed quite clever. It's a pity you're too arrogant and overestimate your abilities; you've provoked someone you never should have crossed!"

The voice sounded familiar. I turned around and froze. Standing behind me, holding a black wooden staff, was none other than the old beggar who had just warned me not to come here. He stood there, watching me with a pair of murky, malicious eyes.

"It was you?"

I had to admit, I was stunned. I never expected the kindly old beggar who warned me on the roadside to be the mastermind behind the living corpse. His acting was impeccable! As I pondered further, could he be the very person who blinded Gu Qianxi all those years ago?

"Seventeen years ago, was it you who blinded my wife?" I asked, my voice dropping low.

The old beggar chuckled, his expression turning twisted and cruel. "I advise you not to ask what you shouldn't, unless you want to invite disaster upon yourself!"

I sneered. "A joke. Do you think I, Lin Mazi, fear disaster? I am disaster itself! Old beggar, I advise you to confess honestly, or you will die a miserable death tonight!"

A cruel smile remained on the old beggar's face as he said with disdain, "Lin Mazi, you may be young, but your tongue is sharp. It isn't necessarily me who will die a miserable death tonight!"

With that, he raised his wooden staff and struck the ground three times with a rhythmic *tap-tap-tap*. As the staff hit the earth, I watched as the mass of snakes Director Song had spat out began to writhe as if receiving a command. They crawled along her hands, arms, shoulders, and neck, reaching her lips... and then, through her slightly parted mouth, they burrowed back into her body!

The sight was as revolting as it gets. Once the snakes were back inside, she came to life once more. Slowly rising from the ground, she glared at me with those crimson eyes and hissed, "Lin Mazi, you’re courting death!"

She pounced at me again, heedless of anything else. But these little snakes could only control her; even if she could move, she was still just a common corpse without any true cultivation. She posed no threat to me.

"Old beggar, you don't think you can handle me with just one living corpse, do you? You’re underestimating me far too much!"

I sneered and easily kicked Director Song aside with a whip kick. To my surprise, the old beggar just smiled with absolute confidence, his tone icy. "Little Mazi, that female corpse is just an appetizer; the main course is yet to come. Why the rush? Dishes should be served one by one, shouldn't they?"

As he spoke, he began to tap the ground with his wooden staff in a strange, rhythmic pattern, producing a peculiar sound...