Thirty

To the surprise of the Taoist priests and priestesses, the townspeople displayed neither anger nor panic; their faces were blank, just as they had been when Ye Yin acted against convention. The disciples of the Light Cloud Sect were unnerved by this, but Ye Yin understood perfectly: these people were animated by their dead souls, and in truth, they were merely going through the motions of their former lives, little more than advanced puppets. The only difference was that the soul fragment inside was their own, making the union of spirit and flesh flawless and nearly indistinguishable from the living to the untrained eye. From a technical perspective, this flower-grafting style of puppet was quite impressive, with only a few minor details needing refinement.

The leader among the five was a crew-cut young man named You Yu. Though he called himself an outstanding disciple, in the expert-filled ranks of the Light Cloud Sect, they were little more than small fry, and so were ignorant of certain secrets of the cultivation world—such as the identity of the Camellia Matron.

The sect had partnered with the government, and the masters of its twelve mountain peaks had all been assigned to the Third Base to work alongside the military in administration. You Yu was a minor head among the new disciples of the main peak, leading a few juniors to the farm to negotiate grain supplies, when they unexpectedly learned that the farm owner had left alone to save Zhuo Chenglan.

Had it been an ordinary officer begging for help, they might not have bothered, but Zhuo Chenglan was different. He was the eldest son of the First Military District’s Commander, and rumor had it that the First District had already formed an alliance with the Association of Espers. Not only had they escaped their predicament, but their power was growing day by day, making the Third District—who managed the Third Base—quite wary.

Setting aside the undercurrents between military districts, now was the time for unity against the zombies; no one dared to risk infighting and become humanity’s enemy, so a façade of peace had to be maintained. The man who once deliberately targeted the Zhuo brothers had mysteriously “died of illness” after the founding of the First District, and his faction had also met a string of unexplained demises. Those in the know understood this was Commander Mu’s way of giving an account to Commander Zhuo and ensuring cooperation between the districts.

Whether or not Zhuo Chenglan would remain at the Third Base, the Light Cloud Sect was, in name, a government partner, not aligned to any one military district, and so the sect leader treated all equally. Naturally, they had to give Zhuo Chenglan some face. More importantly, the culprit was just an old woman skilled in curses—a practitioner of unorthodox arts. How could upright cultivators like themselves not defeat her?

“Did a young woman come here yesterday? Hand her over along with your leader, and we of the Light Cloud Sect will spare your lives. Otherwise, we’ll destroy your souls and leave you to eternal damnation!” You Yu shouted menacingly. “I’ll count to three—keep playing dumb and you’ll regret it!”

Seeing them draw peachwood swords and thunder talismans, Ye Yin grew anxious. These hot-headed youths had no idea about the properties of the Corpse Chain Formation! Could it be that they really were just here to vanquish evil and save people, and not to covet the Camellia Matron’s treasures?

No matter their motives, since they had come to save her, Ye Yin couldn’t let them die in vain under her thunder talismans. She quickly muttered a spell under her breath.

“You won’t learn your lesson without a show of force!” You Yu, angered by the townspeople’s continued stupor, raised his peachwood sword, dabbed a talisman to its tip, and shouted, “Thunder, strike!”

Nothing happened.

You Yu was stunned and tried again, but still, there was no response.

Ye Yin had cast a warding spell that severed the connection between the five and the earth beneath their feet. Low-level spells required the body as the base, the earth as foundation, and ambient spiritual energy as catalyst; break any link and the spell failed to work.

The five became flustered, each trying their best techniques, but to no avail. As mere novices in the Qi Refining stage, they knew only the simplest of talismans and were otherwise no different from ordinary people—unable to deflect blades or fly on the wind. They were soon captured by the townsfolk and locked in the so-called mayor’s office.

Before they were pushed inside, Ye Yin had already transformed back into the burly man, sitting on the floor and sighing.

“Brother, were you caught too?” You Yu, noticing someone inside, took the initiative to ask.

“Of course! They tricked me, saying the mayor wanted to see me, but I haven’t seen a soul. What are they up to?”

“They want to eat us…” a woman said, pale-faced and trembling. “I never thought this town could even block spells… We need to launch the signal flare and call the sect for help!”

“Yes, yes, how did we not think of that? Hurry, or we’ll be eaten!”

Before Ye Yin could stop them, You Yu had already slipped something through a crack in the window. A streak of brilliant light shot into the sky, trailing a long tail. After it was launched, the group visibly relaxed. “It’s all right now—someone will come to rescue us within half an hour.”

Ye Yin wore a look of joy but inwardly raged: What if someone powerful shows up and snatches Camellia Matron’s treasures?

“This flare… it’s just like the little firecrackers we have back home. Is it really that effective?”

You Yu glanced at Ye Yin haughtily. “You don’t understand. This flare is specially made by the Light Cloud Sect; its sound carries for miles, setting off the sect’s warning bells. Whenever someone launches one, the sect will immediately send help.”

“Heh, that’s reassuring then.”

“Wait…” another woman suddenly asked, her teeth chattering, “Senior Brother, when did you receive that flare?”

“When I was promoted!” You Yu replied, rather smug. “Uncle He from the main peak gave it to me personally.”

“That was over a year ago, wasn’t it…” The woman’s face was one of despair. “Didn’t the masters say the flares must be replaced every year or they’ll spoil and fail to work…”

You Yu’s face went ashen. “Damn, I actually forgot! Do any of you have one?”

“We haven’t been promoted yet; we’re not qualified to use them…”

A dead silence fell. Ye Yin breathed a sigh of relief. “Don’t lose hope. Let’s think about how to escape.”

“Escape? We’re doomed,” You Yu slumped to the floor, the others similarly resigned.

Ye Yin quietly wiped sweat from her brow. No wonder cultivators were dwindling and true talents were rare—look at what kind of recruits they were getting! Both physically and mentally weak; it was embarrassing.

Night fell unnoticed. Ye Yin saw people approaching outside with torches and felt a surge of excitement: finally, the real player was showing up!

The dead need no light; only the Camellia Matron would order torches lit.

The door opened to reveal an unfamiliar tall, middle-aged woman, trailed by a horde of followers in gruesome, bloody states, their deaths miserable to behold. The sight made the five Taoists faint from terror, wetting themselves.

For some reason, Ye Yin instinctively knew this was the real Camellia Matron. Without hesitation, she unleashed a Heavenly Fire Wheel. The woman, unprepared for magic, was caught off guard; most of her body was scorched as she screamed and vanished into the corpse horde. Suddenly, the corpses went berserk, surging forward with various weapons, packed together and intent on killing Ye Yin!

Ye Yin knew this wasn’t over. If the Camellia Matron had truly burned to death, her minions outside would drop as well. The master must die for the corpse chain to break.

She darted out and sprinted toward the town square, the entire town’s corpses in pursuit—some losing eyeballs or limbs as they ran, the scene utterly grotesque. Had she not grown numb from zombie-slaying, Ye Yin might have lost control like the Taoists.

Reaching the small square, Ye Yin turned a corner and transformed into a moth, circling high above to shake off her pursuers, counting the aimless corpses below as she flew. Earlier, when You Yu and the others arrived, Ye Yin had marked every townsfolk with a talisman. Now, paired with her main charm, not a single one was missing.

She had gravely wounded the Camellia Matron moments ago, and the latter must now have seized another body, hiding among the corpses to recover. This was the perfect moment to strike. The question was, among so many disgusting corpses, which was the one still breathing?

Ye Yin suddenly recalled a movie she’d seen, where the hero was forced to pick out his lover from a crowd of brides. Her situation was similar—no, worse. At least the hero faced a bevy of beautiful women, and his beloved was a stunning beauty; she, on the other hand, was about to comb through a pile of corpses for an old crone… Was this some hardcore version of “find the difference”?

It was a gamble: guess wrong, and the Heavenly Fire Wheel would roast her alive—not even needing a barbecue first.

Ye Yin’s mind was in turmoil. If she acted, her chances were one in several thousand; if she hesitated, once the Camellia Matron adjusted to her new body, even if Ye Yin found her, it might no longer be possible to kill her so easily.

Her original plan had been meticulous. The novel said the Camellia Matron was highly suspicious and would never leave the array; she didn’t eat human flesh and feared lightning. Ye Yin also recalled from a secret manual that the creatures fed within the evil formation, once ordered to consume human flesh, could not be restrained by eight oxen. Her plan had been to infiltrate the town, observe, and, once ready, feed a batch of fake bodies to the corpse ghouls and then strike with lightning at the one left standing. Even if the Matron tried to escape by seizing another body, she’d instinctively avoid eating flesh—making her stand out for a lightning strike.

But plans never keep up with changes. With the Light Cloud Sect’s sudden arrival, Ye Yin couldn’t just let them become food and had to act first, alerting the enemy.

Now, Camellia Matron would never give the order to eat. Even if Ye Yin threw out a hundred tempting “meat” decoys, none of the corpses would dare act, though they might drool.

Ye Yin closed her eyes, her mind flashing through every corpse’s death and features like a spinning lantern… Suddenly, her eyes flew open and she nearly gasped aloud.

She had overlooked something!