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The battle raged on for a day and a half. The slain zombies piled up like mountains; if they weren’t cleared soon, there would be no way to continue killing. Ye Yin released several waves of blazing fireballs, burning them all to ashes in one go. Soon, the area around the east gate was emptied, revealing a damp, muddy, blood-soaked ground.

The clearing would not last. New zombies would surge in from other directions to fill the gap, so they had to collect the crystal cores before that happened. Li Lei directed a group of ability users to sweep up the scattered sparkling crystals, grinning so widely he could barely contain himself. Looking down from above, the zombie horde had thinned significantly; in some places, you could see right through to the end. Clearly, their efforts were paying off.

“Let me see your sword,” Master Yuan strode up to Ye Yin, his voice gruff and commanding.

Ye Yin quickly handed him her sword. Master Yuan took the Heavenly Punishment Sword with great care, studying it closely for a while, then drew the blade and examined it for an even longer time.

“Have you ever experienced berserker episodes?” he asked.

“Berserker...?”

“Becoming irritable, angry, bloodthirsty and cold, craving to tear prey apart like a fiend,” Master Yuan explained. “In severe cases, you relish the act of ripping things apart, like a demon.”

Ye Yin paused, then admitted honestly, “Yes, Master, how did you know?”

Master Yuan sneered, “The Heavenly Punishment Sword is an ancient divine weapon. Its original owner was the Demon Empress Zhu Ju, a notorious female tyrant. She and her sword alone dared to annihilate the Four Directions and Eight Wastelands, charging straight into the Upper Heaven. If she hadn’t been sealed and turned to wind by the ancestor of the Witch Clan, perhaps the Four Divine Thrones would have been hers. After she died, this sword disappeared, coveted by all sorts of evil beings. Now, somehow, it’s ended up in the hands of a little girl like you. Damn it…”

Ye Yin coughed and darted her gaze about, but said nothing.

“No need to be so tense,” Master Yuan said. “I cultivate the Fallen Saint Body, so I have no interest in your cursed sword. But, I was instructed to keep an eye on you, so I must warn you: this sword’s malignant energy is heavy and can easily turn against its wielder. You’d best find a proper cultivator to help you dispel it.”

Master Yuan’s words were full of implications; Ye Yin was stunned. “Who… who told you to look after me? And you…”

Master Yuan looked gloomy. “Ask yourself. I don’t know either.” With that, he turned and left without a backward glance.

Night fell. Blazing torches flared atop the eastern wall of the second base, illuminating parts of the area, though many corners remained unclear. Ye Yin’s task became heavier; not only did she have to eliminate high-level zombies, but she also had to deal with mid- and low-level zombies sneaking up on her teammates under cover of darkness.

The little Loach finally made his formal debut. He opened his mouth wide, as if shouting with great force, but in truth no sound emerged at all. After a while of “shouting,” he whispered with Bao Cai, who immediately barked out new orders. Under his command, everyone launched coordinated attacks, hitting their targets with precision.

“Little Loach is a ‘Sound’ ability user,” Li Lei explained, seeing Ye Yin’s confusion. “This ability is rare, generally considered useless and not valued. But the boss discovered his talent for combat and reconnaissance, rescued him from the big iron pot in the refugee camp, and brought him here.”

Ye Yin nodded, glancing at Little Loach.

At two in the morning, the paper crane Ye Yin had released earlier quietly returned, landing on her shoulder and cooing softly. She listened carefully for a while, then tucked the crane back into her sleeve, pretending nothing had happened.

“Hurry, hurry, someone’s injured!”

“Boss, there’s an ambush over there!”

“What’s going on?!”

Chaos erupted. Harrowing screams came from several directions down the slope, as if several high-level zombies were attacking at once.

Li Lei instinctively looked at Ye Yin, but she remained unmoving, seemingly with no intention of leaving the tower.

“Help! Help! Ahhhhh!”

“Ye, Ye…” Li Lei couldn’t hold back any longer.

“It’s fine. No need to go,” Ye Yin replied.

The top seat had absolute autonomy; even Li Lei had no authority to command Ye Yin to rescue anyone. He could only send people to investigate the source of the screams.

“Bad news, boss! Most of our brothers are dead!” The scout returned terrified, reporting, “All torn to pieces, scattered everywhere!”

Li Lei nearly fainted. Just as he was about to rush over, Ye Yin stabbed the messenger dead with her sword. Li Lei’s face changed dramatically, about to reprimand her, when he blinked—and realized the body on the ground was actually a zombie!

“It’s all an illusion. Tell everyone to hold the line. I’ll be back soon,” Ye Yin said, and in a flash, she vanished.

Flowers bloom on South Mountain, and fall again to South Mountain,

The north wind blows, flowers fly from North Mountain to South,

Flowers bloom and fade, leave the mountain with the wind,

Why hasn’t that person returned…

…

At the foot of the mountain city where the second base once stood lived many indigenous people. They dwelled in bamboo huts, ate rice and fish, and were skilled singers of rustic songs, warm and open-hearted. This song was sung by a young woman in the local dialect. Ye Yin couldn’t understand it fully, but the sorrowful longing was clear enough.

Flowers bloom on South Mountain, and fall again to South Mountain…

…

The singing drifted through the forest, now near, now far, as if coming from the horizon. Following the song, Ye Yin hacked through the undergrowth to the mouth of a cave beneath a cliff, watching the dark opening like a wild beast, not daring to act rashly.

The song abruptly ceased.

Ye Yin gripped the Heavenly Punishment Sword, its tip pointed into the cave, tension mounting.

“Is someone outside?” A woman’s voice came from within, anxious and trembling.

Ye Yin did not answer.

“There must be someone, right?” The woman sounded desperate. “Please help me! My name is Yunma. I’m not a ghost or a demon, just a local villager. Go ask if you don’t believe me. I was locked in this cave for four or five years for fleeing a marriage, and I haven’t been able to get out.”

“Four or five years? How didn’t you starve?”

“There’s a patch of wild berries that fruit all year round, a spring for water, and I scrape moss off the walls to eat. Sometimes little fish and shrimp get in the water. That’s how I survived. If I wasn’t chained by the leg, I’d have crawled out long ago.”

“Why didn’t you ask outsiders for help before?”

“This place is dangerous and far from the base. Hardly anyone comes by. A few months ago, I finally heard someone pass by and called out, but he ran off in fright.”

Ye Yin seemed reassured. “You’re really not a zombie?”

“What kind of zombie! Have you ever seen a zombie that talks and sings? My leg is really chained, the iron has grown into the flesh. If you don’t believe me, bring a torch and see for yourself.”

Half skeptical, Ye Yin took out a torch made of oil branches, lit it with her power, and carefully stepped into the cave.

The cave was shallow; a few steps in, she saw Yunma. Yunma wore brightly colored but filthy woven clothes, her hair tangled like weeds, her face pale, and her foot chained to a natural stone pillar.

“See? I didn’t lie to you. Help me open the chain.”

Ye Yin squinted and smiled, not approaching, but wandering around the cave. “Nice place. Warm in winter, cool in summer. Better than outside.”

“Try living here four or five years! You’d die of boredom,” Yunma squirmed. “Stop wandering. Find something to break the chain.”

Ye Yin ignored her. She walked to a large wooden chest in the corner, about to open it, when Yunma cried out in panic, “Don’t touch that! It’s full of poisonous snakes and scorpions, meant to harm me.”

“What’s there to fear? They’re all dead by now,” Ye Yin replied, unconcerned. But as her hand neared the lid, the chest suddenly flipped open by itself. A black claw pierced her chest, and another hand snapped her neck.

Ye Yin fell straight down, blood spilling from her lips, eyes wide in death.

Yunma stared in shock, then cursed angrily, “Are you crazy! I told you not to wander, but you wouldn’t listen, forgot what happened last time?”

Her answer was not a human voice but a low growl, filled with agitation.

Yunma’s anger turned to delight. “Alright, alright, I’m not mad at you. Are you hungry? I’ll carve her up for you to eat.”

She stood easily, kicked off the chains, and they fell away. She fetched a blood-stained hatchet from behind the chest, sharpened it on a stone, then dragged Ye Yin’s body over and began to chop it up, muttering to the thing inside the chest.

“That old man was up to no good, wanted to take advantage, got his head chopped off by me, deserved it! That young guy was tough, but in the end couldn’t beat you. My brother is the strongest. Don’t worry, I’ll feed you a few more people and you can walk out by yourself. When you do, take me out for a stroll. It’s boring alone.”

The thing in the chest grew more violent, as if about to break free. Yunma sensed something was wrong, left the half-cut corpse, and bent to look inside the chest. “What’s with all the fuss!”

No matter her threats or soothing words, her brother kept thrashing. She frowned, reached in, and pulled out the contents, setting them neatly on the ground.

It was a pile of severely rotted corpses.

Not just one, but a heap. Heads, limbs, and torsos all separated, connected only by suspicious red threads, barely forming a humanoid shape.

The corpses’ eyeballs rolled around, lips parted to reveal fangs.

“What do you want to say?” Yunma looked at her lover with frustration. “Sigh, still can’t speak—when will you succeed?”

“Roar… roar… Yun… Yunma…”

“Hm?” Yunma absent-mindedly replied, thinking about how to chop Ye Yin’s spine. This woman’s body was unusually tough; she’d been hacking for ages, nearly ruined the hatchet.

Suddenly, she came to her senses, and the hatchet clattered to the ground…