Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Liu Xiong’s face was contorted, his entire body rigid. His fingers were splayed wide, arms thrusting outward as he faced the sky and let out one blood-curdling howl after another. It was a hair-raising sound.

Catching a glimpse of the black energy flickering across his neck, I realized what was happening: the corpse poison was flaring up.

Back at the cemetery, Liu Xiong had been clawed by his father. His shoulder had been shredded by fingernails; his injury was the most severe, and he had absorbed the most toxins.

Once corpse poison takes hold, the victim becomes like a werewolf every night, howling and feeling an uncontrollable urge to bite things as their teeth begin to itch. The body grows stiffer by the day. After forty-nine days, the toxins reach the heart, and the process of zombification becomes complete. At that point, not even the Great Golden Immortals could save them.

Counting the days since our return from Hong Kong, this was already the eighth day. Time was running out.

“What the hell? Is this guy having an epileptic fit or something?”

Xiao Hou, startled, delivered a sharp kick to Liu Xiong’s backside. Boss Hou stood by watching, his brow furrowed as if the scene looked vaguely familiar.

I let out a cold sneer.

“Boss Hou, it seems all your skills have gone to the dogs. This man is infected with corpse poison and is on the verge of zombification. Didn’t your master ever teach you about this? If you don’t find the Sun-Returning Herb in the next couple of days, no one in this village is going to survive.”

“Hahaha, zombification? You think I’m some kid you can scare? Where’s this ‘zombification’ coming from? My old man told me long ago that their so-called corpse herding was actually just carrying bodies on their backs. they’d just slide a bamboo pole through the clothes. All that talk about corpse herding is just a bunch of bullshit.”

Xiao Hou laughed mockingly and kicked Liu Xiong again.

“I think this guy’s just an epileptic. What a waste-looks good but he’s useless. I’ll have to ask my uncle if there’s a way to sell him off later.”

He rained a flurry of punches and kicks down on Liu Xiong. Liu Xiong’s body trembled a few times before his eyes gradually cleared. He then clutched his head with both hands, remaining silent.

This man certainly knew how to endure when necessary. I shot Liu Xiong a surprised look.

Dawn gradually broke, and sunlight burst through the layers of clouds, illuminating the entire village.

I followed at the back of the group, scanning my surroundings. The village wasn’t large, tucked away halfway up a mountain and surrounded by dense, towering forest. There was only one road leading out, and the entrance was blocked by a specially made gated fence.

As our group moved through, more and more people emerged from their homes. Most were elderly men and women; there was hardly a young person in sight. They held porcelain bowls, eating breakfast while watching the commotion.

“Monkey, where’d you get so many people?”

“That’s too many. It’ll attract the cops’ attention. You can’t do it like this.”

Xiao Hou snorted and rolled his eyes at the speaker.

“Then don’t you fucking come around when it’s time to split the money!”

Stunned, the old man immediately pursed his lips and stepped aside, falling silent.

From the sound of it, human trafficking was the entire village’s industry. Everyone had a piece of the pie?