Chapter 72

Chapter 72

Could it be the strange object the female floating corpse spat from her mouth?

As I considered the possibility, I took the fingernail-sized white jade sphere from my pocket.

I knew it contained dense yin energy, but I had never imagined the energy would be this powerful.

It had actually caused the threshold of Old Cao’s coffin shop to reject me.

Until now, I had not known the high threshold possessed such a mystery. Called a corpse-blocking threshold, it prevented walking corpses, ghosts, and monsters from entering.

Sure enough, when I opened my hand and showed the object to Old Cao, he stared in astonishment.

“Th-this is a corpse core! Xiao Wu, where did you find such a thing? How did you go on a school picnic in broad daylight and come back carrying a corpse core?”

Old Cao gaped, his eyes fixed on the irregular white sphere in my palm.

A corpse core?

Startled as well, I stared at the sphere and asked, “Old Cao, what is a corpse core?”

His concise explanation soon gave me a general understanding.

When a body underwent transformation, it became a corpse-fiend.

A walking corpse was the lowest class of corpse-fiend, but even it could slowly absorb the surrounding yin energy and increase its strength.

In the terminology of fantasy stories, it had begun to cultivate.

True cultivation was not as mystical or powerful as novels and movies made it appear. The corpse simply grew stronger over time.

A newly transformed walking corpse could not actually defeat an ordinary man–provided the man was not afraid.

As the corpse absorbed yin energy, it gradually gained strength.

Under normal circumstances, if an esoteric practitioner did not destroy it, a walking corpse that absorbed yin energy for a year would develop the strength and speed of an adult man.

There was also a faster way to become powerful.

Killing people.

Whether a walking corpse killed consciously or unconsciously, whether for revenge or without discrimination, every human life it took immediately made the corpse-fiend stronger.

But that also greatly increased its evil aura. It might attract heavenly lightning and would more easily draw pursuit from esoteric practitioners.

Once a corpse-fiend reached the level of a vicious corpse, it could absorb earth energy, water essence, moonlight, and similar forces. These gradually condensed into a round pellet inside its body.

That pellet was called a corpse core, and it held most of the vicious corpse’s power.

In general, apart from those supremely vicious beings that became corpse fiends immediately upon transformation, most corpse-fiends required a corpse core to advance to the baleful level.

Old Cao frowned at the corpse core in my hand.

“If a corpse-fiend has killed a human, its corpse core will be black. It will reek of decay and radiate boundless savagery, cruelty, and yin energy. Even touching it would cause terrible harm to a living person. They might become bedridden with illness or suffer a string of bloody disasters.”

My heart tightened.

Then another question occurred to me.

“Old Cao, why is the corpse core in my hand pure white? It doesn’t smell rotten either.”

His expression became peculiar as he stared at me.

“That means the owner of this corpse core never killed anyone. She cultivated solely by absorbing yin energy, water essence, moonlight, and similar forces. Such a thing is extremely rare and exceptionally precious.”

“I see.”

I relaxed a little.

Then I caught myself.

“Wait, Old Cao. You just said a vicious corpse needs a corpse core to advance into a baleful corpse. If she gave this to me, does that mean the female floating corpse can never advance again?”

“Correct, and she will become much weaker.” He continued staring at the corpse core. “In my experience, this one was close to becoming perfectly round. Once that happened, she would have fully advanced into a corpse fiend. By giving it to you now, she may have fallen back to the weakest level of vicious corpse. What could she hope to gain?”

Exactly.

I could not understand it either.

Why would a vicious corpse simply give me her corpse core?

Thinking back, after the female floating corpse spat the core at me, strange black incantations appeared across her face. They seemed to control her and force her swiftly back into the Chuan River.

Old Cao shook his head at the question and said he did not know. Since I was returning home today anyway, I should ask Master. She would certainly have the answer.

Fine.

Old Cao was such an obsessive admirer of Master that he believed she could solve every problem in the world.

“Everything about this is strange, Xiao Wu. You should hurry home.”

“I can’t come inside.”

“Then wait here. I’ll pack your schoolbag and clean clothes.”

Old Cao turned and went upstairs.

As long as I carried the corpse core, the corpse-blocking threshold would keep me outside. I could enter only by leaving it somewhere first.

But according to Old Cao, the thing was extraordinarily precious.

How could I bear to let it out of my possession?

I had no choice but to trouble him with my packing.

Five minutes later, Old Cao returned to the entrance and handed me a large backpack. He deliberately put on an annoyed voice.

“All right. Hurry home. I don’t know whether it’s because of that Featherborn birth chart of yours, but ever since you came to my coffin shop, there hasn’t been a moment’s peace. One incident follows another. In the past, I didn’t encounter this much trouble in an entire year or two!”
I knew he was joking and chuckled.

“How can you blame me? I’m a victim too. I’m only an innocent middle-school student–weak, pitiful, and helpless–yet somehow I’ve been dragged into all these strange, sinister affairs.”

Old Cao stared at me, speechless.

I waved goodbye and turned away.

Eager to return home, I moved as swiftly as the wind.

Master always said that most practitioners of magic were physically weak, so she also placed great importance on the unarmed combat techniques of the eclectic arts.

Nearly three months of training under her had greatly improved my endurance. The muscles along my arms and calves had developed clearly defined contours, and I even had eight abdominal muscles.

I jogged all the way out of Lianghe Town, then left the main road for a country path without feeling the least tired. My face was not red, and I was not even short of breath.

It was not yet six in the evening when I entered Wujia Village.

From a distance, I saw cooking smoke curling from my family’s house halfway up the hillside. A warm sense of belonging filled my heart.

I raced home, pushed open the courtyard gate, and shouted, “Dad! Mom! I’m back! I missed you so much!”

My mother emerged from the kitchen in an apron and deliberately scolded me with a smile.

“I think you missed your master more. Aren’t you going to throw down your things and run straight to the Immortal Lady’s house?”

My father sat in the main room as always, reading the newspaper over a pot of tea.

“The boy has ideas of his own,” he drawled.

“Dad understands me! Mom, you should learn from him.”

Laughing, I dropped my backpack, hugged my mother tightly, then turned and ran toward Master’s house.

“You rotten boy!”

My mother’s voice followed me, equal parts helplessness and affection.

I left our home and followed the village path one or two li west to Master’s house at the far end of the village.

This time, before I could speak, her voice came from inside.

“Ah-Zhong? What have you brought back this time? The corpse qi is extremely dense.”

Master was incredible, as expected.

She had sensed it from far away.

At the same moment, my body tightened. An invisible force seemed to pull me, accelerating my steps and whisking me into the house.

Amazing!

Master’s qi could directly affect physical objects.

She seemed anxious.

A trace of concern showed on her beautiful, delicate face.

I quickly took the corpse core from my pocket, held it before her, and rapidly recounted what had happened.

Once she heard the whole story, the concern vanished from her face. In its place appeared something almost like malicious amusement.

I asked cautiously, “Master, what exactly happened?”

She smacked me lightly on the head.

“You know the saying that ghosts tell nothing but lies? Ghosts are the greatest deceivers of all. You accepted her benefit without first asking what she wanted. Now you will certainly have to see the matter through.”

What?

I had accepted a benefit, so what did I need to do?

Master’s words left me utterly confused, and I hurried to ask.

Only then did she explain at her leisure.

This behavior was called a nether pact, an agreement between a human and a ghost reached through any of several methods.

In the broadest sense, the agreement Master and I had made with the Corpse King several years ago, when we placed Wang Fei’s transformed corpse inside the Hundred-Bone Pagoda, was also a kind of nether pact.

We benefited by sealing the drowned revenant inside the pagoda. The Corpse King benefited because we owed it a promise.

But there was one enormous difference.

Back then, Master had negotiated the agreement with it in corpse speech.

I had not understood a word the female floating corpse said that afternoon. She suddenly spat her corpse core at me. I thought she was attacking, and I caught it only because I could not dodge.

Did that truly count as entering a nether pact?

It sounded more like a forced transaction.

I was speechless.

Master told me, “Whatever the circumstances, you accepted the corpse core. That means you entered a nether pact with her and must fulfill her request.”

I complained with a miserable expression, “But I don’t know what she wants! And what makes this corpse core so precious? How does it benefit me? Why do I have to help her?”

Smack!

Master lightly slapped my head again.

“Master, why did you hit my head? If you make me stupid and I can’t rank first in my year, don’t blame me.”

I clutched my head in both hands and grumbled unhappily.

She laughed. “You rascal. This corpse core truly is precious. On the whole, you probably profited from the bargain. Most esoteric practitioners may not know how to use it, but your master happens to understand. It will bring you tremendous benefits.”

Master turned the small, white-jade corpse core between her fingers, a smile appearing on her face.

I immediately flattered her, raising my thumb.

“Of course! My master possesses profound cultivation and unfathomable power. Nothing in this world can trouble you. Now, Master, hurry and tell me what tremendous benefit it will bring me.”