Chapter 17

Chapter 17

My head was buzzing, and my feet kept retreating. After a few steps, I spun around and bolted toward the Pawnshop.

But the moment I turned, the sound of galloping hooves rang out again.

Clack… Clack… Clack…

Without me realizing it, that warhorse had appeared behind me.

Atop the horse, Zhao Zixun sat with one hand resting on the saber at his waist, looking down at me from his high vantage point.

Under the shadow of his military cap’s wide brim, his face remained obscured.

However, the sheer malice and murderous intent radiating from him made it impossible to look him in the eye.

Behind the warhorse, a massive Red Coffin was being dragged along.

It was identical to the Eight Coffins that had surfaced on the river to the west!

As I watched, Zhao Zixun squeezed the horse’s flanks with his legs. The warhorse let out a high-pitched neigh and charged straight at me.

The horse was barely ten paces away. I couldn’t move forward, yet I didn’t dare retreat. Within seconds, the beast was upon me.

Zhao Zixun yanked the reins. The horse’s front hooves reared high into the air, its hind legs kicked off with immense force, and the entire animal leaped right over my head.

The moment its hooves hit the ground firmly, the clanging of iron chains fell toward me from above. That Red Coffin was within arm’s reach.

The coffin lid suddenly swung open, like the maw of a giant beast gaping at me.

Just as the Red Coffin was about to slam down on me, the Scale Pendant around my neck suddenly flared with light. Layers of scales multiplied rapidly, forming a semi-arched Scale Shield that rose to meet the impact.

*Boom!*

The iron chains snapped, and the Red Coffin crashed to the ground.

The Scale Shield shattered into pieces. I was thrown to the ground by the impact, a metallic, bloody sweetness rising in my throat. Looking down, I saw the Tail Scale Liu Junyan had hung around my neck… it was broken.

It had saved me twice, but tonight, it was shattered forever.

My heart ached with grief.

But before I could catch my breath, the sound of hooves echoed behind me once more.

I struggled to get up, but the previous blow had been too heavy. My legs buckled, and before I could steady myself, iron chains hissed toward me like long snakes flicking their tongues. In an instant, they had coiled around both my legs.

Those chains came from behind me-from the Eight Coffins on the river.

With the clatter of iron, I was dragged to the ground.

My entire body was pulled toward the western river by the chains.

The eager laughter of young girls drifted into my ears: “Xiao Jiu, come stay with us.”

“You are the ninth… the ninth…”

“It’s so cold at the bottom of the water. Xiao Jiu, come quickly and stay with us…”

Under the night sky, upon the shimmering surface of the river, eight young girls dressed in crimson bridal robes sat atop the Red Coffins. From their pale, empty eye sockets, fresh blood streamed down their cheeks.

The Red Coffins were wrapped in iron chains, and the girls were bound by them as well.

The moment I was dragged to the riverbank, they all yanked their chains in unison, pulling me toward them with all their might.

Eight coffins, eight different directions.

They were going to tear me into eight pieces!

What made me even more desperate was that in such a perilous situation, I could do absolutely nothing.

I was too ordinary.

Though I had followed Granny and learned the basics of Yin-Yang and Feng Shui Arts, it was only enough to handle the funeral business. Facing these supernatural forces, I was nothing more than a fish on a chopping block, at the mercy of others.

The moment I turned eighteen, I had apparently become a choice morsel that everyone wanted a bite of.

The iron chains pulled taut. I gritted my teeth with all my strength.

Right then, a bolt of lightning suddenly streaked across the sky.
Under the brilliant white flash of lightning, I finally saw Zhao Zixun’s face clearly.

It was a handsome face with thick eyebrows, large eyes, a prominent nasal bridge, and a sharp jawline. He looked to be in his early twenties, yet he already possessed the air of someone who had survived a hundred battles and could stand on his own.

But in the center of such a man’s forehead, a Coffin Nail was horrifyingly driven into his brow.

The nail was mottled-it was impossible to tell if it was covered in rust or blood.

The moment the lightning flared, he seemed to sense something. His sharp gaze snapped toward the Pawnshop.

From within the Pawnshop, a massive White Tail, as thick as a bucket, swept toward the river’s surface with a gust of ghostly wind.

The White Tail was covered in silver-white scales, identical to the Scale Pendant around my neck.

The White Tail knocked over a Red Coffin and came straight for me.

The moment it coiled around my waist, Zhao Zixun had already drawn his long saber, hacking down at the White Tail.

The White Tail snatched me up and whipped around, lashing out at his horse’s legs.

Zhao Zixun’s strike missed. Just as he was about to swing a second time, a thunderclap shook the heavens.

Immediately after, bolts of lightning descended like a spiderweb, closing in on the White Tail.

The White Tail was forced to drop me and dodge quickly, but it was still struck by the lightning. Blood began to flow from between its scales.

The moment I was dropped, the iron chains coiled around me again.

This time, the chains had a clear objective, dragging me straight into the water.

Zhao Zixun stopped fighting. He shifted his weight and grabbed the chain of a Red Coffin on the ground. With a powerful heave of his arm, the Red Coffin flew into the air, descending like a lid to trap me as I was submerged in the river.

At the critical moment, the White Tail wrapped around my waist once more. The tip of the tail struck out, shattering the Red Coffin into pieces.

But before it could pull me back to shore, the thunder rolled again.

I felt the White Tail pause slightly, but it didn’t let go. Instead, it held me upright in the water. The tip of the tail sliced my brow, and using my blood, it began to draw something rapidly on my back, between my shoulder blades.

The moment the drawing was finished, a wave erupted from the distant surface of the water like a sharp sword. It cleaved through the lightning and thunder, sinking all eight of those Red Coffins…

Under that immense Sword Qi, Zhao Zixun had long since fled without a trace.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. When the dust finally settled, I was floating in the river, while the White Tail lay limp along the bank, blood staining half the river red.

Enduring the pain racking my body, I struggled to adjust my position and swam toward the White Tail.

The roar of an engine approached from the distance, arriving before me in no time.

By the time Li Qingying jumped out of the car, the White Tail had already retreated back into the Pawnshop.

All that remained was a large, bright red bloodstain on the road.

Li Qingying pulled me out of the river and hoisted me onto her back, carrying me step by step toward the Pawnshop.

As I leaned against her shoulder, I smelled a thick scent of blood.

It wasn’t mine; it was Li Qingying’s.

On the right shoulder of her leather jacket, there was a hideous gash cut by something sharp, like a blade. It was fresh.

I struggled to get down. “Sister Qingying, you’re hurt.”

She said she was leaving for three days, so why was she back so suddenly?

And with such a severe injury.

Li Qingying didn’t let go. “Just stay put. I’m not going to die.”

Afraid of irritating her wound further, I lay still and didn’t move.

Li Qingying carried me to the entrance of the Pawnshop. When she set me down, I looked up and saw Liu Junyan standing inside.

He stood there with a pale face, still wearing his black python robe.

His large hands were clenched beneath his long sleeves, seemingly trembling slightly. Blood mixed with river water dripped steadily from the hem of his robe, pooling on the floor…