Chapter 269
Chapter 269
I had brought up Hui Yumo without thinking, but I hadn’t expected Hui Xiaotiao to react so strongly. It seemed the two of them had been very close before disaster befell him.
That was probably why Old Madam Hui valued Hui Yumo so highly as well.
What was that saying again?
Love me, love my dog.
I’d already said everything that needed to be said. Time waited for no one, and I couldn’t afford to linger here much longer.
Now that I knew Hui Xiaotiao was still alive and had kept up with his cultivation, escaping from this place shouldn’t be difficult for him.
That meant I’d fulfilled half of my promise to Old Madam Hui. Once I got out of here, I could find time to talk to him again.
I took a few steps forward.
Those few steps were even harder than before.
Frustrated, I tilted my head to the side. I didn’t dare turn too far, so all I could see was Hui Xiaotiao still crouching atop the coal pile, lost in a daze.
I couldn’t help calling out to him. “Hey, Xiao Tiao, you can suppress these zombies, can’t you? Could you help me?”
I was only testing the waters and didn’t hold out much hope.
Yet in the next instant, Hui Xiaotiao sprang through the air and landed belly-down on my right shoulder.
His tail pointed ahead while his face looked behind me.
I heard a few squeaks, and the icy, sinister aura behind me abruptly receded. The crushing pressure weighing on my body vanished without a trace.
Well, would you look at that — Hui Xiaotiao really knew his stuff!
With his help, the rest of the path became much easier.
By the time I’d completed a full circuit, I’d gone through every name on the list and returned to the starting point.
My voice echoed endlessly through the mine tunnels. “Zhang Chongzhi, it’s time to go home… Li Huaian, it’s time to go home…”
My echoes were joined by Hui Xiaotiao’s occasional squeaks and threatening cries, as well as the faint sounds made by eighty-one zombies hopping in perfect unison on tiptoe behind me.
“All accounted for.”
Hui Xiaotiao’s voice suddenly rang out.
Though it was hoarse, every word carried weight. “If you want to get out, stay close, every last one of you! The Soul-Guiding Lantern will clear the way, and Shopkeeper Xiao Jiu will be our guide. This is a chance that comes only once in a century. Whoever falls behind can blame only their own bad luck — not anyone else.”
After a brief pause, he jumped down from my shoulder and said, “Shopkeeper Xiao Jiu, we’re counting on you.”
With that, he ran toward the rear of the procession. Before long, I heard his hoarse voice call out, “Heave… ho!”
I stared toward the Formation Eye ahead, knowing that the greatest challenge was about to begin.
I had no idea whether the situation outside had been brought under control.
If Hui Xiaotiao and I went to all the trouble of bringing all eighty-one zombies up, only to lead them like lambs into a tiger’s den… No. That couldn’t happen.
I had to trust Liu Junyan and the others!
They wouldn’t let all our efforts go to waste at the final step.
Imitating Hui Xiaotiao’s cadence, I shouted, “Heave… ho!”
No sooner had the words left my mouth than a thunderous rumble filled my ears. The ground trembled, and I could hear the piles of coal throughout the mine tunnels collapsing one after another.
Had the Nine Heavens Soul-Locking Formation broken?
Yes. Of course it had.
After all, the Formation had been supported by every miner zombie stationed at an anchor point in the mine tunnels.
Now that all eighty-one miner zombies were lined up behind me, every anchor point had failed. The Nine Heavens Soul-Locking Formation had been rendered completely useless.
It wasn’t only the mine tunnels that were collapsing. The earthen walls surrounding the Formation Eye also crumbled away.
Soil mixed with black coal piled beneath our feet, becoming steps that led us up to the surface.
When I emerged aboveground carrying the Soul-Guiding Lantern, I saw copper basins arranged around the exit. Paper money, Gold Ingot offerings, and other ritual items burned inside them. The basins formed two long rows that stretched far into the distance.
Not far away came the sound of Master Hui Quan and his disciples chanting incantations as they performed the Release from Suffering rite.
I led the column of zombies slowly forward.
In the darkness, I heard sharp intakes of breath.
I knew our side had won a temporary victory.
They were watching me — and the long column of zombies behind me.
I had no idea how long I had been walking when muffled sobs came from the darkness.
The crying was tightly suppressed.
It held the disbelief of recovering what had been lost, as well as the caution of those afraid to disturb the zombie procession.
I understood then. All eighty-one zombies had made it aboveground, and Hui Xiaotiao, bringing up the rear, had appeared.
But this wasn’t quite what Liu Junyan and I had planned.
We had agreed that once I led the zombies out, Liu Junyan would immediately come to receive me and bring the procession under control… So why had the plan suddenly changed?
When I reached the end of the Fire Basin path, everything ahead abruptly plunged into darkness.
It was so black I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face.
It felt as though I’d stepped into a bottomless abyss — or passed through a gate into nothingness.
The golden light inside the Soul-Guiding Lantern instantly turned an eerie green, and the Ghost Face on its chamber bared its fangs and brandished its claws… The sight felt strangely familiar.
I remembered the same thing happening to the Soul-Guiding Lantern when I’d carried it to escort Aunt Tang Xun’s Souls into the Netherworld Realm.
So… had I just stepped into the Netherworld Realm?
Then the end of the Fire Basin Formation… had to be an open Ghost Gate.
My steps faltered as countless thoughts raced through my mind.
The next moment, two figures appeared before me, one black and one white.
Long iron chains dragged along the ground with a metallic clatter.
It was just like the scene when Old Lady Bai underwent Soul Seizure!
I hadn’t expected the underworld officers to come and take custody in person this time. It saved me a great deal of trouble.
Surely it was a good thing if I could hand all eighty-one zombies over to them intact.
After all, if I really had to use the Soul-Guiding Lantern to ferry them into reincarnation one by one, I would work myself to death.
The underworld officers stepped forward to complete the handover with me.
They also carried a roster containing the names of the eighty-one miners who had died in the disaster.
Each time a name was called, the Souls imprisoned within that miner’s zombie body instantly drifted free. Iron chains locked around their wrists and ankles, and they obediently moved to stand off to one side, looking somewhat dazed.
One after another, until there were eighty-one in total.
Hui Xiaotiao was not among them.
Once the handover was complete, Black Impermanence stepped forward and announced in the same strictly businesslike tone, “Shopkeeper Xiao Jiu of Wufu Town Pawnshop: eighty-one cases of Soul Ferrying, all transferred and entered into the official record. Accounts will be settled at the end of the year. Boundless Merit.”
With that, Black and White Impermanence and the eighty-one Souls all vanished into thin air.
The dense darkness surrounding the Ghost Gate disappeared with them.
Utterly drained, my legs gave way, and I nearly collapsed to my knees.
A large hand caught me around the waist and swept me up against his chest. Liu Junyan asked anxiously, “Xiao Jiu, are you all right?”
I smiled. “I’m exhausted, but I’m not hurt. Hui Xiaotiao was a huge help.”
“You did wonderfully.” Liu Junyan was never stingy with his praise. “I’ll take you back to rest first.”
I grabbed his hand. “Having the underworld officers take custody wasn’t part of our original plan. Who arranged this?”
Forget asking Black and White Impermanence to come perform Soul Collection — even finding a way to contact them would have been extremely difficult.
Whoever had managed this was definitely not someone to underestimate.
Liu Junyan answered with some difficulty, “It was Fang Chuanzong.”
I let out a quiet, “Oh.” If it was Fang Chuanzong, then I wasn’t so surprised.
But Liu Junyan immediately added, “Fang Chuanzong also brought an archaeological team and a squad of Maoshan Taoist Priests… We had a few disagreements…”