Chapter 278
Chapter 278
Fang Chuanzong was growing anxious.
And really, how could he not be after something like this?
After all, they had initially evacuated the public under the pretext that the torrential rain might cause flooding.
But now, people were dying one after another.
And without exception, every victim had had their heart ripped out…
Everyone was speculating about what was really going on.
Rumors were running rampant.
The older generation claimed the River God was enraged and that a ritual had to be held, with a virgin boy and girl offered as a Sacrifice to bring an end to the disaster.
Others said a serial killer might have slipped into the mountains.
…
The rumors grew more outrageous by the day.
Eventually, someone even brought up the legend from over a century ago, when a mine tunnel collapsed and buried dozens of miners alive. They speculated that the torrential rain might have washed open the collapsed tunnel and released the zombies trapped inside…
No matter which version was true, it was enough to make anyone’s scalp prickle and leave everyone on edge.
If the situation continued to spiral, the only option left would be to suppress the unrest with overwhelming force.
Fang Chuanzong naturally didn’t want things to come to that. All he could do was accelerate the operation and eliminate the threat before it could fully take shape.
The truth was, we were anxious too.
After all, what was happening in Chang City could very well spill over into Wufu Town, or even Huicheng.
That afternoon, we quickly revised our operational plan as well.
That was why Liu Junyan agreed without hesitation.
But he made one point especially clear. “Elder Fang, everything hinges on this operation. I don’t want to see another disagreement like the one before.”
Fang Chuanzong thumped his chest and promised, “They were just a bunch of kids who didn’t know any better. I guarantee nothing like that will happen again. Rest assured, Seventh Master Liu.”
At ten that night, lightning flashed and thunder rolled.
A beam of golden light suddenly shot into the sky from the direction of the burial pit. It vanished in the blink of an eye, but still caused an uproar.
A Golden Scale had been buried in the pit once more.
I stood in the darkness holding the Soul-Guiding Lantern, which was covered with a piece of black cloth to conceal its glow.
Fifteen minutes later, I received the first report from Hui Yumo:
Dozens of lamas had charged out in four separate directions from a barrier about two and a half kilometers southwest of the far side of the mountain.
Fang Chuanzong immediately dispatched four sects to confront them, and a fierce battle broke out.
In the end, our side emerged victorious.
More than twenty lamas on the Great Lama’s side were killed or wounded, and the rest swiftly retreated into the barrier.
Immediately afterward, however, four Corpse Formation units charged out, pinning down the four sects that had just won their battles. They were still locked in combat.
Based on the messenger’s description, I was now almost certain those four Corpse Formation units had come from Niuhu Mountain.
Their members had all been created from death-row inmates in the prison at the foot of the mountain, making them extremely difficult to deal with.
Back then, to suppress the Corpse Formation outside the Temple on Niuhu Mountain, Hu Yulin had forcibly activated the Nine-Tailed Sky-Covering Formation.
Judging by that, those four sects wouldn’t be able to break free anytime soon.
Fortunately, Fang Chuanzong had summoned more than ten sects in total. For the moment, they had enough manpower.
After another fifteen minutes, the second report came in: the Corpse Fiend had appeared.
Escorting the Corpse Fiend were not only a Corpse Formation but also a unit of Ghost Soldiers.
Judging by their uniforms and weapons, they were probably from the Republic of China era.
I nodded and forced myself to remain patient.
My eyes stayed fixed on the burial pit.
This was the task Liu Junyan had given me: bury the Golden Scale, keep watch in the darkness, and make no rash moves.
What I hadn’t expected was for Hui Yumo to deliver the third report in person.
She was absolutely livid, her fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles creaked. “Sis, you and Seventh Master were right to plan ahead and take precautions. Something really has gone wrong on Fang Chuanzong’s side.”
My expression hardened as I lowered my voice. “What went wrong this time?”
“Everything was fine at first, but after the Corpse Fiend and the Three-Eyed Toad appeared, the sects sent to stop them barely exchanged a few blows before every last one of them clutched their stomachs and started howling in pain,” Hui Yumo said. “They can’t stop the Corpse Fiend at all. They’re all struggling just to save themselves now, and the Corpse Fiend will soon follow the Golden Scale’s trail here.”
I frowned in confusion. “Why would they all suddenly get stomachaches at the same time?”
Hui Yumo shook her head. “I don’t know if they’re faking it. How else could the timing be so perfect? If Seventh Master hadn’t warned me in advance to have my people hold their position, I’d have led the charge myself!”
“They can’t be faking it,” I said. “Something unexpected must have happened.”
The people Fang Chuanzong had personally invited all came from renowned sects in East China’s occult world. If they hadn’t wanted to wade into these muddy waters, they could have refused from the start. There was no way they would all back down at the last minute like this.
And in such perfect unison, no less.
These major sects cared more about their reputations than anything else.
I tightened my grip on the Soul-Guiding Lantern. “Forget about them for now. We need to keep a close eye on the Corpse Fiend and the Three-Eyed Toad.”
Hui Yumo nodded and waited patiently with me.
It was more than five li — about 1.5 miles — from the Ancient Battlefield Barrier to the burial pit.
We estimated when the Corpse Fiend might appear and didn’t dare let our guard down for even a moment.
But more than twenty minutes passed, and the Corpse Fiend still hadn’t shown itself.
A faint sense of unease began to rise within me. I kept glancing toward the burial pit. Had the Three-Eyed Toad seen through our little trick?
Was that thing really so intelligent?
That suspicion was soon dispelled when one of Hui Yumo’s people came to report that the Corpse Fiend had charged out, only to be surrounded along the way by a group of Maoshan Taoist Priests.
Maoshan Taoist Priests?
I remembered those Maoshan Taoist Priests. Their leader was named Mao Jingxuan.
The students who had caused trouble earlier were Mao Jingxuan’s disciples and grand-disciples.
They hadn’t been invited by Fang Chuanzong.
Mao Jingxuan had come uninvited to apologize.
Apologize… Something suddenly occurred to me.
When Mao Jingxuan came to apologize, he had given Fang Chuanzong several pills he had personally refined. He said they could improve blood circulation, dispel blood stasis, restore qi, and protect the meridians.
He had instructed Fang Chuanzong to dissolve the pills in water and have everyone drink it.
Judging by Fang Chuanzong’s reaction at the time, Mao Jingxuan’s pills had to be extremely valuable.
Something that precious would surely have been dissolved in water and shared with everyone, right?
Could those pills really have been the problem?
If so, our side had escaped a Calamity.
After all, none of that pill-infused water had been shared with us.
Hui Yumo asked, “Sister, should I lead my people over there?”
Plans could never keep up with changing circumstances. Now that something had gone wrong on Fang Chuanzong’s side, we needed to adjust accordingly.
After thinking for a moment, I asked, “Where did Mao Jingxuan ambush the Corpse Fiend?”
The messenger replied, “At the foot of the far side of the mountain.”
I immediately made my decision. “Yumo, take your people around to the far side of the mountain. Stay hidden and observe the fight for now. Wait for my signal.”
Hui Yumo immediately accepted the order and left.
After a moment’s hesitation, I followed with the Soul-Guiding Lantern in hand.
But instead of heading directly to the far side of the mountain, I chose a spot halfway up its flank.
From there, I could see the faint golden glow radiating from the Golden Scale in the burial pit, as well as the battle raging at the foot of the mountain in the distance.
The foot of the mountain was already engulfed in chaos.
I was a little too far away and couldn’t spot the Corpse Fiend right away.
There was simply too much confusion below. As far as the eye could see, large columns of Ghost Soldiers were converging from the southwest toward the foot of the mountain’s far side.
These Ghost Soldiers… were nothing like the Corpse Formation or the Republic of China-era Ghost Soldiers described by the earlier messenger.
They wore armor and carried spears, bows, and arrows. As they marched, they even chanted slogans…