Chapter Thirty-Three: The Corpse Rises

  The village head spoke mysteriously about the secret of the imperial grant to the village, which made me so angry that I almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.

  His secret is that Guan Cai Village has nothing to do with Longhushan today.

  Although the ancestors of the village were the 46th generation Tian Shi Zhang Yuanji and his disciples, Zhang Yuanji was overthrown by the emperor and ministers, and the position of Tian Shi was succeeded by his son.

  He is a son, but not the eldest!

  It's easy to understand that getting rid of the Heavenly Master while keeping his position is a must, so the new Heavenly Master can't be from the old one's direct lineage. For the new Heavenly Master to secure this position, they need to please the imperial court, and the way to do it is simple: highly praise the imperial court for getting rid of the old Heavenly Master as the right thing to do, and that it was done with the people's interests in mind.

  So a son who is not close to his father occasionally says a few cold words, and the people of Dragon Tiger Mountain will not take Guanxi Village seriously.

  After Zhang Yuangui's death, Longhushan was clearly demarcated from Guanshicun.

  This time, we can ask Xu Qi for help because he is the eldest son of Zhang Yuangui's lineage, otherwise, even if the village cadres talk about it on Mount Longhu, no one will pay attention to this matter.

  No wonder I always feel that Xu Qi is specially in charge of making jokes, emotionally he was being ostracized by the faction at Dragon and Tiger Mountain, not loved by his grandmother or uncle, his forte is finding joy in hardship.

  But to say, Xu Qi is also water, and he firmly believes that there are zombies here. Liu Wei Min calls Xu Qi a little Taoist priest, but he flatly denies the existence of Lao Zu Gong. Who is more watery between the two?

  Maybe... the reason Liu Weimin tried so hard to hide it was because he didn't want me to know?

  I was lost in thought when the village elder patted me on the shoulder and said, "You've heard the story, now that Xu Qi's whereabouts are unknown, as his apprentice, you should hurry to meet up with him or rescue him."

  I was going to go anyway, putting aside the actual ability, Xu Qi's attitude is still proper, he has to make a decision about my matter, otherwise I'll continue to wander around like a headless fly, and one day I'll die without knowing who killed me.

  But I had to have a way to go, so I asked the village chief to send a few people with me. He refused, but I forced him and he finally ran back home, grabbed a double-barreled shotgun and two thumb-sized bullets. The village chief said harshly that this was the only support he could give me: either take the gun to rescue Xu Qi or he would collapse now.

  It's come to this, no use saying more. I slung the canvas bag with the shotgun over my shoulder and resolutely walked out of the ancestral hall, heading straight for the village entrance. The village head said that if Xu Qi pretended to be crazy, he would wait for me under the willow tree at the village entrance; if he was possessed by a ghost, I should go to the tomb to rescue him.

  I've made up my mind that if I see Xu Qi it's best, but if he's not under the willow tree, I absolutely won't go to the tomb.

  The moon is very flattering tonight, the vast wilderness is covered with a layer of silver light, and the occasional gentle breeze makes me feel very comfortable. The wild grass that grows desperately is blown by the wind, making a rustling sound, not only is it not scary, but it also has a strong vitality. I walked all the way with my waist bent, and when I reached the village entrance, I didn't dare to shout for people, and I stared wide-eyed looking for Xu Qi's figure.

  There is a willow tree behind several old houses, half a meter thick, Xu Qi said that it was planted by the predecessors of Longhu Mountain.

  After seeing the three connected old houses, I called out softly: "Xu Daochang, are you there?"

  Shouting as he walked, he turned a corner and saw the figure shrouded by willow branches, standing alone with an air of being somewhat above the world.

  I exclaimed in surprise: "Xu Dao...... Hey, don't ignore me just because I didn't call you Master?"

  He ran towards him, and the person under the willow tree also slowly turned around. Just as he was about to see his face, a sentence suddenly exploded in my mind.

  Xu Qi seemed to have said that he had the villagers tie Jiu Ge's corpse to a willow tree, and later explained to me that the willow tree could retain Jiu Ge's last bit of human scent, suppress the transformation into a zombie, and that the sturdy willow tree was planted by the ancestors of Longhu Mountain, having lived for hundreds of years, and might have become a spirit itself. It wouldn't watch as its descendants became zombies. If they didn't tie him to the willow tree for one night but instead burned him directly, Jiu Ge would not be able to become human in his next life.

  As I remembered those words, the man turned around too. On his inhumane face, the most striking feature was the pair of sharp fangs that his lips couldn't cover up. The ropes that were originally tied to him had already fallen to the ground. Upon seeing me, Ninth Brother let out a howl like a wild beast that hadn't eaten for over ten days and pounced on me with bared teeth and claws.

  Not jumping around like a zombie, but clearly having a rabies-like seizure.

  As soon as I saw the sharp fangs in his mouth and his crazy appearance, I was startled. Until Ninth Brother shouted out loud, I didn't say a word, raised my double-barreled shotgun, aimed, pulled the trigger, the whole action was smooth like flowing clouds, and I couldn't help but give myself a thumbs up.

  It was like the crisp sound of a steel ring falling to the ground, ding dong, the bullet shot out of the gun, drawing a beautiful parabola, and lightly slapped my ankle.

  No spewing flames, no explosive roar.

  The two bullets the village head gave me didn't have any gunpowder in them at all.

  I've already got the village head's grandmother's heart, but I and Ninth Brother were originally not far apart. In my daze, he had already rushed to the front, in a state of urgency, without considering other things, subconsciously swinging his arm, smashing the shotgun towards Ninth Brother's shoulder.

  It was as if he had slammed into a giant stone that had stood for thousands of years, his wrist throbbing with pain, the rifle almost slipping from his grasp.

  Fortunately, although the Ninth Brother was as hard as a stone at this time, he didn't have the weight of a boulder. His body tilted to one side after I hit him, and his claw that was originally aimed at my neck brushed past the tip of my nose.

  Not to mention turning into a zombie, even when he was alive, I couldn't beat him, and this time's confrontation also proved that staying behind would only lead to death.

  He threw away the hunting rifle and turned to run, his heart cursing the village chief's ancestors to heaven. In the haste, he didn't even have time to look back at Jiu Ge's pursuit. After turning around the three dilapidated houses, he was tripped by a withered branch on the ground. He scrambled to get up and only then did he realize that there was nothing behind him.

  A quiet night, even the wind has stopped, only my heavy breathing can be heard from far away.

  Everything just now was like a dream, without any evidence to prove that Ninth Brother had ever existed, as if it were just an illusion in my mind.

  I sat on the ground in a daze, wondering if I had encountered a ghost wall. After hesitating for a while, I picked up a sturdy branch and slowly approached the willow tree.

  According to the old man, when encountering a ghost hitting the wall, one must not panic, for if panicked, the spirit will be taken advantage of by the ghost. Two, one cannot act blindly, that is, cannot walk around randomly, because the path created by the ghost is definitely not a way out.

  So I want to see if Jiu Ge is still there. If it's just an illusion of a ghost hitting the wall, then I'll sit on the ground and not move.

  After bypassing the broken house, I saw Ninth Brother standing under the willow tree, looking up at the sky with a bewildered expression, as if he were a philosopher under the moon, occasionally poking the thick trunk of the tree with his finger.

  No matter which thread went wrong, I took the opportunity to slip away, which was the best strategy. I tiptoed and retreated a few steps, just about to turn around and make a mad dash, when I heard Xu Ji's voice softly calling out: "Disciple... Wang Zhen... don't go."

  Turning around, I saw Xu Qi sticking his head out of the broken window and beckoning me over.

  The other hand was still holding a treasure sword, making me certain that he was Xu Qi. He approached cautiously and asked how I ended up here.

  I've been holding back a belly full of anger, pouring out bitter water. I said the village chief that scoundrel had me come to rescue you, but gave me a hunting rifle instead...

  Listen to me finish, Xu Ji smiled with satisfaction, and also wanted to touch my head. I tilted my head to avoid him, he said I was kind-hearted, and it wasn't a waste collecting me as his apprentice.

  I asked him why he was here, and the villagers all said that he had been possessed by a ghost.

  Xu Qi couldn't help but laugh twice and said that he was caught off guard, but after all, he was an old Daoist who had been practicing for many years. As soon as he ran out of the village, he regained his composure.

  I curled my lip and asked him what he was doing squatting here. Why didn't he go catch ghosts?

  Xu Qi, however, said that when he regained consciousness, he found that the ghost had climbed onto his body and untied the rope binding Jiu Ge. This move must have a deeper meaning, so he hid here to see what would happen next.

  "With an unchanging method to respond to all changes, Xu Zhi still had some brains and immediately reacted, angrily questioning: "Xu Daozhang, are you just watching the zombie bite me with your eyes open? If you don't want to accept me as a disciple, you can say it directly, no need to see death and not save, are you killing people and destroying evidence?"

  I got up and wanted to leave, but was pulled back by Xu Ji. He said this was also an unavoidable move, but after this incident, he has trusted me 100%.

  Before I could express my opinion, Xu Ji hastily spoke: "Disciple, people who die unjustly and miserably will become vengeful spirits to avenge their deaths. But have you ever heard that zombies also come back for revenge? This is fundamentally impossible. Vengeful spirits harbor resentment and grievances in their hearts, while zombies only have blood in their eyes; they kill anyone they see, devoid of humanity."

  The old vampire didn't suck my blood, but I want to hear what Xu Ji has prepared to say before deciding whether to tell him.

  Xu Qi said, "The strange thing is that when the two little girls in the village were bitten to death, everyone was not sure if there were zombies, and they couldn't persuade the parents of the two girls, so they hastily buried them without burning their bodies. But those two girls have not become zombies until now, whereas Xiaojiao became a zombie just a few hours later. This shows that Laozu Gong spared the lives of the two girls, because once you become a zombie, you can't be human in your next life."

  Zombies have no humanity, so Xu Ji suspects that someone is controlling the old clan lord from behind, and the three victims have different treatments.

  Although Xiao Yaotou died when I was not in Guanxi Village, I had a feud with Jiu Ge, so I naturally became one of Xu Qi's suspects. However, from my reaction just now, even Jiu Ge couldn't handle it, and it's impossible to control Lao Zu Gong.

  "Xu Daozhang, this method of distinguishing good and evil is too dangerous, it can be fatal!"

  Xu Qi hastily patted his chest and said that he would definitely not let his most beloved apprentice encounter danger. He walked to the window, picked up a straw man and showed it to me.

  It's just a straw man, still holding a branch in his arms. Xu Ji said that the scarecrow is Jiu Ge behind the house, everything is under his control. Not to mention that I escaped in time, even if I was caught by Jiu Ge, the zombies controlled by him would not bite me, they were just observing my reaction.

  It was the first time I had seen the legendary technique, and I was very curious. I wanted to take a closer look, but Xu Qi quickly put it back in its original position. He said that the straw man must be exposed to moonlight, otherwise it would not work. If I wanted to learn, there would be plenty of opportunities later, and he would teach me everything he knew, cultivating me into a future star of Dragon Tiger Mountain.

  Although Xu Qi's face was full of sincerity, I felt very suspicious and asked him why he was so good to me.

  "Come on, let's go with Master to dig out that golden silk nanmu coffin. Everything will be clear then!"