Zombie Killing

Early the next morning, the Grave Keeper went up the mountain on patrol and discovered that Old Master's grave had been robbed, his corpse gone without a trace. He immediately reported it to the Clan Elder.

Wang Qingshan was the most senior member of the Wang Family in Green Stone Town. The deceased Old Master had been his cousin.

Upon learning that his cousin's grave had been robbed and the corpse had vanished, Wang Qingshan sent clan members to search for the body while also dispatching someone to report the case to the authorities.

The Wang Family was one of Peaceful County's prominent clans. The robbery of Old Master's grave and the disappearance of his corpse drew the attention of many Wang Family members. After learning of the matter, the Clan Elders of every branch demanded that the culprit be apprehended and Old Master's remains recovered for a proper burial.

Wang Tiande was Peaceful County's County Marshal, in charge of public order and catching bandits. He was also a Wang Family member. Upon hearing the news, he immediately brought the Chief Constable and over a dozen constables to Green Stone Town.

By seniority, Wang Tiande had to address the deceased Old Master as Seventh Great-Uncle.

Wang Tiande first soothed the Clan Elders from the various branches who had rushed over upon hearing the news. Thumping his chest, he promised that he would certainly bring the culprit to justice and find Seventh Great-Uncle's body.

Wang Tiande had served as County Marshal for ten years and was highly experienced. He took the Chief Constable to inspect the lineage cemetery, then questioned the two Grave Keepers about what had happened on the night the grave was robbed.

After hearing the Grave Keepers' account, Wang Tiande had a rough idea of what had happened.

This case definitely had not been committed by a Wang Family member. Seventh Great-Uncle had been highly respected, and no Wang Family member would dig up his grave and steal his corpse. Still, to be cautious, Wang Tiande sent people to investigate whether Seventh Great-Uncle had borne grudges with anyone while alive.

The burial goods had been completely swept clean, which showed that the grave robbers were most likely destitute wretches. Following this lead, Wang Tiande sent constables door to door to investigate, with poor households as their main focus.

Most burial goods were gold, silver, and jewelry. The grave robbers could not possibly parade through the streets with such valuables, so they would certainly sell the stolen burial goods for silver.

Following this lead, Wang Tiande sent men to visit every pawnshop in Peaceful County. At a pawnshop in the county seat called Eternal Peace Pawnshop, the constables learned that someone had pawned gold, silver, and jewelry there the day after the crime.

Because the amount involved was too large, Eternal Peace Pawnshop's owner, Xu An, had personally received them.

According to Xu An's testimony, the people who had pawned the gold, silver, and jewelry were two brothers, with quite a bit of mud stuck to their shoes. During their conversation, one of the men had said that he planned to spend several days having fun at the Hundred Flowers Brothel.

The Hundred Flowers Brothel was Peaceful County's largest brothel, a place ordinary people could not afford to visit.

Following this clue, the constables quickly arrested the brothers Li Renjie and Li Renyi at the Hundred Flowers Brothel.

Before they could even be brought before the court, Li Renjie and Li Renyi honestly confessed. They admitted to stealing Old Master's burial goods, but stubbornly insisted that they had not stolen the corpse.

Wang Tiande had Li Renjie and Li Renyi locked up, then instructed Wang Qingshan to organize the clan members in searching for Old Master's body.

There were many wild dogs near Green Stone Mountain. Wang Tiande guessed that Old Master's corpse might have been dragged away by wild dogs.

Wang Qingshan organized several hundred clan members to enter the mountains and search for Old Master's body, but they found nothing. Several clan members unfortunately encountered a Blind Bear and were injured by it.

Five days passed without Old Master's body being found, and no one held out much hope anymore. Wang Qingshan could only leave over a dozen clan members behind to continue the search and dismiss the rest.

Wang Youping and Wang Youquan were cousins, responsible for continuing the search for Old Master's body deep in the mountains.

That evening, darkness fell. They had brought dry provisions with them, so they simply stayed overnight in a ruined temple in the mountains.

"After so many days, Old Master's corpse has probably been eaten clean by wild dogs. Why does Fifth Great-Uncle still want us to keep looking for Seventh Great-Uncle's body?" Wang Youping complained.

"Ah, we can only blame our rotten luck. Those who drew the short straws were left behind to search for Seventh Great-Uncle's body. Who told us to draw the short straws? Anyway, we have plenty of provisions. At worst, we'll stay in this ruined temple for a few days, then go back to report once we finish the food. We'll just say we couldn't find Seventh Great-Uncle's body. Putting on a show is enough—why take it so seriously?" Wang Youquan said indifferently.

"That's true. We'll do that."

The two chatted for a while, then each found an open patch of ground, spread out some dry grass, and went to sleep.

At midnight, the night was deep and all was still.

In a mountain valley choked with weeds, the Stone Walls on both sides were blanketed in green moss. Many thick green vines hung from the uneven Stone Wall on the left.

A strange howl suddenly rang out, and a figure abruptly burst from the dense mass of vines.

There was clearly a hidden Cave behind the vines, though its entrance was blocked by the thick green growth.

The figure was a man covered from head to toe in a layer of coarse, hard black fur. His fingers were long and slender, his nails black. Judging by his clothing and face, he was none other than the Old Master who had died many days ago—now transformed into a zombie.

It threw back its head and howled, baring two sharp fangs in its open mouth.

A bright moon hung high in the sky, and great quantities of Moonlight Essence streamed into its mouth.

After absorbing moonlight for half an hour, it stretched its arms straight out and hopped toward the mouth of the valley.

It hopped aimlessly through the deep mountains. An hour later, it appeared outside a ruined temple.

Its nose twitched slightly. Then its legs sprang, and it charged toward the ancient temple.

Wang Youping was sleeping soundly when, in his haze, he heard a piercing scream.

He groggily opened his eyes and saw a man covered in black fur clutching Wang Youquan's shoulders and biting his neck.

"Save me! Save me!" Wang Youquan cried loudly.

The moment he finished speaking, the man released Wang Youquan's shoulders. Wang Youquan's legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground.

Under the bright moonlight, two finger-thick bloody holes could clearly be seen in Wang Youquan's neck.

ROAR!

The black-furred man opened his mouth, revealing two sharp fangs still stained with blood.

Wang Youping was terrified. He hurriedly got up and ran outside, but before he had gone far, the zombie sprang forward and blocked his path.

The zombie seized Wang Youping's shoulders with both hands and opened its mouth to bite his neck.

Wang Youping felt a burst of searing pain in his neck. Before long, darkness swallowed his vision, and he lost consciousness.

After sucking the Essence Blood of two living people, the zombie hopped toward the outside.

Before long, it vanished into the night.

Lotus Island.

The morning sun rose, and golden sunlight draped Lotus Island in a golden cloak. Bathed in it, one felt pleasantly warm.

Within Azure Lotus Pavilion, Wang Changsheng sat cross-legged on a Green Cushion, a string of blue beads around his wrist. Numerous blue motes floated through the room.

As he inhaled and exhaled, the specks of Blue Light seemed to be guided by some unseen force, rushing one after another into his body through the crown of his head.

Half a quarter-hour later, after the last motes of Blue Light entered Wang Changsheng's body, he abruptly opened his eyes, a sharp gleam flashing through them.

"If I had worn this Water Gathering Pearl to cultivate since childhood, I'd probably have already advanced to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer by now!" Wang Changsheng let out a soft breath and muttered to himself.