"Young Master..." Su Yi's voice grew ever more seductive.
Lu Zheng abruptly turned around. His face was still filled with urgency, but Su Yi suddenly noticed a thick, black tube aimed straight at her.
"Hm?"
Su Yi shuddered. This huge thing she had never seen before set alarm bells ringing in her heart.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Three deafening blasts rang out as three four-meter-square nets shot from the net gun, wrapping tightly around Su Yi's body with lightning speed.
This kind of binding would probably make a rope-art master furious to death. It had no aesthetic appeal whatsoever.
High-strength nylon rope was widely used in the modern world for mountaineering, towing, and hoisting. It was absolutely among the strongest and toughest ropes available. Now, three nets fired in succession, densely binding Su Yi up.
"Buzz!"
The Peace Talisman in Lu Zheng's chest suddenly grew hotter than ever before!
"Awooo!"
A nonhuman howl suddenly burst from Su Yi's mouth. The beautiful human skin covering her body peeled away like clothing, revealing her true form.
Her body was an inky green, covered in oozing pus. Though her face had features, it was hideous as a ghost's. She had literal sharp fangs and a vicious maw; with every bite, it was like knives slicing through flesh. Even the high-strength nylon ropes could not withstand it, beginning to snap strand by strand.
The Corpse Ghoul's hands looked human, yet when they swept left and right, they were like sharp blades. The densely packed nylon ropes began to break as well.
If he left her alone, this Corpse Ghoul would likely break free before long.
Terrifying! And... fucking disgusting!
"Awooo! Die!"
The rough voice issuing from the Corpse Ghoul's mouth was nothing like the crisp, alluring voice from before.
Suppressing his urge to vomit, Lu Zheng casually tossed aside the net gun, then immediately flipped back the blanket to reveal several items on the bed.
His left hand seized the Embroidered Spring Blade, while his right gripped the hilt and pulled.
"Clang!"
The long blade left its sheath. Reflected in the oil lamp's glow, a flash of moonlike blade-light streaked past, nearly dazzling the Corpse Ghoul's eyes.
She did not even need to sense it to know that this was a peerless divine weapon, rare beneath the heavens.
Before she could wonder how a county-town scholar like Lu Zheng possessed such a blade, the Corpse Ghoul hastened her struggle against the nylon net.
In only a short while, her head and one right hand had already broken free for the most part.
But that was as far as she would get.
Lu Zheng strode forward, using the riot shield to knock aside the Corpse Ghoul's still-weak right hand, then raised his long blade high.
"No!"
A brief howl rang out, and then a sheet of white flashed through the Corpse Ghoul's eyes.
One slash, and her head flew!
After that slash, Lu Zheng retreated at top speed.
At the same time, with a resounding "Bang," vast amounts of black smoke billowed from the wound where the Corpse Ghoul's head had been severed from her body.
Lu Zheng rapidly backed up to the bed, snatched up the gas mask with quick eyes and deft hands, and instantly pulled it over his head.
The next moment, the Corpse Ghoul's body and head exploded with a bang, turning into black smoke that filled the entire room.
At the same time, the Jade Seal in his mind gave a slight tremor, and twelve more strands of Light of Luck appeared.
The Corpse Ghoul had died, her luck returning to zero and reverting to Heaven. The Jade Seal intercepted several strands from it.
Thus, Lu Zheng did not hesitate any longer and immediately crossed back to the modern world.
In the front courtyard, Uncle Li lay beneath his blanket, listening to the faint sounds coming from the rear courtyard.
"Young people really are full of energy!"
Back in the modern world, Lu Zheng ripped off his gas mask and ran to the bathroom, where he began dry-heaving into the toilet.
There was no other reason—it had been too disgusting! As someone who barely even watched horror movies, this was his first time encountering a nonhuman Evil Ghost in reality. Then he had gotten close to her in person and chopped off her head with one slash? "Bleurgh!"
After dry-heaving for a while without bringing anything up, Lu Zheng took a moment to recover, then slowly shuffled out of the bathroom and poured himself a cup of hot water.
Lying on the sofa with the hot water in hand, Lu Zheng casually turned on the television.
He changed channels aimlessly. Feeling the Light of Luck within the Jade Seal in his mind, Lu Zheng finally began to feel happy.
Twelve strands in one go—he had struck it rich this time!
Lu Zheng sat on the sofa all night. A little after five in the morning, he crossed back into the ancient world once more.
He had not yet removed his gas mask, but by then, most of the black smoke in the room had already dispersed.
Since the window in Lu Zheng's bedroom had remained open, the black smoke had scattered into the night wind over the course of the night.
Still, Lu Zheng did not dare let down his guard. He opened the door as well, allowing the rising sunlight to shine in, while he himself went out to sit in the rear courtyard.
Soon, the sun rose high, and the haze dispersed.
Lu Zheng could already hear Uncle Li and Aunt Liu moving about in the front courtyard, but neither came over to disturb him.
Pretty considerate, huh? Lu Zheng could not help shaking his head. Only then did he rise and enter the room.
By now, both the Corpse Ghoul's true body and that beautiful human skin had vanished. Beneath the nylon ropes in the center of the room remained only a set of gauzy robes and flowered skirts, a red-gold kingfisher-feather hairpin, and a pair of gold-embroidered silk shoes.
Lu Zheng could even hear the commotion from Uncle Li and Aunt Liu in the front courtyard, but they did not come over to disturb him.
He had suddenly remembered that the bundle the Corpse Ghoul had brought last night was still in the west Side Room.
Killing monsters and having them drop equipment—wasn't that simply the most basic procedure?
Lu Zheng pushed open the door to the west side room and saw a blue cloth bundle resting on the table against the wall. But judging by its size, it seemed somewhat flatter than it had been last night? Keeping his distance, Lu Zheng used a wooden stick to pick open the bundle. A wisp of black smoke drifted out, then several miscellaneous items spilled loose, along with a water-green plain silk dress patterned in subtle flowers.
It was precisely the dress the Corpse Ghoul had worn when Lu Zheng first met her.
"She was one person—no, one ghost."
Only after confirming it was safe did Lu Zheng reach in and pick the few scattered items out from among the clothes.
A piece of leather, a booklet, and a copper token.
The leather was densely covered in tiny regular-script characters. Though they were all traditional characters, Lu Zheng could still understand some of them.
Especially the two characters "Painted Skin" in the title. Lu Zheng was extremely familiar with those—both films from back then had used traditional characters in their titles as well.
"Skin Painting Art?"
"Damn it, what do I need this thing for?"
"And this isn't human skin, is it?"
Lu Zheng hurriedly tossed the leather aside and picked up the booklet.
"Grand Yin Superior Soul Cleansing Scripture?"
A cultivation technique?
Lu Zheng's eyes lit up. He flipped through it, only to discover that he truly could not understand it!
Damn it! In the end, Lu Zheng picked up the copper token.
He had thought it might be something valuable, only to find it was an ordinary copper token. The front bore the words "Night's End," while the back was engraved with a ferocious ghost face.
Lu Zheng: ⊙_⊙||| Did I do something stupid and provoke some incredible faction?
"You Corpse Ghoul, is something wrong with your brain?"
You had backing, so why didn't you just say so? Since you knew I was pretty capable too, wouldn't it have been great if we had minded our own business and stayed out of each other's way? Why didn't you announce that you had someone backing you even when you were about to die? Weren't you just dragging me into a pit?
Corpse Ghoul: (◣д◢)
Did I fucking have a chance to speak?
Then Lu Zheng decisively wrapped the bundle up again, along with the gauzy robes and flowered skirts from his bedroom.
"Uncle Li!"
"Young Master!"
"Come with me. We're renting a carriage and going to White Cloud Temple!"
"Huh? What?"
Before you continue