The Undead

After breaking through the eighth meridian, Shen Lin's strength increased again.

What made Shen Lin even more concerned was the effectiveness of the Shadow-Breaking Step martial art.

After perfecting it, Shen Lin felt a bit more relaxed, as if with a single thought, he could cover a distance of one or two zhang and appear in the shadows.

He wanted to practice it and experience the marvels of this martial art.

But the current situation...

It didn't seem like the time to study these things.

The sun was setting in the west, and the sky had already become somewhat dim.

Even with the faint light, Shen Lin could still see the entire vicinity clearly.

After observing for a while, Shen Lin asked with some confusion, "Where's the corpse you were talking about?"

As soon as he said this, the hunter finally reacted.

Although the surrounding scene convinced him that this was where he had found the corpse before, now the surroundings were empty, and the corpse was nowhere to be seen.

"That's strange, did I make a mistake?"

The hunter awkwardly scratched his head. Just as he was about to move forward, Shen Lin stopped him.

He shook his head and pointed to the ground not far away.

Just now, he had also thought the hunter had led him to the wrong place.

But as he was about to move forward, he smelled the lingering scent of blood in the air.

Following the scent of blood, Shen Lin found a patch of ground that was slightly reddened.

These were traces left by blood soaking into the soil.

The hunter hadn't led him astray; this was indeed the place where he had found the corpse.

"That's strange, where's the corpse?"

The hunter's eyesight wasn't as good as Shen Lin's. He took a few steps forward before realizing something was wrong.

He squatted down, examined it carefully, and then suddenly turned his head and shouted, "Master Shen, look over here, there are footprints!"

When it came to tracking, the hunter, who spent his days in the mountains and wilderness, was clearly more skilled.

He pointed to the messy grass beside them and said:

"Although the footprints here are messy, I can tell that five people have walked through here. And judging by their depth, one of them must be physically large and heavy."

Shen Lin narrowed his eyes and shook his head, "It's also possible that person was carrying something else. For example..."

"The corpse!!!"

Hearing this, the hunter flinched.

Shen Lin's words, combined with the eerie mountain wind, made the hunter a little unnerved.

"Master Shen, we've found the place. Can I..."

Seeing him hesitate, Shen Lin smiled but didn't reply, speaking to himself, "Footprints of five people. The remaining four are probably the brothers from the county yamen. It seems they also discovered the corpse was missing and followed to investigate."

"You don't need to be afraid. With me here, neither demons nor bandits can harm you. Just lead the way for me."

Although Shen Lin had given his assurance, the hunter's worries didn't dissipate much.

He really wanted to turn around and leave, but he also knew that if he offended the county yamen or this Master Shen, his future days would be miserable.

Helpless, he could only grit his teeth, follow the tracks, and lead Shen Lin deeper into the mountains.

Not long after, Shen Lin saw the hunter suddenly stop and asked, "What, the trail disappeared?"

"N-no, Master Shen, you you you... look ahead!"

The dense forest thinned out ahead, revealing a clearing.

Slightly raised mounds of earth resembled crouching monsters.

Among the uneven gravestones, one or two faint green flames could be seen from time to time.

This was a graveyard.

"Help!!!"

Just as the two were observing the graveyard, a miserable cry came from the depths.

A man in tattered clothes, with disheveled hair, ran over in a panic.

Stumbling, he fell to the ground repeatedly, but he got up and continued to run, as if a death god was chasing him.

"Help, there's... there's a monster!!!"

At this moment, he saw Shen Lin and the hunter. Especially after noticing Shen Lin's attire, his face immediately lit up with joy.

"Officer!!! Help, there's a monster over there!!!"

Shen Lin narrowed his eyes, observed the man, and his expression remained unchanged. He said in a deep voice, "Don't panic! Explain clearly, what kind of monster is it?"

"A man-eating monster! It's too terrifying..."

He gasped for air, his heart still pounding. He looked back and pleaded with Shen Lin, "Officer, please, save my life! I have an eighty-year-old mother..."

"With me here, those monsters won't be able to harm you."

Shen Lin interrupted him and asked in a deep voice, "What about you? What are you doing in these mountains in the middle of the night?"

"Ah... I... that..."

The man stammered, lowered his head, his small eyes darting around. He whispered, "This humble one... this humble one is here to gather herbs."

Shen Lin glanced at the Luoyang shovel on his back.

That shovel wasn't used for gathering herbs.

The hunter beside them also stared at the Luoyang shovel for a long time, then sized up the man, wanting to speak but hesitating.

Shen Lin seemed to believe his words and didn't press further. He asked, "I ask you, where are these monsters you speak of?"

"In that direction, past that small mound... four other officers have already gone to fight the monster..."

"What???"

Shen Lin's eyes widened. He cursed viciously and charged forward.

In just two or three breaths, he had crossed the small mound and reached the depths of the graveyard.

It was then that he heard the clash of metal.

Under the moonlight, he saw the scene before him clearly.

Two yamen runners were surrounded by a massive tiger demon, continuously swinging their sabers.

It seemed they had been fighting for a while. Shen Lin could tell their movements were stiff and heavy. They couldn't even execute the Blood Battle Saber Technique and were just wildly swinging their sabers.

Not far away, under a large tree, two other yamen runners sat with their backs against the trunk, heads bowed, their lives unknown.

Seeing this, Shen Lin let out a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness, thank goodness.

The demonic creature hadn't been dealt with yet.

Although the aura emanating from the tiger demon indicated it hadn't cultivated demonic energy and was even weaker than a Martial Artist, Shen Lin valued the lifespan the opponent could provide the most when slaying demons.

Judging by its muscular body, this guy was in its prime. It would surely provide a considerable amount of lifespan for demons and monsters.

With that thought, he drew his long sword and charged forward.

The tiger demon sent a yamen runner flying with a flick of its tail. It turned around and was about to charge at the remaining yamen runner when it noticed that in the darkness, besides the moon in the sky, there was another source of light.

This beam of light was like a gale, its wind pressure causing the surrounding trees to tremble.

Gale Sword Technique!

Shen Lin's long sword danced wildly, like a hurricane, crashing directly into the tiger demon.

Boom!

With a muffled sound, the tiger demon's body was blown away, landing heavily on the ground.

The tiger demon was covered in sword wounds, with a large hole directly through its heart.

Despite killing the demonic creature with a single strike, Shen Lin didn't feel much joy. Instead, a hint of confusion appeared on his face.

The next moment, his ears twitched, and he subtly shifted to the side.

Swish!

A steel saber fell, almost grazing his body.

The remaining yamen runner, for some unknown reason, began wildly attacking Shen Lin with his steel saber.

Clang!

Shen Lin blocked the attack with his sword, facing the man directly.

When he saw the man's face clearly, he was stunned for a moment before kicking him directly in the abdomen.

This kick sent the man staggering back several steps.

"Roar!!!"

The yamen runner suddenly raised his head and let out a non-human roar.

Half of the flesh on his face was gone, and one eye socket was empty, the eyeball nowhere to be found.

The single remaining eyeball was eerily rolled upwards, devoid of a pupil, only a terrifying, ghastly white.

It opened its mouth, revealing a full set of teeth as black as ink, with four long fangs even longer than those of some wild beasts.

A Zombie?