Patrolling

Wang Quan did not turn back. Carrying the lantern, he continued walking along the pitch-black foot of the wall. The warm, comforting current brought by the culmination of the Bronze Armor Technique circulated beneath his skin and flesh, warding off much of the night chill. He gripped his saber hilt tightly, his eyes fixed like hooks upon the deeper darkness ahead.

After walking for another half-shifter, he estimated it was almost midnight. The wind grew colder, stinging his face as it whipped by. A few of the newbies were shivering violently, but having been through that last scare, they were not quite as panicked as they had been at first; instead, their eyes darted around restlessly, scanning all directions.

Wang Quan's footsteps suddenly halted. Something was wrong. The wind carried not only the stench of decay, but also a faint... trace of blood. Moreover, it seemed to be drifting from more than one direction.

He immediately raised his hand, making a gesture to signal silence and a halt. He strained his ears to listen as well. In the darkness, aside from the sound of the wind, there came the faint, dragging sound of shuffle... shuffle..., along with that familiar, rattling gasp squeezed from deep within a throat—and it was coming from more than one spot!

"Light the lanterns! Against the wall! Back to back!" Wang Quan commanded in a low voice, simultaneously drawing his saber with a sharp clang and holding his wind-proof lamp high.

The four newbies gave a start, but this time their reactions were a bit quicker. Fumbling in a panic, they managed to light their own battered lanterns and hurriedly crowded close to Wang Quan, pressing their backs against the cold city wall while facing outward. They held their sabers horizontally, though the blades shook like leaves in the wind.

The dim halo barely pushed back a few paces before illuminating four figures swaying as they walked out from the shadows of the ruins ahead and to the left. Similar to the thing from earlier, their movements were stiff, their skin ashen, and their clothes tattered as they let out low, rattling growls. This time, four of them had emerged at once, loosely forming a semi-circle that trapped them.

"A-Another one!" the scrawny recruit cried out with a sob.

"Shut up!" Wang Quan barked in a low growl, his gaze sweeping rapidly across the surroundings. There were four of them, all lowest-tier walking corpses, and their movements were sluggish. Yet if they all swarmed in at once, dealing with these four fledglings would be tricky. Dealing with them himself was not hard, but having to divide his focus to protect these fellows so they did not cause trouble would be a nuisance.

"Shi Zhu! Take the other two and watch the left side! Stall them, don't fight head-on, move around and trade blows! The two on the right are mine!" Wang Quan spoke at a rapid, unquestionable pace. "Listen up, all of you! Follow the method from just now: chop the legs, slice the necks! Just render them unable to move! Whoever dares run off will have me slice their head off first!"

"Understood, Boss!" Shi Zhu replied through clenched teeth, calling out to the half-grown lad and the other slightly steadier recruit. Holding their sabers crosswise, they aimed them at the two sluggishly shuffling walking corpses on the left. Shi Zhu took the frontline position, his eyes wide open.

Wang Quan, meanwhile, strode forward two steps, meeting the two on the right that were shuffling along almost side by side. These two were closer.

"Hnn..." The corpses seemed to catch the richer scent of living humans, and the speed of their shuffling increased by a fraction as their ashen claws reached out straight.

Wang Quan's gaze chilled, and instead of retreating, he advanced! His feet exploded with force; the fully mastered Bronze Armor Technique not only made his skin tough and his strength great, but also granted him a firmer lower stance and faster explosive power! He lunged forward like a leopard, the long saber in his hand carving a chillingly cold flash of white through the dimness.

The Wind Slaying Saber Technique focused entirely on speed, precision, and ruthlessness, making it best suited for dealing with such sluggish things. Wang Quan used no fancy tricks—just the simplest hacks and slashes, yet executed at extreme speed with ample force, the blade specifically targeting necks.

Thwack! Thwack!

Two dull thuds rang out almost simultaneously. The head of one walking corpse whipped off to the side as the blade bit deep into its neck, dark blood spraying out with a hiss. He kicked the second one squarely in the chest, sending it staggering backward. Twisting his body smoothly, Wang Quan flashed his blade, and the second head went flying, spinning away with a heavy thud.

Resolving two of them took no more than two or three breaths.

Without even glancing at the fallen corpses, he whirled around and charged toward the left. Shi Zhu and the other two were still tangling with the remaining pair of walking corpses. Shi Zhu was holding his ground reasonably well, using his saber to parry the corpse's claws while seizing any opening to hack at its knee joints. The half-grown lad had also grown fierce, blindly slashing and chopping away, managing to open several gasps on the corpse's body. The remaining recruit, however, was in a complete panic, knowing only to wave his saber about blindly while retreating step by step, right as the corpse's claws were about to grab him.

"Useless thing!" Wang Quan cursed, his figure cutting into the skirmish like the wind. The blade-light flashed once more—fast and accurate. The wrist of the corpse reaching toward the panicked recruit was severed cleanly, followed immediately by the blade sweeping across its neck. The other corpse lunging at Shi Zhu was likewise decapitated from its side-rear by a single blow.

In the blink of an eye, all four walking corpses lay flat, reduced to headless torsos as foul, stinking dark blood slowly pooled across the ground.

[Slew low-tier walking corpse, gained skill points: 2 points]

[Slew low-tier walking corpse, gained skill points: 2 points]

[Slew low-tier walking corpse, gained skill points: 1 point]

[Slew low-tier walking corpse, gained skill points: 2 points]

Four consecutive notification chimes rang out in his mind, totaling 7 points!

Wang Quan sheathed his saber and stood his ground, his breathing slightly rushed. Continuous slaying while keeping watch over a few dead weight consumed both physical stamina and mental focus. He glanced at the four shaken men. Shi Zhu was still standing, but the other three—including the half-grown lad—were pale-faced and panting heavily. The one who had nearly been grabbed earlier was slumped directly on the ground, having wet the crotch of his trousers once more.

"Get up! Clean this up!" Wang Quan kicked the leg of the slumped man, fished a small porcelain vial from his robes, and tossed it to Shi Zhu. "Bone Dissolving Water. Drop it on the wounds, don't let it touch your skin."

Shi Zhu caught the vial in a panic, feeling its chill against his palms. He looked at the headless corpses scattered across the ground, then back at Wang Quan. His Adam's apple bobbed as he gritted his teeth, squatted down, and carefully applied the colorless, pungent liquid from the bottle onto the severed necks of every single corpse.

Sizzle...

A faint sound of corrosion rang out. The corpses emitted white smoke as their skin, flesh, and bones dissolved rapidly, transforming into pools of yellowish liquid that seeped into the muddy ground. Only scraps of tattered cloth remained, and the scorching stench in the air grew heavier.

"See that?" Wang Quan looked at the four recruits whose faces were as pale as ghosts, his voice cold and hard. "From now on, this is a regular occurrence. If you don't want to end up lying here dissolving into water, toughen up your guts and make your hands ruthless! In this place, cowards die the fastest. Scared? Is being scared of any use right now? Next time, and the time after that, either you hack them apart, or they devour you! Nobody has the leisure time to protect useless trash. Pull yourselves together, move!"

He could not be bothered to say more. Lifting his lamp, he turned and continued walking along the city wall. Saying more was no substitute for seeing blood once. Those who could survive would naturally understand; those who could not survive would understand to no avail.

Behind him, Shi Zhu followed silently. The other three supported one another, following step by unsteady step. Only this time, as they looked at Wang Quan's back, their eyes held something else besides fear. Though their hands still shook, they gripped their saber hilts all the tighter.

As he walked, Wang Quan split his focus to inspect the panel in his mind. Seven skill points, plus the 0 points he had left previously, made a total of 7 points. The Bronze Armor Technique was at culmination, and the prompt indicated it could be deduced further, but that would cost 5 points. The Turtle Breath Vitality Art was still uninitiated.

Let's invest in the Turtle Breath Vitality Art first. A thought stirred in his mind. This technique did not involve fighting, but it could nurture blood and qi, calm internal breath, and presumably help recover stamina. If he were ever driven to a desperate end and forced to swallow an Exploding Pill, he might even rely on it to steady that berserk medicinal force. In this ghostly place, the ability to endure and outlast was sometimes more important than the ability to fight.

[Consume 1 skill point to raise Turtle Breath Vitality Art to "Initiated"?]

"Yes."

A cool current of air rose from his dantian, leisurely flowing through his entire body. Unlike the warm, comforting sensation of the Bronze Armor Technique, this qi was exceedingly gentle, lingering and endless. Wherever it flowed, the soreness in his muscles from the recent slaughter seemed to lighten, and his breathing appeared deeper as well. His mind gained a few rudimentary insights into how to regulate his breath, quiet his heart, and nurture a breath of inner energy.

Continue, raise it to Lesser Mastery.

[Consume 1 skill point to raise it to "Lesser Mastery"?]

"Yes."

The cool current of air seemed to grow a fraction stouter, circulating through his body a bit faster, and the sensation of fatigue relief became even more pronounced.

[Raise it to Proficient.]

[Consume 1 skill point to raise it to "Proficient"?]

"Yes."

This time, the cool current of air increased noticeably, flowing through his body slowly like a small stream. Not only did it dispel fatigue, but it also calmed the restless agitation lingering in his mind from the earlier fight. With every inhalation and exhalation, his breath grew longer, and his perception of his own body became clearer.

[Raise it to Culmination.]

[Consume 1 skill point to raise it to "Culmination"?]

"Yes!"

The final point was poured in, and that cool current of air hummed as it grew thick and mellow, transforming seemingly into hot spring water that soaked his tendons, bones, skin, and flesh, even causing his mind to clear along with it. The physical stamina he had just expended was rapidly replenished, his breath grew deep and long, his limbs felt light and agile, and his internal breath—or rather, his blood and qi—circulated much more smoothly, giving him the sense that he could endure far longer.

[Current stage of Turtle Breath Vitality Art: Culmination]

[Prompt: This technique has reached the limit of its current tier. You may attempt to deduce it further, exploring the possibility of breaking through the mortal tier to enter a higher grade. Required skill points: 5 points.]

[Remaining skill points: 3 points]

Both foundational techniques had reached their peak. Although both were common goods, one specialized in the exterior—tough, durable, and strong; the other specialized in the interior—nurturing qi, steadying the spirit, and recovering quickly. Combining the two, Wang Quan felt that compared to yesterday, he had practically changed into a different person. His physique was stouter by more than a notch, his endurance was stronger, and though his internal breath was not yet formidable, it was continuous with plenty of reserve strength.

Yet this deduction would cost another 5 points... and moreover...

Wang Quan frowned. Something was wrong. In a single night, along this brief stretch of the city wall, he had run into five walking corpses. Although they were all of the lowest tier, this density was simply too high. Anping County had garrisons suppressing the area, night patrols were continuous, and no matter how broken the city wall was, defenses were in place. Even if stray ghosts had sneaked in during the past, it had never been this frequent. Could it be that the "things" outside the city were growing more numerous? Or was there something outside this western wall luring them over?

A shadow cast itself over his heart, but his footsteps did not halt. Leading the four still-shaken recruits, he continued along the designated route. The latter half of the night proved quiet; aside from the distant calls of night-owls, there was no other movement.

The eastern sky gradually took on a fish-belly white, and the darkness receded like a tide. Daybreak had finally arrived.

Dragging themselves back to the garrison—exhausted and fatigued, yet somehow returning in one piece—the recruits handed in their night-patrol tokens. Commander Chen was already waiting in the old spot, wearing the same expressionless dark face.

"Commander Chen, we patrolled the western wall. We encountered no demons, but ran into a few half-formed Corpse Clan. It felt... a bit off." Wang Quan cupped his fist, his voice steady.

Wei Dayong had also returned with his squad. They were all covered in grime and dust, with a few sustaining minor injuries, but everyone was accounted for.

Commander Chen grunted in acknowledgment, his gaze sweeping over Wang Quan and the four recruits behind him who, though battered, were whole. His eyes lingered on Wang Quan for a brief moment, seemingly sensing that his aura differed slightly from yesterday's, yet he asked no further questions. Taking the tokens, he waved a hand. "Understood. Dismissed."