The More You Walk the Night Road, the More Likely You Are to Meet a Ghost

The sheer number of zombies, their tough defenses, and their deadly poison made this situation nearly impossible to resolve for an ordinary Opening Meridians Realm martial artist.

Even if your Qi and Blood Force were abundant enough to sustain you until you had cut down every last zombie, you still couldn't be sure you'd avoid their encirclement without suffering so much as a scratch.

Yet faced with such a thorny predicament, Shen Lin slowly smiled.

"I thought the martial art I just learned might not come in handy..."

He murmured under his breath, then charged once more at the zombies surging toward him.

Crack!

His long sword plunged into the Tiger Demon's neck, its blade bending slightly, as if he meant to pry the tiger's head right off.

A perfect opportunity!

The Demon Cultivator hidden among the zombies saw this and his eyes lit up. He immediately rushed out.

With Shen Lin's sword stuck, this was the perfect chance to attack!

But the next moment, his vision blurred, and Shen Lin abruptly vanished from where he stood.

The long sword was still embedded in the Tiger Demon's neck, swaying back and forth.

Where was he?

How had he suddenly disappeared?

The Demon Cultivator looked around in confusion, but just as he turned his head, he heard a sword ring.

He hurriedly turned back, only to see the long sword that had been stuck in the Tiger Demon's neck spin clockwise and slice the beast's head clean off.

But Shen Lin was nowhere to be seen.

It was as if that man had simply vanished into thin air, turning invisible.

Seeing his zombies standing motionless in confusion, he suddenly had an idea. He pulled out a copper bell and gave it a shake.

He'd previously ordered the zombies to attack in coordination, so they chose targets within his field of vision.

Since he couldn't see Shen Lin now, he might as well let them act freely and attack every living thing except him.

Zombies didn't rely on sight to sense their enemies. They detected fluctuations in life force.

So whatever method Shen Lin had used to conceal himself, he would still give himself away in front of the zombies!

Sure enough, the next moment, the zombies all lifted their heads and began to attack with low growls.

Their target was... him?

No!

The Demon Cultivator first thought the zombies had gone out of control and turned on him.

But then he suddenly realized what was happening and whipped a claw behind him.

Shen Lin was right behind him!

Whoosh!

But the swipe cut through empty air, yielding nothing but the sound of wind.

He turned around, just confirming that the space behind him was clear, when a howling gust erupted from the zombie horde.

He spun around again, only to find a headless zombie before him.

The howling wind seemed to herald something, echoing through the darkness without end.

Each gust claimed another zombie's head.

No matter how intently the Demon Cultivator focused, no matter how wide he opened his eyes or how afraid he was to blink, he couldn't catch sight of Shen Lin.

An inexplicable terror spread through his heart. Though he was used to the gloom of graveyards, for the first time, he felt true fear.

Shen Lin seemed to have become a phantom, like a death god lurking in the shadows. He struck without restraint right before the Demon Cultivator's eyes, yet the man couldn't see a thing.

"Show yourself!!!"

"You're an officer of the authorities! Aren't you afraid people will laugh at you for acting like this?"

"Come out!!!"

He began wildly swinging the black claws in his hands, attacking an enemy who existed only in his imagination.

Not far away, the hunter stood with his mouth agape, staring at the scene in disbelief.

Shen Lin was strolling casually right in front of the Demon Cultivator, yet the man seemed blind. He couldn't see his opponent at all and kept attacking empty air.

"What kind of trick did Lord Shen use? That guy's gone completely mad..."

The hunter had good eyesight, but he was still just an ordinary man who had never practiced martial arts.

If another martial artist who had just entered the field—Prefect Hu or Miss Zijing, for example—had seen Shen Lin now, they would only have marveled at the subtlety of his footwork.

Though he seemed to be strolling leisurely, every step he took brought him into the Demon Cultivator's blind spot.

Like a shadow, he couldn't be shaken off or escaped, no matter what the Demon Cultivator did.

In the blink of an eye, the zombies fell one by one, leaving only the Demon Cultivator raving.

His eyes were bloodshot. Panting heavily, he continued to swing his black claws, too afraid to stop even as exhaustion overtook him.

The Corpse Puppets fell one after another, yet he couldn't even see where his opponent was.

That alone put him under immense psychological pressure.

And now, he was all alone.

He didn't dare stop moving. He feared that the moment he did, that howling gust would sound beside his ear and take his head.

Gradually, his movements grew slower and slower, and his furious roars grew hoarse.

His legs suddenly gave way, and he fell to his knees. Bowing his head, he panted in great, ragged gasps.

At last, he saw his shadow on the ground twitch and split off into another.

He slowly raised his head and finally saw Shen Lin, who had been gone for so long.

Shen Lin was looking at him quietly, his expression neither sad nor happy.

"The more you walk the night road, the more likely you are to meet a ghost. There's a lot of truth to that saying."

Shen Lin's calm words still echoed in the air as a dazzling flash of sword light filled the Demon Cultivator's vision.

Finally... could he be free?

Facing the death that was about to come, he closed his eyes with a sense of relief.

He'd had enough of the terror he'd just endured. All he wanted now was to close his eyes and rest.

But the next moment, sharp stings shot through his body, forcing him to open them again.

Shen Lin's long sword had not taken his life. In a flash, it had severed the tendons in his hands and feet.

"You... hhk—"

Before he could finish his angry retort, Shen Lin's sword swung sideways and smacked him across the face, dislocating his jaw.

"What are you thinking?"

Shen Lin crouched down and smiled at him. "A living Demon Cultivator is worth more in rewards. The County Office has plenty of questions for you, too."

Watching the Demon Cultivator squirm, Shen Lin dusted off his hands and stood up. He lifted the man with one hand and was just about to head back when he seemed to remember something and waved to the hunter.

"Lord Shen, what do you need?"

Having witnessed what had just happened, the hunter now looked at Shen Lin as if he were a ghost, his gaze strangely troubled.

Shen Lin paid him little mind and pointed to a headless corpse. "Take a look at that one. Is it the corpse you found earlier?"

The hunter stepped forward, examined it, and nodded firmly. "It is!"

Good. The assignment was complete!

Shen Lin let out a long breath. "Then take it with you. We're going back to the County Office!"

"Huh?"

The hunter stood frozen, looking at the headless corpse already sprouting maggots. His scalp prickled.

And that wasn't all. Shen Lin's next words made him shiver.

"Oh, right. Don't forget his head."