Slaying the Zombie

Just as Shi Mu was reeling with shock, the humanoid monster let out a low growl and charged straight at him, the nearest target, trailing a foul stench.

Shi Mu drew a deep breath, casting all the chaotic thoughts from his mind. Without a word, he sprang forward and flicked his wrist. His single-edged saber swept out in a broad swath of cold light.

"Bang! Bang!" Several blows rang out.

The saber slashed across the monster's chest four or five times in quick succession, but it was like cutting into deadwood. The strikes left only several shallow wounds, from which faint green blood seeped. The monster seemed scarcely harmed.

Instead, the humanoid monster spread both arms and lunged to crush Shi Mu in a fierce embrace.

Shi Mu was horrified, but the results of all that running through the mountains in Black Armor during this period of training now showed themselves. Though he had yet to practice any movement techniques, he spun nimbly on the spot, just barely slipping past the monster's thick arms. He appeared behind it, and his blade flashed. Four or five more shallow cuts appeared across its waist.

"Roar!"

The monster had not been badly hurt, but it was clearly enraged. It twisted its body sharply, and its upper half turned a bizarre one hundred and eighty degrees. Its arms swung like cartwheels, raining blows down on Shi Mu from above.

With a crash, the attack caught Shi Mu completely off guard. There was no time to dodge. He could only raise both hands, gripping the saber across his body. The blow sent him flying like a sack.

Shi Mu's back slammed into a thick stone pillar. Only after it shuddered with a crash did he stop. When he got back to his feet, his vision had gone dark around the edges, and he swayed unsteadily.

But the humanoid monster showed no intention of letting him go. It kicked off the ground, raised its arms, and charged at him again, trailing a foul wind.

Shi Mu gave a low growl. Rather than dodge, he flicked his wrist, and his single-edged saber suddenly blurred into six shadows that cleaved straight at the monster.

A muffled thud!

The youth's fingers went numb with heat. The saber flew from his grasp, shooting upward with a whoosh before embedding itself deep in a crossbeam of the hall. Shi Mu himself staggered backward several steps.

With a shrill cry, the monster was forced back by the blade shadows. Four more cuts appeared across its arms, while two long gashes opened on its face. Green blood sprayed everywhere.

"Young man, a zombie's head is its weak point! Attack there!" Seeing this, the middle-aged man on the other side finally remembered and hurriedly shouted.

His cry immediately drew the monster's attention.

It already knew that Shi Mu, who faced it head-on, was no easy opponent. But now it was consumed by fury. With hardly a second thought, it roared and abruptly turned toward the bonfire.

"No!"

The middle-aged man was so terrified that his soul nearly fled his body. But his daughter was right behind him, and there was no time to dodge. He could only steel himself, hurl his short sword at the zombie, then turn and clutch his daughter tightly.

He actually used his own body to shield the girl.

"Pfft!"

The monster knocked the short sword aside with one arm. The claws on its other hand were razor-sharp, and they tore through the man's clothes and plunged halfway into his back without the slightest difficulty.

The man cried out, blood gushing from his wound.

"Ah!"

The girl, held in her father's arms, turned deathly pale and screamed.

Just then, an astonishing scene unfolded.

The humanoid monster had bowed its head and opened its foul-smelling mouth, about to bite into the man's neck. But when it heard the girl scream, its body trembled and it cried out in pain. Its arm instantly tore free from the man's back, and it staggered backward, clutching its head with both hands.

A gust of wind suddenly swept through the hall. Shi Mu rushed behind the monster at astonishing speed and leaped several feet into the air. He jerked both arms and drove his fists hard into either side of its head.

With a boom, his fists struck home like iron hammers. The force was so great it unleashed an explosive crack, and the monster's head burst apart like a watermelon. Green blood sprayed in every direction.

Shi Mu stamped hard on the ground with one foot and shot backward several paces, narrowly avoiding being drenched in green blood.

The headless monster's corpse swayed twice, then crashed heavily to the ground.

Shi Mu stood firm with both fists clenched and drew a deep breath, but his face was still a little pale.

The fight had lasted no more than a split second, yet this zombie was far more terrifying than any wild beast he had ever killed. If the girl's scream hadn't inexplicably distracted it, he could never have landed that decisive blow.

Of course, his strength of a thousand catties and the fact that he had trained the Crushing Stone Fist to near mastery had also played a major part. Otherwise, even if the monster's head was its weak point, an ordinary Martial Disciple would never have been able to seriously injure it with bare hands.

"Father!"

Only then did the girl's heart-wrenching cry rise from the other side.

Shi Mu finally had a chance to look over. The girl was half sprawled across the man, desperately pressing both hands against the gaping wound in his chest. But blood kept bubbling out. There was no way she could stop it.

"Young man, young man..."

The middle-aged man's face was utterly bloodless, but he paid no heed to his daughter's efforts and desperately beckoned Shi Mu over.

"Father, don't talk. I'll find a doctor to stop the bleeding..." the girl sobbed.

"It's no use. Xiu'er, your father knows a little medicine too. My heart meridian has been severed. I'm afraid I'll be dead in moments. I've enjoyed all the good things life had to offer, so even if I go now, I have no regrets. The only thing I can't put out of my mind is you, all alone..." The middle-aged man gave a bitter smile, then looked at Shi Mu with hopeful eyes.

The girl's heart broke even more when she heard this.

"Uncle Zhong, is there something you want to tell me?" Shi Mu sighed and finally walked over, crouching beside him.

He had a feeling trouble might fall into his lap, but there was no way he could simply walk away in a situation like this.

"Young... young man, the fact that my daughter and I could... could meet you here is a great stroke of fate. I'm about to go, but I can't... leave Xiu'er alone in this world. I want to entrust her... to you." The middle-aged man began to pant heavily as he spoke.

"There's no need to entrust her to me, is there? Your daughter seems to be engaged to the Wu Family. I can take her there." Shi Mu was slightly taken aback.

"The Wu Family... heh... If I were still alive, I'd naturally have a way to make them accept her. But now... the Wu Family will never acknowledge this marriage. If you take... take my daughter there, you'll only..."

"If that's the case, I can take Miss Xiu'er to stay with other relatives." Shi Mu furrowed his brow and interrupted him.

"Since the Zhong Family fell into decline, we... we haven't had any relatives left. Xiu'er, listen carefully... Your engagement to the Wu Family is canceled. Young man, you don't seem like an ordinary person... I'm not asking you to give my daughter a proper wedding. Just promise to take her as a concubine and make sure she never wants for food or clothing. Then I can die in peace. Since you're a martial artist, this ancestral treasure of the Zhong Family should be useful to you. Consider it my daughter's betrothal gift. If you ever wrong her, I, Zhong Ming, will haunt you even as a ghost." With a sudden burst of energy, the middle-aged man rushed through his last few words. He pulled a small wooden box from his robes and forced it into Shi Mu's hand. Then he gave a shout and breathed no more.

"Father!"

The girl had been so startled by her father's words that she had even forgotten to cry. But when she saw that he had truly passed away, she threw herself over his corpse and began to wail again.

Shi Mu stood beside her, holding the wooden box in one hand, completely dumbstruck and at a loss.

"Sir, I'm afraid my father was not in his right mind at the end. You don't have to take his words seriously. Once we reach Feng City, please still take me to the Wu Family." After an unknown length of time, the girl finally stopped crying. Her eyes red and swollen, she spoke to Shi Mu, who had already stood up.

"Miss Zhong, I do think Uncle Zhong's last words were rather inappropriate. You should keep this item." Shi Mu breathed out softly and replied awkwardly, then held the wooden box out to her.

"I've never seen this before either, but since it was given to you by my father, I won't take it back. Besides, if you hadn't killed that monster yourself, I wouldn't have survived." The girl shook her head.

"Miss Zhong, don't call me 'sir.' My surname is Shi, and my given name is Mu. How about this: the rain outside seems to have stopped. I'll help bury your father first. Otherwise, if we wait too long, the wild beasts in the mountains might come." Shi Mu hesitated, then put the wooden box away.

"Then I'll be grateful for your help. From now on, just call me Zhong Xiu, Brother Shi." The girl seemed very fragile, but after a good cry, she appeared to have grown much stronger.

A quarter of an hour later, on the hillside behind the ancient temple, the girl knelt before a grave. She forced herself through three deep bows despite the pain in her heart, then followed Shi Mu away, looking back again and again.

When the two returned to the temple, the humanoid monster's corpse was still where they had left it. Yet its surface had begun to rot at an astonishing pace, and green liquid seeped from the body, filling the whole hall with a foul stench.

At the sight, Zhong Xiu dared not go any closer. Shi Mu frowned and said,

"This thing is so strange. We can't just leave it here. Miss Zhong, wait a moment. I'll deal with it too."

The girl nodded repeatedly.

Shi Mu immediately turned and left the hall. When he returned a moment later, he was carrying several enormous, thick leaves as broad as banana leaves. He strode over to the monster's corpse.

He bent down, quickly wrapped the corpse in the leaves, and lifted it in both hands, about to carry it outside.

With a slap, something fell from the leaves.