Corpse-Raising Formation

"What happened to you?!"

"Forget it, we'll talk about this later. I'm taking you to the hospital first!"

As he spoke, Jiang Cheng didn't give Shen Qing a chance to explain. He crouched down with his back to him, his tone brooking no argument:

"Get on. I'll carry you to the entrance to hail a cab."

Shen Qing shook his head and hurriedly explained, "Big Brother, I'm really fine. I just came to deliver a food order and got grazed by accident. It just looks messy."

Thinking quickly, he glanced at the bald man nearby. "It's just that the food spilled. Boss Zhao, I'm sorry about that."

Late at night like this, he was the only person at the construction site.

It had to be said that Skinflint Zhao was a man who knew how to be a boss; he reacted instantly and picked up the thread.

"It's nothing, it's nothing. If anything, you getting hurt is partly my responsibility. This place is remote and hard to navigate, after all."

As he spoke, he pulled his phone from his pocket, his face full of smiles.

"How about this, little brother? Add me on Feixin. I'll definitely provide compensation—medical expenses, nutrition fees, I, Zhao, won't be stingy about that."

Shen Qing's expression cooled slightly. "That won't be necessary. This is my own business, after all."

This Boss Zhao was definitely up to no good.

"No way! You are coming to the hospital with me right now!"

Jiang Cheng was completely confused.

Delivering food, he understood.

But getting grazed by a vehicle inside a construction site—which one? A mixer, a bulldozer, or what? And why was this Skinflint Zhao suddenly acting so generous?

He didn't have the energy to dwell on it now. He grabbed Shen Qing's arm, though he didn't dare use too much force.

"No, Big Brother, I haven't finished my shift yet..."

Shen Qing shot a look at Xie Chong, pleading for help. He knew his own condition; there was no need to go to the hospital, and it would be hard to explain if he did.

Xie Chong, however, had no intention of playing along. He crossed his arms, wearing an expression of someone watching a show, and laughed:

"It's fine, it's fine. Big Brother is right. I'm Shen Qing's colleague. You can rest assured taking him away; our work here is finished anyway."

"By the way, I recommend the Peace District People's Hospital."

He added, patting Shen Qing on the shoulder, "Don't worry, I'll help you ask for leave."

"See? Your colleague said so too."

Jiang Cheng nodded gratefully at Xie Chong. "Thank you, I'll leave it to you then."

Then, without hesitation, he dragged Shen Qing away.

As he was being hauled off, Shen Qing looked back and glared fiercely at Xie Chong.

Xie Chong waved with a smile, then withdrew his gaze to look at Boss Zhao. "Let's go, shall we have a talk?"

He had also realized that he couldn't wipe this man's memory immediately, and as it happened, he had already notified the captain and the others.

Calculating the time, they should be arriving soon.

Thinking of this, the phone in his pocket suddenly rang. Checking the contact, it was indeed the captain, Fang Shu.

"This car is fast enough."

Ten minutes later, an ordinary car pulled up to the construction site entrance. A young man dressed in a moon-white long robe stepped out from the passenger seat.

He patted the slightly hot hood of the car.

"You ordinary people here actually have some skills, quite different from where we are."

Fang Shu stepped out from the other side, his brow furrowing. "Alright, Instructor Li, let's not waste time."

Li Jianghan was fine when interacting with them, but whenever it involved ordinary citizens, his way of speaking made Fang Shu uncomfortable.

Although, he understood this was a result of his upbringing.

"Come to think of it, was Instructor Li a Supernaturalist from birth?"

"Me?"

Li Jianghan was momentarily stunned, as if stumped by the question, looking as though he were recalling something or perhaps didn't know where to begin.

But Fang Shu had only asked in passing and didn't expect an answer. He hurried toward the construction site, seeing Xie Chong waving from afar.

"Captain!"

The group walked to the area with the ancient tree behind the site. All seven coffins had been dug up, and four rotting corpses were laid out to the side.

"An ancient tree that has gained sentience?"

Li Jianghan's gaze swept over the area, instantly realizing the extraordinary nature of the tree, his eyes landing on the charred trunk.

"Although it is quite weak, having been tempered by lightning and fire, it is a natural formation eye. You can have that doctor of yours take a look; it might be useful."

As he spoke, he shifted his gaze to the pits left by the seven coffins.

"The Seven Coffins Yin-Gathering Formation, with Celestial Pivot as the core."

Li Jianghan pinched a clump of black soil from an empty coffin and examined it closely.

"This was meant to use the other six coffins and this ancient tree to raise a mid-third-grade Walking Corpse. Given the strength levels around here, it likely wouldn't have had any rivals."

"You lot are lucky; you discovered this place early and forced it to emerge prematurely, before it even reached the seventh grade."

"However, even so—"

He turned his head to look at Xie Chong, "For an eighth-grade like you, in coordination with that ninth-grade named Shen Qing, to take it down—your strength and wits are not bad at all."

Li Jianghan's gaze lingered for a moment on the corrosion marks upon the Walking Corpse.

"That Shen Qing must have a unique constitution that suppresses these ghosts and monsters; no wonder his vitality is so robust, otherwise you would have had no path to survival."

At this moment, Fang Shu, wearing gloves, finished inspecting the Walking Corpse and nodded as well.

"You have performed a meritorious service this time; I will report it to the Bureau Chief when we return."

Of the four Walking Corpses, the strongest one—in a one-on-one scenario—could only be defeated by half of the seven captains in Binhai City, with the others at best having a fifty-fifty chance.

And that was without even considering the risk of injury.

To secure a guaranteed win, one would need those few D-rank individuals, the seventh-graders; that is already a national-level combat force.

For a ninth-grade and a newly promoted eighth-grade to win, luck played a significant role.

Fang Shu glanced at the cement mixer not far away with its caved-in front, then looked at Xie Chong, "Are you addicted to ramming things, kid?"

"Last time it was an off-road vehicle, this time a cement mixer; next time, are you going to try a tank?"

Xie Chong scratched his head, his eyes gleaming with eagerness, "That's not impossible."

He was then met with a fierce glare from Fang Shu.

"The situation is as it stands."

Li Jianghan checked the scene one last time and clapped his hands, "The formation is broken; I reckon someone is about to be furious to death."

Fang Shu nodded thoughtfully, "The Sleeping Corpse Path?"

The three of them conversed as if no one else were present, while Boss Zhao stood to the side, trembling with fear—was it appropriate for him to know so much?

And these coffins...

It wasn't until Fang Shu suddenly cast his gaze toward him, "Let's go, Boss Zhao, come back with us to discuss your losses."

Discuss losses?

If only it were that simple, Boss Zhao thought, wearing a smile uglier than a grimace as he nodded repeatedly.

"Good, good, that is only right."

At this moment, in a three-story villa in the suburbs, the lights were blazing.

Just as Li Jianghan had anticipated, a young man with an ordinary appearance was frantically smashing furniture.

"Bastards, who exactly broke my Corpse-Raising Formation!"

With one kick, he sent a heavy solid-wood coffee table flying, shattering the floor-to-ceiling window and sending shards scattering everywhere.

The servant standing at the door trembled, keeping their head down, terrified of drawing attention, until the main door opened and another young man walked in, stepping over the broken glass.

"Sun Huai!"

The ordinary-looking young man turned his head, eyes wide as he shouted, "You've come at the right time! I need you to find me seven more—no, fourteen corpses that meet the requirements!"

"The faster the better, preferably within a week!"