Tomb of the Living Dead

Gao Fu trembled as he dropped to his knees. Though the villagers behind him had no idea what was happening, seeing their village chief kneel and hearing something about immortal masters, they naturally knelt as well.

Just then, someone whispered a few words beside Gao Fu. Frightened, he buried his head even deeper, unable to stop himself from recalling the scant few words passed down by his elders.

The immortals of the Hidden Moon Sect were all the sort to eat people without even spitting out the bones!

"Someone, bind that beast! Hang him before Soul-Severing Forest and cure him in the sun for a hundred days."

After issuing the order to that man, Gao Fu hurriedly raised his head again and said to the three of them, "Three immortal masters, these ignorant mountain folk have caused offense in many ways. Please forgive us, please forgive us."

Zhu Zihua's expression eased somewhat. Just as he was about to tell him to rise, Nan Yun suddenly stepped forward and said coldly, "Why go to such trouble? He spoke without respect and knows neither rank nor propriety. Slap his mouth!"

As soon as she spoke, her robes billowed around her. She lifted the man into the air from a distance, spiritual energy forming a giant hand that delivered several resounding slaps across his face.

In an instant, the man was slapped unconscious onto the ground, his entire face swollen into a pig's head.

"Enough. Carry him away."

Nan Yun waved a hand, and the two men who had stepped forward promptly lifted him up and carried him away from the crowd.

"Thank you for your mercy, Immortal Master." Village Chief Gao Fu kowtowed again and again. Zhu Zihua looked somewhat displeased, but said nothing, merely pointing ahead.

"What is this?"

There, atop the fresh earth, stood a newly built grave of blue bricks. What puzzled them was that its entrance had only been half-sealed, and an old woman was curled up inside, clawing at the bricks as she stared fearfully ahead.

"You mean this, Immortal Master?"

Having received the cue, Gao Fu rose and explained.

"This is a custom of our Filial Piety Village. Once an elder passes sixty, they must stay in this living tomb and enjoy a hundred days of blessed peace."

"Blessed peace?" Zhu Zihua sneered. "The blessed peace you speak of is staying in a grave, eating and relieving oneself inside it, then being buried alive once the hundred days are up?"

"This..."

Gao Fu hesitated, then could only continue, "Th-this is a rule handed down by our ancestors. Once an elder passes sixty, they have already set one foot into the netherworld and become half-yin people. For every extra day they live, they consume another day of their descendants' lifespan. That is why they are placed in these living tombs..."

"But rest assured, Immortal Master, we certainly do not mistreat them during those hundred days. We provide good food and drink every day. We would never neglect the old folk."

Zhu Zihua did not respond this time, nor did he show any intention of saving the elder. He merely said to Gao Fu, "I already know of the strange happenings in your village. Take me inside first. I will rest awhile, then slay that evil ghost tonight."

"Yes, yes."

Gao Fu nodded repeatedly and had someone lead the way. Just then, Nan Yun walked straight toward the new grave and pointed at the expressionless old woman. "Release her first."

After saying that, she turned to Gao Fu. "You are the descendant of a Hidden Moon Sect disciple, yet you treat such crude folk customs as truth. You disgrace the name of my Hidden Moon Sect."

"Yes, yes." Gao Fu nodded again and hurriedly sent people to dismantle the brick wall. As for ancestral teachings, they were utter bullshit at a time like this. With three immortals standing before him, everything else was nothing but drifting clouds. Taking good care of these three was what truly mattered.

Zhu Zihua glanced back and saw Xu Yuan walking over as well. He turned away again with a disdainful snort.

As a disciple of the Hidden Moon Sect, he actually still had the leisure to care whether these mortals lived or died. How absurd. No wonder he reeked of poverty and did not fit in with him at all.

"Fellow Daoist Xu, just go into the village with Fellow Daoist Zhu first. There is no need to wait for me."

Nan Yun directed the villagers as they pried apart the brick wall. Seeing Xu Yuan approach, she quickly urged him.

"It's fine. There's no hurry."

After replying, Xu Yuan stepped forward and waved the villagers aside. Then, with a light pull, the solid brick wall immediately collapsed.

"What a fine physique, Fellow Daoist."

Nan Yun praised him. The reason she had not used a spell earlier was that she feared injuring the elder inside. She had not expected Xu Yuan to bring down the brick wall so easily.

Using spiritual energy to lift the bewildered elder, she swept her gaze across the crowd and called out loudly, "Whose elder is this? Come forward at once."

As her words fell, a woman and a child with their hair tied in little topknots stepped out from the crowd unwillingly. The man said, "Reporting to the immortal, she is my mother."

"Since she is your mother," Nan Yun said, lifting her brows, "take her home at once. Feed her some medicinal broth and let her rest for a few days."

"This..."

The man looked troubled. It was the woman who said, "Immortal, our ancestral teachings say that once an elder enters the grave, they cannot come out again. If they remain in the world of the living too long, they will turn into a grave corpse."

At those words, the elder suspended by Nan Yun closed her eyes in pain. Nan Yun's expression darkened as she shouted harshly.

"Absurd! I am a disciple of the Hidden Moon Sect, and I have never heard of such a thing as a grave corpse. Yet you threw living elders into these living tombs, causing resentment to linger here all year round and nurturing a grave ghost! And even now, you refuse to repent!"

Her aura burst forth, the pressure of a mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator crashing down like mountains and rolling seas. The surrounding villagers were so frightened that they fell to their knees again.

"Forgive us, Immortal! Forgive us, Immortal!"

Seeing that this immortal, who had seemed fairly easy to speak with, had truly become enraged, the couple hurriedly kowtowed several times. Then they swiftly accepted the old woman and took her away.

Yet faintly, Xu Yuan seemed to hear the man mutter in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, "You old immortal thing, causing trouble again!"

"I lost my composure somewhat, Fellow Daoist Xu. Please forgive the embarrassment."

Nan Yun gave Xu Yuan an apologetic smile. As though recalling something, she added, "They clearly fled from the great famine, witnessed people exchanging children to eat, and even spent some years tempering themselves in an immortal sect, yet they are still like this."

"We cultivators are not heartless people. I have nothing but admiration for Senior Sister's true temperament. How could I possibly laugh at you?"

Xu Yuan cupped his hands in a slight salute, inwardly somewhat surprised. There were actually normal people in the Hidden Moon Sect?

"Fellow Daoist Zhu has been inside for quite some time. Let us go in as well."

Nan Yun called to Xu Yuan. He nodded and followed several villagers who had long been waiting nearby into the village.

Arriving at the village entrance, Xu Yuan gave the archway a surprised glance. The three words "Filial Piety Village" actually carried a faint spiritual pressure.

"It should be an array set up by that senior long ago. Otherwise, the vicious ghosts would have been even more unrestrained."

Nan Yun explained, then headed with Xu Yuan to the largest house in the village.

At that moment, Gao Fu was waiting at the door. When he saw the two immortals approaching, he hurriedly welcomed them inside.

"Where is Senior Brother Zhu?"

Xu Yuan asked Gao Fu curiously, but the latter hemmed and hawed without answering.

Just then, from a neighboring room came a burst of hurried panting, along with a woman's pained moans.

Xu Yuan's expression turned strange, but he asked no further questions and sat down with Nan Yun.

About half an hour later, the door finally opened. Zhu Zihua emerged with a smug, spring-breeze smile, tugging up his trousers. Through the crack in the door, a patch of trembling springtime could vaguely be seen.

"Not bad."

Zhu Zihua stepped forward and patted the fawning Gao Fu on the shoulder. Gao Fu immediately dropped to his knees. "This humble believer thanks Immortal Elder on behalf of my wife for bestowing your favor upon her."

"Hahahahaha!"

After laughing heartily for a while, Zhu Zihua sat down in a broad, commanding posture. Only then did he cast the two of them a glance. "You took so long just to save a mortal?"

"Forget it." He waved a hand disdainfully. "It seems they're merely a few old ghosts formed from lingering resentment. Tonight, you two just watch from the side. Leave it to me."