Chen Miao's feelings were complicated and hard to untangle.
If the dormitory hadn't been close to the east gate, if Old Wu the gatekeeper hadn't shouted, if the powerful flashlight hadn't swept across the dormitory and shone through his window...
He might never have woken up, nor seen the new content in the book.
"Chapter Two · Afterword · Zombies"
"At four in the morning, I was bitten to death."
By the time Chen Miao read those words, it was already 3:40 a.m.!
Only twenty minutes remained until his death, even less time than before!
Fortunately, although this new passage was just as short, it gave Chen Miao plenty of information.
The word "Zombies" was right there in the chapter title, plain as day.
Combined with the manner of his death, he would have to be an idiot not to know what would kill him.
Recalling the Corpse-Control Talisman in the Zhong Family Talismans, Chen Miao immediately thought of who might be behind this danger.
Zhong Fa!
He really was sparing no effort to kill the people at the Tianmen Funeral Home!
Chen Miao gritted his teeth!
But knowing was one thing. How was he supposed to deal with a zombie?
When he had helped a departed soul pass on before, at least he'd had a body nearby to work with. What about this time?
Burn incense right in front of the zombie?
Would that work?
As Chen Miao pondered this, he suddenly saw flames rising from the cold storage building.
"Tang Rui!"
Chen Miao's expression changed. Book in hand, he rushed out of the dormitory!
No one could die at the funeral home!
As he ran, he drew the longest of his century-old peach wood sword blanks and took four incense sticks in his hand.
Holding the Peach Wood Sword between his teeth, Chen Miao lit the incense sticks with his windproof lighter.
At that moment, he couldn't spare a thought for whether lighting them early would waste them.
The moment he rounded the corner, he saw a figure tear through the cold storage entrance and leap inside.
Glancing at Zhong Cai, who stood frozen in place, Chen Miao frowned, but there was no time to deal with him.
Chen Miao sprinted toward the cold storage building as fast as he could.
As soon as he approached, he heard repeated banging.
Someone was smashing the thick security door to the refrigerated room!
Had Tang Rui hidden inside?
Chen Miao breathed a sigh of relief. After peeking inside, he slipped into the building and switched on all the lights.
The figure attacking the security door more than ten meters away was immediately revealed in full.
Dressed in a black burial shroud and no taller than a meter sixty-five, it looked small and weak. Yet every thrust of its hands left two wrist-thick holes in the security door!
The lights seemed to disturb it.
It stopped and looked toward Chen Miao.
After a brief assessment, it abandoned Tang Rui behind the door and hopped toward Chen Miao.
Having experienced two supernatural incidents, Chen Miao had thought he could face this sort of thing calmly.
But he had forgotten that a solid, physical zombie was nothing like the ghosts he had dealt with before they could strike.
When he saw those dark red eyes, his body still began trembling involuntarily, beyond his control.
The feeling reminded Chen Miao of his first visit to a zoo, when he had heard a tiger's low, throaty growl up close.
Chen Miao tried to make his body respond, but it barely helped.
He knew that if he didn't do something now, he would die!
He pushed the tip of his tongue forward and clamped his teeth shut.
A rusty taste came with searing pain. His body shuddered, then finally returned to normal.
He raised his left hand, holding the four burning incense sticks before him.
"Blazing and radiant, the sun rises in the east. Where Jiangzhen burns, all ghosts bow and hide. Any who dare transgress shall turn to dust and frost. Divine might subdues them, sealing evil forever."
Reciting the incantation, Chen Miao backed toward the entrance to put some distance between them.
He finished the thirty-two-character incantation in two seconds!
Smoke from the Jiangzhen Incense enveloped him.
Zhong Cai, who had just arrived, saw this and blurted out the technique's name.
"The Incense-Burning Method!"
Along with his astonishment came a little more confidence.
With this man's help, they might actually have a chance!
He immediately shouted, "I'll help you!"
With that, Zhong Cai charged forward, Peach Wood Sword in hand, and placed himself between Chen Miao and the zombie.
Meanwhile, Chen Miao was still baffled as to why the smoke around him wasn't attacking the zombie on its own!
If Zhong Cai had known what Chen Miao was thinking—known he was a complete rookie—he would have taken to his heels.
Fortunately, when Chen Miao saw Zhong Cai's wooden sword light up red, he didn't lose his nerve. He lowered his head and charged in as well.
As Zhong Cai drew close, the zombie switched targets.
But Zhong Cai was no novice like Chen Miao. He slid beneath the zombie's swinging arms while thrusting his wooden sword into its crotch.
Thunk!
The vibration through the wooden sword made Zhong Cai's expression stiffen.
Even enhanced with an Evil-Breaking Talisman, his Peach Wood Sword couldn't penetrate its defenses?
Was it still far too weak to deal with a leaping hopping corpse?
Just as Zhong Cai began considering retreat again, he saw his fellow practitioner seize the opening his attack had created and drive his wooden sword into the zombie's back.
"Careful, this is a leaping hopping corpse..."
The moment he finished speaking, he heard a hiss.
That Peach Wood Sword, without any enhancement at all, had pierced roughly an inch into the zombie's body!
Before Zhong Cai could marvel at the sword's quality, he saw all the smoke swirling around Chen Miao funnel into the zombie through the wound.
Hissing sounded continuously. The zombie roared and leaped free of the Peach Wood Sword, landing three meters away.
It had retreated!
From the side, Zhong Cai could see a scorched patch on its back.
Stunned, Zhong Cai rolled to his feet, twirled his sword, and told Chen Miao, "I'll draw its attention. You handle the main attacks!"
With that, he thrust his wooden sword at the zombie again.
He had intended to draw its attention with this thrust and then retreat, but the Peach Wood Sword that hadn't penetrated at all before now sank in more than two inches.
Has its protective corpse qi been broken?
Delighted, Zhong Cai looked up and met a pair of dark red eyes.
His expression froze. Without the slightest hesitation, he released his sword and leaned backward.
A fierce gust swept past his eyes.
Cold sweat instantly broke out across his forehead.
The leaping hopping corpse possessed immense strength. Even a security door was like paper before it. If that blow had landed, it would have been no different from smashing a watermelon with an iron hammer.
Smack!
Seeing his Peach Wood Sword flung aside, Zhong Cai had no time to retrieve it, because the zombie was lunging at him!
If it landed on him, there would be no point waiting for rescue.
Rolling once, then tumbling again, Zhong Cai barely escaped the zombie's pounce.
"Friend, I have a Spirit-Sealing Talisman that can restrain it for a while. Watch what I do and seize your chance!"
As he spoke, Zhong Cai rolled away again.
Chen Miao watched the nimbly tumbling figure, somewhat dazed.
But he had caught the words "Spirit-Sealing Talisman."
Enhanced by the incense's power, the century-old peach wood sword in his hand packed a considerable punch.
But he had no combat experience, after all. If the Spirit-Sealing Talisman worked, that would certainly help him.
If I can't hit a moving target, surely I can hit a stationary one?
Chen Miao immediately focused his mind.
His earlier panic had kept him from entering the Iceheart State.
Now that he felt more assured, he quickly entered it.
The struggle between man and zombie farther away became perfectly clear to Chen Miao.
At times, he could even predict Zhong Cai's movements.
After watching for a while, Chen Miao's gaze suddenly sharpened. He took a long stride forward and bore down on the zombie, gripping his Peach Wood Sword.
At the same moment Chen Miao moved, Zhong Cai slapped the Spirit-Sealing Talisman onto the zombie's ankle.
The zombie stopped moving, but its body soon began trembling.
Zhong Cai was about to call out to Chen Miao.
But as soon as he looked up, he saw a sword tip protruding from the zombie's chest.
As if it had found an outlet, all the incense energy swirling around Chen Miao poured along the blade and into the zombie.
In an instant, black vapor began spewing continuously from the zombie's chest and the seven openings of its face.
The temperature throughout the room plummeted.
Standing less than half a meter from the zombie, Chen Miao bore the brunt of it. His entire sword arm almost froze solid.
Just then, a warm current rose from his waist and rushed straight to his right hand.
The instant sensation returned, Chen Miao let go of the Peach Wood Sword and retreated.
Looking down, he saw that the Peachwood Talisman at his waist had almost completely cracked apart, and understood what had just saved him.
Meanwhile, Zhong Cai had retrieved his wooden sword and moved behind the zombie.
Squish!
The Peach Wood Sword plunged into its rear, sinking more than halfway in.
After delivering that thrust, Zhong Cai moved away from the zombie.
Just as he was about to take out a Yin-Dispelling Talisman to disperse some of the yin energy, he heard a lighter click.
Turning his head, he saw four freshly lit incense sticks.
A soft, indistinct murmur rose, too faint to make out.
All Zhong Cai saw was the four incense sticks burning rapidly, turning into a great cloud of incense smoke.
The smoke not only eradicated the black vapor, but what remained poured into the seven openings of the zombie's face.
After a brief silence, a roar erupted.
Orange-yellow flames ignited the zombie from within.
Chen Miao and Zhong Cai breathed sighs of relief, then their expressions changed at the same time.
Without a word, they both rushed toward the zombie and grabbed their respective Peach Wood Swords, which were roasting in the flames!
Shhk!
As the swords came free, the zombie abruptly collapsed and was soon burned into a pile of ash.
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