The Dead Know Not They Are Dead

Ye Wuyou suddenly opened his eye.

For some reason, a surge of dread gripped his heart, making him deeply uneasy.

So he rose from the ground, lifted a paw, and scratched his head.

A paw?

And why was I crouching on all fours?

Sensing that something was wrong, Ye Wuyou turned to look at his snowy-white, fluffy fox paw, then examined his body. Eight fox tails drifted behind him.

Or rather, there should have been nine, but the ninth tail was somewhat illusory, hovering between existence and nonexistence, as though it had yet to take shape.

Ye Wuyou's mind went blank with a buzz. Then, as if possessed, he tried wagging his tails.

Nine fox tails swayed gently.

Hey, this is actually pretty fun...

Fun, my ass!!! Why have I turned into a fox?

The dread in his heart grew stronger. Then Ye Wuyou felt his body begin moving forward as though of its own accord.

He walked out of the cave, and a vast grassland brimming with lush, green life spread before his eyes.

The wind rose, sending ripples like rolling waves through the boundless sea of grass.

But Ye Wuyou did not look at this beautiful scenery. His gaze lifted involuntarily, higher and higher, until his two emerald-green, gemlike eyes were fixed on the sky.

The sky suddenly darkened. Amid rumbling thunder, it grew increasingly terrifying.

The terrifying, gloomy sky was like an immense painted scroll, yet it seemed to be torn open from within, revealing a streak of crimson.

The fox stared fixedly at the sky, nine tails dancing behind him as a powerful aura emanated from his body.

But he grew increasingly restless, letting out shrill cries as though trying to intimidate something.

In the end, however, that streak of crimson in the sky grew ever clearer, gradually revealing itself in full.

At last, that crimson was reflected in his eyes.

"Brother Ye, Brother Ye..."

A voice sounded beside Ye Wuyou's ear, seeming distant one moment and close the next.

Ye Wuyou opened his eye and looked to the side in a daze.

The Man in Brocade crouched nearby, holding a piece of fabric as he bandaged his own head. His brocade robe, faded white at the edges, now bore a ragged tear.

"You're awake? The treatment went well. You lost an eye, but we survived." The Man in Brocade grinned, his voice hoarse.

At first, Ye Wuyou was bewildered. But when he noticed his narrowed field of vision and remembered what had just happened, he instantly forgot his injuries and sprang up from the ground.

He looked around. Seeing that all those cultivators who had "returned from the dead" had now become withered bones, he relaxed a little.

Looks like it's over?

But when he looked at the Man in Brocade, his gaze paused.

Why was he still here?

A terrifying thought surfaced in his mind. Could that damned thing still be here?

Only after carefully sensing his surroundings and finding no trace of that uncanny aura did Ye Wuyou's expression ease slightly.

He did not know why the Man in Brocade, a "dead man," could still exist, but he had no time to concern himself with that now. There were more important matters.

He carefully examined his body. The rot had vanished, and none of his limbs were missing.

Except...

He touched the torn silk wrapped around his face. Feeling the darkness in his right eye, he sighed inwardly.

So I probably didn't die just now.

If I had died, my eye should have recovered.

Fine, then. At least I didn't waste a life.

Then Ye Wuyou glanced at the Man in Brocade, turned, and walked toward the Water Well without looking back.

The Man in Brocade froze, then scrambled up from the ground and eagerly followed.

His face was full of relief at having survived the ordeal, and throughout the short walk, he kept pouring out his thoughts.

"Brother Ye, you were truly terrifying back there. I was already lying on the ground waiting to die, but somehow you shot into the air, jumped incredibly high, and swallowed that eyeball whole."

"Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere now? Like a stomachache, or needing to take a shit... Don't look at me like that. I just want to know whether you can shit that thing out."

"Disgusting? What else can we do? That thing was the Thousand Illusions Sect's Supreme Treasure, after all..."

"Forget it, forget it. Surviving this ordeal is good enough. If the supreme treasure's gone, it's gone..."

The Man in Brocade rambled on while Ye Wuyou walked with a calm expression, seeming to listen and yet not listen at all.

Soon, the two reached the Water Well.

Jump down here, and we can get back.

Ye Wuyou glanced at the Man in Brocade, who was about to leap down. Having remained silent the whole way, he suddenly spoke, his expression solemn.

"Do you have any wishes for after you get out?"

"Wishes?" The Man in Brocade scratched his head, then propped up his chin in thought.

"Not really. The treasure's gone, and rebuilding the Thousand Illusions Sect anytime soon is impossible. I'll just find somewhere out in the hills to stay and work hard at cultivating."

"Once we're out, drinks are on me. You and I can have a proper drinking session, Brother Ye, and I'll tell you about my past."

"Honestly, I really deserved to die before. I did plenty of things only a beast would do... But that's how Heaven works. Someone like me, who's committed every kind of evil, survives, while good people die. Tsk, isn't that absurd..."

[A dead man. Why waste words on him? You might as well kill him again...]

As Ye Wuyou listened to the Man in Brocade's rambling, he refrained from interrupting for once. He merely nodded silently, then leaped into the well.

"Wait for me." The Man in Brocade immediately jumped in after him.

As before, they sank slowly at first. Then Ye Wuyou sensed a barrier like a thin membrane.

This time, however, the membrane did not stop him. He passed through it without any difficulty.

The purpose of this membrane barrier seemed to be nothing more than separating the living from the dead...

There was not a ripple in the water, nor the slightest sound beside his ears. Ye Wuyou glanced back, surprise crossing his face before understanding appeared in his eye.

The Man in Brocade stood in the water on the other side, beating against something with both hands. An invisible barrier seemed to have cut him off completely.

"What is this? Why can't I get through?"

He kept pounding against it, eventually even using Divine Abilities and spells. Flecks of light burst in the water, but all of it was futile.

The Man in Brocade looked at Ye Wuyou on the other side, wanting to beg for help, but he could not make a sound.

Ye Wuyou remained quietly on the other side, his eye calmly watching him.

Seeing Ye Wuyou's gaze, a trace of fear finally appeared in his eyes. Then his expression froze, and he looked down at his own body.

He raised his head again, his expression slowly growing complicated.

His lips parted, and he trembled all over as he spoke.

"Brother Ye, do you think I'm already dead?"

But his voice could not carry across. Only putrid well water poured into his body.

At some point, his luxurious brocade robe had become covered in sludge and blood. Sticky corpse fluid and rotting flesh peeled from his body in pieces with the current.

He raised his hands, trembling, only to see stark white bones.

He remembered.

The Man in Brocade finally remembered.

The memories sealed away in his mind unlocked: slaughtering the village, climbing the mountain, and finally meeting Ye Wuyou...

He looked down at his chest. The hole that pierced straight through it was still clearly visible.

"Haha, haha..." He did not know whether he wanted to cry or laugh, but the moment he opened his mouth, water flooded into his body.

Trembling, he reached out with his already rotted hand and pressed hard against the invisible barrier, writing a line of black-and-red words.

It was an address.

Then he pointed at the address, and then at Ye Wuyou. An emotion that might have been resentment or acceptance appeared on his decaying face.

Then he died.

Just like those dead cultivators.

Ye Wuyou watched calmly. From beginning to end, he had known that the man was already dead.

His gaze settled silently on the address the Man in Brocade had left behind, and he committed it to memory.

Ye Wuyou did not know what was at that address, nor whether he would ever have a chance to go there.

Finally, he gave the decaying remains a slight nod, then turned and left, heading toward that faint yet incomparably bright light.

In the dark, deathly silent well, only a floating corpse remained.