The Corpse Herder
Night hung dark and heavy. The muffled rumble of thunder drifted faintly from the horizon, heralding wind and rain.
In the desolate wilderness, six black carriages formed a loose circle around a bonfire. Its leaping flames barely drove back the dense darkness, casting flickering light and shadow over everyone's faces.
Beside the bonfire, the figures sat apart.
Shen Fan and his two companions sat together, talking quietly about who knew what. Every so often, they chuckled, occasionally letting out a laugh or two of unclear meaning. They formed a little circle of their own, at odds with the oppressive atmosphere around them.
Tang Shun, shrouded in gloom, lay alone in a carriage and ignored everyone.
The remaining two, Qi Yun and Wu Tao, sat on the other side of the bonfire, the firelight illuminating their tired but relatively calm faces.
Six people, as sharply divided as two rivers of clear and muddy water.
They had clearly been companions who had lived together for two years, yet now they seemed like people from different worlds.
"So you're saying you found some inconspicuous cave to hide in and stayed there until the trial ended?"
After hearing Qi Yun's casual account, Wu Tao looked torn between laughter and tears.
"That's some incredible luck. I was hunted for an entire day. If I hadn't learned [Sweet Rain Descends], I probably wouldn't have lasted until the trial ended."
As he spoke, Wu Tao unconsciously touched the area beneath his ribs, where a dull ache from a law artifact's blow seemed to linger.
[Sweet Rain Descends] was the only healing technique among the five-element law techniques.
But its consumption was considerable. The amount of True Qi at the Qi Refining First Layer would allow at most two uses before exhaustion set in.
"Just luck," Qi Yun said with a smile.
"Ah, sometimes luck is part of strength too." Waving a hand, Wu Tao turned his gaze toward Shen Fan and his two companions nearby.
"Look at us. We cultivated like our lives depended on it for two whole years, wishing we could split every second in two. But for them, all it took was a word from an elder.
Compare goods, and some deserve to be thrown away; compare people, and some deserve to die."
Envy and helplessness mingled in Wu Tao's voice.
After the trial ended, the identities of Shen Fan and the others as people with connections were no longer secret. He had also come to understand clearly what it meant for your finish line to be someone else's starting point.
"They were born lucky. Envy won't change that.
But the road is still long. Now that we've entered the Holy Sect's gates, if we keep cultivating diligently, our day to rise may yet come."
Qi Yun's encouragement brought a little light back into Wu Tao's eyes.
Yes, whatever else might be said, they had held out until the very end out of a full five hundred people.
Compared with their former companions who had already been reduced to human materials.
They were still alive, still breathing, still able to move forward. Heaven had already opened its eyes to them!
"Everyone, there's a situation up ahead. Please take out your Aura-Concealing Pearls and keep them against your bodies." The black-robed cultivator who suddenly approached looked somewhat grave as he instructed everyone to put on their Aura-Concealing Pearls.
Were people from the Zombie Alliance coming?
Immediately realizing what situation the black-robed cultivator meant, they exchanged surprised looks. No one asked questions. They swiftly reached into their robes and took out the grayish-white pearls, clouds of deathly stillness held within, gripping them tightly in their palms or tucking them inside their clothing against their bodies.
The atmosphere beside the bonfire abruptly tightened.
Jingle-
Jingle-
Not three to five minutes after everyone put on their Aura-Concealing Pearls, a clear, shrill ringing came from afar.
Then a drawn-out cry, like the wailing of a night owl, pierced the silence.
"The dead are on the road!"
"The living, stand aside!"
Through the dim night of the mountain woods, a figure slowly approached, ringing a bell and walking with his feet splayed outward.
Behind him, seven or eight tall, stiff figures followed closely, both arms held straight out as they hopped along.
Each heavy landing made the ground tremble slightly, producing a muffled sound like the beating of a drum.
"It's a corpse herder from the Zombie Alliance."
"Eight corpses. His cultivation must be at least above the Qi Refining Third Layer."
"Higher than that. Those corpses have heavy footsteps. They aren't ordinary walking corpses. They should be iron corpses refined through a Secret Method.
To herd so many iron corpses, his cultivation has to start at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer at the very least."
Hearing the murmurs from Shen Fan and his companions, Qi Yun's gaze shifted slightly, and he cast a covert glance at the figure herding the corpses forward.
The Qi Refining Sixth Layer... With strength like that, even all of us together probably wouldn't be enough for him to beat with one hand.
Fortunately, thanks to the Aura-Concealing Pearls, the corpse herder at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer merely glanced their way from afar before silently leaving.
They sat stiffly in place for over an hour. Only after confirming that the corpse herder had truly gone far away without a trace did they breathe a little easier.
"Everyone, if you've rested enough, let's get back on the road.
As you've seen, we're currently within the Zombie Alliance's sphere of influence.
Every extra moment we linger adds another measure of danger. We'll only be safe if we leave sooner."
With the corpse herder's earlier example before them, no one had the slightest objection to the black-robed cultivator's suggestion. They turned and climbed into the carriages, making a point of heeding advice.
Crack-
The whip swung, and the six carriages moved forward again. Their wheels rolled over dry branches with a string of sharp cracks as they slowly traveled into the distant night.
And just as everyone left.
A lifeless figure emerged from the distant shadows. Corpse spots mottled its deathly pale, icy face, and a yellow talisman clung to its forehead. Its hollow, vacant eyes watched the carriages gradually vanish into the night.
"Everyone, you can get out now."
The black-robed cultivator's voice sounded slightly tired, but carried relief.
Qi Yun lifted the carriage curtain. Bright, almost dazzling sunlight, unseen for so long, instantly flooded the carriage, making him instinctively narrow his eyes.
A sizable county town came into view before him.
Pedestrians thronged the streets paved with bluestone slabs. The cries of peddlers and porters, the laughter of playing children, and the rumbling of carts and carriages wove together, brimming with the lively bustle of everyday life.
Scholars and men of letters, traveling merchants and wayfarers, ordinary townsfolk... Together, they formed a vibrant picture of the mortal world.
"This is Anping County. From here, we only need to follow the main road for another three to five days to reach the Holy Sect's gates."
Flexing his hands, numbed from gripping the reins for so long, the black-robed cultivator also showed a hint of ease.
Not daring to stop for even a moment throughout the night, they had hurried on and finally left the Zombie Alliance's territory.
Moreover, here in Anping County, the Holy Sect had established a market outpost.
Not only could they rest properly and replenish their supplies, they no longer had to worry about safety.
"Let's go. I've already contacted the reception staff at the market here. Rooms and hot food have been prepared for you all, so everyone can have a good rest."
Handing the carriages over to the attendant in charge, the black-robed cultivator led everyone toward the Holy Sect market before them, disguised as an ordinary inn.
After days of eating in the wind and sleeping under the open sky, curled up inside cold, jolting carriages, everyone couldn't help but show a trace of relief in their eyes upon hearing the words "rooms" and "hot food."
They then followed the black-robed cultivator into the Holy Sect market.