Quasi-Emperor Corpse

That night, a gust of sinister wind blew in, raising goosebumps all over Gu Baishui.

The boy curled up in the corner suddenly opened his eyes. His body tensed like a board, but then he realized that, aside from himself and the little beggar sleeping soundly beside him, the ruined temple was empty.

Another string of raindrops came crashing down from overhead, tapping against the tip of Gu Baishui's nose.

Gu Baishui raised his head suspiciously and saw that the rain was dripping from the top of the stone statue behind him.

It seemed there was a hole in the roof above the statue, letting the rain run down its forehead.

And the strange, sticky sensation in his dream must have come from the filth and dust that had accumulated on the statue's head for who knew how long, now washing down with the rain.

Gu Baishui shook his head. He really was unlucky. Even the place he'd picked to sleep wouldn't leave him in peace.

The roof leaked just as the rain poured all night, and the rain only fell on him.

With his face feeling a little sticky, Gu Baishui rose without a word and moved the little beggar beside him under the leak.

The Linen-Clad Girl was fast asleep, her delicate little mouth open, completely unresponsive. She only wrinkled the tip of her nose in her dreams.

The shameless boy tilted his head back and waited expectantly for a while, but found that once he'd left his spot, the rain seemed to stop dripping.

Raindrops hung from the statue's angular corners, swaying gently, but refusing to fall.

Gu Baishui froze for a moment, then turned away in disappointment and looked toward the fire in the middle of the ruined temple.

Brother Wu's figure was nowhere to be seen. Gu Baishui didn't know whether he'd gone out or was looking after those "guests."

The Divine Sense in Gu Baishui's mind drifted out, sweeping over the entire courtyard. It found six corpses still lying in the woodshed. Under the eaves outside the temple stood a broad-shouldered figure, facing away, holding his crotch with both hands and doing something familiar to every man.

The patter of rain outside the window gradually brought on a peculiar feeling, and a torrent of urge followed. Following his body's instincts, Gu Baishui walked beneath the ruined temple's eaves and stood shoulder to shoulder with the burly man.

A moment later, a slanting stream of water appeared amid the downpour. It landed in the dirt and quickly blended into it.

Gu Baishui's body gave a natural shiver. He narrowed his eyes, savoring the cool night rain and the relief within him.

But soon, he noticed that the burly man beside him was silent, and there was only one stream of water slanting through the wind and rain.

Out of the most basic courtesy, Gu Baishui kept his eyes forward and didn't ask whether the man had some unspeakable difficulty with his body.

But then his Divine Sense stirred, and he sensed something strange move in the woodshed nearby.

Or, more accurately, one of the corpses turned over, and the sound of breathing came from its nose.

Breathing?

Could corpses breathe too?

There shouldn't be any need for that.

But if the thing turning over in the woodshed wasn't a corpse, then what was it?

His Divine Sense vaguely outlined the shape of another burly man. He lay among several corpses, hands clasped together, his expression as calm as still water.

Brother Wu?

Gu Baishui froze, raised his brows, then suddenly fell silent.

If Brother Wu was sleeping in the woodshed, then the man standing beside him, holding in his urine, was...

"Whoosh~"

A cold wind swept by, and the stream of water pouring freely into the rain stopped abruptly.

A yellow talisman shivered in the wind and rain, its dull yellow hue bobbing in and out of the corner of Gu Baishui's eye.

A chill shot up his spine and straight to the back of his head. The corners of Gu Baishui's mouth twitched as he pulled up his trousers, then stiffly turned his head.

What met his eyes was a gaunt, ancient face, its eyes lifeless, gray pupils set in white eyes.

This was clearly an old corpse, dressed like a civil official from some High Antiquity dynasty, with a crane-crowned hat atop its head and a stern face.

It was difficult to tell what a corpse had been like in life, but Gu Baishui couldn't shake the feeling that an old soul was watching him from behind this old corpse.

Gu Baishui swallowed. The old corpse expressionlessly turned its head.

Wind and rain swept outside the temple. Whether by chance or design, a raindrop struck the yellow talisman on the old corpse's forehead.

In that delicate moment, the talisman wobbled free and drifted off. Before the boy's frozen gaze, it floated out from under the eaves and fell into a puddle.

"Fuck~"

Gu Baishui instinctively took a step back. The Spiritual Power in his body began to circulate, pressing down on his wildly thumping heart. He planned to use his Immortal Platform Realm cultivation to deal with this old corpse that had come out in the middle of the night to scare people by putting on an act.

But in the next instant, the old corpse before him calmly raised its eyes a little.

Then everything changed.

The heavens and earth changed color. All things fell silent.

The whole ruined temple, the rain falling from the sky, even the shadows of the trees and the sound of the wind, all froze completely in that instant, swallowed by an unseen grayness.

At the bottom of those gray-white, lifeless pupils before him, a dazzling galaxy suddenly unfurled. Mountains, rivers, stars, and constellations rose and vanished without end, as if the Principles of the entire world had evolved through endless ages in the old corpse's eyes.

Gu Baishui felt countless enormous stars rushing toward him. He was as tiny as dust, about to be annihilated in the old corpse's eyes.

"Emperor's Aura~"

"...This old man... is in the Quasi-Emperor Realm..."

Thunder roared in his ears, and the boy beneath the eaves passed out cleanly and swiftly, falling into complete darkness.

Who knew how much time had passed?

When Gu Baishui woke again, the sky outside the ruined temple had already brightened.

Gray clouds still blanketed the sky and the mountains. Fine rain drifted through the air.

The rain was much lighter than it had been last night, and the fire had been out for a long time.

The ruined temple was still quiet and peaceful, as if nothing had happened the night before.

Gu Baishui sat up in a daze. Looking up, he saw the heartless little beggar who had slept through the night squatting before the fire, poking through the ashes with a branch in search of roasted sweet potatoes.

With gray-black dust on the tip of her nose, the Linen-Clad Girl lifted her face to look at Gu Baishui and gave him a giggle.

The air was fresh, and footsteps sounded outside the temple gate. The burly Taoist walked in, stretching and yawning, a fleeting smile crossing his honest, simple face.

"Well, little brother, you're awake? Sleep well last night? The thunder was pretty loud."

Gu Baishui's eyelid twitched. He immediately remembered the terrifying old gentleman he'd encountered at the entrance last night.

A galaxy in his eyes, and just a wisp of Emperor's Aura had nearly made Gu Baishui faint.

Was the corpse in the Quasi-Emperor Realm merely one of this corpse-driving Taoist's clients?

And only one of them. The burly man had brought six clients last night. Could they... have been six corpses in the Quasi-Emperor Realm?

Just what terrifying background did this man have?

The burly man named Wu Tian scratched his head, his gentle gaze lightly sweeping over the boy in the temple.

Gu Baishui's face paled. He politely pulled the corners of his mouth toward the burly man at the entrance, forcing a stiff smile.

"Senior... have you eaten?"

The burly man was quiet for a moment, then shook his head. "Not yet, but there's no rush. I usually travel at night. I was planning to rest a little longer in this ruined temple."

Gu Baishui fell silent for a moment, then stood up and walked over to the Linen-Clad Girl, who was holding a sweet potato in both hands.

He lifted her by the collar, then politely bowed to the burly man.

"Then we won't disturb your rest, Senior. It's daylight now, and the two of us actually have something urgent to do."