Chapter Eighty-Seven: Vengeance at Last

Cheng Su'er’s trust in Han Shizhong had risen sharply. Perhaps because of the life-saving rescue just now, she had already staked all her hopes on the two men before her.

The Tiger Beyond the Pass, Han Shizhong, and the Scarface had originally been carrying out some secret business in the night, testing the winds and the waters.

To avoid leaving any trace, they had been exceedingly cautious.

Just as master and disciple crossed over that ridge, they suddenly heard a faint cry for help. They decided to go and see what was happening, and to their surprise found an entire family ruined and destroyed by a giant zombie.

Though the rules of the trade ran deep, and neither of them could exactly be called good men, they had still retained some of the chivalric spirit from years of wandering the world. At the critical moment, they stepped in to save her.

“Girl, what are you doing? Get up and speak.”

“No. If the old gentleman does not agree to my request today, I will remain kneeling. Even if I have to stake my life, I will drag this beast down with me.”

Cheng Su'er’s face was full of stubborn resolve, her eyes unyielding.

Han Shizhong’s mouth twitched slightly, a hint of cunning flashing in his gaze, though he quickly returned to normal so that it was hard to notice.

“Good, good, girl. I agree to it! Even without your words, I was never going to let this fiend off lightly today.”

The grassy ground beside the grave was in utter disarray. The Scarface had been battling the headless blood corpse for quite some time, steel saber in hand.

Panting heavily, the Scarface thought to himself that after several rounds, the more he fought, the more alarmed he became. This headless thing was astonishingly troublesome, nothing like the ordinary zombies he had encountered before. Though it had no head at all, that made no difference whatsoever. Not only were its movements agile, its strength was immense. More importantly, its hide was thick. Really thick.

The Scarface thought this would not do. He had already sunk so low that he could not even deal with a mere zombie. If word got out, what then? How could he, Old Liu, still show his face in the world?

Of course, what Liu would never forget for the rest of his life was the last time when Old Five and the others had turned into monsters, and he had nearly lost his own life here.

A thought stirred in the Scarface’s mind. With his right hand gripping the steel saber, his left quietly reached for the corpse-binding rope at his waist.

He spat fiercely. Damn thing, let me show you the power of my corpse-binding rope.

The Scarface lunged forward in a single stride, the steel saber in his hand slashing fiercely outward.

The headless blood corpse, relying only on the toughness of its flesh, raised an arm to block and thrust forward with a monstrous hand.

With a clang, the saber was caught in the creature’s grasp and could not move an inch.

The Scarface’s eyes flashed coldly. His movements were quick and decisive: abandoning the saber, he stepped forward, and with his other hand drew the corpse-binding rope from his waist and flung it out.

Whoosh!

The headless blood corpse was caught off guard. It had not expected the Scarface to change tactics in the middle of the fight. In the blink of an eye, the rope had already looped around its chest.

“Ha!”

Taking advantage of the opening, the Scarface gave a mighty heave and spun into the air, unleashing the Star-Kicking-the-Dipper strike.

The headless blood corpse took a heavy blow to the spine, and its whole body seemed to go numb as if struck by lightning. The corpse-binding rope tightened and tightened until it could no longer move.

The Scarface showed no mercy once he had the upper hand. He had been aching for an outlet for all the fury bottling inside him, and now was the perfect chance to vent it. He beat and kicked with both hands and feet until he was breathing hard.

You, you—damn bastard, are you a cockroach or something? I’m about to break my back from exhaustion, and you’re still bouncing around.

Han Shizhong watched for some time and also realized that the giant zombie before him was no ordinary thing. Ordinary attacks had little effect on it.

“Clouds of heaven, blue vault of the sky, preserve the threefold peace. Lord Hu the Third above, grant your disciple a first-rank talisman to suppress evil and cut down demons—seal!”

Han Shizhong muttered an incantation under his breath, drew a yellow talisman from his robes, and slapped it onto the blood hole at the headless blood corpse’s shoulder. Last time, to deal with that monster Old Five, he had already used up the best talisman he kept in reserve. This time it was another mid-grade talisman, and such things were limited in number, rare to the point of being nearly impossible to obtain. Han Shizhong winced inwardly at the cost.

The yellow talisman gave off a faint, soft glow. The headless blood corpse, which had been struggling violently a moment before, now stood frozen in place like a marionette with its strings cut.

“Master truly has a remarkable hand,” the Scarface praised. He had no fear at all when it came to blades and swords, but he was utterly clueless about summoning talismans and casting spells.

Having landed a hit before Cheng Su'er’s eyes, Han Shizhong felt rather proud of himself. Stroking his goatee with his right hand, he truly seemed to think himself some half-immortal who could summon wind and rain at will.

“Hahaha, what a rare little thing. Let’s see if Old Liu doesn’t chop you to pieces and feed you to the dogs now!”

The Scarface shook the steel saber in his hand and was just about to bring it down when, all of a sudden, a figure darted out from halfway along the path.

Looking closely, it was Cheng Su'er, a dim horse lantern in her hand, charging straight toward them.

After a person dies, a lamp is placed beneath the coffin. It is also called a soul lamp. Since a dead person’s soul becomes a thing of yin, the road to the Yellow Springs is hard to travel, and if such a presence lingers too long in the home, it will bring disaster. The lamp must not be extinguished, so that it can guide the departed spirit toward the netherworld. For the first seven days, the watcher must guard it carefully and never let it go out.

Clang!

Cheng Su'er threw all her strength into it and smashed the kerosene-filled lantern hard against the headless blood corpse.

Whoosh!

The glass shade shattered at once, and the kerosene splashed everywhere. The weak little flame from before burst up to the sky, swallowing the entire body of the headless blood corpse in fire.

In the darkness, blazing light danced. Watch the bewitching flames refine everything into ashes. In the end, was it you who was devoured, or was it me?

Cheng Su'er snatched the steel saber from the Scarface’s hand and, gripping it with both hands, cried and hacked wildly at the flames.

The Scarface was taken aback. He had not expected this frail-looking young girl to erupt with such force.

The headless blood corpse had its ghostly power sealed by the yellow talisman, and the link between it and the surrounding yin energy had been severed. Only now did it truly become a corpse in the fullest sense of the word.

The flames around the headless blood corpse burned hotter and hotter, crackling from time to time. Yet the corpse stood there like a piece of dry, rotten wood, silent and unmoving, until little by little it was burned down into a lump of charcoal.

Cheng Su'er seemed deep in thought. Her great revenge had been avenged, yet her heart did not feel lighter. The old matters had been sealed away; all life and death were as illusory as foam and shadow. Her fair, delicate face flickered in the firelight, now bright, now dim, as the flames danced on, and the light in her eyes gradually deepened until it seemed like an abyss with no visible bottom.

The clear wind has crossed the river and the road is smooth; the flowers are quiet and lovely, as though spring has returned.

The baleful energy has moved south while the north takes the lead; the seven stars return to their places, a sign of all things reviving, though hidden danger still lurks and has not yet surfaced.

The mist has just begun to clear beneath the second ridge.

“Huff, huff... I say, you bespectacled guy, are you a wild mule or something? I really can’t run anymore. If we keep running, I’m going to throw up.”

Cui Yue was out of breath, his back completely drenched through. Before the bespectacled man could answer, he had already plopped down on a small dirt mound beside him.

Cui Yue felt as if his heart, liver, and lungs had all shifted out of place, his whole body as though it were falling apart.