Chapter 14 of the Yellow Springs Corpse Battle

(Phew, I made it just in time. We are currently pushing for wireless serialization, so I hope everyone gives me plenty of support. Lao Bei is begging for all your love.)

I paused for a moment, failing to react immediately, and then said, "Fighting? Fighting what?"

Actually, I had heard it clearly, but for a split second, my brain simply couldn't accept the two words that Second Uncle had just uttered.

When Chinese people do things, they never push a matter to a complete and unyielding dead end. In fact, it is the same with everything: there must be both adherence to principles and a degree of flexibility. If a regulation or a system is too rigid, it will certainly not last long; there must inevitably be some room for maneuver left within it.

Having been passed down and sustained for over four hundred years, the Thirteen Routes naturally understood this principle.

Therefore, within the Thirteen Routes, there remained a rule somewhat akin to opening a backdoor. As long as you met the criteria of this regulation, you could do anything you wanted, and no one else would ever hold you accountable.

However, in the eyes of many people within the Thirteen Routes, this rule was virtually impossible to satisfy.

That rule was—Corpse Fighting.

Take the present situation, for example.

If things were to be handled strictly according to the rules, Father would definitely have to hand over the Blue-Blood Dragon Mark. Now that he refused to do so, under conditions that were seemingly reasonable and fair, Father had only one option left: Corpse Fighting.

Of course, this regulation could not be invoked casually. Just think about it: how could a legendary event like Corpse Fighting ever actually take place?

No one knew why the founders of the Thirteen Routes had come up with such a rule in the first place, and for at least sixty or seventy years, not a single rumor regarding Corpse Fighting had surfaced in the martial underworld.

Naturally, I found it impossible to accept something that sounded so spine-chilling.

There was a precondition to this rule: when someone proposed Corpse Fighting, there had to be at least eight faction leaders present. As long as Father could produce a "living corpse"—that is, a "fighting corpse"—right then and there, all the other leaders present were obliged to accompany him to the bitter end. Those who had a "living corpse" brought it out; those who didn't—well, I'm sorry, but you would have to step up yourself.

I only learned later that since the inception of the Thirteen Routes, no one had ever actually done such a thing.

Yet today, Father was going to play hardball. Looking around, apart from Savage Wolf, everyone else seemed exceptionally calm. It looked as though they had all anticipated this, or someone had already tipped them off.

However, that was Corpse Fighting! What use was it even if they knew beforehand? Could they all genuinely drag out a corpse that was howling in the dark?

I won't mention the others, but as for Father... there was no way he had a zombie under his command.

Right now, the reason those people weren't objecting to Father was entirely because the winner of the Corpse Fighting would obtain the authority to arbitrate this entire matter. In other words, whoever won called the shots. Even if that person ultimately claimed they wanted to swallow the Blue-Blood Dragon Mark all by themselves, there wouldn't be any problem at all.

An oppressive atmosphere reeking of greed began to permeate the room.

The flesh on Savage Wolf's face twitched before he finally sat down with a look of helpless resignation. He knew what the consequences would be if he dared to defy the rules in an occasion like this.

At this moment, old scoundrel Sima lowered his voice and asked, "Yuan the Sixth, do you really intend to go through with this?"

Father smiled faintly and glanced at Sima. "Weren't you all just waiting for me to say it?"

"Good," Third Master Li said in a deep voice. "At a quarter past midnight, six miles west of the village, I've cleared a space for everyone. Hehe, you can all grab some bite to eat now and get yourselves prepared. Once tonight passes, the reputation of our Thirteen Routes will surely resound throughout all realms. A wonderful thing, truly a wonderful thing."

The moment Third Master Li's voice trailed off, Savage Wolf abruptly sprang to his feet. "Bah, wonderful my foot!"

He roared, then flashed right in front of Third Master Li. Taken aback, I saw that the old man's movements were as swift and fierce as a savage wolf. In the blink of an eye, his hand had already clamped around Third Master Li's throat.

It seemed the old fellow had been driven to his wit's end. He knew that if this Corpse Fighting really took place, whether he participated or not, the end result would undoubtedly be certain death.

To drive a man to such a desperate pass—and with Savage Wolf's explosive temper—how could he possibly endure it?

"Third Master Li, you brought this upon yourself today." Despite being an old man in his sixties or seventies, Savage Wolf actually hoisted Third Master Li up by the neck with just one hand.

At that moment, the man in the suit chuckled leisurely. "Savage Wolf, I advise you to drop it. Anyway, that son of yours is pretty much a lost cause. Without him, you'll even be rid of a burden in the future. Isn't that rather nice?"

"Go screw yourself!" Savage Wolf cursed fiercely at the man. "If I kill Third Master Li and there aren't enough people left, let's see what excuse you lot can come up with."

Father, standing right there, didn't make a move at all. Looking closer, I saw that Third Master Li's face had turned red from asphyxiation, yet he wasn't struggling in the slightest. Furthermore, he seemed to be squinting sideways at Savage Wolf below him with a smile.

I frowned, lowered my gaze, and abruptly saw a woman materialize right behind Savage Wolf.

It was precisely the woman who had been standing behind Grandpa Ghost-Bamboo all along. She stared coldly at Savage Wolf, yet at that exact moment, Savage Wolf hadn't the slightest inkling of her presence. Let alone him, even we, who had been watching that side the entire time, had no idea when or how the woman had approached.

Yet, no one uttered a sound; everyone simply stood there quietly, waiting for what was about to happen next.

I felt an itching sensation in my throat, a faint urge to warn the old man. But I had no idea what consequences doing so might bring.

And while I was hesitating, the woman slowly opened her mouth and reached toward the back of Savage Wolf's neck.

With horror, I saw that the woman's mouth was filled with eight sharp canine teeth. A flash of cold light seemed to gleam across those fangs as she instantly bit down on the back of Savage Wolf's neck.

With a heaven-shaking howl, old man Savage Wolf jerked his head back, and the hand he had been holding suspended in mid-air went limp.

I figured that under such circumstances, Savage Wolf would certainly not let go of Third Master Li easily. Even if he had been stabbed in the back, he might still keep a death grip on Third Master Li's throat.

Yet the howl he emitted didn't sound at all like he had merely been bitten; it was far more agonizing than having his limbs hacked off.

After that single shriek, the tall and robust fellow lunged forward, collapsing stiffly onto the ground. The woman clung to Savage Wolf's back, biting down incessantly. Within a matter of seconds, the back of Savage Wolf's neck was reduced to a mangled mess of shredded flesh.

The jaw strength of this woman was astonishing. With every single bite, she peeled away a layer of flesh from Savage Wolf's neck. However, she didn't bite those chunks clean off. It was as if the woman simply relished the act of biting, and an expression of extreme ecstasy began to deepen in her eyes.

After mauling Savage Wolf's neck, she began biting his cheek. Before long, her throat began to emit excited moans akin to the calls of an animal in heat.

The sounds of *mhn-mhn, ah-ah* drifted over, which, paired with the scene unfolding before our eyes, was utterly terrifying. Yet the woman remained utterly immersed in it, tearing at Savage Wolf while moaning. At the same time, her hands were fumbling frantically over her own body.

She massaged her breasts, growing so excited as to approach a climax, her twitching legs rubbing against her trousers almost to the point of tearing them.

I simply couldn't bear to watch any longer and averted my gaze slightly. All around, however, some people were letting out bursts of lecherous laughter.

Throughout the entire process, Savage Wolf remained as rigid as a block of wood, offering no resistance whatsoever, barely even twitching. The woman clinging to his back had already chewed away most of his head, and at the same time, the clothes on the woman's body had come mostly undone.

With her chest exposed and her trousers pulled down quite a way, I glanced sideways and discovered that the woman's body was actually covered in bite marks. Especially on her perky breasts, traces of human bites were virtually everywhere.

I only learned later that the woman was insane. She had been picked up by Grandpa Ghost-Bamboo when she was very young, and Grandpa Ghost-Bamboo had used an extremely cruel, evil art to mold this woman bit by bit into what she was now.

And that so-called evil art was actually a form of sexual sadism.

I care not to describe the process of this abuse, but seeing the bite marks on her body, you can all surely guess what she had suffered.

For a full ten minutes, no one in the room made a sound. We simply watched as the woman bit Savage Wolf to death little by little. Finally, Grandpa Ghost-Bamboo gently tapped the ground three times with the bamboo staff in his hand. Instantly, like a dog hearing its master's call, the woman scuttled rapidly behind Grandpa Ghost-Bamboo.

She began to dress herself unhurriedly, straightened her hair, and wiped away the blood stains around her mouth that could never truly be cleaned. Then, blank and dull, she stood rigidly there as if nothing had happened.

It was utterly sickening.

Not because of the woman, but because of that corpse-like old fellow standing before her.

Everyone stared at Savage Wolf's corpse. After a long while, the middle-aged man in the suit smiled and said, "Well now, we're one person short. What do you suppose we should do about this?"

Third Master Li had already straightened his shirt. There was no trace of stiffness on his face from having just brushed with death, and he also smiled as he said, "Indeed, what should we do?"

At that moment, Third Master Zhang rose and said, "Savage Wolf is dead, but he also brought along a living corpse. We ought to follow his dying wish and carry the matter through to the end. Don't you all agree?"

When he finished speaking, no one answered, but no one objected either.

My eyelids snapped shut in a tight wince, and with supreme disgust, I cursed inwardly: *Screw your grandmother! What Thirteen Routes, what rules—these bastards probably never gave a damn about any of that to begin with. When all is said and done, they all just want the Blue-Blood Dragon Mark. To get their hands on it, these people must have prepared for everything long ago.*

I couldn't help but worry: even if Corpse Fighting really happened, and even if Father ended up winning, would these people actually let the Blue-Blood Dragon Mark go?

Today, I finally came to fully understand what kind of people tomb raiders truly were. Such greed, such cruelty—I suddenly understood why Father didn't want me involved in these things.

Yet, for some reason, another kind of feeling began to take root deep within my heart.

The death of a tomb raider was nothing; the death of a tomb-raiding gang leader was nothing either. Once dead, one could no longer participate in the affairs of the living. Soon, everyone around stopped looking at the corpse on the ground and turned their attention back to the faction leaders.

After a brief silence, Third Master Li said, "Since that's how it is, please feel free, everyone. Rest assured, I will handle the matters here cleanly. We'll meet again at the midnight hour."

With a cupped-hand salute, Third Master Zhang and the fur-coat wearer departed. The middle-aged man stood up, and the men behind him led the black donkeys into the back hall. Supported by the woman, Grandpa Ghost-Bamboo walked over to Father. Old scoundrel Sima didn't linger either; escorted by Third Master Li, he too entered the back hall.

I couldn't tell whether old man Ghost-Bamboo was truly blind or if he was deliberately putting on that profound air. Approaching my father, he faced the doorway and said, "You won't be able to get past this hurdle. But if there's anything you need help with, an old man like me isn't so rigid either."

Hearing those words irritated me no end—the bastard was actually threatening my dad at a time like this. But on second thought, the others definitely wanted Father to win the least, so no matter what happened next, they would undoubtedly team up to deal with us first. Having an ally at this point wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Father sighed slightly. "Though I am the one carrying out certain matters, I am not the one who makes the ultimate decisions. Grandpa, you are probably the only one here who understands even a little, so why must you speak this way?"

Grandpa Ghost-Bamboo nodded. "What you say is true, but a person cannot live entirely within their own small circle. In any case, my path of survival remains open to you. Whenever you are willing, the option is always there."

With that, Grandpa Ghost-Bamboo and the woman walked outside.

The doorway of the main hall was already crammed with people; the underlings of various factions had been startled by Savage Wolf's miserable shriek earlier. But when I went outside, I discovered that two tables of people were missing from the courtyard. Third Uncle kept signaling to Father with his eyes, implying that something had happened out here just moments ago.

We hit the street and found two tables to sit at. The dishes on the table were colorful, aromatic, and flavorful, but at this point, even I had no appetite to touch them.

Third Uncle told us that the moment we stepped into the room, Savage Wolf's subordinates had been led away. No one knew what had been said to them, but in a flash, those men had all hurried out of the small courtyard and never returned.

"Third Master Li really thinks of everything. He knew clearly what would happen inside," Second Uncle remarked.

The Erlengzi of the Liu family chimed in, "There have long been rumors that the Li family had business disputes with Savage Wolf. This whole affair was masterminded by Third Master Li alone; he must have shared his plans with everyone else while keeping Savage Wolf in the dark. The moment that old man showed up, he walked straight into their trap. Talk about killing two birds with one stone."

I couldn't help turning to Father, wanting to ask him if the Corpse Fighting was really going to happen tonight.

However, Father shook his head at me first, then said, "Don't worry. No matter what Third Master Li does, our item will never fall into his hands. But just to be safe, we still need to be cautious. This is the Li family's turf, and there's no guarantee they won't play outside the rules this time. If they arrange for someone else and decide to use brute force, it will still be quite troublesome."

"Master, you can rest easy about that," Qin Feng said. He didn't care much for human entanglements. Lowering his voice, he continued, though his tone held a hint of hesitation: "However... we don't have one of those things, do we?"

As soon as he said that, everyone understood.

I was stunned, thinking in astonishment: *What? Father really doesn't have a zombie or anything like that in his hands?*

"That's right, Eldest Brother, what on earth are you planning?" Second Uncle also asked.

"You'll know when the time comes. Just as well, you all get to broaden your horizons." Father looked up at the full moon in the night sky. "Supposedly, today is a good day, but what a pity..."

The midnight hour arrived in the blink of an eye. With a jittery, restless feeling burning inside my chest, I was the first to stand up when I saw Third Master Li approaching with a lantern.

This fellow really liked to handle everything himself. Although nobody was around, if anyone actually wanted to do something to him, they would probably still have to think twice.

After a round of hypocritical pleasantries, Third Master Li led us toward the back of the village. Before long, we arrived at the place he had mentioned.

Although it wasn't far from the village, because it was blocked by several earthen mounds, this place was already another world compared to the bustling liveliness of Wenxing Village.

The surrounding mountain hills stood like a cage, shutting out the clamor of the mortal world. Walking among them felt like treading through the netherworld domains of the Yellow Springs.

In such an environment and atmosphere, I wouldn't have been surprised even if I accidentally glanced to the side and spotted a few minor ghosts crouching by the roadside.

Faintly, the glow of some lanterns appeared ahead. The others who had arrived earlier were already there, and with their subordinates, there were quite a few people in that clearing. Yet no one spoke loudly, and the occasional whispers sounded just like the howling of the wind.

As we walked closer, I finally saw that not far in front of those people was a trench measuring nearly two or three hundred square meters. Although the full moon hung high in the sky, its light couldn't pierce the interior of that trench at all.

Along the edge of the trench, numerous white mourning banners were stuck into the ground. As the wind blew, the banners fluttered like wandering spirits; in the dead of night, just looking at these things was enough to make one's scalp tingle.

The seven faction leaders all stood in a row. Aside from Father, the middle-aged man surnamed Zeng, and old scoundrel Sima, I noticed that the other four had a chest placed beside them. Those things looked somewhat like coffins, yet they weren't. Representing old man Savage Wolf was merely the thin coffin containing his son.

"The time has arrived. Brother Zeng, bring out whatever you've been hiding up your sleeve," the fur-coat wearer said, then looked back at my father and old scoundrel Sima. Perhaps because he couldn't see what those three had brought, he felt a bit anxious and urged the middle-aged man, who was the youngest among them.

The man surnamed Zeng curled his lip. "Hmph, my things cause trouble the moment they see the light. If you're not afraid, you can come over and take a look."

"You..."

"Hey, let's not bicker about this anymore," Third Master Li stepped forward. "I'll go first."

With a wave of his hand, two of his subordinates carried his wooden chest to the edge of the trench.

Smiling, Third Master Li walked over to the chest, patted it, and suddenly pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. Then, using the lantern to illuminate the paper, he muttered in a low voice.

"First scatter yellow rice, then bite the right index finger... smear it on the left side of the seal, er? Right? Tsk, what is this written here? Is this character supposed to be left or right?" As he spoke, he even looked over at us.

I thought to myself: *You old bastard, you don't even understand it yourself, yet you dare come out here and do this?*

Third Master Li probably grew annoyed as well, so he simply grabbed a handful of yellow rice from his pocket, scattered it over the wooden chest, bit his finger, and smeared the blood casually onto the left side of the chest's opening.

Once this was done, everyone quieted down as if anticipating what would happen next.

However, after waiting and waiting—to the point where even Third Master Li himself grew impatient—that wooden chest still showed no movement whatsoever.

"Third Master Li, you wouldn't happen to have messed up your own trick this time, would you?" Zhang the Third chuckled.

Growing a bit anxious, Third Master Li lifted his lantern, stretched out his neck, and peered toward the opening of the wooden chest.

Before he had even lowered his head for more than a second, the coffin-like wooden chest suddenly split open with a *bang*, and a pale, ghastly hand lashed out, grabbing straight for Third Master Li's head. (To be continued...)