Chapter 18: Battle of the Corpses in the Yellow Springs

I really thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but that figure was truly wrapping itself in circles around Second Leng. Its body wasn't flexible like a snake's; instead, it used a bizarre, unimaginable posture to forcefully stick itself onto a person's arm.

If that turtle's son, Wild Wolf, hadn't been so painfully thin and frail, Second Leng would have surely been dragged down to the ground by the impact. We all panicked, and Second Leng reacted the fastest. After stumbling for a moment, he lifted his left leg and drew his body inward, trying to use a kicking force to shake the creature off.

Since he was already dragging such a creature with one hand, relying solely on his other hand was no longer effective, making this a brilliant countermeasure. Qin Feng was slightly slower, but he locked both hands onto the creature's head, his arms tensed as if he intended to snap its neck right then and there.

Just as the two of them were straining with all their might, Second Leng suddenly let out a miserable shriek. A hissing and crackling sound reached my ears, and when I looked over, smoke was actually rising from Second Leng's locked arm. It felt as though strong acid had been splashed onto his flesh.

"Qin Feng, let go! The harder you pull, the more acid that thing secretes!" Dad suddenly shouted.

Qin Feng had already stretched the creature's neck quite long, but upon hearing Dad's warning, he had no choice but to release his grip.

Second Leng clenched his teeth viciously, forcefully swallowing his screams. I could see sweat pouring all over his body, while the creature remained stubbornly glued to his arm.

"Dad, what should we do?" I asked anxiously.

Dad's brows were tightly furrowed. "No wonder Wild Wolf has been secretly inquiring about the whereabouts of that old thief Sima; he actually intended to turn his own son into a 'Half-Alive'. This creature has already begun transforming; give it another three to five years, and it would surely become the second Sima thief."

"This isn't the time for that! What about Second Leng?" I urged anxiously, my heart burning with impatience.

However, Dad simply stared at Second Leng in silence without speaking.

"Hoo... Master, do it. I know this arm is beyond saving," Second Leng forced the words out from between his clenched teeth.

My heart skipped a beat. Did he mean chopping the arm off? "Dad, you can't! It's just a layer of rotting skin, it must be salvageable!" I blurted out immediately.

Yet, even as I spoke, Dad had already drawn his dagger from behind his back.

"To become a Half-Alive, the most fundamental requirement is 'poison-炼 the five viscera.' These acidic fluids are merely excretions after the internal organs have been corroded by the poison. Once it drains all the acid, what remains will be the deadliest venom. A single touch means instant death." As Dad spoke, he had already stepped up to Second Leng's side.

Second Leng was trembling all over, his lips completely gray-white under the firelight. Yet, this fellow managed a smile. "Madman, I can't lift my arm. Give me a hand, brother."

Qin Feng drew a deep breath, furrowed his brow, and stepped forward to hold Second Leng's arm up.

Before I could say another word, I saw Dad raise his blade and bring it down with a swift motion—*slash*!

Second Leng staggered backward. After executing the strike, Dad did not retract his force; instead, he smoothly twisted his arm, plunging the dagger instantly into the creature's head. Qin Feng seemed to have anticipated this, and seeing Dad score a direct hit, he immediately grabbed the creature along with Second Leng's severed arm and flung them onto the ground.

Yet, this blow seemed to have no effect on Wild Wolf's son whatsoever.

It slowly rose from the ground and walked toward us again, completely devoid of fear.

Its movements were exceedingly strange, resembling the motion of a 3D-rendered skeleton. I noticed a long split running from its chest down to its abdomen; the edges of this tear were lined with tooth-like objects, resembling an open mouth.

As it moved, the mouth slowly closed, and before long, not a single trace of it remained on its belly.

We all retreated. Qin Feng had already helped Second Leng up from the ground, while I rushed forward to clamp my hand over the blood vessels on Second Leng's shoulder to minimize his blood loss.

Dad had severed the arm from a point slightly below Second Leng's shoulder. I could not fathom the sharpness of that dagger or the immense strength in Dad's arm, but right now, the exposed flesh and bone at Second Leng's stump were what would truly haunt me for the rest of my life.

How could a perfectly healthy person lose an arm in the blink of an eye? Seeing the forced, bitter smile on Second Leng's face, I became almost certain that all the things I had heard earlier were utter bullshit. A man like this could never be a traitor to Dad.

The creature stopped at a very close distance, and none of us dared to make a rash move. Suddenly, its body tilted backward, and it began to retreat step by step.

Dad looked at it suspiciously and was just about to speak when the creature abruptly whirled around and sprinted rapidly back the way it came.

"Why did it suddenly run off?" Qin Feng asked.

Second Leng smiled and said, "Maybe... maybe it was scared by the Master's blade."

We were all utterly bewildered, but seeing that the creature had vanished, a wave of relief washed over us, and naturally, no one chased after it to investigate.

"Stop talking, sit down quickly," I supported him as he sat, then turned to Dad and asked, "Should we head up now?"

Dad shook his head. "Climbing up is extremely troublesome, and if we encounter anything halfway up the climb, we won't even have a sliver of a chance to survive."

"Then... then how do we stop Second Leng's bleeding?" I asked.

"What's the rush? We naturally have our ways," Dad said as he squatted down beside Second Leng.

I thought to myself, it's pitch black here, what possible way could there be? But at that moment, Dad reached into one of the lanterns and retrieved the oil lamp inside.

The moment I saw the oil lamp, I understood what he intended to do.

"You're not planning to copy the TV shows and burn the wound with fire, are you?" I immediately cried out.

"What copying TV shows? If you don't understand, keep your mouth shut," Dad glared at me, then pinched the flame of the oil lamp out with his fingers.

Our surroundings immediately grew much darker. Then, Second Leng shifted his body closer, supported by Qin Feng, while Dad lifted the oil lamp and poured the lamp oil directly onto Second Leng's wound.

I found it extremely strange, and only then did I realize that the oil inside the lamp didn't seem like ordinary kerosene or diesel; it actually carried a distinct medicinal herb scent.

Once the lamp oil completely covered the stump of Second Leng's arm, the bleeding miraculously stopped. Dad placed the wick back in and clicked his lighter, and the oil lamp flared to life once more.

Grave robbers will always be grave robbers, cautious in every possible way. Even the lamp oil inside a lantern was specially prepared. Though the bleeding had stopped, I still felt a deep ache for Second Leng.

"Young Master, it's nothing, just a right arm. It's my own fault for being careless just now," Second Leng said, looking at Dad with an apologetic expression.

Dad didn't feel well either; he shook his head and said, "Let's find those things first. It looks like this will force me to pull out every skill I've got."

Qin Feng piped up, "Master, how about you let me go instead? I..."

Before Qin Feng could finish his sentence, a low, rumbling sound suddenly echoed from behind. The three of us turned our heads in unison just in time to see something rolling toward us from the rear.

"Ah! A human head!"

The object came to a stop, and when I caught sight of a human face, I let out a terrified shriek.

"Quiet," Dad stood up. But right at that moment, two more heads rolled out from the darkness behind.

We all retreated in alarm.

All three heads were extremely bizarre; one could tell at a glance that they were not normal human heads.

"These are the three things brought by Zhang Sanhuxiu and Li Sanlang. Why are there only heads left?" Dad muttered thoughtfully.

"Master, something must have happened ahead," Qin Feng said.

I looked fearfully at the three heads, thinking that if even zombies ended up in such a miserable state, we wouldn't stand a chance if we went further. On second thought, the only ones we hadn't seen yet were the three ghost fetuses and Yao Hui. Could that ahead be Yao Hui?

"Let's go, let's take a look," Dad said, and without another word, he picked up the lantern and walked straight ahead.

Qin Feng and I supported Second Leng and quickly followed.

We hadn't walked far before we were met with absolute devastation. It felt as though we had suddenly stepped into a slaughterhouse's garbage dump. Piles of red and green slime, along with clumps of rotting, mutilated limbs, were scattered everywhere. With every step I took, the soles of my shoes became caked with the foul residue. Under the dim firelight, the surroundings appeared exceptionally horrifying.

"It looks like those three were dismembered by the others. We must remain careful; the remaining two might be nearby."

Without needing Dad's reminder, I had already raised my vigilance to the absolute maximum. I hoped against hope that the one who survived was Yao Hui, yet I was terrified of facing her in the end. Dad certainly had a method to deal with Yao Hui, and once we encountered her, her fate would undoubtedly be tragic.

Through the dim, flickering light of our lantern, a cluster of shapes loomed ahead.

That thing was starkly white; I felt certain that even if we extinguished the lantern, we would still be able to make it out.

Dad motioned for us to halt, and walking ahead with the lantern alone, he illuminated the scene. In the firelight, I immediately saw three small children huddled together.

Ghost fetuses!

Those three ghost fetuses were sprawled on the ground, resembling sleeping infants. The spot where they crouched seemed to hold a person... no, not a whole person, but the upper half of a person's body.

The three of us unconsciously walked closer. As I forced my eyes open, my body trembled violently, and tears welled up in my eyes.

That severed half-body was none other than Yao Hui... She looked very peaceful, her face devoid of any resentment or terror. Looking at the horrific wound at her waist, I almost felt compelled to rush forward.

For a young girl, this was simply too tragic. At the very least, I... I had to cover her with a piece of clothing.

"Young Master, what are you doing?" Qin Feng grabbed me from behind.

Only then did I realize I had already started walking forward.

I slowly closed my eyes, then asked Dad, "Dad, she... did she really die like this?"

Dad fell silent for a moment before shaking his head.

"No, if the old thief Sima didn't kill her, the other things shouldn't be a match for her."

"But..."

"Take a good look; that's not a living corpse at all. It's just her skin."

Hearing Dad's words, a shudder ran through me. Glancing back at the scene, I immediately noticed that apart from Yao Hui's face, every other part appeared completely flat and hollow. Recalling the earlier events, it all dawned on me.

"Master, we should take advantage of this moment to eliminate those three ghost fetuses," Qin Feng suggested, picking up a black donkey hoof and preparing to move in.

"Do you know how to strike a ghost fetus?" Dad asked in a low voice.

"Three inches to the right of the spine on the back. If the black donkey hoof works, three strikes from me and they'll be done for," Qin Feng replied without a moment's hesitation.

Dad nodded and simply uttered one final instruction: "Be careful."

Qin Feng nodded, handed the lantern to me, and crept stealthily toward the target.

Having just calmed my nerves, watching Qin Feng approach made my heart leap back into my throat.

Qin Feng turned slightly sideways, a posture ready to burst into a sprint at any second. With every inch he crept forward, my heart tightened by a fraction. After what felt like an eternity, Qin Feng finally reached the side of the three corpse fetuses.

All my attention was fixed on those three corpse fetuses, silently chanting in my heart: *Don't wake up, please don't wake up...*

Yet at that exact moment, I saw Qin Feng take off his own shirt, which had a massive tear in the back. Taken aback, I watched as he draped the garment over the half-human skin belonging to Yao Hui.

He glanced back at me, and I knowingly nodded in response.

I never would have imagined that Qin Feng possessed such a considerate side. I later learned that even this rare gentleness of his had its reasons.

The posture of the three corpse fetuses sprawling on the ground practically invited Qin Feng to strike the exact spot on their backs right over their hearts. Raising the black donkey hoof, Qin Feng drew a deep breath, bent his body swiftly, and landed three precise blows—*thwack, thwack, thwack!* Every strike hit its mark on the three corpse fetuses.

Qin Feng succeeded brilliantly, yet none of us felt any joy.

When the black donkey hoof struck the backs of the corpse fetuses, it produced a crisp sound resembling cracking porcelain. Upon closer inspection, the bodies of all three corpse fetuses shattered into countless fragments.

"Oh no! They were already dead! Then that living corpse—"

"Master! Watch out behind!" Qin Feng suddenly stood up and shouted a warning to us.

In an instant, all three of our eyes widened in horror. A terrifying aura surged from behind, and the stifling heat and humidity around us seemed to vanish in a blink, replaced by a bone-chilling cold that made our internal organs shiver.

As I moved to turn around, I felt a heavy impact against my back, sending both my father and me stumbling several paces forward toward Qin Feng.

Qin Feng rushed forward to steady us, and when we looked back, we saw that Second Leng was still standing there.

It clicked instantly: Second Leng was the one who had shoved my father and me out of harm's way. Such lightning-fast reflexes were something even Qin Feng might not have matched.

Yet, a glance told me with absolute certainty that the Second Leng standing out there was doomed.

In the encroaching darkness, a massive cluster of terrifying snakes was coiled together, towering a full four or five meters high. Those creatures displayed a dazzling array of colors, gleaming slickly, their scales coated in an oily sheen. They slithered and coiled over one another, the entire mass of serpents slowly sliding forward.

Second Leng wasn't stupid; he immediately turned to run toward us. But before he could take a full stride, a black serpent as thick as a human thigh lunged out from the writhing mass and wrapped itself around Second Leng's waist in the blink of an eye.

I despaired, thinking Second Leng was about to be dragged straight into the serpent swarm. However, the giant snake merely hoisted him into the air for a brief moment before retracting its coil.

Pale with fright and stunned for a second, Second Leng scrambled the rest of the way to our side.

"Phew... Master, why..."

"Don't worry," Dad suddenly regained his composure. "If it's just her alone, she's actually easier to deal with. I just never expected this living corpse to mutate into such a form."

The scene before us was far too terrifying, leaving my heart deeply unsettled. Could this really be Yao Hui, the woman who had shared my bed twice? This... rather than fear, it was an utter inability to accept reality.

Dad continued, "I laid preparations on her long ago. Right now, she only desires my life; as for anything else, unless it poses a threat to her, she won't lift a finger."

With those words, Dad rolled up his sleeves. Judging by his stance, he was preparing to face Yao Hui—the living corpse—head-on.

Hearing that the living corpse's target was Dad, Qin Feng and Second Leng grew even more anxious.

"Master, you can't! How can you draw all of her attention onto yourself?" Qin Feng panicked.

"It's fine, I've had a plan all along."

With that, Dad thrust his hand deep into his trouser pocket, fumbled around for a moment, and whipped something out with a sharp *swish*.

The three of us stared intently, our eyes bulging so wide we nearly choked on our breath.

We had expected Dad to pull out a peach-wood sword, a bagua compass, or some other formidable artifact. To our utter disbelief, what he produced was—a slingshot, crudely twisted out of iron wire.

At that moment, I genuinely wanted to rush up and slap the old man twice, thinking he must have lost his mind from fright. A slingshot? Good lord, if a slingshot could deal with this, Celestial Master Zhang wouldn't be anything special.

Suppressing the fiery rage in my chest, I continued to watch.

Dad rummaged through his pockets again, searching for quite a while before finally pulling out a finger-sized object. Squinting in confusion, I saw it looked like a small cotton ball wrapped in cloth, stained with some reddish substance.

"Dad, what on earth are you playing at?" I couldn't help asking.

Dad noticed the creature advancing toward us at a very slow pace and decided to explain. After hearing what he had to say, I could almost picture my little aunt standing right in front of me, sneering with laughter.

There was nothing special about the slingshot; Dad had twisted it together himself just last night.

The crucial part was the red substance on the cotton ball. That... that was actually the virgin blood Yao Hui had shed on the sheets after our very first night together.

"Unless exposed to direct sunlight for three full days, a pure living corpse cannot be destroyed by anyone. However, once she completes her total corpse-transformation, the very blood she once carried in life can reduce her to ashes. Living corpses require overwhelmingly heavy yin energy to manifest, which is why they are invariably female. And their virgin blood encapsulates all their vital human essence, making it the most potent weapon." Dad turned his head to look at me. "Yet I never imagined that your little aunt would arrange for you to finish this task."

With that, Dad handed me the slingshot and the blood-stained cotton ball.

"Yuanzi, you are the sole heir of our Yuan family. Let this be yours to bring to a close. From this day forward, I will never keep anything from you. Make Yao Hui vanish from this world, and once it's done, you... officially enter the trade." (To be continued...)