The route to Huatingxuan was very familiar, as if he was very familiar with the place and didn't need a feng shui map at all.
In order to conceal their identities, both of them changed their attire to suit the local customs, put away their ostentatious Xuanshui swords, and walked instead. They looked like two dusty, low-level cultivators.
Although walking is tiring, it is more conducive to gathering information. As expected, there are new discoveries on the road - in addition to the mixed-blood little demons begging along the way, there are also many zombies as Meng Cangyu reminded me.
Most of these zombies moved slowly and did not bother the living. They just wandered slowly along the road like ghosts, but they scared Chu Danfeng very much - it was because their appearance was too simple and they didn't even have skin.
The limbs exposed through the tattered clothes were skinless, and the face was also skinless. All that was left was withered flesh and muscles, with no facial features at all! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
Compared to them, the "Lin Zhengying version of zombies" on TV who wear Qing Dynasty official uniforms, white foundation and red cheeks can be described as having delicate features, dignified and handsome!
Everywhere he looked, he saw such "faceless monsters", which frightened Chu Danfeng, a young man who grew up under the red flag and in the spring breeze.
Chu Danfeng was so frightened that he tightly grasped the hand of the person next to him, which made Hua Tingxuan reluctant to leave. He took the opportunity to half-hug the person in his arms and said, "Don't be afraid, I'm here."
"So-and-so-so is scared, scared, scared, scared, scared!"
Hua Tingxuan was touched by his little senior brother's stubborn appearance and was so cute that he resisted the urge to hug him and coaxed him: "I was scared. Only when I hugged you, Xuan'er dared to continue walking."
“Hmm…” Chu Danfeng uttered a word timidly. He was just debating whether or not to pull himself out of Hua Tingxuan’s arms to save a little face, when he saw a faceless zombie coming towards him with a dazed look in his eyes.
“!!!!”
Chu Danfeng cried out and hugged Hua Tingxuan tightly: "Then, then, let's go quickly!"
Hua Tingxuan suddenly hugged the warm and soft jade in his arms. His nose was filled with the unique warm fragrance of his junior brother's cauldron-like body. His Adam's apple couldn't help but roll, and it rippled inappropriately in the desolate and terrifying atmosphere.
He held the person in his arms tightly, and said sternly, "We really can't leave quickly. These zombies are different. We have to investigate them carefully."
Chu Danfeng was completely scared. He remained curled up in Hua Tingxuan's arms and asked, "Why?"
Hua Tingxuan stroked his back like he was stroking the fur of a small animal: "The purpose of our trip is to find out the origin of the 'Flying Smoke Bottle'. We saw it in the secret realm before. It is used to hold souls... I heard that there is an evil method that can use human skin as a soul-calling magic tool. If it is the skin of an elderly person, the effect will be better."
Hearing this, Chu Danfeng suppressed his fear and followed Hua Tingxuan's thoughts, muttering, "The Feiyan Bottle stores souls and is a magical tool for summoning souls... To make that kind of evil magical tool, you need human skin, and there are skinless zombies everywhere..."
Hua Tingxuan: "Little Senior Brother, do you still remember the ghost cultivator who came to Shuangji Sect to look for Second Senior Sister?"
Chu Danfeng: "Ruan Fu? Remember! The first flying smoke bottle we saw was found on him. It has been six or seven years. Master also said that several major sects have investigated that the demons' invasion of the secret realm is closely related to the ghost cultivators. Could it be...
From that time on, they have been in collusion with each other!"
"Yes." Hua Tingxuan said dimly. He almost destroyed Ruan Fu's years of cultivation before he tortured him and found out that the flying smoke bottle actually came from the demon clan. The result coincided with today.
However, he did not have more clues back then, and the investigation was not smooth. Of course, the more important reason was that Hua Tingxuan spent most of his energy on guarding against his junior brother, fearing that if he was not careful, Chu Danfeng would be seduced by Lin Shuer again in this life.
…
After walking for more than ten miles, they saw a large village. The closer they got to the village, the more faceless zombies there were. Especially at the entrance of the village, there was a large group of them, pacing back and forth stiffly and slowly.
Chu Danfeng noticed that there was a tall fence outside the village entrance, covered with thorns.
There was a space half a person's height under the fences, large enough for an adult to squeeze through if he bent over. Living people could enter and exit freely through there, but the zombies were all blocked outside because their bodies were stiff and they could not flex or extend their joints.
The villagers had probably gotten used to zombies. A few children, around eleven or twelve years old, crawled out from under the fence as if nothing had happened. They were not afraid of the staggering "faceless monsters". They just looked at Chu Danfeng and Hua Tingxuan curiously, whispering to each other and pointing fingers.
"Someone's here again, is it another ghost cultivator?"
"I guess so. The adults in the family have business to do again."
"Why are they still hugging each other? They are both men, right?"
"Um… "
"No, look at the girl curled up in the tall man's arms. Her face and hands are so tender, and her waist is so thin. How can there be such a delicate man? She must be a young lady!"
"I know, it's called 'disguising as a man' in order to elope with a man!"
Chu Danfeng: “… … … …”
People who practice Taoism have excellent hearing. Although he was some distance away from the naughty boys, Chu Danfeng still heard every word of their discussions.
His idol image that had been scared away came back again. Chu Danfeng struggled to get out of Hua Tingxuan's arms in embarrassment and said calmly, "It's safe. Let's go in."
Hua Tingxuan could hear it clearly, and in order to save face for his junior brother, he had to let go of "Miss Chu" with regret. However, just as they separated, a faceless zombie suddenly raised its withered and stiff arm and pointed it at Hua Tingxuan. At the same time, it made a sharp "hehe" cry - its vocal cords had long been dried up and shriveled, so it could only make such a sound.
Immediately afterwards, the rest of the zombies turned to Hua Tingxuan, opened their shriveled mouths, and shouted "hehehehe" together. They took stiff steps and slowly and excitedly waved their arms and legs, as if trying to stop him from entering the village.
Many "faceless monsters" came one after another, and all I could hear were hoarse "hehe" sounds and stiff and chaotic footsteps. The zombies' empty eye sockets all stared at Hua Tingxuan.
Chu Danfeng was shocked and instinctively summoned his life-saving magic weapon. With a flash of his sleeves, he grasped the Peach Blossom Fan firmly in his hand. However, Hua Tingxuan was one step faster. He made a high-profile hand gesture and an arc of light hit the leading zombie. Its flesh and bones melted away and it screamed and turned into a pool of stinking water.
The teenagers clapped their hands and cheered:
“Awesome!”
"He really is a ghost cultivator! I've seen cultivators pay off zombies!"
Hua Tingxuan grabbed Chu Danfeng's hand and pulled him into the fence covered with thorns.
Seeing this, several half-grown children also crawled back in, muttering, "What's going on? I'm so scared!"
"Have they gone crazy today?!"
"Look how anxious they are!"
Chu Danfeng couldn't help but look back, only to see that the faceless zombies were all blocked outside the thorn fence, shouting anxiously.
He turned his gaze back, rubbed the goose bumps on his arms, and murmured with lingering fear: "Why did they suddenly go crazy?"
Although the zombies seen before were just as ugly and terrifying, their behavior could be described as peaceful and tranquil.
"This is the first time we've seen them attack people," a child asked in astonishment, "How did you offend them?"
Chu Danfeng just thought that the two of them had accidentally touched some taboo, but Hua Tingxuan seemed to be thinking about something and narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Children," Hua Tingxuan waved to the two half-grown children, "We are ghost cultivators passing by. We would like to stay in the village for one night. By the way, we would like to ask you some questions. Who can give the best answer..."
He casually took out a handful of snacks from the mustard seed bag and said, "There will be a reward."
Chu Danfeng: “…”
Over the years, it has become a habit for Hua Tingxuan to feed his little brother, and his mustard bag is always filled with various snacks that Chu Danfeng likes.
Chu Danfeng's appetite had long been spoiled. Any snacks he grabbed were all exquisite snacks with good color, aroma and taste. Where had the children in the deserted village seen such delicacies? They immediately threw away their weapons and rushed to tell everyone they knew, fearing that the reward would be taken away by their companions first.
Hua Tingxuan asked for the key information in just a few words.
Because this village is adjacent to the "no man's land" between the three realms, it has some contact with the human, demon and monster realms. Since the time these children can remember, they have seen adults doing reselling business with the demons and ghost cultivators to make some profit. For example, the demons would peel off human skin, and they would collect the skins and then sell them to ghost cultivators. Those zombies are the monsters left behind after the demons peeled off the skin.
Chu Danfeng shuddered after hearing this. After all, these villagers were human beings. How could they engage in the business of reselling human skins
The demons are murderous by nature. Will they also help the tyrant to commit atrocities and kill each other
After sending those children away, Chu Danfeng still felt unhappy and whispered, "This village is so weird. It feels even more spooky than the village in Luofeng Secret Realm."
Hua Tingxuan said: "Don't worry, they are all living people, but..."
Chu Danfeng: "Just what?"
But sometimes human hearts are more vicious and terrifying than ghosts.
Hua Tingxuan shook his head and took Chu Danfeng's hand. "Those kids may not be telling the truth. Let's go and see for ourselves."
The two walked around the village. The villagers were a little wary at first, but Hua Tingxuan introduced himself as a "ghost cultivator". After hearing the introduction of his fellow Taoists and saying that he had come all the way here specially, the villagers gradually let down their guard. Some of them even asked them "whether they would accept furs". Hua Tingxuan just said "it's my first time here, I need to compare prices from three stores", and used this as an excuse to tour the village.
The more Chu Danfeng followed him, the more he had a subtle feeling—Hua Tingxuan was too familiar with this village, as if he had lived here before.
“… !!”
An idea gradually formed in Chu Danfeng's mind. Could this village be... where Hua Tingxuan lived when he was a child
"Junior brother, look at this." Hua Tingxuan suddenly said.
Chu Danfeng followed his line of sight and didn't see anything special. He asked in confusion, "Is this... a willow branch? Why is it tied to the door threshold?"
Hua Tingxuan: "This is an ancient evil method, a common trick used by ghost cultivators... Put a willow branch at the door... If my guess is correct, there should be a pregnant woman in this house."
As if in response to Hua Tingxuan's guess, a woman with a big belly, holding her waist and frowning, stepped out from the threshold.
"!" Chu Danfeng humbly asked, "What's going on?"
Hua Tingxuan: "Pregnant women step in and out of willow branches every day until they are full-term. When they are about to give birth, they perform rituals and a dead baby is born. Then the baby's soul is led to the branch. This is the magic of 'raising a ghost'."
Chu Danfeng was dumbfounded. He knew about raising a ghost, but he didn't expect Hua Tingxuan to explain the steps in such detail. Should a decent person... know so much about this evil technique
Hua Tingxuan said calmly, "This is what Elder Kong said in the class. Junior Brother said that you know a little bit about these basic techniques, so you don't like to join in the fun. Danfeng must know such simple common sense, but now you are deliberately asking me."
Chu Danfeng: “…”
"I, of course I know! I was just teasing you." Chu Danfeng was indeed guilty and swelled up his face to pretend to be strong. Hua Tingxuan also tried hard to stay calm and forced down the corners of his lips that wanted to rise.
Chu Danfeng was thoughtful: "So there is something strange here. We walked around for a long time and saw only middle-aged people. There were no old people or babies..."
Just at this moment, a one-armed young man in his twenties stopped them and said, "You two have looked around, have you agreed on the price?"
Chu Danfeng was about to evade the question as he had done before, but Hua Tingxuan smiled and said, "Yeah, I've seen enough. What's your price, big brother?"
The one-armed young man smiled innocently: "That depends on how much you want."
Hua Tingxuan took out a bag of high-quality spiritual stones from the mustard seed bag, unfolded it slightly, and shook it in front of his eyes, making a wonderful crisp sound of money. "As long as the quality is good, I'll take as many as you want."
Chu Danfeng didn't understand, but he still nodded cooperatively, acting like an experienced person.
The one-armed young man rubbed his hands with joy: "Then come to my house and take a look?"
As they walked and chatted, a gust of wind blew up the sleeve of the one-armed young man. Chu Danfeng discovered that his other arm was also hideous, with teeth marks and old scars all over it. He couldn't help but ask, "Your hand..."
"Oh, this one." The one-armed young man shook his sleeves to hide the scar on his arm. "It's an old wound from many years ago. I got it when I was a kid from a little bastard. I just let the dog bite him, but he actually sneaked into my house in the middle of the night and bit both of my arms to pieces."
He spat, "What a freak!"