As soon as Lu Xiaoying shouted, I immediately turned the blade, pressed the back of the blade under my armpit, and stabbed it straight behind me with my hand holding the handle. Not long after the three-foot-long Rakshasa stabbed out from my armpit, it was blocked in mid-air by something and stopped abruptly.
A voice also came from behind me: "Young man, don't be nervous. If I wanted to kill you, you would have died long ago. Turn around!"
Only then did my vision fully recover, and the first thing I saw was a zombie with its belly ripped open. This zombie must have been trying to jump down from a high place and pounce behind me, but I slashed its belly open in mid-air - this is why Lu Xiaoying wanted me to cut the incision upwards.
Although Lu Xiaoying saw the person behind me and her reminder was quick, we were not alone after all. There was always a pause between her reminder and my reaction to strike back. It was this process that put me at a disadvantage.
I also know that what the person behind me said is right. If he can block the edge of Rakshasa, he naturally has the ability to kill me.
When I slowly turned around, I saw the corpse driver who had killed the master of Xuan Jingsi in the woods was raising one hand and looking at me with a smile.
He could obviously put his arm down, but he insisted on raising one hand in the air with his palm upright, just to show me that my blade would have no effect in front of him.
I only took one look and I knew that if the fight really started, I would never be a match for that corpse driver.
Although I didn't use all my strength in that strike, the sharpness of the Rakshasa was enough to penetrate a person, but only a white spot was left on the palm of his hand that blocked the tip of the knife. This person must have practiced zombie skills to the pinnacle, otherwise, it would be impossible to achieve the level of invulnerability.
I calmly said, "Your Excellency led us here, what instructions do you have?"
"That's right!" The corpse driver nodded, "Much more useful than my apprentice. If it were him, he would have been so frightened that he couldn't even speak clearly."
The corpse driver paused for a moment and said, "Let's get back to the point! I came here just to give you a little something."
The corpse driver waved his hand gently, and a young man in his twenties came out of the bushes. After handing me a package, he returned to the corpse driver's side and stood with his hands hanging down.
The corpse driver said, "The package contains some zombie-dissolving powder and a soul-calling bell. If you give the zombie-dissolving powder to your employers, their limbs will become stiff in a short period of time, just like zombies. As long as you hold the soul-calling bell, you can drive them forward like corpses. In this way, your speed will be much faster, and you can reach your destination in a short time."
I frowned slightly: "Your suggestion is a bit..."
I really can't find the right words to express what I'm thinking now.
The corpse driver said, "You don't have to doubt anything. Rather than saying I'm helping you, I'm helping myself. I can tell you frankly that I came here after Master Gu's guidance."
I raised my eyebrows and asked, "Why did the old man ask you to do this?"
"Master Gu said that as long as I tell you the original words, you can figure out the rest yourself." The corpse driver said, "Master Gu also said that it is up to you to choose whether to use the zombie-dissolving powder. Goodbye."
"Wait a minute!" I said quickly, "Where's the antidote for the zombie-dissolving powder?"
The corpse driver said, "There is no need for an antidote for the zombie-dissolving powder. When you want to detoxify, just splash some clean water on their faces."
Without waiting for me to speak, the corpse driver quickly said, "This time I came to help you because of Master Gu's arrangement. Next time I want to pull someone away from you, I will not be soft-hearted. So, next time we meet, you can still do your best."
After the corpse driver finished speaking, he left quickly with his apprentice and disappeared from my sight in the blink of an eye.
"Let's go back first and check on the situation over there with Ye Jin and the others." On the way back, I was wondering what the purpose of the corpse driver was.
I have heard of this thing called "Huazang San". It is not a secret medicine of the Corpse Sect, but something made by some human traffickers. In order to conceal their tracks, some human traffickers deliberately disguise themselves as corpse drivers. After feeding the victims with Huazang San, they lead the victims to the edge of Xiangxi to hand over to the next buyer like corpse drivers.
In ancient times, everyone knew that corpse-driving in Xiangxi was extremely evil, and even officials would not easily stop the corpse-driving. The human traffickers took advantage of this fact.
However, according to legend, the human trafficker who created the Zombie-Dissolving Powder angered the Corpse Sect's master by using the name of the Corpse Sect to commit crimes, and all of his relatives were turned into zombies alive. The Zombie-Dissolving Powder then disappeared from the world.
As I walked, I said, "Xiaoying, do you think that guy can be trusted?"
Lu Xiaoying said: "I think the zombie-removing powder is trustworthy, but the corpse-driving man may not be trustworthy."
I asked back, “What do you mean?”
Lu Xiaoying analyzed: "First of all, the corpse driver should be an authentic descendant of the Corpse Sect. His ability to control zombies and hide his body are both secrets of the Corpse Sect."
The real corpse-driving is not as grand as on TV. The corpse-driving people usually choose secret places to move, and try not to let people see them. Only when they reach an open area and cannot conceal their whereabouts, will they ring the bell and shout numbers to pass quickly. Therefore, the method used by the corpse sect masters to conceal their bodies is also a unique skill in the art of martial arts.
Judging from these two points, that person should be the true descendant of corpse-driving.
Lu Xiaoying continued, "He took out the Zombie Removal Powder, I'm afraid he had ulterior motives. He said that letting Jiang Yan take the Zombie Removal Powder would help him travel faster, which is probably only in his own best interest. If I'm not mistaken, that old man might have instigated the three major sects to change the rules of the game again."
"What if the enemy changes the rules of the game from taking turns to hunting at a fixed location? Will they set up an ambush and catch us all in one fell swoop? At that time, our speed will determine whether we live or die, and how many we are captured."
When I heard this, I couldn't help but nod and said, "Yes. If that's the case, giving the employer the Zombie-Removing Powder will not only be beneficial to us, but also to the people of the Corpse Sect."
Lu Xiaoying continued, "The second point is, who among us can be sure that the corpse chaser gave you just ordinary zombie-dissolving powder? What if Jiang Yan really turns into a half-human, half-zombie monster after eating the zombie-dissolving powder? Can the corpse chaser catch them all at once?"
"Yes!" I couldn't help but gasp. If Lu Xiaoying's inference was completely correct, only the Corpse Sect's people could gain the greatest advantage.
The anti-stiffness powder in my hand is like a cup of poison in the desert to me!
If you don't drink it, you will die of thirst in the desert; if you drink it, you will still not be able to get out of the desert. Death is only a matter of time, the only difference is whether you can enjoy the refreshing feeling of the poisoned wine moistening your throat for a moment before you die.
I hesitated for a long time before gritting my teeth and said, "I'll give them the zombie-dissolving powder when we get back later! If someone must stay behind to be the bad guy and suffer retribution, then I'll do it!"
Lu Xiaoying exclaimed: "Are you crazy?"
"I'm not crazy!" I shook my head. "We have too few people, but there are eleven people who need protection. If we encounter a situation like the Panshe Village being besieged by snakes again, we won't be able to carry everyone out one by one. At that time, we will still have to abandon a large number of people. And..."
I paused and said, "Besides, Jiang Yan and his men are all ordinary people who have never experienced bloodshed. Once they encounter danger, they will run around like sheep. There are only five of us. Who can guarantee that we can find all of them? Only by turning them into zombies can we protect everyone to the greatest extent possible."
Lu Xiaoying whispered, "But what if the poison of Huazhuang Powder can no longer be cured? What should we do?"
I said in a deep voice: "I estimate that the people from the Corpse Sect will take action at either the second or third location. Otherwise, they would not have come up with such a plan. If we can't even pass the first two levels, what's the point of talking about the future? Let's get started when we get back!"
When the two of us rushed back, Jiang Yan and the others were still sitting there resting. They had almost finished drinking the drinking water they brought with them. Ye Jin took an empty mineral water bucket and got some mountain water from nearby, because Xiao Baitang had been identifying the poison and no one had drunk it yet.
I called Ye Jin, then squatted beside the bucket and quietly poured the zombie-dissolving powder into the bucket. Xiao Baitang's face suddenly changed: "What are you doing?"
"I'll explain it to you later." I stood up and said, "Ye Jin, distribute the water to everyone. Drink the water and get on with your journey."
Ye Jin walked up to a person with a bucket in his hand and wanted to pour water for him, but the person refused to bring the cup to his mouth. He kept looking at the water in the cup and muttered, "Is this water clean? Can I drink it like this? Should I boil it..."
Ye Jin was furious: "Do you think this is a teahouse? Can I make you some Longjing tea? I'm telling you, it's up to you to drink it or not, I'm saving it!"
"Who wants to drink your little water!" The man's temper was immediately provoked by Ye Jin, and he threw the water on the ground. The water mixed with the zombie powder raised a puff of white smoke as soon as it touched the ground. When everyone turned around in shock, bubbles were already hissing on the stones that were splashed with water.
"The water is poisonous!" someone exclaimed, "How can the water be poisonous?"
Although Jiang Yan and his friends were not from the underworld, they had heard of the legends. When everyone looked in my direction, the voice of the wild ghost with a sad and cold laugh came from behind the crowd: "Do you even need to ask? Wu Zhao poisoned the water!"
"Who's talking?" Jiang Yan heard someone talking behind him and turned around with a trembling voice, "You..." (To be continued)