Iron Bull fait son retour

Chapitre 36

Seeing that Dongli had settled Huakai properly, Lingli then said directly, "You and Huakai can't go on like this, and neither can this Hailing City..."

"I did try to hand him over to you!" Dongli Bupo interrupted him, her previous gentleness vanishing. "You rejected that opportunity!"

After a pause, he suddenly fixed his gaze on Tao Rujiu.

"It's all for him!!"

The eyes beneath the silver mask turned blood-red in an instant, causing Tao Rujiu to shiver involuntarily.

It was murderous intent; Dongli Bupo was determined to kill him!

Ling Li is a descendant of Dong Li Bu Po, so he might not be able to kill him. Qi Lin Po has magic to protect himself, and Qin Hua Kai is even less of a concern.

Therefore, the first person that Dongli Bupo has to deal with is definitely him!

Tao Rujiu admitted that he was afraid.

His near-death experience made him unwilling to return to that dark and terrifying void.

But he couldn't escape it either.

Entering Hailing City, joining forces with the opera troupe of Cuiying Pavilion, and even venturing into this underground cave—all of these were decisions he made himself. Besides, now he had no choice at all.

He was genuinely uneasy when he suddenly heard Ling Li say to Dong Li, "You are my ancestor. So you should understand this better than anyone else. If you ever make me unhappy, I will haunt you whether you are a human or a ghost!"

The ghost grinned maliciously: "Enough nonsense, you want to destroy me? Then try it!"

Seeing the growing murderous intent in the ghost's eyes, Qi Linpo immediately stepped in front of Tao Rujiu.

"Hand him over to me, and you go and dispose of the body!"

As he spoke, he made the Wang Tianjun gesture with his right hand, instantly creating a barrier between Dongli and Tao and Ling, so that attacks from this side would not harm the people on the other side.

However, despite his quick movements, he still couldn't stop the ghost from reaching out and pointing at the distance before the barrier opened.

However, it pointed to the coffin in the distance.

"The corpse rises!!!"

Qi Linpo's expression changed. Turning around, he saw the nearly two-meter-tall coffin lurch violently, its dark red lacquer flakes falling like blood. Then came a series of creaking sounds. First, the heavy coffin roof was propelled by a strange force, slamming against the ceiling. Then, amidst a whirlwind of dust and wood chips, the side panels of the outer coffin chamber were blasted several meters away, revealing the deep black inner coffin!

At this moment, everyone present heard a sound like tapping on wooden planks and scratching with fingernails, which was constantly overflowing from the inner coffin.

"I'd like to see whether you destroy it or it kills you!" Dongli Bupo sneered, while Qilin Po seized the opportunity to throw the first spell at him. (On this side of the magic array.)

Like moths drawn to light, Ling Li and Tao Rujiu involuntarily approached the inner coffin that was emitting the unusual sound.

The ground, now suddenly empty due to the collapse of the outer coffin chamber, was littered with funerary objects placed in side boxes around the black coffin.

However, those were not ordinary lacquerware or pottery figurines, but piles and piles of yellowed and brittle talisman paper.

They were piled up so exaggeratedly that they reached a height of nearly half a meter, almost completely encasing the coffin inside.

"Ling Li, look!" Tao Rujiu, with sharp eyes, pointed to the silver liquid slowly flowing out from under the talisman.

"It's mercury!"

It seems that in order to keep Dongli Bupo's soul in Hailing City, the ancestors of the Dongli family took various measures to preserve the body.

At this very moment, the knocking sounds coming from inside the coffin grew clearer and clearer, accompanied by the rise and fall of the coffin lid, and the forty copper nails on it began to fall down with a clanging sound.

By this point, anyone could guess that Dongli Bupo had used some kind of spell to cause his corpse, which had been sealed for hundreds of years, to turn into a zombie and crawl out of the coffin!

"Don't come near! Mercury is poisonous."

He acted swiftly and decisively, stopping Tao Rujiu from moving forward. He then pulled a lighter from his pocket.

Burning it is still the best way to solve the problem.

Seemingly sensing the temperature of the flames, the black inner coffin shook even more violently, eventually bouncing half a meter into the air and landing nearly a foot away from the coffin bed.

After a tremendous cracking sound, the black inner coffin shattered into pieces. Amidst a thick cloud of smoke and the stench of decay, the "thing" they had been searching for appeared.

It was a tall male corpse, dressed in a dark red satin official robe. His exposed hands, stained a dull blackish-purple from centuries of mercury condensation, were covered with curled, yellow, bony fingernails, a chilling sight.

The corpse also wore a silver mask, and its height was similar to that of Dongli Bupo's spirit. However, unlike the spirit, this corpse was covered almost entirely with cinnabar incantations left by the Taoist priest. These symbols resembled earthworms.

This is an ancient zombie with hundreds of years of history, the corpse of Lingli's ancestor Dongli Bupo, and also the enemy they are about to face. "Don't be afraid!" In the intervals between fighting with Dongli Bupo, Qilinpo still kept an eye on the situation here.

"That's just a zombie!" he shouted. "If you dismember and destroy it, the feng shui of this tomb will be completely ruined! Hurry!"

After he explained how to do it, Ling Li took a deep breath, picked up a piece of broken wood from the ground, and threw the peach wood sword he had brought with him to Tao Rujiu's hand.

"Take care of yourself!" He squeezed his hand.

By this time, the zombie had locked onto the two of them. It approached step by step amidst the swirling talismans. Its mercury-soaked body was incredibly heavy, each step causing the ground to tremble. An indescribable, chilling aura, somewhere between earth and humus, filled the air.

Because of the barrier of Qilin Soul at the entrance of the tomb, it was impossible to get close. Seeing the zombie walking towards them, Ling Li grabbed Tao Rujiu behind him and pulled him back to the back half of the tomb chamber.

The latter half of the tomb chamber was almost completely dark, with only the outlines of some furnishings visible. Ling Li pulled Tao Rujiu to hide behind a beast-shaped tombstone, waiting for the zombies to arrive.

Sure enough, heavy footsteps soon caught up with them, each step feeling like a blow to their hearts.

He secretly and swiftly gripped the hand of the person beside him, and at the same time quickly planted a kiss on his cheek. Before Tao Rujiu could react, the man suddenly pushed him into a corner, and then abruptly stood up, grabbing a wooden plank and smashing it down on the zombie's head.

Tao Rujiu's heart skipped a beat, followed by a muffled thud in the darkness.

Ling Li was certain that he was holding a piece of fine Phoebe zhennan wood and that he had struck the zombie in the back of the neck, a vital spot. However, the sensation traveling back to his palm along the stick made him wonder if he had hit a bronze statue.

The pain in his hand was almost numb, and the wooden board in his hand snapped. But the outline of the zombie remained motionless.

Only a faint, dim glow slowly reflected off the silver mask.

"Run!"

He only had time to shout out that one sentence before he felt a gust of cold wind blow past his ear and simultaneously felt a sharp blow to his abdomen.

"Ugh! Ah!!!"

A surge of heat welled up in his chest, accompanied by excruciating pain. For nearly five seconds, everything went black before his eyes, and the agonizing pain made him momentarily believe he had suffered an incurable injury.

However, fate was still on his side; in fact, Ling Li only broke one rib.

But by the time he realized this, the zombie's purplish-black hand was already thrusting straight in front of him; if it had moved forward just a little more, it would have almost pierced his eye socket.

Ling Li broke out in a cold sweat and immediately ducked away. Concerned for Tao Rujiu's safety, he glanced back, but the corner was nowhere to be seen. Tao Rujiu had vanished without a trace.

So, Ling Li was both relieved that Tao Rujiu was still somewhat quick-witted and disappointed that he had abandoned him and fled alone. Before he could even process his feelings, the zombie transformed and violently smashed the stone beast in front of him to pieces. It then strode across the debris and walked towards Ling Li, who had nowhere left to retreat.

Ling Li had to admit that he was on the verge of death, and just when he was about to give up, a burst of fire suddenly appeared from behind the zombie's shoulder like a savior.

It's Tao Rujiu!

It turned out that Tao Rujiu hadn't really run away; he had simply gone to pick up the torches on the ground. According to Qi Linpo's instructions, only in this way could the great threat to Hailing City be truly eliminated.

Sensing the unusual heat, the zombie jumped up and suddenly spun around in mid-air.

Tao Rujiu was startled by the strange way he turned around, but he still gripped the torch tightly and tried to burn Dongli Bupo. However, his movements were not as quick as the ghost. In the blink of an eye, a pair of corpse claws reached out in front of him, grabbed the still burning part and pulled it out forcefully!

With a hiss, darkness descended, and the air filled with the stench of burning protein. At the same time, several drops of silver liquid rolled down from the black smoke, dripping onto the cracked ground, and vanished without a trace, as if they were alive.

It's mercury.

Ling Li vaguely understood that the reason why the zombie walked so heavily and had such great strength was because it was infused with mercury, which indirectly made the zombie have a so-called "indestructible body". When it hits a person, it also has the power of an iron rod.

The instant the mercury hit the ground, Ling Li rolled away, dodging the zombie and grabbing Tao Rujiu's arm as they ran. The zombie immediately gave chase, and the two weaved and dodged through most of the tomb. But their energy was limited, and they soon felt exhausted.

During this time, Ling Li also noticed the movements of Dong Li and Qi Lin Po. However, as he expected, all the injured Qi Mao Xian could do was to guard against the ghosts getting close to her body. If this continued, unless a miracle occurred, the three of them would probably end up being buried in someone else's grave.

Like Ling Lixi, Qi Linpo also kept an eye on the situation on the other side. When he saw the two of them being chased by zombies with their bare hands, he immediately shouted, "Ling Li, the sword, the peach wood sword!"

These words made Ling Li realize that he actually possessed this magical artifact. He remembered that he had given the sword to Tao Rujiu, so he looked at him with a questioning gaze.

"That sword!" A glimmer of hope flashed in Tao Rujiu's eyes, but it immediately dimmed again.

"I left that sword in that corner just now..." he pointed to the dark tomb not far away.

The zombies were walking towards them from that direction, their thumping footsteps accompanied by the dripping of mercury on the ground.

Damn it!

Ling Li cursed inwardly, then made a decisive decision: "I'll lure the zombies away, you go and get the magic sword back!"

He gently pushed the young man forward, then grabbed a piece of rotten wood and ran faster toward the zombie.

Time was of the essence, leaving Tao Rujiu no room for objection. He gritted his teeth and began running into the darkness. At the same time, he heard the muffled sound of shattering planks again.

Ling Li knew he was no match for the zombie before him, which was practically "indestructible," and he wasn't really prepared to confront it head-on. After dodging left and right a few times, he tried to lead it in another direction. The zombie, being nothing more than an empty shell incapable of thought, was led along by him.

At this moment, Tao Rujiu also successfully returned to the corner where he had just hidden. Touching the peach wood sword, he felt a little more at ease. He immediately looked up to pay attention to Ling Li's movements and saw the zombie casually twist off a piece of tomb beast stone carving, about to throw it behind the man.

"careful!!"

In his desperation, he forgot his fear and drew his sword to rush forward. But after only two steps, he suddenly felt a strange sensation in his feet and heart.

Looking down, he noticed that in the places where the zombies had walked, there were round, plump drops of mercury on the rocks.

This is the zombie's "blood".

His roar caused the zombie to turn around.

Tao Rujiu looked down in surprise. The mercury around his feet suddenly began to dance on the ground, connecting and crowding together, quickly forming a silver ring that enveloped his feet. As Tao Rujiu moved, it followed, seemingly reporting the young man's movements in the darkness to the zombie.

Seeing the zombie approaching, Tao Rujiu was momentarily at a loss, and could only grip the peach wood sword tightly and try his best to assume a fighting stance. But even he himself did not believe that this "wooden strip" in his hand would have any "power".

He had no choice or consideration; the target he had to conquer was already upon him. Ling Li quickly realized that the zombie had stopped chasing him. He stopped and turned around, just in time to see Tao Rujiu's figure flashing through the darkness not far away.

And the zombies were heading in that direction.

Without further hesitation, Ling Li immediately turned around and caught up with the zombie, kicking it hard in the back before lunging forward to grab it.

The heavy zombie didn't turn around; it only hesitated for a moment before ramming backward with its elbow.

A single blow struck the sharp lower abdomen.

This time, the man didn't even have time to cry out in pain; blood and foam came out of his mouth. Amidst the excruciating pain and dizziness, an idea suddenly sprouted in his mind.

Blood!

Despite the excruciating pain, he struggled to hold onto the zombie's arm, while simultaneously turning his body to spit mouthfuls of blood onto the silver mask.

Immediately afterwards, he heard a strange sound like mud churning, and then a powerful force threw him several meters away!

Tao Rujiu noticed that the mercury surrounding his feet had disappeared, and he immediately ran towards Ling Li. At this moment, the zombie had already shrunk to the side, its body limp. The two supported each other, wanting to go and see what was going on.

Upon closer inspection, they realized that the silver mask was actually undamaged, but the exposed skin on the neck beneath the mask had undergone noticeable changes under the blood mist.

The dark, leathery tissue emitted thick gray smoke as burning scars gradually expanded. The scars enlarged further, forming perforations and revealing the crisscrossing dark blood vessels on the inside of the neck, as well as the waxy yellow, dried-out trachea resembling withered branches.