Chapter 88: Rotting Zombies

I hurriedly called out below, and Yu Jing’s voice echoed from the depths: “I’m alright. It’s slippery down here, so be careful.” The Nine-Tailed Fox had already reverted to her fox form and, with a few agile leaps, was far ahead of me. Murong Xue was cautiously climbing down from above. I had wanted to show off some impressive air-stepping skills, but curiously, I found myself unable to use them in this cave. It was perplexing, but at least we’d finally reached the bottom. The cave wasn’t as deep as I’d thought, perhaps just a few thousand meters. Sure enough, there was space below, though whether there was an exit remained uncertain. It looked like a construction site, with clear traces of artificial excavation. In the center stood a modest stone platform surrounded by four stone stools.

“Everyone, look around to see if there’s an exit,” I said, though it was hardly necessary; Yu Jing and the Nine-Tailed Fox were already probing the walls for a way out. Murong Xue had just made it down. I doubted anyone wanted to linger in this sunless cavern.

“This spot feels hollow,” Yu Jing said, knocking on a section of wall.

I stepped closer and rapped on it as well—the sound was indeed different. I asked Yu Jing to step back, then drove my fist into the wall. A hole the size of a washbasin appeared. With another punch, I smashed through the wall, which was over a foot thick, revealing a spacious chamber beyond. In it stood another stone table and several stools. Was this some kind of canteen dug by miners? What use could these stone furnishings have?

Yu Jing leaned in and whispered, “Li, I just saw a shadow dart into the corner. Your eyesight’s good—let’s not startle it. Let’s circle around and catch it.”

Hearing this, I quickly glanced toward the corner. There, a massive vat stood, taller than a man and so wide it would take two people to encircle it. Yu Jing and I crept toward it, one before and one behind. The damp underground muffled any sound from our steps. I pressed my ear to the vat and heard something moving inside. I hesitated, debating whether to open it, when the Nine-Tailed Fox called out—she’d found an exit. Her shout startled whatever was inside the vat. In a blur, a black shadow knocked the lid aside, leapt out, and vanished into another corner.

Peering into the vat, I recoiled in shock. A child lay inside, dressed in a red bellyband, but his legs were gone. Blood stained the vat and the floor nearby, clear evidence that the shadow had devoured the legs. An innocent child had been brutally slaughtered. Who wouldn’t be furious at such a sight? I didn’t know about others, but rage burned in me. Everyone has children—if the parents saw this, they’d die of grief. But now wasn’t the time to dwell on whose child this was. We had to catch the shadow in the corner and see what monster we were dealing with.

I drew my revolver, aiming at the shadow, as Yu Jing and I moved to encircle it. Murong Xue and the Nine-Tailed Fox were working on breaking through another wall. Both were capable, yet for some reason, they hadn’t managed to break through. The Nine-Tailed Fox’s claws struck the wall, sparks flying, but this section seemed much tougher than the one I’d smashed.

Before we could close in, the shadow made the first move. A gust of wind rushed toward us; the figure closed in at lightning speed. In a flicker, I glimpsed a decaying face, Qing Dynasty clothing, and pitch-black shoes—suddenly, the word “zombie” popped into my head. I’d read enough tomb-raiding novels to recognize one.

Zombies come in several types. I recalled one variety: advanced zombies covered in white fur—White Zombies. Ordinary exorcists could only flee from such creatures. The White Zombie’s stiff arms clamped around my neck. Caught off guard by its sudden attack, I didn’t dodge in time. I felt a prickling itch on my neck, but nothing worse. Yu Jing’s short sword slashed at the zombie’s arm with a clear ring, but the blade bounced off. Murong Xue and the Nine-Tailed Fox rushed over at the noise.

“Heavens! What is that thing?” the Nine-Tailed Fox exclaimed, her mouth agape. I grabbed the zombie’s arms with both hands, trying to wrench them away, but no matter how hard I pulled, they clung to my neck as if fused there. The zombie’s arms were rigid; it could only choke me, unable to bite. I could hold my breath for more than three hours anyway—if it wanted to choke me, let it try.

Despite her shock, the Nine-Tailed Fox didn’t forget to help. She and Murong Xue attacked simultaneously. Murong Xue’s white silk wrapped around the zombie’s neck and yanked it backward. Even so, its hands remained locked around my throat. “Damn you!” I steadied myself with all my strength and kicked the zombie hard. It was like kicking a steel plate. Now I understood why they were called zombies. The force of my kick sent it sliding across the floor into the wall, creating a hole. The zombie got up instantly, feet leaving the ground as it flew at me with outstretched arms.

Damn thing, why is it only after me? There are two beautiful women over there—why not chase them? Or is it after something else? I rolled aside, dodging its grasp, though the itch on my neck worsened. The zombie pivoted and lunged at me again. Fortunately, Murong Xue struck it with a palm, sending it flying. This time, she gave it no chance to recover—her True Fire of Samadhi engulfed it. Crackling flames and the stench of burning flesh filled the air as the zombie writhed and then fell still.

Perhaps the zombie’s cultivation wasn’t deep, or we were just too strong—either way, the nuisance was over. Murong Xue came to check my neck. The itch was unbearable, as if a caterpillar crawled on my skin. After inspecting it, Murong Xue said, “You’ve been poisoned by corpse venom.”

“What? Corpse poison?” The words chilled me. I’d heard that those infected become zombies. I was still young, not even married—I didn’t want to turn into a zombie! What kind of world was this? We’d survived zombies on the surface, then a meteor strike, now zombies underground, and I was poisoned. How could anyone live like this?

“This poison can be cured. Don’t worry,” Murong Xue said as she cut her wrist with a fingernail.