Chapter 84: Confusing the Theft of the Corpse

Page 1 of 3

“What’s this ‘Seven Stars in a Row’ thing?” Zhou Yi couldn’t help but turn to ask Baozi.

Baozi’s head shook like a rattle-drum, and Zhou Yi could only rub his forehead and sigh—why did he even think to ask Baozi?

“Brother Yi, didn’t that old woman say there’s still a year to go? Whatever’s going to happen, it’ll be a year from now. Right now, we should be figuring out how to get close to that flying corpse and find out about Lei Zhen’s key.” Baozi pulled Zhou Yi back from his wandering thoughts.

Zhou Yi nodded. “We’ll wait.”

“Wait? Wait for what?”

“For them to leave, then we’ll go over.”

“Didn’t they say they’d be staying here for a year?”

“Do you really think that so-called Saintess from Miaojiang can stay here for a whole year?” Zhou Yi looked at Baozi and smirked.

Baozi listened to Zhou Yi’s reasoning and scratched his head, grinning. “No, no way.”

Zhou Yi’s guess was right—the old woman and the Saintess from Miaojiang didn’t stay long, leaving after a short while. They left behind ten Miao people to keep watch.

As the old woman left, she instructed one of the Miao, saying she’d return at dawn the next day. The flying corpse, wounded, had not strayed from the blood spring. The blood spring was a supremely yin place, and for a corpse—a creature of yin—it was a great tonic.

“You stay here and keep watch. I’m going to stir up some trouble for them,” Zhou Yi said with a mischievous grin.

Baozi just nodded wordlessly.

After Zhou Yi left, he headed straight for a nearby village. Once inside, he began to shout, “Someone’s digging up our ancestors’ graves on West Mountain!”

In these villages, the dead were usually buried in the mass graveyard. Only a few families had their own ancestral plots. Zhou Yi’s shout threw the entire village into chaos.

With a sly smile, Zhou Yi turned and hurried to another village. After visiting several villages, people from all around rushed toward the mass graveyard.

When Ji Liang had been excavating before, he had sealed off the entire graveyard, so the villagers hadn’t known what was going on. Now, with only a few Miao left at the site, the locals felt no fear.

“They’re digging up our ancestors’ graves! Kill them!” someone shouted, and the rest of the villagers took up the cry, brandishing pitchforks, shovels, and farming tools as they charged at the dozen or so Miao.

One of the Miao stepped forward, his Mandarin awkward and halting. “Fellow villagers, it wasn’t us—we’re not the ones digging up your ancestors’ graves. It’s someone else.”

Page 2 of 3

Zhou Yi and Baozi mingled with the crowd. Seeing the villagers’ confusion, Zhou Yi shouted, “It’s those Miao! They’re the ones digging. Kill them!”

The villagers, hearing Zhou Yi’s voice, didn’t care who shouted—they all joined in, “Kill them! Kill them!”

As more and more people gathered and saw the scene at the mass graveyard, their anger grew, and soon the dozen or so Miao were surrounded.

Seeing things unfolding just as he intended—perhaps even better than he’d hoped—Zhou Yi smiled faintly, grabbed Baozi, and squeezed out of the crowd.

“Let’s go tie up that flying corpse and study it,” Zhou Yi said, holding a coil of thick hemp rope and grinning.

No sooner said than done, the two jumped down into the pit and rushed the flying corpse.

“You get its attention,” Zhou Yi instructed, pointing at the creature. The earth around the blood spring was treacherous, so they couldn’t get close easily. Baozi, understanding, hefted his mace and struck the flying corpse on the back.

Baozi’s provocation infuriated the flying corpse once more. It spun around and, with a roar, lunged at Baozi. Baozi, no longer afraid, turned and ran.

Zhou Yi grabbed one end of the rope and tossed it to Baozi as he ran past. Baozi caught the rope and sidestepped a meter to the left. The flying corpse crashed straight into the rope.

The two of them quickly looped the rope around the creature, binding it tightly.

The flying corpse struggled to break free, but the rope was too thick—it couldn’t escape, and could only emit a few muffled growls.

Seeing their plan succeed, Zhou Yi grinned. “You’re coming with me, little monster.” With that, he hoisted the flying corpse onto his shoulder and leaped out of the pit, running up the mountain.

The Miao, unable to get through to the villagers, saw things getting out of hand, when suddenly the flying corpse’s howls rang out.

The Miao realized instantly that it must be those two causing trouble. Forgetting the villagers, they shouted, “Don’t let them get away!” and all ten or so of them leapt out of the crowd, chasing after Zhou Yi.

It turned out all these Miao were skilled fighters, but bound by the old woman’s warning not to make a scene, they’d let Zhou Yi and Baozi take advantage.

Now that they had the flying corpse, Zhou Yi and Baozi needed to find a place to study it. But with the Miao on their tail, turning back for a fight was risky, though fleeing wasn’t a problem.

At this point, they had no time to worry about direction and simply ran for the most secluded place they could find.

The chase continued, and after nightfall, they found themselves on Phoenix Mountain. The Miao’s lightness skills were no match for Zhou Yi and Baozi's, and by the time they reached the mountain, the Miao were nowhere in sight.

Page 3 of 3

Phoenix Mountain, in Fengcheng, Liaoning, is part of the Changbai Mountain range—its peaks high, waters perilous, the land vast and forests dense. Hiding here, it would be nearly impossible to find anyone.

Zhou Yi and Baozi, exhausted and out of breath, finally set down the flying corpse and rested, relieved that no one had followed them.

No sooner had they released the flying corpse than it began to howl and struggle against the ropes, baring its teeth at Zhou Yi in a show of menace. But with its body bound tight, it was like a toothless tiger—no matter how fierce, the two were unafraid.

“So, what do we do now?” Baozi frowned, eyeing the flying corpse trussed up like a rice dumpling.

Zhou Yi didn’t answer. Instead, he began to recite the Soul-Searching Mantra. But once the incantation was finished, the flying corpse seemed completely unaffected. “Aren’t zombies supposed to have souls? Why doesn’t the Soul-Searching Mantra work?” Zhou Yi frowned.

Baozi, clueless, just shook his head. “If only Mu Chen were here—he’s an expert with these things.” As he spoke, Baozi’s eyes suddenly lit up.

“Brother Yi, didn’t Mu Chen give you two talismans before he left? Why not try them?”

Zhou Yi rubbed his forehead. “Different talismans have different uses. The ones Mu Chen gave us are communication charms, not for exorcising demons.”

“You hold him down while I untie him and redo the ropes,” Zhou Yi said.

“Aren’t these things afraid of black dog’s blood and glutinous rice? Why don’t we just go down the mountain and get some?” Baozi was hesitant to untie the ropes. The flying corpse was dangerous—he’d been fooled once, and wasn’t keen to take another risk.

If they loosened the ropes and the flying corpse got away, it would all be for nothing.

“If the Miao lose our trail, they’ll surely search nearby. If you go down the mountain for glutinous rice and run into them, we’re finished. Take off your shirt and wrap it around the flying corpse’s head—then it can’t bite you.”

Unable to argue with Zhou Yi, Baozi reluctantly took off his shirt and wrapped it around the creature’s head. As Zhou Yi was about to untie the ropes, Baozi slapped his thigh in alarm.

“Brother Yi, something’s wrong…”