Chapter 7: A Corpse

Compared to the three unconscious drowning victims, this was a genuine corpse—truly a dead man.

He appeared to be middle-aged, likely in his forties, not quite fifty. His hair was short, with several braids tied at the back of his head—unlike the usual one or two, he had a dozen or so.

His complexion was sallow and waxen, with a somewhat gaunt, elongated face. His nose was long and pointed, and his ears were sharp as well. His eyes were tightly shut, and judging by their shape, they seemed triangular. By his appearance alone, one could tell he was no kind soul.

His clothing was peculiar, unlike the common lapel garments of Blue Star; it resembled a side-lapel style. Over a gray robe, one could see a set of armor that looked like fish scales beneath. Behind him, there seemed to be weapons—two short daggers sheathed on his back.

He had likely died only recently. When the ocean currents carried him close, no scent of decay or rot emanated from the seawater.

The young man, Shui Sheng, was no stranger to dead bodies. Growing up in Wang’ao Village, he had spent his childhood playing by the sea with friends, making a living through fishing.

Over the years, he had occasionally come across corpses drifting in the water, some caught in fishing nets—bodies of those drowned by accident, murdered, those who had left farewell notes and taken their own lives, or victims bitten by large fish and sea monsters. All manner of fates.

Some corpses were relatively intact; others were dismembered, reduced to bones, or even missing some bones altogether.

Shui Sheng was preparing to leave this stretch of sea. For some reason—perhaps because he felt responsible for the three who had drowned here—he found the atmosphere oppressively unsettling.

After swimming a dozen meters away, something strange happened.

The drifting corpse suddenly attached itself to the middle-aged man’s body, facing him closely, almost intimately, as they floated in the water.

Shui Sheng seemed to witness invisible forces flowing out from the dead man’s mouth into the drifting corpse’s mouth.

The middle-aged man’s body withered rapidly before his eyes. In less than a minute, he was nothing but skin and bones—a horrifying sight.

At first, he had only been unconscious from drowning; now, he was utterly dead.

This eerie scene sent chills down Shui Sheng’s spine. He hastened to swim back in the direction he had come from. Yet, as he swam, he involuntarily glanced back.

He saw the drifting corpse successively attach itself to the two followers of the middle-aged man, who suffered the same fate—reduced to mere skin and bones.

It was as if the corpse was a vampiric specter, sucking the life essence from them.

A monster! A demon!

Shui Sheng had never witnessed anything like this before. He intensified his swimming, striving upwards with all his might.

Still, after three or four seconds, he felt a sudden heaviness on his back, as if something was about to pounce on him. It seemed the corpse, having drained the three men, had now set its sights on him.

His scalp tingled with dread. Thinking of the fate of those three, he twisted his body, trying desperately to shake off the corpse clinging to him—but it was impossible to dislodge.

Then, something even more terrifying occurred.

Two pale, ghastly arms reached around from behind, wrapping around his neck like a lover embracing a sweetheart.

Frozen in shock, both mentally and physically, Shui Sheng lost consciousness, drifting helplessly in the sea.

The corpse slid from his back to his front, pressing close as before, face to face.

Its mouth opened slightly—and Shui Sheng’s own mouth involuntarily parted.

An invisible aura was about to be drawn from within him.

But unexpectedly, the aura remained stubbornly inside; it seemed blocked by some unseen barrier. The corpse tried several times but failed to drain him.

It gave up and returned to its original position on his back, still holding his neck from behind.

After a few minutes, Shui Sheng regained consciousness. He felt the corpse still clinging to him, its hands still locked around his throat.

Unlike the others, he had not been drained to mere skin and bones.

At that moment, he calmed down. Whatever this thing was, since it could not harm him for now and he couldn’t shake it off, he might as well bring it ashore. Perhaps the villagers of the fishing village could help deal with it. If not, the masters at Yuan Guang Temple in Ting’ao Town should know how to handle evil spirits.

So, carrying the corpse on his back, he swam for some time until he reached the shore.

Nearby, the beach was cordoned off with police tape. Two ambulances and four or five police and official vehicles were parked close by.

The two young law enforcers from the “Heaven’s Court” organization, who had been dragged there earlier, were nowhere to be seen.

As he drew nearer, he noticed medical personnel inside one vehicle performing emergency treatment.

Outside the cordon, many fishermen stood watching.

He had thought that emerging from the sea with a corpse on his back would draw attention, but to his surprise, no one even glanced at him. It was as if he were invisible, which puzzled him greatly.

He walked further, nearly reaching the ambulance, yet still no one acknowledged his presence—as if he were air.

Strange indeed, Shui Sheng thought. But he couldn’t very well run up to them shouting, “Look, I’ve got a corpse on me! Why aren’t you looking?”

With that in mind, he returned home.

Along the way, he encountered several villagers he knew well, yet none looked at him. When he greeted them, they seemed to hear nothing.

Shui Sheng realized something was terribly wrong. It was as if no one could see, feel, or even hear him.

So many bizarre things happening, one after another! Was he truly cursed? Or was this karmic retribution?

Since becoming aware, the village chief had taken children their age every year to Yuan Guang Temple in Ting’ao Town to pray for safety, growth, and a peaceful life.

At the temple, Shui Sheng had often heard the abbot say: all good deeds accumulate virtue and blessings, which will bring fortune either in this life or the next. Conversely, all bad deeds accumulate resentment and karma, bringing misfortune either now or later.

He remembered these words well.

Over the years, though his strength was slight, he had tried his best to help others, firmly believing that these acts of kindness would one day bring him blessings, in this life or the next.

He imagined those blessings might mean becoming wealthy someday, owning a large, sturdy fishing vessel impervious to storm and wave.

Or perhaps, when he grew up, marrying a beautiful, refined wife, preferably wearing glasses and fair-skinned—not like some of the older women in the fishing village, who were dark, either skinny or stout, uneducated and coarse, cursing constantly.

Or maybe he would move to a better place, live in the city, reside in an apartment, drive a car, even work in an office like a white-collar worker.

After becoming a supernatural power user, he had lived and survived accordingly.

But he would never repay evil with kindness. He would never forgive those who harmed him.

The middle-aged man and the other two had ultimately died. Even if not killed by the corpse’s “mouth,” they would have drowned anyway. He had caused the boat to sink, causing them to fall into the sea—he could not escape responsibility.

Was this the karmic retribution the abbot had spoken of?