Chapter 14: Corpse Servant

“Hmph, you’re just a lowly corpse thrall—how dare you speak to me like that? Don’t think that just because I’m wounded now, I can do nothing to you. Don’t forget, the Corpse Scale Powder is still in my hands. Without it, you’ll become a true dried corpse, unable to walk beneath the sun, your flesh rotting, your very soul dissolving into nothingness, never to find release.”

Jiang Litian slowly opened his eyes, the corners of his mouth curling into a sinister smile as he spoke to Qian Hao with a menacing air.

His eyes were bright, like the stars—deep and impenetrable.

Qian Hao gave a cold laugh, saying nothing. He set the burlap sack from his shoulder onto the ground. In the dim light, it became clear that a long yellow talisman, about a foot in length, was affixed to the sack, casting a faint, mysterious glow.

At that moment, the talisman suddenly flickered and transformed into a blaze. From inside the sack, Zhang Shouzheng began to struggle. The sack was not tied, and so he quickly managed to wriggle out. Clearly, the only thing restraining him had been the talisman itself.

Qian Hao’s expression shifted. This immobilizing charm, given to him by Jiang Litian, was supposed to hold a person still for thirty minutes—yet Zhang Shouzheng had broken free so swiftly. Qian Hao reached out to seize Zhang Shouzheng again, but as soon as Zhang emerged, he saw a withered hand reaching toward him—knobby-jointed, with long black nails, and a foul stench filling the air, the same odor that had assailed him during the earlier ambush.

In a moment of desperation, Zhang Shouzheng bit his own finger hard, drawing blood, and swiftly pressed the bloody fingertip against the attacking hand.

A sizzling sound followed. Qian Hao recoiled several paces, clutching his hand and howling in a bestial, agonized voice. When he let go, he saw that the flesh of his palm had been corroded away, exposing stark white bone. His eyes widened in alarm.

“Pure Yang blood!”

“So, you’re no ordinary creature. You’re tainted with corpse energy—who are you, really? Why did you kidnap me and bring me here?”

Zhang Shouzheng fixed Qian Hao with a cold stare. On closer inspection, he realized with a start that they had met before, on the boat—though then, Qian Hao had been dressed as a villager. As his gaze drifted to the figure on the bed, his face changed, and he cried out in shock.

“Senior Brother Litian!”

“That’s right. Though Qian Hao is a corpse thrall, his strength is formidable. For you to repel him with a single finger—other than the Pure Yang blood in your veins, you clearly have some skill. Excellent, excellent. Now that your senior brother is in trouble, you wouldn’t mind lending a hand, would you?”

Jiang Litian gave a crooked smile and stepped out of the lotus lantern array. But his steps were unsteady, his face even paler, and the black handprint on his chest seemed to have spread further.

“Senior Brother, why are you here with a corpse thrall?”

Zhang Shouzheng hesitated, then hurried over to support Jiang Litian, all the while keeping a wary eye on Qian Hao.

Qian Hao could only smile wryly, but a new wariness of Zhang Shouzheng crept into his heart. When he had abducted Zhang, it was fortunate he hadn’t harmed him—otherwise, the Pure Yang blood might have proved deadly.

Given his own strength, Qian Hao could have subdued Zhang Shouzheng easily, but if Zhang had time to react, things would be uncertain.

He was a corpse thrall, but his memories were hazy—a blur. He only remembered being turned into a thrall by a Daoist cultivator. Generally, the dead had no memory of their former lives, especially those long deceased whose souls had scattered. Yet he retained fragments, suggesting he might have been turned while still alive.

There are many kinds of corpse thralls, not unlike zombies, but not truly undead—rather, they are half-man, half-corpse. They are called thralls because they are not alive, but rather corpses devoid of vital signs, enslaved and controlled by another, unable to act freely.

Corpse thralls are even more terrifying than zombies. Zombies, unless they reach a certain level of cultivation, act only on instinct, feeding on blood and essence. But corpse thralls possess souls and live much like ordinary people. Yet Qian Hao must take Corpse Scale Powder daily, bearing the brand of slavery placed by his master—a mark that cannot be broken.

“Don’t worry about him. A corpse thrall isn’t a zombie. Now, since you’re here, did you bring the Primordial Pearl?”

Jiang Litian’s eyes appraised Zhang Shouzheng, fixing on the pouch at his waist.

“The Primordial Pearl? You know Master always keeps it on his person. How could it possibly be with me?”

Zhang Shouzheng stepped back, his tone guarded.

His senior brother always exuded a sinister air—a general reborn from ancient times, steeped in murderous intent. In the past, he had once slaughtered this place for ten days and nights, turning the ground to rivers of blood and piling corpses into mountains.

Though that was a past life, the thought that Jiang Litian had once been a ruthless butcher cast a shadow over Zhang’s heart that was hard to dispel.

“Not on you?” Jiang Litian approached him, expressionless, brows furrowed as though pondering his words.

“What, you don’t believe me? Even if you were expelled from the sect, you still wield the spells of the Azure Dragon branch. I saw you use the Five Thunders to battle those evil spirits. Outwardly you may not be a disciple of our line, but in truth, you still are. Otherwise, I’d never call you senior brother. Since we are brothers, we should stand united against evil. If I had the Primordial Pearl, I would help you without hesitation. If I say I don’t have it, then I don’t.”

With a flick of his sleeve, Zhang Shouzheng remained calm and composed.

Jiang Litian chuckled, tapping Zhang on the head, his face suddenly bright with laughter. “You little imp, you actually make a fair point. The old man dotes on you, even gave you the Azure Dragon signet. But even so, I won’t call you branch master. I’m your senior in age and standing—I’m not like those old fossils.”

He had already noticed the Azure Dragon ring on Zhang’s hand. As soon as he finished speaking, he began to cough, clutching his chest.

“All right, you two aren’t here for a family reunion. Since he doesn’t have the Primordial Pearl, what now? The Earth God’s statue can’t hold out much longer,” Qian Hao said, coldly.

Jiang Litian’s expression turned frosty once more. He glanced at the seven lotus lamps, then leaned in toward Zhang Shouzheng.