Chapter 21: To Muyang Mountain (3)

Bailinghua slightly frowned her delicate brows and looked at the person who introduced himself as 'Cai Zhu'.

'Who is he?'

Bailinghua's mind contained a list of numerous famous martial artists. Among them was a list of evil sect experts. And there were also lists of people she expected to appear here.

But among those she knew, there was no evil sect expert dressed in such a shabby and dirty scholar's attire.

"Quite a loud mouth, are you confident in your skills?"

"My sword will tell you."

Bailinghua drew her sword, deciding to take a defensive stance first.

This was a high-level expert with an unfamiliar style. It wouldn't be too late to launch an attack after assessing his skills.

To test his abilities, she gathered her inner strength and spread her aura. 'Cai Zhu' sneered.

"You seem to know something. Are you Bai Feng, the woman with the small sword on her back? And Xue Feng, the one with the large sword? I heard you two are close. I don't know who the third one is."

"......Who are you?"

Feeling an ominous presence, she asked. 'Cai Zhu' had a sardonic expression.

"You don't even know who I am and you came here?"

Then, Pang Gui shouted.

"What's the point of knowing your name! You're just a lackey of the evil path!"

"Hmph, a lackey. You can't talk to a senior who roamed the martial world when you were still in diapers."

"We never had a senior like you!"

Pang Gui's anger was rising.

The Pang family's traditional martial arts, the Five Tigers Gate-Cutting Saber Technique (五虎斷門刀法), was about to be unleashed.

Seeing this, 'Cai Zhu' said with a dismissive tone.

"Have you never heard of the name Corpse King (尸王)?"

"......Corpse King!!"

Pang Gui was startled and stopped the saber technique she was about to perform.

The shock brought by that nickname was not small.

Corpse King Yan Junshuo

Twenty years ago, he was the leader of the Corpse Sect (尸宗) of the Jinzhou Yan family (晋州彦家), a prominent family in Jinzhou. However, after being driven out due to internal conflicts, he committed evil deeds and followed the path of the evil path. Eventually, he was pursued by the martial alliance's execution team and disappeared.

Bailinghua's face turned pale.

Corpse King Yan Junshuo was a high-level expert that even they dared not underestimate.

"How could someone like you end up in such a place......"

"Hmph, I came to this rural area to make some money, but I didn't expect to be hunted by these brats. But your body is quite good. You'll make a decent zombie."

Yan Junshuo's gaze changed from looking at a person to looking at an object. Bailinghua, sensing her waning momentum, shouted to regain it.

"Hmph! Although you are a notorious demon, your reputation is all due to your zombies! Do you think we don't know that you can't use zombies in broad daylight?"

Zombies cannot move in broad daylight.

Precisely, when sunlight shines, zombies lose their movement and turn back into corpses. Since zombies are made of yin energy, they cannot roam under the strong yang energy of the sun.

However, Yan Junshuo's expression was calm.

"Do you think I would come out without knowing that?"

Then he unfolded the fan he was holding.

* * *

'What's going on, exactly?'

I desperately hid and listened to their conversation.

When I heard that the man who looked like a scholar in Xinlim Village was actually the former demon Yan Junshuo, I thought we were doomed.

A former demon!

Isn't that the number one title that must be mentioned in martial arts novels?

It's a basic common sense in the martial world that a former demon is more dangerous than a modern demon. Instinctively, I thought these three couldn't win.

'A former demon, no way.'

That's how terrifying a former demon is.

I was anxious, wondering if there was any way out, but fortunately, they didn't seem to be completely discouraged.

Then, Yan Junshuo's fan went up and down.

Suddenly, a man about two meters tall appeared behind him.

"......!"

I instinctively felt a chill. This is not good, a dangerous signal rang in my brain.

The tall man walked out slowly with a robot-like, emotionless attitude, and Yan Junshuo had a smug look on his face.

This was not good at all.

I tried to use my special ability, the "kill instinct," honed through games, but it didn't work. For some reason, I could only imagine them being beaten up.

"Bring all those women to me, Tie Jiu!"

With Yan Junshuo's shout, the zombie Tie Jiu started swinging his arms and charging at them. They, with determined expressions, picked up their weapons and charged.

Two swords and one saber, emitting a bluish aura, hit Tie Jiu. However, it was as if they had hit a piece of metal; Tie Jiu didn't flinch. Yan Junshuo laughed maniacally at the sight.

"Do you think your sword qi can even scratch this iron zombie?"

"Iron zombie?!"

Bailinghua's face turned pale. However, after exchanging glances with Pang Gui, she didn't panic and started to defend with a beautiful sword dance along with Weizhilian.

And when their beautiful sword dance caused a momentary delay, Pang Gui filled the gap with her large saber.

Their combination was impressive. They immediately adjusted their strategy to a defensive one after realizing that their weapons couldn't penetrate the iron zombie.

But it didn't last long.

As the iron zombie's attacks grew more intense, Bailinghua and Weizhilian couldn't block them in time.

At that moment, Pang Gui gritted her teeth and shouted.

"Haah!!!"

They retreated, and Pang Gui, taking over, started to swing her large saber, pushing the iron zombie back.

Is this the Five Tigers Gate-Cutting Saber Technique?

The saber light swirling in all directions was like a tiger charging to hunt.

'But it's a risky move.'

Unfortunately, that fierce momentum only hindered the iron zombie's movements; it didn't land any effective blows.

The saber, clearly emitting saber qi, couldn't even cut off the iron zombie's limbs.

"Haah!!!"

While Pang Gui was pushing the iron zombie back, Weizhilian suddenly closed the distance with explosive footwork and launched a surprise attack on Yan Junshuo.

"Fool!"

But Yan Junshuo calmly blocked the surprise attack with a punch, knocking Weizhilian off balance.

It was impressive that she didn't drop her sword and only staggered, but it was quickly becoming useless.

Yan Junshuo launched a storm of punches from his unimpressive appearance. Weizhilian, struggling to dodge, was flying around.

Meanwhile, the iron zombie, blocking the saber technique with an emotionless gaze, suddenly launched a powerful strike at Pang Gui, whose face was flushed from overexertion.

The iron zombie's nails grazed Pang Gui's chest, and blood spurted out.

"No!!!"

Bailinghua, who was supporting the attack from the side, shouted loudly and swung her sword wildly.

But the iron zombie remained unmoved, as if dealing with a mosquito or a fly.

Pang Gui—fell.

Weizhilian—struggled to dodge the attacks.

Bailinghua—couldn't land any effective blows on the iron zombie.

I came to a conclusion.

This fight was lost.

But I couldn't let them all die here. I jumped out from my hiding spot and shouted.

"Let's run!!!"

Yan Junshuo turned his gaze to me in surprise, and I immediately threw a throwing knife and shouted to the women, gathering my inner strength.

"Let's go!!!!!!"

My voice echoed through the mountains. The sound of the throwing knife bouncing off something was heard, and I threw another one.

"Run faster!!"

The iron zombie turned his head to look at me. Yan Junshuo, dodging the second throwing knife, sneered.

"Do you think you can run?"

The bell in Yan Junshuo's hand jingled, and the iron zombie's eyes turned blood red. Looking at the iron zombie's face, which seemed about to shout "Where is Sarah Connor," I felt the urge to urinate.

He's really going to attack.

The iron zombie, who had already put some distance between us, stretched out his arm to grab Weizhilian. I reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her away. Fortunately, Weizhilian's wrist was not caught.

The iron zombie immediately lunged again, swinging his fists. Weizhilian, unable to dodge, swallowed a cry of pain.

"Grk......!"

"Run, quick! Take care of Pang Gui and get out of here!!"

My desperate shout seemed to reach her.

"Grk......!"

Bailinghua, looking around and realizing the situation, shouted to me, or rather to Weizhilian, whose wrist I was holding.

"Weizhilian! I'll take care of Gui, please take care of Cheng Biao!"

Then, she picked up the unconscious Pang Gui and used her lightness skill to fly away. Weizhilian also grabbed me and flew away.

Being carried by someone else and flying through the air.

It feels like my feminine side is awakening.

"Oh, you two are getting close."

"Don't say such stupid things at a time like this!"

Weizhilian started to run away, carrying me with her incredible jumping ability. Yan Junshuo's curses and shouts from behind were barely audible.

Trying to find a less tiring position while being carried, I wriggled a bit, and Weizhilian said,

"Stay still...!"

"I was trying to help."

The person carrying someone should also have a good posture for mutual comfort, right? Anyway, I stayed still for a while after that.

After a few minutes, Weizhilian was running as fast as she could. Her face was flushed, and she looked exhausted.

Actually, my face was also flushed. Being carried in a princess hold... the chest touches the arm. I hope Weizhilian didn't notice.

But now wasn't the time to think about my face. Weizhilian was panting.

Unable to bear it, I said,

"Let's run together on the ground."

"......Huff. At your speed, it's impossible."

Looking back, I saw Bailinghua running with blood at the corner of her mouth, and behind her, the iron zombie was bouncing like a spring, jumping in a typical zombie style.

It sounds comical, but it's terrifying from my perspective. B-grade horror is a comedy from a distance, but a thriller up close.

"We'll die if we keep this up."

"But......"

"I have an idea."

I had memorized the map. Although it was dark, I was familiar with the area. It was near where we fought the bandits, and there was a cliff in that direction. I was sure of it, as I recalled the map and the memory of fighting the bandits.

The cliff wasn't very high, just high enough to jump off with a bit of courage. According to the map, there was a river there.

"There's a cliff over there. Let's dive in and escape down the river."

"River......? Now that you mention it, I can hear the sound of water......"

I can't hear it, but she has good ears.

Weizhilian thought for a moment and said with difficulty,

"But...... Huff, I can't swim......"

"I can."

"What......?"

"Trust me and jump."

She had a conflicted look, wondering whether to trust the man in her arms, but eventually said,

"I'll trust you."

"Good. Baili, this way! There's a river!"

And the two of us jumped off the cliff.