Was that a rooster crowing? Maybe the medicinal powder nearby was making them hear things. Besides, there probably weren’t any roosters around here at all.
Time trickled by, and the fire burning in their hearts slowly died down. Everyone fell unusually silent. It was an ill omen!
Juxi could hear her voice circling around his ears.
“Hey, you know what?”
“……”
That terrifying story—the disaster from back then—was playing out before his eyes again. Someone with a strange aura stood before Juxi. How terrifying…
“You… haven’t changed… Still as weak as ever…”
A woman’s voice, chilling enough to send shivers down Juxi’s spine, circled his ears, drawing closer and closer.
Her footsteps landed slowly and heavily on the stone floor. Then he saw her.
Come to think of it, why did this place feel so familiar? Once you took up the trade of a Heavenly Dao Master, you had to be ready to die at any moment.
Years of life and death had long since numbed Juxi to the feeling of death. That was how he’d earned the title of White Nightmare.
Even in broad daylight, he could bring death anywhere—a living, breathing specter.
But today was a little different…
“Looks like corpse-repelling powder?!”
It matched the rumors down to the last detail. Mutants had short, thick necks topped with grotesque, misshapen heads. Some even had more than one. Their heads were covered in a wild tangle of hair, and two emerald-green eyes glittered in the dark.
The mutant that had rushed in stood perfectly still, staring at Juxi for a long moment. Then it suddenly opened its mouth, as if to show off row upon row of gleaming white fangs, before snapping it shut with a bang like a burst drainpipe.
She didn’t even need a running start. She sprang from the spot and lunged straight at Juxi, who had just finished getting dressed, her long claws stained with blood.
Just as he thought… Yuanhui and Yu Nai had been even closer to the mutant, yet it seemed to have locked onto Juxi as its target.
That was strange for a monster like a corpse ghoul. Juxi had a large amount of corpse-repelling powder hanging at his waist, and ordinary corpse ghouls didn’t want to get near him. Only a few of the stronger ones would approach a Heavenly Dao Master weaker than themselves, so…
Whoosh—squelch!
Juxi spun the silver spear strapped behind him around 180 degrees, then thrust it straight at the mutant in front of him!
In the heat radiating from the silver spear, the mutant slowly turned into a wisp of blue smoke, then dispersed into the air.
“How could this happen?”
As he spoke, Juxi darted to one side and spun around at high speed. Another mutant charging straight at him scraped against him, its claws swiping at empty air.
But the mutant didn’t lose its balance. It immediately turned and launched a second attack, its fangs coming within a hair’s breadth of Juxi’s chest.
“Crap! We need to get out of here!”
At that moment, Yu Nai and Yuanhui leaped toward the window on the opposite side. They made three sharp turns in a row to throw off the mutants’ sense of direction.
As Juxi jumped backward, he punched the mutant hard in the head. The ring on the knuckle of his glove struck its head.
Awooooo!!!
The mutant let out a piercing scream, its cries echoing throughout the village.
It collapsed to the floor, its whole body rigid, then began to growl furiously at Juxi, hatred in its voice.
“Why… why would you do this…” The mutant that had attacked Juxi moments ago gave him a malicious smile.
Just as he’d suspected, these mutants weren’t driven by resentment—or rather, someone was controlling their resentment!
But that raised another question… Who could control such a massive horde of corpse ghouls?!
Like most monsters born from resentment, these things were vulnerable to silver. That meant they were just like the other corpse ghouls.
If that was the case, it was easy to see why the exorcist couldn’t dispel them properly.
If things went wrong, the silver spear on him could still serve as his last line of defense.
These mutants weren’t like corpse ghouls. They weren’t in a hurry to launch another attack.
This time, it edged closer, baring its gleaming white teeth as revolting saliva kept dripping from its mouth.
Juxi backed away in a semicircle, watching for every pause. One moment he was quick as a mouse, the next steady as an old tortoise. That way, the mutant couldn’t get the timing right for its leap at him.
As he retreated, he loosened a slender, sturdy wooden sword, its tip dusted with silver powder.
As the mutant leaped at Juxi, the silver powder on the wooden sword cut through the air. In the blink of an eye, it wound around the monster’s shoulders, neck, and head like a long snake.
The mutant slammed into the ground with a bone-rattling shriek.
The two mutants writhed on the floor, scorched by the silver they loathed.
Juxi wasn’t satisfied with how things were going. At this rate, killing all these mutants wouldn’t be a problem, but he still hadn’t drawn his silver spear. There was no sign yet that the situation was beyond saving.
So Juxi first retreated to a safe distance. He kept his eyes fixed on the monsters writhing on the floor, took a deep breath, and focused.
The wooden sword suddenly snapped. Silver powder scattered in every direction like raindrops, pattering across the floor.
The enraged mutants roared and charged at Juxi. He waited calmly, then raised his right hand and traced a strange talisman in the air. The runes seemed to stagger backward a few steps, as if struck by a hammer. But the two mutants regained their footing and bared their fangs and claws.
Her hair stood on end and whipped about as if caught in a gale.
They let out hoarse roars as they struggled forward, one step at a time.
What was going on? Something had clearly changed again. They were slowly closing in, but their movements had become incredibly sluggish.
Juxi began to feel uneasy. He hadn’t expected anyone to completely paralyze a mutant, but he also hadn’t thought it would overcome the effect so easily.
He couldn’t keep it immobilized for long. It took too much energy, and the mutant was only ten steps away.
To buy himself some time, Juxi suddenly ran for the stairs leading up to the high corridor.
He hadn’t even made it halfway when an enormous mutant, as big as a small house, leaped up from the first floor like a giant black spider.
“So that thing must’ve been the one that smashed the door open just now!!!”
After Yu Nai and Yuanhui escaped through the window, Juxi vaulted over the railing and leaped down.
The mutant turned around, leaped three meters into the air, and pounced on him.
Other methods might not work on it anymore. The mutant’s claws had already torn Juxi’s battle robe twice.
With that, Juxi slammed a vicious punch into the mutant’s belly. The ring on his glove added extra damage—after all, it was made of silver.
“Damn it, that didn’t work either?!”
Juxi felt the anger in his chest burning hotter and hotter. He rocked his body, leaned back, and planted a solid kick that sent the mutant sprawling.
The mutant let out a long, furious roar, louder than any of its earlier cries. Even the ceiling shattered, then came tumbling down.
Dust blinded Juxi for a moment. Through the haze, he saw the mutant leap wildly into the air once more, all its fat shaking violently. Juxi didn’t run. He simply waited.
“Now!” Juxi seized his chance and drew the black-iron sword, sweeping it through a circle in the air. He began circling the mutant, careful not to let the sword move at the same pace as his feet.
But the mutants didn’t charge at him. They only crept closer, their eyes fixed on the shining tip of the black-iron sword.
Juxi suddenly stopped, holding the raised sword motionless in midair.
The giant mutant didn’t know what to do and stopped as well.
Juxi sheathed his sword and, without hesitation, drew the silver spear from his shoulder. He slowly traced circles in the air, taking a step toward the mutants as he did.
“Rumble—!”
Thunder rolled outside the window. Looking again, it seemed Yuanhui and Yu Nai had both escaped.
But judging by the collapsed sections around him—one to the left, one to the right… Sigh. They must’ve run off in different directions. Yuanhui, honestly, what a petty guy!
“Hey, now’s not the time to worry about them, is it?” Juxi mocked himself. “People may keep enduring pain to uncover the truth, but I’m not about to die for their sake!”
Jokes aside, Juxi edged forward once more.
There was no time left to waste. He sprang into the air, his silver spear flashing as it carved a flurry of arcs.
At last, the big one was frightened. It quickly bent down, dodging left and right.
Juxi gave it no second chance to close in. Cold light flashed from the silver spear in his hand.
His eyes blazed with bloodlust. With his teeth clenched, he let out a savage roar from deep within. The mutants felt the furious hatred pouring from Juxi. That overwhelming force crashed into them in wave after wave, driving them backward.
They’d never felt an emotion like this before. Screaming in terror, they turned and fled for their lives into the dark, maze-like forest.
Juxi stood alone in the hall, shivering all over. That had taken a long time, he thought.
He’d spent a long time tangled up with the mutants, but at least he’d achieved what he wanted: getting close to them and reaching the depths of their powerful will.
Time to make another note. Anyway, there was no catching up to them for now.
That evil, twisted will was what had created these mutants.
Someone had suppressed that evil will within their own territory, keeping the plague from spreading elsewhere. There were probably only a handful of Haililan people capable of such a mad act.
The mutants here weren’t quite like those sly, cunning corpse ghouls. Compared with ghouls still clinging to human desires, they were far more vicious and bloodthirsty—like beasts lurking in the jungle or a pack of wolves waiting to pounce. All they needed was a stimulus!
