Chapter 35: Don't Look Back

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One-click listening.

He Lingchuan naturally heard it too. He held his breath, focused his gaze downward, and remained as still as an old monk in meditation, determined to ignore whatever he heard.

Seeing his lack of reaction, the voice changed, sounding like a sweet, soft, and cooing girl of sixteen or seventeen, pouring out her heart. As He Lingchuan listened, it increasingly reminded him of a girl he had a crush on in his childhood.

He inwardly scoffed. That "sweet girl" hadn't even finished school before running off with a wealthy second-generation heir from her hometown, bearing two "third-generation heirs" in less than three years. Every time he saw those snot-nosed brats, he felt incredibly foolish for his past crush. This particular Corpse Worm hadn't done its homework; it didn't know that "what's gone is gone."

Just then, the boat suddenly shook, as if some heavy monster had climbed aboard. Immediately, cries of alarm and screams from soldiers, along with the curses of desert bandits and the clang of drawing swords, erupted from the rear.

A fierce battle had begun at the back.

The most recent scream came from right behind He Lingchuan. He had seemingly just spoken with that soldier.

Then the monster charged directly toward them, its heavy footsteps thudding as if stomping directly on their chests.

Was this a trick by the Corpse Worm to lure him into turning around?

But what if it were real? Remaining still would likely make him a monster's snack. This was the Dragon-Coil Desert, a place teeming with strange beasts. Who could guarantee that one or two wouldn't climb onto the boat to eat people?

Closer and closer! This oppressive weight made the hairs on He Lingchuan's neck stand on end.

He quickly looked at He Chunhua. His father, facing him, should be able to see what was happening behind him.

He Chunhua's facial muscles twitched slightly, his expression almost contorted, yet his eyes were hollow. He Lingchuan found this expression unfamiliar and wondered what his father was hearing.

How could they convey their intentions to each other through mere eye contact?

But with the Corpse Worm present, no one dared to speak.

Fortunately, He Chunhua suddenly snapped out of it. He stared intently at his eldest son, as if hearing his unspoken thoughts, and then abruptly winked his right eye.

Such a gesture was highly unusual for the esteemed Prefect, yet it instantly shattered the tense, terrifying atmosphere. He Lingchuan secretly let out a breath, feeling a great sense of relief.

It's fake!

His father was trying to tell him that whatever he was hearing was not real!

Indeed, the monster's footsteps reached right behind his head; he could even hear its heavy breathing, but in the next second, it vanished.

Only the whistling wind remained in his ears.

The wisps of illusory smoke around him also lost interest, swaying and moving elsewhere.

He Lingchuan had passed the test. He winked back at his father.

The small red pills everyone had taken earlier were "Soul-Dulling Powder," specially refined for this journey by State Preceptor Sun. Its main ingredient was Corrupt-Heart Grass, which grew in extremely yin places. After humans consumed it, they could not only see "unclean things" for a short period but also have their life flames temporarily mask their living aura. As long as the Corpse Worms did not enter the nine orifices of the human body, they would only perceive them as inanimate objects.

However, the biggest weakness of this method was that one could not easily turn around!

There were three life flames around a person's upper body that protected the vital points and warded off external evils. But if one were to turn around while being targeted by a Corpse Worm, the life flames would immediately weaken, and the worms would no longer be deceived.

This wasn't Sun Fuping's exclusive invention; it was a method recorded in the notes of a sorcerer from the Xianyou Kingdom. Your opponents often know you best. The Xianyou Kingdom and Dragon-Coil City had been at war for over thirty years, so they must have spent every day devising ways to counter the Corpse Worms.

In fact, similar incidents often occurred in dense forests and fields at night. A traveler hearing a call from behind might inadvertently turn around, weakening their life lamp and allowing evil spirits to invade.

When He Lingchuan first received the small pills, a thought struck him. The Xianyou Kingdom had been destroyed a century ago, so obtaining a sorcerer's notes from that era must have been difficult. Furthermore, Corrupt-Heart Grass was a rare commodity, with stringent growth requirements that prevented cultivation or mass production. How much effort would it take just to gather the ingredients and refine enough Soul-Dulling Powder for three hundred people?

Had Grand Marshal and State Preceptor Sun truly only begun preparing for the exploration of the Dragon-Coil Ruins six months ago?

This thought, however, was fleeting, and He Lingchuan didn't dwell on it.

He saw that He Chunhua's expression had returned to its usual composure, and the Corpse Worms around him had dispersed, indicating that his father had also passed the test.

However, as his gaze swept over the personal guard behind He Chunhua, he was suddenly startled: "Hey, don't..."

The man actually had red, tear-filled eyes?

The words had barely left his mouth when the personal guard turned his head.

He Lingchuan watched, horrified, as the life flame on the guard's left shoulder abruptly extinguished with a soft pop.

The light from the other two flames immediately dimmed.

The Corpse Worms hovering nearby, like sharks scenting blood, sharply flicked their tails and burrowed into his ears and nose!

The guard's eyes instantly unfocused.

Seeing his eldest son staring with a horrified expression at something behind him, the veins on He Chunhua's neck immediately bulged. Clearly, he was expending great effort to resist the instinct to turn around.

He didn't turn back but instead lunged two steps forward.

This was a perfect example of successful self-preservation, because the personal guard suddenly drew the long saber from his waist and aimed a powerful downward chop at the back of He Chunhua's head!

The two men were originally only four feet apart, and the guard's movement was swift; he intended to chop off his superior's head like a watermelon.

As the blade descended, it was less than two inches from He Chunhua's skull.

He Lingchuan brushed past his father, lunging forward to tackle the personal guard, encompassing both the man and his weapon.

The personal guard's movement instantly froze, and a blade tip protruded from his back.

He Chunhua, having narrowly escaped death, took several deep breaths, then suddenly stared ahead and said, "Chuan'er, turn slowly. I'll take care of these puppets."

He Lingchuan pushed the corpse away and saw a wisp of shadowy mist emerge from the deceased's seven orifices, float back into the air, and then drift unhurriedly away.

With the person dead, the Corpse Worm could no longer remain inside and had to exit.

He kept his neck still, using his waist and legs to slowly turn his body. This way, the life flames on his shoulders remained undisturbed and wouldn't be extinguished by his own movement.

The boat, however, had already descended into chaos.

The personal guard was not an isolated case. Although they had been repeatedly warned and instructed beforehand, seven or eight people were still swayed by the voices in their ears, extinguishing their own life lamps and becoming possessed by Corpse Worms.

Once possessed, they became estranged from all kin, hacking at anyone they saw.

In just a few breaths, a riot broke out on the boat. Four or five people were injured, and one unfortunate individual had half of his head sliced off.

He Chunhua rushed toward the killer. This was a desert bandit who, even after being possessed by a Corpse Worm, remained agile. He didn't engage directly but played hide-and-seek among the crowd, occasionally injuring one or two people.

If one constantly had to remind themselves not to turn their head, their agility would be severely compromised. He Chunhua felt as sluggish as a zombie, his movements three beats too slow in pursuit, unable to corner the rogue.

Just as he was about to unleash a spell, a dagger flew from behind him and pierced the killer's right eye with a whoosh.

It passed straight through, bursting into a spray of blood.