Chapter 12: Zombie Harm

Early the next morning, the gravediggers patrolled the mountain and discovered that the old master's tomb had been robbed and his body was missing. They immediately reported it to the clan elders.

Wang Qingshan was the most senior member of the Wang clan in Qingshi Town, and the deceased old master was his cousin. Upon learning that his cousin's tomb had been robbed and his body was missing, Wang Qingshan dispatched clan members to search for the body and sent someone to report it to the authorities.

The Wang family was one of Ping'an County's prominent clans. The theft of the old master's tomb and the disappearance of his body drew the attention of many Wang clan members. Clan elders from various branches of the Wang family, upon hearing of the incident, demanded that the culprit be apprehended and the old master's remains be recovered for proper burial.

Wang Tiande was the county lieutenant of Ping'an County, responsible for maintaining public order and apprehending thieves. He was also a member of the Wang clan. Upon learning of the incident, Wang Tiande immediately led the head constable and a dozen constables to Qingshi Town. According to his seniority, Wang Tiande had to address the deceased old master as "Seventh Uncle."

Wang Tiande first reassured the clan elders from various branches who had rushed to the scene, vowing that he would bring the culprit to justice and find Seventh Uncle's body. Wang Tiande, having served as county lieutenant for ten years, was experienced. He took the head constable to the family graveyard to investigate and questioned the two gravediggers about the circumstances on the night the tomb was robbed. After listening to the gravediggers' statements, Wang Tiande had a clear understanding of the situation.

This case was certainly not committed by a member of the Wang clan. Seventh Uncle was highly respected, and it was inconceivable for a Wang clan member to dig up his tomb and steal his body. Nevertheless, for caution's sake, Wang Tiande still sent people to investigate if Seventh Uncle had any past grievances with anyone.

The burial objects had been completely looted. From this, it was clear that the tomb robbers were likely impoverished individuals. Following this lead, Wang Tiande dispatched constables to conduct a house-to-house search, focusing on poor households. The burial objects were mostly gold, silver, and jewels. The tomb robbers could not openly flaunt such valuables in the market; they would surely sell the stolen burial objects for silver.

Following this lead, Wang Tiande sent people to visit all pawnshops in Ping'an County. At a pawnshop in the county town named "Yong'an Pawnshop," the constables learned that the day after the incident, someone had pawned gold, silver, and jewels there. Due to the large amount, Xu An, the owner of Yong'an Pawnshop, personally handled the transaction. According to Xu An's confession, the two brothers who pawned the gold, silver, and jewels had a lot of mud on their feet. During their conversation, one of the men mentioned he was going to spend a few days at the Hundred Flowers Brothel. The Hundred Flowers Brothel was the largest brothel in Ping'an County; ordinary people could not afford to go there.

Following this lead, the constables quickly apprehended the two brothers, Li Renjie and Li Renyi, at the Hundred Flowers Brothel. Before even being brought to court, Li Renjie and Li Renyi honestly confessed, admitting they had stolen the old master's burial objects. However, they firmly insisted that they had not stolen the body.

Wang Tiande ordered Li Renjie and Li Renyi to be detained and instructed Wang Qingshan to organize clan members to search for the old master's body. There were many wild dogs near Qingshi Mountain. Wang Tiande speculated that the old master's body might have been carried away by wild dogs.

Wang Qingshan organized hundreds of clan members to search the mountain for the old master's body. However, they found nothing. Several clan members unfortunately encountered a black bear and were injured by it.

Five days passed, and the old master's body still had not been found. Everyone had lost hope, so Wang Qingshan had no choice but to leave more than a dozen clan members to continue the search and dismiss the others.

Wang Youping and Wang Youquan, who were cousins, were tasked with continuing the search for the old master's body deep in the mountains. That night, as darkness fell, they had brought dry rations with them, so they decided to spend the night in a dilapidated temple in the mountains.

"So many days have passed; the old master's body has probably been eaten by wild dogs," Wang Youping complained. "Why does Fifth Uncle still want us to keep searching for Seventh Uncle's body?"

"Alas, we can only blame our bad luck," Wang Youquan said dismissively. "Those who drew the short straws had to stay and search for Seventh Uncle's body. Who told us to draw the short straws! Anyway, we have plenty of dry rations. At worst, we'll stay in this dilapidated temple for a few days. Once we finish our rations, we'll go back and report that we couldn't find Seventh Uncle's body. We just need to go through the motions; why be so serious about it?"

"You're right," Wang Youping agreed, "let's do that."

The two chatted for a while, then each found an empty spot, spread out dry grass, and lay down to sleep.

At midnight, the night was still and quiet. In a certain overgrown valley, the rock walls on both sides were covered with green moss. Many thick green vines hung from the uneven rock face on the left side.

A strange roar suddenly echoed, and a figure abruptly burst out from the dense tangle of vines. Evidently, behind the vines was a hidden cave, but its entrance was concealed by the thick green vines.

The figure was a man covered in a layer of coarse, black, stiff fur. His fingers were long and slender, and his fingernails had turned black. Judging by his clothes, appearance, and face, it was none other than the old master who had died many days ago, now transformed into a zombie. It howled to the sky, emitting a strange roar. Its opened mouth revealed two sharp fangs.

A bright moon hung high in the sky, and large amounts of moonlight essence surged into its mouth. After absorbing moonlight for half an hour, it straightened its arms and hopped out of the valley. It hopped aimlessly around the deep mountains. An hour later, it appeared outside a dilapidated temple.

It sniffed lightly with its nose, then sprang forward with its legs, charging towards the old temple.

Wang Youping was sleeping soundly. In a daze, he heard a bloodcurdling scream. He drowsily opened his eyes and saw a man covered in black fur gripping Wang Youquan's shoulders with both hands, biting Wang Youquan's neck.

"Help me! Quickly, help me!" Wang Youquan cried out for help.

As soon as he finished speaking, the man released Wang Youquan's shoulders. Wang Youquan's legs buckled, and he collapsed to the ground. With the bright moonlight, it was clearly visible that there were two finger-sized blood holes on Wang Youquan's neck.

"Roar!"

The man covered in black fur opened his mouth, revealing two pointed fangs, still stained with blood.

Wang Youping was terrified. He quickly got up and ran outside, but he hadn't gone far when the zombie sprang forward, blocking his path. The zombie grabbed Wang Youping's shoulders with both hands and opened its mouth to bite Wang Youping's neck. Wang Youping felt a sharp pain in his neck. Soon after, his vision went dark, and he lost consciousness.

After consuming the vital essence of two living people, the zombie hopped away. Not long after, it disappeared into the darkness.

***

Lotus Island.

As the sun rose, its golden rays cast a golden cloak over Lotus Island. Bathed in its light, people felt warm and cozy.

In the Azure Lotus Pavilion, Wang Changsheng sat cross-legged on a green meditation mat, wearing a string of blue prayer beads on his hand. Inside the room, numerous blue light points appeared. As he breathed in and out, specks of blue light, as if guided by some force, eagerly rushed and disappeared into his body through the top of his head.

A short while later, after the last of the blue light points merged into Wang Changsheng's body, he suddenly opened his eyes, a sharp gleam appearing in them.

"If I had cultivated with this Water Gathering Pearl since childhood," Wang Changsheng exhaled softly, muttering to himself, "I probably would have already reached the seventh level of Qi Refinement by now!"