Chapter 13: Rushing to Qingshi Town

The Water-Gathering Pearl's effect of concentrating spiritual water energy was even better than he had imagined. If he cultivated in a place rich in spiritual energy, the pearl could increase his cultivation speed by about one-fifth. To acquire the Water-Gathering Pearl, he had traded away the Flight Talisman, a life-saving spiritual talisman given to him by his mother. He had been somewhat reluctant at first, but now it seemed the trade was well worth it.

"Squeak, squeak!"

Several strange squeaks sounded, and the Twin-Pupil Rat emerged from Wang Changsheng's embrace. Wang Changsheng extended his right hand, and the Twin-Pupil Rat climbed down his arm onto his palm. The Twin-Pupil Rat chirped, conveying to Wang Changsheng that it was hungry.

"You little rascal," Wang Changsheng chuckled, "even the Blue Moon Spiritual Rice isn't enough for me; where would I get so much spiritual rice to feed you? Just eat some common ginseng." Wang Changsheng took out a blood-red ginseng root and placed it on the ground.

Crimson Blood Ginseng was a common herb effective in resolving blood stasis and replenishing vital energy. Practitioners of martial arts often consumed Crimson Blood Ginseng to heal injuries from frequent bumps and scrapes. Wang Changsheng was short on funds and couldn't afford to feed the Twin-Pupil Rat spiritual grain every day, so he could only give it some medicinal herbs. Wang Qiusheng's family dealt in medicinal herbs, and their storeroom was full of them. Upon learning that Wang Changsheng needed herbs, Wang Qiusheng immediately sent a message by homing pigeon, instructing his steward to send a cartload of medicinal ingredients. The Twin-Pupil Rat didn't seem to mind. It leaped from Wang Changsheng's hand and devoured the Crimson Blood Ginseng in a few quick bites.

Wang Changsheng smiled faintly, about to playfully tease the Twin-Pupil Rat, when Wang Qiusheng's voice suddenly rang out: "Granduncle Jiu, this is terrible! Something big has happened! Zombies have appeared in Qingshi Town, and several clan members have been bitten to death!"

Hearing this, the smile on Wang Changsheng's face froze. With a thought, the Twin-Pupil Rat scurried back into his arms. When he opened the door to Qinglian Pavilion, he saw Wang Qiusheng standing at the entrance, his face filled with panic, holding two letters.

"Granduncle Jiu, these are letters sent by homing pigeon from the clan elders in Qingshi Town."

Wang Changsheng took the two letters, glanced over them, and frowned deeply. Some Wang clan members lived in Qingshi Town, though not a large number. However, since zombies had appeared there, he would definitely have to make a trip. Normally, zombies wouldn't appear unless they were intentionally raised. However, the letter was vague, so he would have to go to Qingshi Town to investigate before drawing any conclusions. If it turned out that rogue cultivators were causing trouble by raising zombies using mortals, he would immediately report it to the family for them to handle.

"Go get the homing pigeon used for family communications," Wang Changsheng instructed Wang Qiusheng after a careful thought. For caution's sake, it was better to inform the family. If rogue cultivators were indeed causing trouble, going alone would be like a lamb entering a tiger's den. After all, he had no combat experience; defeating Xiao Feng was purely because Xiao Feng lacked offensive capabilities. If no rogue cultivators were involved, the family wouldn't blame him. After all, no one could guarantee that this wasn't the work of rogue cultivators, so it was better to be cautious.

Zombies are different from ghosts. Under normal circumstances, after a person dies, the body slowly decays, and it's very difficult for a zombie to appear. Ghosts, however, are different; if there's lingering resentment before death, and the soul remains aggregated for a long time, nourished by Yin energy, it can easily transform into a ghost. Ping'an County was quite far from Qinglian Mountain, and he didn't carry any communication talismans. Those were too expensive; a single communication talisman cost at least a hundred spiritual stones and was a single-use item. Only clan members traveling for goods transport or intelligence gathering typically had one.

Soon, Wang Qiusheng brought the homing pigeon. Wang Changsheng rolled the written letter into a scroll, tied it to the pigeon's leg, and released it. The letter was written in code, understood by only a few in the Wang family. Even if someone intercepted the pigeon, they wouldn't know the content of the message.

"Qiusheng, come with me. We're leaving now."

As Wang Changsheng finished speaking, his lips moved slightly, and a white cloud appeared beneath his feet out of thin air. Seeing this, Wang Qiusheng quickly stepped onto it. The white cloud slowly ascended, carrying the two of them, and flew off into the distance.

***

Qingshi Town, Wang Family Ancestral Hall.

Over a dozen clan elders sat on chairs, their faces filled with worry. Although Wang Tiande was the county magistrate, everyone else present was of a higher generation than him. He stood quietly to the side, looking thoughtful, seemingly pondering something. Several straw mats were laid on the ground, each covered with a white cloth.

Not long after, Wang Qingshan arrived. As soon as he appeared, over a dozen clan elders immediately surrounded him.

"Eighth Uncle, how is it? Have you contacted the family's Celestial Master?"

"Eighth Brother, has the family's Celestial Master arrived?"

"Eighth Uncle, when will the family's Celestial Master arrive? Can he subdue the zombies?"

...The clan elders barraged him with questions, all eager to hear news about the family's Celestial Master from Wang Qingshan.

Wang Qingshan waved his hand and calmly instructed: "Quiet yourselves. I've already sent a message by homing pigeon to the family's Celestial Master. I'm sure he will arrive as soon as he receives the letter. What we need to do now is to keep our clan members in check and await the Celestial Master's arrival. No more clan members must be harmed."

As if remembering something, he looked towards Wang Tiande in the corner and said kindly, "Tiande, zombies have never appeared in Qingshi Town before. Now, one has suddenly shown up. What are your thoughts? Speak freely; we are all family, there's no need to hold back."

Wang Tiande hesitated slightly, then said, "Granduncle Ba, if you insist, then I'll speak. Based on my analysis, the zombie that bit our clan members to death is likely Granduncle Qi."

This immediately caused a stir. As soon as Wang Tiande finished speaking, he was met with immediate refutation from the other clan elders.

"Tiande, what nonsense are you talking about? How could Seventh Brother become a zombie? You can't just say things like that!"

"Exactly! Seventh Uncle's body was carried away by dogs. How could he possibly turn into a zombie?"

"Seventh Uncle never did anything wrong in his life. You can't just smear his name like that! You are slandering an elder, which is disrespectful!"

Wang Qingshan frowned and sternly rebuked, "Enough! All of you, be silent! I told Tiande to speak. Unless I give the order, you will all hold your tongues. Tiande, continue."

Wang Tiande nodded, pondered for a moment, and then said, "My hypothesis is based on evidence. First, zombies have never appeared in Qingshi Town before. How is it that Granduncle Qi's body disappeared, and not long after, a zombie appeared? There's no such coincidence in the world! Second, among the five deceased clan members, three were Granduncle Qi's eldest son, grandson, and granddaughter. As far as I know, after a corpse turns into a zombie, it will harm its closest relatives. Third, there are so many households in this town, so why didn't the zombie bite anyone else? Why did it specifically target Granduncle Qi's eldest son, grandson, and granddaughter? This is truly bizarre. Combining these three points, I speculate that the zombie is Granduncle Qi. As for why Granduncle Qi turned into a zombie, I don't understand that. We'll likely find out when the family's Celestial Master arrives."

Wang Qingshan nodded. Wang Tiande's analysis was logical and well-reasoned, but the true nature of the matter would only be known after the family's Celestial Master arrived.

Less than half an hour later, Wang Changsheng and Wang Qiusheng slowly descended at the Wang Family Ancestral Hall. Wang Qingshan was momentarily stunned, but quickly regained his composure and hastily rose to greet them: "This old man, Wang Qingshan, greets the Celestial Master."

The others also realized and said in unison, "Greetings, Celestial Master."

"You are of the 'Qing' generation!" Wang Changsheng said. "According to our seniority, you can just call me Ninth Uncle; there's no need to be so formal. I hear zombies have appeared here. Tell me everything that happened, without omitting a single word." As he spoke, Wang Changsheng's expression became unusually grave.