Chapter Fifteen The Living Dead

  Xuan Kong saw Deng Li Zi turn into a rainbow and leave, walking far away, only then did he call Wang Qi to his side.

  After this night's battle, Wang Qi was convinced of his eldest brother's abilities and saw that he was covered in cold sweat. He hastily ran over to him and asked: "Eldest Brother, what's wrong? Have you suffered an internal injury?" As he spoke, his hands moved towards Xuan Kong's body.

  "There's no internal injury." Xuan Kong patted away Wang Qi's hand, wiped the sweat from his forehead and said: "It's just that my legs are extremely weak..."

  This battle was indeed the most perilous one since Xu Kong's debut, with several close calls that left him on the brink of death. Although he didn't feel afraid at the time due to his fiery personality, it wasn't until after it ended that Xu Kong felt his legs go numb from fear, and when jumping down from the rooftop, he almost stumbled and fell to the ground.

  Yun Lou, the county master, saw Xuan Kong's feet go soft and couldn't help but purse her lips and smile.

  Wang Qi's eyes lit up, and he loosened his grip, releasing the arm that was supporting Xuan Kong. Xuan Kong was so angry that he felt like spitting blood, and he slapped the Ghost-Driving Talisman on Wang Qi's back of the head, shouting: "You numbskull, you're so fond of watching, why don't you deliver the talisman for me?"

  Wang Qiman was overjoyed and handed the token back to Yun Lou, the thief's hand brushing against her little finger.

  The county master's eyes revealed a hint of cold light, and the tip of his finger suddenly felt a chill. By the time Wang Qi realized something was wrong and withdrew his hand to look at it, his entire right hand had been covered in frost.

  Yun Lou County Master dared to lay hands on Wang Qi, but would never dare be rude to Xuan Kong. He gave a deep bow to Xuan Kong and turned around to leave hastily.

  Xuán Kōng suddenly saw the hunter surnamed Nié standing stupidly beside him, winking at himself. He slapped his forehead and hurriedly caught up with a few steps to grab the hand of Yún Lóu Jùnzhǔ and asked: "Yún Lóu Jùnzhǔ, where is this hunter's acupoint sealed?"

  The young lady of Yunluo County had her small hand pulled, and her pretty face turned even paler, using her magical powers to force out a voice as tiny as a mosquito.

  Wang Qi seemed to hear the words "unyielding and unshakeable" beside him, suspecting that his ears had gone bad. When he turned his head again, Xuan Kong had already walked to the side of Nie's surname hunter, using his sleeve to wipe away the key points of Jian Zheng and Da Zhen, only then did he suddenly realize.

  Nie's surname hunter was relieved of his hole way, glaring at the direction where Yun Lou's county master left, half a sound without speaking.

  Xuán Kōng worried that Lóng Zǐ was still on his body, and in front of Niè Xìng's eyes, he waved his hand and said: "Lord Niè, are you alright?"

  Nie surname hunter finally came back to his senses, and said with a sigh: "I didn't expect it, I implicated the villagers again." He had thought that by leaving Beijing far away, he could avoid the search of Gu Shi Zhi Hang Pu Du Zhen Ren, but unexpectedly, someone still caught up with him.

  He bowed deeply towards Xuan Kong, but just as he was about to speak, Xuan Kong waved his hand to stop him.

  Xuan Kong guessed what Nie would say and dodged his bow, saying: "Lord Nie, I'm just a hermit from Lao Mountain, I don't understand worldly affairs, let alone court matters, I'm completely at a loss."

  Nie's expression flashed with disappointment on his face, but Xuan Kong smiled and said: "However, I still have some confidence in saving the people of this village."

  Let the Nie family hunters inform the village's hunter families to return, the elder of the village heard Xuan Kong speaking and tightly grasped his hand, fearing that Xuan Kong would disappear in an instant. The hunter families living on Mount Lu have been dwelling in the mountains for a longer period than the establishment of the Lu Mountain Sect.

  The villagers of a dozen or so households have been intermarrying for generations, and they all have blood ties with each other, so naturally they take Xu Kong's words to heart.

  If he wasn't sure, Xuan Kong wouldn't have said it. He ordered the hunters to lay out the corpses of the villagers whose yang energy had been absorbed by Yun Lianjun in an open space. With a wave of his hands, Xuan Kong released the yang energy he had retrieved back into the air and recited the "Lingbao Duoren Jing" passed down by Qin Guangwang:

  "The Supreme Sage has become a true man, penetrating the profound and investigating the subtle, able to exhaustively understand its chapters. Reciting it ten times, the heavens sing in harmony from afar, the myriad emperors set up rituals, rivers and seas are quiet and still, mountains and peaks hide their clouds, sun and moon halt their light, the jade pivot does not move, demons and spirits bind their forms, ghosts and sprites extinguish their essence, corpses return to life, white bones become a living person. Scholars who have attained the ultimate learning recite it ten times, then the Five Emperors serve as guards, the Three Realms bow their heads, demons and spirits lose their eyes, ghosts and monsters extinguish their essence, saving and delivering those on the brink of death to attain life..."

  Xuán Kōng's mouth recited rapidly, and the hunters in the village, as well as the women and children, couldn't make out which mantra he was actually chanting.

  Suddenly, a long wail echoed through the air, and the yang energy that had been floating above the corpses returned to their own bodies. The several corpses lying on the ground began to breathe with open mouths, and soon some of the sturdy young hunters sat up from the ground.

  "Ah, it's alive, it's really alive!" A villager shouted out loud.

  For a time, the open space in front of the village became lively, with many relatives and friends gathering around these villagers who had come back to life.

  "Oh, husband of mine, you've come back to life!" This was the woman from the household that had lost its male heir, embracing her husband and sobbing softly.

  "Kid... you'd better sleep well next time, or else!" This was the scolding of a young boy who had been running around in the village at night and got his yang energy sucked out by Yun Lou County Princess, being chased and spanked by his parents.

  "Uncle Zhang, after you died, where did you go and what did you see?" This was asked by idle people at home who had nothing better to do.

  Only those who have died once can truly appreciate the preciousness of life. Although they innocently encountered a female corpse, fortunately, they were saved by Xuan Kong halfway and brought back to life. Looking at their loved ones who had been lost and then regained, every villager was so happy that tears flowed out, and they hugged each other fiercely.

  Not tired of repeating, again and again caring about everyone's safety.

  Only Nie surname hunter looked at the side, at this time no one came to disturb him. Wang Qi approached Nie surname hunter and asked: "Huh, isn't it strange? They all have relatives and friends around them, why don't you?"

  Xuan Kong coughed and motioned for Wang Qi to stop talking, but his ears perked up as he listened carefully.

  Nie surname hunter looked up at the sky, gazing at a wisp of cloud that had appeared on the horizon. He let out a long sigh: "I wasn't originally from Lao Mountain, my ancestral home was actually in the capital city. When I was in the capital, I was young and carefree, and I married a wife and had a daughter."

  "What about your daughter?" This time it wasn't Wang Qi speaking, but Xuan Kong himself who asked eagerly.

  "She's already dead......" The hunter with the surname Nie's eyes moistened as he reminisced: "My daughter, when she was in the capital, was so beautiful that many princes and young masters from aristocratic families fell for her. If it weren't for being implicated by me, she wouldn't have fallen ill and died on our way to escape to the capital."

  "Did you bury her on the road?" Xuan Kong thought that at that time, Nie's surname hunter had already offended Ci Hang Pu Du, and it was unlikely that he would still carry his daughter's body with him during his escape.

  As expected, the surname Nie hunter said: "At that time, I saw a temple with incense and fire on the side of the road, so I entrusted my good friend to bury Xiaoxian in the woods behind the temple, hoping that she would be reborn into a good family in her next life and not wander around like me."

  "It's a play!" Xuan Kong's eyes lit up and he hastily asked: "Lord Nie, is that temple called 'Lanruo Temple'?"

  Nie surname hunter surprised, asked: "Dao Chang also heard of Lanruo Temple?"

  Xuán Kōng chuckled and dodged the question. He turned around to bid farewell to Wang Qi and the village elder, then accompanied Wang Qi back to the top of Lao Dao Peak as the morning sun rose. This trip down the mountain was quite fruitful after all. Watching Wang Qi pat the silver notes in his pocket every now and then, Xuán Kōng couldn't help but smile. He had a premonition that something interesting would happen soon.

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