Ba had appeared suddenly and departed just as abruptly, but her presence had taught the green-eyed zombie at least two things. First, the seals on the Path of Demons could be broken; second, the Drought Demon was called "Drought" because she caused great dry spells across the land, not because she didn't know how to swim.
By evening, Fan Shaohuang had not yet awakened. Having just established his foundation, he needed to merge the external magical power within him, which would likely require several days of secluded meditation. Fan Fuqing, the Sect Leader of Cuiwei Mountain, was busy treating his eldest disciple’s injuries, so there was no movement from that side for the time being.
Qiao’er, on the other hand, spent the whole day playing with the Mirror of the World, shining it here and there with great delight. The green-eyed zombie was terrified, dodging and weaving for fear of being caught in its reflection.
In the end, curiosity got the better of Qiao’er. She caught him by force and gave him a thorough head-to-toe inspection through the mirror. It was then she finally understood why Taoists were always trying to catch zombies—they were a genuine blight on the scenery!
"And here I was thinking your current face wasn't very pretty. I didn't realize even this 'unpretty' face was just a transformation!" Qiao’er accused him.
The green-eyed zombie stood there sheepishly as she gripped him, stealing glances at her expression from time to time—he was afraid she would find him repulsive. The love of beauty exists in all species; long ago, male birds learned to use beautiful feathers to attract females.
Qiao’er scrutinized him carefully. Fortunately, they had been together for a long time, and her resilience had grown significantly. Had she seen this corpse-like form during their first meeting, she likely would have dropped dead from fright, no matter how slow her reactions were.
After her inspection, she still didn't understand. "Since you're transforming anyway, why don't you make yourself look a bit more handsome?"
The green-eyed zombie remained silent. Finally, Gui Che, who had been unable to stop laughing by the wall outside, chimed in: "Because he’s afraid that if he becomes too handsome, you’ll only love the skin! Stupid!"
The green-eyed zombie couldn't bring himself to strike Qiao’er, but he wasn't so polite with the bird. His fingernails suddenly lengthened, and with a sharp *whoosh*, he poked two more of its eyes. As Gui Che shrieked outside, the green-eyed zombie turned back and wrote in Qiao’er’s palm: *Back then, I didn't know what was considered beautiful or ugly.*
Later, Qiao’er discovered that the green-eyed zombie’s appearance could be customized. she could make him take on a thousand different faces, but in the end, she always returned him to his original look. She realized with some frustration that after looking at this face for so long, nothing else seemed quite right anymore.
Fan Shaohuang’s injuries eventually healed, but his Taoist cultivation was entirely gone. However, the magical power he had previously siphoned from others remained in his body, making his current strength considerably more formidable than before. He still didn't understand why that woman, Ba, had helped him—and frankly, he didn't want to think about it. He wouldn't think about it even if it killed him.
Cultivating the Tao and cultivating toward immortality were two different things. He no longer needed to practice swordplay or draw talismans every day, but like the green-eyed zombie, he needed to absorb spiritual essence, constantly battering his meridians to strengthen his physical body and primordial soul.
This kind of bitter cultivation was a long, indefinite road. Moreover, whether one could actually ascend to immortality was a big "if." Even if you were ruthless enough to finish your cultivation after several thousand years, a single bolt of Heavenly Tribulation Lightning might just cook you to medium-rare—ready to be served with a knife and fork.
On the other hand, if one didn't have to pass these trials, and every dead cat or mangy rat could become an immortal, the Heavenly Realm would have fallen into chaos long ago.
But Fan Shaohuang clearly didn't want to take the slow path. He felt that only a fool would cultivate toward immortality step by step.
He spent an entire night researching in his room and decided to harvest the True Essence of others to supplement his own power. His initial idea was noble enough—he would choose wicked demons and cultivators, considering it a way to accumulate merit for his immortal path.
Thus, on this day, he issued a mission to the various monsters and zombies of Guantian Court: kill demons and harvest their souls. The targets were, naturally, any wicked creatures—fox demons, rabbit demons, cat demons, dog demons, lady-boys... Uh, okay, maybe not lady-boys.
The green-eyed zombie was delighted and immediately gathered the monsters and zombies for a meeting on the beach at the foot of Guantian Court. Having been raised in a prestigious sect like Cuiwei Mountain, Fan Shaohuang placed great importance on rules. He immediately instructed Qiao’er: "Take attendance."
How could Qiao’er possibly remember this jumble of lobsters and crabs? She left the task to Gui Che, as it could count quickly. But no matter how many times Gui Che’s nine heads counted, they were always short by one. The group turned the seabed near Guantian Court upside down but still couldn't find the missing member.
In a fit of frustrated rage, they decided to call names.
"Fan Shaohuang!"
"Present."
"Gong Xi!"
"Here."
"Hou!"
...
"Gui Che!" No one answered. After a long silence, Gui Che roared in fury, "I've been looking for ages, and it turns out it's this grandson who had the audacity to skip the meeting..."
The only response was collective silence.
Fan Shaohuang’s mouth twitched, and a row of black lines descended over his forehead. He made a simple division of labor for the operation: Gui Che was responsible for scouting, Qiao’er for recording, and the red-eyed zombie would pair up with the two ancient cave zombies...
He went through great pains to scientifically allocate all the monsters based on their strength. The moment he announced the meeting adjourned, the monsters cheered, packed up their (and everyone else's) snacks, trash, and jars, and scattered in a chaotic swarm.
Well, even if the organization was a failure, a campaign to kill demons and harvest essence had officially and fiercely begun at Guantian Court.
The targets this time were all Great Demons. Since a portion of the demon essence would be lost during absorption, if they only targeted minor demons, Fan Shaohuang might as well just eat these crabs and lobsters.
Back at the small log cabin, Qiao’er dragged the green-eyed zombie inside and wrote on his chest: *Change into your true form.*
The green-eyed zombie was confused and replied in her palm: *What for? You'll just be scared when you see it.*
Qiao’er wouldn't take no for an answer and kept pestering him. He had no choice but to revert to his corpse form. This was his true body. Although his illusions were flawless, they felt like wearing a suit of clothes; they weren't nearly as comfortable as being unburdened by such things.
Qiao’er lit an oil lamp and scrutinized him closely, closing her eyes every now and then to give herself a break. The green-eyed zombie stood obediently and let her study him. After a while, he couldn't help but ask, *What are you doing?*
Qiao’er was very honest: "Aren't we going to kill Great Demons? I'm looking at you first to build up my courage!"
"Hey... = =!"
The green-eyed zombie often took Qiao’er out to raid demon dens. Once there, he usually didn't lift a finger, instead acting as her backup—though it looked more like he was just there for the show.
At first, when fighting alone, Qiao’er found it difficult. Although she possessed the majority of Fan Shaojing’s True Essence, it wasn't her original power. Even with her current extraordinary talent, she could only exert about fifty or sixty percent of its potential.
After killing a few Great Demons this way, her combat experience improved significantly. She learned that when dealing with these monsters, one must strike immediately and never, ever talk to them. Talking only gave them a chance to trick you.
It was autumn then, the season when fruit ripens. So, in addition to killing demons, the green-eyed zombie would often carry Qiao’er through the forests and mountains to find wild fruit. When they were alone, Qiao’er usually insisted he show his true form. At first, he was a bit shy, but as it happened more often, he grew used to it. Sometimes, without her even asking, she would turn around to find him with disheveled hair and bared claws.
After picking fruit, the human and the zombie would usually rest by a mountain stream. The green-eyed zombie was responsible for washing the fruit, cracking walnuts, shooing away mosquitoes, acting as a chair, and providing illumination, while Qiao’er was responsible for eating.
Occasionally, the moon would rise, its light pouring over the mountains and illuminating his withered, knee-length white hair. Leaning against his shoulder, Qiao’er couldn't help but use her fingers as a comb to tidy it. As she combed, she would often sigh, "You really are ugly."
The green-eyed zombie would remain perfectly still until Qiao’er looked down at him. "What are you doing?"
He would reply with a sense of profound grievance: *Waiting for the "but"...*
Qiao’er would burst into giggles. "There is no 'but'."
Only after wiping the fruit residue from the corner of her mouth would he argue pathetically: *How can there be no "but"? Do I really not have a single redeeming quality...*
Qiao’er would clutch her stomach, rolling on the ground with laughter, while the green-eyed zombie carefully cleared away any dry branches or weeds that might prick her.
You have surely read many clichéd and over-the-top fantasy legends where every character, protagonist or supporting, possesses "long phoenix eyes, a noble temperament, and peerless beauty," and is constantly willing to live or die—or even overturn the heavens—for the female lead. Yet, in reality, a woman never needs a man to die for her; she only needs him to wipe the thorns off the rose before handing it to her.
What does a noble temperament matter? What does peerless beauty matter? Even someone as beautiful as Bai Suzhen—would she dare show her true form before her partner?
As Guantian Court captured more and more demons, Qiao’er didn't think the green-eyed zombie would take Fan Shaohuang’s words so seriously, yet he truly was pushing all the zombies to hunt demons with everything they had.
Meanwhile, the Taoists who used to frequently come to Guantian Court to stir up trouble gradually vanished. As it turned out, the best way to deal with wicked people was to be even more wicked than them. Recently, Guantian Court had been killing demons and purging evil everywhere, and their fierce reputation had spread far and wide. The Taoists were now avoiding them at all costs, terrified of being caught by the denizens of the Court.
Day by day, Fan Shaohuang absorbed demon power, and his techniques grew immensely. A human soul naturally couldn't suppress such power, but by utilizing the power of prayer and incense from Guantian Court, he managed to remain unharmed.
At first, he hadn't believed the green-eyed zombie would be so dedicated. The green-eyed zombie simply expressed his helplessness: *If you become an immortal, at least I might live a bit longer.*
Fan Shaohuang could find no flaw in that logic.
***
