Trapped by a formation set by his own people as dawn approached, Qiao’er finally managed to haul Fan Shaohuang over. Fan Shaohuang flew into a towering rage; he hated nothing more than useless subordinates, yet fate seemed determined to mock him by surrounding him with a pack of fools. With a dark face, he cursed their stupidity and finally unraveled the formation.
However, this particular demon hunt had brought a massive problem to Guantian Temple’s doorstep. Despite the Green-Eyed Zombie’s caution, the various demons had still managed to follow the faint trails back to the temple—clues like zombies, a young girl, and the nine-headed bird. When a race faces a collective threat to its survival, it undoubtedly becomes most united. The vast majority of demons scattered across the mortal realm had gathered together, determined to wipe out Guantian Temple.
Although Qiao’er possessed the majority of Fan Shaojing’s True Essence, she did not dare reveal it in front of Fan Shaohuang. As for the Taoists of the Hao family, they were only there for their own ancestor; in a moment of crisis, they would only carry the Red-Eyed Zombie away on their backs and flee. There was no way they would stand and fall with Guantian Temple.
In short, the glorious and arduous task of defending the temple and resisting the demon realm naturally fell upon Fan Shaohuang’s shoulders.
Fan Shaohuang had his own difficulties. Though he had consumed countless demon techniques, most of them carried a lingering malice or the residual consciousness of the original demon souls. He resided at Guantian Temple specifically because he needed to use the incense-fueled power of faith here to purify that energy before he could truly make it his own.
At this moment, while he could use the power, the toll on his own primordial soul was immense. Once his own soul-consciousness could no longer suppress these demon essences, he risked being invaded by the memories and emotions of the various demons within him. When a soul is stuffed with the feelings and memories of all sorts of monsters, one might lose track of their own identity. In other words—he would go mad.
Sure enough, that night, the Hao family Taoists sensed that things were going south. They took the initiative to immobilize their ancestor with a talisman, hoisted him onto their backs, and fled. The Green-Eyed Zombie ordered Guiche and the two Ancient Cave Zombies to protect Qiao’er.
The number of demons that arrived this time was staggering. In an instant, the once incense-shrouded Guantian Temple was overwhelmed by a soaring, malevolent demonic aura.
The night was deep, the pilgrims had long dispersed, and the world was silent save for the waves crashing against the shore. In the darkness, pairs of eyes—some deep blue, others crimson—stared out. As Fan Shaohuang stood in confrontation with them, Qiao’er felt a surge of tension. The Green-Eyed Zombie stood by her side; normally, it wouldn't spare a glance for these lesser demons, but their collective strength was now immeasurable.
The gathered demons initially only watched with predatory intent, each waiting for someone else to make the first move. But then, from somewhere far off, the sound of a late-night bell echoed. The tense atmosphere exploded, and all the demons shifted into their beast forms, charging forward like madmen. Though Qiao’er’s night vision was much clearer than before, she could see nothing but a sea of demonic beasts. Fan Shaohuang was instantly submerged in a torrential wave of killing intent.
The Green-Eyed Zombie made no move. Qiao’er looked up at it and wrote on its chest: "Priest Fan Shaohuang is in danger. Are we... not going to help him?"
The Green-Eyed Zombie lightly squeezed her hand and finally replied: *Then I am going. Do not move.*
The blood of the beasts only further incited their primal nature. Before this, they had never viewed their own kind as kin; even this counterattack wasn't truly for revenge. All their unity and slaughter were merely for the sake of survival.
However, the surging demonic power radiating from Fan Shaohuang’s body filled them with resentment. That power represented the hundreds and thousands of years of lonely cultivation stolen from their kin, now being plundered by this human for nothing.
As the battle raged on, Fan Shaohuang finally had no choice but to stop holding back. If he fought with every ounce of the demon essence stored within him, he might survive; as for the future, he would have to worry about that if he made it through the night.
The Green-Eyed Zombie joined the fray, but it had no intention of risking its life. It simply wandered through the demons, patting a head here and tapping a shoulder there, as if it were merely on a sightseeing tour. It wasn't until it truly began to strike that Fan Shaohuang’s pressure began to ease. After all, the man and the zombie were symbiotic; it could not simply watch him die.
While the Green-Eyed Zombie resisted the monsters, Fan Shaohuang’s condition began to deteriorate. The demonic power that had erupted so suddenly had not been fully purified. Although his foundation had been built by Ba, his soul was still that of a human; it could not withstand such a violent invasion of demon essences.
Eventually, his consciousness went blank. All his techniques became subconscious movements. Blood dripped from the corners of his mouth, causing the sinister edge of his face to fade. At that moment, Qiao’er had only one thought—if Ba were here, she would surely be heartbroken.
Near the third watch, the Green-Eyed Zombie ordered all the demons and zombies under its command to charge, leaving only the two Ancient Cave Zombies to protect Qiao’er.
The demons had indeed underestimated Fan Shaohuang at first. Having suffered heavy losses and seeing the enemy receive reinforcements, they began to waver. After a long moment, some demons finally began to sneak away. With someone leading the retreat, the smarter ones followed suit and vanished. The remaining few who were too honest or stubborn were soon outnumbered and driven away from Guantian Temple.
The Green-Eyed Zombie reached out to support Fan Shaohuang. The zombie was fine—limbs intact and unharmed—but Fan Shaohuang was severely injured, his internal essence in chaos and his consciousness blurred.
As the Green-Eyed Zombie helped him into the inner chamber, a group of Taoists ascended toward Guantian Temple. They wore blue and black robes—the attire of Cuiwei Mountain. It seemed the demons had fled so hastily because they had detected the arrival of the Cuiwei Mountain sect.
Leading the group was Fan Shaojing. His cultivation seemed to have recovered well, but there was no joy of a narrow escape on his face. Upon seeing Qiao’er, he didn't stop for pleasantries, asking directly, "Where is Shaohuang?"
Qiao’er still felt a lingering sense of guilt toward him. Although she hadn't known about the Green-Eyed Zombie sending the Ancient Cave Zombies and the shrimp and crab spirits to drain his cultivation, she reflexively treated the zombie’s actions as her own.
She led Fan Shaojing into the back room of the temple. The Green-Eyed Zombie was currently trying to find a way to restrain Fan Shaohuang, who was delirious, his magic power in total disarray, damaging his soul and meridians.
Fan Shaojing leaned over to check his pulse, and his expression changed drastically. He turned to Qiao’er and said, "I must take my Junior Brother back to Cuiwei Mountain. You look after Guantian Temple."
He moved to help Fan Shaohuang up, but the Green-Eyed Zombie reached out and blocked him. Fan Shaojing stood in a standoff with it until Qiao’er finally translated: "It says that Priest Fan Shaohuang has already been expelled from Cuiwei Mountain. He has nothing to do with the sect or with you anymore. You have no right to take him away."
Qiao’er didn't know why the Green-Eyed Zombie was stopping Fan Shaojing from taking him. Fan Shaojing was frantic with worry. "Gongxi, my Junior Brother’s injuries are severe. If he isn't treated in time, his life will be in danger. I must take him back to Cuiwei Mountain and gather the power of the uncles and elders to form an array to draw out these overbearing demon essences."
Qiao’er relayed the words to the Green-Eyed Zombie, but it still refused, telling Qiao’er to reply that in Fan Shaohuang’s current state, he couldn't possibly survive the journey.
Fan Shaojing frowned. He had come because he noticed the demons gathering at Guantian Temple and worried for his brother’s safety, only to find that his Junior Brother had stirred up such a massive hornet's nest.
Since the Green-Eyed Zombie wouldn't let him take the man, he intended to stabilize Fan Shaohuang’s injuries first. But when he reached out to probe, he felt only a torrential sea of demonic power. Had it not been for the immortal foundation Ba had built for him, he likely would have exploded and died long ago.
Fan Shaojing began to worry. With such injuries, even if they returned to Cuiwei Mountain and several elders worked together, they might not be able to save him.
Fan Shaohuang’s consciousness flickered in and out. When he was lucid, he recognized Fan Shaojing, and his speech was clear: "Your injuries are healed?"
The worry in Fan Shaojing’s eyes deepened. A mortal soul could not win against the consciousness of demons with thousands of years of cultivation. He could do nothing but hold his hand and whisper, "Yes. Master... passed all of his cultivation to me."
Fan Shaohuang responded with a cold sneer. "From childhood until now, he has always been like this toward you."
Fan Shaojing’s eyes dimmed. "He did this with only one request. Not to guard Cuiwei Mountain, but only that I take care of you. No matter what happens, I am to do my utmost to look after you."
Fan Shaohuang froze, then gave another cold huff. "I don't need your care. Since he was heartless enough to expel me from Cuiwei Mountain, there is no longer any connection between us. Why put on such a hypocritical show? You and your master are truly two of a kind—hypocrites!"
Fan Shaojing spoke helplessly, "Junior Brother..."
Fan Shaohuang’s temper flared again. "Don't call me Junior Brother! The old man kicked me out; I haven't been your Junior Brother for a long time..."
If one bickered with him, he seemed to stay lucid a bit longer. Fan Shaojing gripped his hand tightly and sighed softly. "Fine, my expelled Junior Brother..."
"Get out!" Fan Shaohuang roared. But a moment later, his mind blurred again, and he began to cry like a delicate female demon, "Brother Jiang, where are you, Brother Jiang..."
...
The chaos lasted until dawn, when the light of the morning star began to fade. Fan Shaojing did not see the arrival of the Cuiwei Mountain elders, but he did see a "water bucket."
Yes, a water bucket that smelled strongly enough to kill.
This "water bucket" appeared in the doorway without warning, one hand leaning against the frame. It would have been a very sensual pose, if she hadn't blocked the entire doorway.
The moment Fan Shaohuang saw her, he was so shocked that he snapped back to lucidity, his emotions becoming even more agitated. "Holy crap, don't come over here!!"
Fan Shaojing’s expression turned grave. He could not sense this woman’s cultivation level at all. Even though he now possessed all of Fan Fuqing’s power, he couldn't gauge her. Her cultivation was like moonlight—tangible yet formless. "Who are you?"
The "water bucket" ignored him. With a wave of her water-green silk sleeve, she swept Fan Shaojing aside and sat down by Fan Shaohuang’s bed.
Fan Shaohuang struggled feebly, but he was heavily injured and could barely move, let alone deal with Ba. Ba pulled him into her arms, took his wrist to check his pulse, and frowned after a long moment. Though her voice carried a hint of thin reproach, her posture was more like the coquettish pouting of a lover. "Why were you in such a hurry? Forcibly absorbing demon essences... such unnatural cultivation is not good for you."
Qiao’er ushered Fan Shaojing and the other outsiders out of the room. Ba called her back to help. Qiao’er took the hot water brought in by a young Taoist, wrung out a towel, and handed it over. In that close proximity, she caught a whiff of the fragrance on Ba that was strong enough to destroy her sense of smell, but within that scent, there seemed to be a strange odor.
She sniffed carefully, but because the perfume was so overwhelming, she couldn't distinguish it. Ba looked at her with a smile. "I was bored back on the Demon-Monster Path, so I wrote some things down. Read this section first and practice accordingly. In a few days... I might need your help."
Qiao’er gave an affirmative nod and carefully tucked the book away. Ba began to treat Fan Shaohuang, regulating the scattered demon essences within him.
With nothing left to do, Qiao’er left the room. As she closed the door, she noticed that Ba’s body, visible beneath the thin gauze, had turned entirely purple-black. Qiao’er felt a pang of sympathy. By breaking through the restrictions of the Demon-Monster Path again, her injuries must have worsened, right?
She decided to return to the small log cabin to look through the books and see how an injured zombie could recover faster. Ba wasn't an ordinary zombie, so normal methods likely wouldn't work.
She flipped through books in the cabin for a long while before remembering the one Ba had given her. She pulled it out to look. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call the book Nüba’s cultivation journal; it recorded many unconventional methods and tips. The section Ba had told her to focus on was a method for strengthening the meridians.
As she was attempting to practice, the Green-Eyed Zombie carefully pushed the door open and entered. Qiao’er ignored it, so it shifted into its corpse form and lay lazily beside her. It didn't recognize the characters in the book but was intensely curious about human writing, so Qiao’er had to translate as she read.
Fortunately, having spent so much time with it, Qiao’er almost considered the Language of the Dead to be her mother tongue, and the translation went quickly.
Although the Green-Eyed Zombie primarily cultivated its physical body, it had lived for thousands of years and knew a great deal about magic. Qiao’er asked it about things she didn't understand. The human and the zombie talked for a long time. It rubbed its head against Qiao’er, feeling her body heat, and suddenly said something completely unrelated to their conversation:
"Living like this is truly good."
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
--- | --- | ---
妖魔道 | Demon-Monster Path | The realm or dimension where Ba resides.
水桶 | Water bucket | A descriptive term for Ba's stout, girthy physical form.
殄文 | Language of the Dead | Also known as Ghost Script; the language used by spirits and zombies.
女魃 | Nüba | The full name/title of Ba, the Drought Goddess/Demon.
三更 | Third Watch | A traditional time measurement, roughly midnight to 2 AM.
启明星 | Morning Star | Venus, seen just before dawn.
翠微山 | Cuiwei Mountain | The Taoist sect Fan Shaojing and Fan Shaohuang belonged to.
