Chapter 270: The Madman
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Arrester Xiao Su was behaving weirdly. The zombies on the Exterior level suddenly went mad and counter-attacked the Master. What had just happened baffled Yao Xingliu, Xiao Yue, and Li Chong. They even failed to react.
What happened?
How did that happen?
The Exterior level zombies were aggressive before, so why did they suddenly stop, insanely counterattacking the Master instead?
Was it related to arrester Xiao Su’s behavior change, merging with heaven and earth, and taking on a Buddha-like demeanor?
All these things happened suddenly, too strangely, so ridiculously, far beyond Meng Qi’s own expectations. Everyone was silent.
Dark clouds surrounding the courtyard uncovered the moon, which shown through the fence onto a shed on the ground, lonely and tranquil.
“It really was the Swordsman of Ning Province…” Meng Qi regained composure and commented on “the Supernatural Power of Shaking Heaven and Hitting Earth”.
The Swordsman of Ning Province turned into a zombie which was half-human and half-ghost. His memory was erased and only fragments were left deep in his heart. This resulted in his lack of intelligence and some mental damage. His mental flaws were so severe that he simply had to use “the Supernatural Power of Shaking Heaven and Hitting Earth” to awaken his memory. However, he had really mastered the Exterior. Before, his heart was as hard as a rock, and his spirit as wide as the sea. Even though he was not as strong as before, naturally he was still able to protect himself. Performing a spiritual backlash to counterattack would make Meng Qi feel dizzy with unbalanced Qi and blood.
Unless it was a special case, not rven strong-willed Eight or Nine Acupores Masters, or others skilled in the Exterior or half-step level, could succeed in producing “Supernatural Power of Shaking Heaven and Hitting Earth”.
Seeing the expressions of Yao Xingliu, Xiao Yue and others out of the corner of his eye, Meng Qi took a deep breath and sighed. He said, “That ‘Zombie’ was made by the masters on the Exterior level. How could those who had enlightened the Acupores fight against it? No wonder he suffered from the counterattack and died.”
He transferred responsibility of the Swordsman of Ning Province issue to those dead men, because the dead couldn’t give witness anyway. This was partly because of the truth and partly due to Meng Qi’s heartfelt words. If it were not for the driving master who was unwilling to drive the Swordsman of Ning Province away out of fear of a countercharge, Meng Qi would not have reacted after observing the situation by knocking on the door.
It was possible that this was a specific task for him, but he could not control it. Just like when the Swordsman of Ning Province had just taken the initiative to save him… Meng Qi was not that puzzled. He looked at the other dumbfounded zombie beside him and used “Heaven Inflicted Pain”. The zombie was too slow to avoid it and hit by streaks of Leaping Thunderbolt Python.
The zombie, whose tongue hung out of its throat, flashed from all of the electricity. The evil aura disappeared immediately and it returned to its original form falling to the ground.
“He was a disciple of the Life-changing Sect.” Yao Xingliu came back to his senses and finally remembered the origin of the driving master’s Kung Fu. “He practiced ‘the Divine Skill of God corpse’ which is not the main issue.”
“Divine Skill of God corpse” was not the basic skill of the Life-changing Sect, so Yao Xingliu didn’t think of it before.
“Well I knew he was a disciple of the Life-changing Sect… ” Meng Qi thought. Looking at the pothole that occupied half of the yard, he saw the muddy flesh mixing with blood and clothes at the bottom. The imprint of the moving mountains, the driving stick of the corpse and others had been turned to powder so that no trace would be left.
Meng Qi intended to take the lead and inquire about the real origins of Old Zhong from the driving masters. But ewith this current situation, he could only sigh with resignation. The clues were gone because bloody flesh could not speak.
Did Old Zhong have any complaints about the Life-changing Sect, or was the “Kung Fu of Heaven and Demon” one of the Nine Evil Paths?
He was able to drive and manipulate corpses, which might be because he was part of the Life-changing Sect. Of course, this may have nothing to do with the origin of “Kung Fu of Heaven and Demon”.
Thinking about this, Meng Qi smiled again, walking up to Xiao Yue. He said, “Mrs. Xiao, you said that you were on good terms with Old Zhong, and there was something stored here. Can you talk about this in detail?”
Looking at arrester Xiao Su, who was smiling as if he had done nothing harmful, Xiao Yue thought of his Buddha-like appearance, and his tricks that defeated her and the driving master. She was shocked and found it hard to breathe.
After hesitating for a moment, she lowered her voice and said, “I was the most popular courtesan of the brothel. I never learned powerful Kung Fu, just sword dancing to please others. Then, I met Old Zhong. He really liked me and took me out to teach me great Kung Fu. He helped me become one of the Yangxia powers in secret.”
Speaking of the past, she unconsciously became softer.
“A few years ago, he said that he would begin to practice a Divine Skill. With it, he could quickly cure the internal injuries that damaged his foundation. In this way, he could break through the boundary within two or three years to open Hidden Latch of Life. He would take an important step to regain youth and prolong his lifespan…”
Meng Qi, knowing the answer, still asked, “Is it the Kung Fu to erode flesh and blood, bones and meridian?”
This was in line with some of his own conjectures. Old Zhong began to practice “Kung Fu of Heaven and Demon” only recently. No wonder he had broken through to the Half-step Exterior Scenery. As for the fear of the Blade Scar, it was because Meng Qi was so weak then that he couldn’t perceive how powerful Old Zhong was. After opening the Nine Acupores, Old Zhong had been infinitely close to the level of Half-step Exterior Scenery. With hidden traps and spiritual flaws in his own strength, he was easily controlled by Old Zhong.
Unexpectedly, Old Zhong did not make progress for many years because his foundation was destroyed by internal injuries.
“Yes.” Xiao Yue’s face turned morose. “It was alright for the first year. Then his temper gradually changed, becoming more and more irritable, gloomy and dreadful. He didn’t have the same affection for me as before. So I took a chance to get along with a Deacon of the Zhen Wu Sect. However, we had a terrible relationship. He had not been here for nearly two years. Nobody knew that this would happen.”
Yao Xingliu’s lips curled as he scoffed at the deacon.
Meng Qi nodded slightly. In the secret files of the Six Fan School, Xiao Yue was said to have made great progress in Kung Fu after venturing out. It was more understandable, “So what are you looking for?”
Xiao Yue chuckled and thought, “The situation is grimmer than I thought. Even the zombies on the Exterior level can suddenly be crazy, I mean nothing at all.”
“Qianyuan Composing Bead…” She spoke the name slowly and immediately explained, “When Old Zhong was still normal, I had an adventure near Yang Xia. I had good practice in sword dancing and Qianyuan Composing Bead. It can protect the spirit from being perturbed by evil demons, helping one avoid suffering Qi-deviancy Derangement. At that point I made great progress in Kung Fu.”
“When Old Zhong began to practice Divine Skill, he took the Qianyuan Composing Bead from me. He said that it was dangerous to practice Divine Skill because one might suffer Qi-deviancy Derangement, so he had to be careful.”
It seemed she had been through an adventure. The records of the Six Fan School were not baseless afterall. Meng Qi nodded and asked, “Old Zhong left leisurely, and everything had been taken away. Why do you think that the Qianyuan Composing Bead is still here?”
“He said that he would return it to me…” Xiao Yue said to herself absentmindedly, and still gentle. “And when I checked one of the bodies, I felt a slight connection between me and the Qianyuan Composing Bead.”
“In one of the bodies?” Meng Qi was rather shocked. He never thought there would still be a bead in one of the bodies!
There were too many bodies, so they could only focus on some of them, and gloss over the rest. They waited for the Six Fan School forensic examiner and the Yamen arrester in Jun City to deal with these bodies. So they had ignored a lot of clues!
This is why Meng Qi did not oppose Zheng Jushan’s order to keep watch at night. He would check them carefully!
Xiao Yue paused for a moment and smiled bitterly. She answered, “Yes.”
Followed by Meng Qi and Yao Xingliu on both sides, she turned around to the room. Li Chong did not expect new clues would be presented. He found it troublesome, but still being afraid of staying in the courtyard alone, he also entered the “forest of bodies”.
Xiao Yue had a clear goal. She walked to a body in the middle of the back, and lowered her voice to say, “It is in his stomach. I knew it before, but Mr. Cui was here. So I had to come back at night.”
If Meng Qi was just an ordinary arrester, or if Youth Yao had been forced to check the body, she could have taken the treasure bead without anybody knowing.
When speaking, Xiao Yue put on a smile, delightful but annoyed. Surrounded with genuine Qi, she cut open the corpse and used her right hand to reach into the stomach.
As a foul odor leaked out, she took out her hand. A red treasure bead was in her palm. It was not bloody but warm.Just seeing it had a calming effect.
“This is the Qianyuan Composing Bead… ” Xiao Yue turned around and said.
Meng Qi never intend to take it. Suddenly he saw a weird smile on the face of the body behind Xiao Yue while he was speaking!
This corpse was a 30 year old male. He was a bit ugly. His face was pale and black hair had came out of the of his body. It had been a long time since he died.
That is why his body was like this. A strange smile even appeared on its face!
“Be careful!” Meng Qi warned. He released “Heaven Inflicted Pain.”
All of a sudden, the body stretched out two chicken claw-like hands to hold Xiao Yue’s shoulders.
Xiao Yue was trembling all over. Her body suddenly twisted, and was rendered into a bloody mess that flowed into the corpse!
This corpse carried Xiao Yue’s remains and jumped up high. He avoided the “Heaven Inflicted Pain” and broke through the roof.
He was surrounded by evil black gas. Meng Qi was able protect himself for a short time. Meng Qi would have caught up with the corpse if he had used Precious Weapons to break through the black gas forcibly, but Li Chong behind him would definitely die.
“Half-step Exterior Scenery!”
“The Kung Fu of Heaven and Demon!”
Was he the Old Zhong?
Old Zhong corroded and absorbed Xiao Yue’s body, and then went away. There was only a whisper, as if it was a dream:
“We’ll never be separated like this…”
The “Heaven Inflicted Pain” flashed alongside Thunder Light and destroyed the black gas. Meng Qi was stunned. He simply could not believe it.
Old Zhong had enough time to end everything, making Meng Qi judge that he would never return. He pretended to be a corpse and hung himself on the beam, taking the risk of being discovered by someone on the Exterior level!
Was the reason he left to devour Xiao Yue?
With his strength, it was totally possible to assassinate Xiao Yue in Yang Xia city 800 times over. He could easily devour Xiao Yue, but why bother doing this?
It was completely unreasonable!
Meng Qi thought that his judgment might be wrong. He could not accept it at that time.
However, he immediately felt relieved, and learned a lesson. Anyone who had practiced “Kung Fu of Heaven and Demon” could change their temperament. He might be extremely narrow-minded, like a madman. It was hard to infer his behavior, like Gu Xiaosang who was mentally ill. Normal logic couldn’t be applied if something having to do with these madmen happened again.