Mayi Physiognomy

Even if Wang Junhui moved as fast as lightning, he couldn't reach Li Yajing in time to save her.

In an instant, Li Yajing was knocked down by the shadowy figure.

Lin Sen, who had lunged past it, spun around and charged back, his machete whistling through the air as he swung it down onto the figure's back.

Clang!

The sound of metal striking something incredibly hard rang out. Lin Sen's machete was actually knocked flying from his grasp. Yet Lin Sen didn't retreat. Instead, he lunged forward barehanded, grabbing for the creature's neck without a trace of fear.

Zhao Kuan, being just a guide, had already jumped back over ten paces at the sight of the shadow, wildly waving his own machete, too terrified to approach.

As for me, I was rooted to the spot, utterly dumbfounded. What the hell is happening!?

Lin Sen possessed astonishing strength. Gripping the creature's neck, he forcibly wrenched it off Li Yajing. Though terrified, Li Yajing hadn't lost her wits. The moment the shadow was pulled away, she scrambled to her feet and ran towards Wang Junhui.

The sheer terror on her face was unmistakable. Her hair was disheveled, her clothes in disarray.

Wang Junhui moved swiftly, quickly reaching Li Yajing's side. Before he could even ask, Li Yajing gasped, "I'm alright! Help Old Lin!"

Wang Junhui wasted no words. Gripping his machete, he charged forward.

After being torn off Li Yajing, the shadow struggled violently. Lin Sen, clearly straining, seemed barely able to hold on, revealing the creature's immense strength.

Before Wang Junhui could reach them, Lin Sen was flung off balance.

But Lin Sen was no coward. As he stumbled, he rolled with the momentum, scooped up his fallen machete, and regained his footing.

Wang Junhui rushed in, swiftly forming a hand seal with his fingers. With a furious roar, "Wretched creature, die!" he slammed his palm against the creature's chest.

Smack!

The impact was thunderous, accompanied by sparks erupting from the point of contact between his palm and the creature's chest.

"Aoooo!"

The creature howled in agony. It twisted away from Wang Junhui, whirled past him, and charged straight towards Li Yajing and me.

Its speed was terrifying. Though Wang Junhui spun around to pursue, he couldn't keep up. Frantically, he yelled at me, "Chu Yi! Protect Yajing! Use your Physiognomy technique against the corpse!"

Physiognomy technique against the corpse? Grandfather had taught me something... what was it!?

Staring at the shadowy figure rapidly closing the distance, my mind, in a panic, went utterly blank. Damn it, I can't remember!

Li Yajing was a woman, Wang Junhui's fiancée, and Wang Junhui had saved me. I couldn't be ungrateful. Without further thought, my mind a void, I lunged forward and planted myself squarely in front of Li Yajing.

In my panic, illuminated by the flashlight beam, I finally saw the creature charging at me clearly. It was covered head to toe in coarse black hair. Two pairs of sharp fangs – upper and lower – were starkly visible. Its ears were pointed. Where eyes should have been were only sunken pits. Its nose was entirely gone, leaving only two gaping nostrils on its face.

Tattered remnants of clothing clung to its frame. Its fingernails were long and claw-like. Its arms were covered in something resembling snake scales.

Before I could see more, it was upon me. Instinctively, I swung my flashlight at its face.

Thwack!

The flashlight was knocked flying. A searing pain shot through the web of my thumb and forefinger. Damn, this thing's face is like stone!

The blow staggered the creature, but only for a second. It recovered instantly and lunged again. This time, weaponless, I could only raise my fists to defend myself.

But my fist had barely started moving when I felt a sharp, numbing pain shoot up my wrist. Looking down, I saw the creature had seized my wrist with one hand.

Its grip was even stronger than the suicide ghost I'd encountered at home. I felt like my bones were being crushed. The pain was excruciating, radiating up my arm, threatening to buckle my knees, instantly sapping all my strength.

As my head lolled sideways from the pain, I spotted several bean-sized cattle ticks (officially known as ticks) burrowed beneath the scales on the creature's arm. Blood-sucking insects? How could they pierce this thing's tough hide? And more importantly... do zombies even have blood!? Why would there be ticks on it!?

Just then, Wang Junhui reached us. Somehow, he'd produced a talisman. With a furious roar, he tried to slap it onto the creature's forehead.

The creature seemed to sense the danger. It released my wrist, spun around, and vanished into the depths of the forest. The sudden release of pressure made me gasp. I clutched my wrist, doubling over with agonized cries.

Wang Junhui didn't dare give chase. Only after watching the shadow disappear into the darkness did he let out a sigh of relief. "Wretched creature," he muttered darkly, "This Taoist will find you and end your existence."

With the creature gone, Li Yajing rushed over to examine my wrist. Shining her flashlight on it, I saw the entire area had turned a deep, bruised blackish-purple.

Wang Junhui and Li Yajing exclaimed simultaneously, "Bad news! Corpse poison!"

Corpse poison!? Could my luck get any worse? Would I turn into a zombie!? Lin Sen arrived beside me, looking at me with profound sympathy.

Before I could speak, Li Yajing said urgently to Wang Junhui, "Quick, get him back to the tents! I have serum and other medicine there. You also need to use your talisman to help purge the poison."

Back at the tents, Li Yajing swiftly opened her medical kit. She took out two syringes and two vials of liquid, injecting one into my wrist near the injury and the other into my upper arm.

Gritting my teeth against the pain, I asked Li Yajing what she was injecting. As she dabbed alcohol-soaked cotton balls on the wound, she explained, "This is an anti-corpse poison serum developed by Junhui's organization. It's extremely precious, worth its weight in gold. You've just been poisoned; it hasn't invaded your system yet. This shot should prevent any major problems."

I looked down at the black handprint encircling my wrist and asked Wang Junhui directly, "Master Wang, tell me the truth. Does corpse poison turn people into zombies?"

Wang Junhui nodded. "Yes. But not directly. The poison kills you first. You become a corpse. If your body isn't dealt with promptly, then it can turn into a zombie. A living person doesn't transform directly."

Wang Junhui's explanation was disturbingly detailed. Dying first? That sounded even worse than becoming a zombie.

Seeing my silence, Wang Junhui tried to reassure me. "Don't worry. That medicine will neutralize the poison quickly. You'll be fine. I'll use talisman water to help purge the evil energy too. I guarantee the black mark on your wrist will fade in three to five days."

While we were talking, Zhao Kuan cautiously approached, his face etched with guilt. No one blamed him; he was just a guide, not a bodyguard.

Wang Junhui then took out a talisman, murmured an incantation, and the paper spontaneously ignited in his hand. He let the ashes fall into a small bowl of water, stirred it, and then poured the ash-infused water over my wrist.

"Done!" Wang Junhui announced.

Unfamiliar with the intricacies of Daoist techniques, I eyed him skeptically. "You sure?"

Wang Junhui nodded firmly. "Positive."

After that, Li Yajing bandaged my wrist with gauze. Combined with the bandage Xu Ruohui had applied earlier, my hand looked like it belonged to an invalid.

With the immediate crisis handled, sleep was the last thing on our minds. Wang Junhui asked me, "Did you get a good look at that zombie's face? What could you tell from its physiognomy?"

I'd been too terrified at the time to carefully observe the life aura around its physiognomic gates. I couldn't say much, but I could recall some basic observations.

In human physiognomy, beyond the specific gates, the Five Sacred Mountains and Four Great Rivers of China are also mapped onto the face. Naturally, this applied to corpses as well.

The forehead corresponds to Mount Heng in the south

The chin corresponds to Mount Heng in the north

The nose corresponds to Mount Song in the center

The left and right cheekbones correspond to Mount Tai in the east and Mount Hua in the west

In the corpse's face, I had seen that its nose was completely gone. The Central Mountain, whether for a person or a corpse, is the dominant feature of the Five Mountains physiognomy. Losing this foundation meant that even if it had been born into great fortune, it could never achieve true wealth or nobility.

Applied to a corpse, its "departing bitter fate" wasn't just unfavorable; it had become completely perverse.

Hearing me reach this point, Wang Junhui gasped. "Chu Yi! What does that mean? A zombie that's lost its nose won't just fail to rot... could it actually regrow a human body?"

I shook my head. "I'm talking about the overall trend of its physiognomy. Its Central Mountain is not only leveled but actively draws in the life energy of the other four mountains. A normal corpse should have the Central Mountain dispersing energy, allowing the other four mountains to pay homage. That corpse's inversion... it's the physiognomy of a Rebellious Corpse."

I remembered my grandfather mentioning corpses that undergo rebellious, reverse growth. Such a corpse wouldn't become a zombie or return to being human. It would become a living, humanoid monster – a living dead.

In other words, the legend of the living dead in Baiyu was true. What we had encountered wasn't a zombie; it was a living dead.

I shared my thoughts with Wang Junhui. He stared at me, stunned. "What we're dealing with is really a living dead? Not a zombie!?"

I nodded, continuing, "Earlier, I saw cattle ticks (blood-sucking insects) burrowed under the scales on that thing's hand. The fact they were sucking blood means it has blood. Zombies don't have blood. But the living dead do!"

Hearing my deduction, Wang Junhui stepped closer and clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Chu Yi, you've done me a huge favor! Can you see anything else? Tell me everything."

I shook my head. "That's all. I was too scared earlier; I didn't look closely. I didn't have time to interpret its fate. I only pieced this together just now while explaining it."

Wang Junhui nodded emphatically. "Hmm. The living dead, while also a type of corpse, requires completely different methods to deal with than a zombie. No wonder that thing could still run around after taking my 'Immeasurable Heavenly Seal'! It wasn't a zombie at all. It was truly a living dead – something unseen for a thousand years!"

Li Yajing chimed in beside him, "Hmm. It seems we were too clever by half. We arrogantly assumed the 'living dead' in the local legends was just another term for zombie, not the genuine, supposedly extinct creature. We almost made a catastrophic mistake!"

She then looked directly at me and added, "Chu Yi really did help us immensely this time. If we encountered it again without knowing its true nature, we'd still be clueless!"

To be fair, I couldn't blame them. Before seeing this corpse's physiognomy, I hadn't believed in the existence of the living dead either. I, too, had thought "living dead" was just another name for a zombie.