The King of Feng Shui

I gripped the Tianpeng Ruler tightly in my hand, my eyes locked on the corpse that had already undergone zombification. It seemed wary of the weapon I held, hesitating to approach any closer.

As I stood off against the zombie, I caught sight of Zhang Yunyao standing not far off, her face filled with concern as she stared at me. It was clear she was terrified, yet she didn't flee. Still, she wasn't helping either—if anything, her presence was a dangerous distraction.

"Why are you still standing there? Want to die?!" I shouted angrily.

She remained frozen, seemingly paralyzed with fear, red-eyed and unmoving.

Just then, the zombie let out another guttural snarl, exhaling a cloud of corpse gas as it leapt toward me again.

At that moment, I wasn't sure if I was hallucinating, but I saw a dark silhouette standing motionless in the trees behind the zombie. He was just... watching.

A chill ran through me.

Could he be the one who had controlled Zhang Yunliang earlier? The one who caused this corpse to transform? But why? What was his goal?

There was no time to think. The zombie lunged again, and I had no choice but to meet it head-on with the Tianpeng Ruler.

Its iron-like arms swept at me, and I ducked low, swinging the ruler hard into its abdomen. It staggered backward, only to pounce at me again.

My master had once told me that such corpses—unrotting, undecayed after centuries—were the most dangerous. Hard as steel, immune to blades. The only way to subdue one was with a corpse-suppressing talisman. But it was nearly impossible to get close enough to use one.

Taking advantage of the brief distance I'd created, I backed away and bit my middle finger, drawing a corpse-suppressing sigil in the center of my palm using my blood. If I got the chance, I'd slap it right on its forehead. It wouldn't hold it forever—just a few hours—but that might be enough to cleanse the corpse of its yin energy.

As I glanced up, I was horrified to see the zombie had changed targets. It wasn't coming for me anymore—it had leapt toward Zhang Yunyao.

"Run!" I yelled, cold sweat dripping down my back.

Finally snapping out of her daze, she turned and bolted toward the Zhang family ancestral graveyard.

I chased after the zombie with the Tianpeng Ruler in hand. Zhang Yunyao ran fast, weaving between the open coffins and burial pits, using them as obstacles. The zombie, stiff and jerky in its movements, struggled to keep up.

I had to admit—Zhang Yunyao was braver than most. Any normal girl would have screamed and frozen in place at the sight of something this demonic. But she cleverly used the coffins to keep her distance.

I caught up, ready to strike the zombie, when it suddenly jumped onto a coffin lid.

Now there was nothing between it and Zhang Yunyao.

With a savage growl, it launched itself off the coffin toward her.

I didn't have time to think. I leapt up too, pouncing straight at the zombie mid-air.

It missed her—but my Tianpeng Ruler connected hard with its forehead, knocking it to the ground in a cloud of corpse gas.

This was my chance.

I lunged forward, aiming to slap the sigil onto its head.

But the zombie suddenly sprang up with frightening force and slammed into me, sending me flying.

Before I could recover, it pounced, pinning me beneath its cold, heavy body.

It was crushing me—I could barely breathe. But worse was the pain—its razor-sharp nails had sunk deep into my shoulders, cold and sharp enough to tear muscle. I broke out in a sweat from the pain.

Then it opened its blood-reeking mouth, its fangs descending toward my neck.

Desperate, I used both hands to push against its jaw, barely holding it back.

But it was strong—far stronger than me. Inch by inch, its foul mouth closed in.

My arms felt like they were going to snap.

In a last-ditch effort, I bit down on my tongue and spat a mouthful of blood directly onto its face.

The moment the blood hit, a plume of white steam hissed up—like boiling water on flesh.

The weight pressing on me suddenly lifted. I freed one hand.

With the corpse-suppressing sigil etched in blood, I slammed my palm onto its skull.

A flash of golden light burst out—and the zombie's body stiffened, then collapsed to the ground, completely still.

Gasping, I slumped to the floor, my shoulder throbbing, my clothes soaked in blood.

"Master Wu!" Zhang Yunyao ran over, her voice trembling with tears. "You're hurt…"

She tore pieces of her clothes to wrap around my wounds, trying to stop the bleeding.

"I'm fine…" I muttered, wiping sweat from my brow.

Struggling to my feet, I pulled out another corpse-suppressing talisman and stuck it to the zombie's forehead for extra safety.

We'd survived—but something told me this was just the beginning.