PDLP Chapter 14 Wild Dog
Chapter 14 Wild Dog
Looking at the emerald pine and the heavens, Song Quyou stared at the blue jade disc in his hand, completely clueless.
"Jade discs are usually carved with landscapes and auspicious symbols; this is the first time I've seen one carved with so many ghosts."
The lark flew from the branch to Song Quyou's wrist, examined the jade pendant and said, "This jade is full of spiritual energy, unlike ordinary things. I don't know what use it is, but fortunately there is no evil or filthy energy on this jade. Let's keep it for now and find out later."
Song Quyou nodded and put the jade pendant into his pocket.
"After these few days of travel, we will arrive in Jiannan tomorrow, where my original home is located."
"I've listened to you nagging all this way, but in the end, you still got hurt by someone."
Song Quyou remained silent, deep in thought. Although his maternal uncle's family hadn't treated him well throughout his life, the neighbors were kind and harmonious, and they had helped him even after his parents' passing. What he couldn't understand was why all the Taoist priests had gone mad after their arrival. Song Quyou's return this time was to find out the reason.
The autumn sun shines brightly, and a gentle breeze refreshes the mind.
Looking at the crystal-clear black glass rising above the water in the deep pit beneath his feet, Song Quyou sighed and shook his head. He then turned to look at the desolate village below the mountain, filled with broken walls and ruins, and unconsciously tightened his grip on the sword in his hand.
Song Quyou descended the mountain and arrived at his former home, which had been uninhabited for many years and was now in ruins.
Stepping over weeds and pebbles, I arrived at the courtyard, where the furniture and belongings had long since weathered away and turned into rotten wood.
Song Quyou frowned, went out the door, and walked ten miles through the wilderness. He saw that the once fertile fields were now overgrown with withered weeds, and that skinny wild dogs were staring at him with bloodstained rabbits in their mouths.
Suddenly, the wild dog let out a pitiful yelp, dropped the rabbit, and ran away. But it didn't go far; after creating some distance, it wagged its tail and looked back.
Confused, Song Quyou looked into the distance and saw a tattered, dry-skinned, bone-clinging corpse, its yellow and black teeth bared, tearing at a blood-stained wild rabbit on the ground.
The stray dog wagged its tail and watched happily. Song Quyou actually saw a joyful emotion in the stray dog.
The zombies were awakened, and a blood meal the size of a rabbit was certainly not enough to satisfy their bloodthirsty nature.
Smelling the scent of a living person, it abandoned the wild rabbit, which had hardly any meat, and stiffly ran towards Song Quyou.
The stray dog barked wildly and rushed to Song Quyou, baring its teeth in a menacing manner.
Song Quyou glanced at the stray dog trying to shoo him away, then looked at the staggering corpse approaching, and his hand, which was about to draw his sword, hesitated for a moment.
"Since your master is suffering a fate worse than death, I will be the one to help him find peace."
After saying that, a sword aura swept up the withered leaves, which were neither green nor yellow, and covered the sand and dust, knocking the corpse to the ground, where it could no longer move.
Song Quyou gathered some dry branches, piled them on the corpse's broken bones, lit a fire, and began chanting sutras for salvation:
"The ten celestial deities, as numerous as grains of sand, manifest in the ten directions to universally save and deliver all beings..."
The flames were blazing, sparks flew into the sky with the blue smoke, and a wild dog whimpered nearby.
Meanwhile, in the desolate graveyard, a black, ornately carved coffin lay exposed on the grave mound. The coffin was brand new, polished to a gleaming shine. The living corpse had just been cremated. A deathly ashes hand pushed open the coffin lid, and a man limped to his feet, revealing a richly dressed man.
The man's disheveled, greasy hair clashed terribly with his gold-embroidered robe and jade-gilded belt.
The man slammed his fist on the heavy coffin lid and said angrily, "Who is it that has bothered me again, disturbing my peaceful sleep and destroying the living corpse I created?"
The man looked up, staring at the not-too-intense sunlight with his pupil-less, gray eyes. He then crawled back into the coffin, took out a shiny copper bell, and shook it vigorously, producing a buzzing sound like a fly.
As the sound spread, soil began to fall from the still barren graves in the surrounding cemetery, forming small mounds from which rotten, skeletal corpses crawled out.
Similarly, beneath the coffin where the man was, a mound of earth rose up, lifting the coffin high and revealing two bronze-skinned, iron-boned, armored, and blade-wielding Mao Jiang, each over nine feet tall.
The undead swayed and surrounded the two hairy zombies, standing in front of them.
"I'd like to see who destroyed my living corpse."
……
After reciting the scriptures, Song Quyou looked at the desolate place and decided to go to the nearest county town to find some people and find out what had happened here.
Just as he was about to leave, a surge of corpse energy that shot straight into the sky caught Song Quyou's eye.
Song Quyou turned around, drew his long sword, and frowned as he watched the approaching corpse energy.
The corpse's aura was as thick as ink, surging like a tide. Wherever it passed, withered grass lay flat on the ground, broken stones trembled, and even the air was filled with a sweet, rotten smell.
The stray dog, still lingering by the fire, kept whimpering, trembling as it tried to escape, but was reluctant to leave the handful of ashes before it.
As the corpses approached, seven or eight staggering zombies first appeared, their bodies rotting away. Some had only bones left on one side of their faces, while others had their intestines wrapped around their necks, emitting chilling roars.
The stray dog could not resist its instincts and fled.
Song Quyou stood quietly, gripping his long sword tightly, his gaze fixed on the tall, armored zombie carrying a coffin among the horde of undead.
"With skin of copper and bones of iron, impervious to swords and spears, it is undoubtedly a Mao Jiang. It seems that the person who created the living corpse is quite skilled."
The living corpse, drawn by the scent of human flesh, was greedy and bloodthirsty, its face contorted with rage, and it couldn't resist devouring Song Quyou alive.
But they restrained their bloodthirsty nature and stopped a few feet in front of Song Quyou.
"Boy, state your background. I don't kill nameless nobodies."
Song Quyou smiled faintly, flicked his sword with a beautiful flourish, and said loudly, "I am Song Quyou, a disciple of Shenxiao Temple on Xuantai Peak. Please state your name as well."
"So you're a disciple of Shenxiao Temple. My apologies for not recognizing you. I am Wang Fuyin from the Wang family of Xiangxi, the corpse-driving sect."
"Young Master Wang, before I entered the mountain gate, I was a villager here. Today I returned to visit my relatives, only to find ruins everywhere, and the fate of my neighbors unknown. Does Young Master Wang know what happened here?"
Wang Fuyin closed his gray eyes and pondered for a moment before saying, "Brother Song, a few years ago, a Crimson Sun Flowing Pill was lost here and obtained by Yang Danzi. To prevent the information from being leaked, he killed all the villagers in this area."
"Young master, could you tell me where you obtained this information?"
"This news is known to everyone. As for its source, it should be the Corpse-Eating Monk. After all, in order to retrieve the Crimson Sun Flowing Pill, countless talented people went to Ghost Miasma Mountain. Yang Danzi was severely injured and escaped without revealing his whereabouts."
"I see."
Looking at the swarm of living corpses surrounding Wang Fuyin, Song Quyou asked, "I've heard that the Wang family of Xiangxi is skilled in refining corpses from living people. Is that true?"
Wang Fuyin slammed his fist on the coffin and shouted angrily, "Bullshit! Don't try to test me, you surnamed Song. My Wang family values virtue above all else. The living corpses we refine are all made from the corpses of people who have failed in the five virtues. We never touch innocent people, let alone living people."
Song Quyou cupped his hands and said, "I was presumptuous and should not have had such doubts."
"Don't think that just because you're a disciple of the Shenxiao Temple, I won't dare to do anything to you. Today you destroyed one of my living corpses and now you suspect my Wang family. How can this be left to pass so easily?"
As he spoke, Wang Fuyin's fierce gray eyes turned slightly red, and he took out a copper bell, which emitted a strange buzzing sound.