Since Xu Qing left the pass, he felt as if he had been hungry for decades, desperately wanting to take a bite of every Skull Ghost he encountered. Even if he couldn't scrape off a few ounces of flesh, tasting a bit of bloody flavor would be wonderful.
Xu Qing understood his current state. He wasn't truly bloodthirsty and famished; the bloodlust was a Zombie instinct, whereas the real hunger stemmed from the emptiness of magical power.
After three years of cultivation, on the day the Great Dragon of his spine took shape, it nearly exhausted his magical power, and at the same time, expanded his capacity to hold magical power, even raising his cultivation by nearly a hundred years.
This emptiness of magical power, when placed on a Zombie, is most directly manifested as hunger.
As a result, Xu Qing saw the Skull Ghost Soldiers patrolling the camp with his eyes gleaming green.
Skull bones were naturally tasteless, but the Yin Essence Pill obtained after exorcising them was very 'filling'.
The patrolling Skull Ghost Soldiers only felt a chill on their backs. Though they were already Yin Ghosts, they inexplicably sensed something unclean nearby...
Xu Qing urged the Immobility Technique, eliminating all distractions.
But even so, upon seeing the majestic, golden-armored skeleton of the Eight Banner Marshal, Xu Qing couldn't help but show an 'appreciative' gaze.
The Immobility Technique could suppress evil thoughts, but not the love one has from the bottom of their heart for something.
Faced with the perfect skeleton in front of him, magnificent enough to rival a Ghost King neighbor, who could remain indifferent?
The Eight Banner Marshal was accustomed to it. This Lord Xu always looked at him in this manner every time they met, even if the other party tried to hide it, the appreciation in his eyes could never be concealed.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have discussed with Xu Qing about sparing Zuo Zixiong's life and letting him safely leave the Yin River as a condition.
Apart from Xu Qing, who hadn't touched a corpse in three years and was already dizzy with hunger, the Eight Banner Marshal also noticed the same green-eyed, slender Golden Simurgh beside Xu Qing.
The Marshal lamented in his heart that a bird could be so loyal. During its owner's retreat, it also became extremely distressed and emaciated...
However, just as the Eight Banner Marshal lowered his head to exchange greetings with Xu Qing, the green-eyed Golden Chicken suddenly pounced, flapping its wings, aiming at the Marshal's tall neck!
Xu Qing, with keen eyes and quick hands, pulled back the suddenly manic Golden Simurgh before the Eight Banner Marshal could make a move.
"This chicken..."
Ghost fire surged in the Marshal's eyes. All ghosts hate male chickens, not to mention a chicken demon with considerable cultivation and full of scorching yang energy.
If not for Xu Qing's sake, the Eight Banner Marshal wouldn't have made an exception to allow the Golden Simurgh into the camp. Even then, they agreed on three conditions: the Golden Chicken could enter the camp, but it must not crow, nor do anything to guide Yin Ghosts or wander about.
Xu Qing turned to glare at the Golden Simurgh, then said to the Eight Banner Marshal, "Marshal, please don't mind. This chicken is a bit unusual; perhaps it saw something out of the ordinary."
"Something out of the ordinary?"
Xu Qing nodded, activating the Qi Observation Skill, but couldn't see any abnormal changes on the Eight Banner Marshal.
He thought for a moment and said, "If the Marshal trusts me, let the Golden Simurgh take a closer look."
The Eight Banner Marshal remained silent. Although Lord Xu was ostensibly the military doctor he invited, he had never carried out consultations or treatments, typically dealing with the aftercare of collecting the corpses of fallen soldiers.
Holding the impatient Golden Simurgh with one hand, Xu Qing always smiled at the Eight Banner Marshal, even having time to take out two well-polished walnut playthings carved by Xuan Yu to toy with.
Allowing a male chicken to diagnose a ghost, especially such a large one, was no different from Hua Tuo wielding a large machete to perform a craniotomy on Cao Cao.
The Eight Banner Marshal was silent for a moment, then grandly sat in front of the memorial stones, saying, "Lord Xu is the military doctor. If this Marshal doesn't trust Lord Xu, who would he trust? Today, this Marshal will scrape the bones and heal the wounds once more. That Golden Chicken, you may proceed!"
Xu Qing released the Golden Simurgh, and in the next moment, the chicken, as if kept alone in a pen for many years, suddenly caught sight of a charming little hen, jumped onto the Eight Banner Marshal's neck, and started pecking.
The ghost fire in the Eight Banner Marshal's eyes flickered while all the soldiers nearby cast shocked gazes.
Only Xu Qing frowned slightly, watching as the Golden Simurgh, like a woodpecker, pecked back and forth at the Eight Banner Marshal's neck bone.
After pecking a few times, the chicken would even tilt its ear close to listen attentively.
Seeing this, a notion struck Xu Qing, thinking that perhaps one day, when he had some time, he could borrow the various skills of a craftsman to fit the Golden Simurgh with a stethoscope, so that his assistant would truly look like a healer.
The ghost fire in the Eight Banner Marshal's chest reached his throat, but the young man in front of him behaved as if nothing was happening, twiddling the walnuts without any concern for his life.
In Xu Qing's eyes, the graveyard was filled with dead people; there wouldn't be much harm, no matter how much the Golden Simurgh treated. On the contrary, if the Golden Simurgh did manage to revive someone, he would feel afraid.
Xu Qing also felt that his understanding was quietly changing, gradually evolving towards the mindset of a Zombie.
Living people fear death, whereas he feared suddenly being brought back to life.
"Too terrifying!"
Xu Qing patted his chest, as if he had thought of something exceptionally terrifying.
The Eight Banner Marshal's heart skipped a beat, just about to ask what was so terrifying—was there no hope for him?
Then, in the next moment, he felt a peculiar sensation at the back of his neck, akin to his soul being extracted.
Xu Qing squinted slightly, and he saw the golden armored general's neck reveal a finger-thick, foot-long 'worm' being pulled out!