Chapter 16: Unexplored Territory
Zhang Yuanqing returned to the main hall, bathed in candlelight, calming the pain of his old illness flaring up, and taking the opportunity to purify himself.
Based on his estimation, the vengeful spirit would attach to him within a minute or two. It was definitely not a good time to enter the east courtyard and face the zombie head-on.
After resting for four or five minutes, his physical condition worsened. The headache was accompanied by slight dizziness. He knew that the corpse toxin was gradually eroding his body, showing initial symptoms.
The candlelight in the main hall seemed unable to purify the toxins in his body.
"Can't delay any longer."
He had to take advantage of the Red Shoes' half-hour usage limit to quickly clear the instance.
Zhang Yuanqing left the main hall and followed the cobblestone path, weaving through the wild grass, arriving at the quadrangle courtyard.
Standing in the overgrown courtyard, he opened his inventory and summoned the Red Shoes.
Two dark red rays of light danced in the night, transforming into a pair of new dance shoes.
"Select the second form!" Zhang Yuanqing silently chanted.
The Red Shoes disintegrated into dark red light once more, tracing two arcs and wrapping around his feet.
In an instant, the running shoes on his feet turned into a pair of large red dance shoes.
This is just cross-dressing, right? Fortunately, they are red dance shoes, not high heels. Zhang Yuanqing looked at his feet, feeling a bit strange.
He forced himself not to mind this detail. Taking out the Corpse-Suppressing Talisman and holding it in his hand, he passed through the arched door amidst the rustling of the banyan tree, entering the east courtyard again.
In the east courtyard, wild grass undulated under the bright moonlight. Two large houses stood silently. Everything was so tranquil.
He carefully looked around but did not see any traces of the zombie. He cautiously crossed the courtyard and approached the large house divided into four rooms.
The room displaying the coffin had its wooden door knocked off. He didn't need to enter, just peering inside from the doorway.
Moonlight shone through the gaps in the tiles. The corpse, coffin, flipped lid, and that bronze pestle were all in their original positions, unmoved.
There was no sign of the zombie in the room.
"Could it have laid back in the coffin?"
From his angle, he couldn't see inside the coffin.
Just as he was hesitating, he suddenly noticed the moonlight seemed to dim. A dark shadow descended from the sky, engulfing him.
Immediately after, the night breeze carried a strong stench of corpse, along with a "heh heh" growl.
It was hiding in the tree? Zhang Yuanqing was shocked, his heart suddenly contracting, instinctively thinking of dodging.
The next moment, the Red Shoes on his feet glowed with a dark red light. Before he could react, Zhang Yuanqing suddenly slipped, sliding out and plowing a trail through the wild grass.
Bang!
The zombie wrapped in tattered clothes pounced but missed.
Avoided it... Zhang Yuanqing clumsily got up, pleasantly surprised, his heart returning to his stomach.
The Red Shoes were indeed magical. Their dodging ability was stronger than he expected. With his own reaction speed, he wouldn't have been able to avoid the zombie's attack just now.
Zhang Yuanqing's confidence greatly increased.
"Heh heh."
The zombie with straw-like hair let out an ear-shaking roar, its protruding eyeballs even more ferocious. It sprung its knees, pouncing towards its prey again.
Its speed was like a car racing at high speed.
Amidst the stench, the terrifying creature was already in front of his eyes. Zhang Yuanqing's feet twisted uncontrollably, gracefully tracing a semicircle like a ballet spin. While avoiding the sharp claws, he moved behind the zombie.
Then, he "naturally" did a split, his body collapsing as a gust of wind whistled overhead, two arms sweeping across.
Tearing, tearing his crotch... Zhang Yuanqing's face distorted, wanting to clutch his groin and scream in pain, but the Red Shoes had already manipulated his legs to bounce up.
He leaped high, fiercely kicking the zombie's chest with both feet.
Bang!
With a muffled sound, dust rose from the zombie's tattered clothes.
It let out an angry and unwilling roar as the huge force sent it falling on its back.
Chance! Seeing this, Zhang Yuanqing ignored the tearing pain in his crotch and rushed forward with big strides. He firmly slapped the Corpse-Suppressing Talisman in his hand onto that highly decayed, foul-smelling face in front of him.
Slapping it on its forehead.
Smack!
The ferocious and bloodthirsty zombie froze as if hit by a binding spell.
All movement and sound disappeared, returning to silence.
The zombie lay stiffly in the wild grass, the crimson in its hideous eyeballs slowly fading.
It lost its "vitality".
Seeing the zombie turned into a clay sculpture, unable to wreak havoc, Zhang Yuanqing panted heavily, exhaustion and joy surging in his heart.
He survived!
"Without the Red Shoes' help, it would be difficult to deal with the zombie alone. The zombie is just one of the oddities. This S-grade spirit realm is indeed challenging."
"But the construction team had many people. In theory, dealing with the zombie shouldn't have been a problem. A group of big men, how could they be so incompetent..."
Zhang Yuanqing suddenly sighed, realizing the reason.
The Corpse-Suppressing Talisman was found in the pocket of the corpse under the window. That predecessor obtained this item but did not tell his companions, instead secretly keeping it for himself.
The human heart is more complex and frightening than ghosts and monsters.
With the zombie dealt with, the next step was to find that shameless female ghost in the well.
But before that, there was something else that Zhang Yuanqing was very concerned about.
He left the zombie and walked to the room displaying the coffin. Stepping over the threshold while holding the door frame, the moonlight streamed into the gloomy room.
He stopped in front of the dried corpse and bent down to pick up the bronze pestle.
Despite being a bronze object, it didn't feel cold in his hand, but rather warm and smooth like jade.
Then, a message appeared in his field of vision.
[Name: Demon-Suppressing Pestle]
[Type: Weapon]
[Function: Purification, Spirit-Suppressing, Demon-Breaking]
[Introduction: A weapon imbued with the power of the sun god, the bane of all dark creatures. Sacrificing one's essence blood to this pestle will grant the power of the sun god.]
[Note: Powerful? Obtained at the cost of life.]
It was indeed an item. Judging from the functional description, it seemed even stronger than the candles in the main hall. The construction team's predecessors probably wanted to use it to kill the zombie but failed. Alas, they had already lost too many people before dealing with the zombie. Zhang Yuanqing was grateful for making the right judgment.
Cleverly utilizing the Red Shoes to overcome the challenge.
Of course, the construction team's predecessors had no choice. They couldn't possibly tame this rule-type item, and most of them died under the Red Shoes' trampling.
"With this specialized anti-evil item, coupled with the Red Shoes, my chances of clearing the trial mission have greatly increased."
Holding the Demon-Suppressing Pestle, he felt a strong confidence welling up inside. Taking advantage of the five minutes not being up yet, he left the room and returned to the courtyard.
This time, he headed straight for the ancient well to conduct the final investigation.
The well was deep and dark, with a damp smell of rotting grass and wood rising from it.
Let's take a look. Zhang Yuanqing gripped the Demon-Suppressing Pestle in a defensive posture. Placing one foot on the well's edge, he walked down as if treading on flat ground.
Previously, he definitely wouldn't have dared to explore the bottom. Not only was it uncertain if there were dangers at the bottom, but jumping in without a rope or assistance would mean seeking death.
Soon, he smoothly reached the shallow bottom of the well, where the moonlight was very faint.
The water in the well had long dried up, with black silt accumulated at the bottom. Weeds grew in clumps around the edges, and the well walls were covered in dark green moss.
"There's no ghost in the well."
Zhang Yuanqing frowned, thinking this wasn't right. He clearly saw a faceless female ghost emerging from the well.
He repeatedly checked the bottom of the well. Due to the Red Shoes' limited usage time, he could only helplessly step on the steep well walls and return to the surface, quickly rushing back to the eaves of the main hall.
Only then did he feel at ease to remove the Red Shoes.
In the main hall, bathed in the dim candlelight, Zhang Yuanqing leaned against the offering table, looking haggard. The corpse toxin's erosion of his body deepened. Following the dizziness, symptoms such as difficulty breathing and cardiopulmonary pain appeared.
Time was running out.
"I have explored both rear courtyards and successfully subdued the zombie. The mission hasn't ended, meaning there is still somewhere I haven't explored..."
Every room in the rear courtyards had been explored, even the bottom of the well. There couldn't be any oversights.
Then, where could it be?
When all possibilities are eliminated, no matter how unthinkable, the remaining one must be the truth. He muttered in his heart, slowly supporting himself up.
The place that hadn't been "explored" was right here, the main hall in front of him.
Zhang Yuanqing's gaze slowly swept across the main hall, finally stopping on the three clay statues of Mountain Goddess. When he first entered the main hall, a detail about the clay statues caught his attention.
The right hand of the clay statue was empty but held in a grasping posture, indicating it originally held something.
Previously, he didn't know what it originally held, but now he knew.
It was the Demon-Suppressing Pestle.
With a mindset of giving it a try, Zhang Yuanqing stepped forward and inserted the golden Demon-Suppressing Pestle into the clay statue's palm, then leaped off the pedestal and retreated a few steps.
Almost the moment he retreated, the surface of the pedestal cracked with a "crackle", the cracks sending up a dense cloud of dust. The entire pedestal then collapsed, revealing a dark pit.
(End of chapter)
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