Chapter 33: Purple-Gold Toad

It’s just that one cannot turn back, and it’s hard to retreat, but it’s not as if one is bound hand and foot; why stand there acting like a spectator? Is this the time to be concerned about the camaraderie of fellow soldiers?

The group was just momentarily at a loss, but jolted by his sharp rebuke, they snapped out of it, gritted their teeth, and one after another raised their blades and axes against their possessed companions.

At a time like this, one’s own life is the most important; the camaraderie of fellow soldiers has to take a backseat.

Before long, all the puppets were killed, and the Three-Corpse Insects that had burrowed inside were squeezed out before they had even warmed the bodies.

By now, the walnut boat had passed the city gate, traveling through the undulating ruins of the old city, and also through the mottled light and shadows.

Some Three-Corpse Insects successfully burrowed back into the shadows, but when the last few were forced out, they were exposed directly to the sunlight.

Struck by the intense light, these phantoms immediately dissipated, leaving nothing behind.

Without a skin-bag for protection, the Sun True Fire is their nemesis.

The annexed city is not large, and there are not many buildings; the walnut boat soon moved far away from all the city walls, wandering once again among the sand dunes.

Sheltered by the sunlight, everyone was panting heavily, and they could finally turn their heads freely.

Nian Songyu’s voice came from another boat, reminding all the troops: "Discard the corpses to reduce the weight! We must speed up."

The sky is about to turn dark; they must hurry on their way.

Those lying dead on the deck had all been good partners who fought side by side. The living remained silent for a long while before they began to collect the food, water, and weapons from the corpses.

Supplies are precious and cannot be wasted.

He Chunhua’s personal guard died with his eyes wide open; He Lingchuan walked back and closed his eyes.

He Chunhua sighed: "His name is Zhao Shaogang; he has been with me for five years and has handled many things for me."

"I know, I remember." He Lingchuan pursed his lips and took out the last bag of naan bread, the last flask of water, and a silver hairpin of ordinary craftsmanship from Zhao Shaogang’s body.

This was a man he had killed with his own hands.

"This hairpin is..." He Chunhua was about to reminisce, but was interrupted by He Lingchuan: "When a person dies, it is like a lamp going out; there is no use in saying more. His family will receive generous compensation."

Every living person has a story behind them, but so what? They were earning blood money to begin with.

He Chunhua stopped speaking and patted his shoulder: "You are right."

At this moment, self-pity is useless.

He revealed the broken comb he was clutching in his left hand: "I always thought the resentment on the comb could repel these ghostly things; it seems it’s of no use."

This comb was the origin of all the trouble, yet in the desert, it seemed completely useless.

He Chunhua was very disappointed.

He Lingchuan looked away guiltily: "Perhaps the method of use was improper?" The divine bone necklace hanging around his neck was also a "token," perhaps the most important one, but no one else knew about this.

Then again, this pendant had never shown any peculiar use; were the trigger conditions insufficient?

He pushed the corpse off the boat; below seemed to be a large pool, its edges built with black stone, though of course, there was no water now.

Sand burial has always been a tradition of Heishuicheng and the Panlong Desert.

Listening to the thud of the corpse hitting the ground, then looking at the bloodstains on his arm—accidentally smeared while killing and searching the body just now—he felt a tightness in his chest.

Strictly speaking, this was the first time he had killed someone since becoming He Lingchuan, and he had even killed his father’s personal guard.

He knew Zhao Shaogang; they had chatted and laughed together.

Just now, the situation was urgent and allowed for no hesitation, but now that he had recovered, He Lingchuan felt a sense of sorrow.

"Are you alright?" He Chunhua saw him keeping his head down.

"A bit seasick." He Lingchuan lifted his water skin and took a gulp, suppressing the stifling agitation along with it.

Killing one’s own kind is different from killing chickens or dogs; he was surprised himself that he hadn’t leaned over the side of the boat to vomit.

Since coming to this world, his heart seemed to have hardened as well.

What was it that was subtly influencing him?

Over there, Situ Han was also packing up his things, his eyes red. One of the sand bandits had been possessed and was killed by his own hand.

This man had robbed wealth and women with him, and just a few days ago, they had gotten drunk together and slept side by side. Now, the warmth had not yet left the body before he threw it off the boat.

And everyone knew that such things would not be rare on this journey of exploration.

This was merely the beginning.

He Lingchuan took a few deep breaths quietly to calm himself down, then leaned toward He Chunhua and said: "On the State Preceptor’s boat, the fewest people died." The fewest corpses were thrown overboard.

"There has never been such a thing as fairness in this world."

When a person is possessed by a Three-Corpse Insect, they become a puppet; except for the Panlong City of those years, no one could produce a method for rapid rescue. It is said that by the late stages of the coalition siege, the Xianyou Kingdom already possessed several sets of treatment methods, but they were time-consuming, labor-intensive, and costly; those who could successfully expel the insects did not exceed twenty percent, and it would take three to five days.

Three-Corpse Insects are originally hidden within the human body; the first step for a cultivator to attain the Dao is to sever their own Three-Corpse Insects. To try to expel them by other means, how could it be easy?

Besides, once possessed, the puppets go into a frenzy; how could they be docilely treated?

Therefore, decision-makers like Nian Songyu had long ago agreed: once someone on the boat is possessed by a Three-Corpse Insect, they must act decisively and leave no future trouble!

Every possessed person becomes a burden; they truly cannot afford to wait or save them.

He Chunhua shook his head, casting the troublesome thoughts to the back of his mind, then patted his son’s shoulder: "Thanks to your timely action just now, several lives were saved. By the way, when did your aim with the flying knife get so good?"

That flying knife just now had shot out right past his shoulder, with excellent accuracy.

This good-for-nothing son had saved his life and helped him quell the chaos; he had truly improved.

The Prefect He felt greatly gratified.

"Aim? Uh!" He Lingchuan was embarrassed, "Just now. Wasn't it because of the emergency?"

He Chunhua: "..."

￥￥￥￥￥

I don't know if He Lingchuan’s words were a prophecy, but while the other two boats were fine, State Preceptor Sun’s walnut boat happened to encounter uninvited guests—

Two enormous Purple-Gold Toads.

These things were mutated monsters; not only were they shaped like toads magnified a hundred times, but even their attack method involved suddenly shooting out tongue-arrows to grab and swallow their prey.

The hill-sized Purple-Gold Toads leaped from the sand dunes, and their landing nearly capsized the walnut boat. The galloping earth dragons were reined in, nearly unable to pull the boat.

They ate people just as ordinary toads eat flying insects. They would even lift their forelimbs to help shove the prey into their mouths, then swallow them without even chewing.

Furthermore, when the Purple-Gold Toads encounter an enemy, the bumps on their bodies explode, releasing a purple-tinged golden toxic mist; anyone who smells it will become dizzy and foam at the mouth within a few breaths before collapsing.

This is the origin of their name.

Fortunately, the Purple-Gold Toads eat very slowly, chewing and swallowing carefully for every person they eat, which gave State Preceptor Sun and his subordinates ample time to deal with them.

The He father and son were on another boat, unable to reach them, and could only watch the show with peace of mind.

(End of chapter)