Chapter 94

94. Chapter 94: The Smell of Corpses at Night

Ten o’clock at night.

Li Yi, back at home, was now practicing the White Bone Contemplation technique—he had used it only twice before.

At this moment, he felt his body frantically absorbing pure cosmic energy from the damaged coin; this technique, combined with the incomplete coin, once again significantly accelerated his evolution. After awakening his Mediumship, even with the incomplete artifact’s enhancement, his progress had slowed—but now, Li Yi felt as if he had returned to his first days of cultivation.

If this continued, he had a premonition he would awaken Inspiration within no more than a month, becoming an Inspiration Realm cultivator.

Yet tonight, an unwelcome guest had arrived in Li Yi’s aging residential compound.

A strange figure stood motionless in the center of the compound—its body rigid, eyes dull and black, radiating nothing but death, utterly devoid of any living vitality. Yet this being now twisted its stiff neck, as if scanning its surroundings, searching for something.

Its presence had filled the compound with a faint stench of decay, a smell that clung like a parasite to every nose, inducing nausea.

Many residents had not yet slept; they smelled it, yet none dared step outside to investigate, not even to lean out a window. Instead, they slammed shut doors and windows, locked them, turned off lights, and stayed silent, too afraid to follow the odor’s source.

Many residents in the complex were still awake; they could smell the odor, but not one dared step out to investigate, not even sticking their head out the window—instead, they immediately locked doors and windows, turned off the lights, and stayed silent, unwilling to risk curiosity by seeking the source of the stench.

The strange figure’s twisted neck halted, its lifeless, bloodless face turning toward the apartment building where Li Yi lived.

Perhaps it had confirmed its target.

The figure moved again, stepping forward with heavy, stiff strides into the building’s stairwell.

The figure stirred again, trudging forward with heavy, stiff steps into the stairwell of the residential building.

Muffled footsteps echoed through the dim, narrow corridor.

As the figure advanced, the stench of decay grew stronger. Li Yi, cultivating on the third floor, smelled it too—but he paid no mind, lost in his practice, his senses dulled to the outside world. Soon, he ignored the unnatural odor entirely.

With the arrival of this figure, the stench of decay in the building grew even stronger; Li Yi, cultivating on the third floor, smelled it too, but paid it no mind—he was deep in cultivation, his awareness of the outside world dulled, and he quickly dismissed the unusual stench.

The door to the room housing his parents’ medical pods, untouched by wind, slowly swung open a crack. Through the gap, thick, impenetrable darkness poured out like fog.

The darkness spread across the floor, flooded the living room, and engulfed the entire apartment.

Li Yi sensed none of it.

Li Yi sensed none of these changes.

The footsteps in the corridor ceased.

The strange figure now stood motionless before Li Yi’s front door.

“Debts must be paid. It’s only right.”

The figure spoke—its voice hoarse, unnatural, like a wailing ghost whispering in your ear, sending chills down the spine.

At this moment, the strange figure spoke—its voice was hoarse and unnaturally cadenced, like a vengeful ghost whispering directly into your ear, sending chills down the spine.

As soon as the words “open the door” were spoken, Li Yi’s door began to violently shake, as if unseen hands were slamming against it, trying to force it open.

Li Yi’s door, already weakened by the earlier attack from Ning Wu and his gang, had only been crudely patched with wooden planks—he never intended to repair it properly, planning only to stay a few more days in the old district before moving elsewhere. He hadn’t expected two groups to come to his door in such a short time.

As if countless invisible figures were violently slamming against the door, trying to force it open.

Li Yi’s front door, already weakened by the earlier destruction by Ning Wu and his gang, had been crudely patched with wooden planks—he never intended to properly repair it, planning only to stay a few more days in the old district before paying to move elsewhere; yet during this time, two groups had now come to his door in succession.

Soon.

With a groan, the door burst open.

The moment it opened, a freezing wind rushed out, scattering much of the corridor’s corpse stench. Simultaneously, the streetlights near the building and the lights of neighboring apartments flickered erratically, as if disturbed by some unseen force.

For some reason, the strange figure at the threshold instinctively stepped back a few paces.

It had sensed something unusual within Li Yi’s home.

Yet after a brief hesitation, it marched forward with stiff steps into Li Yi’s apartment.

Inside, the apartment was utterly dark, like an endless abyss—oppressive, terrifying, as if any intruder would be swallowed whole and vanish from the world forever.

The strange figure vanished into the darkness, gone from the corridor.

But the moment it stepped inside, the open door creaked shut again, pushed by a cold, faint breeze.

Everything around returned to deathly silence. Even the corpse stench in the compound vanished as if nothing had happened.

The strange figure had now vanished into the darkness, gone from the stairwell.

this strange being had simply walked into Li Yi’s home—and Li Yi, still cultivating in his room, noticed nothing. Not a sound, not a single anomaly. Instead, he felt calm, immersed in the joy of his evolution.

Everything around returned to a deathly silence; even the stench of decay drifting through the complex swiftly disappeared, as if nothing had ever happened.

the strange figure stood rigid in the living room, its stiff neck turning once more.

This strange person had simply walked straight into Li Yi’s home, yet Li Yi, still cultivating in his room, noticed nothing at all—not a single sound, not the faintest anomaly. On the contrary, he felt perfectly at ease, still immersed in the joy of evolution.

Faint fist and palm prints from Li Yi’s earlier training still marred the surface—but now, thick, foul-smelling crimson blood oozed steadily from within them, spreading across the entire wall within moments.

The figure paid no heed. Its neck creaked again, rotating half a circle toward another direction.

There, too, was darkness—but within it, three pale, bloodless faces emerged, their eyes lifeless yet brimming with inexplicable malice and fury, fixed on the corpse-stinking intruder. Had Li Yi been there, he would have recognized them: Zhao Jingqiao, Cai Jianming, Qian Kai—the very men who had once harassed him.

Yet now, they bore no resemblance to living beings. They seemed controlled by some strange force, reduced to puppets.

The strange figure paid no heed, its neck creaking again as it turned half a circle, gazing toward another direction in the living room.

the three pale faces lunged from the darkness—faster than thought, stronger than any living human, their power far exceeding what they had possessed in life.

But now, these three individuals no longer looked like living people—they appeared controlled by some strange force, reduced to puppets.

In a single instant,

the strange figure was torn apart, its shattered limbs scattering as the stench of decay surged outward.

“Walking corpse?”

A hoarse voice echoed through the darkness. From the shredded remains, a translucent figure drifted upward—strange, ethereal, yet clad in armor, wielding a spear, wearing an iron helmet, its eyes glowing with a faint green light.

Like a yin soldier from the underworld, or a demon of the battlefield.

The corpse had merely been its vessel—destroyed, yet unharmed.

The three pale figures fixed their gray eyes on the yin soldier, their malice and fury undiminished. Without hesitation, they charged again.

But the yin soldier remained calm, swinging his spear. The darkness in the living room churned violently, a terrifying force erupting from the weapon. In a single strike, the three figures were flung backward.

They crashed to the ground, bodies twisted into grotesque shapes, bones shattered beyond count.

The three pale-faced figures fixed their gaze once more on the yin soldier, their death-gray eyes still brimming with malice and ferocity; without hesitation, they charged forward again.

Yet moments later, the three pale figures twisted their bodies unnaturally, bones clicking as they reassembled. Within four or five seconds, they stood again—wounds from the spear still visible, but rapidly healing as the surrounding darkness mended them.

Before the wounds fully closed, they lunged once more, like demons.

The yin soldier roared in fury. Its spear ignited with a sudden roar—its flame deep green, like ghostly fire from the netherworld, capable of burning evil spirits.

But immediately afterward, the three pale-faced figures twisted their bodies in unnatural ways, the sound of snapping bones ringing crisp—within just four or five seconds, their bodies rose again, their bodies still bearing long spear wounds, yet these wounds were being repaired at a visible rate by the surrounding darkness.

The three figures were hurled back, their bodies engulfed in the eerie flame, blazing fiercely.

Their pale flesh melted like heated wax, as if on the verge of total annihilation.

But the surrounding darkness swallowed them whole—their burning forms vanishing from sight, never to reappear.

“Grudges have a source. Debts have a debtor. Li Yi, Li Yi, where are you?” The yin soldier’s hoarse voice echoed, like a soul-reaping emissary calling a name.

This call carried a strange magic, compelling one to answer involuntarily.

But before the yin soldier could call again, the voice abruptly ceased.

From behind the yin soldier, a cold, pale, slender hand emerged and rested upon its shoulder.

The yin soldier froze.

Beneath its iron helmet, a face like a desiccated corpse twisted in terror.

For from the darkness behind the yin soldier, a cold, pale, slender hand reached out and rested upon its shoulder.

in the next instant—

the hand behind it yanked the yin soldier backward. In the blink of an eye, it vanished into the darkness, gone forever.

With the yin soldier’s disappearance, the darkness in the living room rapidly receded, all traces dissolving.

Within seconds, all was calm once more.

In another room, the slightly ajar door, stirred by a gentle breeze, slowly closed again.

In the living room, the previously extinguished lights flickered back on.

In the dim glow, faint silhouettes of three figures remained etched on the wall—three blurred shapes, as if three eyes stared out, faint yet malicious, furious, fixed on the door—strange, chilling.

Yet Li Yi, still cultivating, remained utterly unaware of any of it.

In the parlor, the previously extinguished lamp lit up once more.

In the dim light, the wall beside it still faintly showed the silhouettes of three figures, as if three gazes had been cast forth—faint yet unmistakable, filled with malice and ferocity, fixed upon the direction of the door, eerie and chilling.

Yet Li Yi, who was still cultivating, knew nothing of what had transpired here.