Chapter 97: Xuan Kui and Xiao Zun

Zhang Sheng turned his head to look at Mao Xiaofang and smiled, "Xiaofang, you've come."

Mao Xiaofang hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Daoist Master Zhang, this place..."

Zhang Sheng nodded and said, "Indeed, this is a place of extreme Yin."

Mao Xiaofang suddenly realized and said, "No wonder Daoist Master Zhang hasn't shown himself since arriving in Hong Kong; it turns out you were suppressing this place."

Zhang Sheng nodded and said, "Correct. Originally, I was the only one who knew about this. However, Zeng Cheng had a stroke of good fortune and gained Yin-Yang eyes, allowing him to see this, so I was waiting for you to come today."

Mao Xiaofang said with some shame, "Daoist Master Zhang, I apologize; I overthought things."

Zhang Sheng did not blame Mao Xiaofang and said, "I know your character is upright. I am very gratified by your sense of responsibility."

"It is best if only you and I know about the matters here, to avoid those with ulterior motives using this to stir up trouble."

Mao Xiaofang nodded and said, "I understand, Daoist Master Zhang."

He then said, "Daoist Master Zhang, now that the Zombie King Xuan Kui is wreaking havoc in Hong Kong, I wonder if you could help?"

Zhang Sheng said with a calm expression, "It is not convenient for me to intervene in this matter."

Mao Xiaofang asked in confusion, "Daoist Master Zhang, why is that? Since ancient times, righteousness and evil cannot coexist..."

Zhang Sheng raised his hand and said, "Listen to me tell you an old story first."

"Xuan Kui was suppressed decades ago and later rescued by the Manchukuo. Do you know that among those who suppressed Xuan Kui was my senior brother, One-Eyebrow Daoist?"

Mao Xiaofang nodded and said, "I know. My master also participated in the suppression of Xuan Kui back then."

Zhang Sheng nodded slightly and said, "At that time, my senior brother encountered Xuan Kui's son and kept him by his side. Before my senior brother died in battle, that little zombie died alongside him."

"Now that Xuan Kui feeds on the blood of wild beasts, both in terms of emotion and reason, I have no way to take action against Xuan Kui."

Of course, Xuan Kui had wanted to bite people at first, but after being taught a lesson by Zhang Sheng, he became this obedient.

Mao Xiaofang asked in confusion, "But Xiao Zun, he has been infected with corpse poison."

Zhang Sheng shook his head and said, "Xiao Zun was not infected with corpse poison. He was already killed by Sakai's ghost shadow; it was just that Xuan Kui saw he looked like his own son, so he took action to save him."

Mao Xiaofang finally understood and said, "No wonder Xiao Zun still acts like a normal person."

Zhang Sheng said, "It is impossible to bring Xiao Zun back to life. What you can do now is stabilize his three souls and seven spirits and suppress the corpse energy within his body to prevent his animal nature from erupting."

Mao Xiaofang immediately bowed and said, "Thank you, Daoist Master Zhang, for clearing up my confusion."

Zhang Sheng saw Mao Xiaofang off. Ever since he saw Zeng Cheng unconscious on the ground last night, he knew Mao Xiaofang would surely come.

As for the secret here, it probably wouldn't be kept for long, though everyone would only think this was a place of extreme Yin, not knowing it was the entrance to the Ghost Gate.

Someone like Zeng Cheng would certainly let this matter slip.

However, he didn't care. With his strength, the people of this world were like straw dogs before him.

As long as Zeng Cheng didn't court death himself, he wouldn't intervene; after all, he, Zhang Sheng, had to maintain the order of the Heavenly Dao.

Seeing Mao Xiaofang treat Zhang Sheng with great respect, Zeng Cheng hurriedly stepped forward, put on a fawning face, and smiled, "Daoist Master Zhang, I was also worried about the workers, so..."

Zhang Sheng smiled and said, "I know. Rest assured, with me here, nothing will happen."

Zeng Cheng hurriedly nodded and said, "Yes, yes, yes. With True Person Zhang's abilities, naturally there will be no issues."

"True Person Zhang, actually, I also want to contribute a little. You see, you have many things to manage, and sometimes you might not be able to attend to everything."

"Why don't you teach me some magic arts? That way, if a problem arises, I can handle it in time."

Zhang Sheng flicked his horsetail whisk and said, "The Dharma must not be taught lightly."

Having said that, he turned and left.

Zeng Cheng was greatly disappointed and thought to himself, *If you won't teach me, then I'll go find Master Mao. *

Meanwhile, Mao Xiaofang left Lamma Island and returned to Zhong Bang's home.

Zhong Bang hurriedly asked, "Master Mao, what did you go to do?"

Mao Xiaofang shook his head and said, "It's nothing. The urgent matter now is still Xiao Zun."

Zhong Bang said with some worry, "Xiao Zun doesn't like eating sticky rice; it's been hard to persuade him lately."

Mao Xiaofang sighed and said, "Then we'll just have to think of more ways."

Zhong Bang said again, "By the way, Master Mao, my sister has already returned."

Mao Xiaofang nodded and said, "Mm, I know. It just so happens that a month has passed; in a few days, I will go check on her cultivation progress."

At noon, Mao Xiaofang and Zhong Bang tried to get Xiao Zun to eat sticky rice again, but Xiao Zun clamored to eat pig blood porridge.

As a result, they made such a fuss that he didn't even eat lunch.

The two had no choice but to think of "hanging a sheep's head to sell dog meat" (using a ruse), making some home-cooked dishes mixed with sticky rice.

In the evening, Yu Bixin came to Zhong Bang's house. Because Xiao Zun hadn't come to school for several days, she had come specifically to check on him.

At the dinner table, Yu Bixin looked at the sticky rice grains in every dish and asked, "Why is there sticky rice in every dish?"

Xiao Zun had wanted to eat pig blood porridge, and upon hearing he had been tricked, he immediately threw a tantrum and returned to his room.

Yu Bixin immediately asked, "What on earth are you doing? And why hasn't Xiao Zun gone to school these past few days? Is he sick?"

Zhong Bang hurriedly explained, "Xiao Zun has a minor illness; Master Mao and I can handle it."

Yu Bixin said with some anger, "If he's sick, he should see a doctor. I'm taking Xiao Zun to see a doctor."

Zhong Bang hurriedly blocked her and demanded, "A-Bang, what on earth are you hiding from me!"

Zhong Bang said helplessly, "Xiao Zun has been infected with corpse poison."

"Corpse poison?" Yu Bixin looked puzzled.

Mao Xiaofang sighed and said, "This matter cannot be explained in a short while, but currently, only sticky rice can suppress Xiao Zun's corpse poison."

The sound of their conversation was overheard by Xiao Zun.

Unable to accept it, Xiao Zun ran straight out from the balcony.

Because he was already a zombie, jumping from the second floor was nothing to him. Under the illumination of the moonlight, he felt his whole body was comfortable. He ran all the way until he reached a pavilion in the wilderness, and involuntarily let out a howl.

Realizing something was wrong, Xiao Zun immediately covered his mouth.

But this howl had already been heard by Xuan Kui, who immediately flipped open his coffin lid and flew straight out.

Very quickly, he saw Xiao Zun in the pavilion and jumped out, his heart full of joy.

Seeing the zombie, Xiao Zun screamed in terror and hurriedly ran away.

Xuan Kui was somewhat panicked; he hurriedly stepped forward to restrain Xiao Zun, then used magic to show Xiao Zun the memories of how the incident occurred.

Only then did Xiao Zun understand that it was Xuan Kui who had saved him.

Xiao Zun was very happy; after all, his parents were not very good to him, and other classmates bullied him, with only Zhong Bang and Teacher Yu Bixin caring about him.

Now, there was one more.

With a smile on his face, he called out, "Uncle, thank you for saving me."

Looking at the well-behaved Xiao Zun, a smile also appeared on Xuan Kui's stiff face.

At this moment, Mao Xiaofang and the others had already tracked them down; hearing Mao Xiaofang's voice, Xuan Kui had no choice but to part ways with Xiao Zun first.

Xiao Zun reunited with Zhong Bang and the others, and he also became much more well-behaved. He was no longer so resistant to eating sticky rice.

However, for the next few nights, Xiao Zun spent his time with Xuan Kui.

Mao Xiaofang thought everything was fine, so he decided to go check on Zhong Jun's Daoist arts first.

And Zhong Jun, upon learning that Mao Xiaofang was going to test her, was very worried about her own amateur skills.

But He Daijin used A-Fan to ask about the test questions; seeing He Daijin acting coquettishly, A-Fan said the test would be on the Ghost-Driving Array.

He Daijin then used this information to trade with Zhong Jun, exchanging it for two pages from the secret manual.

However, Mao Xiaofang did not intend to make things difficult for Zhong Jun; therefore, when he came to test her, he did not set any questions—he just wanted to see if Zhong Jun had been studying diligently.

Zhong Jun was stunned and had no choice but to trot out that old routine of hers.

Mao Xiaofang sighed and said, "You can't keep going on like this."

Zhong Jun hurriedly explained, "No, I haven't! I've been practicing the Flying Dragon Seven-Star Array recently; this array is very powerful and can predict the future."

Mao Xiaofang said with some surprise, "You actually know about the Flying Dragon Seven-Star Array?"

He Daijin immediately said, "Of course! My master has a secret manual."

Mao Xiaofang immediately asked, "May I have a look at it?"

Zhong Jun was very sharp; she smiled and said, "If you take me as your master, I'll let you see it."

How could Mao Xiaofang not know Zhong Jun's intentions? He shook his head and said, "Forget it then."

Having said that, he left.

He Daijin immediately asked A-Fan, "Does your master really need the Flying Dragon Seven-Star Array?"

A-Fan shook his head and said, "You could say that, but mainly it's Yang Feiyun who needs it."

"A-Fan!"

Hearing Mao Xiaofang call him, A-Fan immediately left the Seven Sisters Hall.

He Daijin secretly noted this matter.

However, Zhong Jun immediately questioned He Daijin, saying, "Give me back those two pages of the secret manual!"

He Daijin felt somewhat guilty, as those two pages of the manual had long since been given to Zeng Cheng; she stammered, "I accidentally lost them and am currently looking for them."

"What!" Zhong Jun immediately said angrily, "You hurry up and find them!"

He Daijin immediately left the Seven Sisters Hall; she was not in a hurry to find the manual, but instead turned and went to find Yang Feiyun, trading the news about the Flying Dragon Seven-Star Array for a sum of money.

Yang Feiyun was overjoyed and immediately brought a large sum of money to trade with Zhong Jun for the Flying Dragon Seven-Star Array secret manual.

Now he only needed to comprehend the array and set it up to reverse his own destiny.

That night, Xiao Zun met with Xuan Kui again; Xuan Kui had Xiao Zun put on a child's Prince official robe, while the attire on Xuan Kui's body was a Manchu Prince official robe.

Their attire was completely different from the burial clothes worn by ordinary zombies.

Xiao Zun changed into the Prince's attire, and when Xuan Kui looked closely again, the expression of affection on his face was plain to see; he felt as if his own son were still alive.

However, seeing Xiao Zun's frail body, he furrowed his brows.

He immediately took Xiao Zun into the city; not a single pedestrian was to be seen on the road in the dead of night.

But a night watchman was spotted by Xuan Kui; he immediately stepped forward to restrain the watchman and signaled for Xiao Zun to drink his blood.

The watchman was frightened into wailing loudly, shouting for mercy.

And Xiao Zun could not drink blood like a true zombie; he still possessed a great deal of humanity.

He hurriedly stepped forward to stop him, saying, "Uncle, let him go. I won't drink blood, please let him go!"

Seeing Xiao Zun's demeanor, Xuan Kui finally softened his heart and let the watchman go.

And underground, Zhang Sheng also withdrew his hand; if Xuan Kui had ignored Xiao Zun's obstruction and killed him anyway, he would have definitely intervened.

Afterward, Xuan Kui took Xiao Zun flying through the sky and across the land, playing all sorts of games, and Xiao Zun also had a very happy time.

But Xuan Kui's actions were naturally detected by Mao Xiaofang through the corpse Qi.

He immediately sought out Chen Jiang and found Xuan Kui and Xiao Zun playing together in a forest.

Zhong Bang, who had followed, saw Xuan Kui reaching out toward Xiao Zun and, thinking Xuan Kui was going to harm Xiao Zun, shouted, "Let go of that kid!"

Mao Xiaofang also immediately rushed forward and shouted, "Xuan Kui!"

Seeing Mao Xiaofang, who had been chasing him the whole way, Xuan Kui was instantly enraged.

Chen Jiang immediately attacked, forcing Xuan Kui back, and Zhong Bang immediately stepped forward to snatch Xiao Zun back along with Yang Feiyun.

Xiao Zun said in great distress, "Uncle!"

Xuan Kui immediately rushed toward Xiao Zun, and Chen Li, not knowing the situation, immediately swung her sword to hack at him, forcing Xuan Kui back.

Knowing the truth, Mao Xiaofang immediately shouted, "Wait a moment!"

Chen Jiang asked in confusion, "Master Mao?"

Mao Xiaofang immediately said, "Xuan Kui, don't go near Xiao Zun anymore; if this continues, he will truly become a zombie!"

Xuan Kui let out an angry roar: "Awoo!"

Mao Xiaofang also said with some anger: "Once he turns into a zombie, he will be eliminated by people like us; are you not afraid?"

"Roar!"

Xuan Kui's corpse Qi erupted, surging directly toward Mao Xiaofang, who had no choice but to immediately draw his peach wood sword to strike.

Worried that something might happen to Xuan Kui, Xiao Zun immediately shouted: "Master Mao, Master Chen, do not hurt Uncle!"

Hearing Xiao Zun's cry, the night of his son's tragic death instantly flashed through Xuan Kui's mind, and he immediately mistook Chen Jiang and Mao Xiaofang for assassins.

Xuan Kui was seen flying in mid-air, waving his hands, and two streams of corpse Qi surged toward Chen Jiang and Mao Xiaofang like giant green pythons.

The two men hurriedly cast the Golden Light Incantation, cleaving out a ray of golden light.

"Boom!"

The golden light collided with the yin energy, exploding instantly, and more than half of those two giant pythons dissipated.

But then Xuan Kui was seen opening his mouth to spew out a large amount of corpse Qi.

Chen Jiang immediately chanted an incantation: "Five Thunders Incantation!"

A bolt of lightning struck the corpse Qi, reducing it by another thirty percent.

Mao Xiaofang also grabbed a handful of golden needles and threw them out; the golden needles, imbued with golden light, struck the corpse Qi like a celestial maiden scattering flowers, and the corpse Qi around Xuan Kui's body diminished by a few more parts.

Meanwhile, Yang Feiyun, watching from the side, seized the opportunity to take out a divine talisman to cast a spell, attacking Xuan Kui and breaking through his protective corpse Qi.

Chen Jiang and Mao Xiaofang immediately took out Eight Trigrams mirrors, one in front and one behind, shining them on Xuan Kui to pin him in place.

Mao Xiaofang immediately threw out a red rope to snare Xuan Kui.

"Ah!"

Xuan Kui screamed in agony instantly.

Seeing the somewhat miserable Xuan Kui, Xiao Zun broke free from Zhong Bang's restraint, stepped forward, and bit the red rope in two.

He immediately shouted: "Run quickly, Uncle!"

Xuan Kui did not dare to linger and flew away immediately.

Chen Jiang still wanted to pursue, but was blocked by Xiao Zun, who said: "I will not allow you to hurt Uncle!"

Mao Xiaofang stepped forward and said: "Forget it, but Xiao Zun, if you continue like this, you will truly turn into a zombie."

Only then did Xiao Zun lower his head and say: "I know, I will not be willful anymore."

Zhong Bang stepped forward and said: "Let us go back first."

Mao Xiaofang nodded, then returned to Chen Jiang's side and explained the sequence of events.

Chen Jiang nodded slightly and said: "Since that is the case, then I will leave this matter to you, Master Mao, to handle; with A-Feng and A-Bai at the school, there will be no problems."

Mao Xiaofang immediately expressed his thanks, then took Xiao Zun back to suppress the corpse poison.

(End of chapter)