Chapter 5: The Corpse Thief

Wang Chong watched as the hooded man's aura grew increasingly powerful, a chill creeping over his own body.

"Cold... I'm so cold..."

A yin-cold voice seemed to rise from the bottom of everyone's hearts.

"Crack, crack..."

A layer of frost flowers actually appeared on the ground, spreading rapidly from afar to near, then diffusing even further; in the blink of an eye, it covered several thousand square meters of the surrounding area.

"It's Bone Prison Xi!" The hooded man's voice betrayed terror.

"Kid, you got off easy this time. Next we meet, I will kill you!" The hooded man shot Wang Chong a vicious glare, but ultimately dared not make a move; he turned and vanished swiftly.

He feared his aura would be detected by Bone Prison Xi, in which case he would truly die without a burial place.

Wang Chong secretly breathed a sigh of relief; he did not have so many scruples, and at least his life was saved for now.

"How are you two?" Wang Chong walked over to Xixi and Hock.

"Uncle Hock has lost so much blood." Xixi's face was still streaked with dried tears.

"Young Lady, Bone Prison Xi is coming soon; you must leave quickly and do not worry about me," Hock said anxiously.

"Who is Bone Prison Xi?" Wang Chong asked, confused.

"Bone Prison Xi is the strongest being in the entire Forest of Granth; normally he stays deep within the forest, yet unexpectedly he emerged today. There is no time to explain; Bone Prison Xi's power is too great. Even in my prime, I was no match for him. Do not worry about me; leave quickly," Hock urged repeatedly.

His mission was to ensure Xixi's safety; as long as she could escape unharmed, he could close his eyes in death.

"It's getting colder and colder."

Wang Chong tightened his collar, showing not the slightest panic.

"The fight just now must have attracted Bone Prison Xi; it's too late to run now, so let's hide first."

Saying this, he hoisted Hock onto his shoulder with one hand and grabbed Hock's greatsword with the other.

"So heavy!" The weight of the greatsword still surprised him greatly.

After his left hand was cursed, his strength had increased immensely, yet wielding that greatsword still strained him somewhat.

The icy, powerful aura drew nearer; Wang Chong gritted his teeth, ignoring the pain in his body, and carried Hock away quickly.

They had barely walked a hundred meters when Wang Chong's teeth were already chattering from the cold.

"Alright, this spot will do."

They hid behind a boulder surrounded by reed grass over a meter tall; from the outside, it was difficult to spot anyone inside, yet he could see the situation outside clearly through the gaps.

Wang Chong's guess was correct: Bone Prison Xi had sensed a powerful aura and come to investigate.

"Crack, crack..."

The ground where they had just fought was directly sealed in ice, and an ice-blue skeleton slowly emerged.

"Cold... I'm so cold..."

He seemed to be searching for something.

"It is said that in life, Bone Prison Xi was a powerful necromancer, but he was betrayed by a close friend who dug out his heart. To avoid death, he transformed himself into an ice corpse, condemning himself to endure the bitterness of eternal cold unless he can retrieve his own heart," Hock said.

"There is no heart of his here; what is he looking for?" Wang Chong wondered.

"Bone Prison Xi is also called the Corpse Thief; because he cannot recover his own heart, he needs the hearts of powerful cultivators to prolong his life," Hock explained.

"So that's how it is." Wang Chong nodded.

Bone Prison Xi had sensed that powerful cultivators were battling here, so he came to seek a heart, intending to dig out someone else's heart and implant it into his own body.

Thinking of this, Wang Chong felt both pity and contempt for this Bone Prison Xi.

He pitied such a powerful figure betrayed by a friend, yet despised him for resorting to grave-robbing and harming the innocent just to cling to life.

"Ch-ch..." Xixi's teeth chattered from the freezing cold.

Bone Prison Xi lifted his head as if listening.

Wang Chong's expression tightened, and he hastily pulled Xixi into his embrace.

Feeling the warmth from Wang Chong's chest, Xixi no longer felt cold.

After a while, Bone Prison Xi suddenly turned his head, gazing in the direction the hooded man had fled.

"I'm so cold..."

A fierce wind erupted; frost danced and coalesced into a tornado, blocking Wang Chong's line of sight.

"Woo~"

By the time Wang Chong could see clearly again, Bone Prison Xi had vanished; an ice-blue tornado surged toward the hooded man.

"He's finally gone."

Amid such intense cold, Wang Chong suddenly found his back drenched in sweat.

Everything that had happened today struck him too hard, especially this last event: what the hell was that? A skeleton frame that could actually run.

He looked down to see Xixi licking her rosy little cheeks, gazing up at him.

His old face flushed slightly, and he released Xixi.

"Let's go; we should leave this place first."

A day later, they finally reached the outskirts of the Forest of Granth, and Hock's injuries had improved considerably.

Wang Chong could not help but marvel once again at the might of martial artists; such severe wounds had nearly healed within a single day.

Of course, this also relied on the aid of certain medicinal liquids; the miraculous efficacy of those liquids, capable of regenerating flesh and bones, opened Wang Chong's eyes wide.

"Brother Wang Chong, great kindness needs no words of thanks; I, Hock, will keep it in my heart," Hock said, deeply grateful to Wang Chong.

"You overstate it; it was merely a simple effort," Wang Chong replied lightly.

These matters were simply fortuitous encounters; he truly had not taken them to heart, besides which, if he had not exerted himself, he would have died as well.

"Haha, good friend! The Young Lady mentioned that you also wish to cultivate; I happen to have a manual of basic sword techniques here. I hope you won't find it beneath you." As he spoke, Hock took out a sword technique book and handed it to Wang Chong.

Wang Chong excitedly took it. "Can I cultivate too?"

"Brother Wang Chong, do not feel inferior. Although the Goblin race possesses terrible talent, that does not mean Goblins cannot cultivate." Hawk placed a hand on his shoulder to encourage him.

"Thanks a lot!" Wang Chong curled his lip and slapped Hawk's hand away.

"Haha!" Hawk did not mind in the least. "Brother Wang Chong, I speak truly, not merely to offer pleasant words. Do not look at how weak the Goblin race is now. In fact, a thousand years ago, a brilliantly talented powerhouse once appeared. He led the Goblin race, roamed freely across the Arad Continent, and established a mighty empire spanning the continent."

"Understood." Wang Chong had no desire to discuss anything regarding Goblins with him.

He carefully put away that manual of Basic Sword Techniques.

"Uncle Hawk, do you know of the Ghost God's Curse?" Xixi suddenly asked.

"The Ghost God's Curse? Young Lady, why do you ask this?" Hawk's expression grew slightly tense, as if unwilling to discuss the topic.

Wang Chong pulled up his sleeve, revealing his withered left arm.

"Ah! What is this? A Ghost Hand?" Hawk's face changed drastically.

"A Ghost Hand? Does that mean you know what is happening?" Wang Chong looked at Hawk excitedly.

"Sigh!" Hawk let out a sigh, gazed at the sky, and remained silent for a long time.

Damn it! Acting cool the moment things get critical!

Wang Chong desperately wanted to rush over and slap him twice across the face.

"Uncle Hawk, my brother incurred the Ghost God's Curse in order to save me. Please help him," Xixi pleaded, looking at Hawk.

"Young Lady, it is not that I am unwilling to help him; rather, no one can help him," Hawk said helplessly.