Chapter 114: Ambush

The hoarse voice, though a bit lacking in confidence, still eased the tense atmosphere on the spot.

Chen Shicheng followed the voice and found that the speaker was the highest‑ranked Daoist present, who now offered a wry smile and bowed toward the boy's direction.

"Hui Siye, that's enough, stop while it's good."

Without waiting for Hui Siye's reply, Chen Shicheng immediately made Evil Ghost Maru vanish, and the Cutting Immortal Array and Blade‑Gang gradually dispersed.

Hui Siye didn't want to stand down, but Chen Shicheng had already dropped the task and wouldn't dare continue; he could only give a hard stare at the one who was jumping most joyfully, then forced the boy to close his eyes.

When he opened them again, his gaze had already become clear.

Sensing that the Immortal Family had left, the man who had been scared stiff to the point of wetting his pants quickly stood up, didn't even glance at the chair knocked over behind him, his hands trembling as they groped his neck, and only after confirming his head was still properly attached did he sigh in relief.

"Thank you, Daoist, for saving my life!"

The man, still trembling, bowed to the pleading Daoist, but his gaze subconsciously drifted toward the boy who could only stand in the middle of the main hall.

At that moment, the youth seemed as if he had just had a pleasant dream, his face blank as he stared at the people whose attitudes were completely different, having no idea what had happened.

But in the dream, it seemed he had successfully summoned a deity?

The boy blinked, recalling the summoning ritual his grandmother had taught him, and began muttering words, as if trying to recreate the scene just now.

Everyone watching the gesture was terrified; they hadn't heard the Immortal Family say that a Horse Immortal must resolve calamities, and now, with no disaster to address, it wasn't a matter of randomly picking someone on the spot to strike.

The man who had escaped with his life was even more frightened, his soul seemingly fled.

He was truly scared!

Just recalling that feeling of imminent death made his breath tighten, and he dared not let the youth try it again.

"Little fellow, stop. I believe you are a Horse Immortal; it was just a misunderstanding, I was clouded by lard. I'm feeling unwell now, so I'll take my leave!"

He didn't dare linger any longer; after speaking, he covered his face with his sleeve and left without looking up.

Some who had earlier taunted, fearing retribution later, after that person left, each found an excuse and gradually disappeared from the main hall of the Prefect's Residence.

Soon, the number of people in the Prefect's Residence dropped from over fifty to just over twenty, making the main hall much more spacious.

Of course, the one who first claimed he could find the Chasing Ghost hadn't managed to slip away; as he reached the doorway, the Prefect warmly detained him.

Unable to push back, he could only stay here with a hint of fear, discussing the plan and timing with the others.

The group whispered and deliberated for a long while before dispersing to prepare what they'd need for the night operation.

"Senior..."

Just as Chen Shicheng led the youth out of the Prefect's Residence, he ran into Zhao Dongyang, who had been waiting there, and looked at the two with something unsaid.

"Take a good rest; tonight I'll avenge you," Chen Shicheng comforted.

Upon hearing that, Zhao Dongyang's dark face flushed red, and his fists cracked together.

After brushing Zhao Dongyang aside and leaving, Chen Shicheng and the youth returned to the inn.

He had intended to ask Hui Siye where he had gone last night, whether he had found the reason the Horse Immortal vanished, and where the unfamiliar youth had come from.

But seeing his expression as if the heavens were about to collapse, he never managed to ask.

He only had the waiter bring out some signature dishes to fill the stomach‑rumbling youth, and when the appointed time arrived, he left alone.

In the midsummer heat, insects sang in hidden corners. The sweltering night wind carried the clatter of patrolling soldiers, yet it gave no sense of safety to the residents of Huanglong Jun.

Even in such stifling weather, every household in the city kept its doors tightly shut.

Deep in an alley on the east side of the city, within a room behind a shut door, darkness was so thick one couldn't see a hand.

Pale moonlight slipped through the window crack, casting a long silhouette on the wooden bed, illuminating a figure lying on its chest, exposing its breasts, snoring.

"Suss—"

Soon after, a rustling of sleeves against air came from outside, stopping at the door.

A moment later, the light was suddenly eclipsed by shadow; outside the window crack, a pale eye appeared, staring intently at the figure on the bed.

In the murky gray‑white pupil, the corners of the room were reflected.

After confirming everything was normal, a jet‑black fingernail slipped through the window crack, prying open the frame and pushing in a bruised, purplish head.

It was a human skull, age indiscernible, skin bruised purple, corpse spots everywhere, a pair of fangs protruding an inch from the lips—clearly a zombie.

Soon, a pair of gaunt arms braced the window frame and leapt inside.

Its stiff muscles didn't hinder its movement; silently it reached the bedside, grasped the man's shoulders, and slowly brought its teeth toward his neck.

"Gurgle—"

A chilling sucking sound emanated from the man's neck.

But soon the zombie's face twisted, it jerked its head up and began dry heaving, spitting not blood but puddles of dye.

Yellow, black, countless colors mingled into an abstract pattern like a clown's ink‑splattered face mocking a zombie that never missed.

"Is this blood‑mixed dye to your taste?"

A mocking voice rang from the doorway—it was the same person from earlier who claimed he could find the Chasing Ghost.

The zombie's rotted face instantly showed panic; it spun and lunged toward the opposite wall, trying to break through.

But the wall, which should have been solid, crumbled like paper at first touch, then the brick surface receded, turning into scattered sheets.

The zombie, misjudging the wall's strength, overexerted itself and collapsed onto the ground.

"Sure enough, a brainless zombie—people are fake, is the house real? Can my paper‑sticking still catch the eye?"

As the sarcastic voice rang again, countless torches lit up outside the courtyard wall, illuminating the area like daylight.

A crowd kicked open the courtyard gate and poured in, with Chen Shicheng blending among them unnoticed, while angry‑haired Zhao Dongyang followed.

If it were merely a zombie, its intellect would be low, but it also harbored a Chasing Ghost; seeing itself trapped in an ambush, it let out a roar, flipped over, and scrambled toward the courtyard wall to flee.

"Everyone, shoulder to shoulder, don't let the zombie get away!"

The Prefect's Residence's library shelves hung there, and those invited could not stand idly by as the zombie fled.

When someone shouted, everyone grabbed weapons and rushed forward.

Sickles, dust‑wipers, meditation staffs, carrying poles, and a myriad of weapons swung head‑first at the zombie.

(End of Chapter)