Chapter 142

"You guys really shouldn't have come..." Fan Wuchang glanced at us with a complex expression, sighed softly, his sigh filled with too much helplessness and reluctance, and vanished in an instant into the cool night wind.

I stepped forward and locked eyes with him: "Why?"

Fan Wuchang's tall figure stood upright in the wind, his back to us. At this moment, countless lackeys had already come up from downstairs, surrounding me and Pangzi in a three-sided formation.

Fan Wuchang didn't answer me, merely muttering to himself with his back to us.

"If only you could heed my advice. If you had left Aomen this morning, you wouldn't have gotten mixed up in this muddy affair. If..." The dark night specter had lost its former indifference to human life, its mournful voice like that of an old man on his last legs, filled with too much helplessness and fatigue.

"Life isn't full of ifs, only results and consequences! Having come this far, we all must face it." Pangzi stepped forward and spoke slowly.

He looked at Fan Wuchang and said: "I just don't understand, I don't understand why you would do this! Although our time together was brief, I know you, Fan Wuchang, are a man of stature. Why would you kill so many innocents, creating atrocities unfit for heaven?"

A flicker of struggle crossed Fan Wuchang's face, but he quickly hid it, his complex gaze falling on Pangzi as he gritted his teeth: "You saved me under the paper-man's blade; I, Fan Wuchang, owe you my life. When this is over, I will go to the Yinjian Difu to apologize to you."

Having said that, Fan Wuchang gritted his teeth and slowly blew the jade flute.

As the flute sounded, an eerie melody echoed through the silent night sky, a chant similar to the Burning Text, yet unlike the Burning Text known for calming the mind. Fan Wuchang's flute was filled with an uncanny chill that made one's heart uneasy.

Halfway through the flute's melody, a foul fishy smell suddenly spread through the air, the hissing of snake tongues echoing faintly, the air rippling and distorting as the snake infant's body slowly appeared beside Fan Wuchang.

Now I understand. No wonder when the snake infant appeared, I and Pangzi would run into Fan Wuchang nearby. That night the long hard object I touched wasn't a gun but this jade flute. The strange sound I heard in the alley was actually the flute controlling the snake infant.

When the snake infant appeared, its gloomy green pupils swept over us malignantly; when its gaze passed over Little Fat, a flicker of fear flashed in its snake eyes, but in an instant it was replaced by surging resentment.

Fan Wuchang's flute seemed to possess some mysterious power; as the flute shifted from slow to urgent, the snake infant's resentment surged, and soon a choking miasma enveloped its body; looking into its eyes, I saw only ruthless killing intent, no other emotion.

"Pangzi... you and Chen Mo deal with these lackeys; I'll handle the snake infant." I said harshly, then made up my mind and rushed at the snake infant.

I invoke the Yin Mountain Ancestor, the Ghost Immortal Great Emperor, the Three Demon True Lords, who descend personally; bearing the seal, disciples open the Ghost Gate, ox-head and horse-face make way, sending disciples down to the Nine Abysses, the disciples' banners gather hellfire, which burns evil demons and monsters so they cannot be reborn...

Yin Mountain fire is also called hellfire.

In the mortal world there are ordinary fire and true fire, as well as the hellish yin fire that specifically burns karmic sins. The hellfire of the Yin Mountain Sect differs from the ordinary Daoist samadhi true fire; it solely burns the karmic debt of the red lotus, and anyone, righteous or wicked, who bears sin will be utterly consumed by this hellfire.

Moreover, the snake infant's body is steeped in viciousness and impurity, bearing countless lives, its sins enormous; the hellish yin fire is its greatest bane.

But when I had exhausted my magical energy and finally managed to gather a wisp of dark gray flame in my hand, a sudden sharp pain shot through my shoulder, as if a massive stone had plummeted from the sky and slammed down on me.

In that staggering moment, the wisp of flame in my hand vanished into the wind.

I lifted my head, my expression instantly turning to one of helpless anguish. Not far ahead, the chubby Little Fat stood with fierce determination, locked in battle with the snake infant whose killing intent soared to the heavens.

Just a moment ago, Little Fat actually used my shoulder as a springboard, pushing off to leap.

To dare treat one's master as a springboard—you're truly a freak of nature. While my body went limp, I couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time.

Yin Mountain fire demands a precise union of mind and magical power, for it is overbearing and fierce; gathering even a wisp of true fire has nearly drained all my magical energy. I had hoped to kill the snake infant with a single strike, but now I can only rely on Little Fat.

Although Little Fat and the snake infant were locked in a stalemate, taking on a major foe for us, even so our side's pressure was not light.

Because this enemy is fundamentally different from ordinary foes; even Pangzi, who has trained in internal martial arts, finds it extremely tricky, very tricky.

Seeing Pangzi forced to retreat repeatedly, exhausted from coping, I rushed forward to lend a fist; just as I wondered why Pangzi still hadn't dealt with them, I immediately sensed something was off.

These lackeys' bodies are so stiff that every movement feels like striking an iron plate, and they feel no pain; punches landing on them draw blood yet they show no expression, not a hint of suffering.

A gentle breeze blew, lifting the bangs of one lackey, and on their forehead appeared a small black mole the size of a soybean.

In an instant, my mind thundered, conjuring a truly terrifying possibility.

This matter is connected to Ou Yaofeng's master—the one who personally killed his own disciple and then sent corpse-raising insects to seek revenge on us.

Aren't these black moles on the lackeys' foreheads exactly the sign of corpse-raising insects?

If such a person truly exists, then this affair is likely far more complicated than I imagined.

At this moment, Fan Wuchang seemed to have grown impatient; his eyes turned cold, his hands rested on his waist, his momentum paused, and then he moved.

A flash of icy light slashed toward Little Fat; at the critical moment, I wanted to warn him but it was too late—I could only watch helplessly as that silver gleam cut across him.

Fan Wuchang's saber is a weapon heavy with killing intent, and it seems to have been further tempered; it carved a huge gash in Little Fat's arm. Startled, Little Fat clutched his wound and stumbled back, running to my side.

Moments later, the battle over there ended; Chen Mo, being a girl and encountering corpse-raising insects for the first time, soon had her strength drained by them, and within a single breath she was seized alive by one of those insects.

After Chen Mo was captured, Pangzi, who had been on the defensive, panicked, being driven back repeatedly by several corpse-raising insects, his whole body covered in bruises.

The remaining corpse-raising insects surrounded me and Pangzi on all sides; although they didn't strike again, they firmly confined us within a certain area.

Fan Wuchang approached Chen Mo slowly with the snake infant, glanced at her still struggling on the ground, sighed, and said in a low voice: "For your sister-in-law, I'm sorry."

Having said that, he picked up the jade flute, about to blow it to control the snake infant and seize her soul.

"Hold on, Brother Wuchang, you've been deceived... you and Brother Zheng have both been deceived; he isn't extending your sister-in-law's life at all—he's setting up an evil formation to refine her into a Nine Heavens Maiden, a wicked ghost, a deity unacceptable to heaven." At the critical moment, I found myself shouting this at Fan Wuchang.

It seemed fated; in my frustration I blurted out those words, not knowing why I said them, as if intuition or spiritual insight were at work. Yet the instant I spoke, I shuddered awake, realizing... this might not be impossible.

From the day I first met Mr. and Mrs. Chen Zheng, Murong Jiaja told me that Chen Zheng was using his own life to extend Dong Yumin's. If such a person truly existed, he would have told Chen Zheng that he could prolong Dong Yumin's life, but he must lay out this formation and gather twelve lives. Given Chen Zheng's nature, he would certainly do so without hesitation.

Because in Chen Zheng's heart, no number of lives outweighs Dong Yumin's importance.

"What are you saying? How do you know about life extension, and why do you claim he isn't prolonging his sister-in-law's life but harming her—what's going on?" Fan Wuchang's expression shifted, his cold eyes locking onto me as he demanded.

In this tense moment, I forced myself to stay calm. For I knew only by convincing Fan Wuchang could Chen Mo have a sliver of hope. Whether true or false, even nonsense would do; the urgent task was to make Fan Wuchang doubtful, best to have him fully believe us. Only then could we uncover the hidden conspiracy behind all this.

Thinking of this, I slowly recounted the matter of the Seven Stars Shared Life Continuation to Fan Wuchang, and told him I had long known about Chen Zheng exchanging lives for Dong Yumin, though I had kept it hidden until now.

After I spoke of the life extension, Fan Wuchang's face finally showed a slight shift; then, when I mentioned the Nine Heavens Maiden, his expression changed dramatically.

"Release them..." Fan Wuchang ordered the lackeys all around who had turned into corpse-raising insects.

Pangzi and I involuntarily exhaled, thinking we had finally escaped the tiger's jaws and secured Chen Mo's safety.

But soon, our hearts, which had just relaxed, clenched again. Not only me, even the usually cold-hearted Fan Wuchang was stunned.

Because the lackeys who had always obeyed his commands now ignored them, and moreover many corpse-raising insects had already moved to attack us.

"Didn't you hear me say to let them go?" Fan Wuchang exploded in anger, shoving the nearest lackey hard. Yet that lackey remained a wooden puppet, deaf to his words. The snake infant hovering beside Fan Wuchang began to bewilder Chen Mo, attempting to seize her soul.

Fan Wuchang wasn't a fool; he instantly sensed something was wrong and hastily blew the jade flute, trying to stop the soul‑snatching snake infant.

Fan Wuchang's flute worked well; after just a brief blow, the snake infant immediately retreated. But soon it clutched its head, writhing in pain on the ground. This showed that besides Fan Wuchang, someone else was controlling the snake infant, and they were vying for dominance over it.

Suddenly, as I struggled to fend off the corpse-raising insects, I caught sight of a black‑clad figure darting swiftly behind Fan Wuchang, pulling out a glinting cold weapon and stabbing it into his waist.

"Be careful..." Pangzi and I involuntarily cried out.

With a puff, the blade entered flesh. Fan Wuchang's eyes widened, he lowered his head, and in disbelief stared at his abdomen—right in the center of his lower belly a dagger had pierced through, its blade still dripping bright, vivid red blood.