Chapter 176: Seeking Reward for a Favor

Zhang Zixiang was examining the corpse, searching for clues on its body.

Pan Yun pointed to his shoe soles and said, "Brother, look—his shoe soles are caked in reddish-brown mud; we haven't walked through any soil this color along the way."

After a moment's thought, Zhang Zixiang said, "I know where there's some—take the corpse, let's go see."

Pan Yun couldn't carry it.

Zhang Zixiang glanced at her height and didn't expect her to help; he called out loudly, successfully summoning two nearby squads.

Perfect—now we have four more helpers.

They lifted the corpse and moved deeper into the dense forest.

Zhang Zixiang said, "I know a place—near the riverbank at the foot of the mountain, the soil is exactly like this. I remember there were several cracked caves there."

Long Hushan doesn't have much else, but it has an abundance of cracked caves.

Perfect for hiding people.

Fireballs lit their path; they turned a corner and a great river appeared before them, then another turn revealed the mountain's other side.

Pan Yun instantly extinguished the fireballs; darkness swallowed them, for faint flickers of firelight glowed from a cave just ahead.

The group exchanged glances and crept forward, stepping lightly.

Inside the cave, a clean-cut young man was washing his hands, carefully slipping on a pair of gloves, while beside him lay a white-bearded Daoist Priest, bound tightly with ropes.

The young man opened a bundle and pulled out a small jar, smiling at the white-bearded Daoist Priest: "Friend, don't rush—you'll be free soon. I have something wonderful to share with you."

He placed the jar beside the white-bearded Daoist Priest, then removed his gloves and stepped aside, drawing out a bamboo flute and blowing softly.

The jar trembled slightly; the white-bearded Daoist Priest's eyes widened, his mouth full of cloth, he let out muffled "wuuu wuuu" sounds.

He collapsed backward in despair, tears sliding down his cheeks; in his sorrow and hopelessness, he caught a flash of swordlight outside the cave.

The white-bearded Daoist Priest blinked, struggling even harder, thrashing violently to emit "wuuu wuuu" sounds.

His violent thrashing made the young man's flute melody grow faster; the jar shook more intensely.

A worm's head emerged from the jar's mouth, then another, and soon the entire rim was packed with worm heads—they paused for a moment, then began crawling out.

They scuttled toward the white-bearded Daoist Priest as soon as they hit the ground.

Tears streamed down the white-bearded Daoist Priest's face; he stared desperately toward the cave entrance.

Outside, the group felt the corpse they were carrying seemed to twitch.

They looked down and saw the charred corpse suddenly open its eyes—its irises were entirely white.

Its fingers twitched, its feet moved, and worse—clearly visible to their sharp eyes—worms wriggled beneath the rotting wounds on its cheeks.

"Holy shit!"

Pan Yun could no longer bear it; she kicked the corpse hard, sending it flying toward the young Daoist Priest.

The corpse shot into the cave; Pan Yun followed, leaping in and slapping a fire talisman onto the jar—the moment it touched, it burst into flames, instantly sealing the worms still inside and burning those crawling on the jar's surface.

Simultaneously, her hands moved without pause—she formed a hand seal, and a bolt of lightning crashed from the sky, striking directly at the young man who had already dodged the corpse.

Though slightly behind, Zhang Zixiang and the others reacted swiftly, drawing their swords and charging into the cave.

The corpse, perhaps activated by the flute's melody, slammed onto the ground, then sprang up instantly, charging toward Zhang Zixiang and the others.

Pan Yun was about to rush into the fray when the white-bearded Daoist Priest, still bound and motionless on the ground, let out two muffled "wuuu" sounds.

Pan Yun turned and saw him, tears streaming, glancing sideways, "wuuu wuuu wuuu…"

Pan Yun glanced over and saw a line of worms inching toward him; her eyes widened—she moved to lift him, then realized he was tied to a massive boulder, bound together with it, impossible to move.

Pan Yun's fingers formed a sword—she unleashed an elemental sword slash, severing the ropes; seeing the worms about to crawl onto his hand, she kicked him hard, sending him flying.

The white-bearded Daoist Priest crashed against the wall and slid down, bruised and swollen; he sat up, struggled to untie the ropes, and looked at Pan Yun with deep gratitude.

Pan Yun barely had time to glance at him before summoning lightning to strike and kill every worm on the ground and inside the jar.

Indeed, fire wasn't enough—lightning was necessary.

At the moment lightning struck the jar, the young man trapped in the center screamed and spat out a mouthful of blood.

He glared at Pan Yun with hatred, shouting, "You killed my treasures—I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"

He charged wildly out of the encirclement, ignoring all attacks from Zhang Zixiang and the others.

Pan Yun saw this, retreated rapidly, unleashed her lightness skill, and vanished from the cave in an instant.

Boom boom boom—elemental energy balls followed her footsteps; the moment she stepped away, the young Daoist Priest left behind holes in the ground as deep as half a football.

Had she been a second slower, her head would've been split open by a hole that big.

Pan Yun leapt out, tossing talismans behind her one after another, detonating them as she went.

A dense hail of Lei Fu exploded with crackling thunder; his movements slowed—he leapt upward to dodge the lightning, his sword twisting like a living serpent, stabbing diagonally downward straight at Pan Yun.

The black cat darted beside Pan Yun, yowling, "You have no weapon!"

Pan Yun wasn't fazed; his sword reached her face in an instant—she shifted her lightness skill, vanished from her spot, reappeared behind him, and punched hard. The young Daoist Priest had no time to dodge—he took the blow head-on, ignoring the damage, twisting his sword backward in a suicidal counterattack.

Pan Yun retracted her fist and leapt away, avoiding the sword.

The young Daoist Priest laughed wildly: "You fear death—I don't! You're dead!"

Pan Yun: "You've lived for how many years? Only surviving by feeding on worms—you've got nothing to lose. I'm young, in my prime—dying for a monster like you? Not worth it."

"I'm not dying," Pan Yun shouted as she ran, "Not even if your whole family perishes."

"Aaaahhh…" The young Daoist Priest chased after her, sword in hand.

Pan Yun ran a distance; as he lunged to stab her, she leapt upward, scaling the cliffside with swift steps, dodging the blade.

His sword scraped the cliff wall where Pan Yun had been; she laughed loudly, "Come kill me! You can't catch me!"

Her voice was arrogant, mocking—more brazen than his.

He'd already gone mad from tending his worms; now, provoked by her, he went even crazier—"Aaaahhh!" he roared, yanking his sword free and charging after Pan Yun again.

At this moment, he saw nothing but Pan Yun.

Pan Yun scaled the cliffside, leaping upward; as he caught up, she turned sharply and dove down, landing with a thud right in front of Zhang Zixiang and the others.

The young Daoist Priest plunged vertically down from the cliffside, and Zhang Zixiang and the others dodged and counterattacked in unison.

Pan Yun ran circles around Zhang Zixiang and the others, shouting, "Senior brother, save me!"

The young Daoist Priest's gaze shifted slightly, finally spotting Zhang Zixiang and the others; he screamed wildly, "You all deserve to die! All of you deserve to die!" He finally stopped targeting only Pan Yun and decided to treat everyone equally.

He killed everyone equally.

Zhang Zixiang and the others were no pushovers; they struck back in unison.

Though the young Daoist Priest was powerful and his cultivation method was bizarre, Zhang Zixiang and the others outnumbered him, so he gradually fell into disadvantage.

He swept his sword in one arc, temporarily repelling several opponents, then formed an energy shield with his Yuan Li to block attacks, while pulling out a flute and blowing a single note.

The corpses, previously paralyzed by lightning in the cave, stirred again—moving swiftly, their flesh gnawed away, appearing ragged and decayed even further.

But this seemed to grant them temporary energy; with a hiss, they shot out into the crowd, attacking Zhang Zixiang and the others on his behalf.

Pan Yun turned on her heel and dashed back to the white-bearded Daoist Priest, who leaned against the cave wall.

The white-bearded Daoist Priest widened his eyes and asked, "You—you're not going to save your senior brothers?"

Pan Yun said, "They won't die yet. Let's watch a bit longer."

!. Read

She said, "Didn't your senior brothers just watch a long show too?"

The white-bearded Daoist Priest: "... You're truly vengeful over the smallest slight."

Pan Yun: "I'm not just vengeful over small slights—I repay kindness too. That's how I demand of myself, and how I demand of others."

Pan Yun extended her hand toward him, curling her finger. "Come on. Repay your debt, Senior Brother Chen Ziwu."

Chen Ziwu unconsciously touched his face. "I've changed my face again. How can you still recognize me?"

Pan Yun didn't answer. She curled her finger again, signaling him to repay his debt quickly.

Chen Ziwu reached into his sleeve, pulled something out, and asked, "How much money do you want?"

"How much do you think your life is worth?"

Chen Ziwu immediately said, "My life is worthless. I think it's worth one tael."

Pan Yun widened her eyes, surprised there could be someone even more shameless than herself.

After thinking for a moment, she said, "Oh, I was just asking. Repaying a debt shouldn't be about asking you what you think your life is worth—it should be about asking me: in my eyes, your life is worth a hundred taels."

Chen Ziwu tugged at his mouth. "So in your eyes, I'm quite important."

"Of course. If I didn't think you were important, I'd have left long ago. Would I have spent the whole night gathering people to rescue you?"

Chen Ziwu stared at her outstretched hand, unable to pull the money from his sleeve.

"Actually, my life really isn't worth that much..."

Pan Yun: "Pay with your disguise technique."

Chen Ziwu immediately rummaged in his sleeve, pulled out many items, then finally produced a piece of parchment-like paper and handed it to her. "Here."

Pan Yun took it, glanced at it, then tucked it into her sleeve—actually tossing it into her Spirit Realm space. "Can you learn this just from the formula? Don't you want to teach me personally? I can let you stay in the Academy—it's perfect for lying low. Aren't you terrified? You were almost covered in crawling insects."

Chen Ziwu shuddered. "Don't—don't say any more. I just want to take a bath. No—I think I need to strip naked and roast my whole body with fire."

Pan Yun nodded with full understanding. "I understand you. Really. Those insects made my skin crawl too."

Chen Ziwu: "Fine. I'll teach you. Let me hide in your Academy for two days."

He glanced at the battlefield. "If you don't go now, they might really get hurt."

As the rotting flesh on the corpse disappeared, its strength grew stronger. It felt no pain; a sword thrust through its body only caused a momentary pause before it continued killing, relentless and unfeeling.

Those who attacked it, when withdrawing their swords, pulled out swarms of insects—so terrified they nearly dropped their blades.

Finally, Zhang Zixiang gave a warning: he drew his sword, and flames instantly engulfed the blade, burning every insect on it to ash.

In the end, Zhang Zixiang and another senior brother, with deeper Yuan Li, kept their swords constantly aflame, finally restraining the rotting corpse.

But no one knew what the young Daoist Priest did—he put down the flute, and the rotting corpse retained its vigor. He himself drew his sword and joined the melee.

After watching for a while, Pan Yun confirmed her combat strength relative to Zhang Zixiang and the others. A faint smile curled her lips as she began forming hand seals to summon lightning.

It was already night, and tonight the clouds were thick; even the moon's light barely pierced through. No one noticed Pan Yun gathering a massive charge.

"I invoke the Nine Heavens' Supreme Thunder God of Universal Transformation: annihilate demons, purify filth, summon lightning!"

Dark clouds covered their heads, blotting out all moonlight. Pan Yun raised her hands and shouted, "Senior brothers, get out of the way—!"

Zhang Zixiang and the others felt unease; they swept their swords to block the young Daoist Priest's attack and retreated swiftly.

Just as they stepped back three paces—CRACK! —lightning struck directly down upon the rotting corpse.

Another bolt of lightning struck toward the young Daoist Priest.

He leapt aside, but the lightning seemed to have eyes: one bolt carved a deep crater, missed him, then kept striking—CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! —until finally a bolt split from directly above his head. Only then did the thunderclouds above seem satisfied and disperse.

Pan Yun's face was pale, but her hands moved swiftly. Seizing the moment, she pulled out a handful of Lei Fu and moved to hurl them at him—but Chen Ziwu and Zhang Zixiang blocked her.

Chen Ziwu: "If you throw those, he'll really die."

Zhang Zixiang: "We haven't uncovered the truth yet. We can't kill him."

Pan Yun: "It's just a few Lei Fu. At most, it'll render him immobile. He won't die."

Zhang Zixiang: "Sister, he's already immobile."

The senior brother who stepped forward to check kicked him lightly, then pried open his eyelids. "Sister, he's truly immobile. Your lightning was incredible—it's nearly indistinguishable from real thunder."

Even Daoist Priests can be killed by lightning.

Oh, quite a few Daoist Priests have been killed by lightning—so they use it, yet they're also the most fearful of it.

Pan Yun stepped forward and kicked him. Confirmed he was unconscious, she let him be. "What about the rotting corpse?"

Everyone froze.

Pan Yun hid behind Zhang Zixiang, speaking timidly: "Senior brother, don't you think those insects might crawl out of the corpse and eventually cover the whole mountain?"

Zhang Zixiang and the others paled. They forgot to dwell on Pan Yun's capriciousness, hurled fireballs to illuminate the path, and moved toward the rotting corpse.

He saw that his entire body had been charred; one senior brother, stifling his nausea, pried open his wounds with a wooden stick and found nothing but blackened insect-shaped charcoal inside—clearly, the insects had been fried by the lightning.

He exhaled slowly and laughed: "That's true—lightning can char a man's body, turn his internal organs to charcoal; these insects naturally couldn't escape."

(End of Chapter)