Chapter 74: Blood Mist Yin Soldiers

Feng Wu's emitted flames can scorch souls; that warhorse's hooves began to burn from within, making me think of a terrifying possibility... Zhao Zixun and the warhorse are not pure Soul Bodies!

Both person and horse are already dead, but their souls are sealed within the corpses; over time they have become... walking corpses!

Therefore the flames burn only inside, not all at once engulfing the whole body.

Seeing the warhorse's right forehoof limp and about to fall into the small ravine, Zhao Zixun kicked hard at its belly; the warhorse let out another roar, and with a mighty push of its hind legs it actually managed to jump over the ravine.

But the flames scorched too quickly; the warhorse's right forehoof landed unsteadily.

Zhao Zixun drew his waist blade in one motion and, without hesitation, chopped off the warhorse's right forehoof.

Decisive and ruthless—these are the qualities a qualified officer should have.

I didn't hesitate, raised my long bow again, and drew it full.

This time I aimed at Zhao Zixun's brow.

If Feng Wu could still burst forth like just now, I'd like to see what would happen if the flame shot into Zhao Zixun's brow, piercing the coffin nail there and destroying it.

But before I could act, above, Li Qingying shouted: "Xiao Jiu, come up, run!"

As she spoke, Li Qingying's long whip lashed down, instantly looping under my armpit and hauling me up with force.

She moved too fast, giving me no chance to react.

When my feet touched the ground and I stood at the roadside, looking down again left me completely stunned.

At that moment I saw in the direction of the forest a vast expanse of blood mist that had somehow gathered in the woods, now advancing unstoppably from far to near.

Earlier, on the half-slope, my view wasn't wide, and the blood mist hadn't yet seeped out of the deep forest—I couldn't see it at all.

But Li Qingying saw it!

In the few seconds while she pulled me up, the blood mist had already spilled out of the forest, reaching the edge of the ravine in the blink of an eye, continuously pouring down into it.

Could it be that the blood mist cannot cross the ravine?

The next moment proved me wrong—the blood mist kept accumulating in the ravine, and soon the whole ravine seemed piled full of it, beginning to overflow outward.

Meanwhile Zhao Zixun sat motionless on his warhorse.

He was like a general commanding troops, and the blood mist was his soldiers.

All it would take is his command, and the blood mist would launch a total assault on us.

"Run!"

Li Qingying pulled me toward the cart, intending to take me away to escape.

I, however, did not move.

There's no escaping.

The blood mist moves too fast—it's already climbing the slope!

What was on my mind then wasn't my own safety, but that if the blood mist kept spreading like this, the residents of this area, even the whole Wufu Town, would surely be doomed.

Just then, the Red Flag Child suddenly flew over and positioned himself in front of me and Li Qingying.

He placed his overlapped hands before his chest as if holding something, waving them continuously while chanting: "Yin soldiers, Yin soldiers, Thunder Command follows, Yin Bow Sword Technique, Heavenly Origin Halberd Technique; wherever the sword points, it destroys courage and seals the heart; urgent as law, seize and restrain!"

As the Red Flag Child's chant was spoken, the blood mist continually surging up the slope actually came to an abrupt halt.

The next moment, those blood mists slowly turned into armored soldiers wielding weapons, who all lifted their heads to look at the Red Flag Child's right hand.

But the Red Flag Child's right hand…… was empty.

My heart gave a jolt—oh no!

The blood mist just now was the resentment of soldiers who died on the ancient battlefield, and the Red Flag Child himself is formed from that resentment; holding the Red Flag, he can command these Yin soldiers!

But without the Red Flag, mere incantations cannot mobilize those Yin soldiers.

Sure enough, the next moment those Yin soldiers slowly rose to their feet, pairs of hollow eye sockets fixed on us, ready to pounce at any moment.

At that very moment, Zhao Zixun suddenly squeezed the horse's belly and shouted loudly: "Giddyap!"

That warhorse actually limped forward on its right foreleg and charged at us.

As Zhao Zixun moved, those Yin soldiers, as if receiving some command, all surged up the slope.

The Red Flag Child was almost crying: "No Red Flag! I have no Red Flag, I can't command them!"

Li Qingying shouted: "Xiao Jiu, you drive the cart away, I'll hold them off!"

Saying that, she rushed forward brandishing her long whip.

My scalp went numb at the time—two fists against four hands, and who knows how many Yin soldiers there are, countless; Li Qingying was practically marching to her death.

All I could do was re‑draw the bow and aim at Zhao Zixun.

With a swoosh, another flame shot forth, piercing the Yin soldiers ahead and heading for Zhao Zixun's brow.

But Zhao Zixun had already seen my skill; at the instant the flame was fired, he lowered his body, actually grabbed the nearest Yin soldier and threw it into the flame's path.

The flame pierced the Yin soldiers; the fire shot up instantly, and in that instant that soldier was burned to ashes.

Meanwhile Zhao Zixun seized the chance to dodge the flame's trajectory and charged straight at me.

The long bow is a ranged weapon; when Zhao Zixun on his warhorse is right up close, drawing the bow again gives me no advantage.

What should I do?!

In the flash of lightning, I suddenly recalled the shield I had dug out of the ravine earlier; without hesitation I planted it and shouted toward the front: "Qingying Sister, fall back!"

Li Qingying's whip cracked loudly; the long whip lubricated with deep‑sea whale oil seemed far more powerful than before, and for a moment the area around her was again filled with drifting blood mist.

Given her situation, it would be hard for her to retreat on her own.

Then I could only grip the shield tightly with both hands, face Zhao Zixun and the Yin soldiers, and walk toward Li Qingying.

My reason for abandoning the long bow and picking up the shield wasn't a desperate move forced into a dead end; it was that, the moment I thought of that shield, I realized something.

Who knows how many years this ancient battlefield has existed; why has it never burst out of the forest to spread outward before, only tonight?

Is it because of Zhao Zixun's appearance?

No, it's not.

It is because of this shield in my hand.

Red Flag Child said before, although he knew the Pawn Ticket was in the small stream, he himself dared not come dig it up; he was very afraid of the killing intent emanating from that small stream.

That is the killing intent coming from Zhao Zixun!

The Pawn Ticket, as well as that blood letter, do not possess these functions; whereas the shield, and the blood symbol on the shield, are the source of the killing intent.

So, what Red Flag Child fears is this shield.

And the reason the blood mist has been trapped in this forest all along is also because of this shield.

Back then, why did Zhao Zixun's confidant choose to use this shield to guard the Pawn Ticket? Probably it was Zhao Zixun's instruction before he turned into a corpse, before he completely lost his sanity.

From this we can see that Zhao Zixun at that time also did not want to see living beings suffer.

This is a grand gamble; if we win, we will all retreat safely.

If we lose…… the whole Wufu Town will have to be buried with us!