“There’s a broken temple at the east end of the village that can be cleaned up for living.” Just after Zhang Enning fought with that foul-mouthed child, it attracted many villagers. Now, seeing the bald Su Zhuyi, a villager kindly pointed out a place for her.

“Changning Village doesn’t accept just anyone. Shouldn’t we investigate his identity first before just letting him live in our village?” A sturdy woman with a broad forehead, small eyes, and thick lips who looked to be in her thirties said, dissatisfied. “Our Changning Village isn’t for any random cat or dog!”

“Such a small little monk—what’s wrong with keeping him? Is he eating your family’s rice?” The speaker was also a woman around thirty. While talking, she rolled her eyes, clearly having some friction with the previous speaker. She now said coldly and sarcastically: “Not an ounce of kindness—no wonder you can’t give birth to a son.”

“What did you say? I’ll tear your mouth apart!” After saying this, the mocked woman immediately went crazy and rushed over to pull her hair. The surrounding villagers either watched the excitement or tried to mediate. The area suddenly became chaotic.

However, with so many people coming over, no one recognized Su Zhuyi’s identity. She sat under the big tree watching in amazement, thinking to herself that this was how ordinary mortals lived.

“Aunt Zhang, Aunt Xu, stop fighting and talk nicely.”

After separating the two women, Aunt Zhang was still muttering: “Since you can’t give birth to a son anyway, why not adopt this little monk and raise him? Maybe doing good deeds will move heaven to let you bear a son.”

Aunt Xu’s eyes turned red with rage, her face looking quite fierce. Being sturdy, she struggled while roaring: “You’re still talking, still talking…”

The three men beside could barely hold her back, and one got scratched across the face by her! Truly fierce!

“Who told you to occupy my family’s land back then and pour manure in my yard? Doing so many bad things deserves retribution!”

“Everyone says less!” A stern voice roared. When this voice sounded, the villagers immediately quieted down and separated left and right, making way for the newcomer.

Su Xiang strode up to Su Zhuyi and looked her up and down.

Su Zhuyi sat cross-legged with palms together, softly reciting a section of the Pure Heart Incantation, then raised her head and said: “Amitabha.”

The only one here who might recognize her was Su Xiang.

But the Pure Heart Incantation Su Zhuyi recited was genuine. Having heard Qin Jianglan recite it for six hundred years, she couldn’t possibly remember it wrong. Now with weak spiritual energy in her body, reciting this incantation also had some effect of concentrating and calming the mind. Even the two women who had just been tearing at each other and cursing truly quieted down.

Su Xiang’s gaze had been extremely stern, but now his expression softened somewhat. “Greetings, little master. Where do you come from and where are you going? Why do you appear in Changning Village?”

Su Zhuyi repeated what she had told the children before, naturally adding some embellishments to make her story seem flawless.

Looking at Su Xiang’s expression, Su Zhuyi felt he should already believe her.

“Little master arrived at Changning last night?” Su Xiang said gravely, “Last night, the hunting dog at hunter Zhang’s house at the village end was killed. Except for the merchant caravan that comes every March, Changning Village rarely has outsiders coming and going. This hunting dog’s death is suspicious, so we need the little master’s cooperation for the investigation.”

After speaking, he turned and raised his arm in a wave. Hunter Zhang led several hunting dogs charging over with killing intent. When those dogs walked up to Su Zhuyi and sniffed around a few times, not only did they not bare their teeth, they wagged their tails and stuck out their tongues at her, appearing very friendly. Seeing this, Su Xiang smiled: “These dogs are usually quite fierce. It seems little master cultivates body and mind, possessing spiritual wisdom roots that even vicious dogs are willing to approach.”

Su Zhuyi smiled faintly and reached out to gently pat the head of the big yellow dog in front of her.

The yellow dog had been happily wagging its tail, but the moment Su Zhuyi’s palm brushed over its head, it suddenly tucked its tail tight, then whimpered twice and lay on the ground, refusing to get up no matter what. Hunter Zhang called twice without success, turned to see the little monk looking innocent and bewildered, and kicked the dog twice in confusion.

“I’ll have someone clean up that room at the east end of the village. Little master can stay there temporarily.” Su Xiang said again.

But Su Zhuyi shook her head: “I heard the sacred tree has spiritual power. My master and I traveled thousands of miles to pay respects. Who knew master would meet with misfortune? These days I plan to chant sutras here, transcending master’s soul and praying for the villagers’ blessings.”

Su Xiang’s expression became serious as he bowed to Su Zhuyi: “Then many thanks to little master.” Just now, he had felt refreshed and clear-headed after hearing that incantation, knowing the little master had some real ability. As a village chief who had been to Yongan Town and seen the world, he knew there were many capable people outside and couldn’t judge only by age. Therefore, his attitude now was quite respectful.

Seeing even the village chief bow, other villagers also bowed to Su Zhuyi. Su Zhuyi was settled in Changning Village. Now, even if she lay under the tree all day, no one would bother her. This made both cultivation and treasure hunting much more convenient.

Su Zhuyi borrowed needles and thread from the steamed bun boy’s family, borrowed a brush and cinnabar from another household, and had villagers help get a lodestone. With almost no effort, she found most of the tools needed for a spirit-seeking disk. The only thing missing was a spirit stone.

Spirit stones were something ordinary mortal families simply didn’t have. The only one in this village should be at the village chief Su Xiang’s house. Back then, Su Qingxun had carried a small piece—her father had taken it out intending to trade it to those cultivators for their lives. Su Zhuyi had some impression of this. This wasn’t like needles, thread, or stones. Getting it wouldn’t be easy. How could she get her hands on the spirit stone?

Su Xiang probably treasured the spirit stone too much to use himself, keeping it as a family heirloom. Sneaking into Su Xiang’s house to steal it wasn’t realistic.

With her current strength, taking it by force was impossible. She could only use wit.

Looking at the brush dipped in cinnabar in her hand, Su Zhuyi grinned wickedly, evil thoughts arising again.

Just yesterday, someone died in Aunt Xu’s family in Changning Village. This Aunt Xu was the one who had been cursed for being black-hearted, doing too many bad things, and unable to bear sons. She indeed wasn’t a good person, usually liked taking advantage of neighbors, and wasn’t filial to her in-laws. Her father-in-law died in the mountains years ago. The one who died now was her mother-in-law, reportedly starved to death because Aunt Xu wouldn’t give her food.

Such family matters—even her husband didn’t care, and others without evidence could only mutter privately that Aunt Xu would face retribution. Since this was the case, Su Zhuyi felt she should follow public sentiment and properly torment her.

If that old woman was truly starved to death, her resentment would certainly be significant.

However, this resentment would normally dissipate naturally between heaven and earth without specific environmental stimulation. But if she added fuel to the fire, that would be another story. Su Zhuyi practiced the demonic path. Within the demonic path was a Corpse Control Sect that specialized in refining corpses. While other sects captured spirit beasts as fighters, the Corpse Control Sect collected corpses—the more violently they died, the better. Refined to the end, living corpses could also cultivate and advance, becoming zombies or drought demons with formidable strength.

Su Zhuyi was quite knowledgeable about this. Though she couldn’t refine corpses now, making a corpse rise was simple. She drew several talismans, went to the graveyard to pick and choose some mud, wrapped it with a pagoda tree leaf, and enclosed it in the talisman paper. Then at night, she secretly went to the room where the corpse lay and stuffed the talisman paper into the old woman’s mouth.

Villagers here held vigils for the deceased, but no one in Aunt Xu’s family kept watch. The old woman’s remains just lay alone on a thin plank. Su Zhuyi could even feel the undispersed resentment in the room. After she stuffed the paper ball in, it would enter the corpse’s belly and dissolve. Ordinary mortals couldn’t discover this abnormality. The paper ball in her stomach would gather resentment, collecting those nearly dissipated grudges back into the body. After the old woman was full, she should get up and exercise her bones.

This old woman had probably suffered greatly in life with extremely deep resentment. When she rose as a corpse, even Su Xiang would have difficulty dealing with her. Then she, this little monk, could come out to chant sutras for transcendence, needing a spirit stone to subdue the zombie…

At that time, no matter how painful it was for Su Xiang, he’d have to give up the spirit stone. Otherwise, could Changning Village remain peaceful? If he went to Yongan Town for help, it would take at least half a month. By the time he made such a trip, everything would be cold.

After finishing all this, Su Zhuyi returned under the old tree, dug up several root sections, peeled and ate them, then cultivated the meridian-moistening technique once to replenish the spiritual energy consumed drawing talismans. Seeing it was still early, she continued cultivating the meridian-moistening technique. Who knows how much time passed when a shrill scream broke the pre-dawn silence. The originally gray village soon had firelight. She opened her eyes to see village chief Su Xiang already dressed and rushing out of his door, running quickly toward where the screams came from.

“It’s Aunt Xu’s house!”

Her neighbor, Aunt Zhang, also threw on clothes and set up a ladder to look over the courtyard wall. Seeing what was happening on the other side, she directly screamed: “A corpse rose! A corpse rose! Old Lady Lu is eating people!”

Her voice was sharp and shrill. This cry practically woke all the villagers in Changning Village.

Torches and lanterns emerged from every household, winding into a fire dragon on the village’s only stone-paved street. Moments later, Su Xiang shouted: “Don’t come over! Get things to block the door—don’t let that zombie break out!”

“Tu Ergou, slaughter your family’s rooster!”

“Get Hunter Zhang over here, kill a black dog, quickly!”

…

Seeing those villagers all looking terrified, Su Zhuyi’s lips curved slightly, a fleeting smile crossing her face.

She looked up at the sky. The moon hadn’t even set yet. She hadn’t expected this old woman’s resentment to be so deeply rising as a corpse in just two hours. From Su Xiang’s appearance, he probably hadn’t gained any advantage, meaning this old woman’s combat ability was considerable. Likely, she had eaten living people after rising as a corpse.

She closed her eyes to rest, planning to make her move later. But unexpectedly, the steamed bun boy had already run over, shouting at her: “Little monk, little monk, a corpse rose over there—go take a look quickly.”

“Can’t you perform transcendence? Go help quickly!”

After speaking, he directly pulled Su Zhuyi forward. Su Zhuyi didn’t resist—she was going over anyway. Being dragged along by him, they soon reached the house where the corpse had risen. Outside the house was already piled with firewood, tables, chairs, and other miscellaneous things, but despite piling so much, the door was still being banged loudly.

“Heavens, what kind of ghostly thing is inside with such strength!” a villager said in terror.

“That Old Lady Lu, could she, could she jump over walls?” After these words fell, someone looked up at the courtyard wall. Immediately, many people scattered like birds, and without people bracing those things, the door was knocked open about a foot wide. Su Xiang quickly pressed against it with force, shouting: “A freshly risen corpse can’t jump yet! Quickly block the door and don’t let it out! When daylight comes and the sun rises, it won’t dare be presumptuous, and then it’ll be much easier to kill!”

Hearing this, the surrounding villagers felt much more at ease and went to brace the door again. However, the zombie inside, probably seeing it couldn’t break through the door, began scratching at the door with its fingernails, making creaking sounds that made scalps tingle. Seeing the several-inch-thick wooden door being clawed with openings and sharp gray fingernails suddenly protruding and stuck in the door cracks, the villagers panicked again.

“Oh no, there’s blood on those fingernails!”

“Don’t panic, wait for daylight!” Su Xiang said calmly. Just then, the steamed bun boy shouted: “Don’t panic, don’t panic, I brought the little master!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the villagers blocking the door spontaneously made way, pushing Su Zhuyi to the front. The zombie behind the door, facing reduced resistance, forcibly stuck an arm out from inside. Its sharp fingernails were over a foot long, nearly scratching Su Zhuyi’s scalp.

Su Zhuyi: “…”

Good thing she was short now, or she really would have been scratched by a claw. That would truly be stealing chickens but losing the rice—quite laughable.

She coughed twice, cleared her throat, and frowned: “Resentment soars to heaven. This thing is not easy to deal with.”

Then Su Zhuyi took out a string of red bean prayer beads and fingered them pretentiously: “I’m still young and haven’t formally practiced cultivation. It’s just that these past two years I’ve been influenced by what I’ve seen and heard, watching master exorcise demons and drive away evil, learning some superficial knowledge from him, understanding a few exorcism incantations. I can only try for now.”

Cultivators only began drawing qi into their bodies for formal cultivation after age six. Though Su Xiang was only the lowest level of body-refining cultivator, he knew this much. Therefore, Su Zhuyi couldn’t claim she had already learned any zombie-catching abilities, lest it arouse suspicion.

After speaking, Su Zhuyi muttered incantations. Moments later, the commotion in the house gradually lessened, and the villagers were immediately overjoyed.

After the zombie in the house completely quieted down, Su Zhuyi wiped the sweat from her forehead: “I don’t know how effective it is either. When daylight comes and the sun rises, send a few strong villagers in to look.”

“Good.” Su Xiang agreed. He and several sturdy villagers guarded the door, waiting for daylight. Su Zhuyi sat cross-legged on a wooden table chanting sutras, but what she recited wasn’t any calming incantation but rather a yin-gathering spell.

These villagers under Su Xiang’s command could be said to be panicked but not disordered. Now they had black dogs and roosters, even chopping down several branches from the old tree. Using sacred wood to beat ghosts was quite effective. When the sun came up later, the old woman’s newly formed living corpse would probably be subdued by the villagers, and then burning her with fire would make all efforts futile.

Since she had done it, she must succeed. She had to get that spirit stone no matter what. Taking out a talisman paper from her sleeve and crushing it, Su Zhuyi again began reciting the yin-gathering spell.

“Why do I feel a bit chilly?” a middle-aged man said.

“Me too. So frightening that a corpse would rise. Are all the living people inside gone? If any were still alive, how could there be no sound at all?”

“Definitely dead. It’s also retribution—who told them to treat the old woman like that when she was alive!”

“Bitten to death alive—just thinking about it is chilling. How could it not feel cold…”

The remaining villagers chatted in low voices to relieve tension, and time passed bit by bit.

Soon, the sky gradually lightened with fish-belly white. After a while longer, the sun finally emerged from beyond the mountains. That warm sunlight finally dispelled the cold, shining warmly on people’s bodies.

“I’ve never found the sun so pleasing before,” a villager said.

Su Zhuyi also nodded: “With the sun out, this zombie is much weaker. Fearing sunlight, it should have already left the courtyard and hidden somewhere shady. I wonder if this household has any cellars or the like. Is their house sealed? Are there any shady places connected to other families?”

Earlier there had been human presence outside, so it attracted the zombie to stay by the door. But now fearing light, it would definitely hide and might flee to other places. If it was only separated from someone’s house by a fence gate, that would be dangerous…

After Su Zhuyi spoke, a man’s face turned pale: “I, I, my house—our house’s back wall collapsed and hasn’t been repaired yet! There’s a big tree in my yard that provides shade!” The more he thought, the more afraid he became. He directly grabbed a smaller, thinner man beside him: “Quickly go tell my family to come out immediately, don’t go where the sun can’t reach. Let’s not delay—quickly go catch the zombie!”

Su Xiang looked up at the sky and said sternly: “Good, let’s go!”

This time, Su Zhuyi didn’t walk at the front. Everyone thought the zombie would hide away, fearing light. However, Su Zhuyi knew it was still standing behind the door.

With its heavy natural resentment aided by her help, after rising and eating living people, it was no longer the lowest-level small zombie. The yin-gathering array above had concentrated yin energy to minimize sunlight damage. At most, it felt slightly uncomfortable, but I had no fear whatsoever.

The moment the door broke open, a gray-blue face suddenly appeared, followed immediately by long ghostly claws scratching out, leaving a deep, bloody mark on the face of the frontmost villager. He covered his face in agonized wails while nearby villagers had already scattered in all directions. Only Su Xiang roared angrily and began fighting with the living corpse.

Hunter Zhang fetched the dog’s blood and directly splashed a basin of it on the living corpse. The corpse’s body stiffened slightly. Everyone was delighted, thinking the dog’s blood was effective, but unexpectedly, the next moment, she bared her teeth and quickly moved to Hunter Zhang’s side, clawing through his chest with one strike…

Tsk tsk, so much blood. Su Zhuyi squinted slightly, seeming unable to bear watching.