What does it look like when someone radiates overwhelming dominance from every pore?

This was it.

Lang Jiuchuan stood among the living dead — seemingly only a slender, delicate young woman, surrounded by grotesque figures covered in corpse spots, who needed only a single command to tear her to pieces entirely.

And yet she stood there in complete pride, utterly without fear.

She did not fear these living dead that struck terror into anyone who heard of them — did not even fear the yin-evil that those who had become corpse wraiths carried on their bodies, let alone the corpse poison they bore. She behaved as though they were the most ordinary, unremarkable people in the world.

She had laid the interests out plainly: she herself was not afraid of the corpse poison and could not possibly come to harm — because the ones who truly had reason to fear were these living dead. She could simply abandon them at any time.

And they?

They were all the most ordinary mortal people. They had no bodies hardened like diamond, no spiritual power to shield them against all evil. They were flesh and blood, as ordinary as anyone — one bite from an infected person was all it would take to make them one of the living dead.

Yes, it was possible to burn the living dead here and now. But would they truly be burned to nothing?

The source had not yet been found. Outside, untold numbers of people had already become the living dead. When would it be their turn? If Lang Jiuchuan and these Daoist practitioners abandoned this fight and, with their powers and techniques, retreated into the deep mountains to pursue their cultivation — who would handle it? Could ordinary physicians cure them?

You don’t feel the pain until the needle pierces your own flesh. But once it does, it becomes unbearable.

Human nature is self-interested at its core. The moment their own survival was threatened, they would yield.

As it was now.

The eunuch wanted to follow the imperial edict, but Lang Jiuchuan’s capabilities were right there before him, and he was in no position to resist.

He glanced at the cold-faced general, and the two of them stepped aside and muttered together for a moment before turning back: “Young Daoist, these are all subjects of Great Dhan. If they have a chance to live, would we truly be heartless enough to send them to their deaths? If good medicine can cure them, we would welcome it gladly — His Majesty would welcome it gladly as well. But — can you guarantee a cure? If you cannot, how will you account for the consequences?”

Lang Jiuchuan laughed in exasperation: “This — you want to put me on a pedestal with that? Does the matchmaker guarantee that a couple will have children? Physicians cannot guarantee that they can save every patient. Neither can I. And even if I could — why would I make any guarantee to you? Do I owe you something? Or is it because I was the one who spread this corpse poison plague? I stand here, and Daoist Zhishang and all our fellow practitioners stand here, out of pure conviction — for the sake of all living souls, for the sake of the Dao. What word games do you think you’re playing with me? Even if I cure them to death, that’s their fate — because they were going to be burned to death anyway!”

As long as she had no moral obligation to uphold, they could not hold her hostage to it!

The eunuch’s expression cycled through several shades of green and white.

The general then said: “I will report back to His Majesty and convey the full account of this matter. I will also station troops here on guard duty. I hope, Young Daoist, that you can produce a working formula and deliver Great Dhan from this crisis. If you cannot — forgive me, but I must act in accordance with my orders.”

He gave Lang Jiuchuan a clasped-fist salute, then bellowed at the soldiers behind him: “Make camp!”

Lang Jiuchuan said: “Since the General has free time, why not lead your men on a sweep through the villages nearby? Look for anyone showing signs of corpse poison infection, and bring them all here — tell them there is medicinal decoction for the plague here.”

The general paused, then nodded, adding: “The name is Ma.”

“Much obliged, General Ma!”

Lang Jiuchuan turned around again and looked at the living dead before her — they gulped and swallowed continuously, making raspy sounds deep in their throats. Some watched her, clawing and gnashing, yet still held back by their instinctive dread of her aura, unwilling to come close. Their eyes grew more and more savagely red.

They craved blood.

She pulled the man closest to her — the one whose face was nearly entirely consumed by corpse spots — toward her. He let out a ghastly howl, sending the people surrounding him scrambling even further back, shuddering in fear.

“My apologies — I forgot to restrain my presence.” Lang Jiuchuan withdrew the emanation of her aura, keeping only a thread of orthodox vital energy to protect her body. She seized the man, took his pulse, and then used her spiritual sense to examine his meridians and internal organs. The more she looked, the deeper her brow furrowed.

“Fellow Daoist Lang, is there anything we can do to help?” Daoist Zhishang asked from outside the talisman formation.

Lang Jiuchuan then pulled a woman forward and examined her by the same method. She also drew blood — pressing a fingertip into the dark fluid and rubbing it between her fingers. The blood was viscous, yin-cold, and carried a nauseating odor of rot. What that eunuch called corpse-evil — in truth, these people were not far off from that state now.

“The blood has been poisoned and rendered viscous, putrid, and fetid. Common plague remedies cannot eliminate it at the root.” Lang Jiuchuan stepped outside the formation and spoke to Daoist Zhishang: “For some, the internal organs have already been corroded by the corpse poison — it may be impossible to draw it out entirely, and even if it could be, they likely would not survive long afterward. As for the formula…”

She glanced over at the eunuch who was watching their exchange from the side, and beckoned: “That honored attendant — go and procure medicinal ingredients. Have the soldiers set up a medical tent. If any physicians are willing to come, invite them over as well.”

The eunuch pointed to himself in disbelief: “Me? On what basis? And I don’t answer to ‘that honored attendant’ — the name is Shi.”

“On the basis that I can make you one of them.” Lang Jiuchuan said mildly: “Trading one eunuch’s life to save ten thousand common people — His Majesty would surely be delighted.”

Eunuch Shi: “…?”

Aren’t you a little too insufferably arrogant?

Lang Jiuchuan’s gaze was clear and cold as it fixed on him. After a long moment, he wilted beneath that stare and shifted to a tone of helpless ingratiation: “Young Daoist — honored ancestor — as you say, I am just a eunuch that anyone could squash to death. Where would I get the authority to procure medicinal supplies? Even if I tried to take them by force, I’d need the ability to do so. I came here to kill people… not to provide disaster relief. Who here has anything to give in the way of medicines?”

“Give me the imperial edict.”

Eunuch Shi hesitated, but only for a moment, and then handed the imperial edict over — silently praying in his heart: Your Majesty, your servant acts only under her tyrannical coercion!

Lang Jiuchuan unrolled the edict and glanced at it. The sweeping, high-minded language inside was utterly repugnant. She pressed two fingers together, channeled spiritual power to their tips, and inscribed several strokes across it before tossing it back: “Go and procure the supplies. Get the medicinal materials from the local government office here.”

Eunuch Shi looked somewhat skeptical. He unrolled the edict again — and found that its contents had changed. It had become a relief edict. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, then looked back at Lang Jiuchuan: “You — you’ve altered an imperial edict. That’s treason. If I report you to the authorities, they’ll have a solid case.”

Daoist Zhishang glanced at it and said: “This is merely an illusory technique. The content of the edict has not actually changed. Those whose cultivation is insufficient will simply be unable to see through it.”

His understanding of Lang Jiuchuan had been refreshed yet again.

An imperial edict could be used like that. Truly no concern for convention.

Lang Jiuchuan gave a cold laugh: “Before you report me, I’ll have already put an end to you. Besides — you have no proof. This illusory technique exists as long as I will it to exist.”

In other words — whether it could be altered was entirely at her discretion.

Eunuch Shi’s hands trembled. He looked at the villagers who were neither quite human nor ghost, and in a small, appeasing voice tried to reason: “Little ancestor — why must you go to all this trouble? With your abilities, if you presented yourself at court, you could earn a noble title or a personal Daoist hall with a single word. Why put yourself through all this?”

Lang Jiuchuan smiled — a smile that did not reach her eyes: “Before Eunuch Shi came to hold any power within the palace, he climbed up from the very bottom. And before you received the castration, your status was what you call these ‘lowly commoners’ — including your family. How does the Eunuch come to have forgotten where he came from?”

Eunuch Shi’s whole body stiffened. His lips worked soundlessly. At last, he bent at the waist and turned to leave.

Only then did Lang Jiuchuan reach out and pull the most ghastly of them all — the man with the heaviest corpse-spot coverage — out of the formation. She said: “You cannot be saved. I am treating you as a dead horse as though it were a living one — a last desperate attempt. If any result can be obtained, let the ledger of merit and virtue record one merit in your name.”