CHAPTER 32: CHAPTER 32 SKATING

Old Xi Zhang stood in front of the Dharma Altar, magic sword in hand, incense and candles on the table already lit. The talismans were sorted and prepared, and in the center stood a bronze statue with its head held high, marred with mottled scars—it was unclear which Venerable God it represented.

His expression was solemn. He stepped with Gang Steps, his Taoist robe snapping in the wind. A thin red thread extended from his brow up to the tips of his hair; all at once, a murderous aura surged around him, his entire bearing transforming dramatically.

In the car, Feng Yao still hugged his laptop, headphones over his ears, issuing commands nonstop.

The screen displayed a map of North Virtue City and the outer northwest perimeter, every road dotted densely with small blue points.

But there was also a single red dot—that was the current position of the Hopping Corpse.

He stared at the map, calculations racing through his mind. The Hopping Corpse was searching for Mo Zhicheng. Wen Yan had been right—the direction indicated by the Hopping Corpse was much more accurate, and unlike electronic devices, it wasn’t so easily interfered with.

Calculating the Hopping Corpse’s route, he also noted where Mo Zhicheng’s phone signal had last vanished, and measured his speed of movement.

Feng Yao drew a circle with only a five hundred meter radius on the map. It was early morning, so there weren’t many cars. Among the vehicles inside this zone, he filtered out those coming from the suburbs.

The number of blue dots on the map shrank rapidly.

Earlier, they failed to intercept because the area was too vast. Now, it was already past four a.m. The city’s supplies were moved in this window, and some shops had already begun preparations for the day.

He couldn’t lock down the entire city—that would make things messier, and give Mo Zhicheng even more cover for escape.

Now that the scope was locked down, Feng Yao issued orders immediately.

"Dongfeng Road, I’ve marked it—just these vehicles. Begin screening and observation at once. Don’t trust surveillance footage. Do not approach any of these vehicles until we identify the target.

The target may have the ability to hypnotize or exert extraordinary persuasion through language. Everyone must wear noise-reducing earmuffs; anyone without them is not permitted to approach."

As soon as Feng Yao dispatched his instructions, he looked up the road ahead.

Under the streetlights, a humanoid Black Shadow shambled forward, raising its arms high, leaping over ten meters in a bound, landing with a dull, heavy thud.

Thud... Thud...

Just a few dozen meters away, Old Xi Zhang let out a low shout, flicking his magic sword to fling out a row of Yellow Talismans. He chanted a mantra, and the talismans soared, suddenly shuddering like javelins shot from a catapult, instantly ignited, each turning into a flaming spear that spun tailfire through the air.

As the Hopping Corpse leapt again, the burning spears struck its body one after another, knocking it back down.

When the Hopping Corpse landed, rising to stand straight again, a thick, sharp-edged Black Nail fell from its abdomen.

Old Xi Zhang’s face darkened.

"He’s evolving too fast..."

The next instant, with a clang, the Hopping Corpse’s head snapped backward, its neck breaking with a crack. Its head hung limply down its own back.

"My man’s in position."

"A sniper?" Wen Yan was startled. He’d assumed Old Xi Zhang was talking about a Martial Path expert.

"That’s right. The steadiest sniper in Nanwu County—never missed a shot within six hundred meters, no matter the target. From what I’ve gathered, for things like this Hopping Corpse, we don’t need to destroy it completely. We just need to hold it off until sunrise; then it’ll be greatly weakened."

Even as he spoke, the Hopping Corpse’s head rolled forward, popping back into place. Its brow sank inward, and a red-tinged bullet tumbled from the hole. The caved-in skull mended itself almost instantly.

At this moment, Wen Yan strode over to the Dharma Altar.

"Will it work even better if we bless it with Yang Energy?"

"Of course."

Wen Yan immediately stretched out his hand, sweeping across the items on the table, invoking Scorching Sun. Instantly, intense Yang Energy surged forth in blessing.

Old Xi Zhang didn’t question it—he repeated his previous moves, firing more talismans that transformed into fiery spears. This time, as the flames vanished, a thick Black Nail was seen driven into the Hopping Corpse’s abdomen, at least halfway buried inside.

"Aim for the Black Nails in its body," Old Xi Zhang cried, instantly reminding everyone.

The words had barely landed when another clang echoed; the Hopping Corpse hunched, sliding backward at lightning speed, and the thick Black Nail in its abdomen was now fully driven inside.

But then they saw the Black Nail slowly being pushed back out bit by bit.

Old Xi Zhang continued wielding his magic sword, chanting his mantra. Under each Yellow Talisman, a black nail materialized.

The flaming nails flew out, but could only embed themselves halfway into the Hopping Corpse’s body. Each time, the depth grew a little shallower.

But the unknown sniper was eerily accurate, striking at the precise angle and spot to drive the Black Nails deep into the Hopping Corpse’s body.

As time passed, the Hopping Corpse’s shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees, feet, waist, chest, and hips were all nailed with Black Nails.

The sniper, as Feng Yao claimed, was frighteningly steady. Whenever a Black Nail was halfway forced out, he’d follow up immediately with another shot.

Another Black Nail emerged from the fiery spears. Only this time, as it thrust toward the Hopping Corpse’s throat, it struck its jaw and was stopped.

"Shoot the straps on the box behind him," Wen Yan called out.

Within a second, the Hopping Corpse’s right shoulder shuddered. In less than a second, it was shot again, the strap slung across its shoulder snapping apart, and the box on its back toppled to the ground.

The Hopping Corpse didn’t care about the battle raging; it immediately turned to retrieve the box.

But with that one turn, the opportunity appeared.

A Black Nail was driven into the back of its neck, but after piercing only an inch, its force was spent. The Hopping Corpse ignored it, stooping to pick up the box. In the instant it straightened, the angle was just right: a bullet struck the tip of the Black Nail.

Clang—the Black Nail pierced directly through the Hopping Corpse’s neck, burying itself completely—with the sharp end jutting from its throat.

In a split-second, the Hopping Corpse froze in place, motionless.

Even the rest of the Black Nails impaled all over its body stopped being pushed out.

The whole time, Old Xi Zhang had been standing behind the altar. Now, finally, he exhaled deeply, picked up a bundle, and strode toward the immobilized Hopping Corpse.

"Is it done?"

"Not so easy. Didn’t you see that this thing could withstand sniper fire?

Its head caved in halfway and popped right back up—could even survive decapitation.

For now, we’ve just suppressed its nine segments, sealing its movement.

Luckily, it hasn’t evolved again, so we can keep it down for a few hours yet.

The only way to truly destroy it is to burn it completely to ash."

Carefully, Old Xi Zhang approached the Hopping Corpse, pulling out a roll of yellow cloth covered in talisman scripts from his bundle, and wrapped the creature in layer after layer until it was entirely swaddled.

"Brother, what’s with these Black Nails? Some kind of treasure?"

"Coffin nails."

"Huh?" Wen Yan looked surprised. "I figured you’d be performing some big ritual, summoning heavenly thunder or something..."

"What are you thinking? It takes a real Professor of Dragon Tiger Mountain to summon Heavenly Soldiers or call down divine lightning. I spend my days doing funeral rites for the dead—my specialty’s really in sending corpses peacefully to rest. Managing to invoke Talisman Fire blessing is as good as it gets."

Old Xi Zhang took up his sword, pried the box from the Hopping Corpse’s hands, but the corpse didn’t move, its hollow eyes fixed straight ahead.