Youbao Chapter 8: Killing the Corpse (8)
Eight ropes? Ropes? What is that? I only know that before ancient people invented writing, they would tie a knot with ropes when they encountered problems. But if there are too many knots, it will be tangled. What is the reason for tying this knot?
Faced with my question, the old Taoist priest was obviously not prepared to explain.
Pick some herbs for me, go eat, and come find me in the room later. The old Taoist priest took over the herbs collection and said.
I said "oh" and went to the restaurant with a lot of questions in my mind.
I came back early. Come on, come on, eat quickly. I have a lot to do today. Old Gamu was already there. When he saw me, he politely brought me a bowl of rice.
I was so hungry that I wanted to eat myself. When I saw the food, I didn't hesitate to eat it. I shoveled it into my mouth and said: The old Taoist priest is so unkind. He took me out for such a long time and didn't remind me to get something to fill my stomach. I almost starved to death.
Haha, he has that kind of temper, you will get used to it after a while, said old man Gamu with a smile.
Come on, I don’t want to get used to it, I’d better finish it early and go back to eat instant noodles. I said.
Old man Gamu smiled and said nothing.
After dinner, everyone went about their own business. I was used to the silent and inhumane people in the mountain village. Except for the old man Gamu, everyone else was a zombie. Well, including the old Taoist priest.
After returning to the room, I saw the old Taoist priest fiddling with the herbs.
There is a knife there, pour half a bowl of blood. The old Taoist pointed behind him simply and clearly.
I saw a sharp knife and a bowl there.
Bleeding again... My mouth feels a little bitter. What is going on? Bleeding . What do they think of me? A blood bank?
What is this blood for? I picked up the knife and put it on my wrist and asked.
Detoxification pills, the old Taoist priest replied.
This answer made me determined, and I cut my wrist hard. I don't know if it was because I had just eaten, but I didn't feel too much pain, but a warm feeling flowed out of the wound. I quickly put the bowl under my wrist and watched the blood slowly flow in.
After half a bowl of blood had flowed out, I turned to the old Taoist priest and said: It's almost full.
There is blood-clotting grass beside the bowl, crush it and apply it to the wound. The old Taoist priest answered while busying himself.
I said "oh" and looked down, and saw that there were actually some grasses prepared next to the bowl.
I put the grass in my mouth and chewed it. Pah, I almost spit it out. I finally understand why the old Taoist's elixir has a weird smell. The raw material is too unpalatable.
I chewed up the grass, mixed it with saliva and applied it to the wound. The cool feeling made me feel comfortable all over.
Covering the wound with herbal compress with one hand, I looked at the old Taoist priest. He was preparing various herbs he had collected in different ways, some of which were mashed into paste, and some of which broke into pieces with a shake of his hand. The most amazing thing was two red fruits, which he held in his hands and roasted over fire.
This fire is not the fire we usually use, but it comes from his hands. It is just like a circus performance, and I am enjoying watching it.
Go out and wait, said the old Taoist priest.
Ah? You don't need my help. Actually, I want to say that I haven't seen enough.
Some emit poisonous gas, so you can stay. The old Taoist priest's answer defeated me again, without any suspense.
I had no doubt that he was serious. Although this old Taoist priest was mysterious and looked like a zombie, he had some skills and there was no need for him to lie to an ordinary person like me.
After I left the room, I didn't know what to do. I looked back and saw that the fire in the room was getting bigger. I imagined the old Taoist's neatly combed hair being burned, and I couldn't help laughing.
But then I thought of a question. It was getting dark, and the midnight hour was approaching. Wouldn't the bronze-armored corpse come out every midnight hour to absorb the essence of heaven and earth?
What should I do? Should I find a place to hide?
I looked around. Apart from the houses, there was nothing outside. Hiding behind a tree to avoid the bronze corpse was tantamount to suicide. But if I hid in a house...
There is poisonous gas here, old Taoist priest, and there are also bronze-armored corpses in other rooms.
What's wrong with these people? It's fine if they practice alone, but why do they lead a group?
However, judging from the current situation, the most powerful one in the mountain village is definitely Gamu. At least, the only one that can come out every day to absorb the essence of heaven and earth is Gamu's.
Suddenly, I felt a gust of wind blowing on my back, followed by a chill on my neck, and a voice sounded in my ears: Don’t move, I will kill you if you dare!
My mind went blank. What was going on?
Huh? The person behind him asked in surprise: You are not from here?
He was obviously a young man, but why did he kidnap me? I lowered my head slightly and saw that there was a sword on my neck.
What kind of world is this? Not only are there bronze-armored corpses, but there are also people using swords.
No, I was brought here by someone. If you have a grudge, you should take revenge, but I have no grudge against you, so you should let me go.
Were you brought here by someone? Who brought you here?
An old Taoist priest.
There are still Taoist priests here? Humph, they are colluding with the corpse refiner. I will kill them all later.
This young man spoke in a very arrogant and murderous tone. No one knew how the people in the small mountain village had offended him.
You are just an ordinary person, why do you come here? The young man asked in a questioning tone.
My family has an ancestral jade pendant, and they brought me here because they could use it. I answered honestly.
Hmm? A jade pendant that can be used by a corpse refiner must be extraordinary. Is that something passed down from your ancestors? Could it be that your ancestors were also monks?
Uh, the old Taoist priest said that my ancestors were born under the sign of Ba Suo. I answered.
The Eight Ropes lineage... The young man seemed a little surprised, and then said: Why would a dignified Eight Ropes lineage collude with corpse refiners? You must be lying to me!
I really want to roll my eyes. They don't believe me when I speak honestly. Do they really want me to lie and say I'm just an ordinary person?
This isn't a TV show. Knives and guns are dangerous. More importantly, it's almost midnight, and the bronze-armored corpse will probably come out soon. What if it sees us...
I really don’t think I have that much luck. If I get strangled to death, it would be such an unjust death.
At this moment, the familiar roaring sound appeared again. From a distance, I saw Gamu's door opened. A majestic figure appeared, and the bronze-armored corpse raised its neck and roared, walking out of the room with a fierce momentum.
I was almost scared to death. The door behind me creaked open and I heard a scream. The sword at my neck was pushed away by someone.
I was startled and jumped away. Turning around, I saw the old Taoist holding a young man in green clothes, who looked like an ancient knight.
Who is he? asked the old Taoist priest.
I……
Before I could answer, the young man shouted: "Look at the sword!"
As I stared in amazement, the old Taoist snatched the sword from the young man's hand with one hand, picked him up with the other hand and threw him out of the house seven or eight meters away. Then he dragged me into the house and closed the door with a click.
Outside, the roar of the bronze-armored corpse sounded again, so clear.
Is this okay...? I asked hesitantly.
The old Taoist priest didn't answer, but took up the sword in his hand and looked at it. Then he opened the door and rushed out like a gust of wind. When he came back, he had another person in his hand.
The door was closed again, and the young man seemed a little dazed. When he came to his senses, his first reaction was to punch the old Taoist priest in the face.
I really couldn't bear to watch it any longer. How dare you attack the old Taoist priest? You must be tired of .
As expected, before the young man's punch was effective, the old Taoist kicked him in the stomach. The young man screamed in pain and was kicked away, hitting the wooden wall like a piece of mud.
The wall rumbled and shook violently. One could imagine how hard the old Taoist's kick had hit him. Anyway, the young man lay on the ground groaning, and he no longer had the strength to stand up.
The old Taoist priest walked forward with a sword in hand. Seeing him like that, I felt a little uneasy. Could this old man want to kill someone?
Are you from the Demon-Slaying Zhou family? The old Taoist priest suddenly asked.
The young man was originally lying on the ground groaning, but when he heard the old Taoist ask this, he was stunned.
You, how do you know?
The old Taoist threw the sword beside him with an indifferent look: It's a waste to put the Demon-Subduing Sword in your hands.
Although there was only one oil lamp in the room, I could feel that the young man's face must have been green and red. The old Taoist priest was like this, he liked to criticize people for no reason.
Humph! So what if you know I am from the Zhou family and I am colluding with corpse refiners? I must defeat the devil and defend the way!
The old Taoist priest was calm, not embarrassed by the accusation: Didn't the Zhou family tell you that the corpse refiner who had a grudge against your Zhou family was from Zuomen Corpse Refinement? Corpse refinement and corpse refining are homophones. You must be the heir of the Zhou family if you can get the Demon-Subduing Sword. It seems that the Zhou family has also fallen.
The young man seemed to be stunned by what the old Taoist said, and he stood there motionless.
I stood aside and felt like I was watching a fantasy TV series. Although I knew that the old Taoist priest was not an ordinary person after he showed his magical powers, I didn't expect to see such interesting things in Xishuangbanna.
You are...? the young man asked hesitantly.
The five elements are one. Said the old Taoist priest.
So you are the senior of the Five Elements Cultivation Sect. But, what do you mean by saying that the corpse refiners here are different from the corpse embalmers who have grudges against our Zhou family? Aren’t they both corpse refiners?
Seventy years ago, the corpse embalmer from the Zuo Gate sneaked into the Zhou family, intending to use the bodies of Zhou's ancestors to refine evil corpses. After being discovered, he went on a killing spree, and the evil corpse exploded to kill your then head of the family and more than a dozen direct descendants, thus creating a great feud. However, the corpse refiners here refine copper armor corpses, and the bodies of warriors are all exchanged for a large price, otherwise, I would not have asked them to help.
Help? Are you going to...
Kill the corpse and raise it in the ground. I interrupted from the side. After that, I secretly glanced at the old Taoist priest. He didn't have any special expression, which made me feel relieved.
