Chapter 29 Those Things

As soon as Brother Jue spoke those words, Doomsday Assault turned into white light and left the scenario.

But… though the man was dead, the large pool of blood he'd shed while struggling on the ground was still there, and the "things" creeping in from the darkness were coming for that blood.

"Aah—" Before long, the rustling sounds gradually turned into clear moans.

Approaching along with those sounds… were gaunt, hunched, grotesque shadows.

"Hmm… 'ghosts,' huh…" Feng Bujue stood calmly in place, coldly watching the semi-transparent "human" figures, muttering, "Judging from their clothing and numbers… these should be the townspeople of Hemoth Town."

As Brother Jue spoke, the ghosts of the townspeople passed through the walls, surrounding him from all directions.

"Not surprisingly, they were drawn in by the fresh scent of blood…" Feng Bujue muttered, while moving quickly, "Let's see what they'll do…" He then took a mighty step, leapt over the heads of the ghosts, and flew onto the wall.

"Aah—aah—" Some of the ghosts closer to Brother Jue reacted as he flew overhead, but after he quickly passed, they only cried out a few times and didn't seem inclined to chase after him.

A moment later… all the ghosts gathered around the pool of blood on the ground, kneeling down like animals, and began to frantically lick the crimson liquid on the ground.

However, Brother Jue immediately noticed… the ghosts' tongues couldn't touch anything tangible, whether it was the dirt on the ground or the blood gradually seeping into the soil… they couldn't lick it up. Moreover, the ghosts didn't touch each other; many of the ghosts kneeling by the bloodstains "passed through" each other's bodies, overlapping like projections.

"This is strange…" Feng Bujue murmured, "Since these monsters can't touch the surrounding physical matter and can't interfere with their own kind, how are they 'standing' on the ground…"

Just as he was pondering this, a change occurred before his eyes.

The pool of blood left by Doomsday Assault was gradually turning dark red under the "licking" of the ghosts… and… it began to emit a stench.

Although the liquid wasn't physically touched by the ghosts, this "change" undoubtedly happened after the ghosts approached.

"I see… if those monsters are allowed to stay close, the blood will 'corrupt and deteriorate' like this…" Having witnessed this process firsthand, Brother Jue's mind was racing, "Open wounds… the scent of blood… attracts nearby monsters… the blood in the body changes…" A series of keywords flashed before his eyes, forming a chain of reasoning, "In other words… in this match, once you're injured and bleeding, you have to clean it up very thoroughly, or you'll be pestered by ghosts…" He lowered his eyes to look at the demons beneath his feet, "Although these monsters move about as fast as old people taking a stroll, they can ignore obstacles and even the collision volume of each other… moving in a straight line toward their target. They're easier to deal with in open areas, but if you're chased by them in a narrow or dim indoor environment… that's quite bad."

While Brother Jue was analyzing the situation, the blood on the ground had completely turned into dark red "stinky blood," and at the same time, the ghosts seemed to lose interest in the liquid.

Seconds later, the ghosts all looked up… toward Brother Jue on the wall.

"Hmm? What are they going to do?" Facing this chilling scene, Feng Bujue's expression didn't change as he muttered, "Could it be that you…"

The thing he was wondering about happened the next second… the ghosts lifted their arms in distorted motions and began to float up…

"Good…" The reason Brother Jue said "good" was that the situation before him explained his previous question about how the ghosts "stood" on the ground.

"So you were just 'floating' close to the ground…" Feng Bujue muttered, as he put the blood-stained cleaver and the Thunder Gem back into his bag, "Then let me see… will you react to living things without wounds…"

Clearly, Brother Jue was experimenting again.

Under the dim moonlight, in the blood-soaked courtyard, a large group of eerie ghosts emitted hair-raising moans, slowly surrounding you… this horror movie-like scene made many viewers watching the live broadcast break out in goosebumps.

But Feng Bujue… just stared with his dead fish eyes, testing the limits of various settings in this scenario as if nothing were happening.

"Uh—um…"

After Brother Jue put away the cleaver, the ghosts didn't immediately stop moving, and the moaning continued.

But after a few seconds, when the residual smell of blood dissipated… the speed at which the ghosts floated noticeably slowed down; in addition, their moans, which were filled with "hunger," also stopped.

After a few more seconds, the ghosts' movements almost completely stopped, as if they had lost their target, spinning in place.

About thirty seconds later, these monsters unanimously fell back to the ground… or rather, floated to a height level with the ground, and then began to move into the shadows where the moonlight didn't reach…

Feng Bujue initially just watched their movements silently on the wall, but when the ghosts scattered and floated more than ten meters away, he suddenly cleared his throat and began to sing, "Yo… children of the mountains yo… love the sun lo~ the sun loves yo~ people in the mountains yo…"

His sudden and unexpected behavior startled all the viewers watching the match, and then… people went from shock to bewilderment, and after a few seconds, they couldn't help but burst out laughing.

…………

"Hey hey… this guy is definitely a【BEEP】madman…"

"Hahahaha… I can't take it anymore… what is this?"

"Hahaha… he scared me with his voice… but what is he trying to do…"

"Brother Jue! I can still be your friend if you don't sing!"

…………

Of course, Brother Jue didn't know the audience's reaction now, nor did he care what their reaction would be. He was just singing to test the ghosts' "reaction pattern."

As a result… the ghosts ignored him.

When Feng Bujue sang, "The mountain songs here line up row after row, the mountain songs here string together one after another," the ghosts who had gathered here had all disappeared from his sight. From a data perspective… once these monsters entered the shadows where the light didn't reach, they would enter a place similar to "phase space" and temporarily disappear.

"Hoo…" At this point, Brother Jue finally breathed a sigh of relief and stopped his singing, "Hmm… it seems these guys only follow their 'sense of smell,' and don't react to sound or sight…"

Thinking of this, Feng Bujue shrugged, "Well… at least I've grasped the monsters' movement patterns." Saying that, he turned around, ready to leave.

But…

At that moment, a gust of wind rushed toward Brother Jue from forty-five degrees below his front.

Feng Bujue's reaction was truly swift. In that split second, he instinctively leaned back, barely dodging the attack with an extreme posture… letting the chopping wave fly past the tip of his nose.

"I【BEEP】" Then, Brother Jue cursed and followed up with a physics-defying backflip, moved one meter sideways on the wall, regained his footing, and shouted forward, "Who goes there?"

"Do you really need me to introduce myself?" At this time, the captain of Corpse Blade's First Squad, Xian Ye Wei Wang, was standing on the stone-paved road outside the courtyard wall. Holding a fierce large blade, he looked at Brother Jue high up and replied, "From what I estimate… Captain Crazy, you must have studied our team's match recordings before the match, right?"

"Oh~" Feng Bujue quickly recognized the other party, "Who is it~ turns out it's Captain Xian Ye…" He drew out his voice in a theatrical manner and continued, "Worthy of being the captain of Corpse Blade's First Squad… you found me so quickly."

"You…" The corners of Xian Ye Wei Wang's mouth twitched uncontrollably, and his tone revealed a deep sense of exasperation, "…Standing on the wall in the middle of the night… singing two-thirds of 'The Mountain Road Has Eighteen Bends'…" At this point, he paused for two seconds to collect himself, "Let me put it this way… anyone within a kilometer radius… even if they didn't hear the gunshots before, would definitely come over to see what's going on…"

"Hoh~" Feng Bujue replied, while unobtrusively taking his military shovel out of his bag, "I didn't expect you, Captain Xian Ye, to be able to name the song 'The Mountain Road Has Eighteen Bends.' Not many young people these days know that… it seems you and I have very compatible musical tastes."

"I…" Xian Ye Wei Wang narrowed his eyes, watching Brother Jue warily, "I don't want to continue this topic with you…"

Brother Jue ignored him and continued, "That thing… as the ancient poem says… it's hard to leave when you meet a kindred spirit on the road, so I'll give you a lively song and dance as a parting gift…"

"Which other dimension did you hear that Indian ancient poem from?" Xian Ye Wei Wang really had to vent his complaints.

"I see… any day is a good day." Feng Bujue then said, "Why don't… you and I sing a song of antiphony first, and then fight."

"I refuse…" Xian Ye Wei Wang answered very decisively.

But…

"Hey~ Eh… making steamed buns with Tai Chi kung fu le~ earth-shattering…" Brother Jue started singing in the heat of the moment.

"I say… are you sure that's a song of antiphony… and not an insert song from Shaolin Soccer…" Xian Ye Wei Wang's expression was as awkward as someone constipated.

"No no no… the insert song for Shaolin Soccer should be…" Feng Bujue shook his head and changed the tune, "Shaolin kung fu wakes up~ ho ho yeah! Shaolin kung fu is strong~ so strong…"

"You… give me…" At that moment, Xian Ye Wei Wang finally couldn't bear it anymore, "…Stop it!"

He roared madly, raised his blade, and flew onto the wall.

At this moment, Xian Ye Wei Wang really couldn't wait even a second longer, because he felt that if he continued to argue with Brother Jue, he would go crazy too.

"Heh heh…" When Feng Bujue saw the other party attack, he sneered and thought, "As expected… the Corpse Blade members today are obviously different from usual… it seems… they didn't take their medicine…"