Corpse fighting with ghosts was something even Yan Shouyi had never witnessed before.
When humans were alive, their bodies and souls were integrated. After death, they separated. The soul left the body, leaving the body as an empty shell, destined to become a mindless automaton, controlled by corpse-herders like Luo Ning.
Since when could corpses talk?
Moreover, the group of corpses that Sanyuan saw, while terrifying in appearance, spoke with the same tone and manner as living people.
This was too strange!
"Brother Yan, what did you see? Hurry up and tell us!"
Long Feicheng could no longer contain his curiosity and urged Yan Shouyi to describe what Sanyuan had witnessed.
With no other choice, Yan Shouyi relayed the events.
It seemed the corpses and little ghosts were arguing because the contents of the three coffins were insufficient. The little ghosts accused the corpses of becoming increasingly uncooperative, while the corpses blamed the little ghosts for being greedy.
It appeared there was some sort of transaction between the two parties.
Just as the argument reached its peak, a fierce ghost emerged from the palanquin behind the little ghosts.
This fierce ghost was easily three meters tall, a veritable giant. Upon its appearance, it swatted the speaking corpse into a pulp with a single palm and said coldly:
"The tribute we agreed upon each week must be paid in full, not a single bit less! If our ancestor gets angry, you know the consequences!"
After the speaking corpse was incapacitated, the other corpses began to speak, asking for a few days' grace and an extension of time.
The fierce ghost let out a cold snort and ordered its subordinates to take the coffins and return.
Since Yan Shouyi had not yet ascertained the identities of these two factions, he did not rush to engage the fierce ghost. Instead, he instructed Han San to discreetly follow the fierce ghost and its group to discover their true identities.
Han San assured him, "Tail-tracking is my specialty, Brother Yan. Rest assured, this is all on me!" Da Feng Novel Network
After Han San left, Long Feicheng quipped, "It seems Han Bantiangou is not just a sycophant, but also a stalker!"
"Alright, you're not much better yourself," Yan Shouyi retorted. "Let's follow that group of corpses too and see who these people are!"
After parting ways with the fierce ghost, the corpses began to march into the forest in an orderly fashion.
With Sanyuan's assistance, Yan Shouyi and Long Feicheng managed to maintain a distance from the corpses, ensuring they wouldn't be easily discovered.
After following for a while, Sanyuan noticed that the line of corpses was heading towards a graveyard.
In the graveyard, there were several excavated coffins, now gaping open and empty. The corpses each found a coffin to lie in and helped each other close the lids.
Once the last corpse helped the others secure their coffin lids and lay down inside, it fell into slumber. Shortly thereafter, a middle-aged man appeared and closed the lid for the final corpse.
After doing so, the middle-aged man also lit incense for all the corpses.
"This guy..."
Yan Shouyi frowned, remarking, "He seems to be a rather weak corpse-herder."
"What? The corpses you mentioned, are they controlled by the corpse-herder behind them?" Long Feicheng exclaimed in surprise.
Besides Zhong Qi and Luo Ning, Yan Shouyi had never encountered another corpse-herder.
However, this corpse-herder's skill was not high, far inferior to Luo Ning's. After using each corpse, he had to quickly return them to the corpse-raising grounds to recuperate, and those corpses were pitifully weak.
Although they were all corpse-herders, their inheritances differed, and their skills varied accordingly.
If Luo Ning were here, she would likely have a good laugh at this corpse-herder.
Yan Shouyi pondered for a few seconds, deciding not to let this live clue slip away. He immediately said to Long Feicheng,
"This corpse-herder has driven all the corpses back to the raising grounds. He has no helpers with him now and should not be strong. Let's launch a surprise attack and capture him alive. Then we can interrogate him thoroughly and clearly!"
Long Feicheng agreed, "Okay! Brother Yan, you charge, I'll cover the rear!"
"He's only got two people, what rear are you covering? I'll count to three, two, one, and we'll rush him together and capture him!"
"Alright!"
After dealing with the corpses, the corpse-herder hadn't noticed that two people were ambushing him nearby. He stood aside, smoking and browsing his phone, relieved himself, and then prepared to leave.
Just as he had walked less than ten meters from the corpse-raising grounds, Yan Shouyi and Long Feicheng suddenly burst out:
"Halt! Don't move!"
The corpse-herder, startled, dropped his cigarette butt. Before he could even comprehend what was happening, he was pinned to the ground by Yan Shouyi and Long Feicheng!
Long Feicheng stated coldly, "You have the right to remain silent, but everything you say will be used as evidence in court!"
"You've watched too many Hong Kong movies, haven't you?" Yan Shouyi shot Long Feicheng an annoyed glance.
"I was just trying to say something to make it more imposing!" Long Feicheng chuckled sheepishly.
The corpse-herder finally came to his senses and began to struggle. However, Yan Shouyi's strength was immense, rendering the corpse-herder unable to move.
He could only threaten, "Do you know who I am? How dare you attack me!"
"We were just about to ask!" Yan Shouyi said with a smile. "Tell us, who are you, why did you make a deal with that fierce ghost earlier, carrying coffins, and are you involved in any shady dealings?!"
The corpse-herder snorted, "So you're ignorant outsiders! I advise you to release me quickly, my companions are nearby!"
Yan Shouyi scoffed, "More companions? Good, one comes, I'll catch one; two come, I'll catch a pair!"
If the corpse-herder's companions were all at his level of strength, Yan Shouyi truly didn't take them seriously.
The more people who came, the more he could catch, and perhaps he could even extract more useful information and resolve the village's problems in one go.
However, in the next second, many figures suddenly appeared in the nearby forest.
Yan Shouyi couldn't discern their appearances, but he sensed that there were men, women, old, and young, with a rough estimate of over a dozen people!
They all stared at Yan Shouyi with hostile expressions!
Long Feicheng shivered and whispered, "Good heavens, this guy has so many accomplices!?"
Yan Shouyi was also greatly surprised. These people had managed to surround him so silently, not even Sanyuan could detect them. Who exactly were they?!
Seeing this, the corpse-herder laughed heartily:
"Two naive brats, who don't know the immensity of the heavens and the earth, dare to cause trouble for us. Now you'll face the consequences!"
Yan Shouyi tied up the corpse-herder and threw him aside, drawing his Zanpakuto, which was wrapped in rags, from behind his back.
He said sternly, "If these people are demons, then tonight we shall act on behalf of heaven. Little Long, draw your sword!"