Lu Fan searched in the direction the zombies were hopping towards, while the disheveled old Daoist followed behind the two zombies, observing them closely.
Just then, two figures sneaked out of the village, peeking and cautiously approaching the construction site.
"Zhang San! Is this really going to work? What if Lu Fan finds out?" It was Li Si's voice, sounding clearly fearful.
"Li Si! We're the only two families in the village without vegetables or medicinal herbs to plant. Are you just going to watch everyone else rake in the profits while we stay the same? Don't worry, the barefoot aren't afraid of those with shoes. Damn it! If you don't give me a chance to earn money, I'll steal from you! If we each carry away two large steel bars, that's worth a hundred or two hundred yuan! If we do this three or four times a night, it'll be worth it," Zhang San whispered.
"But there are night watchmen. What if they discover us? Besides, your knife wound hasn't healed yet. Can you even carry two large steel bars?" Li Si still sounded hesitant.
"It's fine! I bought the night watchman two bottles of Erguotou and some chicken feet today. That guy is probably fast asleep by now," Zhang San said confidently.
...
The disheveled old Daoist followed the two zombies. The zombies arrived at a pre-selected spot. Bang, bang, bang... One of the zombies directly smashed its hand into the ground with great force. After a few blows, a deep pit was revealed.
"Someone else dug this earlier and covered it up. It seems there are people from the other side working at this construction site," the disheveled old Daoist muttered to himself.
Clang... A small jar hanging from the other zombie's body fell off and landed precisely in the deep pit. Bang... Instantly, a wave of malevolent energy surged forth.
The two zombies then attempted to bury the pit. The disheveled old Daoist suddenly leaped out. Two talismans in his hand were instantly pasted onto the foreheads of the two zombies. *Pa*... The two zombies froze.
The disheveled old Daoist approached the deep pit. *Pu*... A talisman ignited and was thrown into the pit. Instantly, the malevolent energy dissipated.
At this moment, not far to the west of the village, a person in a black robe was sitting on the ground, holding three sticks of incense and chanting incantations.
*Pu*... Suddenly, the three sticks of incense erupted in flames, nearly burning off the person's eyebrows. The person was greatly alarmed, threw the incense sticks to the ground, and turned to run.
"Hmph! You want to escape, troublemaker?"
*Shua*... A beam of sword light instantly slashed towards the person in the black robe. Lu Fan blocked the person's escape route.
"Heh heh heh! Kid! You can't stop me!" The person in the black robe chuckled sinisterly, and *shua*... a black sword, shaped like a snake, appeared in their hand.
Clang... Clang... The two swords clashed instantly.
Meanwhile, the disheveled old Daoist looked at the two motionless zombies with a troubled expression. How should he get rid of these two? Although this old Daoist looked rather unkempt, touching these zombies still made him feel disgusted. However, he didn't know the art of corpse driving.
At this moment, the disheveled old Daoist also heard the clanging sound of weapons clashing in the distance. Never mind, Lu Fan might not be able to keep that fellow. It was better to go help first. With this thought, the disheveled old Daoist rushed towards the direction where Lu Fan and the other person were fighting.
The person in the black robe and Lu Fan exchanged several blows before realizing they had underestimated the young man before them. This kid's swordsmanship was unpredictable, and the aura of his sword was elusive, making it impossible to gauge. Suddenly, he also noticed someone approaching and felt a jolt of alarm.
*Tu*... Two paper talismans suddenly appeared in the hands of the person in the black robe. With a flick, the two talismans ignited, and the person in the black robe chanted incantations.
*Hu*... The talismans pasted on the foreheads of the two zombies suddenly burned as well. The moment they turned to ash, the two zombies suddenly lunged towards the disheveled old Daoist. Although they still hopped, their speed was astonishingly fast.
Zhang San and Li Si, who had just arrived near the construction site to steal steel bars, were startled by a flash of light, followed by two hopping figures speeding away... *Gulu*... The two of them fainted from fright before they could even scream.
The disheveled old Daoist hadn't expected the two zombies to be able to dissolve his talismans, let alone pursue him with such speed that it left him stunned.
*Peng peng*... He hastily unleashed two punches. The two zombies were instantly knocked to the ground, but they were merely knocked down. The two zombies immediately leaped up again and attacked the disheveled old Daoist.
The disheveled old Daoist was instantly entangled. These two were unkillable, and their attacks were like a frenzy. For a moment, the disheveled old Daoist couldn't break free. He couldn't find an opportunity to paste his two talismans.
On the other side, Lu Fan and the person in the black robe were locked in a fierce battle. Not only was the person in the black robe shocked, but Lu Fan also hadn't expected the opponent to be so formidable, seemingly not much inferior to Master Ma of the Divine Calculation Sect. The person who could hire such a powerful individual to deal with him couldn't be from an ordinary family, could they? Who could it be?
Finally, the disheveled old Daoist found an opportunity. *Pa pa*... Two paper talismans were pasted onto the foreheads of the two zombies. The two zombies froze again. However, this time, the disheveled old Daoist had learned his lesson. He immediately followed up by pasting two more talismans on their chests and backs.
"Kid! This Daoist will help you!" With that, the disheveled old Daoist rushed towards Lu Fan.
Seeing the disheveled old Daoist charging over, the person in the black robe became somewhat flustered. *Shua*... They took out a paper talisman.
"Kid! Be careful, he's going to use a遁符 (escape talisman) to flee!" the disheveled old Daoist shouted immediately.
"Hmph! You're not qualified to keep me," the person in the black robe said, igniting the talisman in their hand.
"Escape..." The person in the black robe instantly vanished from their spot.
"Hmph!" Lu Fan suddenly let out a cold snort. *Pa*... He flicked his finger, and the Golden Silkworm Gu flew towards the two zombies. At the same time, Lu Fan rushed towards the two zombies.
"Kid..." The disheveled old Daoist was stunned. Why was this kid running back? Shouldn't he be chasing the old fellow...
Ah...! Suddenly, a scream was heard. The person in the black robe reappeared in front of the two zombies. However, the moment they appeared, they were struck by the Golden Silkworm Gu into their forehead. The person let out a scream, clutched their head, and collapsed on the ground.
*Pu*... Lu Fan's sword followed immediately, piercing directly into the person's chest.
"Damn it... This is bad, I didn't keep anyone alive!" After stabbing his sword into the person's chest, Lu Fan shrugged. This guy was too formidable; he had forgotten to keep someone alive to find out who was behind this.
The disheveled old Daoist walked over, reached out, and pulled off the black robe covering the person's face. He saw an old, wrinkled face and nodded: "This fellow was wicked and evil; killing him is a good thing. But, kid, how did you know he would run back?"
"These two zombies are likely zombie Gu worms cultivated by him. It's not easy to cultivate such powerful beings. How could he easily abandon them? I knew he would try this move, so I was prepared," Lu Fan said with a slight smile.
"By the way! Do you recognize him?" Lu Fan suddenly asked, looking at the disheveled old Daoist.