Chapter 105: The Lonely Zombie

“Kill her,” Dai Hao shouted.

“No, too much bloodshed is bad…” I yelled, but once again, I was too late. A sniper bullet struck Rose right between the eyebrows, leaving no chance for survival.

Her body had been defiled by many, but her soul was noble. Tears welled up in my eyes as I turned away to wipe them from the corners of my eyes.

“Ugh, this bitch dirtied my clothes…” Abe Lips cursed angrily. I walked over and saw the wound on Rose’s forehead blooming like a crimson rose. I reached out and closed her eyes gently, as if shutting a door. Her gaze still seemed fixed on the moon above. I took off my jacket, covering her pale face, then lifted her in my arms to carry her aside.

“Don’t retreat… don’t retreat…” Dai Hao thought I was trying to flee and pulled out an old Browning pistol, pointing it at me.

Bullets struck the ground around me, kicking up dirt. Little Rascal sensed the danger and barked incessantly at Dai Hao.

“I’m just moving her aside,” I said, my voice choked with emotion. As I stepped away, I noticed Ruan Nan standing under the moonlight, struggling to control his emotions, though his reddened eyes betrayed him.

I handed Rose to Ruan Nan: “She’s asleep now…”

Tears fell from Ruan Nan’s eyes as he cradled Rose’s still-warm body. He walked aside and hastily undid his belt: “You’re the woman I love, the woman I love…”

Zeng Jie waited nearby: “Hurry up. I can’t take it anymore—while she’s still warm…” Suddenly, Zeng Jie reached out to grope Ruan Nan’s chest, and the three of them engaged in a frenzied, grotesque act.

Meanwhile, the battle on the corpse-nurturing ground was equally intense.

The earth-nurtured corpse licked the blood from its face with its tongue, not leaving a single drop, then violently tore the paper charm from its forehead to shreds.

With a single leap, it covered several meters.

The formidable earth-nurtured corpse jumped seven meters in one bound, landing right in front of Abe Lips. Its furious roar sent tremors through the distant forest, waking sleeping beasts that scrambled out of their dens, fleeing as far as possible.

Even two exhausted snails, having just mated, hastily crawled down from the branches at the sound, desperate to escape.

Abe Lips’ face twisted grotesquely from the corpse miasma blasted by the earth-nurtured corpse’s roar.

At the same time, Zuo Shan and A Lang’s protective seals failed simultaneously. Drenched in sweat and pale-faced, they tried to flee but were met with a hail of bullets, leaving them howling in agony.

“As long as the earth-nurtured corpse’s feet touch the ground… it draws endless power. Rose’s blood was like pouring gasoline on it—it’s about to explode…” Ma Ruoxing seemed to recall this only now, shouting at me as he ran.

Ling Kong also threw several Chenzhou talismans, all sticking to the earth-nurtured corpse’s body.

“Three Pure Patriarchs…” he muttered under his breath.

Ma Ruoxing’s words nearly paralyzed me with fear. If the earth-nurtured corpse never left the ground, wouldn’t it be invincible?

The Chenzhou talismans stuck to the corpse had no effect—just as useless as flyers pasted on a lamppost.

“Witness the power of the Abe clan’s Onmyōjutsu…” Abe Lips stammered, sweat pouring down his forehead as the earth-nurtured corpse’s black-green eyes locked onto him.

*Slap! Slap! Slap!* The earth-nurtured corpse struck Abe Lips three times, blood spraying from his mouth.

“Bakayarou!” Abe Lips trembled uncontrollably, the stench of urine filling the air. “Demon dog, demon dog, come forth!”

The earth-nurtured corpse gave him no chance to summon it, seizing Abe Lips’ arms and wrenching them apart. The words “Bakayarou” seemed to enrage the corpse further—Dai Zhong, like me, had despised the Japanese for saying that.

Lifting Abe Lips high, the earth-nurtured corpse prepared to tear him apart. Suddenly, a flash of eerie red light burst from Abe Lips’ chest—a crimson demon dog leaped out, its jaws clamping onto the corpse’s throat.

The earth-nurtured corpse flung Abe Lips aside and grappled with the demon dog. The beast was relentless, refusing to let go. The two wrestled, black and red energies clashing violently.

“Now you see the might of the Abe family,” Abe Lips sneered from atop a rock, nursing broken ribs.

After a fierce struggle, the earth-nurtured corpse tore the demon dog apart, scattering its essence into nothingness—only its head remained, still clamped onto the corpse’s neck.

The corpse was on the verge of madness. Seizing the moment, I doused it with Little Rascal and Bai Yueming’s excrement, while dozens of underwear fluttered onto it.

Black smoke erupted from the corpse’s back. “Aaargh!” it howled.

I slid across the ground and thrust my jade ruler deep into the earth-nurtured corpse’s rear.

“Ahhh!” the corpse let out a bizarre cry.

Before I could pull the ruler out, it turned its black-green eyes on me. Stimulated by the dog urine, ghost infant feces, and the jade ruler’s intrusion, it attacked me, raising its charred left foot to stomp on my chest.

Still seated, I formed a powerful hand seal to block the incoming strike.

The force was even greater than a bronze-armored corpse’s, its breath reeking of thick corpse miasma. Compared to the bronze-armored corpse’s stench, the earth-nurtured corpse’s was almost refined—natural, unlike the brain-juice-drinking abomination.

Suddenly, a figure crashed into the earth-nurtured corpse, knocking it aside—it was the Jade Corpse, finally sober and joining the fight. The Jade Corpse drew power from moonlight, while the earth-nurtured corpse drew from the earth.

It was a battle of raw strength—who could be more ruthless.

“Lift it up!” I shouted. The Jade Corpse seemed to understand, wrapping its arms around the earth-nurtured corpse’s waist. But the creature’s connection to the earth made it impossible to raise fully. Fearing for the Jade Corpse, I dashed behind the earth-nurtured corpse and kicked the jade ruler deeper, likely reaching its rectum.

Blue light erupted from the ruler, intensifying with a hiss. *So you like it rough, huh?* I thought darkly.

“Ahhh!” the earth-nurtured corpse wailed again.

Seizing the moment, the Jade Corpse hoisted it into the air. Deprived of the earth’s power, the corpse weakened rapidly, while the Jade Corpse, fueled by moonlight, grew stronger.

After an hour-long struggle, the earth-nurtured corpse finally stilled. I sealed it with tree resin, then drove steel nails through its neck.

“Bring ropes!” I ordered.

Once bound and tagged with suppression talismans, I placed it on a table, warning Dai Hao never to release it.

“A Lang, these suppression talismans are unique to our Ghost Sect…” Zuo Shan boasted to the pale-faced A Lang.

Back in the main hall, I had Dai Hao prepare nine vats of tree oil with thick wicks, arranging them into the Nine Luminaries Formation to contain the earth-nurtured corpse.

The Nine Luminaries Formation, one of the ten ancient arrays, harnessed celestial power—far superior to human effort. The nine stars—Sun, Moon, Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Venus, Mercury, Rahu, and Ketu—mirrored Western astrology in their influence.

After cleaning the corpse’s bloodied face, its black-green eyes stared into mine.

Abe Lips eyed the earth-nurtured corpse greedily, itching to absorb its potent miasma.

Once the corpse was secured, Dai Hao pulled me aside. He wanted to preserve Dai Zhong’s body as an immortal mummy for his stronghold.

I suggested removing the flesh and keeping only the skeleton—preserving the body required grounding it in earth’s yin energy, which would revive its uncontrollable strength.

Dai Hao hesitated, asking if there was another way. “You could let Abe Lips drain the corpse’s miasma,” I said. “But if your ancestor knew a Japanese was involved, he’d never forgive you.”

In the end, Dai Hao ignored me, encasing the corpse in a crystal coffin with spices and talismans.

“Ye Guyi,” the earth-nurtured corpse muttered before sealing. “Ye Guyi was a good man… You’re his heir, also good… Both fond of using jade rulers like that…” It had sensed Ye Guyi’s legacy within me.

“You knew Ye Guyi?” I pressed urgently.

“Ha! Ye Guyi once fought ten Japanese corpse-warriors here—epic. Check the parchment in my pocket…” Dai Zhong’s eyes shifted, never once looking at Dai Hao.

As I retrieved the parchment, Dai Zhong closed his eyes. A single icy tear fell onto my hand—his era had ended, replaced by eternal solitude and an undying body.

From then on, Dai Zhong remained imprisoned in his crystal coffin. Dai Hao worshipped him daily, his stronghold growing unchallenged in the Golden Triangle. None dared oppose him.