Chapter 143: Fighting Zombies

After enduring silently for a long time, Hua Mancheng finally burst out: “If you’ve got the guts, come at me yourself. First, you send bugs, then a Silver Armored Corpse. All these dirty tricks are just laughable. What a despicable coward!” Like a cornered beast, he roared and lunged forward, snatching the Green Dragon Crescent Blade from Hammer Master’s hands. Swinging it left and right, the blade gleamed with an imposing aura, as if he were a seasoned warrior.

“Ha! Ha!”

He let out two fierce shouts. The golden glow on Hua Mancheng’s face grew even more dazzling. The Silver Armored Corpse’s eyes seemed to flicker with a strange expression—perhaps mistaking him for a Golden Armored Corpse.

Drenched in sweat, Hua Mancheng planted the blade on the ground and sighed heavily. Jiese took out the Buddhist prayer beads he carried with him and began chanting scriptures. I had once fought alongside Jiese against the Mountain Boar Demon, Yang Pao, and back then, the prayer beads had dealt a devastating blow to the demon.

I was curious to see if the monk could actually subdue the Silver Armored Corpse. Maybe Buddhism had a way to deal with zombies. After all, the most accomplished masters of esoteric Buddhism could levitate off the ground and, upon their final moments, achieve Buddhahood.

Jiese chanted for a long time, but the Silver Armored Corpse showed no reaction. It was as if a hairless monkey was screeching in front of it.

With a sudden shout, Jiese hurled his prayer beads at the Silver Armored Corpse. The beads struck its body with a clattering sound, like dozens of eggs smashing against a wall, shattering into dust. The Silver Armored Corpse’s eyes rolled, and its mouth opened, releasing a foul miasma.

“Monk, get back!” I shouted urgently. Jiese, drenched in sweat, stumbled backward. Luckily, a gust of wind dispersed the miasma, but a potted plant below withered instantly upon contact.

Jiese said gravely, “To deal with the Silver Armored Corpse, my grandmaster must seal it with the Tathāgata Palm.”

“What palm?” I was stunned. Rumors said the most powerful move of the Tathāgata Palm was “Ten Thousand Buddhas Pay Homage,” which the Buddha himself had used to subdue a ten-thousand-year-old demon king and restore peace to the world.

Wiping sweat from his brow, Jiese explained, “It’s the Tathāgata Palm, but not like in martial arts novels or fantasy movies where the Buddha defeats a demon king. It’s pure Buddhist dharma, specifically designed to suppress evil forces. No matter how rampant the Silver Armored Corpse’s miasma is, ten strikes from my grandmaster would bind it completely.” I had imagined it as some supreme martial art—if mastered, one could launch attacks like missiles, making reclaiming the Diaoyu Islands a piece of cake.

“But Master Jiese, why didn’t the Silver Armored Corpse react to your earlier attack? It just spat out some stench. Doesn’t that strike you as odd? Why is it just standing there like an idiot?” I suddenly noticed something off about the Silver Armored Corpse—it was frozen in place.

Hammer Master had already ordered his men to fetch gasoline to burn the corpse.

Uncle Jianguo also found it strange. “I remember in the Thirty-Six Stratagems, there’s one called ‘Feint to the East, Strike to the West.’ Maybe the Silver Armored Corpse is just a decoy, buying time while someone else acts. Master Jiese, didn’t you say there were rare treasures in the house? Where are they hidden?”

Jiese, quick to catch on, rushed back to Hua Mancheng. “Father, where is it hidden?” Hua Mancheng shot a suspicious glance at Uncle Jianguo and me before whispering something to Jiese.

“No one can find it. And even if they do, no one can take it.”

Hammer Master’s men returned with two barrels of gasoline, ready to burn down the mansion if necessary to destroy the Silver Armored Corpse.

“It’s useless. Burning won’t work. It’s made of silver, not flesh,” I shouted. Hammer Master waved his hand, and a black-suited subordinate with headphones poured the gasoline around the corpse.

Suddenly, the ground trembled.

Hua Mancheng cried out in alarm, “No! Your great-grandfather is coming out!” He turned and ran. Jiese, bewildered, followed. “Xiao Qi, keep an eye on things here. I’ll check inside.”

Hammer Master tossed a match, igniting the gasoline. The Silver Armored Corpse leaped up, snapping its restraints, and lunged at Hua Mancheng. Flames erupted in the living room, filling the air with black smoke. Caught off guard, Hua Mancheng spun around and hurled the Green Dragon Crescent Blade like a javelin.

The blade struck the Silver Armored Corpse’s forehead with a sharp crack—only to bend instantly.

“Let’s go! That thing’s about to go berserk!” Uncle Jianguo shouted.

I shook my head, shoved Hua Mancheng aside, and gripped my jade ruler, ready to strike.

The Silver Armored Corpse, smarter than its bronze counterpart, twisted mid-air. Hua Mancheng fell to the ground as the corpse pounced.

“Xie Xiaoyu!” I called. The Jade Corpse had been hesitant to engage, both out of fear and because the Silver Armored Corpse lusted after her. Hearing my call, she finally charged forward.

In the brief moment of distraction, Hua Mancheng had already been dazed by the miasma. Xie Xiaoyu barreled past me, using brute force to tackle the Silver Armored Corpse out of the villa. They crashed through a pillar and a wall.

“Help me up! Your great-grandfather is coming!” Hua Mancheng, supported by Jiese, urged frantically, “Take me to him before he emerges!”

Jiese glanced at me. “Xiao Qi, hold the fort. I’ll be right back.” Hammer Master tried to follow, but Hua Mancheng stopped him. “Stay here and manage things.”

Nodding loyally, Hammer Master understood that some secrets were only for father and son.

I agreed, then dashed through the broken wall into the freezing night. The cold wind made me shiver—I hadn’t expected the northwest nights to be this harsh.

Uncle Jianguo followed. “What a mess. Got a gun? I’d shoot out its eyes.” The villa’s garden, once meticulously maintained, was now a battlefield of shattered plants.

The Jade Corpse and the Silver Armored Corpse fought like humans—raw strength against miasma. The Silver Armored Corpse spat noxious fumes and snapped at Xie Xiaoyu, who held it at bay with sheer force.

I looked up at the sky, unease growing.

The moon was nowhere in sight.

Xie Xiaoyu drew power from moonlight, and without it, she’d tire quickly. I couldn’t bear the thought of her losing limbs to this grotesque monster.

I missed Xie Lingyu desperately. If she were here, she’d know what to do—just like when she’d exposed the Bronze Armored Corpse’s weakness.

Gripping my jade ruler, I channeled energy into it, and a brilliant blue light erupted.

Xie Xiaoyu and the Silver Armored Corpse clashed and separated, wrecking the garden. While Xie Xiaoyu fought silently, the corpse screeched intermittently.

“Xie Xiaoyu, I’m coming!” I circled behind the Silver Armored Corpse, planning to strike its lower body like before. But the two corpses moved too fast, leaping meters away before I could get close.

The wind howled, rustling the trees.

The villa’s floodlights lit up the scene. The security guards watched from a distance, stunned by what looked like a martial arts showdown—a young girl and a silver-skinned man in black shorts, battling in sub-zero temperatures.

Uncle Jianguo asked the guards for a gun. They shook their heads. “We’re not allowed firearms.”

Uncle Jianguo muttered, “No guns? You rich folks could probably get rocket launchers if you wanted. Maybe even a few Patriot missiles for decoration.”

One guard piped up, “Old Wang, the gardener, has a musket. He hunts sparrows with it—hits them right in the eye, even at his age.”

“A musket? That’ll do,” Uncle Jianguo said.

Just then, Old Wang arrived in a sheepskin coat and white headscarf, carrying a blackened musket and a pouch of pellets. “If it weren’t for Boss Hua, I’d have starved. Who’s the fool causing trouble?”

Uncle Jianguo quipped, “That silver-skinned freak’s a eunuch who practiced the Sunflower Manual—hates pretty girls. The beauty’s my niece-in-law, trained in the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra.”

Old Wang spat, loading pellets with practiced ease. “Back in the Taihang Mountains, I shot two Japanese captains blind. A Communist commander traded me a Hanyang rifle for my musket. I’ve killed dozens of Japs. After the war, I handed in my guns—but I couldn’t resist making another. Shame there’s no more good commanders like him…” He finished loading, raised the musket without aiming, and kept both eyes open.

Uncle Jianguo gasped. “Wait—are you the legendary ‘Lone Wolf of Taihang,’ the sharpshooter who never missed? I heard stories in my unit!”

Old Wang chuckled. “Stand back, kid. Watch and learn.”

I called, “Shoot its eyes!” Xie Xiaoyu was slowing down, her left leg injured, while the Silver Armored Corpse remained agile.

Old Wang grinned. “Time to hunt sparrows.”