Free Web NovelChapter 735: Chapter 562: Corpse Slayer_2
But immediately following, a slightly reproachful remark from the Old Clan Leader had Yang Xiao standing frozen on the spot, "What’s the matter, why have you dawdled for so long?"
"It hasn’t even been ten hours, you had agreed with me on 24 hours before," Yang Xiao asked back in confusion, even if he had been slow, it certainly had not exceeded 12 hours since he entered the main gate of Ghost Tomb.
Upon hearing this, the Old Clan Leader could not help but frown, a hint of strangeness also surfaced in his eyes as he stared at Yang Xiao, "You have already been inside for a full two days."
"What?!" Yang Xiao’s eyes widened.
"This is not the place to talk, let’s get moving," the Old Clan Leader said as he picked up his lantern and turned to lead the way for Yang Xiao. Although Yang Xiao was full of questions, he could only maintain his silence for now, deciding to wait until after they left this place to ask further.
Perhaps it was the change to the Old Clan Leader as their guide, but the characters hidden within the rooms on both sides had become much more subdued. They encountered no further obstructions, and soon they saw the exit ahead, an area enshrouded in grey mist. Yang Xiao remembered clearly that when they had approached the Ghost Tomb for the first time, it was through an entrance just like this one.
However, unlike Yang Xiao’s feelings, the closer they got to the exit, the more anxious the Old Clan Leader became. When they were only about a dozen steps away from the fog, the inevitable occurred. Yang Xiao first heard the sound of wooden clogs emanating from a certain room ahead, and the Old Clan Leader, more nervous than him, immediately quickened his pace. It seemed he wanted to escape before the owner of the clogs made an appearance, but just as they were about to break free, a curtain on the right side near the grey mist was flung open, and a figure walked out stiffly.
"Tap."
"Tap."
Pupils constricted sharply, and this time Yang Xiao had a clear view. The figure was short in stature, but dressed in a white funeral garment that did not fit his body size at all, a thick hemp belt tied around the waist, the exposed skin on his body was abnormally emaciated, as if it were a mere bag of bones, showing a strange grey hue like jade, with a texture to match. His face was not visible, for it was covered by a fearsome wooden Ghost Face Mask.
Yang Xiao recognized it, the mask was the Big Black Face from Noh plays of Japan, and it was one of the highest-ranking among its peers, signifying an extremely high status.
The figure held its head low, limbs dangling lifelessly, the right hand in particular appeared like a chicken’s claw and was dragging an iron hook that resembled a crowbar.
But it was different from a simple crowbar, the weapon held in the hand was obviously much thicker on one end, like it was designed for chopping or smashing.
Through this weapon and the person’s attire, Yang Xiao recalled a rumor. It was said that in ancient times when wars were frequent, many died unjustly, and this led to an accumulation of resentful energy, often causing corpses that died wrongfully to reanimate and cause trouble. Hence, a specialized profession emerged dealing with matters of the dead, known as Funeral Masters, commonly called corpse collectors.
The lineage of corpse collectors belonged to a heterodox sect. Because they frequently dealt with ghosts and spirits, they were bound by a multitude of rules and taboos. The most fundamental requirement for joining their ranks was to have courage, a "hard" life chart, preferably no family or destitution, and ugliness was an added perfection.
Depending on the master’s teachings and the complexity and danger involved in handling corpses, this lineage was divided into several levels. The lowest level were ordinary corpse collectors, who gathered only common bodies. Next were the genuine Funeral Masters, who had to possess some ability in the art. Following them were the corpse carriers. There were sayings like "do not carry headless corpses," "do not carry pregnant women’s corpses," "do not carry corpses struck dead by lightning," "do not carry bodies who died by hanging," and "do not carry bodies that have already been encoffined and buried". And the last category, also the highest rank among corpse collectors, was known as the Corpse Slayer. freeweɓnovel.cøm
In ancient times, there were tales of unearthing a coffin to mutilate the corpse as an act of deep-seated hatred. But because this act was utterly devoid of conscience and bad for one’s own fortunes, there were few such recorded instances throughout history. Yet, this job, which frightened others even in casual mention, was one of the Corpse Slayer’s duties.
Some buried corpses, for various reasons such as feng shui or fate, would turn into evil Qi within the coffin. If left unchecked, they would eventually break out of their coffins and wreak havoc. Ordinary corpse collectors would not dare to take on such deadly tasks, leaving no choice but to report it to the Corpse Slayer.
Once the Corpse Slayer arrived and confirmed there was indeed something wrong with the body in the coffin, only then would they smash the tombstone, break the Evil Qi, excavate the coffin, and split it open with a specialized weapon. The real show would begin next: using the hooks on their tool, they’d latch onto the corpse’s jaw and drag the body along. If, during this process, the corpse’s head broke off and separated from the body, the task would be considered complete. It is said that a risen corpse has a breath of resentment stuck in its throat, refusing to be swallowed, but when the neck breaks, it represents the dissipation of that breath of resentment—in other words, it signifies that the soon-to-transform corpse had been subdued.
At this point, the Corpse Slayer would perform a simple ritual at the site of the body’s severance, then dig a deep pit to bury the remains.
The individual before them was the highest-ranking Corpse Slayer; there could be no mistake. No, more accurately, he used to be a Corpse Slayer. Now he... was a ghost!
It was this Slaughter Corpse Ghost that was suppressing all the other ghosts within the Ghost Tomb!
These thoughts had only flickered momentarily in Yang Xiao’s mind before vanishing. When the Old Clan Leader faced the Slaughter Corpse Ghost, his first reaction was not to force his way through but to immediately turn around while retreating, as if... he wanted to escape.
And it was this simple action that made Yang Xiao instantly realize the terror of this ghost. But it was too late; the ghost had already taken notice of them, stiffly rotating its body to face the two of them. The next second, without raising its head, the Slaughter Corpse Ghost calmly lifted its iron hook and aimlessly waved it in their direction.
Yang Xiao couldn’t react in time before he felt a hand grab his arm and violently toss him towards the Slaughter Corpse Ghost. At the crucial moment, the Old Clan Leader had actually used him as a shield. Yang Xiao’s heart sank into despair, watching the iron hook coming ever closer. It was just after he had retrieved his savings stolen by the Mirror Ghost, and now he was going to die. He couldn’t accept this.
However, the iron hook didn’t hook his jaw as anticipated because a figure suddenly appeared, blocking in front of him. At that moment, the Old Clan Leader seemed like a god descending, his Azure Darkness Sword blocking the hook intended for corpses and ghosts alike. Yet the Slaughter Corpse Ghost seemed unharmed, whereas the Old Clan Leader’s chest inexplicably burst open, revealing a gruesome scar running from bottom to top, nearly splitting him open. The wound extended to his chin before stopping.
"Run!" the Old Clan Leader bellowed.
Without a second thought, Yang Xiao immediately bolted out, and as he broke through the fog, a cliff emerged from the darkness.
He finally escaped. When he turned back, the Old Clan Leader also stumbled out of the fog, the lantern in his hand flickering close to extinguishment, barely holding on.
Yang Xiao stepped forward, wanting to support the Old Clan Leader, only to be pushed away. The Old Clan Leader lifted the lantern to his face, blew hard, and the last flicker of flame "puff" extinguished.
Simultaneously, the unstable three-story building behind them completely vanished at that moment, blending back into the night. The cliff was left eerily empty, aside from the gravely injured Old Clan Leader and a shell-shocked Yang Xiao, as if nothing had ever happened.
"Old Clan Leader, are you alright?" Yang Xiao stepped forward again, supporting the Old Clan Leader, whose face was extremely pale with blood staining his chest and continuing to drip to the ground.
"I’m fine." Tucking away the lantern, the Old Clan Leader slowly shook his head. As his Time Retrospection ability activated again, the ghastly wound on his chest began to heal. Within a few breaths, the injury had wholly disappeared, but the cost was evident on the Old Clan Leader’s even paler face, now almost completely devoid of color.
"Follow this road; there’s a car waiting for you at the turn." The Old Clan Leader didn’t waste any words. After giving Yang Xiao directions, he sliced open a rift in space and disappeared before Yang Xiao’s eyes in the next second.
Gazing at the empty cliff behind him, Yang Xiao knew he couldn’t stay long. He immediately set off, running down the road that the Old Clan Leader had pointed out.
