PCJ – Chapter 487 Walking Corpses

The lamps in the tunnel were all lit by Zhang Jiaohua, and although the light was dim, it was enough to illuminate almost every corner of the passage. The strong flashlights of Zhang Yichen and the others were rendered ineffective.

“Daoist Zhang, don’t waste your spiritual energy. We may face a fierce battle ahead, and we need to conserve our strength,” Zhang Yichen quickly reminded.

Zhang Jiaohua nodded. Though the little flame didn’t consume much of his spiritual energy, in this unknown and dangerous tunnel, any waste of power was a foolish act.

“Jie jie!”

Suddenly, a strange, chilling voice echoed, and the oil lamps in the tunnel began to flicker, casting erratic light that made the already tense atmosphere even more terrifying.

The four of them instinctively stopped, but after they halted, the tunnel returned to silence.

“What was that sound?” Meng Guoshen asked.

“I don’t know. Something strange is going on here. Stay alert,” Zhang Yichen warned the others.

Zhang Jiaohua held his bell, the one item he trusted most. This bell had become his life-saving magical tool, extremely powerful. In a crisis, it could very well be the key to saving his life.

Shh! Shh! Shh…

A series of scraping footsteps came from ahead. It was the harsh sound of something dragging across the ground. The noise was unpleasant, but in this eerie place, it sent a chill down their spines. What exactly was coming?

The four of them stopped and focused intently in the direction of the sound.

“Stay calm. Be ready to cooperate,” Zhang Yichen advised quickly.

Zhang Jiaohua wasn’t too worried. Whether it was a human or a ghost, it was just a matter of a fight. He wasn’t concerned about how powerful the spirits here were. He had faced a ghost king before, and with three other skilled fighters by his side, Zhang Jiaohua was confident.

“Are you nervous?” Zhang Yichen asked.

Zhang Jiaohua shook his head, “What’s there to be nervous about?”

Meng Guoshen and Zhang Jing exchanged a look and smiled. It was the courage of the inexperienced. They couldn’t tell how capable Zhang Jiaohua truly was, thinking he was just a naive child, fearless in his ignorance.

Zhang Yichen nodded, “Alright.”

Shh… shh…

The sound of footsteps grew closer, and the tunnel was so quiet that they could hear each other’s breathing.

No matter if the sound was made by a person or a ghost, if something suddenly rushed out, it might not create such a tense atmosphere. But hearing only the sound without seeing the source, that tension was the most excruciating.

Finally, a pale face appeared from the darkness deep in the tunnel. It was an utterly horrifying face—its eyes were completely black, as dark as the night, full of sorrow and despair, as if black blood was flowing from the deep sockets. Then, messy, shoulder-length black hair emerged. The hair was the only disordered thing about it; the clothes were neat, resembling the fashion of a modern youth. It wore polished black shoes that scraped across the ground.

Shh shh shh…

“Hey! Young man, who are you?” Zhang Jing shouted toward the figure.

“Who am I? Who am I?” The thing repeated the question, its voice sounding as if it came from hell.

“Yes, who are you?” Zhang Jing continued.

“Yes! Who am I? Why can’t I remember?” The thing gripped its hair tightly, pulling it forcefully. Now, the four of them finally understood—its clothes were intact, but the hair had become a mess because it had been pulling it out.

“Be careful. He’s completely lost his mind. To be more precise, he’s no longer human!” Zhang Yichen quickly warned everyone.

Zhang Jiaohua shook his bell at the figure. “Ding dang dang…”

The bell rang with a series of chimes.

The figure suddenly stopped. “How did I end up here? What’s happening to me?”

Thud!

The figure collapsed straight to the ground, completely motionless.

As it fell, a stream of black smoke flew out of its body, vanishing into the bell that Zhang Jiaohua was holding.

Zhang Yichen, Meng Guoshen, and Zhang Jing were a bit frustrated. They had been ready for battle, only to find that the enemy had been defeated in one move by a young child.

Zhang Jiaohua hadn’t expected the bell to be so powerful, instantly capturing the soul controlling the corpse. But then again, the bell was his life-saving magical tool, and it was specifically designed to counter such creatures, so this outcome wasn’t surprising.

Zhang Yichen cautiously approached and checked the corpse, shaking his head. “It’s been dead for several days. It’s probably one of the missing people who came here to explore the haunted house. Such a pity—so young. If they hadn’t come here for adventure, this might never have happened.”

The others sighed. Young people often didn’t realize the weight of life, taking it for granted until it was too late.

“Should we take the body out first? If we confirm that the missing young people are here, our mission will be complete. We don’t need to risk anything further,” Zhang Jing suggested.

“What do you all think?” Zhang Yichen asked. Although he was the leader, he respected everyone’s opinions. A team of cultivators was different from an ordinary group.

“Let’s continue. Since we’re already here, there’s no reason to back out now,” Zhang Jiaohua insisted.

Shh shh shh…

A series of footsteps echoed again, this time sounding like the dragging steps of a group of people.

“Did they all come out?” Meng Guoshen asked.

They were referring to all the people who had gone missing here. There had been over a dozen disappearances, so if they all emerged, it could be more than ten.

Not long after, a group of pale-faced individuals appeared. Some had messy hair, others wore disheveled clothes, but their bodies were mostly intact. There were no obvious wounds, but there were several places that looked very disordered.

However, this time, when the group of walking corpses saw Zhang Jiaohua and the others, they immediately charged at them with wild, hungry screams.

Zhang Jiaohua quickly shook his bell again, but this time, it wasn’t as effective. A couple of the corpses fell immediately, but most of them continued to charge at the group.

Zhang Jiaohua hadn’t expected his magical tool to suddenly lose its effectiveness and felt a little flustered.