Chapter Sixty: Soulless Puppets

A rainbow arched across the sky after the rain, the summer thunderstorm had come and gone in a flash. Sunshine broke through the clouds with a beaming smile, bathing the world in golden light.

Yue Qi stepped outside. The zombies outside had long since been wiped out, though the military camp not far away still daunted him. It was separated from him by a single door, but Yue Qi knew that if that door were opened, he would likely be faced with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of zombies…

His clothes had already dried, and the five of them gathered once more outside the house. Judging by the situation, Wang Chao would not catch up with them for the time being. Both Li Yuan and Li Qinglan, who had no martial skills to speak of, breathed sighs of relief.

“Let’s go to the granary first,” Yue Qi said lightly, his tone brooking no argument.

“We’re still going? Shouldn’t we be running away?” Li Yuan’s face paled slightly. Earlier, Yue Qi’s extraordinary abilities had only succeeded through the element of surprise, throwing the enemy into disarray. If Wang Chao really returned with hundreds or thousands to encircle them, Li Yuan doubted any of them would escape.

“We have no choice…” Yue Qi shook his head. “If we retreat, we’ll run into them sooner or later. We can only move forward, and avoid them as long as possible. If Wang Chao really has as many resources as you say…” Yue Qi glanced at Li Yuan. “I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to kill him.”

Hearing this, Li Yuan nodded gloomily, though a faint hope flickered in his heart. If they pressed forward past the granary, there would be a wall. Beyond the wall was a mountain — if they could scale it, their chances of escape would greatly increase. All that remained was to hope Wang Chao would not catch up too soon…

The five of them set out for the granary, moving at a brisk pace. Yue Qi seemed genuinely unwilling to confront Wang Chao here; he strode forward boldly, casting spells as he went, replenishing his spiritual power with medium-grade spirit stones when necessary. Any zombies that slipped through were dispatched by Hong Ye or Bai Lian with a single sword thrust.

Soon they arrived at the granary doors. There were still a number of zombies here, but far fewer than the hordes they’d faced in the military camp.

Along the way, perhaps due to the strenuous pace or the heavy expenditure of spiritual power, Yue Qi’s breathing grew noticeably heavier. In truth, he was not so much afraid of Wang Chao — even if Wang Chao had more tricks up his sleeve, he was still only human, and a well-timed ambush would end him. What concerned Yue Qi more was the food in the granary. Though Qinghe Town could now almost sustain itself, an emergency supply was always wise. With the size of his mustard-seed bracelet, if filled to capacity, he could ensure that none of his people would have to worry about food for at least half a year.

“Let’s go!” Yue Qi, having restored some of his spiritual power, watched as another medium-grade spirit stone was consumed. Such frequent spellcasting had its price. Though still only at the early Foundation Establishment stage, Yue Qi had greatly reduced the time needed to cast spells, but at a cost: his spiritual energy was being rapidly depleted.

With a flicker of Petrifying Stone Art, the dozen or so zombies rushing at them fell to the ground, each with a gruesome hole in its head. There was no time to dwell on this. Led by Li Yuan, they quickly entered the granary.

Inside, one zombie remained, trapped in a small room, growing frenzied at the sight of living people. Hong Ye darted forward and dispatched it with a stab to the head.

“That was the granary guard. He was the only one left here,” Li Yuan explained.

Yue Qi nodded, saying nothing. As long as the food was uncontaminated, that was enough. Seeing the sparkling grains on the floor, his spirits rose. The cured meats hanging from the walls delighted him even more.

Meat was rare these days. Hunting in the forests risked running into zombies; for ordinary people, survival was nearly impossible. Only the skilled could hope to return from such forays.

He quickly cleared out unwanted odds and ends from the mustard-seed bracelet, then filled half with grain and half with meat. Satisfied with the haul in his little space, Yue Qi nodded contentedly.

But it was Hong Ye and Li Qinglan who were most astonished. They had never seen Yue Qi use this bracelet before — to make so much food disappear with a wave of his hand! What power that must take!

The thought sent their hearts racing, and their gazes toward Yue Qi glowed with admiration.

“Let’s find a way out!” Yue Qi said. The harvest from Qingzhou was more than satisfactory. Though he had not managed to kill Wang Chao, these resources would at least allow the people of Qinghe Town to live in peace for some time.

“I know a way,” Li Yuan said excitedly. “There’s a road behind here that leads directly to the back mountain. Once we’re over, we’ll be outside Qingzhou City. It’ll be easy to get back from there!” He had never seen the place, but if Yue Qi himself lived there, it couldn’t be too bad.

Yue Qi nodded. But as he stepped out of the granary, he saw several black dots rushing toward them at speed.

“They dare come for death?” Yue Qi’s heart burned with anger. He motioned for the others to retreat inside, though Bai Lian insisted on staying at his side.

Wang Chao, with his best men, galloped up on horseback. He did not care about the dead; catching Yue Qi was not his concern either. But if all the city’s resources fell into Yue Qi’s hands…

The more Wang Chao thought about it, the colder his expression grew. He knew Wang Jian had a mustard-seed bracelet, a family heirloom he himself had given his brother, thinking it useless after all the cultivators lost their spiritual power. Who could have guessed Yue Qi would end up with it!

At last he spotted Yue Qi. Seeing the wide-open granary door, Wang Chao’s heart sank — Yue Qi had already succeeded.

“Young man!” Wang Chao and his men dismounted. He approached Yue Qi with a cupped fist salute, saying, “I can overlook your causing trouble in Qingzhou. I apologize for the inconvenience my brother brought you…”

He shifted tone, “But my brother is dead. Whatever enmity there was between us is now settled. After all, vengeance never ends. But as for those resources…” He glanced at the exquisite bracelet on Yue Qi’s wrist, gritted his teeth, and bowed slightly. “I hope you can return them to us.”

Yue Qi said nothing, only looked at Wang Chao coldly. He was surprised that Wang Chao would humble himself so. But what of it? Yue Qi smirked, his killing intent already decided.

With a whoosh, a tiny flame shot toward Wang Chao, too swift to see. Wang Chao’s heart clenched; he had not expected an attack at this moment. With no time to dodge, he could only watch as the flame grew larger.

But suddenly, the flame stopped in midair, as if striking an invisible barrier, and then spread, only to be blocked completely by the screen.

“A Heart Desire Pearl?” Yue Qi’s heart chilled — just as he expected, Wang Chao was indeed formidable.

“You…!” Wang Chao, though protected from the attack, was now disheveled and both shocked and furious. “If you insist on fighting to the death…”

“Enough talk,” Yue Qi snapped. He fired a Water Manipulation Spell; icy water shot toward Wang Chao, but again the Heart Desire Pearl blocked it. This time, however, the ice clung to the barrier, refusing to melt, and clouded Wang Chao’s vision so that he could barely walk straight.

Knowing there could be no peaceful resolution, Wang Chao steeled himself and retreated, but his vision was blurred by the icy layer.

“Boy! If you won’t accept a toast, you’ll drink a forfeit!” Wang Chao barked, signaling his men to fall back, leaving a single cloaked figure standing at the front.

“What now? Is he escaping, or abandoning his men?” Yue Qi watched Wang Chao with interest. For all his defenses, Wang Chao could do nothing to him either.

“Kill him!” Wang Chao’s voice was ice itself, and the cloaked man sprang into action, as if hearing a command.

“So fast!” That was Yue Qi’s first impression. The cloaked man was even faster than an ordinary zombie, almost a match for Yue Qi himself when enhanced by Wind Manipulation.

“Good!” Instead of retreating, Yue Qi surged forward. At the last instant, he sidestepped, forming three flames in a triangle and launching them at the man.

“Got him!” Yue Qi didn’t look back, but his powerful spiritual sense told him everything around him. He heard the crackling of burning cloth behind him, but no scream.

“What’s going on?” Yue Qi looked back. As the flames faded, what remained was a man of yellow-bronze hue, expressionless.

“What is this?” Yue Qi’s eyes narrowed. “A puppet?”

“Haha! You have a sharp eye! Think you’re so clever with your spells? How about a match with my Soulless Puppet?” Wang Chao stood not far away, laughing maniacally.

“A Soulless Puppet?!” Bai Lian exclaimed in shock, staring in disbelief at the sight before her…