Jiang Xiaosi grew increasingly uneasy as Ah Yin didn’t return for a long time. It seemed like something had gone wrong at Tuogu Xiang, and she regretted not bringing her bead with her. But now that she was human, even if she had it, she probably wouldn’t be able to sense Jiang Liu.
It was already seven in the morning, but the sky was still dark, and it had started pouring rain outside, with thunder and lightning. The rain carried a heavy stench of blood, and all of Taoyuan City seemed to be shrouded in a deadly atmosphere.
Jiang Xiaosi tried to calm herself, telling herself not to overthink things, but Jiang Liu’s phone remained unreachable, making her even more anxious.
Just then, Shen Mo’s phone rang. Shen Mo was still deeply asleep, and Jiang Xiaosi almost wanted to answer it herself but held back.
After what felt like an eternity, Shen Mo finally woke up. On the other end of the call was Shen Koudan’s panicked voice.
“Uncle! That zombie, Cai Wen, the one Meixin tried to control in the tomb, has broken out and absorbed the blood of tens of thousands of people, mastering the Blood Fiend Technique! He’s coming for Jiang Liu to seek revenge! Uncle, come quickly…”
Before she could finish, there was a loud impact, and the line went dead.
“Koudan!” All of Shen Mo’s sleepiness vanished in an instant, and he jumped out of bed in shock. Jiang Xiaosi stared at him wide-eyed, filled with worry.
The phone seemed to have been picked up by someone else. It was Jiang Liu’s voice.
“It’s me, Shen Mo. Don’t worry. Koudan is fine; she was just trying to help but got knocked out. Cai Wen and I have a blood feud—this is between us. You don’t need to get involved. Ah Yin has already told me everything about you and Xiaosi. She encountered Cai Wen on the way and got injured, but she managed to escape and is now unconscious. She’ll be fine. If I don’t make it back, please take care of Xiaosi for me…”
The call abruptly ended before Shen Mo could respond. What did Jiang Liu mean by saying Ah Yin told him to take care of Jiang Xiaosi? Jiang Liu knew that Jiang Xiaosi had already drunk the Sanxin water, making it impossible for Shen Mo to see her—so why was he still throwing himself into this fight and leaving Jiang Xiaosi in Shen Mo’s care? It was madness!
The rain outside grew heavier, the stench thick enough for ordinary people to smell. The ghosts in the area had likely all hidden away. With the Blood Fiend Technique mastered by a thousand-year-old zombie, Cai Wen could easily wipe out Taoyuan City several times over. This had to be part of Meixin’s plan. Shen Mo grabbed his sandalwood box containing his tools and, after a moment of hesitation, also packed the Seven-Tier Everlasting Light Pagoda, which held Meixin’s seal. If he and Jiang Liu couldn’t defeat Cai Wen, then only Meixin could break the Blood Fiend Technique.
At eight in the morning, the sky barely began to brighten. Taoyuan City seemed like a ghost town, with everyone still asleep, no pedestrians or cars in sight. The clouds, tinged red as if soaked in blood, hung so low it seemed you could reach up and touch them.
Jiang Liu had led Cai Wen toward the outskirts to avoid innocent casualties, all the way to Manyue Valley. What was once a picturesque landscape was about to become a sea of blood.
When Shen Mo arrived, Jiang Liu and Cai Wen were locked in a battle that blotted out the sun and moon. The lake waters had split open from their fierce blows, as if the ground had collapsed. Jiang Liu periodically called down thunder to strike Cai Wen, and the area was filled with the sounds of explosions and crumbling rocks—a spectacle both awe-inspiring and tragic.
They moved too fast for Shen Mo to intervene. Both were zombies, so if Shen Mo recklessly used his magic, Jiang Liu would also be severely injured.
Suddenly, Jiang Liu was knocked down from the sky, and Cai Wen laughed wildly, pursuing him relentlessly.
“Jiang Liu! Today, I will finally avenge the sword you dealt me all those years ago! I will kill you and then that wretched offspring of Zhao Bing!”
Shen Mo stepped in front of Jiang Liu, countering with his own magic. Azure light burst forth, knocking Cai Wen back.
“So, it was you! Back then, in the tomb, you were the one trying to destroy my body! But it seems that the fool Meixin who tried to control me was also captured by you. I suppose I should thank you for that. Let’s call it even. Leave now, and I might spare your miserable life.”
Shen Mo remained expressionless as he pulled out his gun and fired several shots. The silver bullets lodged in Cai Wen’s flesh but were quickly forced out, completely ineffective. Even the talismans burned to ash before reaching him. The curved blade he threw was also easily dodged.
Cai Wen sneered. “Fool.”
His blood-red, skeletal claws lashed out, only to be caught by Jiang Liu’s silver chain. Cai Wen roared in fury, flying back into the air, locked in battle with Jiang Liu once again. His body grew even redder as the fight continued.
Seeing Jiang Liu constantly getting wounded but refusing to retreat, clearly intent on a mutual death scenario, Shen Mo knew that neither of them could break the Blood Fiend Technique and kill Cai Wen. The longer the battle dragged on, the worse it would get.
Jiang Xiaosi was on the sidelines, crying in desperation. She didn’t dare remove her invisibility charm for fear of distracting Jiang Liu. But if this continued, Jiang Liu wouldn’t be able to hold on.
Shen Mo hesitated for a moment before finally opening the sandalwood box and releasing Meixin from the seal.
Meixin floated out of the pagoda, taking a long time to regain his senses before realizing he was still trapped in Shen Mo’s protective barrier.
“Shen Mo? Long time no see… I’ve waited for this day for so long. I knew that when Cai Wen resurfaced, you’d release me. Not killing me back then was probably the wisest decision of your life because I’m the only one who can break the Blood Fiend Technique. I’ve been waiting for this show to begin, but I never expected it to take seven hundred years. This pagoda truly is remarkable.”
The pagoda not only altered the flow of time but also had a calming and purifying effect, gradually erasing the resentment of any ghost trapped inside. Shen Mo had hoped that time would erase Meixin’s hatred.
During his time in the pagoda, Meixin had experienced anxiety, anger, and restlessness, but in a world where there was nothing but the passage of time, those feelings were slowly washed away, like a river eroding everything in its path. Resentment, even memories, were gradually worn away until everything became a blur.
Now that he was out again, Meixin took a deep breath of air, feeling the wind and the rain, and realized that freedom was everything.
“Meixin, tell me how to kill that zombie!”
Seeing Jiang Liu’s injuries worsen by the second, Shen Mo was desperate.
Meixin couldn’t help but laugh.
“Shen Mo, after all the blood hatred between us, you locked me in this pagoda for seven hundred years, and now you want me to help you save someone? Don’t you think that’s laughable? Do you really expect me to agree?”
“Your grudge is with me, don’t involve others. I know that zombie is just a puppet in your game. You wouldn’t want to see him become too powerful. Tell me how to defeat him, and I’ll let you out of the pagoda! If you still want to keep fighting me, I’ll be ready!”
“Shen Mo, I’m just a wandering soul now, with no power left. You could release me and then capture me again.”
“What do you want?”
“I want you to enter the pagoda as well, to be locked away for a hundred or even a thousand years, so I can get my revenge.”
“Fine.” Shen Mo agreed without hesitation. After all, Jiang Xiaosi was no longer by his side—he had nothing else to hold him back.
Meixin couldn’t stop laughing. “I know you always keep your word, but if I’m not mistaken, isn’t that man your love rival? Why are you so eager to save him?”
Shen Mo remained silent. Since he couldn’t see Jiang Xiaosi, Jiang Liu was her only family left in the world—he couldn’t let anything happen to him. He knew Jiang Liu had always loved Jiang Xiaosi. Now that Jiang Xiaosi had drunk the Sanxin water, the two of them could finally live happily together. This was the only thing he could do for her…
“Because he’s Jiang Xiaosi’s father. Meixin, I used to not understand why you would go to such lengths for Yutong, a little demon, but now I do.”
Meixin froze, his expression turning strange as if remembering something from long ago. After a few seconds, he laughed again. “I never thought you’d actually fall in love with that little zombie, Shen Mo. How amusing. Rather than watch you all get killed by that disobedient zombie, I’d rather see you trapped in the pagoda, neither alive nor dead. Fine, I’ll tell you how to break the technique.”
Jiang Liu’s left arm was broken by Cai Wen and hung limply at his side, unable to heal for a long time. He knew he couldn’t hold on much longer, but Shen Mo still hadn’t left.
He gritted his teeth and sent a mental message to Shen Mo: “Forget about me, take Xiaosi and go, don’t let Cai Wen find her!” Since Shen Mo was here, Jiang Xiaosi must be hiding nearby with the invisibility charm. If Cai Wen saw her face, which resembled both Liu Zhi and Zhao Bing, he wouldn’t let her go. Once he saw her, it would be too late to escape. He had to buy them time while he could still hold on.
Shen Mo’s blood ran cold when he heard Jiang Liu’s message.
Take Jiang Xiaosi away? Jiang Xiaosi was still with him? That meant she had never drunk the Sanxin water—she and Ah Yin had tricked him.
Don’t panic. It’s fine. Cai Wen can’t see her. We’ll talk about the Sanxin water later…
Shen Mo forced himself to calm down and mentally transmitted the method to break the Blood Fiend Technique to Jiang Liu.
Jiang Liu nodded, betting everything on one last chance. Ignoring the pain of the backlash, he chanted a spell aloud. The silver chain wrapped tightly around Cai Wen’s neck, dragging him down to the bottom of the lake.
“Dad!”
Jiang Xiaosi was frantic, watching as the entire lake began to boil, with fresh blood bubbling up, turning the waters red. The rain grew heavier, and it seemed like the sky had been torn open.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the ground began to shake violently, as if in an earthquake. There was a massive explosion, and a blood-red wave rose over ten meters high.
Jiang Liu was thrown ashore by one of the waves, landing heavily and covered in blood and mud.
“Dad!” Jiang Xiaosi couldn’t hold back any longer. She tore off the invisibility charm and ran to his side.
“Dad, are you alright?” Jiang Xiaosi held him, crying in fear.
“I’m fine…” Jiang Liu forced a smile. “I’m a zombie, remember? It’s not that easy to kill me!”
“Watch out!” Shen Mo shouted as Cai Wen shot out of the lake, his entire body now a sickly green. Shen Mo knew the Blood Fiend Technique had been broken.
Enraged, Cai Wen attacked Jiang Liu, intending to finish him off, but Shen Mo intercepted him, and they began a fierce battle.
Shen Mo’s black clothes were soaked in the pouring rain, his long hair sticking to his face. Surrounded by an aura of killing intent, he resembled a demon. His curved blade transformed into a long sword, radiating a chilling aura. Every time Cai Wen was wounded, blood gushed out endlessly, until the red turned to black.
Cai Wen launched a powerful blow at Shen Mo’s chest. Shen Mo spat blood but didn’t retreat, thrusting his sword straight through Cai Wen’s forehead.
Both were sent flying. Cai Wen couldn’t believe it. After all the effort to be reborn, he wasn’t defeated by Jiang Liu but by a mere Daoist.
He reached into his robe and pulled out the dagger Jiang Liu had used to kill him all those years ago. With the last of his strength, he hurled it at Shen Mo. The dagger traced an S-shaped curve through the air, and Shen Mo, having just been struck, couldn’t dodge in time.
“Xiaosi—”
Shen Mo suddenly heard Jiang Liu’s heart-wrenching scream, and his breath almost stopped. He saw the dagger disappear just a meter from him, then blood sprayed through the air, mixing with the rain and splattering across his face. Only then did he crash to the ground.
Not far away, Jiang Liu, enraged, split Cai Wen in half with his silver coins, turning him into a pool of blood, leaving no trace of bone.
“Xiaosi…” Jiang Liu felt dizzy as he fell to one knee, clutching his chest with one hand and supporting himself with the other. Tears fell to the ground, one after another.
Shen Mo was still in a daze. All he could see was blood flowing on the ground, and all he could hear was the endless downpour of rain.
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