Mutated Tao

Staring at the corpse that was just an inch away from him, Li Huowang almost reflexively unsheathed his sword. However, he suppressed his movements to the limit in order not to unsheathe his sword.

That was because Li Huowang saw that the thing was not staring at him. It really was just a corpse and not Sheng Erzi.

Li Huowang carefully looked up and saw a mass of darkness up there. Thinking back upon the shaking earth just now, he somehow guessed what it was.

The corpse is just part of it! Maybe it’s just a finger. The thing hidden in the darkness is the real Sheng Erzi!

The thing did not attack them immediately. It was clear that the Daoist’s method was working.

After thinking about it for a moment, Li Huowang started to study the corpse in front of him.

The woman’s clothes were red. Within the darkness, it appeared to have a deep crimson color. Wrinkles covered her face and she had white hair. She was an old lady!

She just hung there in the darkness, her wax-like eyes staring at Li Huowang without moving.

Minutes passed, proving that Li Huowang was right. If he didn’t move, the corpse didn’t do anything to him. It was just like a puppet.

Within the darkness everyone just stood there motionlessly. If it wasn’t for their pale white breath signifying that they were alive, then they would be no different from statues.

Li Huowang finally understood the meaning of living through days as if they were years. His limbs started to go numb from not moving for so long.

No one knew how long it was before the rope started moving once again. The corpse slowly floated back upward, leaving Li Huowang’s field of vision.

Li Huowang gently shifted his gaze upward, only to see the corpse entering the being within the darkness.

Li Huowang didn’t know what the old lady’s corpse meant for Sheng Erzi.

Was it a part of its body or a decoration? Sheng Erzi means ‘Son of Ropes’, right? Why is it called as such?

Then, the trembling sound started again as the being went further and further away.

Time slowly passed. Once the trembling had gone far enough, the invisible pressure around them receded as well.

Flash!

At that moment, a light illuminated everyone’s pale face. It originated from a yellow talisman being lit on fire. The Daoist was holding it with two fingers. He first saw Li Huowang’s exposed ribs and then chuckled nervously, “Daoist, Sheng Erzi has left. We are safe now.”

When they brought out their glowing stones and saw that all of them were still alive, they finally sighed in relief. At the same time, they were all quite amicable with the other Daoist after the latter saved their lives.

When the Daoist saw how weird all of them looked, Li Huowang tried to explain their situation to him.

“Hoho, no worries, no worries. I am a disciple of Luoism. My name is Han Fu. Pleased to meet you,” The skinny Daoist bowed to Li Huowang while revealing his rotten teeth once again. His teeth were yellow and black. They grew wildly in different directions and he had plaque caking his gum. The stench from his mouth made all of them take a step back.

It was not your everyday normal bad breath, but one that could rival a toilet.

However, even though he wasn’t a hygienic man, Li Huowang did not mind it, not after having been to the Benevolent Nunnery.

Compared to his bad breath, Li Huowang was more interested in what he had just said.

Luoism? Is it a branch of Taoism?

But he did not say it out loud, fearing that it would reveal him as a fake. Instead, he chose to respond with a similar greeting. “Zephyr Temple, Xuan Yang. Pleased to meet you.”

Li Huowang was happy that not only could they communicate, Han Fu didn’t seem like he wanted to kill him either. Maybe they really could find a way out of here with their help.

“Oh? Are you also a Daoist? I thought you were someone from the Ao Jing Sect instead.” Han Fu was happy to talk to someone as well.

“I used to be from the Ao Jing Sect, but I’ve left it due to personal reasons.” Li Huowang made up a random excuse.

Where is the other person he was talking to? Did Sheng Erzi catch her? Why isn’t he sad? No, I can’t ask him or he would know that I had been listening to them just now.

Li Huowang didn’t have the time to care about others right now. He pointed to the Black Taisui behind him and said, “Master had instructed us to come and capture some guiding drugs, but we ended up getting lost. We are fortunate to be able to meet a fellow Daoist as well. I hope Senior Han can lead us out of here.”

With those words, Li Huowang had not only presented what they needed him to do, he had also implied that he had a ‘master’, ensuring that the other party would not act rashly.

While Li Huowang was sizing up Han Fu, the latter was doing the same. When Han Fu saw Li Huowang’s bronze coil veil, he paused for a moment, and then laughed, “Sure, and no need to be polite. We are fellow Daoists after all. Come, let me bring you out of here. You can’t walk around here randomly or you will end up dead.”

As they followed Han Fu into the darkness, Li Huowang thought about something and asked, “Senior Han, what was that evil being? We have never seen one like it before.”

Finally having met someone knowledgeable, Li Huowang decided to seize the opportunity. Without a Master, this was probably the only choice he had.

Han Fu was more than happy to answer him. “That was Sheng Erzi. Sometimes an elderly might not have children to take care of them, or maybe their children didn’t want them. Whatever the reason, there’s a saying that an elderly person could go and find Sheng Erzi to help take care of them before it sent them off to the afterlife.”

Li Huowang recalled the female corpse and was surprised. “That thing could actually take care of someone?”

“Haha. Are you stupid? They are just lying. Anyone with eyes would be able to see that something like that would never take care of the elderly. Old people… They are useless. They can’t do anything, can’t tend to the fields, and are basically just eating for free. When the time is right, the villagers choose a good day and carry the elderly on a chair before sending them to Sheng Erzi. They would even play drums and musical instruments to liven things up. As for the elderly’s money and the house~ Hehe, everyone would get a share of it,” explained Han Fu.

At that moment, Puppy suddenly spoke up. “I know! In my village, this is called ‘eating the final member’.”

“Yep! It’s called ‘eating the final member’, as in robbing the assets of the last surviving member of a family that has no descendants. But since it doesn’t sound nice, they just refer to it as sending them to Sheng Erzi to be taken care of. That way, it sounds much better,” said Han Fu.

As he heard Han Fu explain it, Li Huowang was filled with anger—he was angry that people would do something like that.

But in the end, there was nothing he could do about it.

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