Stranger Danger

Chapter 422: The Corpse

“Are you sure?” The Fog Demon said doubtfully.

Ye Qing shrugged. “We’ll find out, won’t we?”

To be honest, Ye Qing wasn’t as confident as he pretended to be, but it was the only lead he had. He would rather try and fail than not trying at all. If he failed, then he would die. That was all there was to it.

The Moko Boundless Chains clattered and wrapped around the Boundless Mara Buddha once more, causing its thick demonic qi to shrink back into his body. Its evil, vicious expression slowly turned calm and merciful as it emitted the light and the sound of the Buddha.

For the first time, a faint glow pierced through the thick blanket of darkness. Ye Qing could actually see his Strange Artifact. It wasn’t enough, however.

“More, Fog Demon. Give me more light,” Ye Qing ordered.

The Fog Demon obeyed, and the Boundless Mara Buddha shone brighter. Not only that, it grew bigger and bigger until it looked like the sun in the sky.

Ye Qing himself didn’t stay idle. After he crouched down and touched the acidic water with his left hand, bluish black fire abruptly burst into existence and spread to a hundred meters in radius in just the blink of an eye. Ye Qing didn’t hold back and kept pushing the flames to spread further.

The flame was the Netherflame, of course. Now that the Blue Demon Hand was a Soulstealer-class Strange Artifact, the Netherflame was ten times, no, a hundred times stronger than what it was before. Although the Netherflame was a yin-type fire, it still produced light. It might be bluish black in color, but it would still disgust the Lightless Silverfish.

Now, two Soulstealer-class Strange Artifacts were unleashing their full power. The Boundless Mara Buddha was shining like the sun above, while bluish black flames burned hundreds of kilometers at the bottom like a reflection of its true nature.

If the Buddha’s light was vast, overwhelming, and capable of piercing all evils, then the Netherflame was irremovable, inescapable, and capable of burning everything. As if that wasn’t enough, the light and the flame were working in perfect harmony like taichi because they belonged to Ye Qing and served his will.

Because of this, the acidic water began boiling furiously. In fact, the combined power of the two Strange Artifacts evaporated every drop of liquid within its range. From a bird’s eye point of view, it would look like someone had dipped a gigantic, invisible finger into the waters.

About a teatime later, the Fog Demon grew impatient. “Are you sure this is going to work, boy?”

“Be patient. We need to let it burn a little longer,” Ye Qing replied unhurriedly.

As mentioned earlier, there was nothing the Lightless Silverfish loathed more than light. If they were out in the real world, a simple candlelight was all they needed to repel it. However, they were inside the Lightless Silverfish’s belly and shrank to the size of a grain of sand. The light they were generating might look massive from their perspective, but from the Lightless Silverfish’s perspective, it was probably smaller than a firefly’s glow. Of course the Lightless Silverfish wasn’t going to notice it immediately.

The Lightless Silverfish might not register a small blip on its radar, but it was only a matter of time before it realized that the blip was really a fish bone stuck in its throat. When that happened, it would be all too happy to spit them out of its stomach.

Another half an incense stick passed, and the Boundless Mara Buddha’s light began fading bit by bit. The Netherflame scorching the surface of the acidic water had grown weaker as well.

“I don’t like repeating myself, but are you really, really sure that this is going to work, boy?” The Fog Demon asked weakly, though Ye Qing looked even worse. Bluish black smoke was rising from his body, and Netherflame seeped out of its pores every once in a while. His aura was weak, and his complexion looked ill.

The reason Ye Qing looked like this was because he was suffering from the Blue Demon Hand’s rebound. Since the Blue Demon Hand was upgraded into a Soulstealer-class Strange Artifact, it was at least a hundred times stronger than before. However, its requirements and rebound were also a hundred times worse. Prolonged use of the Myriad Poison[1] or Netherflame were sure to cause damage to his body.

If he wasn’t extraordinarily vigorous and immune to poison, if he didn’t have the Nature’s Water or the dragon-serpent runes to constantly recharge his astral qi and spiritual power, he would’ve run out of strength a long time ago.

Even so, the fatigue was getting to him. More importantly, his self-doubt was getting to him. If he was wrong about them being stuck inside the Lightless Silverfish’s belly, then all of this would be for naught. While he had known that this was a possibility, he still couldn’t help but feel disappointment and despair.

“Continue...” Ye Qing forcefully pushed aways his feelings and uttered through gritted teeth.

Even so, he couldn’t quit now. The absolute worst thing he could do now was to quit halfway. Even if he was wrong, he must follow through on his decision until the very end.

Another teatime passed, and Ye Qing was moments away from giving up and falling into despair. Suddenly, the acidic water began shaking violently, and the darkness writhed like countless black tentacles. A loud, muffled noise emerged from the distance and hit Ye Qing so hard that it nearly knocked him to his feet, followed by a blast of a putrid, rotten stench. The next thing he knew, the waters began flowing in reverse toward a certain direction and pulling the bamboo raft and Ye Qing with it.

The Blue Wave Green Bamboo Raft had performed admirably, but it was only a matter of time before it broke under the massive waves and powerful gale. When it broke, Ye Qing inevitably fell into the highly corrosive water.

The water ate through his protective astral qi and his body and caused disturbing sizzling noises, but instead of panicking, Ye Qing looked happier than ever.

“You haven’t gone insane, have you boy? I can’t believe you’re laughing in this situation!” The Fog Demon said. Ye Qing was currently clinging to the Boundless Mara Buddha with his right arm.

“I’m laughing because my guess is correct,” Ye Qing replied using his demonic thought. “It won’t be long before we’re out of this place.”

Earlier, he was losing hope because his efforts had failed to elicit any reaction. But now, something was clearly happening. This crazy turbulence, more than anything, was the proof that his theory was true.

“I don’t read many books, so you better not be lying to me!” The Fog Demon grumbled, “I have no intentions of growing old in this horrible, lightless place, you hear me?”

“Don’t worry. I’m not done living myself.” Ye Qing chuckled and put the Boundless Mara Buddha back into Nine Heavens. Then, he concentrated on protecting his body and staying afloat with his body.

The water moved so rapidly that even with his physique, he was beset by severe dizziness and motion sickness. He didn’t know how much time had passed, but at some point he heard a strange ptooey noise and found himself sailing through the air. A second later, he hit solid ground with a thud, and rays of weak light beamed into his vision.

Ye Qing was immediately alert. He leaped to his feet and scanned his surroundings carefully.

“This is... the chamber on the first level?!”

Ye Qing’s eyes lit up, and a boisterous laugh escaped his lips uncontrollably. “I’m out! I’m out! Hahahahaha!”

He was right after all. He really was dealing with the Lightless Silverfish. Looking down the staircase leading to the second level, he reckoned that the entrance leading to the third level was also the Lightless Silverfish’s mouth, and the pool of acidic water he found was the Lightless Silverfish’s stomach acid. That was why he was spat back to the first level chamber.

Since he was out of the Lightless Silverfish’s stomach, his body had returned to its normal size as well.

After figuring out the whole truth, Ye Qing finally examined his body for wounds. Right now, he was covered in smelly, slimy fluid, and there were holes all over his Green Ink Shirt. The stomach acid had almost chewed through the Strange Artifact completely.

“Can’t believe I lost two Strange Artifacts in a row. What a shame.”

Ye Qing burned the slimy fluid and the Green Ink Shirt into ash with a burst of astral qi. He sighed as he put on a new set of clothes.

The Blue Wave Green Bamboo Raft was nowhere to be seen. It was probably melting inside the Lightless Silverfish’s stomach right now.

After taking a moment to recover his astral qi and spiritual power, Ye Qing walked down the staircase once more. About halfway to the entrance, he raised his left hand and summoned the Netherflame once more. It burned as brightly as a torch.

The entrance shook a little before Ye Qing saw a massive shadow retreating into the distance. It was so strong that it actually ripped the staircase he was standing on in half.

The Lightless Silverfish loathed all light. That was why it usually stayed far, far away from it. However, it didn’t mean that it feared the light. The Lightless Silverfish was incredibly strong. If someone or something pissed it off or threatened its life, it wouldn’t hesitate to show them who’s boss.

That was why Ye Qing had no plans to kill the Lightless Silverfish. He simply chased it away so he could continue onward to the third level.

Ye Qing jumped over the gap and entered the second level chamber, and this time, he didn’t find a pool of acidic water. Not far away from him, he saw a massive, sack-like object lying on the floor. It was impossible to make out its appearance completely even though he was looking at it directly.

“That’s the Lightless Silverfish? It’s smaller than I thought!” The Fog Demon appeared from the Boundless Mara Buddha and commented.

“Yeah, but it’s still terrifying, isn’t it?” Ye Qing replied while watching the Stranger warily. How could he not, when the “small” fish had nearly claimed his life?

Ye Qing kept his left hand in front of him while retreating to the far corner opposite of the Lightless Silverfish. Then, he carefully made his way to the entrance to the third level.

The one good thing about the Lightless Silverfish was that its presence chased away most other Strangers. It was why Ye Qing had little trouble making it to the entrance to the third level. He hesitated when his fingers touched the floorboard, however[2]

On the first level, he had been ambushed by a terrifying predator and almost killed. On the second level, he was nearly trapped inside the Lightless Silverfish’s belly for eternity. Could he really survive the third level—the orlop deck—where the corpse was supposedly kept?

A moment later, Ye Qing sucked in a deep breath and lifted the floorboard. It was far too late for second thoughts at this point. The only way forward was to see through this until the end.

He knew that the third level would be dangerous, but he couldn’t have anticipated how early things would turn awry. As soon as he lifted the floorboard, several human corpses poured out of the gap like trash!

Ye Qing hurriedly jumped back as five or six deformed corpses spilled out into the open. They barely looked human due to how deformed they were. It looked like they had been squeezed into a small space and left there for heavens-knows-how-long.

After observing the corpses for a moment and discovering that they weren’t Strangers, Ye Qing stepped a little closer and scrutinized the corpses some more. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to pick up any clues from it. With that done, he began removing the corpses from the entrance. They were blocking the way after all.

One body, three bodies, five bodies, ten bodies...

In just a moment, Ye Qing had removed sixteen bodies from the entrance. It was only then he finally saw the staircase leading to the third and bottom-most level of the ship—the orlop deck. Without further ado, Ye Qing descended deeper into the darkness.

As soon as Ye Qing entered the third level chamber, his eyes immediately widened like saucers. The fog in the chamber was so thick that he could barely see anything, but not thick enough to conceal the hill-like shadows that could be found everywhere in the room. They were bodies, all of them. Men, women, old and young. It was horrifying to say the least.

Ye Qing could tell that they were all real. He thought that the bodies surrounding the Corpse Ship were numerous enough, but this was insane. So many corpses were packed into the space that there was barely enough room for a single person to squeeze through, and thank the heavens for that. He didn’t know what he would do if the place was literally jam-packed with corpses.

Ye Qing instinctively knew that the corpse he was searching for wasn’t among the ungodly piles of corpses. According to Longing, the corpse had been deposited inside a coffin and left at the center of the third floor chamber. There was a chance that the coffin was buried under one of the piles of corpses, but that seemed very unlikely.

Mustering his courage, Ye Qing gingerly stepped inside the one-man passage. From time to time, he was forced to twist his body to avoid making contact with the bodies. He was so close he could even see the pores and hair on their skin. If he wasn’t mistaken, the bodies were innocent people the Corpse Ship had kidnapped throughout the years.

Speaking of which, this was the second time he was in such close proximity with this many corpses. His first time was when he entered the temple of corpses in the Thousand Buddhas Grotto. It was a good thing, because the experience meant that the unholy crawl induced more anxiety than fear.

1. I’m pretty sure this was mentioned before, but Hundred Poison has been upgraded to Myriad Poison. ☜

2. This is a ship, so it’s not surprising that the entrance was on the floor. Think of it as a basement of sorts. ☜

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