Infinite Professions

Chapter 325 - 172: Corpse Transformation (Part 2)

This kind of sin, a small village land god like him cannot bear, even the superiors in the township and county government would be questioned for it.

So, he absolutely cannot let it pass!

The three of them tunneled through the earth to reach the mourning hall before the fierce ghost, determined to block its path even if it meant risking their lives.

"Hoo!!!"

Unexpectedly, the fierce ghost opened its mouth and spewed a foul, fishy wind, blowing the three of them off balance.

Although after spitting out this foul wind, the figure of the fierce ghost became much fainter, evidently consuming a large amount of its sinister energy, it still mustered its last breath and crashed into the old woman’s corpse.

The old woman had not yet passed her seventh day, and her yin soul had not completely left her body. Suddenly, someone else took over her body, before she could react to what happened, half of her being was bitten away by the fierce ghost and devoured.

Instantly...

"Whoo, whoo, whoo!"

Inside the mourning hall, a strong yin wind arose, snuffing out the lamps, and chairs and tables were swayed and turned over.

Everyone scattered in chaos, screams arose all around, and under the sparse moonlight, they saw the shroud covering the old woman’s corpse overturn, the white cloth on her body lifted by the yin wind, exposing a face with shriveled skin and dark circles around the eyes.

Indeed, she had opened her eyes!

"The corpse, the corpse has transformed!"

Everyone was stunned for a moment, then heard a sharp scream, and rushed towards the doors and windows.

The scene became more chaotic, the female corpse rose up and, under the drive of blood instinct, chased a filial son out of the door.

Shen Hex was outside, following on horseback, but watching coldly.

When a fierce ghost eats a soul, entangled in karma, humanity and consciousness gradually vanish, controlled step by step by animal instincts until a certain point is reached when it will be reborn, but that self is completely different from the original person.

So fierce ghosts are hard to communicate with; only ghost generals or ghost kings can exchange a few words, but they are extremely violent in nature.

This fierce ghost was no exception; earlier it had a little sense and knew to borrow a corpse to return to the mortal world, but after returning, due to excessive magic use, its soul body was greatly damaged, and it no longer had any consciousness. Combining with the old woman’s corpse, it became a peculiar zombie, instinctively chasing after its blood relatives.

Now that filial son is its blood relative, running out of the mourning hall in panic, discovering it still hot on his heels, and couldn’t help but to scream loudly.

"Help, help!"

"The corpse has transformed, the corpse has transformed!"

"Mother, I’m Tie Tou, I’m Tie Tou!"

The filial son’s shrieks echoed several times. Though they lit many lanterns in the village, no one came out to rescue him.

Unknowingly, he had run to the village entrance, only to find the doors of the Cai Family Hotel also tightly shut.

Luckily, there was a big banyan tree at the village entrance, having grown for countless years, requiring two to three people to encircle it. He ran to the tree, trying to climb it, but in a flurry of hands and feet, he couldn’t climb up. The female corpse was closing in, leaving him no choice but to dodge around the banyan tree.

Meanwhile, inside the hotel.

"What’s happening?"

"I heard a corpse has transformed?"

"What?"

The guests lit their lamps, cautiously opened the windows and looked out, seeing two figures chasing each other under the big banyan tree in front of the hotel. Both were wearing plain white funerals clothes, one was terrified, the other’s face was twisted, especially the short and thin female corpse, her ten nails stretched long and sharp, making everyone’s hair stand on end.

"Is it really a corpse transformation?"

"Could there be such a thing?"

"Could it be a joke?"

"Who jokes like this in the middle of the night?"

"What to do then?"

"Quickly run!"

"Where can we run to in the middle of the night?"

"I’ve heard elders say, when encountering such things, just barricade doors and windows, survive till dawn, and it’ll be powerless once the sun rises."

Watching the two circling the tree, the residents looked pale, not knowing what to do.

Song Wen was also tense, his wife beside him started lamenting: "I said not to move, not to move, see, the moment we left the house, we encountered ghosts, what can we do now... Wuwuwu!"

"Shut up!"

Song Wen was irritated by her crying, not knowing what to do, he scolded her, meanwhile secretly praying: "Father, haven’t you become a god, please show some miracle and save us!"

"Ah!!!"

Amidst the chaos, the exhausted filial son, who had been darting left and right around the banyan tree, was caught by the female corpse, her sharp claws penetrating flesh, tearing five bloody gashes on his arm, making him scream in agony.

Everyone’s hearts skipped a beat, horrified. The female corpse, however, was indifferent, pulling the filial son’s arm across the banyan tree, attempting to drag him in front of her.

But unexpectedly...

"Buzz!!!"

"Thud!!!"

A hum stirred the air, followed by a muffled sound.

Under the sparse moonlight, in the shadow of the banyan tree, a flash of gold flitted by, and everything returned to stillness.

The female corpse stood rigid before the banyan tree, one hand holding the trunk, the other clutching a filial son, yet her body had become stiff and unmoving.

The filial son struggled for a while, ultimately freeing himself from those claws, but exhausted his last strength and fell back, fainting directly onto the ground.

Witnessing this, the people fell silent with fear, not daring to move even though the female corpse was still, and instead, shut their doors and windows tightly and barricaded them with household items.

In this manner, no one knew how much time passed, until finally, the rooster crowed, and daylight gradually illuminated the world.

The people opened their windows cautiously and looked out, only to see the female corpse in burial clothes standing motionless before the great banyan tree, with a person lying beneath it— the filial son, face pale, body stained with blood, life or death unknown.

They waited a while longer, until the sun was high in the sky, when finally a government officer along with several armed escorts cautiously emerged from the hotel.

The few mustered their courage and went to the banyan tree, where the female corpse stood unmoved, yet emitted a strong and foul stench. Upon closer inspection, there was a deep wound at the back of her skull, leaking red and white matter.

The wound was deep, but only a single point, as if pierced by some sharp weapon.

"This is..."

Everyone looked at each other, bewildered, until one of the escorts bravely stepped forward to closely examine the female corpse, discovering a wound at her brow and a deep mark on the trunk of the banyan tree.

"This is...an arrow wound?"

"What arrow?"

"Did someone shoot her with a bow?"

"Where is the bow and arrow?"

Staring at the deep mark at the corpse’s brow, everyone was puzzled, unable to make sense of it.

At that moment, Song Wen led the Song family out from the hotel and headed towards the banyan tree. Upon seeing the female corpse, he clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Just as expected, just as expected!"

"Just as expected what?"

Everyone was confused, turning to look at him.

Song Wen laughed and said, "Last night, my late father manifested his spirit and used divine power to vanquish this evil ghost. He appeared in a dream to instruct me to come collect the corpse, and now upon seeing it, it is just as anticipated."

"Lord Song?"

Hearing this, everyone was skeptical.

"What, you all don’t believe?"

Song Wen puffed out his chest: "After my father’s death, he became a god, now the Land God of Little Huang Village. He protected our return home and upon encountering this ghost, displayed his divine prowess. Otherwise, who else could deal with her? Look at these wounds, they are from my father’s Divine Sword. Otherwise, how could there be no remnants left, and that flash of gold last night, did you not all see it clearly?"

"This..."

Everyone exchanged glances, somewhat convinced, though unable to draw a solid conclusion.

Just then, people from Cai Family Village rushed out with pitchforks and hoes—it was the villagers.

They hurried over, shocked by the scene, but had no time for questions, as the filial son still showed signs of life, they immediately carried him back for treatment.

Meanwhile...

Within the Magic Realm, inside a temple.

"Thank you, Brother Song, for your rescue. Chen Yi is deeply grateful!"

Inside the temple, with a feast laid out, the Land God Chen Yi raised his cup to Shen Hex seated opposite him and said, "Just humble fare, a token of gratitude, and I hope Brother Song does not mind."

"Not at all, not at all!"

Shen Hex smiled, raising his cup and downing the incense-transformed wine.

Chen Yi stood up, refilled his cup, and praised, "Last night, thanks to Brother Song’s intervention, the evil ghost was destroyed. If it had escaped the village, wreaked havoc in the countryside, or even brought disaster to the county, I would have lost my post as Land God."

Shen Hex continued to smile lightly, "You and I are both Land Gods, helping each other is only natural!"

"Indeed, indeed!"

Chen Yi nodded repeatedly, filling another cup for him, "Brother Song vanquished the ghost, surely exhausting divine power. My wine may not be Upper Grade but might slightly replenish. Please drink a few more cups, Brother Song."

His words were particularly earnest.

It couldn’t be otherwise; not only was there gratitude for last night’s rescue, but just the means by which he annihilated the evil ghost showed that the newly appointed Land God of Little Huang Village was no ordinary being.

One must know that it was a Tier Three Evil Ghost, though weakened by entering the Mortal World, it successfully reincarnated using a corpse, enabling it to wreak havoc among humans.

Yet Shen Hex, like him, a village Land God, out in the Magic Realm, without home advantage, possessed the means to intervene in the Mortal World and vanquish the ghost present there; this clearly proved he was no ordinary individual, certainly with a notable background.

With such an opportunity at hand, how could one not hold on tightly?