Chapter 170: Today and the Past

If this had happened outside the mountains and forests, this corpse leader would have been doomed without question. But at this moment, Zhou Qing had no intention of wasting any more time on it.

For the corpse leader was not like the common lesser zombies; by now, it had developed a certain alertness. If he wished to catch up to it, it would cost him both time and effort.

Glancing at the distant corpse leader, Zhou Qing quickened his pace, heading toward Mount Beique.

As he ran, the lesser zombies that had scattered into the forest did not pursue him, only the corpse leader continued following from afar.

Their speeds were nearly equal; whenever Zhou Qing stopped, the corpse leader would halt as well, never daring to approach him.

Having a zombie brazenly tailing him all the way was enough to kindle Zhou Qing’s irritation.

“Enough,” he muttered, “I hadn’t wanted to waste my strength dealing with you, but since you insist on trailing me, waiting for an opportunity to strike, I suppose I’ll expend some effort to destroy you.”

Abruptly, Zhou Qing stopped and glanced back at the corpse leader. Then, in a blur, he darted into the mountain forest nearby.

He ran a short distance up a steep slope, then turned to look back and saw that the corpse leader was still in pursuit. With a swift leap, he reached the summit and concealed himself behind a massive boulder.

Silent and motionless behind the rock, Zhou Qing gripped his weapon, Phantom Twin, and waited for the corpse leader to crest the hill.

A guttural roar soon echoed from just below, followed by the sound of vegetation being trampled underfoot, drawing closer and louder. Zhou Qing silently estimated the distance between himself and the corpse leader.

At the moment the zombie was about to reach the hilltop, Zhou Qing lunged from behind the rock, brandishing a whip formed from Phantom Twin, and lashed out at the corpse leader.

Caught off guard, the corpse leader recoiled in terror the instant it set foot on the summit, attempting to flee down the slope. But as it moved, Zhou Qing’s whip already lashed around its legs.

With a powerful tug, Zhou Qing yanked the creature to the ground, then dashed forward, drawing Ruthless, and with a single stroke, severed half of the corpse leader’s leg.

Ruthless was far sharper than the Phantom Twin’s conjured form. Even against the corpse leader’s unnaturally resilient body, it took only one blow to cleave through the leg.

Crippled and howling, the corpse leader tried to prop itself up, but with only one leg, it could no longer stand.

As it struggled upright, Zhou Qing stomped it back to the earth, then swung Ruthless again and severed its other leg.

With both legs gone, the corpse leader let out a second, anguished scream, clawing at the ground desperately, trying to drag itself down the slope.

Seeing this, Zhou Qing sheathed Ruthless and followed, holding Phantom Twin.

“I had no wish to harm you, beast, but you brought this upon yourself, daring to tail me,” he muttered, reshaping Phantom Twin into a long, sharp spike and driving it straight into the corpse leader’s back.

The sharp pain drew a fresh howl from the creature, and it clawed its way forward even faster.

“Keep screaming… let’s see how much you can scream…”

Zhou Qing stabbed again and again, venting his pent-up fury on the half-ruined corpse leader. The scene reminded him of a time back in Jinling City, when he had dealt with a lesser zombie in a similarly merciless fashion.

At last, he transformed the spike into a nail and pinned the corpse leader to the ground.

Pinned and unable to move, the creature let out a final, unyielding wail.

Zhou Qing, now calm, retrieved Ruthless once more.

After the torment from summit to hillside, his anger had finally abated, and so too did his cruelty. Without hesitation, he brought Ruthless down and cleanly severed the corpse leader’s neck.

With that blow, it was over. As he put away Ruthless and prepared to remove Phantom Twin and descend, a shadow flashed out from the forest, striking him with ghostly speed and hurling him against an ancient tree at the edge of the woods.

The figure’s speed was astonishing—by the time Zhou Qing realized its presence, he had already been smashed into the tree.

He hit the ground before he could rise; the figure was on him again, claws slashing and tearing open his Eightfold Shield.

As the shield shattered, a heavy force slammed into his chest, sending him flying several yards.

In that brief retreat, Zhou Qing saw his assailant clearly: an unnaturally pale old crone, short in stature—scarcely half a man’s height. She wore grey robes that blended perfectly with the hues of Mount Beique’s forests; even her grey hair seemed part of the landscape.

Only her bloodless, ghastly face and a pair of blue, gleaming eyes stood out starkly against the grey world.

This was the first blue-eyed zombie Zhou Qing had ever encountered. Though it was his first time seeing such a creature, he knew well it was a flying corpse—one rank above the corpse leader.

He had never faced a flying corpse before, but he understood that to destroy one, a single Fire Talisman would not suffice.

Thrown again against an ancient tree, Zhou Qing rose to his feet, Ruthless in hand.

The old crone lunged once more, her claws flashing like a phantom before him.

Zhou Qing thrust Ruthless forward, but struck only air; she was too fast, her figure blurring to his flank as the blade neared.

She struck for his arm, but Zhou Qing reacted in time, kicking her to gain distance. As she pounced again, he slashed Ruthless, leaving a gash on her arm.

Wounded, the crone retreated several paces, stopping three or four yards away to study him. Zhou Qing, too, stood ready, black short blade in hand, scrutinizing his foe.

As they sized each other up, Zhou Qing slapped his storage pouch at his waist and produced a Rejuvenation Pill, swallowing it quickly.

This was a pill Lin Yunxi had given him two years ago in the Wildman Forest. He had treasured it ever since, never willing to use it—until now, when the crisis demanded it.