Starting from his vigorous old age, he began to conquer Liaozhai.

When Cao Xiong arrived at the centurion's barracks, another captain, Xue Ding, had already arrived.

Cao Xiong first nodded to Xue Ding as a greeting.

"Your humble servant Cao Xiong pays his respects to the centurion."

Wei Qiang was writing calligraphy, seemingly absorbed in it, and did not hear Cao Xiong's voice.

Cao Xiong remained calm and stood still. After about three or four minutes, Wei Qiang put down his brush and said, "My calligraphy skills have declined recently. I'm never satisfied with what I write."

Wei Qiang looked up at Cao Xiong, their eyes briefly meeting. "Chief Cao, you've arrived too. Please have a seat."

"Thank you, Commander."

Cao Xiong sat down opposite Xue Ding, waiting for Wei Qiang to continue speaking.

"Gentlemen, the imperial court has decreed that since demons and ghosts are causing trouble, local garrisons, in addition to raising troops, cultivating land, and defending the area, must also take on the responsibility of eliminating demons and ghosts."

At this point, Wei Qiang's face turned solemn. "Seven years have passed since the demon and ghost incident occurred three hundred years ago in the Ming Dynasty, and my Guobei County has also begun to be unsettled."

"From now on, all cases involving demons and ghosts received by the county government will be transferred to my office for handling."

"Recently, a suspected wolf demon has been spotted near Daqingshan Mountain. This matter has been handed over to Commander Xue for handling."

Wei Qiang picked up another file from the table. "Chief Cao, a large-scale zombie outbreak has occurred in Xiahe Village. This file contains detailed records."

"You need to go to Xiahe Village to investigate the source of the zombie outbreak and find where the zombie monster is hiding. Then the Hundred Households Office will decide whether to send troops."

"Yes, sir!"

Cao Xiong took the case file from Wei Qiang. Although Wei Qiang didn't describe it in detail, it wasn't hard to guess from Wei Qiang's expression that the zombie outbreak in Xiahe Village was definitely not simple.

However, this was exactly what he wanted.

The benefits of being "still vigorous in old age" are far from enough to improve him.

After leaving the Hundred-Household Barracks, Cao Xiong returned to his room to check the files.

The record above is very detailed.

Two weeks ago, an old man in Xiahe Village died. He was buried during the day, but his body rose from the grave in the middle of the night.

Two people were passing by the grave when they stumbled upon the monster. The monster was not very strong and attacked one of them, while the other fled back home.

The next day, the fleeing villagers led a group of people to the vicinity of the grave, where they found only a mummified corpse.

Since then, people in Xiahe Village have been attacked and killed every few days, and when they are found, they have all turned into mummified corpses.

The story isn't complicated up to this point. The most terrifying part is that after these mummified corpses were buried, they underwent a strange transformation and became monsters.

The county constables have been investigating and even killed a dried-up corpse.

However, they were still unable to find the place where the dried corpse had hidden during the day.

……

From the case file, Cao Xiong obtained two key pieces of information: one was that these corpse monsters were not individually strong, but rather gathered in groups.

Another is that as long as the body is not buried, it will not mutate.

Cao Xiong put down the dossier, rubbed his brow, and said, "The corpse monsters are not strong. They are nocturnal and hide during the day. If we can find their hiding place, we can wipe them out and turn them into food for our path to enlightenment."

Cao Xiong had also heard of Xiahe Village. It was a place with beautiful scenery, a favorite destination for many literati and scholars. It was located in Daliu Township, about 60 miles from Guobei County.

The next day at noon, after arranging the shifts at the North Gate, Cao Xiong, along with two junior officers and Wang Er, rode to Xiahe Village.

"Boom!"

Halfway through the journey, the previously clear sky suddenly became overcast, and a violent storm broke out.

The rain was so heavy that it was impossible to travel normally. Cao Xiong surveyed his surroundings and found that the place was remote, without even a grove of trees to provide shelter.

"This rain won't let up anytime soon. Keep moving forward and find somewhere to take shelter."

"Commander, there's an inn just two or three miles ahead."

The junior officer behind him was clearly familiar with this road.

"good!"

Sure enough, not long after, Cao Xiong saw a shop called Cai Family Inn by the roadside.

Cao Xiong and his companions stopped in front of the inn. As soon as they dismounted, the inn's door was opened, presumably because they had heard the horses neighing.

An elderly man, even older than Cao Xiong, came out and said, "Gentlemen, please come in."

The old man then instructed the waiter to lead Cao Xiong and the others' horses to the backyard and tie them up.

The inn was small, with only six square tables in the lobby on the first floor.

Cao Xiong chose a corner and led his men to sit down. "Warm up two pots of wine and cook a few of your signature dishes."

"Okay."

The old man didn't ask any further questions and hurried to the kitchen to serve.

"Commander, it looks like this rain isn't going to stop anytime soon."

The one who spoke was Yu Tong, a junior officer under Cao Xiong. He was thin and bony with bulging temples, and looked to be around thirty years old.

"In this season, if it rains, it will rain for at least half a day. Let's stay here instead of leaving today."

Cao Xiong immediately decided to stay overnight. It was about 30 li (about 15 kilometers) from here to Xiahe Village, and it would be unwise to proceed in the rain.

Not long after, the old man came out of the kitchen carrying dishes and drinks.

"Manager, prepare three superior rooms."

Yu Tong called out to the old man who had put down his food and was about to leave.

Upon hearing Yu Tong's words, the old man hesitated for a moment, "Gentlemen, we are all booked for the next couple of days..."

"Um?"

Upon hearing the old man's words, Yu Tong immediately turned cold.

Sensing that Yu Tong was angry, the old man quickly wiped the cold sweat from his face with his sleeve.

"My lords, there are no vacant rooms in the inn, only one large room. The dormitory-style bed in the room is enough for you to rest, but it contains the body of my daughter-in-law. If you don't mind..."

"A corpse?"

Cao Xiong was somewhat puzzled.

"Alas, his death was so sudden. He hasn't even been buried yet. My son went to the county to buy a coffin, but judging from the weather, he probably won't be back until tomorrow."

"My lords, the inn is full of traveling merchants. Perhaps I could go and speak with them and arrange something for you..."

The old man's complexion worsened.

"No need, this morgue will do."

Cao Xiong did not want to make things difficult for ordinary people.

The rain was getting heavier and heavier. After Cao Xiong and the others finished their meal, they were led by the old man to the large house he had mentioned.

Upon entering, one is greeted by a corpse lying on the bed, covered with a white sheet, with white silk hanging around the bed.

The old man kept walking and led the group through the outer room where the body was kept and into the inner room of the main house, where a row of bunk beds could probably sleep seven or eight people.

Apart from the corpse lying in the outer room, the room had no other drawbacks; it was spacious enough and offered a beautiful view through the windows.

After Cao Xiong and the others took a shower, it was already dark outside, and the rain was pouring down without any sign of letting up.

"Get some rest, we'll continue our journey tomorrow."

After hanging up his armor, Cao Xiong went to bed first.

"Snap snap~"

After an unknown amount of time, a strange sound reached Cao Xiong's ears. The sound was piercing, like someone scratching an iron plate with their fingernails.

Cao Xiong immediately became alert and tried to open his eyes, but he couldn't open them no matter what he did.

Cao Xiong forced himself to calm down and listened carefully, but the piercing sound continued unabated.

"Did someone get up in the middle of the night?"

Judging from the location of the sound, it seems to be coming from the outer room.

Before Cao Xiong and the others went to sleep, they had already locked the door.

There couldn't possibly be anyone else in the room besides Cao Xiong and his three companions.

Cao Xiong tried to gather his strength again, attempting to control his body, but failed once more. Now, his only sense was his ears.

No, there's also his skin; he felt the temperature in the room starting to drop.

"Sizzle~"

Something was approaching him, and in an instant, his heart pounded like thunder.

"Wake up, quick!"

Cao Xiong strained his mind, trying to open his eyes or raise his hand.

Not right.

If he could hear sounds, then why didn't he hear Wang Er grinding his teeth?

The temperature dropped even lower, and the sound disappeared.

But Cao Xiong not only didn't relax, he got goosebumps.

He had a strong intuition that something was standing in front of him and staring at him.

The next moment, the feeling of being watched disappeared, and the thing left.

Cao Xiong finally managed to open his eyes after continuous efforts.

Cao Xiong's eyes darted left and right, only catching a glimpse of pure white.

It's women's clothing.