With virtue

They rested in the village for three days and two nights.

Zhao Yunshu felt much more comfortable. In the past, there were always urgent matters every day. This state of having nothing to do every day was really refreshing.

Spiritual practice means not having to go to work, but unfortunately I don't practice fasting.

But why bother with fasting? The young Taoist still really enjoyed his appetite. He hadn't missed any of the opportunities to eat delicious food before, and he had always seized the chance to eat until he was full and very happy.

Moreover, although he had been drinking that small cup of Lingyang Dew for several days, the residual medicinal power was still slowly dissolving in his body, nourishing his heart and kidneys.

A healthy heart leads to abundant blood, and healthy kidneys lead to sufficient Qi. When Qi and blood are abundant, the physical body also benefits.

These past few days, he has noticed that his skin feels much better, and his complexion is rosier than before.

As night deepened and the dew grew heavy, he sat outside, wearing only a Taoist robe and an inner garment. The cool breeze did not chill him; instead, it brought him a sense of refreshment.

Although it is still far from the state of being free from all diseases, it does have a bit of the feeling of being unafraid of the cold and heat!

In many legends, some highly accomplished cultivators wear only a single layer of clothing and walk barefoot, regardless of winter or summer. When they sleep on the streets on snowy winter nights, the ice and snow around them melt away, which is the benefit of having abundant qi and blood.

But holidays always come to an end. On the third night, Zhao Yunshu packed some things and rushed to the Zhang family's house in the middle of the village.

The Zhang family was considered well-off in the village, with four or five children and several houses. The husband was a stonemason, quite skilled, and often hired by others. He had told Zhao Yunshu a few days ago that he had gone out to work and wouldn't be back for a few more days. His wife, Zhang Sao, was very skillful, excelling in weaving, sewing, and embroidery. The coarse cloth that Zhao Yunshu bought was also purchased from their family.

Zhao Yunshu had inquired with several families in the area and they all said that Zhang Sao's craftsmanship was the best. So she specially went to her house to ask her to make two pairs of cloth shoes with thousand-layer soles. Counting today, it's almost time.

Pushing open the door, he found Zhang Sao sitting on the bed sewing shoe soles, with her sewing basket beside her. Seeing him, she smiled and said, "Daoist, you've come at the right time. The shoes were finished last night. Try them on and see if they fit."

As she spoke, she got up and brought out two pairs of cloth shoes from the house. The uppers were made of coarse cloth, and the soles were made of hard leather. They were densely stitched with scraps of cloth, and they felt heavy in her hands. The stitches were fine and even, showing that she was a skilled craftswoman who had put a lot of effort into making them and had not been careless.

Zhao Yunshu thanked him, put on the shoes, and walked a few steps. He found that the shoes were just the right firmness and that he felt light on his feet. They were so much better than his old, worn-out shoes that were almost worn through.

He carefully wrapped the other pair of shoes and put them in his bundle. He also left some money for Zhang Sao as payment, which had been agreed upon beforehand. Then he said, "Well, Zhang Sao, I'll be going now."

After going outside, he checked his luggage to make sure everything he had prepared was in order.

Since that's the case, let's set off!

I walked to the entrance of the village and looked up at the sky.

As night falls and the stars begin to appear, the Big Dipper hangs in the sky. For a Taoist priest skilled in wilderness survival, observing the stars is a basic skill.

When the handle of the Big Dipper points east, it is springtime; when it points south, it is summer; when it points west, it is autumn; and when it points north, it is winter.

It is now the transition from summer to autumn, and the handle of the Big Dipper points south. Adjusting the direction slightly according to the day and month, and confirming due south, I set off directly south!

The reason we had to set off at night was because the first leg of the journey would take the official road.

As a wandering Taoist priest, this is also one of the survival experiences. When traveling on official roads, one should travel at night, as there will be far fewer extortions. Even if there are truly ruthless individuals who work overtime at night to set up checkpoints and collect fees, it is easier to hide under the cover of darkness.

Pay taxes? Haha, no way!

Conversely, if you choose to take the mountain path, you must set off during the day, otherwise who knows what kind of demons or monsters might come at night and knock you out with a stick, drag you back, and eat you alive.

The advantage of taking the official road is speed. Tonight, we'll travel on the official road all night and leave Dingzhou as quickly as possible. This is the escape route Zhao Yunshu has planned for himself!

He headed south, less than two miles from the village entrance.

Suddenly, he saw a person walking on the dirt road.

The man was burly and carried a heavy cloth bag on his shoulder, so he didn't walk fast. His trousers were splattered with mud, indicating that his clothes had come from afar.

The moon was bright and the stars were few. Zhao Yunshu took a look by the moonlight and recognized Zhang the stonemason.

Zhang's husband, wasn't he supposed to be working as a stonemason in another village? He was supposed to be back in a few days, so did he finish early? I never expected to see him coming home tonight.

The young Taoist priest greeted him with a smile and waved, saying, "Brother Zhang, your wife said you wouldn't be back for a few more days. How come you're here already? What a coincidence that we bumped into each other here!" Brother Zhang nodded to Zhao Yunshu and smiled back, which was his way of greeting him.

The smile was truly stiff, a forced smile, with the corners of the mouth pulled upwards but the skin around the eyes remaining completely still, as if someone had used their fingers to push the corners of the mouth upwards.

It was that chilling, clown-like smile.

The young Taoist priest sensed something was amiss.

Moreover, when Zhao Yunshu looked down, she noticed that his steps were slightly unsteady, with one foot sinking deeper than the other, as if he had little strength in his legs.

With that smile, Zhang the stonemason brushed past Zhao Yunshu without stopping, and walked towards the village entrance in that same posture.

They're leaving already?

Zhao Yunshu turned around and watched his back as he moved step by step into the village, his brows furrowing more and more tightly.

He wasn't particularly close to the stonemason, but when he asked Zhang Sao to make cloth shoes a few days ago, he had to go in and out of his house several times, so he had become somewhat familiar with the couple.

After getting to know him, I found that this stonemason Zhang was a straightforward man with a loud voice and a direct personality—a typical Hebei man. Tonight, his silence and hurried passing by were really unlike him.

Looking at his gait, he was a stonemason who spent years swinging hammers and chisels, his arms were strong and powerful, and he walked with a vigorous stride. But now, his arms hung limply at his sides, and he didn't swing them when he walked. His whole posture was indescribably awkward.

Zhao Yunshu stood there, watching the figure gradually walk away, his brows furrowing slightly. Then, he took out the yellow book from his pocket.

No new page appeared.

What could be the reason? Could it be that he/she is possessed by an evil spirit?

He immediately followed, calling out, "Brother Zhang, Brother Zhang!"

Brother Zhang turned around stiffly, looked at Zhao Yunshu, and said nothing.

Zhao Yunshu moved closer.

Then suddenly! Brother Zhang lunged forward and bit down!

That's when I realized he had a mouth full of sharp teeth. When he opened his mouth, his jawbone snapped and dislocated. His mouth was so wide that it could fit two light bulbs. It was terrifying!

"Fuck you!" This startled the young Taoist priest!

He instinctively drew his sword and chopped off the man's head!

Zhang the stonemason's head fell to the ground with a thud, rolling around. Even after it was knocked off, his eyes were still wide open and his mouth was still opening and closing.

And even after its head was severed, its body didn't hesitate at all, continuing to lunge at Zhao Yunshu! (This text appears to be a fragment from a larger document, possibly a news article or website. A direct translation wouldn't be meaningful without further context.)

The young Taoist priest immediately retreated, then kicked himself away. He then made a fist with his left hand, flames appeared in his palm, and he slammed it down!

At this moment, Lingyang Lulonghu first appeared, and his fire magic power was greatly enhanced. A pillar of fire descended, the intense air expanded, and the shock wave blew down the weeds five steps away!

As for the physical body, it was naturally burned by the flames, turning into a burning corpse that could no longer rise.

The young Taoist priest was still in shock.

However, before he could react, fires had already broken out in the village two miles away.

Holy crap!?

But regardless of whether the young Taoist priest wiped it or not, the flames that had been lit over there were clearly more than just a few.

What the hell is going on?

The young Taoist priest didn't have time to think about it carefully or consider anything else. He immediately turned around and went back to the village.

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Without thinking about anything else, Zhao Yunshu turned back and ran towards the village. His physical fitness had improved considerably thanks to the enhancement of his heart and kidneys, so he ran very fast. He covered the two miles in no time, and his newly changed cloth shoes made a clattering sound on the dirt road, making him even faster.

Just for these shoes, I have to rush back.

The scenery on both sides rushed past, and the closer we got to the village, the brighter the firelight became.

After running a couple more steps, getting closer, I could already smell the burning.

When he rushed to the village entrance, the scene before him filled the young Taoist priest with shock and anger.

The village was in complete chaos. Fire had started in the east of the village and had already spread to several thatched huts. Thick smoke billowed and sparks flew everywhere. Several dark figures were seen flitting about in the firelight. Upon closer inspection, they were all villagers from before.

As you can see, there are still some villagers holding hoes and machetes, confronting some zombies, but they hesitate to attack when the zombies pounce on them.

The reason was that the walking corpse in front of him was wearing his mother's clothes and had his mother's face.

"Mother!" A young villager cried out in anguish as he faced the walking corpse.

Upon hearing the loud noise, the zombie turned its head, let out a muffled growl, and without hesitation, pounced on him.

An old man nearby reacted quickly, pulling the young man away and immediately raising his hoe!

He raised the hoe once, then lowered it, then raised it again, but ultimately couldn't bring himself to chop it down. He had been the old woman's neighbor for most of his life, and now, asked to smash her head with a hoe, he simply couldn't bring himself to do it.

On the other side, a widow was running unsteadily, carrying her son, with her husband, who had been dead for less than seven days, chasing after her.

He was still wearing the burial clothes he wore, which were mostly rotten. Half of his face was decayed, and his eye sockets were empty.

The woman ran, tears streaming down her face, shouting, "Husband! It's me! This is your son!"

But the zombie ignored her and continued to chase after her quickly, its movements extremely nimble.

So many zombies, so many... relatives and friends.

Some of them crawl on the ground with half their bodies dragging behind them, their intestines trailing behind them.

Some were missing an arm, some were missing a piece of flesh, and several were still wearing their burial clothes. Some were even unaware that their skin and flesh were charred and curled from the fire, yet they still rushed towards the panicked villagers without hesitation.

A villager was tackled to the ground by a zombie, screaming and struggling desperately. He tried to hold the zombie's face with both hands, but the zombie bit his palm and tore off a piece of flesh.

Another old man had just bolted his front door when several zombies rammed it, scaring him so much that he trembled all over. His son and daughter-in-law then used their bodies to block the door.

Behind him sat his elderly wife and young grandson, embracing each other on the bed, filled with fear and worry.

Several women carrying children ran up the hillside behind the village. One woman stumbled and fell, sending her child tumbling a considerable distance. The child cried out in anguish. Before she could even get up, a zombie pounced on her from behind. The village was filled with the barking of dogs, but it was impossible to tell whether the dogs were biting the zombies or the zombies were biting the dogs.

A big yellow dog was biting a zombie's calf tightly and wouldn't let go, but the zombie grabbed it back, tearing a bloody gash in its stomach, and the dog whimpered as it fell into a pool of blood and was pulled out.

The fire burned brighter and brighter, illuminating the entire village as if it were daytime. The zombies pounced on every living person who could still move in the flames.

But, at this very moment...

As you can see, at the entrance of the village, there is a thatched hut where the fire is the most intense.

At this moment, the flames on the thatched hut were burning at their most intense, the raging fire making it almost impossible to get close. The heat was oppressive, and just getting a little closer allowed you to smell the acrid odor of burning hair.

The fire was clearly out of control and had spread to other areas, about to burn down the houses next door as well.

But in the next instant, the arrogant flames suddenly contracted.

It was like a gust of wind that suddenly whipped up the fire, sucking the flames into the air and pulling them out completely!

The flames on the entire house were forcibly stripped of their burning material and then soared into the air!

Inside the house, the fire was extinguished, leaving only the remaining structure emitting wisps of smoke; the spreading fire was abruptly stopped.

The flames that were drawn up were three or four zhang high, roaring and blazing like a small sun, radiating their heat and warmth recklessly in mid-air. Then, the drawn-up flames churned in mid-air, and then, as if by an invisible hand, they were kneaded and flattened, slowly gathering and condensing into a fireball.

Because the flames were compressed and concentrated, their color changed from red to blue, causing the surrounding air to distort and twist.

Then, the cyan fireball paused slightly in mid-air before crashing into the horde of zombies with tremendous force!

With a deafening roar, the fireball exploded, sending waves of intense heat sweeping across the area. A charred crater about a foot deep was smashed into the ground, and more than a dozen zombies around it were instantly reduced to pieces!

Limbs and torsos, mixed with charred fragments, flew in all directions. Several zombies were lucky enough to escape being smashed, but they were also overturned to the ground by the sudden burst of air, their flesh sizzling and oozing oil.

"Fellow villagers! Come to me!" A loud shout rang out, and the villagers immediately felt reassured and looked in that direction.

The young Taoist priest was covered in sweat. He had run all the way here, and that fireball he had just fired was also his full strength, which made his head throb with pain!

But he never expected that his fire magic would be so powerful!

That cup of Spiritual Dew caused a dragon and tiger to intertwine within his inner vision. He had thought that although there had been some progress, it wouldn't be much, but now he realized that he had underestimated himself.

However, he also knew that he definitely couldn't create such a large fireball in ordinary flat wasteland.

Just now, flames soared into the sky in the village, and large areas of houses were burning. Those flames were not originally his own internal fire. In his desperation, he used his own inner fire to borrow the readily available fire in the village. The two fires combined, and he used a technique of using a small force to achieve a great result, which is why he had such devastating power.

"These zombies are no longer human! Don't come near them, leave them to me!" Zhao Yunshu continued to shout. After dealing with these zombies for a while, he understood what was going on with them and had a solution.

Very simple.

But the zombies continued to rush forward. Zhao Yunshu took a deep breath and clenched his fist!

what!

With a furious roar, the nearby zombies trembled, as if something on their bodies had been shattered. Waves of yin energy emanated from them and dissipated, before they suddenly collapsed to the ground, motionless, as if they had turned back into ordinary corpses.

However, Zhao Yunshu remained vigilant and showed no signs of letting up.

Why did those zombies stop moving just now?

The reason is not surprising. Zhao Yunshu simply used thunderous sound to intimidate them, scaring them so much that their souls were scattered and their "spirits" left their bodies.

As for their souls, they were long gone.

All living things have a soul, but the soul and the spirit are not the same.

Generally speaking, the soul is the spiritual aspect, governing a person's thinking and intelligence.

The Po (魄) pertains to the physical body and governs a person's physical senses. The seven Po—Shi Gou (尸狗), Fu Shi (伏矢), Que Yin (雀阴), Tun Zei (吞贼), Fei Du (非毒), Chu Hui (除秽), and Chou Fei (臭肺)—each have their own responsibilities and work together to maintain the physiological functions of the physical body.

Therefore, if these seven souls are controlled by magic, one can manipulate a person's body and make it act like a puppet.

The zombies before us have had their seven souls suppressed, which is why their bodies are controlled by others.

This is a soul-controlling technique!

This is not some low-level thing like manipulating corpses; it's a much more profound spell!

This massacre is not that simple!