Wu Xin: The Monster Killer

Chapter 53 Breaking Through the Wall

Wuxin, mouth agape, unsheathed his short sword and gently poked the stone wall through the small iron gate. Chuchenzi stood bent over to the side, his mouth also agape, his injured tongue protruding from his lips.

After poking it a few times, Wuxin turned his head and said, "Daoist, it really is a stone."

Chuchenzi blinked, as if he didn't understand: "Huh?"

Wuxin increased the pressure in his hands, forcefully striking the stone wall. A muffled clanging sound emanated from it. Wuxin listened intently, and after a while, he spoke: "Daoist Master, have you detected the problem?"

Chuchenzi shook his head: "I...I can't tell. Tap a few more times!"

Wuxin stuck his entire head into the small doorway. Judging from the sound alone, it seemed there was more space behind the stone wall, but in any case, the stone wall must be very thick. He withdrew his head and then reached in with one arm to carefully feel around, discovering that there seemed to be gaps on all four sides of the stone wall.

"There should be a way out," he said to Chuchenzi. "Master, could you shoot and break through the stone wall inside?"

Chuchenzi pushed him away, bent down to check the depth, reached in and pushed the stone wall, then straightened up and shook his head: "No, it's too dangerous. Bullets might not be able to penetrate the stone wall, and could easily ricochet and injure people."

Just as Wuxin was about to speak, there was a sudden noise behind them. The two turned around and saw that the sound was coming from outside the door, as if some zombies were about to break in again.

Wuxin grew a little anxious: "Daoist Master, is it really impossible?"

Chu Chenzi broke out in a cold sweat: "The person who taught me shooting was a bodyguard from the Presidential Palace. He explained it very clearly. Once a bullet bounces off the stone ground, it can't be sure which direction it will hit; it's impossible to defend against!"

A loud "thump" came from outside the large iron gate, as if something small had knocked on the door. Wuxin immediately turned around and rushed to the door, using his back to block the crack. At the same time, a thought suddenly struck him. He beckoned to Chuchenzi, calling him closer, and then asked, "Do you have a way to seal your yang energy?"

Chuchenzi thought for a moment quickly: "I can only seal my own soul and hold my breath for two minutes."

Wu Xin nodded: "Okay, that's enough! We'll put in a living dead later; they're strong, so they can help us break through the stone wall!"

A lock of long hair immediately fell down, obscuring Chuchenzi's eyes: "Are you dreaming?"

Wu Xin glared at him: "Go! Smear your blood on the stone wall inside the door, smear it generously!"

Chuchenzi looked at Wuxin and saw that his eyes had suddenly become dark and bright, shimmering in their slightly sunken sockets, even carrying a hint of flickering demonic beauty. He slapped his forehead, realizing what was happening. He turned and ran straight to the small iron gate, rolling up his sleeves to reveal his snow-white arms. He gently cut his skin with a small dagger, enduring the pain as he squeezed out blood and smeared it on the stone wall inside. Living blood naturally carried the vitality of life, and even after the wound had turned red and purple from being squeezed, he still seemed unsatisfied, bending down to spit twice into the cave. Lowering his sleeves and turning to Wuxin, he asked, "And then?"

Wu Xin raised his hand and gently patted his forehead: "Get ready, stand over here."

Chuchenzi, while touching the paper talisman, quickly walked towards him: "What are you going to do?"

Wu Xin waved his hand dismissively: "Don't worry about me. I'm going to let the corpse in now. As soon as it enters, hold your breath, understand?"

Chuchenzi affixed the yellow talisman he had used earlier to his forehead, then stood upright in the corner by the door. Wuxin's fingers touched the crack in the door, and he slowly pried open an iron door. Although the walking corpses outside were intimidated by the talisman and dared not force their way in, as soon as the door opened, they could clearly feel the presence of living people inside. Out of instinct, the walking corpses tried to rush into the crack.

Wuxin moved nimbly, allowing only a medium-sized male corpse to enter. As soon as the corpse entered, he frantically slammed the iron gate shut. Seeing the real thing arrive, Chuchenzi immediately held his breath and remained motionless. The male corpse spun around; his forehead and features were intact, but from the bridge of his nose down, his skin was mangled and torn, as if corroded by acid. Two rows of interlocking teeth were exposed at the roots, and even his lips were missing. Walking corpses inherently lack thought, completely controlled by the possessing ghost. If the ghost were intact, it wouldn't be so bad; but the souls within the Soul-Locking Array were already chaotic, and now, haphazardly possessing a corpse, they had no intelligence, only a murderous aura driving them to hunt living beings. Wuxin slowly retreated, blocking Chuchenzi's path, while the male corpse, having finally found its target, dragged its legs towards the small hole ahead.

The fresh human blood smeared in the cave was a stimulant for him. Staggering to the cave entrance, he bent down and reached his hands inside, frantically scratching at the blood-stained stone walls. Chuchenzi dared not be distracted, focusing intently on regulating his internal energy, trying to hold on a little longer. Wuxin heard faint rustling sounds coming from inside the cave. A moment later, the male corpse began to reach in, but his broad shoulders got stuck at the entrance. Wuxin saw the corpse's shoulders gradually deform; the corpse, oblivious to pain, had forced its way in. After a series of muffled thuds, the corpse's shoulders went even deeper, and brain matter and flesh spilled out from the gaps around the entrance, clearly indicating that the corpse had smashed its own head.

At this point, Chuchenzi could no longer contain himself and reached out to pat Wuxin's shoulder. Wuxin didn't turn around, but pointed directly at the male corpse: "Daoist Master, go and subdue him!"

Dealing with a lone male corpse was no problem for Chuchenzi. He strode forward, panting, and stuck a paper talisman on the corpse's buttocks. The corpse immediately stopped moving. Wuxin could see clearly, but a chaotic ball of light gathered on the corpse's body, growing dimmer and dimmer, indicating that the soul had been suppressed.

While Chuchenzi was panting heavily, Wuxin pulled the male corpse out. The corpse had really put in a lot of effort; its head, shoulders, and arms were all shattered. Chuchenzi, afraid of getting dirty, refused to go forward; so Wuxin rolled up his sleeves and, while gathering the scattered bones and flesh, pushed against the stone wall at the end of the cave. He eventually discovered that the wall was tilted, with a half-finger-wide crack on one side. He threw the corpse next to Chuchenzi's master, then showed Chuchenzi the situation inside the cave, saying, "Don't worry, there's no blood. I've picked out all the bone fragments and bits of flesh."

Upon hearing his words of comfort, Chuchenzi nearly vomited up the cookies in his stomach and immediately declared that he would absolutely not watch it.

Helpless, Wuxin continued his investigation, reaching into the crevice again to pry and twist. The stone wall blocking the entrance appeared to be a solid slab, perhaps quite thick, making it impossible for Wuxin to budge it alone. Worried about damaging Chuchenzi's short sword, Wuxin cautiously withdrew it after testing, saying, "We need to let another one in, otherwise, with our mortal bodies, we simply can't make a way out."

Chuchenzi closed his eyes and took a deep breath: "Alright, let's release one more!"

Unwilling to repeat his old trick, he risked releasing another female corpse. The corpse, head bowed, rushed in. Upon entering, Wuxin met her face and realized she was a pale-faced woman with three holes in her cheeks—a familiar face. Chuchenzi, who had just bled into the hole, was now standing stiffly in the corner, feigning death. Since Wuxin had no human presence, the female corpse, drawn by the scent of blood, imitated her male predecessor and headed straight for the small hole ahead. The female corpse, with her thin, sloping shoulders, plunged in, slamming into the hole repeatedly. By the time Chuchenzi pressed a paper talisman onto her buttocks, she was utterly destroyed from head to chest, completely beyond repair.

For some reason, the corpse had no blood clots inside, making it easy to clean. Wuxin reached in and probed further, his face lighting up with delight. The stone slab had been moved significantly, large enough for a head to pass through.

He asked Chuchenzi to bring the lantern over, intending to see for himself what lay behind the wall. He bent down and first placed the lantern into the hole, then, starting with his arm, moved it towards his head, and then his shoulders, inching his way in. Chuchenzi stood nervously to the side, his hands clenched into fists. Seeing that Chuchenzi's shoulders had also slid in, he couldn't help but ask, "What do you see?"

The unintentional voice sounded distant, a hoarse "Wah!" Sensing something amiss in his tone, Chuchenzi quickly prepared a paper talisman and held it in his hand: "What's wrong?"

Like a careless crow, it cried out loudly, "Wow! Shit!"

Chuchenzi didn't hear clearly and asked in confusion, "What died?"

Wuxin wagged his tail and retreated, then looked up at Chuchenzi and said, "Not dead, but shit!" He pointed to the cave entrance: "There's a stone platform built outside, and on top of that, a row of toilets, all filled with shit!"

Chuchenzi looked at Wuxin in disbelief: "How can there be a toilet and poop? Are you sure you're looking?"

Wuxin, who was usually a person with no taboos, still felt a little nauseous when he recalled what he had just seen and heard: "Don't believe me? Go and try it!"

Chuchenzi, in a fit of anger, flung his sleeve and spat out, "Pah! Whatever you say! But besides the toilet and shit, is there anything else?"

Wu Xin pointed to the cave entrance and said, "Master, is this your master's outhouse?"

Chuchenzi was almost brought to tears by his questioning. He spread his hands and retorted, "Should we add a stone door and an iron door to the outhouse?"

He was impatient and restless: "Your late master was always unpredictable; what couldn't he have done?"

Chu Chenzi opened his mouth, about to retort, when suddenly a loud crash resounded, and the two iron doors instantly flung open! Seeing a horde of grotesque, zombie-like figures rushing towards him, Chu Chenzi, after a second of panic, stepped forward to block Wuxin's path. With a flick of his right hand, he revealed his small command flag for the third time, while simultaneously shoving Wuxin with his left hand: "Into the cave! Run!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he tossed the command flag downwards, and the slender flagpole stood upright on the stone ground. He then flung a stack of paper talismans across the ground, standing amidst the falling rain of talismans, awkwardly forming hand seals: "Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe, Jie, Zhen, Lie, Qian, Xing!"

White paper talismans fluttered in the dim stone chamber, freezing the walking corpses in place as if under a spell. At the same time, Wuxin shouted, forcefully pushing the stone slabs in the cave aside a little more, allowing him to squeeze out sideways. He grabbed the chamber pot and tossed it carelessly into the endless darkness on either side. He scrambled out and stood on the stone platform, then shouted loudly into the chamber, "Taoist Master, come quickly!"

Chuchenzi's Taoist arts had long since become frivolous, and now, suppressing the horde of corpses, he was nearly exhausted. Hearing Wuxin's call, he didn't hesitate and turned to crawl into the hole. He was a large man, and logically, there was no way he could squeeze through such a small hole. But when faced with life and death, people often do the impossible. He hunched his shoulders and squeezed inward, actually managing to arch his head and shoulders out of the opening. Wuxin had already kicked away several toilets, making the space much wider, and now he grabbed him and forcefully pulled him out without a word.

(End of this chapter)