Volume 1, Chapter 41 – Run, She’s Back (Part 4)

Huang Qi’s voice wasn’t loud, but it rang out with crystalline clarity, amplified by his qi until it cut through the chaos like a stone dropped into still water—the ripples of his words lingering in the air.

For a brief moment, the surrounding turmoil fell into dead silence.

Huang Qi gripped his sword, his heart trembling even more violently than his body. He was terrified some reckless fool might actually take his challenge—because if that happened, he was dead.

Truthfully, he knew this was risky. His first instinct had been to shout, “Scram if you value your lives!” But then he reconsidered—would the Honghua Sect’s peerless fairy really say something so weak? So he had no choice but to go with the more aggressive taunt.

“Shit, it’s really Cheng Hongling! Didn’t she defect to another sect?”

“This has to be a trap! The Honghua Sect lured us here to wipe us out!”

“Forget the captives—run!”

The nearby invaders panicked, abandoning their captives and fleeing in all directions. Even the stronger demons and ghosts, unwilling to test their luck, hastily retreated, dragging weaker spirits with them.

“It actually worked!”

Huang Qi exhaled in relief. This was exactly what he’d hoped for—low-tier zombies might be mindless, but they obeyed higher tiered zombies. With them gone, his risk dropped significantly.

“Fairy Hongling has left seclusion! She’s back!”

The Honghua Sect disciples and survivors cheered, unaware Huang Qi had come from outside—they assumed he’d just emerged from closed-door cultivation.

Emboldened, Huang Qi strutted forward, his taunts growing louder:

“Who dares face Cheng Hongling in battle? Huh?”

Not a single demon or invader dared answer. Every one of them fled like rats spotting a cat.

‘Just what the hell did the real Cheng Hongling do to make them this terrified?’

Huang Qi was morbidly curious, but right now, he was deeply grateful for her brutal reputation. Without it, he’d never have this chance to bluff his way through.

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“Tch. Where is everyone? No humans? Fine, send a ghost then! Don’t let this fairy catch you—today, humans will become ghosts, and ghosts will regret ever being human!”

The more he shouted, the more his confidence swelled. He practically basked in the spectacle, his voice booming across the sect. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined his return to the Honghua Sect would be so… glorious.

“What brat is this, barking so arrogantly? Let me teach you some manners!”

A rough voice cut through the cheers.

Huang Qi’s blood ran cold.

A mountain of a man barreled down the street—bare-chested, muscles like coiled steel, veins bulging like serpents beneath his skin. Every step shattered the granite pavement beneath him.

“What backwater idiot is this? Who let him in?”

“Who cares? Run! Once he pisses off Fairy Hongling, none of us are getting out alive!”

“Damn it, I never should’ve brought him!”

Whispers of panic spread among the fleeing invaders.

‘Oh, come on! I was just bluffing!’

Huang Qi wanted to cry. He’d forgotten—some country bumpkins had never heard of Cheng Hongling. Of course they wouldn’t be scared.

The brute charged like a raging bull, smashing through abandoned carriages, each footfall cratering the ground.

‘What do I do? WHAT DO I DO?’

As the man closed in, Huang Qi’s mind blanked with terror. He seriously considered slapping himself—why had he run his mouth like that?

But regret was useless. The brute, despite his size, was fast. In seconds, he was upon Huang Qi, leaping into the air with a fist aimed straight at his face.

‘Big bro, you’d really hit a face this pretty?!’

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Huang Qi squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the end.

Shiiiing—!

A sword plummeted from the sky, piercing clean through the man’s forearm.

“AAARGH!!”

The brute recoiled, howling, his punch aborted mid-swing. He reached to yank the blade out—but he wasn’t fast enough.

A figure landed gracefully atop the sword’s hilt, driving it deeper with a single step.

Shunk!

The blade sheared through flesh and bone like tofu, pinning the man’s arm to the ground.

“GYAAAAAH—!”

The brute collapsed, his screams turning piggish as he writhed against the impalement.

Huang Qi’s mind went blank.

Standing before him was an immortal-featured elder with flowing white hair—Elder Ruan, Fairy Lingyu’s grandfather.

“Pah! You think you’re worthy to face our sect’s top genius?”

The elder spat, then turned to Huang Qi. “Hongling, hurry to the central square! The Sect Leader is fighting a Bronze Zombie. This old man’s bones are too brittle to help.”

“You’re too modest!”

Huang Qi blurted reflexively, even as he screamed internally, ‘If YOU can’t help, what the hell am I supposed to do? Die?!’

“Oh? Since when did you learn to flatter?”

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Elder Ruan stroked his beard, amused.

Huang Qi’s stomach dropped. ‘Damn it, acting like her isn’t just about looks—it’s mannerisms too!’

Not daring to linger, he rushed toward the square. As much as he wanted to find his master, he knew—if that Bronze Zombie wasn’t dealt with, the entire sect would drown in blood.

Huang Qi crept to the square’s edge, scanning the battlefield from the shadows.

The ground looked like it had been plowed by giants—craters and sword scars littered the area.

Two figures stood locked in a standoff.

On the left, Qin Quan, the Honghua Sect Leader. A sword in one hand, talismans in the other, blood trickling from his lips. Claw marks raked his robes, the flesh beneath mangled.

On the right, a gaunt figure in tattered official robes. Its hair hung in greasy strands, obscuring all but its crimson eyes. Its skin had a metallic bronze sheen, and its fingers ended in four-inch claws, glistening with venomous green. Its toes, equally clawed, dug into the earth like a beast’s.

“Bronze Zombie…”

Huang Qi’s breath hitched. His master had once said: ‘The mark of a Bronze Zombie isn’t just its skin—it moves like a human, not some stiff-legged puppet.’

Shhhhk—!

The corpse moved.

It launched itself at Qin Quan, moving so fast it blurred—galloping on all fours, jaws unhinging to reveal saber-like fangs.

Qin Quan’s eyes sharpened. He crushed a talisman.

“Gale Talisman!”

A hurricane-force wind erupted, slamming into the Bronze Zombie mid-leap. The creature flailed, nearly hurled backward—until it sank its claws into the earth, anchoring itself.

Seizing the opening, Qin Quan surged forward, his sword tracing two razor-edged arcs aimed at the corpse’s eyes.

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The Bronze Zombie, still off-balance, did the unthinkable—it let go.

Letting the wind carry it up, it dodged the slashes effortlessly.

Qin Quan didn’t relent. He leaped, sword flashing toward its neck.

The corpse caught the blade mid-air, its bronze fingers clamping like a vise.

CLANG—!

Metal clashed against flesh—and the flesh held.

Then the wind died.

Both combatants landed. The Bronze Corpse’s jaw split open to its ears, unleashing a cloud of green miasma straight at Qin Quan’s face.

The Sect Leader had no choice—he released his sword and retreated.

The corpse hurled the blade back with monstrous strength, the air screaming as it passed Qin Quan’s head by inches.

Before he could recover, the Bronze Zombie was on him, its claws flaying his arms with every swipe.

“Grahhh!”

It went for his throat.

Huang Qi had never seen combat this brutal. Fear turned his limbs to lead—but seeing Qin Quan on the verge of collapse, he forced himself forward.

Stepping into the open, he snarled:

“Give me your name. After I kill you, I’ll hunt down your descendants next!”