Chapter 31: Corpsefish (1/2)

Lu Yun’s pupils dilated slightly. He was both surprised, and not surprised, that Qing Han was here. The thing responsible for the illusions had followed Lu Yun to the stone chamber that Yueshen resided in. Naturally, the illusions at the entrance would be broken.

What caught him off guard were the seven men following Qing Han.

There were seven city lords in Duskwater Prefecture. Mo Yi had stayed outside, and two of them had died in the Duality of Dragon and Tiger. Only two of them had remained by Qing Han’s side. The other five in the group were unfamiliar faces, and they were all immortals.

“A transportation portal?” The answer easily came to Lu Yun.

His command token was one such portal. He was able to instantly summon the Dusk Phalanx from thousands of kilometers away, so it only made sense for such an important noble scion to possess something similar.

However, such portals had strict limitations. Only those marked by the portals could be transported. For example, Lu Yun could only summon Yin Xuantian and his soldiers with his token.

Qing Han and his followers were a bedraggled mess. Clearly, they had encountered a great many dangers earlier. The imperial envoy’s eyes blazed with fury when they settled on Lu Yun and Li Youcai.

“Your Excellency, Sir Prefect, it’s been a while!” he spat at the two men.

It’d been Lu Yun’s betrayal outside that prompted Li Youcai to follow suit, which had landed Qing Han in perilous circumstances.

“Should I take care of them, my lord?” Yueshen asked faintly when she sensed their hostility.

Lu Yun shook his head. “No need.”

“Who are you talking to?” Qing Han blurted out, suspicious and on guard.

“No one.” Lu Yun shook his head. “You misheard.”

The Tome of Life and Death gave him control over reincarnation, and allowed Lu Yun to see the entities of another world, such as spirits, demigods, ghosts, and specters. No other living beings—not even immortals—would be able to see Yueshen unless she wanted them to.

“Cut your dramatics, junior!” exclaimed an immortal in red beside Qing Han. There was a slight tremor to his voice, betraying the fear lodged deep in his heart.

“Did you encounter the zombies?” Lu Yun said with a frown apropos of nothing.

At this moment, an exceedingly mournful voice came from behind them. “Sir Qing Han, Sir Envoy, this subordinate has sworn to serve you. Why did you abandon me?”

A figure wobbled toward them. With an eerie smile, he opened his arms wide, seemingly here to claim Qing Han’s life. Judging from his clothes, he was a Duskwater city lord.

“This subordinate feels awful, sir. Please help me!”

“Sir Qing Han!”

“Help, young sir!” About a dozen zombies walked out of the tunnel.

They all wore clothes similar to the garb of Qing Han’s five immortals, which clearly marked them as part of the cultivators the envoy had summoned here. Apparently, almost all of them had met with an untimely demise.

Qing Han’s clouded face turned as white as a sheet. He backed away and demanded loudly, “Are—are you still alive?!”

But the zombies kept repeating the same phrases: the last words they uttered before their deaths.

“Run!” The two surviving city lords exchanged a glance. Swords suddenly manifested beneath their feet and they dashed toward the small lake behind them.

Splash.

Something broke through the peaceful surface of the waters. One after another, pale arms shot out of the lake and grabbed the two city lords as they flew past, dragging them into the water. Their tortured screams rang and echoed in the small space.