Chapter One Hundred and Fifteen: The Mastermind Behind the Scenes
A muffled sound, as if someone were violently smashing into something, reached Yang Haoran's ears. He didn't even give it a second thought, quickening his pace.
Xu Meijing, however, didn't care in the slightest about expending her Spirit Power. Not only did she form a protective barrier around her body to block out the corpse stench, she even made her body float, hands casually tucked into her pockets, drifting behind Yang Haoran like a specter. No matter how fast Yang Haoran went, she was able to keep pace effortlessly.
A moment later, Yang Haoran stopped. The passage ahead had widened considerably, and it was no longer pitch black. Throughout the passage, at regular intervals, brazier fires illuminated the way, lighting up the entire corridor.
"It seems the tragedy of your Yangjiawan wasn't caused by a wild Corpse Ghoul. This must all be man-made."
Xu Meijing's voice came from behind him. Upon hearing her words, Yang Haoran's expression instantly changed.
"How do you know? " Yang Haoran asked.
"You'll know in a moment," Xu Meijing said, offering no further explanation.
Though Xu Meijing offered no explanation, Yang Haoran didn't doubt the truth of her words. Xu Meijing's strength far surpassed his, and her perceptive abilities were naturally beyond his comparison. For her to say such a thing now, it was very likely she had sensed something.
A fierce killing intent erupted in Yang Haoran's eyes. The reason he had pursued them all the way here, apart from wanting to forcibly take back the Corpse Puppets his parents had become, was also to understand what exactly had happened. He couldn't let his parents die in such a muddled way, and even after death, find no peace, but become Corpse Puppets controlled by a Corpse Ghoul.
If it was all man-made, then the tragedy of Yangjiawan was a premeditated massacre. He would personally slaughter this bastard!
Compared to the former scenario, the latter filled him with even greater rage, and was utterly unforgivable.
"No matter who did this, I will make them pay!"
Yang Haoran declared in a low voice, continuing to run towards the end of the passage. In less time than it takes to smoke a cigarette, he finally emerged from the passage, entering a sizable space.
The scene before him made him frown instinctively.
What first caught his eye were several massive stone gates. These gates were scattered throughout the space, and all but one were already open, with only one remaining closed.
While the massive stone gates were certainly eye-catching, the vast number of Corpse Puppets also drew significant attention. They were all gathered outside the closed stone gate, and at the very front of the horde, several Corpse Puppets charged madly towards the massive, closed gate.
Their bodies slammed into the stone gate, the immense force causing a muffled, booming sound to reverberate from it. The sounds Yang Haoran had heard earlier in the passage must have been the Corpse Puppets striking the gate.
This tightly sealed stone gate was no ordinary one. Aside from its immense size, a similarly massive and intricate curse inscription was carved upon its surface.
When these Corpse Puppets crashed into the stone gate, the inscription immediately erupted with a burst of golden light. Enveloped by the golden light, the Corpse Puppets' bodies began to melt away like snow under a scorching sun, dissolving at a visible rate, finally turning into pools of grayish-white liquid on the ground.
The dissolution of these Corpse Puppets did not cause the other Corpse Puppets to halt their advance. They pressed on relentlessly, continually assaulting the stone gate. Each time a few Corpse Puppets melted away under the golden light, several more immediately filled their place, showing no intention of stopping.
Meanwhile, the curse inscription on the stone gate, with the relentless impact of the Corpse Puppets, saw its emitted golden light grow increasingly faint.
"They're depleting the power of the inscription on the stone gate. What's behind this gate? " A hint of curiosity couldn't help but surface in Xu Meijing's tone as she watched the Corpse Puppets relentlessly battering the gate.
Yang Haoran, at this moment, had no mind for curiosity. His gaze swept through all the Corpse Puppets, searching, hoping to find his parents. But he found no trace of them, and his heart instantly filled with anxiety.
The number of Corpse Puppets here was significant, but compared to the earlier horde in Yangjiawan, the number of Corpse Puppets here had already halved. In other words, from the moment he first heard the booming sounds until now, half of the Corpse Puppets had already slammed into the stone gate with their bodies.
He had seen the consequences of the Corpse Puppets striking the stone gate with perfect clarity: once a Corpse Puppet hit the gate, the final outcome was, without exception, that they would all turn into a puddle of grayish-white liquid. Now, with no trace of his parents, didn't that mean that before he even arrived in this space, the Corpse Puppets his parents had become had already struck the gate?
This realization was difficult for Yang Haoran to accept. He knew his parents were dead, but he still wanted to preserve their bodies. Perhaps one day, through his own efforts, it might truly be possible to gather their souls again, though he himself knew this possibility was pitifully small, almost zero, he had still clung to a sliver of hope.
But now, the Corpse Puppets his parents had become no longer existed, and that last shred of hope in his heart was gone.
Yang Haoran trembled with rage. He silently swore to himself, he would definitely drag out the bastard mastermind, no matter who he was, he would absolutely not let this fellow off easy!
In just this short span of time, the number of Corpse Puppets here had again halved. The grayish-white liquid on the ground, however, was steadily increasing, and constantly emitting a nauseating stench.
Xu Meijing, standing nearby, also sensed Yang Haoran's emotional shift. At first, she was puzzled, not understanding why Yang Haoran, whose emotions had gradually stabilized, had suddenly become agitated again.
It wasn't until she noticed that none of the Corpse Puppets bore any resemblance to Yang Haoran's parents that she finally understood what had happened.
"You bastard, get out here! " Yang Haoran roared. "I know you're here! Come out!"
Yang Haoran roared, his expression somewhat ferocious at the moment, a stark contrast to his usual amiable smile.
His roar was merely an attempt to vent the fury in his heart. He hadn't expected the other party to actually show themselves after hearing his shouts, but to his utter surprise, his roar actually had an effect.
From behind one of the open stone gates, a rhythmic series of footsteps suddenly echoed.
Thump, thump, thump, thump. . .
A cold glint flashed in Yang Haoran's eyes. He looked towards the source of the footsteps, and from behind the dark stone gate, two figures, one tall and one short, emerged.
The shorter person stood about 1.7 meters tall. Compared to an average person, this height wasn't particularly tall, but it certainly couldn't be called short. However, compared to the giant beside him, he truly was short.
The giant beside him was truly enormous, at least 2.2 to 2.3 meters tall. His physique was exceptionally burly and robust. For such a person, the word 'tall' simply wasn't adequate to describe him.
The tall and short figures gradually stepped out of the darkness. As they fully emerged from the stone gate, their appearances came into view for both Yang Haoran and Xu Meijing.
Xu Meijing's expression remained unchanged as she looked at the two, but Yang Haoran was the exact opposite. His facial expression froze, and he stood rooted to the spot, stunned.
The giant's face and many parts of his body were severely decomposed. In the decaying areas, maggots could even be seen writhing. Grayish-white Corpse Qi constantly emanated from him.
Who the giant was, Yang Haoran didn't know, but he knew this giant was no human—it was a Corpse Ghoul!
He had finally found the Corpse Ghoul that had brought ruin to his entire Yangjiawan village. Logically, Yang Haoran's emotions should have been incredibly agitated. Indeed, Yang Haoran's emotions were intensely agitated at this moment, but what made him so overwhelmingly emotional was not this giant Corpse Ghoul, but an entirely different person.
This person was dressed in a yellow robe, with a yellow shoulder bag slung at his waist. He was currently looking at Yang Haoran with a kindly smile, while the giant who had emerged with him, like a servant, stood dutifully behind him.
This person was none other than Master Zhou, the Master Zhou who had chanted sutras for his second uncle's salvation, the Master Zhou he had thought was a decent person!
Yang Haoran genuinely hadn't expected Master Zhou to appear here. And what his presence here at this very moment meant, even a fool would understand!
"I never imagined it would be you. All of this, you damn well did it! " Yang Haoran glared at Master Zhou, whose face was still wreathed in smiles, and asked through gritted teeth.
Master Zhou did not deny it. Under Yang Haoran's man-eating gaze, he smiled and nodded, admitting it readily.
"You're a goddamn animal!"
Yang Haoran was enraged. He didn't even bother asking why the other party had done this. With fury overwhelming his mind at this moment, he had only one thought: to kill this bastard, to avenge his parents, and his clansmen!
With boundless fury, Yang Haoran fully activated the Spirit Power within his body. Intense Yin Qi enveloped his form. With a flick of his hand, a chain as thick as an arm, resembling a black python, shot towards Master Zhou.
Master Zhou's expression remained unchanged. Not only did he show no trace of panic or fear, he even maintained that faint smile, allowing the black chain to surge towards him.
Just as the black chain was about to strike Master Zhou, at that very moment, the giant behind him suddenly stepped forward, and with a swift grab, seized the incoming black chain.
The chain was firmly caught in the giant's large, fan-like hand. His strength was immense. No matter how the chain struggled in his grasp, it could not break free from his massive hand.
"Corpse Ghoul!"
Yang Haoran's gaze turned cold, his killing intent intensifying. But at this moment, what he primarily wanted to kill was not this Corpse Ghoul, but the mastermind behind it all—Master Zhou!
"Haoran," Master Zhou said, "you really are like a child. Always resorting to fighting and killing upon meeting, not mature or steady at all. With so much having happened, don't you want to know why I did all of this?"
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