Just like the mummified corpses we found in the Water Curtain Cave, these ones had minds of their own. Once they saw a large number of their companions fall, the ones behind them stopped charging and instead turned in unison to flee.
By the time I finished reloading, the corridor behind the rear door was already empty. Apart from the bodies of the fallen corpses, there was nothing left.
It was then that Xiong Wanyi and Ximen Lian came rushing in. Seeing that Sun Fatty and I were unharmed, they finally let out a sigh of relief. In terms of loyalty, these two far surpassed Sun Fatty by more than just a little.
"Sun Fatty, didn't you just say it was safe? This is your idea of safe?" Xiong Wanyi asked after thoroughly confirming that all the corpses were completely dead.
Still catching his breath and calming his nerves, Sun Fatty retorted, "Xiong Freak, when did I ever say it was safe? I asked if it was safe." As he spoke, he gave a kick to one of the corpse's heads. "See? They came out and answered."
Wu Rendi and Yang Xiao came in at that moment. After glancing at the situation, Yang Xiao said, "They should behave for a while now. They won't dare show their faces again so easily. Let's keep moving." He looked at me and Sun Fatty. "You two go on ahead."
Apparently, the power of the pistol had exceeded even Sun Fatty's expectations. With a gun in hand, he suddenly seemed much braver and even dared to take the lead into the rear corridor. Just as I was marveling at his newfound courage, Sun Fatty turned around and shouted, "Lazi, what are you spacing out for? Get moving! I'm not saying anything, but—go, you take the front." Welp, so much for that. Sun Fatty was still Sun Fatty—unchanged.
This passage was almost a carbon copy of the tunnel behind the secret chamber in the Water Curtain Cave. That one led to an underground river. Could this one be leading to the sewers?
We followed the corridor downward. Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened. Sun Fatty, trailing behind me, couldn't keep his mouth shut. "Lazi, where do you think this leads? It can't be another underground river, right? If it really is, then maybe I need to check if I'm dreaming."
"Mm-hmm, you are dreaming," I couldn't help but say as I turned back toward him. "Once we're out of here, it's your wedding day. Ma Yiyi's waiting for you in bed. Congratulations!"
Sun Fatty actually blushed—a rare sight. "Cut it out. I'm not saying anything, but there's no way I'd fall for her."
I chuckled and was about to tease him some more when a sudden thought hit me. "Wait... I didn't see Ma Yiyi upstairs. Could she have—"
Sun Fatty nodded and said, "She wasn't up there. Before you and Wu Rendi came out the back, Xiong Freak and the Big Official told me your classmates Xu Miaomiao and Bai Anqi were also missing. Add Shao Yiyi and that teacher—what's her name—Zhao Minmin, and half your class is already down here."
Zhao Minmin? In all the chaos earlier, I hadn't even thought of her. But now that Sun Fatty mentioned her, I remembered—she was dating Tao Xiangkong. There's no way she could be clueless about all this. And when she puked all that Ancestor Shaman (巫祖) toxic blood onto Yang Xiao's face earlier, was she being controlled by Tao Xiangkong, or was she in on it the whole time?
As my thoughts spiraled, a chill suddenly ran down my spine. I felt someone watching me from afar. I turned toward the source of the gaze—and at the far end of the corridor, I saw a woman in white with disheveled hair staring straight at me.
I jumped in shock. On closer look, it was none other than Ms. Zhao Minmin, my math teacher for the past few days.
Then she did something utterly bizarre—she knelt down and bowed several times in my direction. While I was still baffled by her actions, a wave of dizziness hit me like a hammer. I collapsed to the ground, completely unable to control my body.
Sun Fatty reacted quickly. He caught me just as I fell and shouted, "Lazi, what's wrong with you?"
I couldn't speak, but my mind was still crystal clear. It was just that I'd lost control of my voice and body. Sun Fatty started to panic and kept calling my name. I used every ounce of strength I had to lift a trembling finger and point toward Zhao Minmin.
Sun Fatty immediately got the message. Without a second's hesitation, he raised his gun and fired a full burst in that direction.
"Lazi, what did you see? Did I hit her?" he asked after slamming in his last magazine.
I was fully conscious, but I felt like a puddle of goo. If he wasn't holding me up, I'd have slumped right to the ground. I still couldn't speak, so I shook my head slightly to indicate he hadn't hit anything.
Sun Fatty gripped the pistol tightly, now down to his final magazine. He didn't dare fire again so recklessly. Sweat started beading on his forehead. "Lazi, say something, man! Did I hit her or not?!"
When I gave no further reaction and the hand I'd lifted dropped back down, he realized something was seriously wrong. He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Director Wu! Yang Xiao! Get over here, quick! Lazi's in bad shape!"
Several beams of flashlight swept in from behind—Wu Rendi, Yang Xiao, and the others had all entered the room. Yang Xiao saw my condition, but didn't look particularly surprised. He pried open my eyelids for a look, took my pulse, then turned back and asked Sun Fatty, "What happened just now?"
By that point, my entire body had already begun to stiffen—even moving my eyeballs took effort. Sun Fatty glanced at me and said, "I think I saw a shadow drift past up ahead. I fired a few shots, but I don't think I hit anything. When I turned back around, Lazi was already like this. Not to complain or anything, but seriously—what the hell happened to him?"
Yang Xiao looked at me again and said, "Shen La's soul has been bound."
Mi Rongheng froze when he heard that. Eyes wide, he exclaimed, "Soul-Binding Spell? Are you saying it's the Soul-Binding Spell—one of the Living Severance Techniques of the Ghost Path Sect?"
"Mm." Yang Xiao let out a soft grunt in acknowledgment, but didn't continue the topic. He seemed to be avoiding further discussion of the Ghost Path Sect's sorcery. Sun Fatty didn't care whether it was Soul-Binding or Ghost-Binding—he looked at Yang Xiao and said, "All Ghost Path Sect business, right? You're the founding patriarch—this sort of thing shouldn't be too hard for you."
"Da Sheng," Mi Rongheng tugged on Sun Fatty's sleeve and said in a low voice, "The Soul-Binding Spell isn't as simple as you think. If someone's caught in it, they can't be woken up by external means. Forcibly breaking it could harm Lazi's soul. The only way to wake up is through his own mental strength."
"Then what? We just sit here and wait it out? He wakes up whenever he wakes up?" Sun Fatty was clearly not satisfied with that explanation.
Yang Xiao squinted at me, clearly calculating how to bring me back. Just then, Wu Rendi stepped forward. "Yang Xiao, let me borrow back what I just returned to you."
"What thing? Oh… you mean this." Yang Xiao froze for a second, then quickly realized what Wu Rendi meant.
He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out that half bottle of corpse oil again.
What's he trying to do?! My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Given what I knew about Wu Rendi, I immediately had a bad feeling.
Sure enough, Wu Rendi handed the little porcelain bottle of corpse oil to Sun Fatty. "Fatty, pour this 'medicine' down Shen La's throat."
Sun Fatty took the bottle and, noticing the foul-smelling, sticky liquid inside, hesitated. He could tell this wasn't anything normal. "Director Wu… what is this stuff, really? Not to doubt you or anything, but—is this actually reliable?"
Wu Rendi lifted his eyelids and glanced at him. "Are you doubting me, or doubting the medicine?"
Sun Fatty gave a sheepish laugh, wilting under the invisible pressure Wu Rendi exuded. "Who's doubting who? I'm just saying, Director Wu—if you've got more of this good stuff, hook me up with a few bottles too."
Wu Rendi let out a cold snort. "Cut the crap and pour it into Shen La. Now."
Sun Fatty grunted in acknowledgment, uncorked the porcelain bottle in front of me—and even before he brought it close, the stench hit him full-force. "Damn, this 'medicine' really smells like hell's leftovers. Lazi, here we go. Bitter medicine is good for you—drink this and you'll be fine."
As he spoke, the bottle was already nearing my mouth. Bitter medicine is good for you? This was more like stench medicine kills you! The corpse oil was just a breath away from touching my lips. If I had to gulp that stuff down—I'd rather die!
Suddenly, I involuntarily shouted, "Get that filthy crap away from me!"
I could speak! That's when I realized—I tried moving my limbs, and to my astonishment, I stood up from the ground. The dizziness and weakness were gone without a trace. I was completely back to my state before Zhao Minmin knelt and bowed to me.
"Lazi, you're okay? Damn, that stuff really works." Sun Fatty brought the bottle toward me again. "Here, Lazi, just drink the rest of it. If just smelling it made you jump up, drinking it will fix you up for good. Don't leave behind any hidden damage—come on, drink it."
"Stay back—Sun Fatty, don't you dare touch me with that thing!" I shouted at him. "That's not medicine, that's—" I caught myself mid-sentence. One glance told me Wu Rendi was staring at me, cold and expressionless.
Sun Fatty still chased after me, asking, "If it's not medicine, then what is it?"
I pinched my nose and said, "Put the lid back on first." After he screwed the cap on tight, I continued, "What I mean is, that stuff's for external use only. You can't drink it."
Seeing that I had regained consciousness, Yang Xiao walked over and took the porcelain bottle from Sun Fatty's hand. Then he asked me, "What did you see just now?"
I thought back and said, "Inside the room, I saw someone kneeling to me, kowtowing. The moment I saw that, my mind went blank—and then I was like this."
Yang Xiao asked, "Who was kowtowing?"
"It was Zhao Minmin," I replied. "The same one who puked all over you earlier."