C14 The Three Noobs

The eyes of the female corpse seemed to possess a bewitching power, plunging onlookers deep into terror. I was almost convinced I saw a hallucination, as it appeared that the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned in a chilling sneer.

In my moment of distraction, Grandpa Jiaang deftly looped a rope around the corpse's other left leg, intent on dragging her away from the treacherous waters. Yet, for some odd reason, the corpse felt as heavy as a thousand kilos; no matter how hard Grandpa Jiaang and I strained, we couldn't budge her an inch.

Another bolt of lightning tore through the sky, casting the corpse's feet in an even paler, deathly hue. This eerie sight brought to mind the words Old Master Jiaang had shared with me days earlier. He had mentioned that, just as the Corpse Dragging Men of Xiangxi abide by certain taboos, so do we. There are three we never violate: first, we never retrieve a standing corpse; second, we avoid corpse retrieval during thunderstorms; and third, if we fail to retrieve a corpse three times, we must never attempt it again. These are the ironclad rules of a Corpse Dragging Man, yet here we were, defying fate itself.

"Grandpa Jiaang, what now?" I asked, my voice tinged with urgency.

"What else can we do? Keep pulling!" Old Master Jiaang's face was beet red, his expression fierce, betraying the deep-seated fear he harbored for this female corpse. His panic seemed to surpass even mine.

At the impasse, inspiration struck. I fished out a handful of cinnabar from my pocket and scattered it over the water's surface. The bright red powder spread like dye, coloring the water around the corpse. To our astonishment, seconds later, the corpse began to move!

Without a moment's hesitation, Grandpa Jiaang and I hoisted the corpse onto the boat and rowed furiously. Before long, we had left the haunted waters behind.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Grandpa Jiaang turned to me with a grin and said, "Changsheng, you truly are Half Immortal Zhao's son. Was that cinnabar you sprinkled just now?"

"Yes, cinnabar is mined from veins enriched by the essence of the sun and moon. It absorbs the pure energy of the cosmos, giving it a potent yang magnetic field. I was shooting in the dark, but I never expected to actually manage to temporarily alter the feng shui of these waters," I said, my voice tinged with excitement. However, my joy was short-lived.

I had hoped that retrieving the female corpse would erase the ominous sign of death from Grandpa Jiaang, but when I glanced back, the shackles behind him had grown even shorter. To my horror, the death-seeking female corpse had transformed into the Ghost Dragon King!

A chill ran down my spine as I looked down to find the female corpse still there, but now, a black hand had emerged, clutching tightly at the rope tied around her left foot.

"Changsheng, it's... it's the Ghost Dragon King!" Old Master Jiaang exclaimed, his voice filled with terror.

A lightning bolt tore through the sky, revealing the Ghost Dragon King as he rose from the water. Towering and horned, his body was encased in a scaly armor that, at a glance, could be mistaken for that of a temple's dragon deity.

The Ghost Dragon King's eyes blazed with a blood-red glow as he reached out to snap the rope from the female corpse's foot and reclaim her. But in that electrifying moment, the big red rooster proved its worth, crowing defiantly at the malevolent Ghost Dragon King.

The ferocity in the Ghost Dragon King's gaze diminished slightly, and he recoiled, releasing his grip. Seizing the moment, I quickly used the Soul Painting Brush to add the final touch to the paper doll's face: the eyes.

The two child-like paper dolls sprang to life, their first sight being the formidable Ghost Dragon King. I gave them a nudge, and they plunged into the water. The paper dolls I had crafted, though vulnerable to fire, held no fear of water. I had used the strongest and purest wood from the southern mountains and the finest, water-resistant leather.

Believing the paper dolls were attacking him, the Ghost Dragon King lunged, driving his claws into the chest of one of the dolls. He had fallen right into my trap.

My skills paled in comparison to my foster father's. The paper dolls I crafted appeared vivid and lifelike, yet I couldn't manipulate them with the same ease he did. At best, I could only bring them to life for a brief moment.

Once the paper dolls were imbued with souls, their greatest desire was to avoid the fate of being burned or destroyed. As a result, they would fiercely attack anyone who bore them ill will.

As the paper dolls managed to stall the Ghost Dragon King for a moment, Old Master Jiaang and I rowed as hard as we could. The water roiled behind us, signaling that a fierce battle between the paper dolls and the Ghost Dragon King was unfolding beneath the surface.

"Changsheng, rest assured, we'll recover the body. The fog ahead is clearing, and we'll soon be on our way back," Grandpa Jiaang assured me between labored breaths.

I nodded, managing a weak smile, but my heart was heavy with unease; the premonition of Old Master Jiaang's death still loomed over us.

And indeed, my fears soon became reality. As I turned, a spray of warm blood splattered across my face.