C20

The scene unfolding before me took a turn for the eerie. My heart raced as I watched the compass in my foster father's hand glow like a piece of red-hot iron. His eyes appeared to be scorched, slowly beginning to emit smoke.

"Father..." I reached out, then quickly pulled back, fearing I might disrupt the divination.

After a moment, the glow in my foster father's eyes dimmed, leaving his pupils clouded and his vision gone.

"Father, are you alright?" I whispered, but he remained silent, as still as a statue.

"Father! Father!" I reached out to feel for his breath, and suddenly he coughed up blood that splashed onto my hand, oddly devoid of any warmth.

"Ten... Thirteen corpses. You must find those thirteen corpses to defy destiny, to... alter the path of your life, to survive!" Each word my foster father struggled to utter was punctuated by a mouthful of blood.

I hung on his every word, not daring to miss a syllable or interrupt.

"Those thirteen corpses... they are the Living Corpse, Blood Corpse, Ice Corpse, Fox Corpse, Spirit Corpse, Poison Corpse, Evil Corpse, Corpse Demon, Corpse Devil, Corpse King, Corpse Immortal, No-transforming Bone... Changsheng, repeat them back to me!" He listed the thirteen corpses in one breath, coughing up more blood, staining the blanket and half the bed crimson.

"Living Corpse, Blood Corpse, Ice Corpse, Fox Corpse..." I recited them flawlessly, and my foster father sighed in relief, nodding with satisfaction.

"Father, where can I find these thirteen corpses? And why must I find them?" I asked urgently.

"I... I don't know. I've exhausted my life's cultivation and can only divine their existence. And your origins... they're even more complex than I imagined. Even blinding myself, I cannot see through them..." As he spoke, my foster father groped blindly in front of him.

I rushed forward and grasped my adoptive father's bloodied hand, sobbing as I called out, "Dad, I'm here. Dad, didn't you mention there were some unfinished matters you needed me to handle? Please, tell me what they are!"

"Changsheng, beneath the wardrobe, there's a wooden chest. Everything I need you to do is written on a few sheets of paper inside... Changsheng, let your dad hold you one last time..." My foster father weakly opened his arms, tears mixed with blood streaming from his eyes.

Tears clouded my sight as I embraced my foster father tightly, just like I used to when I was little and wanted to be coddled.

He tenderly stroked my head but remained silent. Suddenly, his body shuddered, and he pushed me away with unexpected force. I nearly lost my balance and fell. Staring at him in disbelief, I saw a look of utter shock on his face as his hollow eyes fixed on me.

"In this final moment, I never imagined I'd glimpse a hint of destiny! Changsheng, listen closely, there is something inside you that must never fall into the wrong hands! You need to grow strong, you need to survive!" he urged with fervor.

"Dad, what's inside me?" I asked, astonished.

But no matter how many times I repeated the question, it was as if he couldn't hear me. His face was etched with terror as he muttered to himself, "Changsheng, there's a jade piece in that chest, a family heirloom. Find my brother, Zhao Guizhen... he will help you. Changsheng, can you hear me? Answer me!"

"Dad, I've heard everything. I'll get the chest right now!" I cried, tears streaming down my face as I shook his hand, then hurried to the wardrobe.

I quickly located the chest, but as I picked it up, my foster father's body dissolved into a puddle of blood.