After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 32: Chapter 33: Don’t Look Back

Hee Lingchuan heard it too, of course. He held his breath, focusing inward as if in deep meditation, determined to ignore whatever he heard.

Seeing no reaction from him, the voice changed. It became that of a sweet, sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl pouring her heart out, her tone soft, cute, and winsome. As Hee Lingchuan listened, he found it sounded more and more like the girl he had a crush on as a child.

’Hmph,’ he scoffed inwardly. ’That ”sweet girl” ran off with a rich kid from our hometown before she even finished school. In less than three years, she’d popped out two rich brats. The moment I saw those two kids with their perpetually runny noses, I realized how stupid I’d been. This Three Corpses Insect clearly didn’t do its homework. It doesn’t know that those who’ve left me are best left in the past.’

Just then, the boat’s hull suddenly shuddered, as if some heavyweight monster had climbed aboard. It was immediately followed by the surprised cries and blood-curdling screams of soldiers from behind, the curses of the Sand Bandits, and the symphony of swords being drawn from their sheaths.

Fighting had broken out in the rear, and it was intense.

The nearest scream erupted right behind Hee Lingchuan. He thought he’d even spoken with that soldier earlier.

Then, the monster charged straight for him, its heavy footsteps like hammers pounding directly on his heart.

’Is this another trick by the Three Corpses Insect to lure me into turning around?’

’But if it’s real, and I just stay put, I’ll probably end up as the monster’s snack. This is the Panlong Desert, a place teeming with Exotic Beasts. Who’s to say one or two haven’t taken the opportunity to crawl aboard for a meal?’

Closer and closer! The immense, oppressive presence made the hair on the back of Hee Lingchuan’s neck stand on end.

He quickly looked at Hee Chunhua. His father was facing him and should be able to see what was happening behind him.

Hee Chunhua’s facial muscles were twitching, his expression almost contorted, but his eyes were vacant. It was a look Hee Lingchuan had never seen before; he had no idea what his father was hearing.

’How are we supposed to understand each other with just eye contact?’

’But with the Three Corpses Insects here, no one dares to open their mouth.’

Fortunately, Hee Chunhua suddenly snapped out of it. He stared intently at his eldest son, and then, as if hearing his thoughts, he suddenly winked his right eye.

Such an action was rare for the dignified Prefect, but it instantly shattered the heavy, terrifying atmosphere. Hee Lingchuan sighed in relief, his mind at ease.

’It’s fake!’

’Dad’s trying to tell me that whatever I’m hearing, it’s all fake!’

Sure enough, the monster’s footsteps charged right up behind him, and he could even hear its heavy breathing, but the next second, it all vanished.

Once again, only the wailing of the wind remained in his ears.

The few wisps of ethereal smoke around him also lost interest, drifting elsewhere as if shaking their heads.

Hee Lingchuan had passed the test. He winked back at his father.

The little red pills everyone had taken earlier were Soul-Preventing Powder, specially refined by National Preceptor Sunx for this journey. The main ingredient was Rot Heart Grass, which grows in places of Extremely Yin energy. After consuming it, a person could not only see ”unclean things” for a short time, but their Life Fire would also temporarily mask the aura of the living. As long as a Three Corpses Insect didn’t swim into one’s nine orifices, it would treat them as inanimate objects.

But the biggest weakness of this method was that you could not, under any circumstances, turn your head!

There are three flames of Life Fire around a person’s upper body that protect their mind and repel external evils. But if you turn your head while being targeted by a Three Corpses Insect, your Life Fire will instantly weaken, and you’ll no longer be able to hide from it.

This wasn’t Sunx Fuping’s exclusive invention, either. It was a method recorded in the handwriting of a Mage from the Xianyou Kingdom. It is often your enemies who know you best; the Xianyou Kingdom and Panlong City had been at war for over thirty years, so they must have spent all their time figuring out ways to deal with the Three Corpses Insect.

In fact, similar things often happened at night in dense forests or out in the fields. A traveler would hear someone call their name from behind, and by turning their head inadvertently, they would weaken their Life Lamp, allowing evil spirits to invade.

When Hee Lingchuan first received the little pill, a thought had struck him. ’The Xianyou Kingdom was destroyed a century ago, so a Mage’s handwriting from that era must be difficult to come by. Besides, Rot Heart Grass is a rare item. Its growing conditions are harsh, and it can’t be cultivated or mass-produced. Just how much effort would it take to gather the raw materials and refine enough Soul-Preventing Powder for three hundred people?’

’Did the Grand Commandant and National Preceptor Sunx really only start preparing to explore the Panlong Ruins six months ago?’

Of course, the thought was fleeting, and Hee Lingchuan didn’t dwell on it.

He saw that Hee Chunhua’s expression had returned to its usual composure, and the Three Corpses Insects around him had also scattered. Clearly, his father had passed the test as well.

But as his gaze swept over the Personal Guard behind Hee Chunhua, he was suddenly alarmed. ”Hey, don’t—”

The man’s eyes were red and filled with tears.

The words had barely left his lips when the Personal Guard turned his head.

Hee Lingchuan watched helplessly as the Life Fire on the man’s left shoulder went out with a POOF.

The light from the other two flames immediately dimmed.

Like sharks smelling blood, the Three Corpses Insects hovering nearby flicked their tails and shot into his ears and nose!

The Personal Guard’s eyes immediately went vacant.

Seeing his son’s expression change drastically as he stared behind him, the veins on Hee Chunhua’s neck bulged. He was clearly using all his strength to resist the instinct to turn around.

He didn’t turn. Instead, he lunged two steps forward.

It was a textbook example of saving oneself, because the Personal Guard had suddenly drawn the Long Saber from his waist and brought it down in a powerful cleave aimed at the back of Hee Chunhua’s head!

The two were originally only four feet apart, and the guard’s attack was so swift he seemed ready to split his superior’s head like a watermelon.

As the blade fell, it was less than two inches from Hee Chunhua’s skull.

Hee Lingchuan brushed past his father, darting forward to slam into the Personal Guard.

The guard’s attack froze instantly. The tip of a blade protruded from his back.

Having narrowly escaped death, Hee Chunhua took several deep breaths, then suddenly stared ahead and said, ”Chuan’Er, turn around slowly. I’ll take care of these Puppets.”

Hee Lingchuan pushed the corpse away and saw a wisp of an ethereal shadow emerge from the dead man’s seven orifices. It slipped back into the air, once again swimming about unhurriedly.

Keeping his neck still, he used his waist and legs to slowly turn his body around. This way, the Life Fires on his shoulders wouldn’t falter or be extinguished by his own movement.

The boat, however, was already in chaos.

The Personal Guard wasn’t an isolated case. Despite the repeated, stern warnings beforehand, seven or eight others had been bewitched by the voices in their ears, extinguishing their own Life Lamps and becoming vessels for the Three Corpses Insects.

Once possessed, they recognized neither friend nor foe, attacking anyone they saw.

In just a matter of moments, a commotion had erupted on the boat. Four or five people were wounded, and one unlucky soul had half his head lopped off.

Hee Chunhua went after one of the killers. It was a Sand Bandit who, even after being possessed by a Three Corpses Insect, remained agile. He didn’t engage directly but instead played hide-and-seek among the crowd, occasionally wounding one or two people.

When a person constantly had to remind themselves not to turn their head, their agility was severely compromised. Hee Chunhua felt as stiff as a zombie, his movements three beats too slow as he gave chase. He just couldn’t get around the bastard.

Just as he was about to use a Spell, a dagger flew from behind with a SWOOSH, embedding itself in the killer’s right eye.

It went in one side and out the other, bursting into a spray of blood.