Ch. 388 - Corpse Attack

Xu Zimo glanced at the old man and saw that his whole body was stiff, his skin and flesh tense and cold to the touch.

He clearly looked like a dead man.

Yet faint breathing still came from his mouth.

Xu Zimo frowned slightly. This condition reminded him of certain situations.

“Big brother, have a seat. I’ll go boil medicine for grandpa,” the little girl said with a smile.

Watching her leave, Xu Zimo looked around the room.

He didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

So he decided to check out the surroundings.

Walking out the door, the area looked more like a slum.

The buildings were all dilapidated from years of neglect.

They looked like they could collapse at any time.

After walking a few steps, he heard crying from the neighboring courtyard.

A crowd had gathered inside, discussing something.

Xu Zimo followed and squeezed into the crowd.

In the center was a woman holding a child, crying bitterly.

The child’s body was pale, without any sign of blood.

Clearly, he was long dead.

Xu Zimo frowned again. Something was definitely off about this slum.

He crouched down and said to the woman, “May I take a look at the child?”

The woman looked at him warily. After a brief pause, she placed the child on the ground.

Xu Zimo examined the body, lifting the clothes on the child's back.

There were five small holes in the back.

As if someone had driven five fingers straight into the body.

The inside was completely drained of blood.

“Did they catch the killer?” Xu Zimo asked the woman.

“No,” she quickly shook her head. “I had the doctor check. He said all the blood was drained from the child, there’s no way to save him.”

Xu Zimo stayed silent for a moment.

Someone nearby spoke, “Looks like it's the work of demons. If this continues, we’ll all have to move.”

“Does this happen often here?” Xu Zimo asked.

“Not really. It used to be peaceful.”

Another person explained, “It’s only been happening recently, people getting killed, all in horrifying ways. And every time, the blood is drained.”

“The city lord’s estate doesn’t do anything?” Xu Zimo asked curiously.

“They did at first. Sent a lot of guards,” the man sighed and shook his head.

“But it didn’t help. People kept dying. Eventually, they just gave up.”

“Well, this is getting interesting,” Xu Zimo said with amusement.

Leaving the courtyard, Xu Zimo returned to the little girl’s home.

She had already finished brewing the medicine and was feeding it to her grandfather.

He also now knew her name, Guo Xiaoyun.

“So how do you know that guy, Lu Zesong?” Xu Zimo asked as he pulled up a chair and sat.

“I was born on the seventh day of the seventh month,” Guo Xiaoyun said after a short pause.

Xu Zimo instantly understood.

Lately, the city had been abuzz about the city lord searching for a successor, an adopted child to receive a powerful inheritance.

It was all anyone talked about.

“When my grandpa got sick, I thought if I was chosen, I could afford to buy medicine,” Guo Xiaoyun continued. “But the city lord’s men said they’d gather all the candidates one month later and choose only one of us.”

“You met Lu Zesong during that time, right?” Xu Zimo nodded slightly.

“I only met him once. I didn’t expect him to remember me,” Guo Xiaoyun said, sounding surprised.

“Alright, this area isn’t safe lately. Be careful,” Xu Zimo said with a wave of his hand.

“Big brother, why don’t you stay at my house tonight?” Guo Xiaoyun asked, eyes full of hope.

Xu Zimo originally intended to decline. But after glancing at the old man in bed, he nodded in agreement.

Guo Xiaoyun beamed with joy and hurried off to tidy up a room for him.

...

The night was calm. The warm winter wind was making its last stand.

Spring was just beginning to show signs of arrival.

As darkness fell, strange events of late had made people cautious.

As soon as the sky dimmed, most returned home and didn’t go out.

Xu Zimo lay alone on the bed.

The quiet of night wrapped the room in silence and darkness.

Late at night, he heard footsteps.

Heavy steps, slowly approaching his room.

“Someone’s up to something,” Xu Zimo muttered coldly.

Creaaak

The door opened gently.

Xu Zimo, lying on the bed, could feel someone slowly approaching.

The moonlight cast the figure’s shadow on the wall.

Suddenly, with a whoosh, a blast of force flew toward his head.

Bang bang!

The shadow struck Xu Zimo, but was blocked by his weapon, the Shadow Tyrant.

Xu Zimo leapt up and turned to face the figure.

Bathed in moonlight, the figure stared at him blankly, without any emotion in its eyes.

“I should have figured it out sooner,” Xu Zimo murmured.

The figure was Guo Xiaoyun’s grandfather, the supposedly gravely ill old man.

But now, he looked nothing like a person.

Black lines covered his skin. His veins bulged, and his mouth growled lowly.

He looked ferocious, terrifying.

“I knew something was wrong. A man who should have been dead still breathing?” Xu Zimo said. “Turns out you’re already a walking corpse.”

The old man roared, thick saliva drooling from his mouth as he attacked Xu Zimo.

Xu Zimo didn’t bother holding back. Shadow Tyrant slashed down from above.

Its massive pressure crushed the old man beneath it.

No matter how he struggled, he couldn’t break free.

At that moment, Guo Xiaoyun rushed over from the next room after hearing the commotion.

“Grandpa!” she screamed, unable to believe what she was seeing.

“Big brother, my grandpa woke up!” she cried to Xu Zimo.

“Sorry, but your grandpa has been dead for a long time,” Xu Zimo said after a pause. “He was turned into a corpse puppet. The recent deaths here, he drained their blood.”

Guo Xiaoyun collapsed to the ground, overwhelmed, staring at the familiar yet unrecognizable old man.

The old man, after struggling for a moment, suddenly started to swell without warning.

Then, his back split open.

A large, bloated worm crawled out of his body.

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