Chapter 14

“I need to check the other corpses to see if their conditions match.”

Five-Colored Mottled Black leaned obliquely against one of the coffins, his mind wandering as he brainstormed titles for the next installment. The terrifying and chilling atmosphere of this mortuary made him feel compelled to write at least two episodes about it!

At that moment, as he leaned against the coffin, he suddenly heard a scratching sound—scrape, scrape—a bit grating, like fingernails clawing at wood.

At first, he thought it was some prank from the others, but the sharp, piercing scratches showed no sign of stopping. Instead, they grew louder without any attempt at concealment.

Five-Colored Mottled Black’s heart jolted. He realized the noise seemed to be coming from inside the coffin.

He stared in disbelief at the coffin closest to him, swallowed hard, his throat dry as he rasped, “B-Brothers, I think I’ve discovered something huge…”

“Don’t call us brothers—we’re busy right now. We’ve found something huge too. Even calling us handsome won’t get you a response.”

Five-Colored Mottled Black pulled a long face. “Handsome guys, the coffin’s moving!”

“Huh?” The players were stunned for a moment before erupting in shock. “Holy shit, it’s really moving!” This was supposed to be a wuxia game, not some horror title, right?

With a loud bang, a brutal surge of air flipped the coffin lid into the air. A male corpse flew out, and a disheveled man with a deathly pale face sat up from inside.

The man’s face resembled a ghostly jade demon. A sinister smile slowly spread across his lips. “I didn’t expect this mortuary to be so lively tonight. You’re all here taking advantage of Zhan Jueming’s absence to team up and steal corpses? Turns out you’re fellow enthusiasts. Pleased to meet you.”

As he spoke, a faint stench of rotting flesh wafted from his body.

The players pinched their noses and staggered back. “…”

Who the hell teams up to steal corpses? And who said we’re your fellow enthusiasts? Sure, sneaking into the mortuary at night looked shady, but they had to clear that up!

If his entrance hadn’t been so shockingly dramatic, the players might have praised the modelers. The character’s design was outstanding—perfectly blending refined handsomeness with an eerie, otherworldly ghastliness.

When Ruan Xuezong spotted the dense black marks covering the man’s white neck and spreading across his cheeks, he recognized him. Calmly, Ruan Xuezong said, “You’re Yin Wuxu, from the Life-Death Sect?”

The players blinked. “Who?”

They knew Ruan Xuezong had a passive skill called “Answer Every Question,” and it didn’t fail them now. Ruan Xuezong explained, “The rivers and lakes are teeming with demonic sects. The Life-Death Sect, along with places like the Ten Thousand Kills Pavilion and Burning Heaven Palace, are among the most infamous branches of the Demonic Sects.”

What he left unsaid was that in his previous life, there had been a Heart Washing Manor too—though it had been dragged onto the war chariot step by step. The jianghu didn’t care whether it was willing or forced.

These four major demonic powers were notorious wherever they went, striking fear into all who heard their names.

Even System 007 admired the casual lightness in Ruan Xuezong’s tone. Events from his previous life sounded like gossip from the neighboring village—utterly unrelated to him now.

Ruan Xuezong continued his introduction. “Yin Wuxu is the Left Protector of the Life-Death Sect. Rumors say that to cultivate the Life-Death Technique, he surrounds himself with the dead. He combs their hair, braids it, interacts with them daily, and from this senses the cold essence of death—achieving true enlightenment and transcendence beyond life and death.”

To put it simply, the people of the Life-Death Sect had a special fondness for corpses. They used them to cultivate their martial arts and grow stronger.

The players erupted in exclamations at this revelation. “Mind blown.” “The Demonic Sect folks are terrifying as hell.”

Ruan Xuezong glanced at the flung coffin lid and the male corpse sprawled on the ground. His gaze sharpened. “The reason you’re here today is that you’ve been hiding for a long time, isn’t it? There’s a secret tunnel under the coffin?”

“Little beauty, you know me well.” Yin Wuxu tugged at the corner of his mouth in a smile. If he hadn’t been sitting in the coffin, he might have passed for an elegant gentleman of the demonic path.

“That old codger Zhan Jueming guards this rundown place like a fortress. Those corpses from travelers who died far from home—no one’s claiming them anyway. What’s the harm in me borrowing a few? But the stubborn mule wouldn’t allow it, so I dug a secret tunnel to sneak in and take them.” He boasted smugly of his scheme.

The players’ reactions, however, were far from impressed. “Demonic Cult guys are so frivolous—calls a masked guy a beauty right off the bat!”

“It’s just polite talk. Like how everyone in some province calls me a stud wherever I go.”

Their voices weren’t loud, but Yin Wuxu heard every word. He gave a mocking half-smile. “What do you greenhorns fresh out of the jianghu know? From my years dealing with corpses and bones, I can tell you: the dead are all painted skeletons beneath the skin. True beauty lies in the bones, not the flesh.”

When it came to his area of expertise, even a Demonic Cult member wasn’t stingy with words.

Teased like this, Ruan Xuezong remained utterly serene behind his mask, not even twitching an eyebrow. He said to the players, “This man has defiled countless corpses. Given the Life-Death Sect’s demonic practices under the Demonic Sects, now that we’ve encountered it, we can’t stand idly by.”

In this life, he would strike first against the Demonic Sect alliance. Let’s see which traitor dared drag him onto their war chariot now!

At Ruan Xuezong’s words, the smile on Yin Wuxu’s face twisted. “You want to fight? With this bunch of… ragtag mob?”

He swept his gaze over the group of level-10 players with their pitiful martial skills, struggling to dredge up an appropriate term from his mind.

“No more words. Let’s fight.” Ruan Xuezong extended a hand from beneath his greatcloak. It was a strikingly beautiful hand—from the elegant wrist bones to the slender fingers, all the color of fresh snow, drawing the eye irresistibly.

But his aura was fiercely imposing. Just from the opening stance, Yin Wuxu’s expression changed completely. As a man of the jianghu, he was well-versed and recognized the martial art at once—and with it, Ruan Xuezong’s identity.

Peering through the exposed skin, neck, and fingers beneath the mask, Yin Wuxu could judge that Ruan Xuezong was young—perhaps not even twenty. Yet his inner force ran profoundly deep, far surpassing what Yin Wuxu, with his demonic cultivation, could match. In other words, if he took this palm head-on, packed with supreme inner energy, he might very well die.

The gap in their inner arts was entirely understandable.

The Life-Death Sect excelled in underhanded weapons and sinister arts at the pinnacle of the jianghu, but their inner cultivation methods weren’t top-tier. Not to mention that the Life-Death Technique was only a purple secret manual—it couldn’t compare to Ruan Xuezong’s meticulously refined golden secret manual, Cleansing Dusty Heart.

At this thought, Yin Wuxu’s face grew even paler. His mind raced.

In a flash, before Ruan Xuezong could react, Yin Wuxu shot out a hand, clamping it swiftly around Five-Colored Mottled Black’s throat. He sneered, “We’ve met by fate tonight—no need for shouting and fighting. I advise you, Manor Lord Ruan, not to act rashly. This kid’s neck is awfully slender. If you insist, I’ll just snap it and send him to hell to keep me company.”

Yin Wuxu had assumed that this would make the Heart Washing Manor folks hesitate. Even if they wanted to fight, they’d have to think twice.

He never imagined that the moment his words landed, the players on site lit up with excitement. “Then snap away! Do it quick, don’t hesitate!”

“Whoa, Five-Colored Black is badass—the first player to become an NPC hostage. Might even get an official title out of it.”

【Congratulations, young hero Five-Colored Mottled Black! You’ve obtained the special title “Palm Quality.” Others can only envy you!】

“Whoa! There really is a title! So jealous.”

“Demonic Sect, hurry up and off this lucky bastard. I can barely hold back my urge to kill!”

“……?” Yin Wuxu slowly formed a question mark in his mind. Were they thrilled to watch a companion die? Who were the real demons here—him, or this group?

The Five-Colored Mottled Black under his palm thrashed wildly, like an eel. “How can you be so heartless? Even if I die and become a ghost, I won’t let you off! I’ll expose you all on the forums!”

The players didn’t flinch at all. They even planted hands on hips and cursed him. “Lucky bastards don’t get to talk!”

Yin Wuxu: “……”

Even staring death in the face, this lot bantered and chatted like nothing was wrong. He had truly underestimated the mental fortitude of this generation’s jianghu youths.

“Five-Colored Mottled Black young hero, go in peace.” Ruan Xuezong let out a soft sigh.

At those words, Five-Colored Mottled Black let out a resounding wail. Then he squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the respawn at the city revival point.

Ruan Xuezong raised his palm once more. Yin Wuxu knew he meant business this time!

He hadn’t expected this young beauty to be so ruthless. To casually abandon a subordinate’s life without even pretending to care—and the others didn’t bat an eye? Facing such a cold-blooded master, weren’t they chilled to the bone? What kind of demonic lair was this famed elegant Heart Washing Manor? Were they all legendary dead soldiers!?

A string of curses raced through Yin Wuxu’s mind.

Without further hesitation, he tightened his grip, twisting Five-Colored Mottled Black’s neck. Then, with a burst of lightness skill, he whirled to flee—only for Ruan Xuezong to move even faster, landing a palm squarely on his back.

The strike was merciless. Yin Wuxu spat out a mouthful of blood but didn’t dare stop. He circulated the Life-Death Technique to protect his heart meridians, then mustered his energy and fled like a bat into the night, vanishing into the thick fog.

“He got away. That guy’s tough—probably some special NPC.”

“Who knows!”

“His lines didn’t even have an ‘I’ll be back.’ Sloppy work from the planners!”

The players in the recording group hopped around excitedly. “I got footage of him fleeing in! Ruan Xuezong striking the Demonic Cult’s Left Protector, combined with the earlier autopsy—this night’s been a blast.”

Right then, the prearranged signal whistle sounded. It meant the distraction team couldn’t hold out any longer—the night watchman had realized something was wrong and was rushing back.

The group stopped chatting and grabbed their oil lamps to withdraw. They got lucky and didn’t run into any heavy hitters among the night watchmen.

If anyone was unlucky, it was Yin Wuxu. Clutching his heart, he withdrew from the mortuary too—only to run smack into a middle-aged man carrying a sword.

The man wore plain coarse cloth in white, like mourning garb. His eyes were sharp and stern. It was none other than Zhan Jueming.

“Yin Wuxu, you’ve gotten smarter. You used to go solo, but this time you even sent people to lure the tiger away from the mountain!” Zhan Jueming barked first.

Yin Wuxu: “???”

What the hell? Who was this guy slapping him with such a huge accusation?

Before he could protest, Zhan Jueming’s sword pierced his chest. Blood bloomed. Zhan Jueming said coldly, “This old man’s blade hasn’t dulled yet!”

Against you demonic scum, this old man can still purge you clean!

Jiangnan City suburbs revival point.

A golden array shimmered there, invisible to ordinary NPCs. Five-Colored Mottled Black downed a gulp of Biluo Huangquan Water, grumbled as he stepped out of the array, and spotted the group waiting for him. He rubbed his neck and huffed, “At least you guys have a conscience!”

【Thanks to your fearless sacrifice, Ruan Xuezong’s favorability toward you has increased by five points.】

That notification made Five-Colored Mottled Black beam instantly. He grinned dopily. “Let’s do it a billion more times!” The others shot him jealous glares.

“Alright, we’ve got the autopsy report tonight—huge haul. Everyone, withdraw fast—” At the command, the swarm of players rapidly cleared out from the suburbs.

【Ding! Tasks “Investigate Sunken Ship” and “River Hidden Truth” have been completed.】

【Ding! Task “Find the Traitor” has been triggered!】