Lin Shuai Nan exhausted all his energy trying to capture a thin, dark-skinned youth, not even having the energy to stand guard at the entrance and sleep.
Meanwhile, Guan Ya and the others were gathered together, making various deductions.
Only Ling Feng sat cross-legged in a corner of the mountain god temple, his eyes closed and his lips sealed, diligently comprehending the art of corpse gu.
Regardless of who the mastermind behind the scenes was or what their plan entailed, only by deciphering the secrets of these ancient corpse gu arts could everything be understood.
As before, at five in the morning, the wandering villagers returned to their homes.
Around seven o'clock, the three villages gradually began to show signs of life.
Villagers started to wake up and prepare for work.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted from the southeastern village.
Ling Feng, who had kept his eyes shut all night, snapped them open.
"Something's happened!"
Saintess Ji Yun Yue also stood up, staring at Ling Feng and saying in a deep voice.
"Let's go see!"
The mysterious girl also rose.
Something happened so early in the morning? A cloud of unease settled over everyone's hearts.
But everything had been normal last night!
This area was at a higher elevation, and standing on the roof of the mountain god temple, one could overlook the surroundings and clearly see the other two villages.
For something to have happened under such circumstances was truly unexpected.
Lin Shuai Nan also jumped up, ready to rush out, but Ling Feng stopped him.
"No need to go!"
"Hmm?"
"The village chief is bringing a group of people over!"
Yang Fei reported.
Currently, the villagers were helpless and followed Lin Shuai Nan's lead. When something happened, they naturally came to find Lin Shuai Nan and the others.
Everyone waited in front of the mountain god temple and soon saw a large group of villagers approaching.
"Immortal Master Lin! Something's happened, something's happened! More people are dead!"
The white-haired village chief wailed, his voice filled with fear and helplessness.
More people were dead!
Hearing this news, Ling Feng and the others' hearts sank.
After taking the medicine, the villagers' condition had clearly improved yesterday, and no one had died. But today, more people had died. Could it be that the medicine was no longer effective?
"Village Chief, don't panic. Take me to see."
Lin Shuai Nan said unhurriedly, showing no sign of panic, which brought some stability to the frightened villagers.
Meanwhile, Ling Feng, with Yang Fei, had already walked out.
Guan Ya and the others followed suit, and the villagers made way for them.
Behind the crowd, there were six wooden boards, all covered with white cloth.
A total of six people!
Six people had died!
*Swish!*
Ling Feng reached out and lifted a white cloth. The deceased was a man around forty years old, thin and gaunt, with sunken eyes, resembling a dried corpse.
Someone who had just died would absolutely not look like this; it was as if... their bodily fluids had been drained.
Ling Feng's expression turned grim. He raised his hand and slightly turned the corpse's jaw, revealing two gruesome blood holes on his neck.
"Zombie!"
Lin Shuai Nan was the first to exclaim.
The village chief beside him nodded heavily with a somber expression, "Yes, this is clearly a zombie, just like in the movies. Immortal Master Lin, please take a look, what exactly is going on?"
The villagers around them also erupted.
"That's right, Immortal Master Lin, weren't you saying it was a monster causing trouble? Why are there suddenly zombies?"
"Oh dear, our village doesn't have any glutinous rice or anything. Immortal Master Lin, please hurry and catch the zombie!"
"Wuwu, Immortal Master Lin, I don't want to be bitten to death by a zombie, I'm not married yet!"
...
The surrounding voices rose and fell, giving Lin Shuai Nan a headache, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
All that talk about Taoist magic, ghost exorcism, and monster catching was just him bragging.
Now that there were actual zombies, and he was being asked to catch them.
He was incapable of such a task. Under immense pressure, he was about to blow a snot bubble.
Just as Lin Shuai Nan was at his wit's end and speechless, Ling Feng stepped forward again.
"Village Chief, you saw when we burned the jumping corpses on the mountain earlier. It seems a zombie has secretly infiltrated the village!"
With one sentence, he instantly shifted everyone's attention, allowing Lin Shuai Nan to escape unscathed.
"Ah, Immortal Master, then what do you suggest we do?"
"Immortal Master, I heard that zombies are very powerful, impervious to blades and spears!"
"These... these dead people, will they also turn into zombies? Should we burn them quickly?"
Ling Feng nodded, "Burn them!"
This was tantamount to telling everyone that these six corpses would definitely turn into zombies.
For a moment, no one dared to ask any more questions. They needed to burn the bodies quickly. If the corpses turned into zombies later, then their villages would be finished.
The villagers carried the corpses up the mountain, preparing to burn them.
Ling Feng and the others returned to the mountain god temple.
"Brother, this won't do, we're about to be exposed!"
Lin Shuai Nan wailed first, finding it increasingly difficult to maintain his identity as an immortal master.
Ling Feng didn't even look at him, scanning the others around him, "Who was responsible for the southern village?"
"This... it was me!"
Ji Yun Yue stepped forward, her face a little pale.
It was the village she was observing that had encountered problems, and she naturally had to take responsibility.
If people had died in all three villages, it could be attributed to the perpetrator's high skill, managing to evade their sight. But with only one village having an incident, and six people dying at once!
Such an event could not have happened silently.
But as soon as Ji Yun Yue stepped forward, Guan Ya interjected, "Senior Ling Feng, I don't think this matter is Saintess's fault. I was keeping an eye on all the villages last night and didn't detect anything unusual!"
"Just because you didn't detect anything doesn't mean it didn't happen."
Ling Feng's words silenced Guan Ya.
"Saintess, please go to the village and check the identities of the deceased, the locations of their deaths, and so on! Be as detailed as possible!"
"Alright!"
Ji Yun Yue showed no intention of shirking responsibility and agreed to go.
With this incident, the pressure on everyone increased significantly.
Today, only one village had people die.
What if tomorrow, all three villages had casualties?
"Ling Feng, how about we don't observe from here tonight and instead patrol?"
The mysterious girl suggested.
Patrolling all night, would that prevent tragedy from striking again?