Chapter 12: The Malevolent Relic Unearthed from the Imperial Tomb

To Ji Yun's surprise, the moment he stepped out of the room, the old Taoist priest—who had been lying on the bed feigning death—suddenly opened his eyes. He sat up abruptly and took a few deep, rasping breaths. There was not a trace of fear on his wrinkled face; instead, he muttered to himself, "Goodness me, this ghost bride is about to reach the 'Catastrophe Level' so soon. That special-grade evil artifact in this Ruin Realm is truly wicked... Tsk tsk, I must say, the methods of the Ji family elders are indeed brilliant. Occupying the magpie's nest, stealing resentment to suppress evil with evil. Otherwise, if this ghost bride had been allowed to cultivate two sixty-year cycles of resentment, the arrival of the Ruin Realm would have likely buried half the city along with her..."

As he spoke, the old priest glanced at the open door and chuckled. "This kid from the Ji family has decent insight. I thought I might have to step in and help, but he managed to get out on his own and even found the key to breaking the deadlock."

After muttering a few more words, the old man took a look at the dozen corpses hanging in the room. He casually stuck a yellow talisman to his own forehead, and wisps of deathly aura began to rise from his body. He looked less like a human and more like a ghost now. With the yellow talisman still attached, the old Taoist sauntered out.

...

The green moon in the sky cast an eerie glow. The entire Liu Estate was in chaos. The Liu family had their own militia, equipped with a dozen or so rifles. The sound of gunfire was sparse. When Ji Yun first emerged, he was puzzled as to why there was shooting; could a ghost bride really be killed by bullets?

He didn't have to walk far to understand why. There were hanging corpses everywhere in the estate, but there were also "people" wandering about. Ji Yun carefully avoided them, but just as he stepped from the guest wing into the garden, he caught sight of a woman walking with a strange, stiff gait.

He felt something was wrong the moment he saw her. The woman seemed to catch the scent of the living, and her stiff neck snapped around with a sharp click. As their eyes met, the green moonlight illuminated a hideous face with green skin and fangs. It was a zombie!

Ji Yun’s heart skipped a beat as he immediately wondered, "Was she infected by that zombie man from earlier?" But even if bitten by a zombie, the transformation shouldn't be this fast. This Ruin Realm was definitely flawed. As the saying goes, when you see one zombie, there are likely many more throughout the estate. They locked eyes, and Ji Yun turned and bolted without hesitation.

To his dismay, the female zombie stumbled after him, her speed surprisingly fast. As he ran, Ji Yun couldn't help but complain to himself: "Aren't they supposed to only be able to hop around?" Recalling the official-robed zombie he had encountered at the Happy Community, which was fast, strong, and intelligent, he realized he had been naive. Understanding it was one thing, but if he kept running like this, he would eventually get caught or run into trouble.

Ji Yun couldn't think of any other way. He ran through two more courtyards, fearing he was about to charge into a horde of zombies, when a dramatic turn of events occurred. Mid-sprint, the crisis suddenly vanished. He heard a sharp *shhh* sound, like a blade slicing through muscle, behind him. Glancing back, he saw the zombie's head fly off for no reason.

Dead? Without a head, even a zombie had to die. Before Ji Yun could even celebrate, a cat-faced old woman leaped down from the rafters near the corpse. She licked her razor-sharp, sickle-like fingernails as if grooming her paws, then tilted her head to look at him. Her amber cat-eyes shimmered in the night.

Ji Yun froze in his tracks. It wasn't that he didn't want to run; it was that he had witnessed this old woman’s ability to scale walls and leap across roofs, and he knew he couldn't outrun her.

The cat-faced old woman killed the zombie, looked at Ji Yun, and asked with feigned surprise, "You're still alive?" As she spoke, her cat eyes glowed with a hypnotic, dark light under the green moon. She wasn't trying to save him; she was curious. She wondered what kind of tricks this young man possessed that allowed him to survive under the ghost bride's nose.

...

Ji Yun met the gaze of those green cat eyes, and without any defense, he was caught in a trance. The cat-faced old woman approached and asked, "How did you survive?"

Ji Yun responded in a dull, monotone voice, "I avoided the ghost bride's 'lust-killing rule'."

"How did you avoid it?"

"By guarding my life essence."

"..." The cat-faced old woman frowned, assuming it was just a coincidence. She asked again, "What was in that letter?"

Ji Yun: "I don't know."

Cat-faced old woman: "What are you to that 'white zombie'?"

Ji Yun: "The corpse is my ex-girlfriend. I don't know who she is now either."

After several questions, the cat-faced old woman was convinced that the young man truly knew nothing. It seemed he had simply been lucky enough to survive until now. He wasn't even worth the effort of killing. She decided not to waste more mental energy on soul-snatching, and the green glow in her eyes faded instantly.

Ji Yun felt as if he had just woken from a short, hazy nap. He saw the cat-faced old woman already leaping lightly onto the roof beams. His head was still spinning, and he guessed he had been under some kind of illusion. But there was no time to think. Seeing her about to leave, a flash of inspiration hit him, and he shouted, "Wait! I know how to leave this Ruin Realm!"

The statement acted like a pause button. The old woman stopped mid-leap. She looked back, her face full of undisguised skepticism. This Ruin Realm was the most bizarre one she had ever heard of. The ghost bride's spiritual pressure far exceeded that of an ordinary fierce ghost and was still growing. She had no confidence she could make it out alive, let alone this ordinary man.

Ji Yun knew it wasn't the time for hesitation. He went straight to the point: "I know the source of the ghost bride's resentment! Resolve that resentment, and we can get out!" Whether they could actually leave was unknown, but he had to aim high.

Upon hearing this, the cat-faced old woman’s dim expression brightened; she was clearly interested. She leaped down, stood before him, and demanded, "What is the source of that resentment?"

"It’s the Second Concubine, Lady He!" Ji Yun didn't hold back. He knew this old woman possessed soul-snatching abilities—he had seen them use disguises at the Happy Community. Lying was useless, and hiding his intentions might get him killed. He quickly explained his deductions.

As he spoke, the skepticism on the old woman's face gradually faded, replaced by growing realization. She hadn't been caught in the ghost bride's illusions, so she hadn't known there was more to Master Liu’s death. But after hearing Ji Yun’s theory, she agreed it was highly likely to be true. If they resolved the matter of the Second Concubine, they might actually be able to leave!

...

Ji Yun had laid out his discovery because he needed an ally. It appeared that the Second Concubine, Lady He, was also a practitioner of the dark arts. At the very least, she had a militia with guns at her disposal. As an ordinary person, Ji Yun had no chance of taking her down alone. But the cat-faced old woman could! Therefore, she was the perfect partner. Furthermore, Ji Yun had personally promised the ghost bride he would help; he feared something might go wrong if he didn't follow through.

After he finished, Ji Yun added, "Take me with you! There might be details I overlooked, and I might be able to help."

The cat-faced old woman saw through his motives, her eyes glinting with shrewdness as she studied him. But after only a moment of thought, she agreed: "Fine. Follow me!" She had realized since he saw through their police disguise that this young man had unusual observational skills. Her intuition told her there was more to his survival under the ghost bride’s killing rules than mere luck. Carrying a burden might be a nuisance, but if there were unforeseen changes, he might come in handy. And if something went wrong, killing him would be effortless.

...

With the cat-faced old woman by his side, the pressure of death vanished. At the very least, those ordinary zombies were no match for her claws.

The Second Concubine’s room was in the North Courtyard, one of the few places in the Liu Estate still harboring survivors. Several armed militiamen were guarding the courtyard. The gates were blocked with tables and chairs, keeping the zombies out. For some reason, the "ghost bride" hadn't approached this small courtyard yet.

"Oh, Captain Geng, what are we going to do? There are zombies everywhere, and that fierce ghost..."

"That damned harlot, she won't rest even in death. You lot keep watch; I'm going to check on the Second Mistress."

The maids and servants were in a panic. Captain Geng of the militia knocked and entered the room. Once inside, he dropped his subordinate facade, walked straight behind Lady He, who was at her vanity, and pressed himself against her suggestively. In the bronze mirror, Lady He seemed accustomed to this. Feeling his heat, she chuckled and chided, "Oh, you're thinking of such things at a time like this?"

Captain Geng chuckled, though he didn't intend to do anything in this atmosphere. He said, "I don't know how these zombies started, but the estate is in chaos, and many have died."

Hearing this, Lady He was dismissive. "What does that matter? Even if everyone dies, we’ve already gotten what we came for. Once we sell the estate, we can live anywhere. It's a good thing that old hag got bitten by a zombie; it saved us a lot of trouble."

"True enough," Captain Geng smirked. "I didn't think the [Cursed Straw Doll] would actually work. That peddler from out of town didn't lie to me... the old thing is finally dead."

Lady He looked lovingly at the yellow-talisman-covered straw doll on the vanity, which was pierced with a needle through its chest. "Indeed."

Captain Geng, feeling emboldened, reached into the woman's collar. "Heh, that tea merchant's wife actually hanged herself, which saved me the trouble of doing it. But I heard people saying she's turned into a fierce ghost..."

"So what if she's a fierce ghost?" Lady He didn't care at all. She looked into the bronze cloud-patterned mirror and chuckled eerily. "Don't worry. This [Mirror] is a treasure that old man dug up from the Imperial Tomb. No fierce ghost dares to come near it. By daybreak, all of this will be over..."

They didn't seem to notice that in the mirror, their reflections were horribly distorted, revealing the souls of evil spirits.