Zombie Bodyguard

Chapter 2025: Chapter 2022: Mission Failed

"Dark red city walls... the designer of this city really has a unique sense of aesthetics," Lin Tianqi said curiously. Although it looked more imposing this way, the dark red was deeply oppressive. If you lived in a place like this for too long, wouldn’t the ghosts here become irritable too?

Mu Yun reined in her warhorse before the city gate, lifted her head to look at the dim Sky, and said faintly, "Blood Sea City wasn’t like this originally. It’s said that a long time ago, a blood rain fell from the Sky. After the rain stopped, the city walls here turned dark red."

"According to the Demon Exorcism Records, ’blood rains from the Sky, ghost god wails’—this kind of heaven-and-earth omen only appears when something major happens. What was happening in the Netherworld back then?" Zhang Lingyu’s fine brows knit together.

Mu Yun’s gaze grew a little unfocused as she said, "I don’t know. It was too long ago. A lot of the stories passed down are incomplete now."

"Make way, make way..."

Just as the group was speaking, a burst of urgent shouts came from behind. Six people rushed toward the city gate, each of them wearing leather armor with a curved blade at their waist.

Two of them were carrying a stretcher. A man lay on it—but he was only half a body. His legs had been severed at the root, the stump wrapped in tattered cloth, the cloth dyed black.

The man struggled in agony, his expression ferocious and terrifying, but his hands and body were strapped to the stretcher, unable to move. His mouth was gagged as well, unable to cry out.

"Make way, make way..." The newcomers shouted anxiously again. Lin Tian and the others tightened their reins, drove their warhorses to the side, and cleared the passage to the gate.

The group moved through quickly. The gate guards didn’t stop them, they even gave way. The six vanished into the city in short order. The ghosts going in and out all paused to watch, but no one knew what had happened.

"The one with the severed legs was a Yaksha." Lin Tian looked toward Mu Yun and said in a low voice.

Mu Yun nodded, doubt in her eyes, clearly thinking about something.

"That man—oh no, that Yaksha was so miserable. What on earth happened to him?" Xiao Manxuan asked in a low voice. The little girl’s face was already somewhat drawn from the long journey, and now that a half-body was carried past them, she was startled, her expression tense.

The ghosts watching had also seen the Yaksha’s tragic state and were too frightened to speak. In front of the city gate, it suddenly became deathly still—eerie and oppressive.

"Disperse, all of you disperse. Anyone who keeps blocking the gate passage will be arrested." The gate guards shouted, driving away all the onlookers.

"Who are they? Why are they allowed to carry weapons?" Lin Tian glanced toward the gate, asking in puzzlement. He was naturally referring to the group that had just rushed in.

"Soul Hunters. They’re a bit like bounty Hunters in the Human Realm—pay them and they’ll do the job. The Netherworld authorities will sometimes hire them for troublesome tasks. Those Soul Hunters just now probably ran into some kind of danger," Mu Yun gave a brief explanation, but her voice was somewhat heavy.

"They didn’t go to the Blood Sea, did they?" Xiao Manxuan suddenly said.

At the little girl’s question, Mu Yun’s expression darkened. After a moment’s silence, she urged her horse toward the gate guards. Lin Tian didn’t know what she was in a rush for, so he could only follow.

When the guards saw them riding in on warhorses, their faces instantly grew serious, their backs straightened, because they recognized not only the mounts but also Mu Yun’s identity.

"We greet Lord Wuchang." The guards bowed in unison, offering their respects in loud voices.

The ghosts going in and out all heard the guards and instinctively backed away from Lin Tian’s group, apparently frightened by the two words "Wuchang".

Whether in the Netherworld or the Human Realm, "Wuchang" is not a title that makes people happy. Its appearance is often accompanied by coldness and death.

"Mm." Mu Yun responded coolly, expressionless. "What just happened?"

"Reporting to Lord Wuchang, those Soul Hunters failed their mission—and it’s already happened to several groups." The lead guard answered respectfully.

"What mission?" Mu Yun didn’t dismount, still questioning them from on high.

In the Human Realm, if a superior acted so lofty, people would criticize them. But the lead guard took it as a matter of course, showing no dissatisfaction. On the contrary, he answered with a fawning smile: "Lord Wuchang, many evil spirits have recently appeared on the outskirts of Blood Sea City, seriously threatening the city. The City Lord sent troops to suppress them and achieved some results."

"But for some reason, those evil spirits can corrode weapons. The city defense troops’ weapons have been heavily damaged, and the reserve weapons in the armory are nearly used up as well. The Casters plan to forge a batch of new weapons that can resist the evil spirits’ corrosion, and they require a kind of ore called Blood Spirit Stone."

"This Blood Spirit Stone is only found near the Blood Sea. Because it’s so dangerous there, the City Lord’s Mansion issued a gathering mission, hiring Soul Hunters to collect it. But several groups of Soul Hunters have already failed. The lucky ones end up like that guy we just saw. The unlucky ones—none of them come back."

The lead guard explained cautiously. When he mentioned the Blood Sea, his gaze trembled fiercely several times, but in order not to disgrace himself in front of Lord Wuchang, he did his utmost to suppress the fear in his heart.

When Mu Yun finished listening, her brows furrowed deeply. "Although Blood Sea City is close to the Blood Sea, it’s always been peaceful. Why would so many evil spirits suddenly appear nearby?"

"I don’t know, my lord. This matter can be asked of the City Lord," the lead guard answered respectfully.

Mu Yun’s eyes flickered. Then she waved her hand, dismissing the guard, and turned to Lin Tian and the others. "Looks like we’ll have to make a trip to the City Lord’s Mansion and see what we can find out about the Blood Sea."

"No problem. Those Soul Hunters who’ve been to the Blood Sea will have brought back some information, more or less," Lin Tian agreed with her decision.

The four of them rode their warhorses through the city gate. The guards watched Lin Tian’s group disappear into the distance, reverence and envy in their eyes.

"A First-class Impermanence, showing up in a small place like ours..."

"Yeah, and the ones behind him, just look at them—their bearing’s extraordinary. None of them are ordinary."

The guards whispered among themselves, their tones full of amazement. Their respect for a First-class Impermanence wasn’t just because of the high rank, but because a First-class Impermanence could fight—his combat power was high, and that’s what they admired.

The streets of Blood Sea City were smaller than those of Fengdu City, and the buildings on both sides weren’t as grand. From this alone one could see that Fengdu City was the main city. However, Blood Sea City was just as lively, ghosts coming and going.

Lin Tian and the other three rode their warhorses down the streets of Blood Sea City and instantly became the center of attention. All the ghosts on the street were on foot; even the patrolling city defense troops didn’t ride.

The Spiritual Bodies of the ghosts here weren’t drifting about as one might imagine, but walked like normal people.

"We’ve become big celebrities," Xiao Manxuan said with a helpless smile.

Whether in the Human Realm or the Netherworld, having a good mount will always increase the number of heads turning your way. It’s like driving a supercar—on the road, you’ll inevitably become the focus.

Mu Yun came to a halt. Lin Tian lifted his head and looked ahead: a stately building stood before them, with a plaque over the gate bearing three characters—City Lord’s Mansion. But compared to Fengdu City’s City Lord’s Mansion, this main gate was still a notch inferior.

The guards outside saw Mu Yun and hurried over to salute. "Lord Wuchang."

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