Chapter 68 - The Ultimate Method To Break This Damn Formation

''Behind you!'' 

Ling'er turned back and blocked Hu Shuo with her sword but his strength had increased. Lingling, with her rank five body, could barely match him. This zombie infection was very potent.

''Not you too Hu Shuo…'' I had better plans for him but now this fool had gone and got himself turned inhuman. Maybe he tried saving someone by being a knightly hero.

I didn't help Lingling while she fought with Hu Shuo. She had left us, she had to be prepared for what would come after doing that.

I took the water bottle from Feng Yi and passed it to Hao Gosai. He gulped down every drop that remained inside. ''Thank you,'' he said.

''The first question. Is there any way to get out of this formation?''

Hao Gosai was surprised by my question as he blurted out, ''You know that this is a formation?''

And there, I caught him. He knew more about this place and had been lying to us earlier.

Suddenly Chunu moved and went to help Ling'er. Whatever happened, she was willing to forget about that. She asked Feng Yi if she wanted to lose Lingling to these zombies just like Shila.

Although their relationship had not ripened yet, they had known each other on this journey. Helping another, when they could, was normal.

With three rank 5 against one rank 4, this battle wouldn't take too long. They had to be careful not to let any other zombie join in, just like this one which was creeping behind me.

I turned around and chopped its hands off and then the legs. That rendered the man immobile. These zombies crawled even if their legs were cut but with no hands, they could only growl on the ground.

''So then Hao Gosai, why aren't you speaking? I also remember, you should've disappeared by now. Why you still here?'' I kicked another zombie which was coming behind Feng Yi.

''That makes three questions, counting the earlier ones,'' said Hao Gosai.

''Oi!''

I was mildly irritated, Though those questions were useful, except the second one.

Skeletons started appearing as well. Midnight was coming. I couldn't see the trees but I knew we were surrounded by those. They seemed all the more creepy in this darkness. I told the girls to aim for Hu Shuo's legs as Hao Gosai started speaking.

''This is a Yin formation and I'm stuck in it. I need water to sustain my material form or I'll disappear. I can tell you more if you help m-''

''No thanks.'' I shook my head. Of course, I wanted to know more but Hao Gosai seemed desperate and I wanted to take advantage of that.

''What, don't you want to get out of here? I can tell you how if you help me!'' Hao Gosai waved his hands around. I hadn't paid attention to that gesture earlier but now it seemed fishy.

Ling'er and others finally managed to cut off Hu Shuo's four limbs. I went to look at the boy. I had first met him at Pinchu town and thought he could be useful to me. But alas, not everyone was fortunate. He also succumbed to the zombies' attack just like Lou Shila.

That woman, I had sex with her just three days ago and now she was dead. She would have lived if she hadn't insisted on coming with us.

After we ran from that place earlier, I hadn't even seen her. She was still probably roaming this forest, looking for her next prey, if there was any left now.

Hao Gosai disappeared, but I wasn't worried about that. He would again reappear. Instead the zombies and the walking skeletons were dangerous. I could collectively call them undead.

I went to look at Hu Shuo for the last time. His short black hair was sticky with the blood of people whom he bit. White covered his eyes which were previously differently coloured. He growled just like other zombies. We couldn't know if it was because of the pain after having his limbs cut.

''He's bleeding, he should die in a while,'' said Ling'er.

''No he won't, a zombie doesn't have the privilege of dying. We have to burn him to ashes,'' I replied and turned my head. It was no use looking at him now, I had seen enough. Hu Shuo couldn't be the helpful assistant I wanted to have.

''Lets go, more zombies will be coming here.'' I went back to the craoca and started looking inside one of the bags.

Feng Yi and Chunu came with me while Ling'er asked, ''Go where? We will come back to this place again if we want it or not.''

A short silence followed as I kept searching. Chunu tried to break the silence saying, ''I think we should wait for that man to reappear again. He know more about this place, we would only waste our energy by running around.''

I sighed and told Ling'er to come help me search for matchsticks. She had been thinking that I'd isolate her, as she had essentially left us when the zombies appeared.

I did not waste my time muddling on such pointless things. What did she think? That I would feel betrayed? Right from the start, I had not expected a speck of loyalty from her. So why should I even dramatize?

The night had already deepened. Cold wind blew from the northeast and went to the west. It picked on our clothes and hairs. The wind was uncaring, just like my expression.

Feng Yi and others felt a breeze go past their ears, throwing their hairs back. The light of the lamp illuminated their worrisome expressions, whose charms were half shadowed due to their own facial proportions. I took all of it with just a glance and mounted the craoca.

''Get on!''

''Weren't you going to burn Hu Shuo?'' Ling'er asked.

''I will tell you on the way. For now, we have to reach the place the merchants were at earlier. By now, all of them should've become zombies and wandered off to somewhere. We have to get those supplies before they get spoiled.''

Now that the merchants were as good as dead, the food would only be wasted if we didn't take them. Zombies were too brainless to eat those. I was sure their digestive system was changed so they wouldn't be able to digest anything other than blood and raw flesh.

We headed back. The craoca was getting tired. It hadn't gotten any rest and food for hours now and there was no telling when the medicine's effect would go away.

There was a recipe to brewing this taming medicine but we didn't have the time to brew it on this journey. The medicine was also becoming less effective and we had to let the beast smell it 2-3 times for it to be tamed.

While we rode on the beast's back, I told them what I planned to do, but with some of my conjectures that I considered to be the most likely case here.

''Didn't you find it weird at that time? Hao Gosai was immaterial and let's say he returned to material form temporarily after drinking water, but how could he even drink water in the first place?''

''What do you mean?'' Feng Yi asked, leaning back. She always sat ahead of me.

''Hao Gosai is lying. He is stuck here but he also controls this Yin formation. If we want to get out, we need to have a sufficient Yang energy to neutralize the formation's binding.'' They didn't understand most of what I was trying to say.

This type of information was only available to cultivators at Qi Gathering or above. However, they did know about Yin and Yang, the two types of energies that balanced the world. One was positive and another was negative.

''Fire is the incarnation of Yang. If we can break this formation, then it is only by burning down the whole forest..'' I was getting tired of going round and round, it was time to heat things up.