Zombie Life Begins in Hongxi Village

Lin Yi looked around and her gaze finally settled on a wooden box not far away.

He pushed aside the several strings of beads scattered on the ground and walked to the wooden box.

The wooden box was unlocked, secured only by a copper ring covered in green rust.

Lin Yi reached out and flicked the lid open.

A cold light emanated from the box, like a pool of autumn water soaked in moonlight.

Inside the box lay an ancient sword, its blade about three feet long.

Lin Yi picked up the sword. Its blade was pure and yang, clean but not fierce, and it came from the same source as Zhong Kui's Ghost-Slaying Sword. This was obviously a divine weapon personally forged by Zhong Kui.

Lin Yi lightly flicked the sword with her fingertip, causing the blade to tremble and a humming sound to linger in the stone chamber for a long time.

"Good stuff," Lin Yi murmured in praise.

This is a rare piece of equipment for beginners, and it is one of the must-have treasures for many transmigrators.

Although the sword's grade is far inferior to the Ghost-Slaying Sword that Zhong Kui currently wields, it is definitely a top-tier divine artifact in the mortal cultivation world.

Even a celestial master like Mao Xiaofang would see his combat power increase significantly if he possessed such a sword.

Unfortunately, for Lin Yi now, the sword's collectible value far outweighs its practical use.

He then looked at the spot next to the sword, where three ancient coins were neatly stacked.

Lin Yi picked it up and couldn't help but chuckle.

He originally thought it would be common ritual coins like the Five Emperors Coins, but unexpectedly it turned out to be three Shunzhi Tongbao coins.

It seems that the tribute system was established during the Shunzhi reign of the early Qing Dynasty.

Lin Yi put the Zhong Kui sword and three Shunzhi coins into her Qiankun Ring.

These are all good things. Although he himself doesn't need them, they would be perfect gifts to give to younger generations who he likes.

Just then, a series of clanging sounds came from nearby.

He turned his head and saw Lin Xiaohua squatting in the pile of jewelry.

Her eyes were shining, and her face showed a look of greed.

Lin Yi found it amusing and walked over to pat her on the shoulder.

"Stop being greedy. These things look like a lot, but they're only worth a million or two Hong Kong dollars."

How much money could a small foreign country possibly offer as tribute, especially considering that the villagers had already used most of it?

The most valuable items were the gold and silver ingots.

Those jade stones, pearls, luminous pearls... and some antiques from small southeastern countries are not worth much money at all.

Especially now, during wartime, its value is even lower.

Lin Xiaohua was taken aback by his Versailles-style remarks. She stared at him wide-eyed and stammered, "Only...only one or two million?"

Her father worked as a porter at the dock, earning only thirty-five yuan a month; her mother did sewing and laundry for others, earning just over ten yuan a month.

One or two million yuan, if it were in her family, they probably couldn't save that much even if they worked for ten lifetimes.

But when Lin Yi said it, it sounded like he was talking about one or two hundred.

Lin Xiaohua stuck out her tongue. "Brother Lin, do you even know what a million or two means? My family could never spend it all in several lifetimes."

After saying that, she struggled to pick up a large gold ingot that weighed about ten kilograms.

However, just as she lifted the gold ingot off the ground, a muffled rumbling sound suddenly came from beneath her feet, causing the entire stone chamber to tremble, and fine sand and gravel cascaded down from above.

Lin Xiaohua's face turned deathly pale, and she stammered, "W-what happened? Did I run into something?"

Lin Yi knew what had happened at a glance.

The gold ingot was connected to a very thin copper wire, which led to a mechanism behind the stone wall.

The designer of this treasure room was also cunning, burying a "mountain-moving and sea-overturning" dragon-severing mechanism in the treasure mountain. As long as someone moves the largest gold ingots, the underground palace will collapse instantly.

Lin Yi had already seen through the scheme, but she didn't say anything to stop it.

Treasure hunting always needs some unexpected twists to make it feel real.

"Hurry up!" Lin Yi strode forward, took the gold ingot from her arms, and grabbed two more gold ingots from the side and stuffed them into his pocket.

After Lin Xiaohua turned around, she also put all the treasures into her Qiankun Ring.

Before the falling rocks could crash down, he grabbed the terrified Lin Xiaohua and ran frantically towards the pool they had come from.

The moment Lin Yi and Lin Xiaohua jumped into the water, a deafening roar came from behind them. It was as if the cave had been punched in the spine from the inside, and the smoke and water surged into a turbid torrent.

Holding the gold ingot in one hand and gripping Lin Xiaohua's wrist tightly with the other, Lin Yi moved swiftly forward in the water.

After a short while, the two finally emerged from the pool.

As soon as they emerged from the water, they saw Nianying and Lin Qingqing, their faces filled with anxiety.

Lin Yi threw the ten-pound gold ingot ashore, then helped Lin Xiaohua up, before finally climbing up herself.

"Are you all alright?"

"It's alright, there really is treasure inside."

Lin Xiaohua was still shaken. Thinking of the treasure trove that had been swallowed up, she felt both fear and heartache.

"It's all my fault. If I hadn't touched it carelessly, it wouldn't have collapsed. All that gold and silver jewelry... is gone."

"It's alright." Lin Yi wrung out the water from her clothes and laughed. "We brought out three gold ingots, weighing a total of eleven or twelve kilograms, worth about HK$100,000. This treasure hunt wasn't a waste of time."

As he spoke, he took out the two small gold ingots, which were stained with water, from his pocket.

Lin Xiaohua's expression softened when she saw the gold ingot.

Neither Nianying nor Lin Qingqing were short of money, but seeing the treasure they had helped find, their faces showed a joyful harvest.

They huddled around Lin Xiaohua, chattering excitedly about what was happening underwater.

When they heard that Lin Xiaohua was so frightened by the water corpse that she choked, the two girls laughed and joked.

Lin Xiaohua's cheeks flushed, and her body went weak as she recalled the scene underwater.

……

A short while later, they reunited with Qingqing and the others who were waiting by the snake pit.

Seeing the four return, Shi Chun breathed a sigh of relief: "Mr. Lin, you scared me to death! I almost followed them."

Lin Yi waved to him and led everyone out of the cave.

The sun had already set, and a sea breeze was blowing in, making people feel cold all over.

Lin Yi gathered the gold ingots together and said, "Everyone who finds them gets a share."

These three gold ingots, after removing impurities, are worth approximately HK$120,000.

Sergeant Shi and Officer Chen will each receive five thousand, and the remaining one hundred and one thousand will be divided among us. You will each receive twenty thousand Hong Kong dollars.

As he spoke, he took out his checkbook and wrote a cash check for HK$5,000 each for Shi Chun and Chen Longshi.

Shi Chun and Chen Longshi were both surprised and delighted, thanking him repeatedly, feeling as if they were in a dream.

At that time, there were no high salaries to encourage integrity, and police officers only earned fifty or sixty dollars a month. This five thousand Hong Kong dollars was almost ten years' salary.

What does it mean to receive a windfall?

This is.

However, this joy did not last long.

When they climbed over the slope ahead and saw the mountainside littered with corpses and still-wet bloodstains, Shi Chun's smile froze on his face.

Chen Longshi even let out a "vomit" sound and leaned against a tree to vomit.

"Ah—so many dead people!"

Several girls screamed, followed by dry heaving.

Lin Xiaohua's legs went weak, and she almost burst into tears on the spot.

Even the usually bold Yan Ruyu turned pale and trembled as she clung to Nianying's arm.

Only Nianying, who was used to seeing ghosts and spirits, felt no fear except for feeling a little disgusted.

Shi Chun suppressed the churning in his stomach and went forward to check on everyone.

The more he looked, the more horrified he became. Of the more than forty people, including Village Chief Yang, not a single one had survived.

Moreover, these people died in various ways: some were strangled, some had their hearts ripped out, some had their heads smashed against rocks, and many shot each other to death.

Shi Chun was a man of the world, but this bizarre scene still sent a chill down his spine.

He recalled the lines of blood-written words by the well and muttered to himself:

"A ghost seeking revenge? This case seems inhuman. This is troublesome."

Shi Chun took a deep breath and came to Lin Yi and the others. He said with a solemn expression, "Mr. Lin, ladies, I need to go back to the police station with Chen Longshi to report first."

It's not safe here anymore. You'd better not stay on the island any longer and leave tomorrow.

After saying that, he and Chen Longshi left in a hurry, their steps somewhat unsteady.

Lin Yi led the several still-shaken girls back to the inn.

Seeing the weapons and swords of the dead, they knew perfectly well that the dead were coming for them. Fortunately, they were killed by an unknown entity.

Otherwise, with so many people carrying guns, what would become of them...?

The treasure hunt was exciting, but I'll never come back again!

Everyone crammed into the largest room, and no one dared to be alone.

Lin Yi then went to the North District Police Station, looked at the moon in the sky, released Qin's corpse, and prepared for a zombie-water ghost battle.

……