Uncle Nine: You were supposed to drive corpses, so you summoned the Monkey King!

Master Qianhe lay in the mud and water.

His Taoist robe was tattered, with five deep purple claw marks imprinted on it.

The black corpse poison spreads outward along the blood vessels, causing the skin and flesh to rot very quickly.

"Junior brother!" Master Four Eyes knelt in the mud.

He reached out to check Qianhe's breathing; there was only air going in, no air coming out.

"Jiale! Quickly, bring the glutinous rice! Hurry!"

Jiale got up and ran towards the cloth bag containing glutinous rice.

It was a complete mess just now, and the cloth bag fell to the ground and got covered in mud and water.

Jiale untied the bag and grabbed a handful of glutinous rice.

It's all black.

Glutinous rice that has been soaked in water and mud cannot remove toxins.

"Master! The glutinous rice is dirty!" Jiale cried out, her voice trembling with tears.

Master Simu glanced back.

There's no glutinous rice in this desolate wilderness, so there's no way to save Chizuru's injury.

Lin Chen walked over.

He pushed Jiale aside and turned the cloth bag inside out.

The glutinous rice at the bottom was tightly wrapped and not completely soaked in the muddy water.

Lin Chen took off his wet raincoat, pulled off his outer garment, and poured all the relatively clean glutinous rice onto the garment.

"Senior brother, pick them out! Pick out the ones that are covered in mud!" Lin Chen shouted.

Jiale quickly reached into his clothes and searched.

Lin Chen carried the half-pound of clean glutinous rice he had selected and ran to Qianhe's side.

"Master, move aside." Lin Chen knelt on the ground.

Master Simu gave up his seat.

Lin Chen grabbed a handful of glutinous rice and pressed it onto Qianhe's wound.

"Sizzle!"

A piercing sound rang out.

A thick plume of pungent black smoke billowed from the wound.

The white glutinous rice turned black and emitted a foul odor.

Chizuru's body convulsed, and the pain woke him up.

"what!"

Chizuru cried out, clutching the mud on the ground with both hands.

"Hold him down!" Lin Chen shouted.

Master Simu and Master Yixiu stepped forward and pressed down on Qianhe's shoulders and legs, one on each side.

Lin Chen swept away the black glutinous rice.

Grab a handful of fresh glutinous rice and press it onto the surface.

"Sizzle!"

Another plume of black smoke appeared.

After changing the glutinous rice three times, the black smoke finally lightened slightly.

Chizuru fainted again from the pain.

His breathing was weak, but at least it had stabilized somewhat.

Master Simu looked at the black glutinous rice covering the ground and breathed a sigh of relief.

"My life has been saved, but the corpse poison was too potent and wasn't completely eradicated."

A shout came from the side.

"Oh my goodness!"

Minister Wu climbed out of the mud, the white powder on his face washed away by the rain.

The little prince huddled in his arms, trembling.

"Master Qianhe! What are you good for?!"

Wu Shilang pointed at Qianhe lying on the ground and cursed loudly.

"You dared to let the Emperor's own brother escape! This is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of your family!"

Master Simu stood up.

He walked up to Minister Wu.

"Snapped!"

A slap landed on Minister Wu's face.

Minister Wu was spun halfway around after being hit, and then covered his face in shock.

"You...you dare hit me? I am an official appointed by the imperial court!"

Master Simu slapped him again with his backhand.

"Snapped!"

"An official appointed by the imperial court? If you dare utter another word of nonsense, I'll send you to see your master right now!"

Master Four Eyes stared at Minister Wu, the bronze sword in his hand gleaming coldly.

Minister Wu covered his mouth, tears welling in his eyes, and dared not utter a sound.

Lin Chen stood up and looked around.

The camp was completely destroyed.

All four apprentices were injured.

The apprentice named Dong was the most seriously injured; his shoulder was pierced, and he lay on the ground groaning.

"Master, the smell of blood here is too strong, and the rain can't wash it away," Lin Chen said.

"The zombie didn't go far; it was lured back by the smell of blood, and now we're all doomed here."

Master Ikkyu clasped his hands together.

"Young friend Lin Chen is right. The enemy is in the dark while we are in the light. Returning to the dojo to settle the wounded is the best course of action."

Master Simu nodded.

"Jiale, carry your Uncle Qianhe on your back!"

"You three, help your senior brother up!"

Master Simu pointed at the crowd.

He glanced back at the overturned bronze horn and golden coffin.

The coffin was empty.

"Let's go! Back to the dojo!"

The group helped each other as they trudged back along the muddy mountain path.

The rain has lessened a bit, but the wind is still very strong.

Lin Chen walked at the very back of the group, holding three corpse-suppressing talismans in his hand.

His eyes were fixed on the woods behind him.

Royal zombies are very difficult to deal with.

Lin Chen is now very strong, but he's no match for those monsters with skin and bones of copper and iron.

We must improve our strength as quickly as possible through daily settlements.

Wu Shilang, who was walking ahead, kept muttering to himself.

"This is the worst luck imaginable, my shoes are completely soaked..."

Master Simu turned around and glanced at him.

Wu Shilang shut his mouth and quickened his pace.

Back at the dojo.

The threshold in the courtyard was crooked and askew.

The crowd carried Qianhe and Dong into the main hall and placed them on a makeshift bed made of eight-immortal tables.

Several kerosene lamps were lit in the lobby.

The room was brightly lit.

"Jiale! Go boil some water! The more the better!" Master Simu shouted, taking off his raincoat.

"Lin Chen, go to my room and take out that black wooden box from under the bed."

Lin Chen responded and entered Master Simu's room, taking out a palm-sized black wooden box.

Master Simu opened the box.

It contained a dark, greasy ointment that emitted a strong, fishy odor.

"This is snake venom ointment, used to fight poison with poison," said Master Simu.

Master Ikkyu walked to Master Chizuru's side. The old monk hung his prayer beads around his neck and formed a mudra with his hands.

"Amitabha."

Master Ikkyu placed his palms on Master Chizuru's chest, channeling Buddhist power into Chizuru's body to protect his heart meridian.

Master Simu took a small knife and heated it over a kerosene lamp until the blade glowed red.

"Junior brother, just bear with it."

Master Simu looked at the blackened and rotting flesh on Qianhe's chest.

Regular glutinous rice can only draw out the surface poison; the poison that has penetrated into the flesh must be scraped off.

Master Simu cut open the rotten flesh at the edge of Qianhe's wound.

"Ugh!" Chizuru let out a muffled groan while she was unconscious.

Black blood flowed down the wound, and Lin Chen used a clean cloth to wipe it away.

Lin Chen watched as the Four-Eyed Taoist scraped his bone.

Master Simu scraped away the rotten flesh until red blood flowed from the wound before stopping.

Master Simu took out snake venom ointment from the black box, applied it to the wound, and then pressed it down with a handful of clean glutinous rice.

This time there was no more black smoke.

Master Qianhe's breathing calmed down.

He opened his eyes, his face pale.

"Senior brother..." Qianhe called out weakly.

Master Simu wiped his face.

"Alright, stop talking, your life is spared."

Master Qianhe tried to sit up, but Master Yixiu held him down.

"Fellow Daoist, do not move. Although the corpse poison has been cleared, your vital energy has been greatly damaged."

Chizuru grabbed Master Simu's wrist. She was quite strong.

"Senior brother... that zombie... it absorbed the power of lightning." Qianhe said breathlessly, her words coming out in fits and starts.

"Ordinary magical artifacts... are useless against it... peach wood swords... corpse-suppressing talismans... cannot suppress it."

Master Simu patted the back of his hand.

"I know, just focus on recovering and leave the rest to me."

Chizuru shook her head.

"Senior brother, listen to me."

"If...if my corpse poison takes effect...and I turn into a zombie." Chizuru stared into his eyes. "You must...kill me!"

"Don't make me harm others!"

Master Four Eyes cursed aloud.

"Bullshit! How could my four-eyed junior brother possibly turn into a zombie?"

"You better stay alive! Don't even think about leaving me with this mess!"

Lin Chen listened from the side.

Master Qianhe is usually rigid, but this explanation is worthy of the reputation of being the authentic Maoshan sect.

A sound came from a corner of the lobby.

"Oh dear, young prince is hungry! Doesn't this wretched place even have a hot meal?" Minister Wu exclaimed, making a delicate gesture with his fingers.

Jiale walked in carrying a basin of hot water.

"What are you yelling about! Can't you see we're busy rescuing people?" Jiale retorted irritably.

Minister Wu raised his voice.

"You bunch of quacks, can't you even distinguish between primary and secondary matters?"

"The young prince is a member of the imperial family! Can you bear the responsibility if he goes hungry?"

"Quickly send someone to escort us to the capital!"

Lin Chen put down the blood-stained cloth in his hand and walked up to Minister Wu.

He was a head taller than Vice Minister Wu, and he looked at him.

"Steward Wu, are you mistaken about something?"

"This is the Maoshan Taoist temple, not your palace."

"If you dare to yell again, I'll throw you out right now and make you a snack for that zombie."