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

Four eyes stood still.

"You...you've already learned it?"

When he was learning this sword technique, his master whipped him with a rattan cane for three months before he could barely remember the moves.

This kid can learn it after watching it only once?

"Master taught me well, the movements were broken down very clearly." Lin Chen sheathed his sword and stood up, his face neither flushed nor out of breath.

"Hmm, not bad, barely passable."

"Practice diligently, and don't be arrogant."

Si Mu walked back to the main hall with his hands behind his back.

It is located deep in the mountains, dozens of miles away from the temple.

The tall trees blocked out the sky, and a thick fog shrouded the mountains and forests.

Three herb gatherers, dressed in coarse cloth and carrying bamboo baskets, were groping around in the forest.

"Brother, the fog is so thick, are we lost?" the young herb gatherer asked.

The middle-aged man at the front used a machete to cut down the thorns blocking his path.

"Don't talk nonsense. Just follow this ditch, and you'll definitely get out."

"There was a heavy rainstorm a few days ago, and the roads in the mountains were all washed away. Please be careful."

A panting sound came from the thick fog ahead.

"Huff... huff..."

It felt like a wild beast was approaching.

The three herb gatherers stopped and gripped their machetes and sticks tightly.

A large, dark figure emerged from the thick fog, limping out.

He was dressed in tattered Qing Dynasty official robes and covered in black hair.

It was that royal zombie that had escaped into the mountains.

Its right knee was still slightly bent, but the wound on its neck had healed.

Green eyes stared at the three living people.

"A ghost!"

The young herb gatherer called out.

The middle-aged man shouted and swung his machete at the target.

The royal zombie didn't flinch, letting the woodcutter's knife slash its shoulder.

"clang!"

The machete chipped and warped.

The zombie reached out and grabbed the middle-aged man by the neck, then opened its mouth and bit down.

Screams echoed through the mountains and forests.

In less than half an incense stick's time, the three herb gatherers turned into three withered corpses.

The royal zombies threw down their corpses.

Having absorbed the blood of living people, it digested the lightning power within its body even faster.

It turned its head to look in the direction of the dojo.

There, it could taste the blood it craved.

Once it recovers from its injuries, it will go and reclaim what is rightfully its own.

Inside the dojo.

Lin Chen practiced the sword technique a hundred times and broke out in a sweat.

He splashed cold water on his face and just walked into the lobby.

Then they heard arguing coming from the side room.

"I'm not staying here! This lousy place doesn't even have a guard!"

"Vice Minister Wu shouted."

"Master Qianhe, please arrange for someone to escort our young prince back to the capital immediately!"

"If that zombie comes looking for us, we're all going to die here!"

Chizuru sat in the chair, clutching her chest.

"Manager Wu, there are mountains all outside, and zombies could appear at any time."

"If we stay at the dojo, with my senior brother and Master Ikkyu there, we can set up a defensive formation."

"If you go out now, you'll be sending lambs to the slaughter!"

"I don't care! There are experts in the capital; we'll hire a carriage once we get to town!"

Wu Shilang pulled the young prince along and directed the four wounded guards to pack their luggage.

The four guards looked at each other, terrified.

They also wanted to leave as soon as possible.

Lin Chen, carrying the lightning-struck wooden sword, lifted the curtain and went inside.

No one made a sound from the side room.

When Minister Wu saw Lin Chen, he called out.

"What? We have legs, we can walk, and you dare stop us?"

Lin Chen walked up to Minister Wu and tapped the table with his wooden sword.

"You can leave if you want."

"Open the door, and you can get out now."

Lin Chen pointed in the direction of the gate.

"But I'll warn you, that zombie is very sensitive to the smell of blood."

"If you walk ten miles away from this temple, it will follow your scent."

"How many seconds can these four wounded idiots hold it off?"

Upon hearing this, the four Manchu guards dropped the bundles they were carrying to the ground.

"You...you're trying to scare me!" said Minister Wu.

"That beast absorbed the heavenly lightning and became smarter."

"It's currently watching us in the mountains. Once it recovers, the first thing it'll do is look for you, young master."

"If we stay here and work together to set up a formation, there is still a glimmer of hope."

"Once you leave this door, not even a bone fragment will be left."

Lin Chen turned to look at Qianhe.

"Uncle-Master, if they want to die, we won't stop them."

"To save our glutinous rice and talisman paper from being wasted."

Minister Wu sat in a chair, holding the young prince.

"Then... what should we do? Are we just going to wait here to die?"

"I'm not going to just wait to die, but I have to keep working."

Lin Chen sheathed the wooden sword at his waist and looked at the four guards.

"From now on, the four of you are under my command."

"Go to the backyard, cut bamboo, whittle it into bamboo skewers, and soak them in black dog blood."

"I'm going to set a trap outside the dojo before nightfall tonight."

After Lin Chen finished speaking, no one in the side room made a sound.

The four guards looked at each other.

Dong was too badly injured to move, but the other three, though wounded, were still able to work.

They looked at Minister Wu.

At this moment, Minister Wu huddled in his chair, not daring to step forward.

"What are you looking at me for? Hurry up and listen to Master Lin's instructions!" Minister Wu shouted at the top of his lungs.

The four guards nodded, picked up their single-edged swords, and ran to the backyard.

Lin Chen followed behind, casually grabbing a wood-chopping knife from the corner of the wall.

There is a large bamboo grove in the backyard.

These bamboos are thick and sturdy, perfect for making traps.

"Cut it from the base, cut it into two-foot lengths, and sharpen one end," Lin Chen instructed.

The four guards swung their single swords and began to slash.

Lin Chen wasn't idle either.

He walked up to a bamboo stalk as thick as a large bowl and swung his machete.

"Snap!"

The whole bamboo stalk lay on the ground, the cut surface was very smooth.

The four guards watched this unfold and swallowed hard.

It takes a lot of strength to cut such a thick bamboo in one stroke.

They dared not slack off anymore and sped up their work.

Lin Chen dragged the bamboo to an open space and chopped it with a machete.

The bamboo was split into strips, and then each strip was sharpened.

Every cut was perfectly executed.

The system notification sounded in my mind.

[Ding! Host is detected creating a defensive trap.]

This action has been included in the daily settlement of ritual duties.

[Current Task: Making bamboo skewers. Progress: 1/100.]

Lin Chen's hands moved even faster.

Peeling bamboo skewers is not a difficult task for him given his current hand control.

In no time, a large pile of pointed bamboo skewers appeared on the ground.

In the main hall of the front yard.

Master Simu is counting the remaining glutinous rice and yellow paper.

Jiale walked over carrying an empty wooden bucket.

"Master, we're running out of black dog blood. We've drained all the stray dogs we caught earlier."

Master Simu glanced at him.

"If it's not enough, just borrow some from next door! Didn't you know that monk has a big black dog?"

Jiale scratched his head.

"Master, Master Ikkyu treats that dog like a treasure. Could we borrow it for bloodletting?"

"Go ahead and borrow it! Just say that Uncle-Master Qianhe needs it urgently, how could he refuse?"

Jiale had no choice but to carry the wooden bucket and run to the next house.

A dog barked next door, followed by Jiale's shouts.

"Master, help me! Stop biting me! Stop biting me!"

Jiale ran back to the dojo, his trouser leg torn in a large piece.

Master Ikkyu followed behind, leading a large black dog.

The old monk was somewhat displeased.

"Brother Four Eyes, what's wrong with your disciple? He came up here and brandished a knife at my dog."

"If it weren't for this old monk stopping him, he would have died in the mouth of a dog today."

Master Simu greeted him with a smile.

"Master, you misunderstand. This is just to set a trap. I need to borrow some black dog blood."

Master Ikkyu shielded the black dog behind him.

"Bloodletting is acceptable, but it must not be fatal. This dog has been with me for several years."

Finally, it was agreed that only half a bowl of blood would be used, and the rest would be diluted with water and cinnabar.

Although its power has been reduced somewhat, it is still sufficient to deal with ordinary evil spirits.