IW: Chapter 282 - The Impact of Zombie World, Upcoming Events!
"Daoist Ma Ma Di, I'm counting on you for this corpse-herding trip!"
In a certain town.
Ma Ma Di had restarted his corpse-herding business.
Although he had been tricked by A Hao and Ah Qiang once, which caused his reputation to decline somewhat, it was fortunately remedied later, which helped restore his reputation a bit.
Moreover, this era was inherently chaotic, and most people died far from home.
Therefore, to be buried back in their hometown, they had to find a Daoist for corpse-herding.
And this kind of work, ordinary people's psychological endurance wasn't up to it.
Carrying a dead body every day and walking at night.
Without some skill, one wouldn't dare to do these things at all.
So, even if Ma Ma Di's reputation had some issues, many people still sought him out.
"Don't worry, I'll send them back safely."
Ma Ma Di didn't care.
It wasn't his first time doing this kind of thing.
He affixed special talismans to the Walking corpses.
Such skilled movements made the people present breathe a sigh of relief.
This wasn't just one family, but several families transporting their dead together.
While transporting for one family was different from several, transporting for several families together would be cheaper because the cost would be shared.
After all, they could share the cost.
Whether a Daoist sent one or several, it was still sending, so they would only symbolically charge a little more.
They had only heard about Ma Ma Di's past and knew he had some 'dark history'.
After all, the bodies had already been handed over to Ma Ma Di.
Only Ma Ma Di would know what happened afterward.
Seeing Ma Ma Di's professional methods, they felt relieved.
This was also Ma Ma Di intentionally showing off for them.
No choice.
After all, people were a bit distrustful.
"Let's go."
After Ma Ma Di finished speaking, he shook his bell and led the bodies away.
Although he no longer had disciples for the Taoist Competition, he still needed to go and see it.
Thinking of his disciples, Ma Ma Di felt a bit melancholic.
The reason he took two disciples back then was entirely because Uncle Jiu also had two disciples.
He couldn't fall behind.
Plus, he knew that Uncle Jiu's two disciples were unlearned and incompetent.
At that time, Ma Ma Di thought,
If he also took two disciples, and his two disciples were better than Uncle Jiu's in terms of discipleship, then he would have a lot of face with Uncle Jiu.
All along, Ma Ma Di just wanted to regain his pride with Uncle Jiu.
He had often argued with Uncle Jiu when he was at Maoshan Sect.
But he himself was not skilled enough and couldn't compare to Uncle Jiu.
So, most of the time, he could only sulk.
He just didn't expect that he originally thought he could win against Uncle Jiu once with his disciples.
As a result, these two disciples completely broke his already weak back.
After days of self-consolation, Ma Ma Di had now completely given up on this matter.
It might be better to just honestly herd corpses.
"Fellow Daoist, herding corpses late at night?"
On the road, he also encountered people herding corpses.
Ma Ma Di looked strangely at the somewhat eerie duo.
Why did these few corpses feel so strange?
"Yes, fellow Daoist, are you also herding corpses?!"
The platoon leader wiped the sweat from his face.
Looking at Ma Ma Di, who was shaking a bell, he also felt a bit nervous.
"Hmm."
Ma Ma Di was just curious before.
He wasn't a very talkative person.
After a greeting, they went their separate ways.
They weren't on the same path to begin with.
Although Ma Ma Di felt a bit strange, he didn't meddle.
He hadn't even finished his own business, how could he focus on other things?
"Won't we be discovered?" Ah Ying asked with some worry.
They were doing something bad.
The other person seemed to really be a Maoshan Daoist.
Would they expose themselves in front of him?
"Probably not!" The platoon leader shook his head, feeling it was unlikely.
If the other person had discovered them, he surely wouldn't have let them go so easily, would he?
Actually, he wasn't sure either.
"Forget it, whether he saw through us or not, he's already gone. We just need to do our own thing."
The seven-person team continued forward.
Ma Ma Di, however, looked back as if sensing something, but then shook his head.
"Senior Brother, are you just leaving like this?" Meng Meng looked at Ao Tianlong with some reluctance.
The senior brother and sister had only just met, and Ao Tianlong was already leaving again.
So many years had passed.
Their past feelings were a bit regrettable, but she herself didn't want this matter to affect their relationship.
It's just that...
Her husband and Ao Tianlong still had unresolved issues.
"Just let him go back, he's stayed long enough!" Da Gui said with some displeasure.
He was now afraid that his wife still had some lingering feelings for Ao Tianlong.
If that were true, wouldn't it mean he was being cuckolded?!
"Da Gui, so much time has passed. Can't you two just reconcile?"
Actually, if you really wanted to talk about it, it was Da Gui's fault.
Why did Meng Meng do that?
She just wanted Da Gui to apologize to Ao Tianlong.
Wrong was wrong.
What he did back then, wasn't it unfair to Ao Tianlong?
It just so happened that both of them were together.
Were they going to just watch them become strangers?
"I didn't say anything..." Da Gui mumbled.
Although his reaction was indeed a bit excessive, his wife almost got involved with someone else.
How could he tolerate that?
The main thing was that the other person was an old flame.
He had to resort to trickery to marry Meng Meng.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been like this.
"Meng Meng, I do have some things to do, so I need to leave." Ao Tianlong looked at Meng Meng, sighed, and said slowly.
Staying here would indeed bring up sad memories.
But this wasn't Ao Tianlong's reason for leaving.
Actually, staying here, ignoring Da Gui, the annoying fellow, Ao Tianlong felt pretty good here.
He hadn't been back here for a long time, and when he came back again, he indeed had a different feeling.
"Senior Brother, what is it? Do you need our help?"
"Hey, just say what it is. We'll help if we can!" Da Gui also knew he owed Ao Tianlong.
But he couldn't say anything soft, wanting to appear tough in front of Ao Tianlong.
So, the way he spoke, he even felt a bit off himself.
"I need to go back to Xishuangbanna. There's a Bronze Armored Zombie there, and then there's also the Taoist Competition."
Ao Tianlong's time was actually a bit tight.
Originally, if he hadn't known about the Taoist Competition, he wouldn't have participated.
But now that he knew, he might as well go and see.
After deciding to go, the matter in Xishuangbanna needed to be dealt with quickly.
"Bronze Armored Zombie!?" Da Gui's eyes widened in shock.
What was a Bronze Armored Zombie?
That was something that spelled trouble for anyone who encountered it.
"A fellow Daoist invited me to go together to subdue demons, so I need to go earlier." Ao Tianlong didn't hide anything.
They were all Daoists; when they encountered enemies they couldn't handle themselves, they would seek help.
"That sounds quite dangerous, Senior Brother. We're free, do you need us to come along?" Meng Meng was a bit worried about Ao Tianlong.
After all, they had just met after so long, and Meng Meng didn't want this meeting to be their last.
Even Da Gui knew the danger involved.
At this moment, he didn't say another word.
He understood that some things could be said, but others could not.
"No need. The person who invited me is the eighteenth-generation descendant of Zhuge Kongming. His abilities are not small." Ao Tianlong wasn't worried.
"Zhuge Kongping?!" Zhuge Kongping's name was very famous in the spiritual world.
Just like Bai Ye, who recently eliminated the zombies in Teng Teng Town.
"Yes."
After receiving Ao Tianlong's reply, they weren't worried anymore.
With him there, plus Ao Tianlong's own considerable strength, dealing with a Bronze Armored Zombie shouldn't be a big problem.
"By the way, what is that Taoist Competition you mentioned?" Da Gui asked curiously.
He always felt like he might have lived too comfortably for too long.
Now he didn't even know what was happening in the cultivation world.
"It's a competition for young Daoist disciples. Even if you don't participate, you can go and watch. We're planning to go and see it.
By the way, people from the Shenxiao Sect and our Maoshan Sect will all be there. I met them when I came here this time." Ao Tianlong hesitated, he actually hoped they would come along.
Mainly because he would have familiar people.
If he went alone, it would feel a bit awkward.
Although there would be people from Maoshan Sect, he didn't know them at all.
"Senior Uncle, can we go?!" Yun Gao looked at Ao Tianlong excitedly.
Obviously, he wanted to go along.
This was much better than staying at home.
"Can we go too?"
"Cough, cough, aren't you going to ask for my opinion?!" Da Gui was completely exasperated seeing his wife and son eager to go.
No?!
Were they not going to ask for his opinion?
He hadn't even said whether he was going or not!
"Don't mind him. If he doesn't go, just let him stay home alone!"
"Who said I'm not going!" Da Gui quickly said.
How could he not go and stay home alone?
Dare he stay home alone?
If Meng Meng and Ao Tianlong went together, Da Gui shivered at the thought of that scene.
He really couldn't imagine it!
So wherever his wife went, he had to follow!
"If you want to go, you can. Anyway, I asked earlier, and they didn't say you had to be invited. You just need to arrive at the agreed location when the time comes." If they went, that would be good too.
After Ao Tianlong told them the time and place, he took Ao Ningshuang and left.
"Senior Brother, be careful!"
"Goodbye, Senior Uncle!"
"Hey! I'll be waiting for you at the Taoist Competition then!"
Listening to Da Gui's words, a faint smile appeared on Ao Tianlong's lips.
He waved his hand and walked towards Xishuangbanna without looking back.
"What on earth are those guys doing? Do they really need me to make a move?"
Miaojiang.
Upon learning that he had to make a move on Snowflake, he felt his plan was disrupted.
Originally, he was going to seize the Dragon Vein.
Although these two plans didn't conflict, doing two things at once would inevitably lead to some omissions.
"Teacher, should we refuse then?" They were told to capture Snowflake.
It was indeed convenient for them to act because Snowflake was from Miaojiang.
It was quite troublesome for outsiders to enter.
But if they acted, they would definitely be discovered, so they had originally prepared to take the Dragon Vein and leave.
But now... the plan seemed to be failing.
"Refuse? Even if we refuse, won't we have the same result if we get the Dragon Vein?"
"Same result?" The disciple was a bit strange. How could it be the same result?
He felt that these two things couldn't be done together at all.
Was his master misunderstanding something?
"Didn't you realize why we need to capture Snowflake? If you can't deal with that guy, what good is getting the Dragon Vein? Don't forget, he has a section of the Dragon Vein in his hands!"
This was an unavoidable problem.
Bai Ye had a section of the Dragon Vein.
Even if they eventually collected the other Dragon Veins, what then?
They would still have to become enemies with Bai Ye.
So, this mission was something they had to do.
"But according to intelligence, his abilities are fire and lightning... It seems they do counter us quite well."
Not just evil cultivators, their insanityworms also feared fire, especially the Three True Samadhi Fire.
So, what the master said was right. If they wanted to deal with Bai Ye, they had to find Bai Ye's weakness.
This was already a very optimistic plan.
If Bai Ye had no weaknesses, they would truly find it difficult to deal with him.
"So Snowflake must be captured, but how can we take Snowflake and the Dragon Vein at the same time?" The middle-aged man muttered.
He wasn't unwilling to capture her; he just wanted to maximize his benefits.
Given the current situation, he hadn't thought of a perfect solution.
He wouldn't act until he had a plan.
His original plan had already been overturned.
"That Dragon Vein is guarded by the old woman. Snowflake is with Bai Ye now. Master, do you think that old woman will just give the Dragon Vein to Bai Ye?" The disciple seemed to have thought of something.
This felt like the most terrifying thing, didn't it?
The Dragon Vein being guarded by Snowflake's grandmother was a secret, but with careful investigation, a clue could be found.
After that, the Dragon Vein would also be handed over to Snowflake by her grandmother.
Because this was the mission of the Miaojiang Saintess.
They needed to protect the Dragon Vein.
Their Dragon Vein was different from other Dragon Veins.
It was specifically given to Miaojiang by Liu Bowen back then.
At the same time, Liu Bowen also left some words that were recorded before he left.
Therefore, whether it was the Dragon Vein or the words left by Liu Bowen, these were all things they wanted to get their hands on.
So, this Dragon Vein in Miaojiang was something they absolutely had to obtain!