While lost in thought, I suddenly felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and I quickly signaled Cao Kui and Cheng Fan to be quiet and not make any sound.

My sudden movement startled the two of them, who had been about to speak. They stared at me in shock.

I looked around, but saw nothing. However, as a cultivator, I didn’t doubt my own senses. Could it be that the mummy had appeared nearby, but I couldn’t see it?

Alright! If I can't see it, I’ll use my spiritual sense. I extended my sense to cover the area within several dozen meters, but still didn’t detect anything unusual.

Damn! How could this happen?

Could it be that the mummy moved so fast, it passed by us just now?

Feeling a bit embarrassed under the gaze of Cao Kui and Cheng Fan, I chuckled and shook my head, signaling that I hadn’t found anything.

"Here! Everyone, be careful!"

Suddenly, a loud shout came from a blue three-story building in the distance. We three turned our gaze towards it and were startled to see that it was the teaching building of our high school.

As soon as the shout ended, the lights in the hallway turned on, and I saw several figures flashing through the windows, rushing towards a classroom. It seemed that they were heading for a classroom on the first floor.

That classroom—was our own class!

Why would the mummy appear in our classroom, of all places?

I exchanged incredulous glances with Cao Kui and Cheng Fan, all of us clearly surprised by the situation.

"Should we go take a look?" Cheng Fan asked, his curiosity piqued. It seemed his bravery had grown.

Cao Kui immediately disagreed, "You go if you want, but if you get caught, it’ll be bad. What if they mistake us for the mummy?"

I thought for a moment, then felt that it shouldn’t be too much trouble. I nodded and said, "Let’s go take a look, but be careful not to get noticed. Cao Kui, why don’t you stay here, and Cheng Fan and I will go..."

Before I could finish, a loud "bang" sounded as a window shattered.

Turning to look, I saw a figure leap out of the broken window from our classroom. Could it be the mummy? I wondered, but the figure’s movement seemed too agile for a mummy!

As the figure landed, five Taoist priests in traditional robes jumped out of the window one after another. To my surprise, among them were Tian Huazi and the young Taoist priest I had seen earlier. They landed and quickly surrounded the figure that had jumped out of the window. Unfortunately, I couldn’t see the face of that figure as it was facing away from me.

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With all the commotion, why hadn’t anyone from the school come out? I thought maliciously—perhaps these Taoists had scared the school staff away with their talk of the mummy sucking blood?

"Master, is it really you? Master?" Tian Huazi stepped forward and called out to the figure in the center.

The figure slowly turned around, facing Tian Huazi. Its face was pale and devoid of color, its skin dry and shriveled. Its eyes were vacant and dazed, creating a terrifying sight. Could this be the mummy that had had its soul taken by Tian Huazi’s master? Interesting indeed!

"Who... who are you? Give me back my soul... give me back my soul..." The mummy’s mouth moved slightly, and its words sounded unnatural, sending chills down my spine in the night air.

Was the mummy searching for its own soul? Or was it Tian Huazi’s master seeking his soul?

I looked at Cao Kui and Cheng Fan beside me. Both of them were staring at the figures in the school building with their mouths wide open, eyes glued to the scene in front of them. Unlike me, a cultivator, they probably couldn’t make out the details of the figures.

I continued to observe.

I noticed the mummy seemed absent-minded. Tian Huazi gave a signal to his four companions, and they immediately began to move, surrounding the mummy tightly.

It seemed like they were trying to subdue it.

"Ahh... give me back my soul..." The mummy suddenly yelled, twisting its neck in an unnatural way. Its head cocked to the side as it suddenly vanished and reappeared outside the Taoist priests’ encirclement. Its movement was so fast and strange that I was greatly surprised—it was almost like the Yin-Yang Steps passed down in my family.

"Shangyuan Xuanji Steps? Master, do you not recognize us?" Tian Huazi quickly turned back, desperately speaking to the mummy, but it seemed the mummy didn’t understand what he was saying.

"Master, it seems that the Ancestor really doesn’t recognize us... What should we do?" A young Taoist, whom I had seen earlier, asked Tian Huazi in a worried tone.

Tian Huazi looked momentarily troubled, then shouted, "Everyone, put more effort into it! We can’t let the master escape again!"

With that, Tian Huazi lunged forward again, his steps surprisingly similar to those of the mummy.

Strangely enough, though the mummy appeared not to recognize the Taoists, it didn’t seem intent on fighting them. As the five Taoists closed in once more, the mummy cocked its head again and glanced at the classroom where it had crashed through the window. It cried out once more: "Give me back my soul... give me back my soul..."

Its dry voice faded, and the mummy's figure flickered several times, evading the Taoists’ encirclement and floating towards the school’s sports field.

The five Taoists, unwilling to let the mummy escape so easily, shouted and rushed after it.

All of this happened in just a few minutes, from the sound of glass breaking to the figures vanishing without a trace. Cao Kui and Cheng Fan, standing beside me, were utterly stunned and hadn’t spoken a word.

Though these Taoists didn’t seem to have any fluctuations in their vital energy, their skills were incredibly agile and impressive—like the lightness of footwork seen in martial arts films. To Cao Kui and Cheng Fan, it must have been utterly amazing.

Should I help the Taoists capture the mummy?

After a moment of consideration, I decided against it. After all, I was a student, and dealing with mummies was the Taoists’ job. Heh.

After a while, Cheng Fan mumbled to himself, "Damn... that was... amazing!"

"Yeah! So martial arts really exist! I... I..." Cao Kui stammered, unable to finish his words, but from the tone of his voice, I could tell he was eager to learn martial arts too.

I snapped them both out of their daydreaming, and the three of us climbed over the school’s wall. My plan was to go home, but Cao Kui and Cheng Fan insisted on staying. It seemed that their courage had grown, no doubt because I was around. Heh.

The three of us ended up at Cao Kui’s house, and for the next three nights, we secretly returned to the school each night. Strangely, we never saw the mummy or the Taoists again. Feeling bored, we didn’t want to leave empty-handed, so on the last night, we climbed the walnut tree near the sports field and spent the night picking walnuts.