On the stone platform, Ding Siyuan lay with her eyes closed, hands resting on her abdomen, quietly resembling an injured Sleeping Beauty more than a deceased person.
"It's been twenty years; Ding Siyuan can't possibly still be so lifelike. I must be affected by the Other Shore Flower," Cao Yi muttered to himself.
Suddenly, a chilling aura emanated from Ding Siyuan, causing the air to drop several degrees in an instant.
Cao Yi was momentarily stunned; this aura resembled the spiritual energy inside the Purple Dragon King's jade stone, but lacked some of the earthiness.
Is this also an illusion? An illusion! He almost forgot that he had the Sanqing Bell in his canvas bag, which could dispel illusions.
Cao Yi reached into the bag and pulled out the Sanqing Bell, gently shaking it. The crisp ringing spread outwards like waves.
Cao Yi felt a sudden clarity, as if he had forgotten all concerns. Breathing a sigh of relief, he lowered his gaze, and his expression froze.
It was still Ding Siyuan lying there, her lightly injured face serene and tranquil. Ding Siyuan was real, not an illusion!
So the question arose: who placed Ding Siyuan here, who should have died in the Japanese fortress below, and what was their purpose?
Cao Yi shifted his gaze from Ding Siyuan's face to the dim crack and the fog-covered suspension bridge, a chill suddenly creeping up his spine!
Only someone capable of placing Ding Siyuan here and keeping her body from decaying could be the thousand-year-old zombie the system spoke of!
Perhaps at this moment, the thousand-year-old zombie was watching him nearby.
"Daoist Priest, what did you say? She is Ding Siyuan?" Shirley Yang exclaimed beside him.
She had heard this name countless times from Wang Kaixuan.
Cao Yi, startled by her sudden shout, shot her a glare before gracefully leaping back to the side.
"Daoist Priest, is she really Ding Siyuan?" Shirley pressed on.
"Yes," Cao Yi replied tersely.
Holding the Sanqing Bell in his left hand and the peach wood sword in his right, he stepped onto the suspension bridge, straining to look deeper into the fog while sensing if there were any cold, yin attributes of spiritual energy nearby.
One minute, two minutes… five minutes, nothing!
"Could I be overthinking it?" Cao Yi murmured to himself.
"Ah, finally made it up, I'm exhausted!"
"Shirley, what are you looking at? Little Ding, how could she be here?"
"Little Ding!"
From behind, Hu Bayi and Wang Kaixuan's voices mixed with joy rang out.
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Cao Yi turned to see them searching for stones to bridge the gap and quickly called out, "Don't go over!"
Hu Bayi and Wang Kaixuan turned, puzzled.
Cao Yi hesitated for a few seconds, sighed, and said, "At this point, I might as well be honest with you—there's a thousand-year-old zombie here!"
A thousand-year-old zombie!
Hu Bayi and Wang Kaixuan exchanged glances.
Cao Yi continued, "Ding Siyuan, who should have died in the Japanese fortress below, has appeared here, her body intact for twenty years. It's highly likely she's behind this. To avoid alarming her, you'd better not touch Ding Siyuan."
Hearing this, Hu Bayi and Wang Kaixuan glanced at Ding Siyuan's unchanging form, their expressions revealing their understanding.
"Now that the matter is out in the open, I won't hide my next plan from you. Everyone needs to leave immediately," Cao Yi said, surveying everyone.
Whether in '90s zombie films or in the 'Ghost Blowing Lantern' series, thousand-year-old zombies are notoriously difficult to deal with. He didn't want to handle one while also protecting this group of people.
"Daoist Priest, you can't handle a thousand-year-old zombie alone; let's leave together," Hu Bayi urged.
Due to his lack of knowledge, he didn't believe Cao Yi could confront a thousand-year-old zombie by himself.
"It's my duty!" Cao Yi replied calmly.
Hu Bayi hesitated, wanting to say something but ultimately sighed.
"She could appear at any moment; hurry and leave!" Cao Yi urged.
Hu Bayi, a decisive person, saw that Cao Yi was determined and didn't press further, calling to Wang Kaixuan, who was fixated on Ying Caihong holding the meteorite, the frowning Shirley Yang, and the frightened Big Gold Tooth to leave.
"Daoist Priest, take care!"
"Daoist Priest, safety first! If you can't fight, it's not shameful to run away!"
…
Before Shirley Yang, Wang Kaixuan, and Big Gold Tooth departed, they all expressed their farewells.
"Be careful yourself," Cao Yi responded.
Once Hu Bayi and the others disappeared into the fog, Cao Yi turned his attention to Ying Caihong and her group.
Yoko and two foreigners stood nearby.
Ying Caihong sat on a stone, bewilderedly fiddling with the meteorite.
"Ying, now is not the time to linger. If the thousand-year-old zombie comes, you won't be able to leave," Cao Yi said, frowning.
"How could the Other Shore Flower be a meteorite? How could the Other Shore Flower be a meteorite…" Ying Caihong muttered, flipping the meteorite over and over.
Cao Yi squinted; it seemed Ying Caihong had a sporadic mental breakdown—she wouldn't act out again, would she?
"Could it be hidden inside?" Ying Caihong's expression changed as she suddenly threw the meteorite to the ground.
With a loud crash, the meteorite shattered into pieces.
Though he was somewhat prepared for this, Cao Yi still felt it was strange; if it were truly a meteorite, it shouldn't shatter so easily!
"My Other Shore Flower, my Other Shore Flower…" Ying Caihong cried out in madness, throwing herself to the ground and grasping the fragments, injuring her hands without caring.
Cao Yi approached, bent down, and picked up a piece of the meteorite, closing his eyes to sense it for a moment, feeling a faint, unfamiliar attribute of spiritual energy.
"Everything grows, full of vitality, feels like spring—could this be wood attribute spiritual energy?" Cao Yi speculated in his heart.
"Master, the Other Shore Flower might just be a legend," Yoko's voice chimed in.
Smack! A sharp sound rang out.
Cao Yi turned towards the sound and saw a bright red handprint on Yoko's face.
"Nonsense! This is the Other Shore Flower! This is the Other Shore Flower…" Ying Caihong screamed hysterically.
Cao Yi stepped forward and slapped Ying Caihong to the ground.
"Stinky Daoist, how dare you hit my master? I'll fight you!" Yoko yelled furiously, drawing her axe from behind and charging at him.
"Yoko," Ying Caihong's cold voice interjected.
Yoko paused, turning to see Ying Caihong sitting on the ground, her expression cold and drastically different from her earlier madness.
"Master, are you alright?"
"Daoist Priest, your slap woke me up," Ying Caihong touched her stinging face; it had been a long time since anyone had hit her.
"But…" Yoko was still displeased with Cao Yi hitting her revered master.
"No buts! Help me up," Ying Caihong, having been slapped by Cao Yi and knocked out, was too weak to rise on her own.
Yoko quickly dropped her axe and carefully helped Ying Caihong to her feet.
"Thank you, Daoist Priest," Ying Caihong slightly bowed.
"No need to be polite," Cao Yi replied flatly.
Ying Caihong glanced at the meteorite fragments on the ground and said, "The corpse is a substitute; this Other Shore Flower is probably a substitute too."