A gust of cold wind blew by, the campfire dimmed, and from outside came the low growls and gnashing of teeth!

Chapter 9: Complicit with the Tiger

The commotion outside the Mountain God Temple nearly scared Andrew Morgan into wetting his pants.

He was just bragging a little—could it really be this effective?

The head guard of the The Reed Family was the first to react, brandishing his long blade to shield Miss Reed and the Butler, shouting sternly, “Who’s out there!”

Outside the Mountain God Temple, an old, raspy voice cackled, “You ignored the main road and insisted on taking this wild mountain path. You really made it hard for me to find you.

But it’s just as well. Taking care of you here saves me the trouble of cleaning up the evidence.”

The old Butler of the The Reed Family said in a deep voice, “I may not know who you are, but do you realize that my master is a fifth-rank official in the capital!

If you dare harm us, aren’t you afraid the Nightwatch Division will come after you?”

The man let out a strange laugh. “Afraid? Of course I’m afraid. But it’s precisely because you’re the family of a fifth-rank official that you’re worth seven thousand taels of silver!”

As his words fell, the already rotten wooden doors of the Mountain God Temple were completely smashed open, and what appeared before everyone were dozens of corpses!

Each corpse had a twisted, terrifying face, some even already decayed.

Yet at this moment, they moved like living beings, clad in tattered armor, their stiff bodies closing in on the group.

Edward Grant looked at Andrew Morgan. “Are these the zombies you mentioned?”

Andrew Morgan shook his head, trembling. “No, these things can’t be called zombies yet—they’re just wandering corpses.

Cultivators skilled in corpse refinement divide zombies into seven levels: wandering corpse, white zombie, black zombie, purple zombie, flying zombie, unrotting bones, and drought demon.

Zombies don’t rot, and white zombies even grow white fur and claws, with incredible strength and speed.

Some of these corpses are already decayed, with no obvious changes—just the lowest level, wandering corpses.”

Although Andrew Morgan loved to brag, he was actually quite knowledgeable about the cultivation world.

Emily Foster immediately chimed in, “Senior brother, didn’t you say you could kill those zombies with a single sword stroke? These wandering corpses should be no problem for you. If you don’t feel comfortable with your own sword, you can borrow mine.”

Looking at Emily Foster handing him her sword, her face full of admiration and seriousness, Andrew Morgan was on the verge of tears.

Junior sister, are you messing with me on purpose?

Andrew Morgan didn’t take the sword, but instead shouted, “Hey, out there! We’re not with them! If you kill us, there’s no bounty!”

That voice cackled again, “Bounty or not, who cares? If I let you go and the Nightwatch Division’s hounds find out, I’ll have to go into hiding again.

Blame your own bad luck—go feed my little darlings!”

Emily Foster tugged angrily at Andrew Morgan’s sleeve, complaining, “Senior brother, how could you? Didn’t you say that upholding justice and slaying evil is our duty as martial artists?”

Andrew Morgan replied helplessly, “Junior sister, be realistic! Even upholding justice depends on your own strength.

The only weakness of these wandering corpses is that they move slowly. Out in the open, just give your senior brother a horse and I could take care of them all.

But here, with the narrow mountain path and cramped space, if dozens of wandering corpses charge at once, who could stop them?

Besides, these corpse-refining cultivators love to poison the corpses. If you get scratched, you’re as good as dead.

It’s not that I don’t want to help—it’s that I’m not strong enough.”

The head guard of the The Reed Family snorted coldly, “You all fall back and escape down the mountain through the back door—we’ll hold them off! Draw arrows, fire!”

With that, the head guard and the other five guards drew their bows and arrows, holding off the wandering corpses.

But there were too many of these corpses, and unless they were shot in the head, they kept coming. Six bows could only slow them down for a moment.

Still, with the guards’ arrows holding them back, the group had time to escape through the back door.

But the forest was pitch black, and the mountain path was treacherous, so everyone’s pace was painfully slow. The horde of wandering corpses was about to catch up.

At that moment, the scholar Benjamin Harris suddenly said, “I know a shortcut down the mountain. Follow me—once we reach the main road, those wandering corpses won’t be able to catch us.”

Andrew Morgan was overjoyed. “Really? Then we’re saved!”

He grabbed Emily Foster and was about to follow Benjamin Harris, but Edward Grant, along with the Miss and Butler of the The Reed Family, didn’t move.

Edward Grant suddenly said, “Don’t go. That scholar is up to something.”

Benjamin Harris protested, “Brother, I’m trying to help you, and you accuse me of having ulterior motives. You really don’t know a good person when you see one.

Fine, you stay here and deal with the wandering corpses. I’ll escape first—don’t blame me for being selfish.”

With that, Benjamin Harris headed into the depths of the forest.

Andrew Morgan looked around—on one side, the wandering corpses; on the other, a way out.

Besides, Edward Grant had always kept a low profile, and Andrew Morgan thought he was just a minor vagabond, so he pulled Emily Foster along to follow Benjamin Harris.

Emily Foster hesitated, “Senior brother…”

“Enough talk, let’s go! Otherwise, it’ll be too late!”