The Wordless Heavenly Book

Blind Zhao stared down at Daoist Baiyun's corpse for a long, silent moment. Suddenly, he snapped his head around. "Who's there?" Caught peeping, Sun Qi spun on his heel and bolted. Blind Zhao gave chase at once, and in the midst of their pursuit, they ran smack into the wedding procession. Sun Qi ducked right into the crowd of marchers. Blind Zhao could only glare in helpless frustration before hurrying back to San Niang Temple to deal with Daoist Baiyun's body. "Wang Wu!" Sun Qi grabbed Ding Shi's sleeve and hissed in his ear, "Blind Zhao murdered Daoist Baiyun!" "Huh?" Ding Shi asked. He had heard clearly enough, but he found it hard to believe. "Blind Zhao killed Daoist Baiyun to snatch the Wordless Heavenly Book!" Sun Qi said. "The Wordless Heavenly Book?" Ding Shi asked. "You mean those bamboo slips?" "Wang Wu, can't you focus on what matters?!" Sun Qi cried. "Daoist Baiyun is dead! We're finished!" Ding Shi replied, "Since ancient times, who among men can escape death?" Sun Qi looked ready to faint. Ding Shi pressed on, "So those bamboo slips really are the Wordless Heavenly Book?" "Yes, yes, yes!" Sun Qi said frantically. "What am I supposed to do now?" "Go find the village chief," Ding Shi said. "Will you come with me?" Sun Qi asked hopefully. Ding Shi snapped impatiently, "I'm busy firing the fowling piece. This procession can't do without me. Go on, get moving." The wedding procession arrived outside Haitang's house, where both the courtyard gate and front door were firmly barred. A whole series of festivities awaited them here. Over a dozen young women from Haitang's extended family stood ready to stage a showdown against the groom's party, featuring drinking contests, singing duels, and similar games. After Sun Qi's warning, Ding Shi kept a vigilant eye on his surroundings—first to watch for Zombie San Niang, and second to look out for Blind Zhao. Once they reached Haitang's doorstep, Ding Shi retreated all the way to the rear of the procession, lit a cigarette, and scanned the area. That was when he caught sight of a dark figure leaping down from the steps of San Niang Temple and landing near a villager's backyard. Flicking his cigarette away, Ding Shi slipped out of the procession and gave chase. ... Without turning on his flashlight, Ding Shi tracked the mysterious figure by ear under the hazy moonlight. The distance between them was not great. The shadowy figure had initially slowed down, but hearing movement behind him, he glanced back and immediately picked up the pace. Ding Shi matched his speed, swiftly pursuing him to a fork in the road. The right fork led toward the village center; the left wound into Bamboo Forest Mountain, a modest hill densely packed with bamboo. Around twenty households had built their homes along the edge of the hill, each carving out their own section of the bamboo forest. Beside the junction stood a latrine—the pit toilet common in that era. It was essentially a deep pit spanned by wooden planks, relying on free fall for waste disposal. The cesspit served as the villagers' primary source of fertilizer. Pausing at the crossroads, Ding Shi lit another cigarette. After observing for a moment, he suddenly caught a glimpse of red in the distance. Though he couldn't see clearly, he ducked into the bamboo grove without hesitation. The red figure drew closer, and Ding Shi could now clearly see that it was none other than Zombie San Niang. He pulled his jacket up over his head—damn spotted mosquitoes, every bite raised a welt. Ding Shi brought out the makeshift respirator he had cobbled together at the Xiao siblings' place. While the name sounded high-tech, it was really just a flexible hose. Tossing one end seven meters away, he breathed through the other. That way, Zombie San Niang wouldn't be able to pinpoint his scent right off the bat. Once he was set, Zombie San Niang was about fifteen meters away. Ding Shi held his breath. His personal diving record was a minute and thirty seconds; Zombie San Niang ought to wander far enough away in that time. Unexpectedly, she halted in her tracks, straightened her posture, and turned toward the latrine. Ding Shi was slightly stunned. Would Zombie San Niang not even spare the maggots? He couldn't be sure. She drank chicken blood, and both full-grown and medium-sized hens were fair game—but what about chicks? What about king quails? Or king quail chicks? Where did she draw the line? Before Ding Shi could puzzle it out, San Niang darted forward like an ape toward the latrine. Her left palm slammed into the wooden door with a crisp crack, punching straight through one of the planks. Thrusting both hands into the hole, she wrenched outward. The door, cobbled together from seven wooden boards, tore open as easily as tissue paper. At that exact moment, a dark shadow tumbled out from the side of the latrine, plunging two meters to the ground. Who else could it be but Blind Zhao? San Niang pounced like a ravenous tiger. Blind Zhao cursed violently, "*Bleep* you, you *bleeping bleep*!" He cursed as he swung the bamboo slips frantically against her head. San Niang didn't budge in the slightest. She sank her fangs straight into Blind Zhao's neck and began draining him ravenously. As the light of life slowly faded from Blind Zhao, San Niang's skin took on a faint, ruddy glow. *San Niang, can't you drink any faster?* Ding Shi was running out of air. Only seven meters separated them; if he dared to breathe, Zombie San Niang would gladly come over and say hello. Fall back? Not a good choice. Ding Shi spotted the so-called Wordless Heavenly Book lying discarded on the ground nearby. Greed might carry risks, but every man had his weaknesses; the moment Ding Shi laid eyes on the Wordless Heavenly Book, his common sense dropped by an entire grade. He could have retreated first and returned after Zombie San Niang finished her midnight snack, but instead, he pressed his mouth and nose against the yellow loam, hoping the earth would filter his exhaled breath or trap it in the soil. On top of that, he was banking on a stroke of luck—he was downwind, while San Niang was upwind. Zombie San Niang clutched Blind Zhao's head, drinking and drinking, until another villager came by to use the toilet. Only then did she toss Blind Zhao aside and lunge at the unlucky passerby. Ding Shi was eight meters from the Wordless Heavenly Book and fifteen meters from Zombie San Niang. In theory, leaving now and coming back later remained an option. But he couldn't forget that he had competitors in the village. With that in mind, Ding Shi crept step by cautious step toward the Wordless Heavenly Book. So long as he didn't breathe, she shouldn't be drawn to him. Ding Shi took thirty seconds to cover those eight meters, his gaze fixed on Zombie San Niang feeding seven meters away as his hand reached down for the bamboo slips on the ground. Suddenly, a hand clamped onto his wrist. Ding Shi was so startled he nearly gasped. Looking down, he found it was Blind Zhao. *Are you kidding me? Still not dead? San Niang's blood-draining machine is losing its touch.* Looking closer, he realized something was off. The man's face had turned purplish, and a pair of cute little fangs poked from his mouth. Knowledge was power. One look was enough to tell that Blind Zhao had become a purple zombie, the lowest rank of the undead. Ding Shi immediately drove a fist into Blind Zhao's face. The blow landed with a loud crack, but it wasn't enough to interrupt Zombie San Niang's meal. The zombie Zhao let out a muffled whimper as if weeping, but either way, its grip slipped from Ding Shi's wrist. Ding Shi snatched the Wordless Heavenly Book and converted it into a card. It couldn't be placed into a skill slot, only an item slot. Its classifications were Weapon, Armor, Book, and Skill. Marked upon it was the character for "Unique," indicating the Wordless Heavenly Book was one of a kind in the Yita World. Ding Shi had no time to read it, nor could he make sense of it anyway. He shifted away slowly until he was twenty meters out, then pressed his face into the dirt to inhale. A chime sounded from the system. Ding Shi opened the notification to find that the casual instance's danger level had been raised once more—this time to High. The next second, the village's power cut out. A shroud of black mist swallowed the hazy moonlight, plunging Taoyuan Village into boundless dark. Moments later, gasps and curdling screams drifted from the direction of San Niang Temple, followed by panicked shrieks: "Ghost! There's a ghost!" According to Daoist Baiyun's deduction, Ghost San Niang had three killing rules, one of which was that no one could look her in the eye. Ding Shi couldn't wrap his head around that. Since Ghost San Niang only materialized to kill when someone violated a rule, in theory Ding Shi would never be able to meet her gaze in the first place. Ding Shi quickened his pace toward San Niang Temple. It wasn't that he was fearless—he needed intelligence, and he needed to know Ghost San Niang's killing rules.