"The sword has spirit. It could move on its own by the will of its owner." Chen Han said after Cheng Sheng completely digested the food in his stomach. He doesn't feel sick now unlike earlier when every time he moves he wants to vomit.
"Yes. Cheng-shidi told us that." Li Tian said and looked at Cheng Sheng whose face looked slightly pale. Then, he turned when they heard footsteps. Fei Yin and Feng Mo were done dealing with the corpses. Their qiankun pouch is in their hand, dangling. The innkeeper is weeping as he follows Fei Yin and Feng Mo.
"My inn…" the innkeeper cried.
Chen Han turned to the innkeeper as the five of them finally gathered. He bowed. "Sir, I heard from the residents that the corpses here are frequently seen?" he asked.
The innkeeper nodded as he wiped his tears. "Yes. It's been a month since the corpses arrived here." He answered.
"What about the sect in this area?" Chen Han asked. Earlier, when he asked this question, the man inside the house looked frightened. Thus, he didn't get an answer.
Hearing this, the innkeeper's face paled. "T-that – " he said as he took a step back from them as if they were the corpses.
Chen Han's brows knit while the four Xinfaxian sect disciples looked puzzled. They didn't dare to hide their identity as cultivators anymore for the sake of protecting the people. However, the innkeeper looked more frightened of them than the corpses earlier. "What exactly happened?" he asked as he grabbed the innkeeper's arm to prevent him from escaping. "The sect in this area… the Dongfang Sect, what happened to them?"
The Xinfaxian sect disciples now noticed there was something wrong with this said sect. Although they were both sects of the east of the continent, they were still far apart from each other. Thus, they only heard less of this Dongfang Sect.
The innkeeper's face looked ashen. "The – the… the Dongfang Sect…" he said, his whole body trembling in fear. "The Dongfang Sect… is killing people." He finally said. His knees became weak and he almost fell to the floor if it wasn't for Feng Mo grabbed his other arm to prevent him from collapsing.
Li Tian immediately poured him a cup of water and gave it to the innkeeper for him to calm down. Fei Yin gave the seat across Cheng Sheng the innkeeper to sit down. "What do you mean that the Dongfang Sect is killing people?" Chen Han asked. Since Chen Han didn't have time to tell them earlier what happened to his side, the Xinfaxian sect disciples could only listen on the sideline.
"The Dongfang Sect is a righteous sect." the innkeeper started. "However, they suddenly started killing people." He said.
"When was this?" Chen Han asked.
"A week ago." The innkeeper answered.
Chen Han's expression became strange. A week ago. It's the same time when the strange corpses appeared on Xiwang. He looked at the innkeeper. "How about the walking corpses? When did they appear?" he asked.
"Two weeks ago." The innkeeper honestly answered.
They fell silent. Two weeks ago, the strange corpses appeared here in Dongxin. A week ago, the strange corpses appeared on Xiwang. Then, three days ago, they appeared in Xinfaxian. They looked at each other, the cogs in their head turning.
Fei Yin looked at the innkeeper. "Why did the Dongxin Sect kill the people?" he asked.
The innkeeper turned to him. "Not only the people but of course the corpses, they kill too." He defended.
"Then, why do they kill the people, too?" Feng Mo asked, frowning.
The innkeeper shook his head. "I don't know." He answered. "However, when they hear that the corpses appeared in some place, they kill the people!" he told them.
Li Tian's gentle face slightly frowned. "Are you sure this isn't a rumor?" he asked the innkeeper.
The innkeeper shook his head. "No." he answered.
"How can you say that?" Feng Mo asked as he crossed his arms on his chest.
"Because they killed our entire village." A voice answered. They turned and saw the injured man earlier slowly walking towards them, holding his injured arm. He turned to Cheng Sheng when he reached them. "Is this yours?" he asked and pointed to the Cleansing Talisman.
Cheng Sheng, now fully recovered, nodded. "Yes, ah." He said and reached out his hand. "50 copper coins for one Cleansing Talisman." He told the man.
"Cheng-shidi!" Feng Mo exclaimed as he looked at Cheng Sheng in disbelief. "How can you ask for money from him? He's injured! And we're cultivators, we're to protect the people – not extort them." He scolded him.
Cheng Sheng shrugged as he laid his back on the sofa. "It's fine." The man said, holding the talisman plastered on his arm. The bleeding had entirely stopped and instead, the wound repaired by itself. "I only have wealth left to me." He said as he sat on the chair not far from them, resting.
"What do you mean your entire village was killed?" Li Tian asked the man.
Before the man could answer, the innkeeper gasped after he stared at him for a long time. "No wonder you look familiar!" he said and pointed the man. "You're from the Dongfang Sect!" he said and glared at the man.
Their eyes went wide and they turned to the man who didn't even flinch. "You're right." The man said.
The innkeeper frowned as he balled his fists. He looked like he was itching to beat up the man. "Old or young, you killed many people! You have no right to step inside my inn! Get out!" the innkeeper yelled at him.
However, the man ignored him. "I didn't kill anyone." He said.
"You lie!" the innkeeper said.
"I didn't know that my sect had killed the people." He explained.
The innkeeper was about to burst into anger when Feng Mo knocked him out. "Continue." Fei Yin told the man.
"I was in the sect when I suddenly noticed the commotion in the entrance hall." The man said. "Then, I saw my sect members beheaded the people… one by one…" his voice faded, his knuckles turned white from clenching his fists hard. His eyes narrowed as he looked in front of him, as if he was seeing the scene before him.
"Why did they kill them?" Chen Han asked.
The man turned to them. "They are afraid that the people would turn into corpses!" he answered.
Their eyes went wide. Chen Han fell silent. He remembered what happened to his fellow disciples who transformed like the strange corpses. "That's…" he said, he didn't know what to say.
"Can't they purify the negative qi in the people's body?" Li Tian asked.
The man shook his head. He looked at the Cleansing Talisman in his arm. "The Dongfang Sect is just a small sect." Fei Yin said. "Like the Xinfaxian Sect, they only have a small number of disciples. However, they are older than the Xinfaxian Sect, and have more numbers than us." He explained as he looked at the man. "Their devices should also be few if not none."
The man didn't answer, but it confirmed Fei Yin's words.
"If bitten, then a person will transform like a strange corpse." Cheng Sheng said. "They are afraid that the people infected would turn into corpses. Thus, they'd kill them to cut off the chance that they'll turn into a corpse, even if they will not." he said. The man nodded at his words.
They turned to him. "Ah Sheng. Do you know how the people turn into strange corpses?" Chen Han asked. He wanted to cure his fellow disciples.
"Why are you asking me?" Cheng Sheng asked. "I'm only in fifth level Qi Condensation Stage disciple. I'm not a god." He told Chen Han.
"But, you're smart. You even created the Cleansing Talisman…" Chen Han sighed, feeling defeated after he saw his younger brother's blank face. He pursed his lips and looked away. He'll punish him when they reach Xiwang.
"You created the Cleansing Talisman?" the man asked.
Cheng Sheng turned to him. "Yes, ah." He answered as he made an 'X' using his hands. "I won't sell to you the patent.
They all grimaced as the man smiled. "Thank you for saving my life earlier." He told Cheng Sheng.
"What's your name?" Cheng Sheng asked.
"Dongfang Xiaoyun." The man immediately answered, then froze.