Chapter 91: Out of the Strange Fog, Only to Be Pursued Again

The constables were baffled. They could not understand why Shang Lu had ordered the hands and feet of those five corpses bound, and their mouths stuffed shut.

Those five men had been their comrades in life. They were no demons or evil spirits. Now that they were dead, could they still run? Could they still cry out?

Had the strange fog truly become so wicked and unnatural? Surely not.

Yet after they had hoisted the bodies onto their backs and followed Shang Lu for a stretch, the constables suddenly felt the corpses they carried begin to move.

If they had not seen it with their own eyes—if they had not seen those five companions had been torn open by a monstrous serpent, their innards devoured—they might have thought the men were not dead after all, and cheered for it.

But now there was only fear in their hearts.

“Captain, something’s wrong! Old Feng and the others are moving!”

“Could they have turned into revenants?”

The constables cried out in alarm, and more than one of them, frightened beyond bearing, simply dropped the body from his back.

Shang Lu immediately ordered the group to stop and came over to examine the five corpses.

Though these five bodies had indeed “come to life,” the multicolored cords bound their limbs so tightly that they could not break free, and the blood-stained stones stuffed in their mouths meant they could not bite anyone.

“It’s fine. Keep carrying them.”

Shang Lu instructed them, and even shouldered one of the corpses himself.

The constables were clearly hesitant about the order.

Someone said, “Captain, they’ve already turned. Why bother bringing them? Just throw them away.”

Shang Lu shook his head. “They were our brothers. How could we abandon them? We must carry them out of the fog and bury them. Rest assured, their hands and feet are bound, their mouths are stuffed; they cannot hurt anyone.”

Another asked, “If they’ve already turned, will they return to normal once we take them out of the fog?”

“Even if they do not, we can take them to the shamaness, and she will surely find a way.”

Having said this, Shang Lu paused, then went on, “It is easy to abandon them. But if, on the road ahead, one of you should also die, would you want us to leave your body here too, let you become a monster, deny you burial, and keep your kin from making offerings to you?”

“This…”

Shang Lu’s final words moved the constables.

The strange fog concealed dangers and horrors beyond counting; no one could swear they would still be alive by the next moment.

And no one wished, after death, to become a monster and be denied the offerings of their family.

So the constables swallowed their fear and once more hoisted their comrades’ bodies onto their backs.

Fortunately, though those corpses struggled, they truly could not harm them, and this finally eased their nerves.

The rest of the road remained far from peaceful. They encountered several more bands of monstrous serpents.

Still, the constables had gained experience and could handle them calmly; only two suffered minor injuries.

At last, under Third Lady’s guidance, Shang Lu led the constables out of the strange fog.

The moment they broke free of it, the constables erupted in cheers.

Yet their feet never slowed; if anything, they ran even faster.

They were afraid the fog might catch up again and swallow them once more, and they wanted only to run farther, as far from it as possible.

Fortunately, the fog did not pursue them.

The expanse of the mountain’s strange mist did not continue to swell without end.

After spreading to the foot of the mountain and engulfing Mount Yunhua whole, the fog stopped.

Even so, the constables did not slow until they had run a great distance.

Looking back at the mountain completely shrouded in thick mist, they felt both lingering terror and immense relief.

It was then that someone noticed the corpses on their backs had stopped struggling once they emerged from the fog.

Shang Lu noticed it too.

He set down the corpse he was carrying and examined it carefully. It had indeed returned to the appearance of an ordinary dead body.

But Shang Lu did not let his guard down, nor did he untie the cords binding them.

He handed the corpse he had been carrying to Constable Liu and instructed him, “Old Liu, take these brothers’ bodies back to the county town and give them to the shamaness. Tell her what happened and ask her to drive out the evil and disperse the baleful influence, so these brothers can rest in peace.”

Constable Liu nodded in assent, then suddenly realized something. “Captain, you’re not returning to the county town with us?”

“Brother Niu and the others are still in the fog. I have to go back and bring them out.”

In truth, Shang Lu had another reason for going back into the fog: he was there to collect the spoils of battle.

Earlier, while busy leading the constables to escape, he had slain many of the monstrous serpents, but had not had time to gather up the remains. What a waste.

With Third Lady with him, Shang Lu had no fear of losing his way in the fog. And on the final stretch out, she seemed to have fully adapted to guiding them through it, leading them around several waves of serpents lying in ambush and pursuit.

Though the mist obscured his sight, Shang Lu still perceived all this through his sharply heightened hearing.

With Third Lady at his side, it was as though he had a map hack; even if danger lurked ahead, it was not much of a problem.

The constables did not know that Shang Lu had such a formidable ghostly wife.

They only knew the fog was dangerous and strange, and they certainly did not wish to go back in.

So when they heard that Shang Lu intended to return and rescue Captain Niu and the others, they were all filled with admiration.

Constable Liu, in particular, grew hot-blooded. Grinding his teeth, he volunteered to go with Shang Lu back into the fog to save the others.

But Shang Lu politely refused. “No need for you to come. I can come and go alone with ease, and I’ll be less conspicuous by myself, less likely to alarm whatever evil lurks in the fog.”

Hearing this, Constable Liu felt disappointed, but also secretly relieved.

He was still very afraid of the fog.

“Once you get back to the county town, hurry back to the yamen and…”

Shang Lu was about to remind the constables to return and report the news, and to summon reinforcements.

He had only just begun speaking when a sharp rush of air suddenly cut through the sky.

He jerked his head up and saw a tiny black dot flying toward them from afar.

The bird-riding paper figure had come in pursuit!

And it was fast.

Shang Lu thrust his ox-tail saber into the ground beside him and yanked loose the gourd tied at his waist.

Ever since the last time he had borrowed wine from Constable Liu to set the painted-skin shadow figures ablaze, Shang Lu had deliberately bought a gourd and filled it with strong, fiery spirits.

He had prepared it for just such a day.

Like now.

Shang Lu brought the wine gourd to his mouth, bit out the stopper, and took a swallow of the fierce liquor.

At the same time, with his right hand he took from his satchel a torch wrapped in oiled cloth and lacquered with pine resin.

In that same instant, a fire starter drifted out from his chest.

It was a fine piece, purchased at great expense; the fire paper inside contained not only cotton and reed fluff, but also saltpeter, sulfur, and other materials.

Third Lady helped him take out the fire starter, opened the lid, and blew a breath across it. The smoldering paper flared to life at once.

The constables nearby did not see this strange scene.

For the bird-riding paper figure had already flown above their heads and, looking down from on high, was shrilling at them to drive them away:

“Who told you to come out? Go back! Return to the mountain at once!”