Chapter 25: Corpse Poison

This discovery gave Mo Lin a bit of surprise.

Could it be?

Although this thread of connection was still faintly discernible, it was not strong.

With a guess forming in his heart, Mo Lin once again bit down on the rabbit’s neck, injecting corpse poison into the dead rabbit’s body.

As the corpse poison entered, Mo Lin’s serpent pupils grew brighter and brighter.

“Flop, flop.”

Under Mo Lin’s gaze, the rabbit, which had clearly been dead, suddenly twitched twice, as if it had only been feigning death all along.

Of course, Mo Lin knew the rabbit was truly dead, because those twitches had been carried out under his control.

Sure enough, just as he had suspected, as the amount of corpse poison increased, the connection between him and the rabbit grew tighter.

At one point, Mo Lin even felt as though he now possessed two minds.

It was time.

Releasing the rabbit, Mo Lin closed his eyes.

A moment later, the rabbit, which had had its eyes tightly shut, opened them.

But within its gaze, there was none of the rabbit’s usual alertness or timidity—what flickered there was the cold indifference and disdain of a creature at the very top of the food chain.

That was Mo Lin’s gaze.

By combining corpse poison with demonic power, Mo Lin had successfully gained control over the rabbit.

Through the rabbit’s eyes, Mo Lin could even see every single scale on his own body with perfect clarity.

“Thump, thump.”

With just a thought, the rabbit began to kick its hind legs.

If not for the corpse spots still visible on its body, one could have easily mistaken it for a perfectly living rabbit.

Mo Lin opened his eyes and cut off the demonic power controlling the rabbit.

At once, the rabbit stiffened, its body collapsing to the ground like a puppet that had lost its strings.

Joy spread across Mo Lin’s serpent pupils:

“Although corpse poison acts more slowly than venom, if used properly, its applications are even broader. After all, venom alone cannot allow me to control others.”

After discovering the marvel of corpse poison combined with demonic power, Mo Lin began experimenting.

He found that even if he killed an animal first and then injected corpse poison along with demonic power, he could still control the body for a short period of time.

The duration depended on the animal’s size and strength.

Moreover, in cases where he killed first and poisoned after, the corpse spots were far less noticeable.

If he deliberately concealed them—or if it was during the dead of night—one could not tell at all.

It would seem as if a normal animal were moving about.

With this, Mo Lin now had not only a ranged attack method like the mouth-coin, but also a means of reconnaissance.

If he encountered a place like the Dragon Cave again, he would no longer need to risk his own body.

Mo Lin also tried placing the mouth-coin inside an animal controlled by corpse poison.

He discovered that as long as his demonic power was sufficient, he could even manipulate the mouth-coin through the animal’s body.

The combination of these two abilities instantly opened up countless new possibilities for him.

......

While Mo Lin was endlessly experimenting with animal corpses to test this newfound power, in a damp, shadowy place deep within the Ten-Thousand Mountains of Yongzhou, a man in Taoist robes suddenly opened his eyes.

In front of this Taoist sat a large compass.

At its eight cardinal and intercardinal points, candles burned—candles that seemed as though they would never be extinguished.

Yet, in the exact eastern direction, one candle had silently gone out.

The Taoist raised his fingers and calculated for a moment.

As his aura circulated, it was entirely different from that of Ding Fan and Xu Han of the Bureau of Heaven Monitoring—his body exuded a chilling, sinister aura.

The Taoist frowned:

“What’s going on? That Jiangshi I threw into the Hongshan Dragon Cave hasn’t fully transformed yet, and its aura has already vanished?”

“Was it discovered by those pedantic fools from the Bureau of Heaven Monitoring, who noticed the disturbance in the earth veins? Or was it that some demonic beast barged into the Dragon Cave and destroyed my Jiangshi?”

The Taoist stood up:

“Back then, when I betrayed the Bureau of Heaven Monitoring, I sought out eight earth veins to raise corpses, hoping to take this chance to achieve the Great Yin Indestructible Bone Body.”

“To minimize the chance of discovery by the Bureau, I deliberately chose methods that had the least effect on the earth veins. And yet, it was still uncovered.”

“Let me see who ruined my plans. If it was someone from the Bureau of Heaven Monitoring, so be it. But if it was just some wild beast of the mountains that spoiled my efforts, hmph!”

After a cold snort, the Taoist wreathed in chilling aura had already vanished without a trace.

......

In Ningjiang County of Yongzhou, at the local branch of the Bureau of Heaven Monitoring.

Hong Tianyun and Hong Wen were sitting side by side on a long bench, watching people come and go within the Bureau.

Even though this was his second time coming to the Bureau, Hong Tianyun was still visibly nervous, his hands and feet opening and closing restlessly as he tried to ease his tension.

Unlike his uncle, Hong Wen was gripping Xu Han’s wooden token tightly, his gaze boldly sweeping across every person in the Bureau.

In his eyes flickered a desire completely different from Hong Tianyun’s unease.

After a short while, a balding middle-aged man stepped out from the crowd and approached them:

“You must be Hong Tianyun and Hong Wen, right?”

Hong Tianyun immediately stood up:

“Yes, my lord. May I ask if Lord Wei Hanyu has...”

The middle-aged man shook his head:

“Just call me Chen Qu. Unfortunately, Wei Hanyu has still not returned.”

A trace of gloom flickered in Hong Tianyun’s eyes.

The last time he had come to the Bureau to request a Taoist to exorcise the demon in Hongjia Village, the first one he contacted was Wei Hanyu.

But Wei had been about to set out on another mission.

After briefly hearing that it was the first time a man-eating demon had appeared in Hongjia Village,

he reasoned that even if the snake demon really existed, its strength must be limited, and thus recommended his two disciples to go in his stead.

Though called disciples, Ding Fan and Xu Han both held formal Seventh Rank positions.

They were Wei Hanyu’s colleagues in every right.

Who would have thought that after bringing Ding Fan and Xu Han to Hongjia Village, both would die while trying to capture the demon? Now, returning shamelessly to the Bureau, Hong Tianyun felt some shame at the thought of facing Wei Hanyu.

But what he hadn’t expected was that even after so many days, Wei Hanyu still had not returned from his mission.

Surely this Lord Wei had not...

suffered the same fate as his two disciples?

Chen Qu glanced at the distracted Hong Tianyun and asked:

“You said your name is Hong Tianyun, right?”

Hong Tianyun quickly returned to himself:

“Yes, Taoist Chen Qu. I come from Hongjia Village, and this is my nephew, Hong Wen.”

Chen Qu nodded:

“So, you two came looking for Wei Hanyu. Is there something you wished of him? Since I am both his colleague and a bit of a friend, perhaps I can pass the message along.”

Hong Tianyun hesitated, but in the end clenched his teeth and spoke:

“Taoist Chen, it’s like this...”

Thus, he laid everything bare: Ding Fan and Xu Han’s deaths in Hongjia Village, how the villagers were too afraid to even search the mountain for their remains, and how not even their bones had been retrieved.

Chen Qu’s expression darkened as he listened.

At last, he looked at the wooden token in Hong Wen’s hand and sighed helplessly:

“I knew Ding Fan and Xu Han well. I even gave them a few pointers in the Bureau. They were rare talents in our branch. To think they would meet such an end...”

“When Wei Hanyu returns from his mission, hearing such tragic news, he will surely be deeply grieved.”

But seeing Hong Tianyun’s embarrassed expression, Chen Qu offered a word of comfort:

“Though Ding Fan and Xu Han are gone, they died in the act of subduing demons and protecting the people. It was a worthy death. This is the duty of us in Heaven Monitoring. You need not feel overly guilty. Even when Wei Hanyu returns, he will not blame you.”

After lamenting the sacrifice of the two Taoists, Hong Tianyun hesitated for a while, then finally asked:

“Well, Taoist Chen, since Lord Wei has not yet returned, but the snake demon still lingers upon Hong Mountain near Hongjia Village...”

“Now the entire village is gripped by fear. No one dares to go up the mountain. I wonder... I wonder if the Bureau of Heaven Monitoring might still be willing to aid Hongjia Village?”

At Hong Tianyun’s plea, Chen Qu slowly withdrew the sympathy in his eyes.

He shook his head, slowly but firmly.

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