Chapter 281: Living Dead

Qi Qingsong looked around at the few still aware enough to pay attention to his words.

There was Zhao Yuanqi, Dong Tianze, Fang Boxuan, Lu Lingchan, Ye Fei...

"Pang Jian, go to every room! Bring anyone still alive and moving to the third-floor balcony!"

"Got it!"

Pang Jian started his search.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Pang Jian kicked open door after door on the third floor.

Suddenly, something happened on the deck!

A sharp silver hairpin shot out from behind Lu Lingchan, piercing through her protective shield and stabbing into her back.

Clang!

Li Lingchan's heart-protecting armor deflected the fatal blow.

She spun around, eyes filled with disbelief as she stared at her attendant.

Voice trembling, she asked, "Aunt Huang, why?"

Huang Ying had taken care of her since childhood and was someone she regarded as a second mother. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine Huang Ying would betray her and try to kill her!

If not for the heart-protecting armor her master had gifted her, the silver hairpin would have pierced her heart!

"Aunt Huang, why would you do this to me?"

Lu Lingchan's voice was choked with emotion.

The terrifying bizarre mist had not broken her and watching her companions die one by one had not shaken her resilient heart.

But Huang Ying's betrayal shattered her spirit.

She could not accept it!

Fang Boxuan grinned wickedly from a distance. "Huang Ying, haha, how interesting!"

Qi Qingsong was also stunned.

"Your surname may be Lu, but mine is Huang.

"Years ago, when I was a rogue cultivator, I was invited to your Lu Clan as a guest. One night, your father barged into my room and forcefully had his way with me.

"Later, he gave me many cultivation resources and made me a bunch of unfulfilled promises.

"He even—haha—he even made me take care of you from a young age and treat you like my own daughter!

"How laughable! You, Lu Lingchan, are not my child. Why should I care for a child he had with another woman?

"Even so, I feared him and your master. What could I do? I had no choice but to fake a smile and endure the humiliation as I obediently followed their orders.

"But since I'm about to die, I won't endure it any longer!

"I hate you, Lu Lingchan! I hate your father and your entire Lu Clan!"

Huang Ying knew she had lost her chance after failing to kill Lu Lingchan in one strike. So, after airing her grievances, she slit her throat.

Fang Boxuan had initially wanted to mock Huang Ying but could only sigh after hearing her story.

"The human heart is the most complex thing." He shook his head. "She could endure it and with a smile for as long as she had hope for a future. But once she knew she would die, she could no longer suppress her hatred and instead chose to take a desperate gamble."

Lu Lingchan, still in shock, watched as Huang Ying's body became one with the bizarre mist.

She appeared lost. It was like her soul had departed.

Meanwhile, on the third floor of the Sword Boat, Pang Jian stood at the entrance of a room and frowned slightly as he looked at the bed.

Nie You...

Nie You, the disciple of Elder Wang Ce and inner disciple of the Sword Pavilion, was nowhere to be found. Only his clothes were left on the bed in his room—Nie You had died.

Pang Jian checked Nie You's spatial bracelet with his divine sense and found hundreds of spirit jades still inside.

Although Nie You could have held on for a little longer, it seemed he could not bear the prolonged agony and ultimately decided to end his life early.

Character and willpower have nothing to do with one's cultivation talent,

Pang Jian thought.

Wang Ce had chosen him as an inner disciple of the Sword Pavilion, proving Nie You had exceptional talent.

So what?

Pang Jian sighed inwardly.

His willpower was weak and he could not hold on for long before giving up.

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

He then searched the next room, finding more leftover belongings and clothes.

Everything left behind was completely drained of spiritual power.

There was not even a single spirit jade left.

This person held on to the very end.

This one's a little better.

Pang Jian carried on his search.

Not long after, he stood at the left-open doorway of another room with a look of surprise. "Senior Sister, you—"

A graceful woman with long black hair that cascaded like a waterfall sat at the dressing table, carefully grooming herself in her blue robe.

Her brows were delicately drawn, her face elegant, and her demeanor composed.

Smiling faintly, she said, "I heard you. Go ahead to the balcony. I'll join you later."

Pang Jian asked tentatively, "May I ask your name, Senior Sister?"

Although he had encountered many senior brothers and sisters from the Sword Pavilion on the Sword Boat, he had no recollection of this woman.

This woman had never shown herself from the moment they left Eternal Crossing!

She had likely stayed hidden in her room through all the strange and terrifying happenings within the bizarre mist, never stepping out or interacting with anyone as she quietly watched the events unfold from her window.

Even now, she appeared at ease and took the time to care for her appearance.

Pang Jian had never encountered such a person before.

The woman held her eyebrow brush and replied with a smile, "Zhuang Yuyan."

"Alright, Senior Sister Zhuang."

Pang Jian left the room and descended the stairs to the second floor, still slightly bewildered.

Zhuang Yuyan's room was at the corner of the third floor. It was the farthest from the third-floor balcony but was still in a necessary passage between the second and third floors.

Was the door always open? Or did she hear me breaking down doors and so left her room door open to avoid me damaging it?

Pang Jian wondered.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Pang Jian kicked open the tightly closed doors one after another but found no more living souls.

The Black Valley Sect couple wishing to consummate their feelings had also turned to nothingness, leaving only their clothes and belongings behind.

Zhuang Yuyan's calm voice drifted from the third floor to the first.

"Those who haven't come out on their own at this point are most likely already dead," she said. "Gather the belongings and come up."

"Okay," Pang Jian replied.

Before long, eleven people were gathered on the third-floor balcony of the Sword Boat: Pang Jian, Qi Qingsong, Zhou Qingchen, Dong Tianze, Fang Boxuan, Zhao Yuanqi, Lu Lingchan, Ye Fei, Zhuang Yuyan, Lu Lianchen, and Guo Hongyuan.

More survivors were on the deck, but they were already like the living dead, turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to what was happening around them.

They were all quietly awaiting death in their own little worlds.

"I called everyone here because if we don't interact and just sit around aimlessly, we'll end up like those below." Qi Qingsong sighed deeply. "As long as we're still alive, there is hope. I hope everyone can hold onto that.

"Feel free to talk about cultivation, interesting stories from your life—anything is fine. Just don't stay silent and keep spiraling into despair."

Lu Lingchan stayed quietly dejected after the severe blow of Huang Ying's betrayal.

Zhou Qingchen, Fang Boxuan, and the others exchanged glances.

Neither Zhao Yuanqi nor Dong Tianze were in the habit of interacting with people and remained coldly silent after hearing his words.

Lu Lianchen and Guo Hongyuan were the only outer disciples of the Black Valley Sect and the Sword Pavilion respectively and kept silent because they felt self-conscious.

Zhuang Yuyan observed everyone with a smile, seemingly amused by the situation, but she, too, said nothing.

Nothing had changed despite Qi Qingsong's efforts.

Everyone was gathered together, no one seemed interested in talking.

Time passed slowly, and eventually, Qi Qingsong took out some wine jugs and cups, set them down in the middle of the group, and suggested, "Why don't we have a drink?"

Zhou Qingchen was the first to respond.

"Sounds good."

Raising his hand, he sent out a thread of spiritual power to pull a wine jug and cup toward him, then filled a cup and drank.

Surprisingly, the second to respond was Lu Lingchan, the personal disciple of the Black Valley Sect's Valley Master.

With a flick of her bamboo flute, she pulled over a silver jug of wine and drank directly from it.

She ignored the looks the others sent her as she drank more wildly than Zhou Qingchen!

In no time, she emptied the jug and shifted to stare at Qi Qingsong.

Qi Qingsong brought out more silver jugs of wine and placed them before everyone. "There's no need to hold back! I have plenty of wine, so drink to your heart's content!"

"My wine isn't great, but I have some too," Zhou Qingchen added, retrieving a few jars of strong liquor and pushing them in front of everyone.

"I've got food!" Fang Boxuan chimed in, pulling out dried meats and a selection of cooked dishes from his spatial bracelet. "Even if we see no hope, we should still enjoy these last moments of life!"

"Shut up, Fang Xuan!" Qi Qingsong snapped.

"I'm just speaking the truth, unlike you, spouting empty platitudes," Fang Boxuan retorted.

The two started to argue.

Dong Tianze did not care about the quality of the wine and randomly took one of the jars Zhou Qingchen had brought out since he was sitting nearby.

After hesitating for a moment, he decided to drink like the others.

Before long, he turned visibly drunk and was the most intoxicated among them.

His face was as red as a liver. Grabbing another jar of wine, he continued drinking, bloodshot eyes fixed on Pang Jian.

"Dong Tianze, is this your first time drinking?" Qi Qingsong asked in surprise.

Dong Tianze ignored him.

Suddenly, filled with anger, he glared at Pang Jian and demanded, "Tell me the truth! Did you secretly go to that sea of massive boulders after taking back the Black Iron Mountain?

"Were you planning to keep that unnamed fragmented land and those divine guards to yourself?"