Chapter 145: The Castle

"Roar!"

Li Changqing's pupils suddenly turned yellow, and the corpse energy within his body began to spill out in every direction.

*No, the corpse energy is starting to slip out of my control!*

Li Changqing knew nothing about the "Corpse Calamity," nor did he have any idea what was about to happen. This feeling was exactly like the time he first encountered the shadows of the Shadow Cult, when he had gradually lost control of himself.

Tang Xiaoyu, sitting beside him, sensed that something was wrong and hurriedly asked, "What's wrong with you?"

"I..." Li Changqing’s expression grew distorted and ferocious, and more corpse energy leaked from his body.

*Thump, thump, thump.*

*Thump, thump, thump.*

A knock sounded at the office door.

"What's going on?"

The voice outside belonged to Hu Xiong.

*Bang!* The door to the detective agency was kicked open.

Bai Chuan rushed in immediately, reaching Li Changqing's side to check his condition.

"Corpse energy is in chaos," Bai Chuan said, his brow furrowing as he spoke in a low voice. "The Corpse Calamity."

The two had not gone far when they suddenly sensed the outburst of corpse energy from Li Changqing's room—a chaotic and violent surge. Bai Chuan had intended to return alone to check on him, but Hu Xiong had insisted on coming along.

Hu Xiong looked at the energy-radiating Li Changqing. "A zombie?"

This kid was actually a zombie.

Seeing them appear, Tang Xiaoyu said nervously, "Changqing suddenly started acting like this just now."

Bai Chuan placed his right hand on Li Changqing’s shoulder. "Changqing, you can hear me, right? The Corpse Calamity is a backlash from the corpse energy within you. If you don't survive this, you will become a walking corpse—a true corpse monster."

"You cannot panic now. Clear your mind and stay focused; you are the only one who can get through this." Having said that, Bai Chuan turned to Hu Xiong. "Hurry, find some rope and tie him up!"

Hu Xiong retrieved a nylon rope from the alleyway where the agency stored its miscellaneous items, stepped forward, and quickly bound Li Changqing.

"You knew all along?" Hu Xiong asked, glancing at Bai Chuan after securing Li Changqing.

Bai Chuan nodded slightly, offering no further explanation. He only hoped Li Changqing could pull through. If he failed to endure the Corpse Calamity, Bai Chuan would have to intervene. Once defeated by the calamity, one becomes nothing more than a mindless monster.

"Roar!"

Li Changqing’s eyes widened as he let out a frantic roar, struggling to snap the ropes. Bai Chuan and Hu Xiong rushed to hold him down.

***

Li Changqing could see Bai Chuan, Hu Xiong, and Tang Xiaoyu clearly, but his body no longer obeyed him. The corpse energy inside him was relentlessly invading his brain. It was an agonizing sensation, as if his mind were about to explode.

"Roar!"

The corpse energy hungered to consume his consciousness. As it flooded into his brain, feelings of violence and bloodlust began to take hold. Just as Li Changqing was on the verge of losing his grip, the three dice inside his mind suddenly began to vibrate.

The corpse energy in his mind receded rapidly, replaced by a cool, soothing stream that flowed through his brain, bringing him immense relief.

The corpse energy gradually calmed. Li Changqing finally regained control of his body.

He opened his eyes.

In that fleeting moment, he had felt as if he were truly dying, on the brink of being swallowed by his own internal power. If not for those three dice in his mind, his consciousness surely would have been devoured. What exactly were these three dice that had brought him to this world?

"Are you okay?" Tang Xiaoyu blinked, breathing a sigh of relief as she saw him open his eyes.

"Yeah." Li Changqing sat up and clenched his fists. The corpse energy within him was about thirty percent stronger than before.

"Congratulations on surviving the Corpse Calamity," Hu Xiong said with a dark face. He turned to Bai Chuan. "But aren't you going to explain why Changqing is a zombie? And why have you both been hiding it from me?"

Bai Chuan was not one for many words, so Li Changqing could only give a rough explanation, which boiled down to his desire to avoid detection by the Bureau of Occult Investigation.

Hu Xiong remained stony-faced, his mood difficult to read. Li Changqing had no idea how Hu Xiong would react to this revelation. Unlike Bai Chuan, Hu Xiong was a product of the Bureau’s orthodox training.

To his surprise, Hu Xiong glared at him. "You brat, were you afraid I’d report you?"

Hu Xiong had no intention of reporting Li Changqing. After spending so much time together, he felt he understood the boy well enough. "You rascal, you’re a zombie, yet you dared to take the assessment and officially join the Bureau of Occult Investigation?"

Li Changqing replied helplessly, "I refused several times, but you were the one who insisted I join..."

Hu Xiong ruffled his hair. "Fine, keep your identity as a zombie hidden for now. If you perform some great service later, I’ll mention it to the Director. You can't keep this hidden forever; it's just not realistic."

Field agents experienced all sorts of battles; it was impossible to keep such a secret forever. Hu Xiong took a deep breath, secretly regretting his earlier insistence. If he had known the boy was a zombie, he never would have pushed him to join the Bureau. Wasn't that just pushing him into the fire?

***

"Alright, now that you've survived the Corpse Calamity, get some rest. We'll deal with this 'Evil Star' problem first."

After Hu Xiong and Bai Chuan reminded him to rest well, they took their leave.

"Are you really okay?" Tang Xiaoyu looked at Li Changqing with worry in her eyes.

"Don't worry, I'm fine." Li Changqing smiled. He knew how timid the girl was; if she knew he had nearly died from the corpse energy just moments ago, there was no telling how worried she would be.

"That's good then!" Tang Xiaoyu said with a smile. "Let's go window-shopping tomorrow!"

"Hey, you little miser, why the sudden urge to go shopping?" Li Changqing gave her a strange look.

"Going shopping doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to buy anything!"

"As it happens, I need to buy some cinnabar and talismans tomorrow anyway."

"Get some sleep early."

...

"Where is this?"

"Is anyone here?"

In the silent night sky hung a single moon, illuminating a massive structure. It resembled a medieval castle, surrounded by thick, high walls. The ground was overgrown with weeds.

Tang Xiaoyu stepped through the grass, glancing around in confusion.

"I feel like I've been here before. It seems like..."

Her memories were blurred, but she felt as if she were remembering something. She suddenly felt a spark of joy and hurried toward the castle. "Mother Superior! I'm back! Mother Superior!"

She pushed open door after door.

The sound of rooms being opened echoed repeatedly. But room after room was empty.

She reached the office of the Mother Superior, pushed the door open, and saw a tall, imposing figure standing with their back to her.

"Mother Superior!"

But when she saw the scene inside the office clearly, Tang Xiaoyu trembled all over and couldn't help but let out a piercing scream.

"Ah!"

The moon in the sky slowly turned blood-red.