Chapter 133: The Raft Sect

Standing before me was a figure clad in Taoist robes. To be precise, it was a corpse. Its face was a mass of waterlogged, necrotic flesh; where eyes and a nose should have been, there was nothing but a grotesquely wide mouth, pulled back into an exaggerated, permanent grin. Along the edges of its mouth, long, dense fish gills sprouted like the teeth of a comb.

The creature’s arms were woven from river weeds. I couldn't even begin to define what it was—a malevolent spirit or some kind of water demon.

The monster was bound tightly in iron chains, struggling incessantly. As it thrashed, bubbles wheezed from its gaping, lipless mouth, making my skin crawl.

"What is this thing?" I turned to Liu Zhongguo and asked.

Liu Zhongguo stared at the monster and replied, "This is the corpse of a Yellow River geomancer. After death, it was tampered with, grafted with river weeds and live fish to unnaturally extend its 'life.' It is known as a Fish-Faced Humanoid Beast. The more powerful the geomancer was in life, the more formidable it becomes once transformed."

Watching the creature struggle—this half-human, half-demon hybrid—I felt a pang of pity. To think this was once a geomancer, only to be subjected to such desecration even after death.

"Pi Yangxi, ask him who sent him to harm you," Liu Zhongguo commanded.

His words reminded me of my purpose, but the monster only emitted a series of gurgling sounds. Would it even be able to understand me?

I tentatively stepped closer and asked, "Tell me, who sent you to harm me?"

The creature had no eyes, but the pair of gills on its face rippled back and forth, producing a rhythmic bubbling. Having spent my life wandering the banks of the Yellow River, I had studied its creatures extensively. In particular, I understood the frequencies of aquatic life, allowing me to decipher the meaning behind their vocalizations.

The thing was saying, "You little brat, release your grandfather at once. You cannot afford to provoke the power behind me. If you don't let me go, those I serve will ensure your entire family dies without a burial plot."

Hearing this, a surge of rage washed over me. This creature was captured, yet it still had the gall to be arrogant. I snatched up a wooden chair leg and swung it with all my might against the head of the robed monster.

The thing felt pain; it let out a wretched shriek. Then, it gurgled at me again, "You stinking brat, you have a death wish! My backer will be here soon—try hitting me one more time if you dare."

I had never heard such a masochistic request. I jumped up, chair leg in hand, and rained a dozen blows down on its head, shouting, "Call your masters out! If they're so formidable, why are they hiding in the shadows?"

"Stop, stop! It hurts!" No matter how stubborn the Fish-Faced Humanoid Beast was, it couldn't withstand the force of my chair leg. It stopped cursing and shrieked, "Little Vanguard, if you don't come out now, I’m done for! When the Great Vanguard returns, let’s see how you answer for this!"

No sooner had the monster cried out than I heard the rustling of footsteps outside. Over twenty figures dressed in black burial shrouds filed into the room. The leader was the very same man shrouded in black who had been trailing Chen Yetian—I remembered his surname was Luo.

I counted them; excluding Luo, twenty people had entered. They were all deathly pale, wearing not only burial shrouds but "toad shoes"—footwear reserved exclusively for the dead. Even more terrifying was that each of the twenty carried a coffin on their back. They were simple, unvarnished wooden caskets, not even touched by a coat of paint.

As they stepped into the room, the temperature, already low, plummeted further. For a moment, I could not tell if these were men or ghosts.