Human Clan Defender
Chapter 50: The Zhang Family Corpse Puppet (Added for Alliance Hierarch "Qing Shan Bu Gai Liu Yi")

Chapter 50: Chapter 50: The Zhang Family Corpse Puppet (Added for Alliance Hierarch "Qing Shan Bu Gai Liu Yi")

Led by Zhang Yue, a group of Government Officials directly encircled the Zhang Family’s compound. This abrupt turn of events naturally piqued the curiosity of the many onlookers.

"What’s going on? Why have the Yamen’s people surrounded the Zhang Family?"

"I don’t know. Could it be that the Zhang Family has colluded with Demon Evils?"

"Who knows? Looks like there’s a show to watch—"

The onlookers, lingering from afar, discussed in hushed tones the scene of the Zhang Family being besieged by the Government Officials. They neither left nor dared to approach. The Yamen’s people and common folk were always worlds apart. Accidentally offending the former could lead to being beaten to death in the streets without anyone daring to intervene.

From the looks of it, there doesn’t seem to be any Yin Evil Aura around the Zhang Family’s compound, right? Cui Cheng furrowed his brows slightly as he looked at the walls of the Zhang Family’s courtyard. If Demon Evils were lurking, there would definitely be a leakage of Yin Evil Aura. But now, at first glance, the Zhang Family’s compound appeared peaceful, without any trace of Yin Evil Aura, not at all like Demon Evils were present.

Upon hearing this, someone immediately chimed in, "It’s true that there seems to be no Yin Evil Aura in the Zhang Family’s compound on the surface, but it’s also possible that the Zhang Family has hidden the Demon Evils. You know, if Demon Evils are hidden well enough, their Yin Evil Aura won’t leak out."

Hearing the response, Cui Cheng turned towards the source of the voice. He saw a handsome young man dressed like a scholar and couldn’t help but offer a slight bow.

"Brother Ming, you truly are the rising star of the Qiyao Sect, so knowledgeable and experienced."

"You’re too kind, Brother Cui," Ming Zhengyang responded with a slight smile, showing no hint of arrogance. His gaze paused briefly as it swept over Zhao Yue but quickly moved on.

Shen Changqing stood outside the door and said to Zhang Yue, "Without my command, absolutely no one is to leave the Zhang Family. Any unauthorized person who tries to force their way in will be killed without mercy."

"Your subordinate obeys!" Zhang Yue nodded.

The gate of the Zhang Family’s mansion was ajar. Shen Changqing pushed it, and it swung halfway open, allowing him to step inside.

As another prominent family in Lin’an City, the Zhang Family’s estate layout was not much inferior to the Zhao Family’s. However, the one difference was that the Zhang Family’s compound felt very empty to him.

Yes! Very empty! As he stepped into the Zhang Residence, not a single Protector appeared, nor were there any signs of servants. It felt to Shen Changqing as if this wasn’t the estate of a prominent family, but a deserted courtyard.

Something’s strange! From the outside, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. But upon truly entering the Zhang Family’s compound, Shen Changqing began to notice some discrepancies. Wherever his gaze fell, everything seemed normal. The only abnormality was the lack of expected vitality, the absence of life.

Without pausing, Shen Changqing walked towards the main hall. Soon, an elderly man who looked like a steward approached, his expression displeased. "You are not of our Zhang Family, are you? Why have you suddenly appeared here?"

Shen Changqing didn’t answer and stepped straight into the main hall. Compared to the outside, the main hall was brightly lit; lamps were burning even though it was daytime. At a large table, a group of people sat eating, while servants and Maids moved among them, serving various dishes.

Upon seeing Shen Changqing enter, the man seated at the head of the table paused, then a smile appeared on his face. "It seems we have a guest. I am Zhang Sheng. May I ask for your esteemed name?"

As Zhang Sheng spoke, everyone else paused and turned to look at Shen Changqing, their eyes fixed on him, unmoving. For an instant, a sense of unease prickled Shen Changqing’s heart, but he quickly composed himself.

"I initially thought the Zhang Family was merely colluding with Demon Evils," Shen Changqing said, shaking his head and sighing, his voice tinged with regret. "I never expected the Zhang Family to be... no longer the Zhang Family it once was."

At this, the others averted their gazes. Zhang Sheng chuckled. "Since you’ve come all this way, sir, why not join us?"

As Zhang Sheng spoke, a servant approached Shen Changqing. While speaking, the servant reached for Shen Changqing’s shoulder. "Please!"

Before the hand could touch his shoulder, the servant’s body was sent flying across the room, crashing into several other servants upon landing. Dishes scattered everywhere. The loud commotion in the main hall caused everyone else to pause again and turn their heads towards Shen Changqing, their gazes just as intense as before. But this time, their eyes held a bone-chilling coldness.

Zhang Sheng’s smile seemed to stiffen, making him appear even more eerie. He rose from his seat, his voice low and unsettling. "Sir, why do you refuse to give us face?"

"Face is for the living, not for Demon Evils like you!" Shen Changqing scoffed, no longer bothering to hide anything and directly tearing away their pretense. "What I didn’t expect was that all members of the Zhang Family are already dead. The once-illustrious Zhang Residence is now inhabited by a horde of Demon Evils!"

From the outside, the people of the Zhang Family seemed fine. But in Shen Changqing’s eyes, none of the ’people’ before him in the Zhang Family were alive. Their Yin Evil Aura was so perfectly hidden that it would have been undetectable if his sensitivity to such things hadn’t increased after his Realm breakthrough. Even so, with so many Demon Evils gathered, some Yin Evil Aura should have leaked out. Yet, the Zhang Family showed none. The entire Zhang Residence seemed to be covered by a massive Barrier, concealing all traces of the faint Yin Evil Aura.

Just then, a gust of wind rushed at him from behind. Shen Changqing sidestepped, his long saber instantly unsheathed, and bisected the attack. Dark blood sprayed as two halves of a corpse fell to the ground. On closer inspection, it was the old steward he had encountered earlier. But now, the old steward’s face was decayed, as if he had been dead for a long time. Even though his body was cut in two, he wasn’t completely dead; instead, the upper half was inching along the ground like a worm.

With another slash, Shen Changqing beheaded the old steward. The crawling upper body immediately lost its last trace of life, and a foul stench of decay assailed his nostrils.

Corpse Puppet! Seeing this, Shen Changqing immediately recalled certain accounts. Corpse Puppets! It was a sinister technique that transformed the corpses of the deceased into puppets. Such puppets retained some memories from when they were alive and, without any external command, would act according to their former instincts.

The old steward before him was a Corpse Puppet. Then the others... At this thought, Shen Changqing looked towards Zhang Sheng and the rest. Sure enough, everyone who had previously appeared calm now looked savage, lunging at him one after another in a relentless onslaught.

Taking a step back, Shen Changqing’s long saber swept out like moonlight, decapitating a servant who lunged at him. Dark blood gushed out. The fallen corpse rapidly decayed before his eyes, the stench of putrefaction rising with it.

Another Corpse Puppet! Seeing this, Shen Changqing confirmed his suspicion.

Corpse Puppets! The entire Zhang Family had been turned into Corpse Puppets! He had initially thought the people of the Zhang Family had become Demonfolk, similar to Zhuang Mingyuan. Now he realized their situation was even more dire than that. To turn people into Corpse Puppets, one needed dead bodies as the medium. This meant the Zhang Family had been exterminated without anyone noticing. Then, they were all transformed into Corpse Puppets to continue their daily activities, undetected by outsiders.

Before Shen Changqing could dwell on it further, the remaining Corpse Puppets lunged at him. Without hesitation, his saber erupted with a chilling force, slaughtering every Corpse Puppet that came near. Corpse Puppets could be strong, but they could only threaten Martial Artists at the Body Tempering Realm. Anyone who had reached the Pulse Condensation Realm could easily handle ordinary Corpse Puppets. The Corpse Puppets made from the Zhang Family members were only the lowest level; their strength was not particularly formidable.

However, Corpse Puppets did have their troublesome aspects. Namely, unless beheaded, Corpse Puppets wouldn’t easily die. Even if cleaved in two, they could still survive. This was the most difficult part about dealing with Corpse Puppets. Failing to behead them with each strike made it impossible to eliminate them quickly. If the fight dragged on, it was easy to be overwhelmed by their numbers. Indeed, the greatest threat posed by Corpse Puppets lay in their numbers.

Fortunately, although everyone in the Zhang Family had turned into Corpse Puppets, there weren’t many of them—only a few dozen at a glance. They didn’t pose much difficulty for Shen Changqing.

However, Shen Changqing’s attention wasn’t focused on these Corpse Puppets. He had initially assumed the Zhang Family had allied with Demon Evils and would therefore pose a threat. But now it appeared the Zhang Family had long been exterminated; those active all this time were merely Corpse Puppets. This meant things were not so simple.

There are only two possibilities for creating Corpse Puppets: either a Fiend Level Strange Monster is active nearby, or a powerful Demonfolk exists.

Guangyuan Prefecture has a Defender Envoy. If a Fiend Level Strange Monster truly existed, it’s impossible that no news would have surfaced. The Barrier covering the Zhang Family’s compound, though powerful, certainly couldn’t block the Yin Evil Aura of a Fiend Level Strange Monster.

That leaves only one explanation: the Zhang Family’s compound is currently hiding a powerful Demonfolk!

Shen Changqing’s eyes grew cold, but he felt little fear. No matter how formidable that hidden Demonfolk was, its strength couldn’t surpass the Innate Realm. After all, Lin’an City was a small city, not worth a Grandmaster Realm Demonfolk hiding in.

As for the possibility that its goal was that drop of Demon’s Essence Blood, that was even more absurd. The Essence Blood of a low-tier Demon Evil is precious, but it holds little allure for a Grandmaster. If it were the Essence Blood of a middle-tier Demon Evil, that would be another matter. Moreover, the Demonfolk hidden within the Zhang Family’s compound never truly revealed itself after he thwarted the Eternal Alliance’s plans. This left only two explanations.

First, it was inconvenient for the Demonfolk to show itself—perhaps it was injured, or it lacked the confidence to deal with him. Second, the Demonfolk was previously in the Zhang Family’s compound but has since left.

But considering the current state of the many Corpse Puppets in the Zhang Family’s compound, Shen Changqing didn’t believe the Demonfolk had left. Therefore, only the first possibility remained.

The Demonfolk was hiding in the Zhang Family’s compound but, due to certain circumstances, couldn’t easily reveal itself.