Zhang San, please behave yourself!
Chapter 92: The Living Dead Help the Living Dead

Chapter 92: Chapter 92: The Living Dead Help the Living Dead

In front of the grave mounds, with hollow eyes, Kong Yuting was burning paper for all the deceased of the Pure Stream Sword Sect, including her own father.

Inside the grave mounds, there was nothing save for a tombstone that proved they once existed.

Not far away, however, cries echoed one after another.

The few people left outside from the Town Martial Office were all very sad, but the one who was most heartbroken was Wei, who at this moment had set up a separate tombstone for Xu.

At this moment, Wei sat in front of Xu’s grave, patting the tombstone and weeping aloud.

"I... I was afraid I’d drag you down, which is why... why I never agreed to become sworn brothers with you... How could you... how could you damn well leave first..."

"You old guy, didn’t you say we’d hang up our armor and retire together, find a Taoist temple to grow old in... even... even asked me to acknowledge you as my senior brother... Come out and be my senior brother then!"

In the distance, Zhang San, seeing Wei crying and shouting nonstop, knew that he could only let Wei vent all his grief.

Otherwise, bottling it up would feel even worse.

Zhang San wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes and circled around to pat Han Baiwen on the shoulder, leading him aside to a small grove of trees.

Making sure no one was around, Zhang San finally asked, "Tell me the truth, what’s the atmosphere and treatment like inside the Heavenly Punishment Sect?"

"Pretty good, everyone is kind to each other and there’s no infighting. The treatment is just so-so, after all..." Halfway through speaking, Han Baiwen suddenly realized something, his face a mix of shock and joy as he looked towards the expressionless Zhang San.

"Brother San, are you..." Han Baiwen realized his voice was a bit loud and promptly lowered it, whispering, "Are you thinking of joining us in the Heavenly Punishment Sect? Welcome, welcome! I welcome you wholeheartedly!"

Zhang San glared at Han Baiwen. Although that’s what he had in mind, you shouldn’t say it out loud!

After all, Zhang San was originally from the Heavenly Punishment Sect, and although Bai Yucheng was dead, Zhang San didn’t know if Bai Yucheng’s superiors were aware of his situation.

So, if there was a way out, it would naturally be safer to take the opportunity to back out.

But just as Zhang San was about to deny it, a hoarse voice came from the grove.

"How could someone from my Town Martial Office possibly join your Heavenly Punishment Sect? Cough cough..."

Zhang San was startled when he heard this voice.

Han Baiwen found the voice somewhat familiar but couldn’t recall who it was.

Both turned their heads to see an old man in tattered clothes, with disheveled hair, leaning on a chipped long sword as he walked out from the forest.

It was Xu, who had died in the Ghost Domain!

Thump—

Han Baiwen fell straight to the ground, fainting from fright.

Zhang San, now knowledgeable in the Ghost Summoning Method, immediately saw that Xu was not a ghost, but a living person.

"Senior Xu, you didn’t die?"

Zhang San quickly went over to help the weak Xu.

Xu shook his head with a bitter smile, "Alive... but barely better than dead! I saw so many corpses; did you all manage to escape?"

Zhang San took out some healing pills and Qi-restoring pills he had gotten from Zhao Siyang, administered them to Xu, and then told him everything that had happened afterward.

Since Xu had been willing to die to save him, Zhang San didn’t hide anything and candidly told Xu about how he invoked Blade Intent to kill Bai Yucheng.

Xu took a deep breath, "Don’t tell anyone that you took action. It’s dangerous; I’ll try to figure out a way for you to hide it later. For now, I’m going to see Wei, make sure he doesn’t cry himself to death on my grave."

At this point, Wei was crying so hard that he was practically gasping for air.

Everyone knew the deep bond between the two old heads, friends for decades, but they hadn’t expected Wei to keep crying from the afternoon until the sun was nearly set.

Even a few who tried to console him were scolded by Wei.

At that moment, under the terrified gaze of everyone, Xu approached his own grave and gently patted Wei on the shoulder.

"If you really miss me, come with me."

Wei heard the voice, turned his head, and saw the ragged Xu bent over, looking at him.

Wei wiped his tears and stubbornly said, "I wasn’t crying, just got smoke in my eyes from the burning paper."

As he wiped away his tears, Wei saw the tattered clothes on Xu, and a wave of sadness washed over him again.

If it hadn’t been for a brutal battle, how could his clothes have been shattered like this.

Right now, there was a large patch in the center of Xu’s clothing where there wasn’t a shred of fabric left, which inevitably made Wei think of Xu dying under Bai Yucheng’s ’Ten Thousand Swords Return to Sect’ technique.

Tens of thousands of Sword Qi piercing the heart, the pain is unbearable just to think about.

Wei immediately took off his own clothes.

"I haven’t had Ling prepare clothes for you yet, so I’ll burn these I’m wearing for you first. Xu, whatever you need, just appear in my dreams, it doesn’t matter if I have to burn all the savings I’ve put aside for my coffin. You... you... huh? How come you’re still breathing?"

Wei looked at Xu, who was grinning at him, and felt that something was amiss.

Especially when he saw Zhang San, who was not far behind Xu trying to stifle his laughter, it seemed even more amiss.

He reached out, grabbed Xu’s wrist to feel his pulse, and immediately snatched back the clothes he had just thrown into the fire.

"You old fart, when did you learn to pull such a trick?"

Xu laughed heartily and gave Wei a hug.

Wei hugged Xu tightly, as if he never wanted to let go for the rest of his life.

"Alright, alright, that’s enough. If you squeeze me any harder... cough cough... I’ll be strangled to death by you..."

Afterward, Xu led Wei and Zhang San away from the others and into the woods, finding a spacious spot where he had Wei set up a Formation to block out surrounding noises.

"Xu, what’s going on? I thought you were really gone, I cried until my head started spinning."

Zhang San was curious too. Before, both he and Third Miss Gan had sensed that Xu had no signs of life left in him.

But now Xu was alive and well, sitting right in front of Wei and himself.

Xu let out a deep sigh and spoke softly, "The truth is, I don’t even know if I’m alive or dead right now."

"After I died, many Wronged Souls from the Ghost Domain surged into my body. Perhaps because the wounds on my body were so severe and so many Wronged Souls rushed in, my own Soul was constantly under their assault, which eventually turned out to be a blessing in disguise as I didn’t leave my body."

"In the end, after numerous struggles between the Wronged Souls and my own Soul, I managed to suppress them temporarily, but... it’s only temporary."

"However, I’m not sure what kind of impact this will have, nor am I certain whether I can keep so many Wronged Souls suppressed indefinitely."

Wei placed his hand on Xu’s shoulder, consoling him, "Don’t worry, Zhang San and I will think of something for you."

Zhang San immediately expressed his support, "Senior Xu, rest assured, I will definitely stay and help you."

Wei glanced at Zhang San.

"Where else could you run off to if you didn’t stay?"

Zhang San gave an awkward smile.

But Zhang San knew in his heart that the situation was unclear, and he could still hang around the Town Martial Office for a while, but if those higher up became aware of his identity, things would get tricky.

After the conversation, the three of them left the forest.

Xu’s injuries were quite severe, so he walked slowly, asking Wei and Zhang San to go ahead.

After the two of them had left the forest, Xu stopped walking.

At that moment, a figure dropped down from a tree and came up to Xu.

"I can help you with your situation."

Xu had thought it was Third Miss Gan who had discovered his secret from her vantage in the trees, but to his surprise, it was Ling who had come.

"Why would you help me? You hardly ever talk to us."

In the Town Martial Office, Ling hardly ever spoke to anyone, and whenever she did open her mouth, it was generally to make some crude joke that others couldn’t handle.

In the entire Town Martial Office, the ones who kept their distance from others the most were Wei and Ling.

So Ling’s sudden offer left Xu somewhat puzzled.

Ling smiled faintly.

"The living dead helping the living dead."