The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#605 - Living is the most important thing

Lu Jing ignored Jiang Sheng's question and continued, "You said that Daoist Jinguang used sorcery to turn dead people into living corpses. Did you see how he performed the sorcery?"

Jiang Sheng shook his head, "No... I didn't see it. He didn't allow anyone else to be present whenever he cast spells, saying that the yang energy of the living was too strong and would hinder him from recalling the souls of the dead."

"Then let me ask you another question. You've been working for him all this time. Have you noticed anything he always carried with him before casting spells?"

Whether it was resurrection or living corpses, it was clearly not a method that Daoist Jinguang cultivated "himself." Otherwise, he wouldn't have been backlashed by the living corpses he awakened.

So the answer is obvious: he should have a strange object on him.

It was with the help of that strange object that he was able to swindle and deceive, gathering so many followers. However, he seemed to have underestimated the danger of that strange object, and ultimately lost his life in this valley.

So the top priority now is to find that strange object and prevent it from falling into the hands of others, causing more trouble.

Jiang Sheng showed a thoughtful expression, and after a moment, said, "He, he has a Sanqing bell, which he cherishes very much. He doesn't let anyone touch it, and even puts it beside his pillow when he sleeps. Naturally, he also carries it when performing rituals. As for other things, I don't know."

"That wicked Daoist's daily life is very luxurious. He has more than twenty Daoist robes alone, of different materials and styles, all of which were offered to him by his followers. They all have relatives and friends they want to resurrect, hoping that the wicked Daoist can help them one day, so they are extremely flattering to that wicked Daoist."

"When he was bitten to death by the living corpses, was that Sanqing bell still on him?" Lu Jing asked again.

"Yes, it was," Jiang Sheng nodded affirmatively.

"Then go find it," Lu Jing pointed to the pile of corpses not far away.

However, Jiang Sheng seemed to have lost his sense of smell. Not only did he walk to the pile of corpses and carefully examine it, but he also started rummaging through it after a while, seemingly not bothered by the stench at all.

Seeing Yu Zhen's puzzled look, Jiang Sheng thoughtfully explained, "If you were trapped in that quiet room for eight days like me, you wouldn't be afraid of this mere corpse stench."

Seeing that Yu Zhen was still a little confused, Jiang Sheng sighed again, "It is said that people can only live for up to three days without water. There was no food or drink in that quiet room. Why do you think I can survive until now?"

"Why?" Yu Zhen had never really thought about this question.

Even during the great drought in the Central Plains, when there were starving people for thousands of miles, she had never really gone hungry because of her martial arts.

"Because it's not like there was absolutely no water," Jiang Sheng said lightly, "Before going in, I still had some water in my stomach. I just recycled that water a little."

"Actually, if you hadn't come, I was planning to recycle the food I ate before as well."

Before Jiang Sheng could finish speaking, Yu Zhen vomited.

Jiang Sheng didn't care. He rummaged through the corpses while continuing, "In my opinion, there is only one truly important thing in this world, and that is to live. As for other things, they are secondary. Only by living is there hope, not to mention the possibility of turning into this inhuman form after death."

Yu Zhen was speechless. She admitted that Jiang Sheng's words made sense, but if the two were to switch places, Yu Zhen felt that she would never be able to be as resolute as him.

What's more, Jiang Sheng didn't know that the two would enter the valley at that time, let alone find this campus. Is it really worth it to ruin oneself so much for a trace of illusory hope?

Jiang Sheng didn't know if it was worth it for others, but he thought it was worth it for himself, and he won the bet.

Seeing the sunlight and the long-lost air again, even though the air was now full of stench, he took deep breaths and found it very sweet.

However, after looking around, he shook his head at Lu Jing, "I didn't find that wicked Daoist."

"Are you sure?"

"Sure, I looked at every corpse and every head very carefully."

Jiang Sheng was not exaggerating, because Yu Zhen saw with her own eyes that in order to carefully identify each person, Jiang Sheng even pieced back together the heads that Lu Jing had split in half. Even the most picky person could not find any fault with this serious attitude.

Then Yu Zhen thought of something again, her face suddenly changed, and she said to Lu Jing in a trembling voice, "He... he wouldn't have run out of this quarry, would he? You didn't say that you heard a similar sound on the way here before?"

Yu Zhen, as a bandit leader, certainly hoped that the world would be more chaotic, but not in this way.

A person who is clearly dead is running around outside, and running around is fine, but he will also attack other people, turning everyone he encounters into living corpses like him, even stray dogs.

If this continues, it won't be long before living corpses are rampant in the world, and there will be no place for the living to stand. It's no different from hell.

Lu Jing had realized the seriousness of the problem even earlier than Yu Zhen, otherwise he wouldn't have caught that resurrected sika deer.

But things have come to this, and there's no use in worrying.

Lu Jing said to Jiang Sheng, "Take off your clothes first."

Jiang Sheng was stunned, "Wh... what."

Yu Zhen's face also turned red, and she spat. She didn't know why Lu Jing was so obsessed with clothes today. First, he took off his own clothes and asked her to wrap her hands and feet, and now he's asking Jiang Sheng to take off his clothes.

Could it be because his upper body has been exposed for too long and he wants to find some clothes to wear?

Jiang Sheng probably thought so too, so he didn't argue and silently took off his upper garment and handed it to Lu Jing.

But Lu Jing still stared at him after taking it, "Keep taking it off, don't stop."

"Still need to take it off?" Jiang Sheng was a little surprised.

"Yes, you've been in that quiet room for so long, you stink. Since you're out, why not take a good bath first," Lu Jing said.