Chapter 163: Someone Has to Collect the Bodies
A taxi drove on the highway.
Its headlights, a lonely beacon pushing back the darkness.
The entire highway was empty, save for this one taxi.
Suddenly, the phone of Lin Yi, who was sitting in the car, rang.
He took it out and saw it was a call from Yang Yong.
The moment he answered, he heard Yang Yong’s anxious voice.
"Hello? Lin Yi, where have you run off to?"
"Coach, I’m on my way to Wushan!"
"What? You’re going to Wushan?"
Instantly, Yang Yong fell into a brief silence.
Then, his tone grew heavy. "Lin Yi, it’s no use for you to go. You can’t help with what’s happening there!"
"The Demon Hunting Bureau, the Golden Robe Guard, and the Tiger Guard have all gone over. You don’t need to worry too much about their safety. If there really is danger, you..."
"Even if I can’t help, at least I can collect their bodies!"
Lin Yi replied, his tone flat.
On the other end of the line, Yang Yong fell silent once more.
After a long pause, he said softly, "When you get to Wushan, don’t go up. Wait for me at the foot of the mountain. I’m on my way!"
"Okay!"
Lin Yi was someone who listened to advice.
He nodded and agreed right away.
After he hung up, the driver glanced at Lin Yi.
"Kid, what in the world are you going to Wushan for? Collecting bodies? Whose bodies?"
It was clear from the driver’s tone that he was getting scared.
After all, it was late at night, and there wasn’t another car in sight on the highway.
The night was already fraught with danger, full of too many unforeseeable events.
And to top it off, Lin Yi had to go and say something about "collecting bodies."
This made the driver’s heart pound with unease.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Lin Yi smiled. "Sir, just focus on driving. Once we get there, you can head back!"
Hearing this, the driver glanced back at Lin Yi again.
He sighed softly and said no more.
His foot pressed harder on the accelerator, and the car’s speed steadily increased.
There were no other cars on the highway this late at night anyway.
The driver had only one thought now: get Lin Yi to his destination as quickly as possible so he could finish his shift and go home.
The journey was long.
The three or four hours became increasingly lonely.
Lin Yi stared into the darkness outside the window, his mind filled with images of Chu Zhengxiong, Qin Zhaoxue, Han Bin, and Mo Ya.
His memories with them played out like scenes from a movie.
Frame by frame, page by page, they flashed through his mind.
From his first meeting with Chu Zhengxiong.
To Qin Zhaoxue, in her guise as Snow Angel, wearing a full black mask, looking cold and ruthless.
The container warehouse, where they fought side-by-side...
Although they hadn’t known each other for long and had only met a few times.
But each encounter had left a deep impression on Lin Yi.
’To think that right now, they’re all at Wushan fighting the Blood Drop Believers.’
’If I don’t do something, I’ll never be at peace.’
’Even if it’s just to collect their bodies, like I told Yang Yong?’
"Good heavens..."
"What is that thing?"
After the taxi had been driving for over two hours.
Suddenly, the driver cried out in alarm.
Lin Yi quickly snapped back to reality and looked ahead.
He saw that half the sky was stained a bloody red.
Massive clouds of blood roiled unceasingly across the sky.
The crimson color truly looked as if it were dyed with blood—bizarre and demonic.
"It’s fine, just keep driving!"
After speaking, Lin Yi retracted his gaze.
The taxi continued down the highway, heading toward Wushan.
...
[I’m sorry, the number you have dialed is switched off...]
[I’m sorry, the number you have dialed is switched off. Please try again later...]
[I’m sorry, the number you have dialed...]
In an Audi, also driving on the highway.
The man in the passenger seat was making calls over and over again.
But without exception, every call went to a switched-off phone.
"I can’t reach the Teacher’s phone. Guo Wu’s and Lei Sheng’s phones are all switched off too!"
As he spoke, a flicker of worry crossed the man’s eyes.
Yang Yong, who was driving, kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead.
"Don’t panic. Maybe the signal is bad in the mountains, and they can’t connect?"
"Bad signal? Wouldn’t the prompt say ’cannot be reached’? ’Switched off’ means someone turned it off manually, you know?"
The man turned and schooled Yang Yong on the basics.
But right after he finished speaking.
Yang Yong roared in frustration, "I know! I fucking know! You don’t have to remind me..."
Faced with Yang Yong’s anger, the man fell silent.
In that moment, both men felt the same way.
They were both worried sick about those currently fighting at Wushan.
In the afternoon, after the martial arts examination ended.
The old man had personally led the Tiger Guard, the Golden Robe Guard, and Lan Yang’s sixth squad straight to Wushan as reinforcements.
At first, Yang Yong and the others hadn’t thought much of it.
After all, at Wushan, besides the few squads from the Demon Hunting Bureau.
There was also Elder Celestial Master Mu Ru from Dragon Tiger Mountain.
His realm was comparable to Yi Nanshan’s; both had reached the Star Tempering Realm.
With him there to oversee things, no matter what plans Blood Drop had, they would be meaningless in the face of absolute power.
What’s more, after the martial arts examination ended, Yi Nanshan had also rushed over with the Tiger Guard and the Golden Robe Guard.
With two masters of the Star Tempering Realm present, what chance did Blood Drop have of turning the tables?
Besides, the members of the Tiger Guard and Golden Robe Guard were all battle-hardened Martial Artists from the Restricted Area.
They were even more elite than the people from the Demon Hunting Bureau.
So many people had rushed to Wushan with only one goal.
To stop the birth of the Demon King and annihilate Blood Drop.
However, what Yang Yong hadn’t expected was...
That this battle would drag on for so long, even with two Star Tempering Realm masters there.
’It isn’t over yet?’
’And they’d even turned off their phones? Now, not a single one of them could be contacted...’
This filled Yang Yong’s heart with growing unease.
The car’s speed gradually increased.
They just wanted to reach Wushan as soon as possible and see what the situation was.
BOOM—
Another hour passed.
Just as the taxi was about to reach the foot of Wushan.
Suddenly, a violent explosion echoed from the mountains.
Following that, a crimson shockwave, like one from a nuclear blast, erupted.
It radiated outward from Wushan’s center.
As the shockwave drew closer to the taxi.
A significant force of resistance could be felt.
And they were still dozens of kilometers away from Wushan.
For it to still have such an effect at this distance.
It was clear just how terrifying that shockwave was.
"How about... we don’t go? Let’s just turn around and go back?"
Watching the terrifying scene, the driver had already lost his nerve.
After all, he was just an ordinary person who drove a taxi for a living. When had he ever seen a sight like this?
He was already scared out of his wits.
If it wasn’t for the thousand yuan Lin Yi was paying him.
He probably would have turned back before they were even halfway there.
Lin Yi shook his head, the worry in his eyes growing more and more apparent.
"Get me to Wushan, and I’ll add another five hundred!"
"No... this isn’t about the money anymore!"
"Look at the sky up ahead, it’s like it’s been dyed with blood! And that shockwave just now... something huge must have happened in the mountains. Kid, I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but we should go back!"
"Whatever it is, it’s not more important than your life, right?"
The driver pleaded earnestly.
Lin Yi glanced at him. The driver was now too scared to keep driving forward.
So, he took out his phone and called Yang Yong.
"Coach, where are you now?"
"Hm? On the highway, not too far from Wushan!"
"I’ll wait for you in the taxi. The driver’s too scared to go on. I’ll ride with you when you get here!"
"Okay, be safe. I’ll get there as fast as I can!"
After hanging up the phone.
Lin Yi had the driver pull over onto the emergency shoulder.
He wasn’t worried about getting points on a license right now.
For the driver, nothing was more important than not losing his life.
After waiting for about forty minutes.
A pair of headlights shone toward them, and Lin Yi quickly got out of the car.
An Audi slowly pulled to a stop.
Lin Yi opened the door and got in.
After waving goodbye to the taxi, they continued toward Wushan.
The taxi driver glanced at the Audi, sighed, and shook his head.
He drove off toward the next toll booth.
Inside the Audi.
Lin Yi didn’t recognize the man sitting in the passenger seat.
He looked him up and down. The man appeared to be in his thirties.
Around the same age as Yang Yong, with a short buzz cut. His features weren’t striking, but his face had sharp, distinct lines.
A heroic aura emanated from between his brows.
The entry [6-star Martial Artist Certification].
’This man’s realm is even higher than Coach’s?’
Just as Lin Yi was marveling at this in his head.
The man turned around with a smile and said, "You must be Lin Yi, right? Hello, I’m Zhao Jian. I’m your coach’s junior brother."
"Junior Brother Zhao? Hello!"
Zhao Jian: "..."