Shiny object!

Lai Yiteng caught the scent of something horrible once he made it out of the forest. A stench rancid yet familiar to what he experienced at dungeons of Lushang Sect; rotting flesh.

The area before him was lifeless and dead land, boulders spread far and wide. Stones of huge shapes and sizes, some more square and some rounded, and the smell came from a shallow pit between some of the boulders.

Inside of it were corpses piled on top of each other, at least ten or more.

Mildew cawed and flew over it in a circle before landing on a nearby boulder. This is what it wanted him to see. Lai Yiteng frowned and quietly stepped over to the pit.

The bodies inside were wearing coarse clothes and reed sandals. They looked like farmers, yet there were patches of skin with purplish dots as though from a strange disease, and their bodies had dents as though they'd been dragged a long distance before being left here to rot.

Lai Yiteng looked closer. The purple dots were actually from puncture wounds.

So, something had bitten them?

Black feathers entered his vision.

Mildew swooped down and landed on the head of a corpse, tilting his head down at something stuck partway underneath it.

Lai Yiteng also tilted his head.

There were both tilting their heads like maniacs.

In any case, Lai Yiteng saw what Mildew was pointing out. Something smooth and round underneath a half-rotted arm that was degrading like mush. Good thing he was used to such sights and smells from the dungeon! His pale hand shoved away the arm and plunged into the filth without any hesitation as he lifted out an oblong, dark, and iridescent-black object.

The shape of the object was like an egg. It fit well in his palm but was just big enough that he couldn't curl his fingers around it, and there was a sheen of rainbow hue over it like the inside of a clamshell, one that gleamed when Lai Yiteng turned it in his hand.

Why was Mildew attracted to it? Because it was shiny? Crows tended to have that reputation, going after shiny or colorful objects. But this object had been buried under too much debris for it to be seen easily from the air.

"Huh," Lai Yiteng said. "I guess you aren't a normal crow, after all."

Mildew was ousted. "C-Caw, caw…"

"Don't worry about it." Lai Yiteng somberly said, "I merely misunderstood and thought you were a normal crow. If anything, it is my mistake for assuming."

Some shuffling footsteps drew closer from the forest, ghouls had made their way through and were coming toward him. Lai Yiteng found a large boulder with a slightly flatter top and ran up the side of it, then sat down on the top and let out a breath. He felt tired from just a few corpses, how stupid. If not for his strange illness he'd go down there and enjoy cutting into their cores, but perhaps he would still do so if he was in the mood to be bold.

For now he just watched as they came out of the forest. Lai Yiteng was on a rock two meters high, so even when the ghouls made it over to him with their hollow eyes and gaping maws and wrapped their arms around the base of the rock like they were trying to hug it.

Mildew flapped upwards, circle about under the gray and clouded sky, then landed on Lai Yiteng's shoulder.

"Caw-caw!" It was a mocking tone.

"You're right," Lai Yiteng said, "these guys can't climb for shit…"

Of course not when their limbs and muscles were rotting and stiff, falling apart as the days passed. A ghoul with martial arts like the one before could have.

However…it wasn't as though all these bodies could appear out of nowhere. It seemed that with all these fresh corpses ambling about and the even larger number lying in the pit below, not yet risen from death, something must be causing new people…or new corpses, to be exposed to the evil air of Deathly Howling Mountain. These common farm peoples or martial artists would then turn into vengeful ghouls within a matter of days.

That was the only explanation for all these bodies being amassed. If they passed the mountain boundary to attack nearby villages that would be dangerous, such a number wouldn't be allowed to persist here, so Lai Yiteng figured that this matter wasn't actually known by the other martial sects. Not yet, anyway.

Ah…now that he thought of it, isn't this place on the edge of Graceful Dragon Sect's domain?

Lai Yiteng briefly smiled with ridicule as he sat upon his boulder.

Heh. Why don't they do a better job of supervising their lands? That's how martial schools are, they put on pompous fronts, but underneath is all filthy with grime, people who only want to put themselves on a pedestal, those who believe that 'righteousness' is cutting off the unsightly from view. Like this miserable Deathly Howling Mountain.

Lai Yiteng looked at the darkish egg one last time before slipping it into his robe front.

"Say, is that howling noise becoming stronger?" he asked Mildew, his body tensing up again.

No, it wasn't the constant hoarse groans of the ghouls. Something more shrill and mournful echoed over from the mountain, ebbing and swelling with each passing moment. It wasn't just the wind, no, the breeze here was dry and still.

But it the sound seemed like it was getting louder.

Mildew nuzzled against his cheek and made small warbling noises. Relaxing slightly, Lai Yiteng closed one eye as he felt feathers tickle his cheek and eyelid.

"Don't worry," he said quietly. "I fear nothing on this mountain. Whatever there is cannot be any worse than what I have dealt with before."

What is there to fear of the undead and supernatural when those who hurt him the most had been living humans? That was why Lai Yiteng really liked the idea of coming to this Deathly Howling Mountain. After all, it wasn't ALL about saving money.

But he did wonder what Xian Wu was up to about now. He believed that a few corpses would not hinder that man, surely, but…Lai Yiteng unstrapped the erhu on his back, then began to play. Along with it came his voice, a tone plain and indifferent.

"My dearest crow,

Your looks and habits are not ones that you've chose,

So why do they despise you so?

The rejection is sharp and clear,

Nothing worthwhile is left for you here.

Abandon us,

Fly off, go on, be free."

The notes rang over the field, echoing up the mountain until dying out.

After seeing the place and taking the time to gather his thoughts, Lai Yiteng now agreed with Xian Wu fully that this place was too dangerous. Frankly, whatever ominous thing was happening here was none of his business to resolve. How many people died, how many would die--he could hardly care. He only needed to worry about himself, his survival and his revenge.

There were far too many corpses and evils here, so he would take his leave. Although he didn't know what to do with this egg-rock he'd found.

Sell it? Would it be worth a lot if he pawned it? He also had the jade earring Xian Wu gave him too. This was great, he'd soon have so much money.

Lai Yiteng stood up, one foot in front of the other as he balanced elegantly on the stone.

About eleven ghouls had gathered on the ground below by now like little piranhas..

He glanced at the surrounding boulders then choose a reddish to jump onto, then continued leaping along the top of the rocks, same as what he did on rooftops earlier. But this ease did not last long, and there was a sudden pause in his steps.

A loud and long howl, scratchy as though made by a creature in agonizing pain, sounded. Before it was still distant, but this time it was much, much closer. Somewhere within this field of boulders.

Alert, Lai Yiteng racked his eyes over the giant stones spread out before him.

A dark shape flashed between to rocks in a blur. Like a shadow, an ink stain over dead earth.

Then it howled again with shrillness. It was something that made Lai Yiteng's ears ring and hurt to the point that he wanted to plug them up with cotton and pressed his hands over them. And the howl was almost like misshapen words.

"Whereeee….aaare…..yoooouuu....."