Yu Daochen's eyes narrowed slightly, his Kanglong mace at his lower back ready to be drawn.
Step by step, a figure slowly emerged from the white mist.
Upon closer inspection, they were all corpses with bodies long since rotted.
Yu Daochen struck first, drawing the Kanglong mace. His fingers traced a line, covering the mace with flames, and he charged into the horde of corpses. Gripping the Kanglong mace, he swung it, and wherever it passed, the corpses were shattered and ignited.
Just as he was about to annihilate them, a sharp claw lunged towards his arm.
Yu Daochen dodged backward, swinging the Kanglong mace as he did. A stream of flames shot towards the figure.
The figure sidestepped the flames. Yu Daochen retreated, glancing at the fallen Brother Li, his brow furrowed.
The Kanglong mace, which could restrain all Yin creatures, was now in the hands of a mere youth. As the words fell, a killing intent washed over him, creating an oppressive pressure that made it difficult to breathe.
Yu Daochen looked at the figure that had suddenly appeared. It was clad in black, its face obscured by a straw hat, and its hands were withered, mere skin stretched over bone.
The figure approached step by step. Yu Daochen gritted his teeth, bit his finger, and smeared the blood onto his left eye.
The moment the blood touched his left eye, the eye socket turned completely black, and a dark liquid began to flow out.
Seeing this, the figure stopped. Yu Daochen’s left eye focused, and the flowing black liquid hovered in the air.
With a casual wave, the black liquid shot forward.
The figure, seeing the black liquid hurtling towards it, condensed its palm, a ball of black energy coiling around its hand.
Before the figure could react, the black liquid penetrated its palm and slashed across its face.
The figure looked at its pierced palm, its expression changing. It stomped its foot and retreated into the mist.
Yu Daochen pressed his advantage, shooting out five more drops of black liquid.
The figure dodged swiftly, but one drop was too fast to evade, striking its thigh and causing blood to flow out.
After expelling five drops of black liquid, Yu Daochen’s breathing became rapid.
The figure in the white mist endured the pain, its voice echoing from all directions: "The black liquid has the ability to penetrate everything. Could it be the Samsara Blood Tears of the Nine-Life Samsara Eye?"
Although the voice came from all around, Yu Daochen stared in one direction. The figure let out a cold snort: "Although the Nine-Life Samsara Eye can see through all mists, with your current strength, how many Samsara Blood Tears can you still use?"
Yu Daochen ignored the figure and shot out another drop of Samsara Blood Tear.
A sinister smile played on the figure's lips, as if it had struck a nerve. It easily dodged the incoming Samsara Blood Tear and sneered, "It seems I was right. How many Samsara Blood Tears can you still use? Two? Or three? Or perhaps only one?"
The figure emerged from the white mist, a triumphant smile on its lips. Just as Yu Daochen prepared to fight to the death using two inscriptions, a suona melody sounded from behind.
Both the figure and Yu Daochen looked behind them simultaneously.
In the white mist, four small ghosts with sharp mouths and monkey-like faces grinned, carrying a red sedan chair on their shoulders.
Beside them followed a small ghost playing the suona and a burly giant corpse wielding a massive axe.
"Would the two of you grant this concubine some face? Let today's matter be settled." A woman's voice emanated from the sedan chair.
The figure remained silent, its eyes fixed on the sedan chair, a ball of black energy condensing in its hand.
Inside the sedan chair, the woman's voice turned icy: "Such dense killing intent. Does that mean you will not give this concubine face?"
The figure clenched its hand, and the condensed black energy slowly dissipated. It let out a cold snort, "I didn't expect Hong Niangzi to meddle in other people's affairs."
With that, it turned and walked into the mist, the walking corpses following and disappearing into the fog.
Yu Daochen looked at the sedan chair. His left eye had started to bleed. The woman in the sedan chair said, "I owe her a favor. Consider it repaid today. Lift the sedan."
The suona sounded, and the four sharp-mouthed, monkey-faced little ghosts carried the sedan chair into the mist.
Yu Daochen watched the sedan chair depart and immediately collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath, blood flowing from his left eye.
He could no longer concern himself with why she had helped him.
Maintaining the Nine-Life Samsara Eye was extremely taxing. Each drop of Samsara Blood Tear used was equivalent to using nine drops of his own blood. Overuse could lead to backlash, causing severe bleeding from the eyes, and even blindness.
Yu Daochen managed to stand up, glanced at the bus, and saw that no one had come down to help. He walked over, helped Brother Li up, and stumbled towards the bus door.
At the bus door, Yu Daochen weakly knocked. There was no response from inside the bus. Yu Daochen knocked harder, but still, there was no reaction.
Yu Daochen became enraged. He shouted with all his might, "Open the door, open the door, open the door!" and simultaneously punched the bus door with his fist.
No matter how Yu Daochen shouted or pounded on the door, there was no reaction from inside the bus.
Yu Daochen despaired. He stared at the bus door, blood soaking half his face. Hearing the soft voices from inside the bus, endless rage ignited in his heart.
His exhausted body left him no strength to shout. His powerless fists struck the bus door.
At this moment, the bus door felt like solid rock. No matter how he knocked, the door remained unmoving.
When he used his last ounce of strength to smash against the door, he closed his eyes and fainted.
After an unknown period, Yu Daochen was awakened by a horn. He slowly opened his eyes and saw a middle-aged man standing beside him.
Brother Li saw Yu Daochen wake up and exclaimed excitedly, "Xiao Yu, you're finally awake! Are you okay?"
Yu Daochen shook his head, feeling darkness in his left eye. He asked, "Brother Li, what happened to my left eye?"
Brother Li remained silent, then found a small mirror from somewhere and handed it to Yu Daochen.
Yu Daochen took the mirror and looked into it, only to discover that his left eye was covered by a semi-transparent film, making it look as if he were blind.
Brother Li glanced outside and said, "We've left the mountain road and are about to reach the county town. We'll go to the hospital then."
Yu Daochen shook his head, "No need. Doctors can't treat my condition."
He then turned his gaze forward, staring intently at the laughing and chatting people in front of him, his fists clenching with a creaking sound.
Brother Li patted Yu Daochen's shoulder and sighed, shaking his head, "Xiao Yu, at our age, the responsibilities on our shoulders force us to go against our conscience. Each of them lives not only for themselves but also for their families. If they fall, their families fall with them."
Yu Daochen's clenched fists loosened, and he looked at Brother Li.
Perhaps this world was truly selfish, but even in this selfish world, there were still a small number of people who would sacrifice their lives for others.
Just as he was about to speak, a chill coursed through him, and Yu Daochen's expression turned grim.
Seeing that something was wrong, Brother Li patted Yu Daochen's shoulder. The moment his hand touched his shoulder, a chill startled him, and he withdrew his hand.
Yu Daochen's breathing grew heavier. Just as he was about to faint, the chill gradually dissipated.
Thus, three days passed. On the third day, the bus finally reached its destination, Hunan.
Yu Daochen gave his number to Brother Li, who then took his luggage and got off the bus.
Yu Daochen watched Brother Li's retreating back, thinking this might be the last time he saw him.
All good things must come to an end. Perhaps yesterday they were chatting happily, and today they are merely a distant memory. This is what fate is, perhaps.