"The breakfast thing is a trifle, I had someone prepare it a long time ago," said the elder, tall and lean as he stood beside me, like a towering pine reaching into the clouds, receiving the Yin Bell with a smile.
When he took the Yin Bell into his hands, his smile suddenly froze as if he remembered something.
At the same time, the dispersed Walking Corpses guarding the surroundings suddenly went out of control and approached the elder with a hiss.
In the strong Corpse Qi, there was an aura of wild beastliness.
The elder was forced to step back twice and shook the "Yin Bell".
He discovered it was actually a Copper Block, incapable of ringing, and his lips twitched in an instant.
"Hey, you as the Stronghold Master really are a dud, can't even command your own Walking Corpses," Zhang Zidao casually threw out a stack of yellow paper talismans, each seemingly in disarray but landing precisely on the foreheads of the Walking Corpses.
The elder said with a flushed face, "This isn't a bell at all, and it doesn't ring, how could the Walking Corpses possibly listen to me?"
"Then how come my disciple used it just fine? You're clearly making excuses," Zhang Zidao picked his nose, flicked the booger away with his hand, exceptionally...
Unmindful of formalities.
After some thought, the elder handed the Yin Bell to me, "Miss, could you please take care of this Yin Bell for now?"
"Take... it?" I held the chill-inducing Yin Bell in my hand again, "Do you want me to control the Walking Corpses temporarily?"
The elder nodded noncommittally, "If so many Walking Corpses lose control, it will bring quite a bit of trouble to the village."
At that moment, the Binding Curse made of yellow paper on the Walking Corpses' heads became ineffective.
As they fell from their foreheads, they combusted spontaneously mid-air, destroying themselves.
But the Walking Corpses didn't become restless; instead, they knelt down towards me.
"You few, follow behind us, no causing trouble," I tried giving a command.
Through their masks, the Walking Corpses spoke in muffled tones, spouting a barrage of words I couldn't understand at all.
Then they lined up in two neat rows.
Like a military parade...
Who could imagine they were Zombies?
The elder probably felt helpless because he couldn't control the Walking Corpses, and an outsider like me had taken over the job, he couldn't help but gave a wry smile, "These Walking Corpses are speaking Ancient Dian Language, it roughly means, 'As you command, my lord'."
"Oh... so that's what it means, I wouldn't have known if you hadn't told me." Thoughts of Xiao Honghong feeling jealous, accusing me of flirting with Zombies flashed through my mind. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ n0velfire.net
Could it be jealous that the Zombies are calling me master?
On the way to breakfast, I occasionally glanced at the white-haired elder who was the Stronghold Master.
His height and long legs made him appear like an imposing peak beside me, a mere four-foot-something dwarf.
Looking up, I could barely make out his face.
He is the Tianying Village Stronghold Master, also Yan Hua's brother, my Maternal Granduncle by blood.
I guessed that I can control the Walking Corpses because I have some Yan family blood?
As for acknowledging my relation to the elder, I wasn't too hung up on it in my heart.
My maternal grandmother favored sons over daughters and never cared much for me; her family might not look favorably upon me either.
Reaching the entrance of a courtyard, I instructed the Zombies to stay back so they wouldn't affect anyone's appetite, "You all guard outside this courtyard, behave yourselves."
"Wulu Wulu~" The Zombies obediently said in unison, proceeding to take up positions nearby.
The black-clothed, white-haired elder watched and sighed even more despondently.
The breakfast was prepared by several elder venerables.
They made fragrant glutinous rice, a plate of stir-fried mushrooms, sour soup fish, and stir-fried meat slices.
The breakfast so rich it made one's mouth water, but I was wary of hallucinations from eating mushrooms, so I resisted the urge and didn't eat that plate of mushrooms.
Xiao Shenshen, wielding her chopsticks, seemed to quite enjoy them.
"Eh? How did the girl from Red Gate come to our Tianying Village?" At that moment an octogenarian with a dragon-headed cane walked slowly into our breakfast courtyard.
My Maternal Granduncle, the Stronghold Master himself, got up to greet him, "Master Gu, what brings you here? Don't tell me you've become senile with age! This young lady, she's Senior Zhang's disciple."