103-104

*Chapter 103: The Revenant Corpse*

With Lin Jiuying’s repeated assurances,

Asen finally felt a sense of relief. He shifted his attention back to the ongoing auction.

"…Now, let the bidding begin. The starting price is £100,000!"

At that moment, the introduction to the revenant corpse concluded,

and the bidding for the ancestral relic of the Deng clan officially began.

"£100,000? Your ancestor sure is valuable."

Hearing the auctioneer’s starting price, Ahao couldn’t help but gape in astonishment.

Ignoring Ahao’s surprise, Asen eagerly raised his paddle the moment the auctioneer announced the price, shouting, "£100,000."

"£110,000."

But no sooner had Asen made his bid than another voice, cold and emotionless, echoed across the room.

"£120,000."

Without sparing a thought, Asen glanced briefly in the direction of the new bid, raised his paddle again, and said, "£130,000."

The same bidder, however, was equally relentless.

"Master, someone’s actually bidding against him for their ancestor."

Watching the back-and-forth between Asen and the mysterious bidder, Ahao turned to Lin Jiuying in disbelief.

"Whether it’s a person is still up for debate," Lin Jiuying replied, frowning deeply as his eyebrows knitted together.

"Master, what do you mean?"

Hearing this, Ahao’s expression grew even more puzzled.

"Ahao, I need you to do something for me…" Lin Jiuying leaned closer and whispered instructions to his disciple.

Meanwhile, the bids continued:

"£350,000."

"£360,000."

The fierce bidding war between Asen and the unknown competitor quickly became the center of discussion among the audience.

No one had anticipated that a somewhat peculiar corpse would ignite such a heated auction.

"Ow, ow…"

Just as the intense bidding unfolded, Ahao, who had been sitting beside Lin Jiuying, suddenly clutched his stomach, groaning in pain. He stood up and started making his way out of the venue, muttering, "What’s going on? My stomach hurts all of a sudden. Did I eat something bad at the hotel this morning?"

Navigating through the seated guests, Ahao approached the mysterious bidder—a pale man.

"Oops!"

Suddenly, Ahao pretended to stumble and fell directly at the bidder’s feet.

"So cold!"

"Sorry! Sorry, I didn’t mean to…"

As he reached out to steady himself, his hand brushed against the man’s thigh. The icy touch made Ahao’s face twitch slightly, though he quickly apologized profusely.

"£400,000."

Unfazed by Ahao’s antics, the pale man continued raising his paddle with the same rigid expression, bidding once again.

Ahao’s gaze flickered over the man’s emotionless, cold face, sending a chill down his spine. He hurried past the bidder, no longer clutching his stomach, and muttered, "Phew, the pain’s gone now."

Returning to his seat beside Lin Jiuying, Ahao immediately reported, "Master, you were right—that guy isn’t human."

"What’s more, he’s downright eerie."

Ahao discreetly showed the silver needle hidden between his fingers. "I tested him with this. When I fell earlier, I jabbed it into his thigh. A normal person would’ve felt at least some discomfort, but he didn’t react at all."

Taking the needle from Ahao, Lin Jiuying noticed its tip had turned black. His expression darkened as he murmured, "Not only is he inhuman, but he’s also steeped in evil."

Outside the venue, Lin Jiuying had already sensed the presence of a sinister energy. Now, his suspicions were confirmed.

"Master Lin, what should we do? I’m almost out of money!"

Asen, still clutching his paddle, turned to Lin Jiuying with a desperate look.

The Deng clan had pooled a significant sum of money to bring their ancestor back home, confident there wouldn’t be any issues.

But who could have anticipated the appearance of such a formidable rival at the auction?

"How much do you have left?" Lin Jiuying asked, frowning.

"£510,000—once…twice…"

"£520,000!"

Asen interrupted the auctioneer’s hammer just in time, forcing another bid.

"It’s not much. A few more rounds, and the Deng clan’s ancestor will be lost to someone else," Asen lamented. If he failed to secure the ancestor, he’d become the clan’s eternal disgrace.

"Ahao, get me my compass," Lin Jiuying ordered.

"Got it, Master."

Ahao quickly retrieved a palm-sized compass from his bag and handed it over.

Lin Jiuying flipped the compass over to reveal a dense array of talismanic symbols etched on its back. Holding the compass in one hand, he began chanting:

*"By the decree of the heavens,

expel misfortune and darkness.

Grant me the power of the sacred charm,

to banish the unholy.

With fire from the mountains,

and light to dispel evil,

may the spirits obey.

By the order of the Supreme Elder,

I command it so!"*

As his incantation ended, the talismanic symbols on the compass began to glow faintly red. Lin Jiuying then flipped it back and aimed it at the pale man.

"Go!"

With a low shout, a beam of red light shot out from the compass, striking the pale man.

The man’s previously rigid movements abruptly froze. His head drooped lifelessly.

---

*Boom!*

In an unknown church in London, flames in the surrounding braziers suddenly flared.

"Hmm?"

A cloaked figure’s cold face twitched as he noticed the change. Black blood oozed uncontrollably from the toad’s back, where a bone dagger had been stabbed.

"Zombie?" the cloaked man rasped in a hoarse voice.

He could no longer sense the revenant corpse’s connection.

---

*Bang! Bang!*

"£570,000—once, twice, three times!"

"Sold!"

"Master Lin, I did it! I secured our ancestor!"

(End of Chapter)

*Chapter 104: Voodoo*

Hearing Asen’s words, Lin Jiuying instinctively turned his head.

By the time he reacted and looked back, the white man had disappeared without a trace.

“Master Lin, I’ll entrust my ancestor to you next.”

Lin Jiuying frowned deeply, but before he could figure out what was going on, Asen’s slightly excited voice interrupted his thoughts and pulled him back to the present.

“No problem.”

Looking at the auctioned ancestral corpse of the Deng clan, Lin Jiuying nodded and responded decisively.

He hadn’t forgotten the purpose of this trip to London—he and his apprentice were here to transport the body back to Hong Kong.

...

“I see your soul. Your soul belongs to me. Your body belongs to me…”

In an unnamed church in London, a black man chanted spells in a low voice, holding a bone dagger resting on the back of a toad.

The bizarre incantation echoed through the church as large amounts of black blood surged out of the toad, staining the floor in an eerie, pitch-black hue.

Expressionless, the man reached out, gouged out one of the toad’s eyes with his index finger, and stuffed it into his mouth. As he chewed on the toad’s eye, his chanting grew louder and more frenzied.

Underneath the hood of his cloak, his eyes reflected a faint, blurry image of a white figure that gradually became clearer.

The connection with the resurrected corpse was re-established.

The man’s face, hidden beneath the cloak, grew even more sinister. From the mouth of the resurrected corpse, he learned about the failure of the auction.

The corpse had not succeeded in acquiring the uncorrupted body.

Thinking about the consequences of failing to retrieve the body, a flicker of fear crossed the man’s otherwise cold expression.

...

“Narcisse!”

Before the cloaked man could do anything with the resurrected corpse, the flames around the altar began to flicker. As the firelight danced, a twisted face appeared within, roaring with immense force.

“High Priest.”

Seeing the face in the flames, the voodoo sorcerer Narcisse immediately knelt down, replying in a tone laced with both fear and reverence.

Unlike most of the world’s mainstream religious systems, voodoo is a faith founded on the rule of fear. Its core belief is that all things in existence are mere façades; behind them lies a far greater spiritual force at work.

The High Priest of voodoo wields the power of these spirits, capable of cursing and killing others from thousands of miles away.

“Did you retrieve the offering?”

The flickering flames formed an abstract face, which opened its mouth to interrogate Narcisse.

Faced with the High Priest’s question, Narcisse’s expression became even more terrified. He dared neither hesitate nor lie, as either would provoke the High Priest’s wrath and invite harsher punishment.

“No, I failed, High Priest.”

“I was so close to obtaining the offering, but something went wrong. My resurrected corpse suddenly lost control.”

Hearing Narcisse’s response, the High Priest’s face in the flames flickered violently.

“You know the consequences of failure, Narcisse.”

Voodoo’s reign of fear does not exempt its own sorcerers.

“Please, grant me another chance, High Priest.”

Kneeling on the cold church floor, Narcisse pleaded desperately.

“I can sense that the offering is still in London. I will retrieve it.”

The twisted face in the flames stared at Narcisse and roared, “This is your last chance, Narcisse. Make sure you bring back the offering.”

As the High Priest’s voice faded, the flames around the altar returned to their normal state, burning quietly.

In the church, Narcisse slowly rose to his feet.

...

“Master Lin, do you need me to call someone to carry the ancestor’s body outside?”

At Sotheby’s Auction in London, Asen had achieved his primary goal of acquiring the Deng clan’s ancestral body.

However, seeing the motionless corpse at the auction site, he was at a loss.

Sotheby’s handles auctions but seemingly doesn’t provide transportation services. With just the three of them, moving the body risked accidental damage, which might provoke a torrent of scolding from the Deng clan.

“No need to make it so complicated.”

Seeing Asen’s troubled expression, Lin Jiuying spoke calmly.

“Next, just find a quiet room to place your ancestor’s body. Leave the rest to me.”

Although puzzled by Lin Jiuying’s confidence, Asen chose to trust him. He quickly arranged for a room through Sotheby’s staff.

“Ah Hao, prepare the materials.”

Inside the room, Lin Jiuying gazed at the corpse lying in the center. He removed his coat, revealing a yellow Taoist robe underneath. Taking the black ceremonial crown handed over by his apprentice, Ah Hao, he donned it and held a peachwood sword. He tapped the corpse’s head, chest, and feet thrice, then performed the Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams step, all while forming hand seals and chanting:

“Open the heavenly gate, grant eternal life;

Three souls, seven spirits, return to their essence.

Three souls to the left, seven spirits to the right,

Hear the divine command, obey the law,

None shall see, none shall know,

Urgently, by the decree!”

“Ah Hao, what is Master Lin doing?”

Watching Lin Jiuying perform the ritual, Asen couldn’t help but ask Ah Hao in confusion.

“Master is performing a ritual to make your ancestor move again.”

“What? Bring my ancestor back to life?”

Instead of joy, Asen’s face turned pale with fear. His ancestor had been dead for over a hundred years; if they truly came back to life, it would be like bringing a living ghost home.

Seeing Asen’s horrified expression, Ah Hao smirked mischievously and explained, “Relax, it’s not really bringing your ancestor back to life. Master is just using the corpse-control spell to make the body move for easier transport.”

“Why didn’t you say so earlier? You scared me!”

Asen patted his chest in relief.

“Ah Hao, the Soul-Calming Bell!”

In the midst of their conversation, Lin Jiuying finished his incantation. With a flick of his peachwood sword, he attached a talisman to the corpse’s forehead and called out without looking back.

“Master, catch!”

Ah Hao quickly tossed the bell he had prepared into the air.

Lin Jiuying caught it deftly, shaking it lightly in front of the corpse.

Ding-ling!

In an instant, the previously motionless corpse abruptly opened its eyes.

(End of Chapter)