Chapter Eight: The Spirit of Armor

Outside the door.

Xiaoya turned to Wang Mazi. “Master Wang, you say your concubine went mad in the middle of the night without any warning? Could you tell me in detail what happened at the time?”

Wang Mazi’s face immediately twisted with bitterness. “Yes. I was in the middle of... well, with my concubine, and then, for no reason at all, she suddenly lost her mind—went completely mad! She almost cost me my life down there!” He gestured awkwardly.

Xiaoya frowned elegantly. “Before she went mad, did you notice anything unusual about her? Tell me everything about her in the days leading up to the incident.”

“I really didn’t notice anything,” Wang Mazi said after a moment’s thought. “Nothing out of the ordinary happened those few days. Though a few days before, I did take her with me outside the city to handle some matters.”

“What matters?” Xiaoya pressed.

At that, Wang Mazi hemmed and hawed, his old face coloring with an odd embarrassment. Seeing his demeanor, Xiaoya’s face darkened—she already guessed the true nature of their trip.

She cleared her throat and continued, “Did anything happen during that time you found strange? Be as detailed as possible.”

Wang Mazi pondered, shaking his head. “Nothing really strange... Wait.” He seemed to recall something. “We got back a little later than usual, and I saw a dark shadow flash past our carriage. But it was already dark, and I’m not as young as I used to be. I thought it was just my eyes playing tricks on me, so I didn’t pay much attention.”

“When did your concubine go mad?” asked Xiaoya.

“That very night...” Wang Mazi’s face changed as the words left his lips. “You mean—my concubine’s madness was caused by that shadow?!”

Xiaoya didn’t respond to him. Her brows knitted even tighter—she already had her suspicions.

She asked again, “How did you kill her?”

At this, Wang Mazi’s anger flared. “Just thinking about it makes me furious! Of all places, she had to bite me there—my family’s treasure! I was so angry I punched her, but she slapped me straight out of the room! She had strength beyond belief—my household’s strongest men were tossed aside like chicks and badly injured. But I am not a coward! I grabbed my broadsword and hacked at her with all my might, slicing off half her head. But would you believe it? Even with half her skull gone, she could still stand up! Isn’t that the strangest thing?”

He gave a dry laugh. “But in the end, my servants and I hacked her to pieces. Her corpse—what a sight that was!”

He clicked his tongue as he finished, shaking his head in disbelief.

Bang!

Just then, a figure crashed through the window from inside, hurtling into the wall with a heavy thud. The crowd started in alarm, and when they looked closer, they saw it was—

Liu Ji!

“Young Master!” Xiaoya and the four guards turned pale. Xiaoya rushed to Liu Ji’s side, her face stricken with worry. “Young Master, are you alright? What happened in there?”

Wang Mazi, too, was startled, his heart gripped with terror. If anything happened to the heir of the Liu family in his house, the entire Wang household would be doomed.

“Cough, cough, cough...” Liu Ji lay on the ground, wracked with pain. He pointed shakily toward the woodshed. “The corpse... it came back to life!”

The faces of the four guards, Wang Mazi, and Xiaoya all changed dramatically.

The corpse...came back to life?!

Before anyone could react, a black shadow suddenly shot out from the house, streaking straight toward Liu Ji, a nauseating stench of rot filling the air.

Xiaoya, terrified, threw herself in front of Liu Ji and shielded him in her arms.

One of the guards charged forward in a flash, reaching them in the blink of an eye. He shouted and threw a mighty punch at the creature.

A surge of vital energy exploded from him!

With a thunderous bang, his fist connected with the black shadow, sending it flying—yet the guard himself staggered back seven or eight steps before he could steady himself.

The shadow landed heavily on the ground. Everyone looked closer.

It was a woman with disheveled hair, her head missing a chunk from the center slanting to the right. Her eyes rolled wildly in their sockets as though desperate to escape. Her face was deathly pale, yet one could still discern a trace of beauty—but the stench of rot clinging to her, the dense, gruesome wounds covering her body, made her a sight too horrifying to look at. An ordinary person would have collapsed from fear.

Xiaoya’s face turned white as a sheet, but she quickly regained her composure and shouted at Wang Mazi, “Why are you still standing there? Go to the Southern Prince’s manor for reinforcements—now!”

But as soon as she spoke, she regretted it.

Wang Mazi was already lost to terror, his soul seemingly departed, his body trembling uncontrollably, and the front of his trousers growing wet.

Drops of liquid fell to the ground with soft splashes.

Xiaoya could only hold her forehead in exasperation. So much for Wang Mazi’s earlier boasting of his bravery—now he was reduced to such a pathetic state, it was almost laughable.

It wasn’t that she doubted the four guards, but the young master was the prince’s only heir. His safety was paramount and could not suffer the slightest oversight.

“Xiaoya, take the young master and leave at once. Leave this monster to us!” said the guard standing in front of Liu Ji in a grave tone, fully aware of the severity of the situation.

With Xiaoya’s support, Liu Ji made his way to the door, but he did not leave immediately. Though there was danger, he was not willing to miss such an opportunity.

As for Wang Mazi, as soon as he recovered his senses, he turned and ran, vanishing in the blink of an eye—showing none of the injuries he had claimed.

At that moment, the four guards had already surrounded the monster. The first guard spoke coldly, “You monster, how dare you harm my young master?”

As he spoke, golden lightning crackled and danced across his body, snaking around him like little serpents.

The other three guards were the same.

Liu Ji watched in wonder.

He then saw, to his astonishment, pieces of silver metallic scales emerge from the guard’s skin, quickly covering his entire body. With a series of metallic clinks, a suit of silver armor encased the guard from head to toe, a silver helmet fitting snugly over his head.

The armor clung close to his body, its lines flowing elegantly with no visible gaps, as if it were a single seamless piece.

The other three guards donned armor of different colors and designs, their entire bodies protected, giving them a heroic and formidable appearance.

“All together! Take her down!” came a sharp command.

The four guards surged forward, launching themselves at the creature.

The silver-armored guard reached her in a flash and struck with a powerful punch, his vital energy even more potent than before.

Bang, bang, bang!

In an instant, the four guards and the monster were locked in a fierce battle.

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