Chapter Forty-Six: Trapped

“Truly effective talismans are never drawn with ink. Typically, cinnabar is used. For the greatest power, the priest draws with his own blood!”

As he spoke, Ah Huang had already bitten open his index finger and was quickly sketching on a sheet of yellow talisman paper...

What the hell? Using blood!

Fu Yang was deeply reluctant in his heart.

But faced with such a deadly predicament, he could only grit his teeth and go all in. He bit down hard on his finger, the pain so intense that his nose and eyes scrunched together. Eyes brimming with tears, he forced himself to mimic Ah Huang’s movements, drawing talismans—a misery reaching its peak.

The complexity of the Flight Talisman far surpassed the Light Talisman or the Wind Talisman. For a complete novice like Fu Yang, who relied entirely on instinct, it was anything but smooth sailing.

Fortunately, he wasn’t much slower than Ah Huang...

Ah Huang immediately pressed the talisman he’d just finished onto the weakest, most exhausted officer. With a startled shout, the man shot up towards the ceiling, suspended near the rafters—well out of reach of the corpses, at least for now.

“Amazing! Absolutely incredible! I’m flying!” the officer exclaimed in awe.

Fu Yang hurriedly slapped the talisman he’d drawn onto Shan Shan, perhaps out of urgency or maybe—just maybe—deliberately.

With a sharp smack, the talisman landed squarely on Shan Shan’s full, rounded, and shapely backside...

Zhao Shan Shan felt a jolt run through her body, as if an electric current surged from where Fu Yang’s hand had landed, making her thighs tremble so much she could barely stand. Then, a tremendous force yanked her upward, suspending her close to the ceiling, unable to move.

Ah Huang shot Fu Yang a look of admiration. “You’re something else! Even at a time like this, you still manage to cop a feel...”

“Shut it! My hand slipped...”

Fu Yang focused on drawing talismans, ignoring the foul-mouthed Ah Huang.

Finally, after grueling effort, and just as Fu Yang felt he might bleed out, the two of them managed to finish all ten Flight Talismans.

Everyone floated up into the air, looking down at the two or three hundred corpses in various outfits from different eras, who gazed up at them and let out chilling growls...

“Fu Yang, does your hand hurt?”

Suspended nearby, Zhao Shan Shan asked gently, her eyes full of concern as she glanced at his bloodied fingers. Her cheeks were flushed, whether from the recent fight or Fu Yang’s wandering hand, it was hard to say.

At that moment, Ah Huang issued orders: “Everyone familiar with the sensation now? Good. Follow my lead—like you’re swimming, take a deep breath, adjust your posture, move your limbs together, and swim forward! We need to find a way to escape. The talisman only lasts fifteen minutes.”

Fu Yang was startled. “What? It’s not permanent?”

“Of course not! Who do you think I am, the Grandmaster of the Dao? If I could make a permanent Flight Talisman, I’d be rich!”

“Then let’s hurry!” Fu Yang immediately glanced at Zhao Shan Shan with worry—she’d gone up earlier, which meant she had only about five or six minutes left.

Under Ah Huang’s guidance, the group moved through the air like fish, swimming toward the factory doors.

Liu Zhan, the best marksman, managed to shoot perfectly even while floating.

Bang, bang, bang.

A few shots rang out, shattering the lock on the factory’s heavy iron doors. With a push and a screech of grinding metal, the doors swung open.

They swam through the air and finally escaped the sealed factory.

Outside, the ground was flat, but the mist had grown thicker than before. Where previously you could see neighboring factories, now the fog cut off all sight.

“Damn! Where did those two idiots run off to? I’d shoot them both if I had the chance!”

“Yeah! I want to ram a steel rod up their—”

“That’s too easy on them! Let’s unleash the police dogs—have them bite those little bastards!”

“Heh! I’ll douse their sorry butts with pepper spray...”

“Or force-feed them a Malaysian durian—one weighing over ten kilos!”

Hearing this, Fu Yang and Ah Huang broke out in a cold sweat.

Who would have thought these civil servants could be so violent when provoked?

Zhao Shan Shan, being a woman, blushed at the crude banter. She quickly cleared her throat and said, “Enough with the cursing. As officers of the law, mind your image.”

The curses against the effeminate supervisor and the dwarf finally ceased. Everyone soon noticed that all the factory’s corpses were clustered at the doors, piled layer upon layer, but none emerged.

Good! So the corpses can only move inside the factory?

Fu Yang marveled, “Incredible! The owner of this Zhenhui Silk Factory must’ve been a creative genius—using a corpse herder from Xiangxi to control zombies for silk production and processing. No pay, no meals, pure profit! And in their spare time, he could use them for evil deeds.”

Zhao Shan Shan shook her fist in anger, “Such a crooked businessman must be brought to justice!”

Ah Huang added gloomily, “Most importantly... it looks like this haunted place really is connected to that ghost lord back in the Jiang City University forest. Whoever’s behind this is definitely trying to push that ghost lord to evolve into a corpse demon. Things just got a lot more complicated.”

There was nothing to do but take things one step at a time.

After a two-minute rest to recover some strength, everyone tore off their flight talismans, dropped to the ground, and sprinted toward the factory gate.

If they could just reach their police cars, they could get out quickly.

Then they’d report back, mobilize the entire force, bring heavy weapons, and come back in broad daylight to wipe this place out.

The fog was growing thicker.

You could clearly see tendrils of white mist rising from the grass, the hills, the very earth...

Though it was just after three in the afternoon, the environment and light now felt like dusk.

The effeminate supervisor and the dwarf were nowhere to be seen. The factory was empty, silent except for the sound of their footsteps and heavy breathing as they ran.

Luckily, no one faltered, and they made it to the main gate in one go.

The iron doors were still open, but the two police cars that had been parked outside were gone!

“Goddammit! Where are our cars?” Liu Zhan cursed, kicking a stone furiously.

He wasn’t the only one. Even Fu Yang and Ah Huang felt a sinking sense of defeat.

They’d thought they were about to escape, only to have their hopes dashed.

Outside the iron gates, the white fog rolled like ocean waves.

The road was completely shrouded, visibility reduced to just a few meters. And this was a valley, still about ten kilometers from the main road to the city.

To walk ten kilometers through this fog-covered valley—on foot—would be suicide...

(End of part three. Please support with tips and recommendations~)