Bai Xuan stopped looking at her.
He had gathered enough information.
Dwelling on past crimes served no purpose for their immediate survival.
While he didn't trust Tessa, she had utility. Whether as a scout or a decoy, she could help him avoid unnecessary risks.
He turned around, deliberately leaving his back exposed to her.
He would watch her performance from here on. If she didn't behave, he wouldn't mind losing a mere tool.
“Let’s go,” he said quietly.
Hearing this, Tessa struggled to stand up.
Only now did she truly feel the state of her body.
The weakness of being near death and the excruciating pain had vanished, replaced by exhaustion and phantom pains.
She leaned against the wall to steady herself and instinctively touched her waist again; her hand met firm, healed scar tissue.
She snapped her head up, looking at Bai Xuan’s narrow back and then at the seemingly crude iron rod in his hand.
While unconscious, fragments of nightmares where her body was being dismantled and sewn back together flashed through her mind again.
A chill climbed up her spine, but alongside it rose something indescribable.
She opened her mouth, but in the end, no sound came out.
She simply used the back of her hand to wipe the tear stains and grime from her face, grit her teeth, and forced her trembling legs to follow the figure ahead.
Her gaze lingered on Bai Xuan’s back, her eyes filled with immense complexity.
The two walked in silence, one after the other, returning to the wide corridor of the previous crossroads.
The stench in the air was much stronger than when they had left, carrying a pungent, nauseating scent of corrosive acid.
The sight in the corridor confirmed the source of the smell.
Of the six coffins, the one closest to the direction they had come from had its heavy lid pushed open from the inside, leaning precariously against the rim.
The ground around the coffin was covered in a layer of dark, mysterious slime, and the stench was steaming up from there.
Beside the coffin, a figure was moving slowly.
It barely maintained a humanoid shape.
However, its skin was a sickly blue-black and grey, like a drowned corpse, clinging tightly to its bones. It was riddled with decay and holes, revealing dark red muscle and yellowish-white bone underneath. The joints of its fingers were abnormally large, with black, curled nails.
It seemed to have just “woken up.” Its movements were stiff as it wobbled its rotting head, turning toward the direction where Bai Xuan and Tessa appeared.
There were no eyeballs in its sockets, only two smoldering clumps of eerie green fire.
【Rotting Coffin Zombie Lv.5】
Tessa’s breathing grew visibly rapid, her face turning even paler as she instinctively took a half-step back.
Bai Xuan’s stomach tightened as well. It wasn't just the olfactory and visual assault, but the direct pressure from the level difference.
Level 5, and it was clearly a type that possessed potent toxins and high offensive power.
His instincts screamed for him to stay away.
However, the doorways to other areas and that massive, closed gate required passing through it.
There was no way around.
“Lure it into the corridor we just came from,” Bai Xuan whispered, his eyes never leaving the zombie. “The terrain there is narrow; its acid and range of motion will be restricted.”
Tessa snapped her head toward him, her eyes wide with refusal and terror.
“Me? If... if it touches me, I’ll be poisoned! I...”
“After using that skill of yours, you should be faster than it. That’s your only advantage,” Bai Xuan interrupted, his tone leaving no room for argument. “We need to lure it further away to deal with it. Fighting here might wake the other monsters, and then we’ll all die.”
“Don’t worry, I have detoxification magic. With me as your Healer, you won’t die.”
He paused, his iron rod lightly tapping the ground.
“Go. This is how you prove your value.”
Tessa looked at Bai Xuan’s expressionless face and then at the rotting corpse that was constantly dripping venom. Her lips trembled.
Ultimately, the desire to survive and the small shred of trust from Bai Xuan saving her life outweighed her fear.
Or rather, she had no other choice.
She steadied her racing heart and nodded.
Bai Xuan began to back away, retreating toward the entrance of the Skeleton Corridor.
Tessa picked up a large piece of broken bone from the ground, weighed it, and threw it at the Rotting Coffin Zombie with all her might.
The bone fragment struck the zombie’s shriveled chest with a dull thud.
The zombie’s head-turning motion paused for a moment. Then, the two clumps of green fire locked onto Tessa.
It let out a low hiss and began to move.
Its speed wasn't fast; its steps were heavy and sluggish.
Tessa felt slightly more at ease, maintaining a safe distance as she began to retreat toward the corridor entrance where Bai Xuan was waiting.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly.
Just as the zombie was lured a short distance into the corridor and Bai Xuan had already assumed an ambush stance nearby, a sudden change occurred.
The Rotting Coffin Zombie abruptly stopped its pursuit, its hunched body leaning backward.
A gurgling sound of sloshing liquid came from its bloated abdomen.
The sound moved rapidly upward, passing through the chest cavity and reaching the throat.
The zombie’s rotting jaw unhinged to an exaggerated degree.
A clump of green slime, as thick as jelly, was spat out with a force that far exceeded its movement speed, flying straight toward the center of Tessa’s back!
Hearing the abnormal sound behind her, Tessa turned her head in horror.
Seeing a green shadow accompanied by a pungent smell flying toward her, her mind went completely blank.
At the critical moment, a figure rushed in.
Bai Xuan swung his iron rod horizontally, the side of the rod striking Tessa’s waist and arm, forcefully pushing her to the side!
He also used the momentum to twist his own body out of the way.
“Ah!” Tessa cried out in pain.
Pushed by the massive force, she stumbled and fell to the side, her elbows and knees scraping against the rough floor.
Almost at the same instant, the clump of green slime grazed the tips of her hair and struck the ground not far behind her.
Sizzle—!
A harsh sound rang out as a plume of white smoke immediately rose from the hard stone slab.
A pit several inches deep was corroded into the floor, the edges still bubbling.
Tessa lay on the ground, staring at the hole in shock. Her face was bloodless, and her back was instantly drenched in cold sweat.
She looked up at Bai Xuan, her lips moving.
The cry of pain and the question that had been about to burst from her mouth turned into a trembling, “Thank... thank you...”
Bai Xuan had no time to respond.
The Rotting Coffin Zombie seemed to have a brief moment of stiffness after spitting. He seized this opportunity and lunged forward.
The iron rod swung in an arc, ruthlessly smashing toward the zombie’s relatively thin neck!
However, the zombie’s reaction was faster than expected.
It raised an arm dripping with rotting flesh and green liquid to block the side of its neck.
Thud!
The rod and arm collided, making a dull sound like hitting wet wood.
Bai Xuan felt a jolt in his arm; the zombie’s body only wobbled slightly.
The iron rod, glowing with golden light, only smashed a small gap into its rotting arm, revealing the blackened bone beneath.
Such strong defense!
Bai Xuan was surprised. The Bone Amalgams he had fought before only knew how to attack; they had no concept of blocking.
Having successfully blocked, the zombie’s other claw immediately lunged at Bai Xuan’s chest, carrying a foul wind.
Bai Xuan retreated hastily, but the tips of the claws grazed his chest.
Rippp—
The fabric tore.
Immediately after, a stinging pain mixed with a numbing sensation flared from his chest.
The wound on his chest was gruesome.
A wave of dizziness and nausea instantly rushed to his head.
He was poisoned!
And the toxin was taking effect incredibly fast!
Bai Xuan endured the pain and discomfort, retreating again to create distance from the zombie, intending to dispel the toxin first.
However, the zombie dragged its feet as it pressed forward, the gurgling sound returning to its throat as it prepared for a second spit.
Right then, a figure darted out from the side!
Tessa had somehow scrambled up, her slender daggers gripped tightly in her hands.
Fear still lingered on her face, but her eyes held a desperate, sink-or-swim resolve.
She ducked under the zombie’s swinging arm and thrust her daggers ruthlessly into the back of its supporting leg’s knee.
Pfft!
The daggers sank deep, and a thick, blackish-red liquid splashed out.
The Rotting Coffin Zombie’s body tilted visibly, and the acid it was about to spit was interrupted.
It let out an angry roar, abandoning Bai Xuan to swing its claws at the little pest that dared to harm it.
Tessa had already nimbly rolled away, drawing the zombie to pursue her. Though it was dangerous, she had successfully bought Bai Xuan several precious seconds.
Seizing this breather, Bai Xuan immediately activated 【Purifying Severance】.
A soft golden light flowed within his body.
Everywhere it passed, the cold, numbing toxin dissolved like snow meeting boiling water, and the dizziness quickly receded.
Next, he cast 【Holy Light Catalyst】 on himself. The dark aura on his chest was dispelled, and the wound stopped bleeding and healed, leaving only a few faint marks.
With his condition slightly recovered, a sharp light flashed in Bai Xuan’s eyes.
He lowered his center of gravity and charged at the Rotting Coffin Zombie again, whose back was turned to him.
He channeled the mana within his body, and the golden light on the iron rod became dazzling.
Carrying the momentum of his entire body and the force of a rotation, he smashed the rod ruthlessly into the area just above the knee joint Tessa had injured!
【Redemption Strike】!
Crack!
A shattering sound, far crisper than before, rang out.
The Rotting Coffin Zombie’s entire lower body collapsed forward, its spine curving at an unnatural angle.
It let out a howl, struggling to turn around.
Bai Xuan wouldn't give it the chance.
He took a step forward with the momentum, raising the iron rod high. Once again enveloped in golden light, he smashed it down onto the vulnerable back of the neck exposed by its collapse!
Bang!
A dull impact.
The zombie’s head slumped forward, and the intensity of its struggling instantly weakened by more than half.
Bai Xuan’s arms trembled violently from the overexertion.
But he grit his teeth, raising the iron rod—which now showed a slight curve—and delivered several more heavy blows to that twisted neck!
Finally, the Rotting Coffin Zombie collapsed completely to the ground. The green fire in its eyes extinguished, and it stopped moving.
Bai Xuan retreated a few steps and slid down to sit against the cold stone wall.
He gasped for air, sweat pouring down his forehead. The web of his thumb on the hand holding the rod had split, leaking blood.
The tip of the iron rod was now bent.
Challenging a monster two levels higher was still this difficult, even with attribute advantages and tactical coordination.
The monsters in this dungeon were truly not just simple target dummies for leveling up.
Just as he was slowly steadying his breath, a bizarre change occurred in the corpse of the Rotting Coffin Zombie on the ground.
Its shriveled torso began to swell rapidly like a balloon, and a green light faintly pulsed beneath its skin!
Bai Xuan’s pupils constricted. Almost without thinking, he used his last bit of strength to thrust the bent iron rod into the ground in front of him!
【Concussive Field】!
Just as the pale golden shockwave expanded, the zombie’s corpse violently exploded!
Countless foul-smelling green liquids and fragments of bone and rotting meat sprayed in all directions!
The shockwave of the Concussive Field collided head-on with the blast, neutralizing and deflecting most of the filth and force heading toward Bai Xuan.
Sizzle, sizzle...
The deflected green liquid landed on the surrounding walls and floor, immediately corroding pits and creating plumes of white smoke.
The explosion subsided, leaving the corridor passage in a mess, and the stench reached its peak.
【Successfully executed a Crushing Blow! Killed "Rotting Coffin Zombie"】
【Experience +30, Pleasure +20】
Tessa poked her head out from behind a distant stone pillar.
Looking at the area that had been corroded beyond recognition and Bai Xuan sitting on the ground gasping for air, her eyes were filled with lingering fear.
Her gaze was a mixture of gratitude and awe.
She carefully avoided the venom on the ground and walked back.
Without looking at the disgusting remains, she asked in a low voice, “Are you... okay?”
Bai Xuan shook his head and slowly stood up.
He glanced at the bent iron rod in his hand but said nothing.
“Let’s find a place to rest.”
They quickly moved away from the venom-contaminated area and found another corner in the Skeleton Corridor that was relatively clean and had slightly better air.
Bai Xuan set down his pack as cover and took food and water out of his Space Ring.
He handed a piece of rye bread and a piece of jerky to Tessa, who was following him silently.
Tessa took them, her fingers trembling slightly. She lowered her head and whispered once more, “Thank you.”
Then, she turned her back to Bai Xuan and began to eat ravenously. Clearly, the physical exertion and mental tension had left her in desperate need of replenishment.
Bai Xuan’s gaze swept over the bent iron rod and then toward Tessa’s slightly trembling back.
The dangers of the dungeon were truly everywhere. The zombie’s acid spit, and even its death, could trigger an explosion.
And this temporary companion of his... didn't seem to be a complete burden.
At least, in a life-or-death moment, she had chosen to charge forward instead of running away.
...
When the two returned to the foul-smelling Wraith Corridor once again.
The scent of corrosive acid in the air was still strong, but it seemed to have stopped intensifying since one of the sources had been eliminated.
The corridor was empty and silent. Aside from the one coffin that had been opened, the other five remained tightly shut.
They stood against the walls, emitting an ominous aura.
Bai Xuan did not let down his guard, his gaze sweeping across the entire space.
After confirming that no new monsters were wandering about, he cautiously approached the open coffin.
Maintaining a certain distance, he used his bent iron rod to carefully nudge aside the leaning lid and peer inside.
The interior of the coffin was lined with a layer of padding that had completely rotted into a dark brown, pulpy substance, barely recognizable as once being some kind of fabric.
A few small objects were half-submerged in the rotting pulp and residual green slime.
Most were metal ornaments—rings, necklaces, and brooches.
The materials were primarily copper and silver, long since corroded into a dull, lusterless state and covered in thick verdigris or grime. Almost none were intact.
However, a few pieces reflected the luster of gold under the dim light.
There were several men’s rings set with dull stones.
There were also a few fragments that might have been necklace pendants. Their edges were corroded, but the main bodies were intact.
Gold!
Bai Xuan’s eyes lit up slightly.
He estimated that these two pieces alone might be worth around ten gold coins, which could help alleviate his debt crisis.
He suppressed the slight flicker of eagerness in his heart.
Using the iron rod, he carefully fished the gold ornaments and a few silver pieces out of the corrosive fluid, letting them fall onto a relatively clean stone slab.
Rate on N.U.
