Chapter 15: Red Dancing Shoes
"Knock ......."
Another sound like a knock on the door.
There was something next door!
Zhang Yuanqing hurriedly exchanged his rusty kitchen knife for a rusty short knife and his wooden stick for a long gun.
Carrying the weapons, he ran out of the room with light footsteps, the moonlight was frosty, and the surroundings were silent.
Zhang Yuanqing bent down and secretly leaned towards the window.
The paper on the window had long been torn, so he squatted under the window, cautiously poked his head up, and peered in through one of the cracks in the lattice window.
The moonlight, as cold as frost, was compressed into a beam by the broken hole in the roof, bringing light to this narrow room.
Seeing the scene in the room, Zhang Yuanqing's heart thumped.
In the dark and silent room, there were three old coffins, the black paint mottled, the lids covered with dust.
By the side of the coffins lay two dry corpses, wearing labor uniforms, one of which had a copper awl rolled down by its hand.
The awl attracted Zhang Yuanqing's attention, it was half an arm's length, cast in brass, the handle of the awl was engraved with incantations and carvings, fine workmanship, the key was, all the weapons were rusted, only it was yellow, no patina in sight.
An image floated in his mind for no apparent reason, one of the three dao mountain maiden's hand, five fingers together in a holding gesture.
But the palm of the hand was empty.
"Thud ......"
The muffled sound came again, causing Zhang Yuanqing to move his gaze to the coffin in the center.
A toothsome "creaking" sound sounded, and the lid of the coffin slowly slid open.
A greenish-black palm poked out and grabbed the edge of the coffin.
Afterwards, a terrifying figure sat up from the coffin.
By the bright moonlight shining down from the roof, Zhang Yuanqing could see what the thing looked like, wrapped in ragged clothes, with a puffy, highly decomposed face and dead eyes bulging out.
The hair was like withered grass, disheveled on top of its head.
"Ho ho~"
It raised its head towards the moonlight above its head and exhaled a mouthful of murky corpse breath, its two sharp teeth shocking to the eyes.
Zombie? Zombie!
Zhang Yuanqing felt his Uncle Ying ptsd kick in.
So it is a zombie, yes, it should be a zombie, otherwise what is the significance of the consumable item of the zombie talisman? Zhang Yuanqing's heart budged to retreat, exploring to this point, obtaining enough information.
It is time to go back to the main hall.
But just at this time, the shoulders steeply sunk, the familiar feeling of coldness descended, eroding the body, bringing goose bumps of coolness.
At this critical moment, the lying shoulder ghost came.
Fifteen minutes have arrived ...... Zhang Yuanqing's heart sank.
In this ancient temple full of crises, the spirit was highly tense, it was difficult to separate the mind to silently count the time, and could only rely on the feeling to speculate, which would be biased.
The appearance of the slumped shoulder grudge spirit was considered to be adding insult to injury, while the next scene added fuel to the fire.
As if smelling the scent of a living person, the zombie sitting in the coffin put away its head-raising movements, and its outwardly convex eyeballs dropped to look at the window, at the eyes peering out of the window at itself.
....... Zhang Yuanqing, in the thrill of goosebumps bursting out one after another, bounced up and turned his head to run.
He had just turned around when he heard the loud 'clang' of the coffin lid falling to the ground.
Not daring to turn back, he carried the grievous spirit on his shoulder and ran with heavy footsteps.
There was another loud 'clang' and the door was knocked off.
Zhang Yuanqing ran wildly while turning his head, seeing the hideous figure wrapped in tattered clothes rushing out of the house, leaping fiercely, chasing after him like a hungry tiger pouncing on a sheep.
This is a zombie? Where is the zombie? His face changed greatly, the bottom of his feet rotated, with the help of inertia to complete the turn, a gun stabbed at the zombie chest.
The end of the gun to the ground a pestle, the formation of a simple refusal of horse stakes.
At the same time, he saw a hideous hollow in the zombie's chest, and the heart seemed to have been dug out.
Eldest Brother? The zombie was the Eldest Brother from the handbook!
In the next moment, the zombie lunged against the lance, and the one-finger thick body of the lance collapsed like a full moon, followed by a 'click' snap.
With no time to think, Zhang Yuanqing seized the opportunity created by the spear and rolled past the zombie's feet, his nose filled with the stench of corpses, and the sound of a large sword slashing on the ground resounded behind him.
He rolled all the way behind the zombie, bounced on both knees, leapt up and swung out the short sword in his hand.
"Dang!"
The short knife slashed at the back of the zombie's head as if it had struck steel, causing no damage other than slicing off a few withered grass-like hairs.
On the contrary, Zhang Yuanqing was shocked by the force coming back from the hilt of the knife and his tiger's mouth ached so much that the weapon almost came out of his hand.
"Copper skin and iron bones?"
Zhang Yuanqing was horrified in his heart, and then he saw the zombie quickly turn around, raise his hands with black and sharp nails, and clasp his shoulders.
Pain immediately struck.
The ebony sharp nails pierced his skin and crimson blood stained his jacket.
The smell of blood stimulated it, and scarlet light surged from the depths of its bulging eyes as the zombie opened its fangs, spewing out a gas containing a foul odor, and biting fiercely at Zhang Yuanqing's neck.
The purifying effect of the candlelight was still there, he didn't lose his mind due to fear, and with a thought, a fluorescent blue item bar surfaced, and he had an extra talisman in his hand.
Thump ..... The zombie that was ferocious and tyrannical a moment ago, when it saw this talisman, it even retreated, like avoiding snakes and scorpions.
Effective, it is afraid of me, it has a certain intelligence ..... Zhang Yuanqing endured the pain at the wounds of his arms, tensed his muscles, stared at the zombie, shouldered the grievances, and slowly retreated step by step.
As he retreated, he prayed that the female ghost in the well would not venture out to add to the chaos.
During this process, the zombie's rotting throat let out a creepy low growl, its scarlet gaze gazing at Zhang Yuanqing.
Luckily, I don't know whether it was because of the zombie or Zhang Yuanqing walking backwards, the female ghost in the well did not appear, Zhang Yuanqing exited the East Courtyard and returned to the Courtyard, not daring to stop even for a single step, he stumbled towards the main hall, and as he approached the flying eaves of the main hall, the disembodied mournful screams resounded in his ears.
The shoulders were light, and all the negative effects dissipated.
.......
"Huffing and puffing ......"
In the main hall, Zhang Yuanqing leaned against the lattice door and gasped for breath, his legs and feet spasming uncontrollably.
This was half out of fear and half a physiological reaction after the adrenaline receded.
After he rested for a few minutes, the adrenaline receded and the wounds on his arms started to act up, grimacing, he took off his jacket and body shirt, only to see that both his arms had been scratched and bloodied, and the blood that flowed out was black in red.
Obviously, the zombie's fingernails contain poison.
The situation got worse all of a sudden.
"There's no disinfectant water here, no tetanus shot, will the zombie poison strike fast? I won't die of poisoning, right?"
A series of thoughts flashed through Zhang Yuanqing's mind, surprised to find that he actually wasn't very scared, and then realized ...... It had nothing to do with him, it was the candle that gave him the courage.
He bathed in the candlelight, his emotions gradually being soothed.
"I'm now infected with corpse poison, so I can't delay even more, let's take the second option directly."
Before entering the Spirit Realm, Zhang Yuanqing had formulated two plans for himself, the first plan was to cautiously and carefully explore the Mountain God Temple, control the information, and then seek a way to crack it.
It was a steady and stable approach.
Then, thanks to the inspiration from accompanying his sister-in-law to play the game, looking for patterns and methods, he formulated a second relatively risky program.
Try to take in the red dancing shoes.
Since they were both props, and the yellow paper talisman could be used by him, who said that the red dancing shoes couldn't?
Guanya had said that breaking the rules of a rule-based prop had a certain probability of taking it in.
"With my ability, it's unlikely that I can, by myself, stick the yellow paper talisman on the zombie's brain."
To paste the talisman on the forehead of a ferocious and terrifying Yin creature that possessed intelligence, it was like a child holding a knife and an adult fighting one on one, although the adult was afraid of the blade, it didn't mean that the child could really injure the adult.
Without further delay, Zhang Yuanqing got up by holding onto the lattice door and crossed the threshold to the courtyard in front of the main hall.
This was the place where he had first encountered the Red Dancing Shoes.
The full moon was like a disk, the ancient mansion, the barren grass, and the shadows of the trees.
He waited and waited and waited ........ He stood among the barren grass for a long time, alert to the changes around him, but never waited for the Red Dancing Shoes to appear.
This pair of shoes seems to have no fixed ground, at first it was following him when he entered the temple, then it appeared in the courtyard, and now he does not know where it has gone.
The longer he delayed the worse his physical condition became, Zhang Yuanqing sighed and helplessly turned around, returning to the main hall.
He had just completed his turn when his body abruptly froze.
"Ta da ....."
Between him and the main hall, a pair of red dancing shoes that glowed with a dark red shimmer were falling together as if there were unseen people that were stomping in place wearing them.
The footsteps echoed morosely in the empty, silent night.
Can you change the way of appearance, every time it is so thrilling ....... Zhang Yuanqing's soul that was almost scared out slowly returned to its place and quietly swallowed his saliva.
Despite looking forward to its appearance, when facing this weird dancing shoe directly, Zhang Yuanqing still felt that his SAN value was uncontrollably dropping ......
The red dancing shoes continued to do the same, the heels of the shoes hitting the ground to make a crisp sound, da da echo superimposed, more and more lonely, more and more terrifying.
A fluorescent blue message suddenly popped up in Zhang Yuanqing s field of vision:
Are you willing to accompany me in a dance, if so, please step in place.
This message appeared on the side of the red dancing shoe, as if it was conversing with itself.
Sure enough, it was asking for a dance, and if you don't dance with it, you will kill it, nasty shoes ....... Zhang Yuanqing only had one thing left to do, as he realized one thing, the Red Dancing Shoes had cut him off at the back.
The location where it appeared was between Zhang Yuanqing and the main hall.
Once the dance failed, he would surely die.
Was it a coincidence? Or did the shoe do it on purpose? Did it have intelligence as well?...... Zhang Yuanqing collected his thoughts and composed his emotions, visualizing his father's appearance in his mind.
At the same time, lifting his foot to make a step.
Da da ..... As if it was a switch that turned on this prop, along with his stepping, the rhythm of the red dancing shoes rising and falling changed, coming to an extremely fast tap.
It is a tap dance, rhythmic, fast, loud "tap" sound echoed in the silent night sky, echoed in the deserted ancient temple.
Under the moonlit night, among the deserted grass, on the path paved with goose soft stone, a pair of red dancing shoes danced alone, with a kind of indescribable demure beauty.
Zhang Yuanqing opened his eyes wide, letting his pupils accept the moonlight, staring dead on at the red dancing shoes, he did not need to deliberately memorize it, he only needed to reflect the other party's steps into his eyes.
At the same time, his heart was like an overloaded engine, beating rapidly, his ears were filled with loud noises, and countless broken images flashed through his mind.
The brain began to automatically receive information from the outside world, the sound of the blowing wind, the slightly curved posture of the barren grass, the frequency of the swaying of the leaves of the large acacia tree in the distance, the posture and frequency of the red dancing shoes kicking .....
The brain that received the information quickly analyzed and memorized it.
After a few minutes, the red dancing shoes stopped contentedly, stepped back with their left foot, and stood on their tiptoes.
The posture looked odd, but it was a standard curtsy if someone was wearing it.
Kinda polite ...... Zhang Yuanqing, who had blood flowing out of his nose, muttered in his heart before seeing a sentence floating above the red dancing shoes:
Your turn!
In a few minutes, it had danced hundreds of rhythms, all at different paces, which had already exceeded the shorthand ability of normal people.
Zhang Yuanqing calmed down, fished out a small pill from his pocket and put it in his mouth.
Then, his brain fell into a marvelous state as the images from the past few minutes were replayed frame by frame.
"Da-da-da-da-da-da ......."
He danced a few rhythms at a slow, lame pace, then carefully scrutinized the red dancing shoes.
If the other party's standard was the exact same material, then even if he could memorize all the rhythms and movements, it would be impossible to complete the task.
Seeing that it was not abnormal, Zhang Yuanqing was relieved and started dancing with full concentration.
Kicking, spinning, small bounces, and crossing his left and right feet ........ He danced very slowly, his posture was lame and ugly, and compared to the red dancing shoes' flowing movements, it was simply unimpressive.
But the slow rhythm of the dance ensured that no mistakes would be made.
After seven or eight minutes, Zhang Yuanqing restored all the steps of the red dancing shoes and stopped panting.
His nostrils overflowed with warm liquid, falling low down his lips and jaw, but he couldn't be bothered to wipe it off and stared at the Red Dancing Shoes dead in the face.
Whether or not he could get out of the Spirit Realm alive, whether or not he could successfully complete the trial.
It all depends on now.
Your dancing skills are as bad as ever!
The Red Dancing Shoes popped up such a message, and then, it turned into a dark red shimmering light that dissipated into the night.
Immediately afterward, Zhang Yuanqing heard an icy voice ringing in his head:
Ding! You have accompanied the Red Dancing Shoes to complete a dance, congratulations on receiving the appreciation of the Red Dancing Shoes, but due to your dancing skills being too poor, the Red Dancing Shoes will only reward you for half an hour, good luck!
Zhang Yuanqing shriveled to the ground in a state of weakness, his face turning white and his brain throbbing.
After half a minute, the symptoms eased and he sat up with a pale face, impatiently opening the item bar.
In the second compartment lay a pair of red, brand new dancing shoes.
Gazing at the dancing shoes for a few seconds, the item information automatically surfaced.
Name: Red Dancing Shoes Type: Footwear Function: Tracking, Hunting Introduction: Its former owner was the princess of a certain kingdom in the west, the princess was born with natural beauty and was good at dancing, and the men of the kingdom fell in love with her. However, her wicked stepmother was jealous of her talent and beauty, and imprisoned her in a high tower. The lonely princess danced alone in the cold moonlight, and finally died. This pair of red dancing shoes inherited her legacy and began to wander and never stop dancing alone.
Remark 1: Use Form 1: Throw the Red Dancing Shoes at a designated target (can also be targeted through the medium of the target's blood, hair, skin, and other cells), and it will pursue the target endlessly. During the pursuit, it ignores any physical obstacles, cannot escape, and cannot be destroyed until the target dies, or accompanies it through a dance of any kind.
Use Form 2: Wearing the Red Dancing Shoes increases agility, improves dodging ability, and ignores terrain to run without having to pay stamina. The only thing you need to pay attention to is that you can only wear them for five minutes at a time. If you exceed the time limit, the Red Dancing Shoes will never be able to be taken off, and you will be running along with it until the end of your life, or your feet are chopped off.
Note 2: Do not dance with me? All tender death.
It is a divine weapon ...... Zhang Yuanqing was excited after reading the prop's attribute introduction.
This was a rule-based prop?
It was simply outrageously powerful.
The previous yellow paper talismans and candles had relatively simple item introductions with just a few sentences, while the item information for these red dancing shoes was lengthy.
From this alone, one could see the uniqueness of the Red Dancing Shoes.
"It's a pity that I was only rewarded for half an hour ......"
Zhang Yuanqing noticed the countdown next to the item bar and felt a pang of regret in his heart.
If such a divine artifact could be returned to him, it could be of great use, whether in reality or in the future when he entered other Spirit Realms.
.....
PS: Super large chapter presented, beg for a monthly ticket. Typos are now changed after the change.
