Chapter Fifty-Nine: Sudden Change

Little Han poked his head out from the airship and said, "I must be involved in this. Old Ma took advantage of my confusion and tried to trick me—I’ll make him pay for that."
Wujue saw he’d recovered and smiled, "Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of chances to prove yourself. Xiao Yang, come with me. Anyi, you stay here and look after Huron."
Xiao Yang nodded at once. With the assignments settled, they took Ao Hai and left the lake for the shore.
There was a bit of playacting beforehand. Wujue tied Ao Hai with rope, using a special technique and quietly instructing Ao Hai how to free himself at the critical moment.
Ao Hai laughed, "It doesn’t matter, you could tie it as tight as you want and I could still break free with a transformation."
As they spoke, they arrived at the appointed place. Old Ma’s men were already waiting, calling, "You’re here quick—did you bring the hostage?"
Wujue shouted, "I’ve captured the Dragon King’s son. They’ll have no choice but to surrender. Tell Old Ma to bring Xun’er over."
Soon Old Ma appeared, smiling as he glanced at the bound Ao Hai. "I didn’t expect you to be so efficient. Do you really think catching the young one will make the Dragon King submit? But never mind, hand him over first."
Wujue stood his ground, unmoved. "That’s not what we agreed. Where’s Xun’er? If you don’t hand her over, how can we continue negotiating? Besides, we’ve made a bigger discovery, and we’re considering whether to cooperate with you."
"Oh? You’ve found something valuable in the Dragon Palace?" Old Ma laughed. "I knew it—everyone is tempted. Looks like we need to renegotiate."
Ao Hai interjected, "Negotiate? You’re up to no good. Sooner or later, you’ll pay for it. I curse you all to be devoured by the Dragon God."
Xiao Yang cut in, "Really, such a young kid and already so mouthy. Do you realize you’re in serious trouble? Do you know what that fat uncle does? He’s a carnivorous animal, doesn’t even spare his own daughter. Can you afford to offend him?"
Old Ma looked rather uncomfortable at that and asked Wujue, "Hey, monk, who’s this guy with you? He’s got a sharp tongue."
Wujue smiled, "He’s my friend, my brother. I won’t interfere with what he does, as long as our goals align."
Suddenly, Xiao Yang grabbed Ao Hai and flew forward. He wore armor disguised as an ordinary vest; at that moment, the rocket pack on his back ignited, propelling him more than ten meters straight to Old Ma’s side.
Before anyone could react, two darts shot out, striking Old Ma’s face, but paused midair, spinning to a stop and falling to the ground.
"Impressive armor. Are you showing off?" Old Ma gestured in the air and glanced at Xiao Yang. "Too bad you lack their power. What good is armor? I can use sorcery to make it drop off anytime."
He snapped his fingers, and Xiao Yang felt his armor start to detach.
Wujue hurried forward, "Old Ma, are we making a deal or not? I’ve brought the hostage, give us a straight answer."
Old Ma laughed, "Fine, you can take Xun’er, but tonight I’m heading to the Dragon Palace. You must bring your people and go with me."
He reached out to grab Ao Hai and started toward the woods.
At the same time, a figure emerged from the woods—it was Xun’er.
She approached Wujue and Xiao Yang, pursed her lips in warning, then said, "You mortals—I don’t want to stay with you. Why keep dragging me along?"
Old Ma said to his daughter, "Dear girl, since you don’t like being with your father, why not venture out on your own? No need to pretend anymore—I know you don’t like me."
Xun’er snorted hard. The exchange of hostages went smoothly, and both sides were unharmed.
As everyone prepared to leave, suddenly two sharp sounds came from the trees—something was thrown. A huge bamboo raft sailed through the air, targeting Old Ma and Ao Hai. The edges were razor-sharp, clearly designed to kill Old Ma.
Old Ma shoved Ao Hai forward and turned to use sorcery against the raft. But in the instant he moved, countless boulders flew at him from all directions.
In that moment, surrounded on all sides, Old Ma had no chance to resist—he was engulfed by the traps and crushed, vanishing from sight.
Wujue and the others were startled and rushed to see what had happened. A figure appeared overhead, shouting, "Villain, you’re finally dead! I’ve avenged my grandfather!"
It was Ling’er, who had used traps to attack Old Ma. Xun’er, furious and shocked, threw herself at Ling’er, screaming, "You bastard! You killed my father! I’ll take your life for his!"
The two fought fiercely. Wujue and Xiao Yang rushed to the scene and found Old Ma and Ao Hai trapped among the rocks, enveloped in water vapor but unharmed.
It seemed Ao Hai had used aquatic powers to save them.
Wujue and his group cleared the rocks and shouted, "Xun’er, your father isn’t dead! Stop fighting!"
Old Ma, drenched and disheveled, emerged from the bubble. Clearly Ao Hai hadn’t spared him, nearly drowning him.
Old Ma wiped water from his face and sneered, "The meat is on the chopping block—do as you wish. Wujue, I want to see how you plan to save this world."
Wujue pressed his palms together. "I’ll do everything I can to lead everyone through this crisis."
He turned to Xun’er and Ling’er. "Enough fighting. We need to focus on what matters. We can’t battle each other forever. The Dragon Palace can shelter everyone for now, but we must unite to face the real enemy."
"Enemy? Who are you talking about? Isn’t he the enemy?" Ling’er raised her scythe, pointing at Old Ma.
Xun’er shook her head, "Don’t try to hurt him. If he must die, it’ll be by my hand."
"Who are you?" Ling’er demanded.
Xun’er answered quietly, "His daughter."
Xiao Yang frowned, "Alright, enough. Wujue, we need to find Old Ma’s people quickly. We can’t stay here. I just got word—the Tianzhu Clan is preparing their next assault. They moved their forces elsewhere earlier, which is why they ignored us, but when they return, we’ll be in trouble."
Just then, someone ran out of the woods, shouting, "Bad news! Someone’s gone mad and started attacking our own people—Boss, come quick!"
Wujue and Xiao Yang rushed into the woods. The camp was in chaos.
Elderly and children fled in terror, while a dozen mutated zombies rampaged on the clearing, attacking their own kind.
"How did so many monsters appear so suddenly?" Wujue didn’t hesitate; he drew his pistol, aimed at a charging zombie, and fired, killing it instantly.
Xiao Yang threw darts, hitting another zombie in the forehead, while calling others to retreat, "This is getting complicated. It may not be safe for anyone here."
Old Ma and his group followed, shouting, "Don’t panic! Everyone retreat this way—let’s leave now!"
Wujue fired as he asked, "When did zombies infiltrate your camp? Didn’t you notice?"
Old Ma answered, stunned, "No, these are all our own people. They were fine before."
"Impossible!" Xiao Yang suddenly stepped back and grabbed Old Ma. "Are you saying these people were bitten earlier and only now—"
He realized suddenly and slapped his palm, "I get it! Some were infected with the virus long ago, but it hadn’t activated. Those damn Tianzhu Clan—they controlled the timing of the outbreak, just to sabotage us now."
"What do we do?" Wujue understood the gravity and asked urgently.
Xiao Yang said, "We must gather everyone and have Little Han check them. Otherwise, we can’t tell who’s carrying the virus."
Wujue quickly had Anyi stop Old Ma and blocked the fleeing people. "Don’t run, or everyone will be in danger."
Ling’er sneered, "They all deserve to die—don’t let any escape."
She threw a flying bone, splitting a zombie’s head in two.
The scene spiraled out of control. Some, fearing for their lives, drew guns and aimed at Wujue and Xiao Yang.
Gunshots rang out—Xiao Yang was hit in the back, but his special armor stopped the bullet, saving his life.
He touched his shoulder and looked back at the shooter, who was utterly crazed, yelling, "Don’t look at me! We’re getting out of here—you forced us!"
No point talking further. Xiao Yang raised his gun, fired, grazing the man’s scalp and knocking him out.
Old Ma shouted, "Stop! Everyone stop! Don’t throw your lives away!"
But who would listen?
More escaped into the forest; most zombies were dispatched by Wujue and Xiao Yang. Suddenly Xun’er, seeming revitalized, said, "I’ll chase them!"
She darted into the woods after the fugitives.
At last, the chaos settled. The remaining dozen were surrounded at the camp entrance, forced to sit and await their fate.
Anyi brought Little Han over; he listened to Wujue and began scanning the people with his mystical mirror, shocked to find strange viruses lurking in some bodies.
Wujue hoisted Old Ma and said, "Old Ma, no need for games. For your daughter’s sake, let’s resolve the Dragon Palace issue quickly."
End of Chapter Fifty-Nine: Sudden Mutation