1305: Dead as Dead can be

Dead as Dead can be

Even with his vague sense of time Hao Xuan knew every second was important. 0

'I am not as prepared as I should be but there is no choice. I'll have to figure it out as it happens.'

He went around the back of the mountain chain to avoid the few sentries overseeing much of the landscape. With his speed it only took a couple of extra minutes before he reached the intended destination.

The base of the main mountain was all rock and slurry that had been created as a result of the extensive construction taking place at the top.

Hao Xuan covered his nose and mouth while holding his breath even before the automatic warnings kicked in.

[Warning!]

[High Levels of Ammonia and Methane Gasses Detected!]

[Unknown Energy Detected!]

He wobbled and almost lost his balance when the full brunt of the nauseating smells hit him like a truck. He had to completely turn off his olfactory sense to be able to still control the other senses.

All the different gasses and energies mixed together to create a thick dark green miasma that covered most of the ground.

"This stench...it reminds me of the old battlefields. But why her-"

He didn't even have to finish the sentence before the answer was revealed to him in much a gruesome manner. With his next step the 'ground' caved in and followed by a squelching sound, black and green liquid splashed all over his clothes.

Hao Xuan quickly pulled back and waved his hand around to push the miasma aside to see what he had stepped into.

It was a torso. An adult human male's torso with no other limbs or extremities attached to it. There was a giant hole in the middle where his foot had gone through.

"No this- is it all-"

Hao Xuan channeled some Qi towards his hand and pushed forward to immediately clear a ten-meter area in front of him. When the miasma receded all the horrors it was covering were brought out into the pale moonlight.

Dozens of bodies and limbs poked out of the ground just in this small patch of land, each one belonging to a different person entirely.

*urk*

He gagged and almost threw up at the sight of it.

"This is...where they dumped all the corpses. It's all Yin and Corpse energy. They- What kind of monsters-" the words got stuck in his throat when a familiar face caught his attention.

He stumbled closer in a daze, clumsily trying to dig out the rest of the corpse but apart from the head there wasn't anything else there. It rested in his hand, much smaller than he remembered. But then again he was just a little boy, how big could his head be? (Ch 1027)

"Arnett...?" a dry murmur escaped Hao Xuan's lips.

He remembered the boy's name, they had met not too long ago. It was his desire to save his sister and repeated 'prayers' that had managed to reach Hao Xuan even when he was all but lost in the darkness beyond the veil.

Hao Xuan had left him with the healers within the city before leaving, promising to come back in time to mend both his and his sister's injuries. And now here he was.

The same dirt-ridden face staring at him from beyond the grave, a solemn reminder that not all promises can be kept.

"He doesn't look scared," Hao Xuan muttered under his breath.

*beep*

"The system does not correla-"

"He is dead. He must have known he was going to die but look...his face, there is no emotion," he explained while staring unblinkingly at the severed head, "I wonder just how much suffering would a soul have to go through to become so numb to it."

Baracus obviously did not know what to say so he chose to keep silent.

Hao Xuan burned the image of Arnett's decomposing face into his memory so he would never ever forget it before laying it to rest.

He closed his eyes and tried to cover with some of the mud but it slipped dripped down his face.

"Damnit," he cursed through gritted teeth, "I will avenge you, all of you. Whether it takes a month, a year, or a century, I will ruin their lives if it is the last thing I do."

He said a quick prayer before vanishing into the miasma.

A few seconds later Arnett's eyelids swung open and turned in the direction Hao Xuan had disappeared in. Tendrils of miasma reached out from every direction and bore into his mouth, nose, and ears.

The tendrils then began to extend out in every direction and slowly pulled in different limbs and torsos that would be suitable for him. His face was expressionless throughout, dead as dead can be.

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