Chapter 46: Golden Thread Corpse Control Technique

At exactly seven o'clock in the evening, inside the detention center in Yaodu, stood the cell where Xu Qiuming had been kept.

According to the local police officers, Xu Qiuming had been cooperative at first after his arrest, but later he suddenly stopped speaking altogether, choosing instead to squat motionlessly in the innermost corner of the cell. The guards assumed he was facing the wall in repentance, so they paid him no further mind. Yet, more than three hours later, they discovered that Xu Qiuming had vanished! Bizarrely, the security cameras captured no trace of him, and no one saw him leave. In other words, he had vanished into thin air!

Finding no valuable clues at the scene, I arrived full of enthusiasm only to return empty-handed. After spending twenty minutes searching the premises, I brought An Mingshan back to my brother's place to gather our equipment and prepare for whatever might come our way. I put on my Taoist robe, draped a trench coat over it, and checked my firearm to ensure everything was in working order. That completed my basic preparations. I noticed An Mingshan had also donned a Taoist robe; she stood before me holding a peach-wood sword in her right hand and a Bagua mirror in her left, striking a pose and asking me to take her picture.

"An'an," I said, "go ask my brother if he has a wooden table. I need to set up an altar!"

"You?" An Mingshan retorted. "Setting up an altar? If I recall correctly, you used to say that sort of thing was strictly for that fat guy."

"You underestimate me too much," I said. "Am I really that incompetent in your eyes?"

"Aren't you?" she replied. "I've witnessed everything you usually do firsthand. Remember last time? You had a gun pointed right at you—did you really have to be that terrified?"

"That was called concealing my strength; you just don't understand," I said. "Anyway, grab the gear, we're heading out!"

"Where are we going?" An Mingshan asked.

"The Chief is looking for us." An Mingshan packed our ritual implements into a wheeled suitcase, and off we went.

Eight-thirty in the evening.

We arrived at the location provided by the Chief, which turned out to be a rented apartment. Two armed soldiers stood guard at the doorway. The moment we stepped forward, they intercepted us. An Mingshan and I presented our credentials. One of them went inside to report, and after a few minutes, he returned our documents and permitted us to enter. Upon stepping inside, I found my master, the Chief, Su Wei, Liu Shan, Wu Siling, and even Lü Donghua all gathered there.

"What is this..." I started.

My master interrupted, "From this moment on, every single word you see and hear must be kept strictly confidential. Nothing must leak out!"

"Understood!" An Mingshan and I replied in unison, snapping a salute.

The Chief stated, "According to our investigation, they are most likely employing a dark art this time."

"What kind of dark art?" I asked.

My master replied, "A sorcery known as the Golden-Thread Corpse-Control Technique."

An Mingshan began, "Is this..."

"An utterly ruthless piece of dark sorcery," I finished.

I took a sip of water and continued, "The Golden-Thread Corpse-Control Technique refers to a forbidden art where a so-called 'golden thread' is used to manipulate a corpse. The caster uses their own soul as a medium via the golden thread to merge into one with the zombie. The distance between the caster and the zombie cannot exceed one mile. The 'golden thread' isn't actually made of gold; rather, it is forged through secret arts using wandering ghosts and lonely spirits to form a thin golden filament. One end is driven into the back of the zombie's head, and the other is nailed into the caster's Yin-tang acupoint, allowing the caster's soul to travel along the 'golden thread' and fuse with the zombie. This achieves the objective of controlling the corpse entirely through mental will, and its prerequisites are exceptionally demanding. First, the zombie must be at the leaping corpse level; second, it requires exactly six hundred and sixty-six souls, because six is a purely Yin number; third, the caster must possess the ability to subdue the zombie they control."

Wu Siling asked, "Is there any way to break it?"

"Yes," I answered. "Find the caster and destroy their physical body. Once the physical body is destroyed, the 'golden thread' will snap. The moment the thread breaks, the spell naturally fails. Once the spell is broken, you simply need to subdue the zombie."

An Mingshan asked, "What if we can't find the caster?"

"Then we slice open the zombie's throat to let the malevolent corpse energy dissipate," I explained. "That will reduce the zombie to a useless husk, rendering the 'golden thread' ineffective."

Liu Shan sneered, "Aren't you just stating the obvious? Which zombie is going to patiently stand in place waiting for us to slash its throat?"

"Then we figure out a way to make it stand there obediently," I said. "Alternatively, we use black paper and golden ink to draw a fire talisman and paste it onto the back of the zombie's head to burn through the 'golden thread'. However, for this talisman to be effective, it must be drawn using the inner energy of someone with at least ten years of cultivation—meaning someone of the caliber of the Chief or my master, or higher. Still, given my talent, in another year or two, I'll be able to do just that."

Liu Shan scoffed, "I can draw it too. Why wouldn't I be able to?"

"Even if you were lucky enough to manage it, you'd likely collapse from exhaustion right after, or else it would just be a worthless piece of paper," I replied, taking another sip of water.

Liu Shan said, "Then let's stick to the first two methods. Since you're so brilliant, figuring out where that person is shouldn't be too hard for you."

"Fine," I agreed. "Everyone must remember: a zombie controlled by a 'golden thread' acts as an extension of the caster and can see us, so holding your breath is useless! If you encounter one, kill it if you can—do not hesitate!"

My master commanded, "Very well. Su Wei, take your team and patrol this area in plain clothes. If you encounter the zombie, try to drive it toward an unpopulated area to avoid unnecessary casualties and panic. Liu Shan, Wu Siling, along with Shucheng and An Mingshan, locate the caster! Remember, take them alive if at all possible; after all, valuable intelligence is always worth more than a dead body. Lü Donghua, lead the medical team and remain on standby for medical support at all times! Do you all understand your assignments?"

The four of us answered in unison, "Understood! Mission guaranteed!" With that, we snapped a standard military salute to my master and the Chief.

Reader's Corner.

Q: Dear author, which do you think is more important: choice or effort?

A: Effort. Because even if you are presented with countless choices, without effort, those choices remain mere fantasies. Effort is the foundation and capital of choice, while choice is the manifestation of effort. Only through effort do choices emerge; without effort, one is merely chosen by others.