Deceptive Savior

Xue Yang gently lifted the sleeping Bai Ling and left the room, following the trail of bloody footprints.

Corpses of various people littered the hallway with not a single sign of how they died.

They were the various servants and workers who worked tirelessly and happily for the city lord.

As he walked outside the building, an even more brutal sight greeted him.

Torn apart and half-eaten corpses were scattered all over the grounds as ghouls feasted happily on the flesh of fresh victims.

Not far from the entrance were the corpses of two women.

They were the two servant girls who, moments earlier, were spared by Xue Yang.

Fear and resentment were clearly painted on their now-dead faces.

"You should have begged Bai Ling for forgiveness. But don't worry… I will send your beloved city lord to you soon."

Xue Yang had no plans of sparing the two women from the start.

But he might have changed his mind if the two had acted better and begged Bai Ling to treat them like a rented mule.

If they willingly became her slaves, then Xue Yang would have allowed them to try and redeem themselves for their insolent words.

Sensing Xue Yang's presence, the ghouls roared.

To anyone who might have heard it, it would be like the wild roars of starved, angry beasts.

But to Xue Yang, it sounded differently.

To him, they were roars of happiness and reverence.

Unlike vampires, who had their own thoughts and feelings, ghouls were closer to pets.

They were created from deceased corpses using Xue Yang's blood and were only loyal to him.

His word was law to them, and his presence filled them with joy.

"Come over here."

Xue Yang called over the ghoul closest to him.

A ghoul approached him and stood directly in front of him.

It slightly towered over Xue Yang, who was already quite tall.

"Take her and carry her gently. Make sure nothing happens to her."

The ghoul roared, which Xue Yang understood meant a positive response.

He passed her to the ghoul, who did its job perfectly despite its rough and frightening appearance.

It held Bai Ling like one would hold the most precious and fragile thing to them in the world.

Xue Yang looked at another ghoul and commanded it, too.

"You come here too."

The ghoul that walked to him this time was different from the others.

Despite technically being a walking-dead corpse that had mutated, it radiated the aura of a cultivator.

Also, unlike the others, its appearance was different too.

They were missing their left arm and right eye.

This ghoul was created from the corpse of the brothel manager.

"Show me where the city lord's son lives."

The ghoul roared in compliance before running off towards the city lord's son's dwelling.

Despite being an entirely new being, driven purely by instincts when not commanded, some things of their past selves remained.

You wouldn't be able to ask them a question as they lose the ability to speak like a human after their transformation, but asking for directions was another matter.

Of course, Xue Yang could find a live mortal or cultivator and have them lead him, but he knew the manager had dealings with that trash.

He could have dealt with the city lord first, but he preferred to start from the bottom and work his way up.

As he followed the ghoul, Xue Yang only had one thought.

'I wonder how Li Huafu will react when I give him his son's head as a greeting gift.'

The place where the city lord's son lived was on the eastern side of the manor in a detached building.

It didn't take them long to get there.

When Xue Yang arrived, he could see an ongoing battle.

Corpses of cultivators who had died in battle against the ghouls littered the ground.

That is not to say that the ghouls didn't take any damage, but the cultivators had yet to figure out how to deal with them.

Some had lost their arms, while others had lost their legs. A few even had lost both.

But despite this, they continued trying to attack the cultivators.

One would have to crush or cut off their heads to kill a ghoul.

The cultivators were too busy fighting for their lives to notice Xue Yang's arrival.

He walked calmly in the direction of his goal.

Blood swirled on top of his right palm, and the Crimson Eclipse sword swiftly formed.

As he passed ghouls struggling on the ground, he executed them and cut off their heads.

They had already served their purpose and couldn't do anything else.

To him, it was an act of mercy, but to the cultivators fighting for their lives, it was an act of heroism.

"Help has arrived! Hold in there, men!" Shouted a man who appeared to be the leader.

He was standing directly in front of the entrance to the building, refusing to move back even an inch.

"Cut off their heads just like the young hero has!" He commanded his men, whose morale skyrocketed with Xue Yang's arrival.

The cultivators cheered loudly, thinking that their fortune had changed for the better.

Unfortunately for them, Xue Yang would shatter their hopes instantly.

"Wow, I've never seen anyone this happy and excited to die." He chuckled.

"What?"

Their newfound morale went away as quickly as it came.

Some tried laughing it off as a joke, but they wouldn't be laughing much longer.

The man at the door looked at Xue Yang intently, hoping he heard wrong, but what he saw shook him to his core.

'The monsters… they're clearing the way for him.'

"He…"

The man tried to warn his comrades, but Xue Yang attacked before he could utter more than one word.

[Bloodthorn Impalement]

As soon as he used his technique, large spikes formed from blood extended from the various corpses in the area, perfectly targeting all the live cultivators.

Most got impaled and lifted by the spikes into the air, while others were nailed to the side of the building.

Some got lucky and dodged or blocked the attack, like the man defending the entrance.

He blocked the spike with his sword by reacting in time and infusing his inner energy into the weapon.

The attack was fierce and heavy, causing him to get pushed back into the door, breaking it down and causing him to fall inside.

Xue Yang established his dominance with a single attack and thinned the herd simultaneously.

Breathing heavily, the man stood up.

Even though he managed to block the attack, he still took significant internal damage due to the heavy blow.

The man panted as he glared at Xue Yang off in the distance.

"Who are you?" He asked.

Stroking his chin as if thinking about something, Xue Yang answered, "Who am I?"

Xue Yang appeared before him, eyes gleaming with an eerie light.

"I'm someone who'd like to see the young lord. So invite me inside." He stated with a large grin.