Zombie Bodyguard

Chapter 1922 - 1919: Affection Is Fate

If this were by the sea, you could say the holes and scratch marks on the rock were caused by erosion and weathering from the waves and wind, but the Baihua Pool of the Zhang Family is calm as a mirror; there’s no such thing as weathering and erosion here.

Could it be...? Lin Tian’s heart stirred; he suddenly thought of a reason, but he didn’t quite dare believe it, until one sentence from Zhang Lingyu shattered his doubt.

"See the scratches and holes on the rock? Those are left by the Immortal cranes when they grind their beaks and claws." Zhang Lingyu pointed at the rock and explained.

"Seriously? So it really is that." That was exactly what Lin Tian had guessed just now, and he hadn’t expected it to be true.

As if responding to Lin Tian’s words, the Immortal crane on top of the rock let out a cry, scraped its claws a few times on the rock, stone dust instantly flying as several grooves appeared on the rock’s surface.

"Damn, that’s on par with the Eagle Claw Skill of the Ancient Martial World." Lin Tian’s face was full of amazement.

Zhang Ruyan, however, was much more indifferent, not surprised at all: "Some martial skills in the Ancient Martial World also evolved from the animal world. After being adjusted to fit human anatomy and suitable for human cultivation, they became martial skills."

"You know the Five Animals Qigong and the Eight Pieces of Brocade, right? These are ancient physical cultivation techniques. When trained to higher realms, they’re no weaker than an Ancient Martial Artist, but the key formulas and mental methods have all been lost, leaving only the external forms, so they’re now just for fitness. These two Cultivation Techniques themselves were evolved from animal movements."

"The laws of heaven and earth are contained in nature. A person’s five fingers aren’t as sharp as an eagle’s claws, the body isn’t as robust as a tiger, strength isn’t as powerful as an elephant, and movements aren’t as swift as a flying bird, but heaven and earth bestowed humans with wisdom."

"With wisdom, people can learn, make their bodies stronger, their strength greater, and going further, people can in turn train animals, taking the advantages they already have and developing them to be even more powerful."

"Don’t be fooled by how slim and slender the Immortal crane’s legs are, its strength isn’t small, and its claws are very sharp. After being fed with medicinal herbs and trained through Daoist arts, the strength and sharpness of an Immortal crane’s claws can far surpass that of a raptor, reaching the level of an Ancient Martial Artist."

"Moreover, Immortal cranes have an advantage that Ancient Martial Artists don’t: they can fly. When an Immortal crane dives down from the sky, its speed is extremely fast, its power extremely great. Coupled with the sharpness of its claws, it can seriously wound an Ancient Martial Artist."

"If it dives to attack an Ancient Martial Artist’s neck, that’s a sword to the throat, a one-hit kill. Of course, Immortal cranes don’t have such intense killing intent and ferocity. In their normal state they’re very gentle, unless you anger them—like when you draw their blood."

Zhang Ruyan gave a long explanation, then looked at Lin Tian, a teasing smile on her face.

Lin Tian raised his eyebrows and said, "So what you’re really saying is, there’s no way to take blood and still stay alive."

"Not necessarily. The Demon Exorcism World pays a lot of attention to fate. If you can gain the Immortal crane’s recognition, let alone drawing blood, they could even die to protect their master." Zhang Lingyu interjected.

"Fate?" Lin Tian shook his head, finding it rather amusing: "He talks about fate, you all talk about fate, now even taking some bird blood needs fate." The "he" he mentioned was naturally Ksitigarbha.

"Fate is something vague and intangible, but in my view, fate is basically just goodwill. For example, when a guy and a girl develop mutual goodwill, that’s when their fate begins. That’s something real." Lin Tian bullshitted with a perfectly straight face.

He was just joking around, never expecting the two girls to both nod. Zhang Lingyu smiled and said, "You’re not wrong. Goodwill is the beginning of fate. If you can make the Immortal crane feel goodwill toward you, drawing a bit of blood shouldn’t be a problem."

Zhang Ruyan, however, shook her head, not optimistic about Lin Tian: "Immortal cranes are extremely sensitive to auras. With your identity, they’ll probably fly off before you can even get close."

Lin Tian naturally knew what identity Zhang Ruyan was referring to: his zombie identity. He still remembered the first time he went to the Xiao Family, when that little girl Xiao Manxuan wanted to race horses. Back then, in the stables, those horses had already sensed the abnormal aura on him.

Immortal cranes are more spiritual than horses, so they’d definitely be able to sense the dangerous aura of a zombie.

Seeing Lin Tian’s face full of distress, Zhang Lingyu smiled with her eyes narrowed: "Lin Tian, let me tell you a secret. Immortal cranes are very fond of the aura of utmost goodness. Now, it’s time to test whether you’re a good person or a bad one."

"Then I’m screwed. I’ve never exactly been a paragon of virtue. The Immortal cranes are definitely going to hate me." Lin Tian said helplessly.

Lin Tian had never thought of himself as a good man, nor did he trumpet himself as one. His hands were stained with blood, he’d stormed through the Netherworld, fought Ghost Messengers; if there really were heavenly laws in this world, he’d already violated them long ago.

"I can see you’re not some great good guy; you’re even a bad man. Our Lingyu girl is going to have her hands full in the future." Zhang Ruyan said with a half-smile.

"Sister Ruyan, how did this suddenly end up about me?" Zhang Lingyu widened her big eyes, very dissatisfied.

"Master, so-called aura is also a kind of special energy fluctuation. In fact, Master could consider using the Ksitigarbha Order." The Sword Spirit suddenly spoke in his mind.

"That works too? Still, it’s worth a shot, I just don’t know if the Ksitigarbha Order is willing to help with this favor." Lin Tian was taken aback, then a bit surprised.

The Ksitigarbha Order had always remained aloof from the world. Unless it wanted to, it never meddled in anything.

Lin Tian ignored the two girls, splitting off a portion of his consciousness and sinking it into his body, simultaneously activating his super clairvoyance to search for the Ksitigarbha Order’s location.

The Upper Elixir Field contained the power of fire, the Lower Elixir Field held Taiyin Xuan Qi, and sure enough, the Ksitigarbha Order was at the position of the Middle Dantian. As for that fellow Sword Spirit, it had been hiding near the Ksitigarbha Order the whole time, probably scared by the Taiyin Xuan Qi.

Lin Tian didn’t know how to communicate with the Ksitigarbha Order, so he could only send his thoughts the same way he did with the Sword Spirit: "Ksitigarbha, I need you, old man, to help me with a small favor. Mm, just casually release a bit of aura and let those little Immortal crane birds feel your majesty—oh, no, your utmost goodness and compassion."

After speaking, Lin Tian and the Sword Spirit both quieted down, staring expectantly at the Ksitigarbha Order. But the Ksitigarbha Order continued to float there quietly, gently radiating soft golden light, not reacting in the slightest to Lin Tian’s words.

"Ahem, Master, this is a little awkward..." The Sword Spirit said, holding back its laughter.

"That’s not right. The Ksitigarbha Order should have some degree of consciousness; otherwise it wouldn’t have helped me before. Could it be that my way of talking is wrong?" Lin Tian was very puzzled.

After thinking for a bit, Lin Tian said again, "Ksitigarbha, you and I can be considered fated. I accepted your Ksitigarbha Order and even helped you find your reincarnated body. Maybe in the future I’ll still have to protect your reincarnated flesh. I’m drawing Immortal crane blood now in order to remove Jiang Chen’s Body so it can no longer endanger the Zhang Family. That should count as a meritorious deed, right?"

Who knew which sentence touched the Ksitigarbha Order; it suddenly moved, its golden light flaring.

"Lin Tian, what are you spacing out for?" Seeing Lin Tian just staring at the Immortal cranes, motionless, the two girls couldn’t help but wave their hands in front of his eyes.