Chapter 39.2
Xie Xinglan quickly looked around the Ladies’ Building and saw Taoist Lian Xi. Taoist Lian Xi was lying on the table and snoring as he slept.
Xie Xinglan rushed over and kicked him off the table. He ignored Taoist Lian Xi’s pained cry and dragged him under the table, hiding their bodies. The next second, the Ladies’ Building collapsed without warning. The painted beams and roof came crashing down.
Xie Xinglan struggled to hold up a thick and huge beam while his back was bleeding from the falling stones. He snorted, pulled the stone out and pulled Taoist Lian Xi to hide in the space under the beam. Here, he gasped for breath.
A stream of stones fell down and the fragile wooden table they had previously been hiding under was smashed into pieces instantly. Taoist Lian Xi stared at what was happening in front of him and was frightened. He gulped desperately. If Xie Chi had pulled him one second later then their ending would be the same as that table.
“Xie Chi, this…” Taoist Lian Xi’s body wasn’t good at all and his lips trembled.
“Shut up.”
Xie Xinglan’s face was pale from the huge physical exertion. The two people hid under the beams and he looked around calmly. He pulled the broken wooden boards and stones in front of them to block out all light. From the outside, no one would know that two people were hiding here.
The townspeople were outside and it was extremely chaotic. The zombies couldn’t find them here with their sense of smell. As long as they could avoid the boss zombie’s eyes, it would definitely take time for the boss zombie to find them.
Of course, this time wouldn’t last for long. There were many small zombies to help search and as long as the zombies kept biting, their numbers would only increase. Xie Chi’s situation would only become more difficult.
Xie Chi changed back and questioned Taoist Lian Xi.
“I want to ask you…” Xie Chi gasped. His slender legs curved as he ripped the cloth of his pants and covered the bloody hole in the back of his head. He felt the same as Xie Xinglan so he knew how much it hurt. Xie Chi gritted his teeth and breathed heavily. “How do you use the technique of borrowing the laws?’
This was the method that Xie Chi had discovered. It was the only information the movie revealed that hadn’t been used yet. Taoist Lian Xi finally returned from his thoughts and his eyes were wary. “What are you going to do with this?”
“There are zombies outside that can completely destroy Huai Ao.”
Taoist Lian Xi only knew about this now. “How?!”
Xie Chi’s voice was weak. “The zombie in the father and child coffin ran out and also fused with a demon spirit.”
Taoist Lian Xi heard this and was pale. “It’s over! It is really over.”
He murmured incessantly. He obviously knew how strong this zombie was.
Xie Chi’s heart sank.
Taoist Lian Xi was wasting precious time so Xie Xinglan abruptly acted as he grabbed at Taoist Lian Xi’s neck. “I’m asking you, how to use the borrowing the laws technique? Don’t leave anything else!”
His voice was low and his eyes were fierce. Taoist Lian Xi’s heart was shocked and he finally sobered up. He recalled the distant borrowing technique and his face became whiter with anxiety.
“I-It is impossible! I know you want to rely on this technique to defeat the zombie but it isn’t possible to borrow enough. We only have two people. In order to fight the zombie outside, we need at least five people to borrow the laws or five people in harsh conditions…”
“Can two people do it?” Xie Xinglan asked viciously.
“You… don’t be agitated…I will think about it.” Taoist Lian Xi finally calmed down as he racked his brains to think of a way out.
Taoist Lian Xi wasn’t afraid of death. He was afraid of zombies damaging the townspeople. So even if there was a 1 in 10,000 hope, he wanted to eliminate the zombie so he was worthy of his master.
As they waited, Xie Chi felt Xie Xinglan’s huge exhaustion and spoke gently, “Brother, go and rest for awhile. I’m not afraid of pain.”
Xie Chi paused before adding, “I’m more afraid of you being in pain.”
“Xiao Chi—”
Xie Xinglan’s heart trembled. He was just about to say something when Xie Chi rushed out and reoccupied his body. Taoist Lian Xi thought for half a minute before waking up. Then he started to touch his body.
“What are you looking for?” Xie Chi wondered coldly.
Taoist Lian Xi didn’t find what he was looking for and his face was like death. “Have you seen my eight trigrams?”
“No.” Xie Chi frowned. “Why are you looking for the eight trigrams? I have one. Can’t my refined eight trigrams work?”
He wanted to take out the refined eight trigrams that Taoist Lian Xi previously gave him but Taoist Lian Xi shook his head as sweat flowed. “No, this eight trigrams isn’t good. The structure is too different. Only my eight trigrams can be used to borrow the laws.”
Xie Chi raised a question. “Where was your eight trigrams?”
Taoist Lian Xi closed his eyes and thought back. Then his face drained of blood. “It’s over! I remember! Previously when you dragged me, the eight trigrams fell from my arms to the ground. I had just woken up and couldn’t respond. I didn’t pick it up…”
Xie Chi’s face was livid. “We have to go out to find that eight trigrams?!”
“Yes!” Taoist Lian Xi moved around anxiously like a grasshopper on a hot plate. “The technique of borrowing the laws isn’t possible without that eight trigrams!”
Just then, there was the sound of a zombie not far from them. Xie Chi’s expression changed as he covered Taoist Lian Xi’s mouth and held his breath. 10 seconds later, the sound passed. Xie Chi and Taoist Lian Xi held their breaths for another half a minute until the sound completely disappeared. Then they relaxed. Fortunately, it was only a small zombie. The situation was becoming worse, the danger was getting closer and death might come at any time.
Xie Chi asked, “Assuming there is the eight trigrams, what do we have to do?”
Taoist Lian Xi was infected by Xie Chi’s calmness and spoke quickly, “The technique of borrowing the law means borrowing the five elements of heaven and earth. Everything in the world can be classified as one of the five elements: gold, wood, water, fire and earth.
“My eight trigrams has eight sides that correspond to heaven, swamp, earth, mountain, thunder, wind, water and fire. Heaven and swamp belong to gold, wind and thunder are wood, mountain and earth belong to earth water is part of water and fire belongs to fire. The eight trigrams are separate and happy to account for all five elements.
Xie Chi had a certain understanding of the five elements and the eight trigrams and he quickly remembered it. “Then what?”
“The eight trigrams has five lines so you can borrow the power of the five elements through the eight trigrams.”
“Why is your eight trigrams necessary?” Xie Chi took out his own eight trigrams. His one also had eight sides.
Taoist Lian Xi explained, “The eight trigrams that can borrow the five elements must have bulges that connect gold, earth, wood, water and fire grooves respectively.
“The person who borrows the power of the five elements needs to press their finger against the bulges to inject blood into the grooves. If the person meets the requirements, a special color representing one of the five elements will light up on the eight trigrams, indicating that this person has borrowed it.”
“Then why are five people necessary? What are the harsh conditions you talked about?” Xie Chi’s frown deepened the more he heard.
“Everything belongs to one of the five elements and people are included in this everything. So they also belong to the five elements. For example, I am earth and I have the temperament of earth. I have good respect for Buddha and treat people kindly and generously.
“In my youth when I was full of vigor, I used the forbidden technique and was lucky enough to borrow the power of earth.”
Taoist Lian Xi stared at Xie Chi carefully. “Looking at your appearance, you definitely belong to wood. People from the wood element have slender bones, a soft voice and an elegant appearance. However, based on personality, you are definitely water. You are flexible and tricky. However, in general, a person can only occupy one element. Two elements is the maximum.”
“Why?”
“It is because the five elements have mutually opposing relationships! For example, it is impossible for the extreme qualities of water and fire to appear in one person. We are destined to not be able to borrow enough…”
Taoist Lian Xi’s face was grey. “Since you are the water element, you won’t be able to borrow the fire element. I am the earth element. Even if we manage to borrow the earth law and your one or two elements, we can never get five. Not to mention, you might not be able to get the approval of the element you belong to.”
Taoist Lian Xi buried his face in his hands in a dejected manner. “In fact, I have tried to summon the element countless times. I have lived for over 70 years and I only succeeded once.’
Xie Chi’s heart shook and he couldn’t help clenching his hands. “You and I added together are two or three elements. This still won’t work?”
“No.” Taoist Lian Xi was on the verge of despair. “Wood is about life and the wood technique heals people in battle. The five elements support each other. The stronger the water element, the better the self-healing effect of wood. In addition to fueling wood, water also has a barrier effect. It can form a protective layer around the human body. Earth supports gold. Gold gathers the energy of killing and cutting. The stronger the gold element, the stronger the will to fight and kill and the greater the damage.
“If we are fortunate enough to borrow wood, water and earth, we can only ensure that both of us aren’t in danger for the time being. We have the self-healing wood and a water barrier but we… we can’t attack at all. We are missing the most important elements.”
Xie Chi understood. It was very likely that he and Taoist Lian Xi were two assistants. Unfortunately, borrowing the elements could only guarantee their temporary survival. If they couldn’t defeat the zombie then once the five elements method disappeared, they were facing only one thing.
Taoist Lian Xi’s face was white. “The element of fire is breaking things down and is fierce. It is only by borrowing fire that we can defeat the zombie.”