Chapter 85: The Rain Butterfly

At dawn by the riverside, Li Xinyi rolled up his towel and washed his face, gazing at the four walking corpses behind him, lost in memories.

These four had been ordinary farmers, a family of six. One day, a group of corpse-herders from Shandong lodged at their home. Everything was fine at first—the family welcomed their guests with warmth, showing no aversion to the corpses, even preparing them sumptuous meals.

That night, the family vacated their master bedroom for the Shandong corpse-herders and squeezed into the storeroom to sleep. But the night was destined to be a nightmare.

At midnight, the six-year-old daughter, needing the toilet, ventured out but never returned. Her fourteen-year-old sister went to look for her, yet neither came back.

The family grew anxious; the remaining four lit lamps and prepared to search. But what they witnessed in the courtyard made them regret their kindness forever.

There, their two daughters lay dead, naked and brutalized, while the Shandong corpse-herders indulged in their vile desires.

The old mother cursed them furiously, and the remaining three rushed forward, but ordinary people were no match for corpse-herders.

Within moments, they were beaten down, powerless to resist. The corpse-herders then looted all valuables and grain, swaggering out of the courtyard.

With both daughters dead, the family’s bloodline was severed, and their will to live was gone. They sought out Li Xinyi, who at the time was a newly initiated corpse-herder himself. To avenge them, he needed a living person’s voluntary sacrifice to perform the Blood Corpse Ritual, granting him power to battle other corpse-herders.

The family of four agreed without hesitation, though Li Xinyi at first refused. Unexpectedly, the next day, they bought a bottle of pesticide and drank it in front of him, one after another.

They told Li Xinyi that, since none of them could go on living, he should turn them into blood corpses and avenge their granddaughters with his own hands.

Seeing they had already ingested poison—which would slowly turn their insides to fiber and lead to a painful death—Li Xinyi realized it was better to let them meet a quicker end and use their sacrifice for vengeance.

He agreed.

After more than a year of study, Li Xinyi had mastered corpse control, but the Blood Corpse Ritual—using blood as thread and will as command—was far from easy to perfect.

Still, with his current skills, even without a complete mastery of the ritual, Li Xinyi felt confident he could handle several corpse-herders.

Gradually, his thoughts returned. Li Xinyi looked at his weary face. Months ago, he had learned the whereabouts of the Shandong corpse-herders. Today, he would finally avenge the family of four.

After washing, he took up his corpse-controlling bell and soul-banner, continuing to lead the corpses onward.

"Help! Help!"

A girl's cry for help echoed through the empty valley, stirring Li Xinyi’s vigilance.

"Help, help!" The distant voice came again. Pinpointing its direction, Li Xinyi hurriedly commanded the corpses toward the source.

In the distance, three or four burly men guarded six or seven girls bound inside a vehicle. One of them entered the car, intent on violating a girl.

"Behave, or I'll cut out your tongue!"

"Hahaha, boss is mighty!" The others laughed.

Suddenly, several corpses clad in black cloaks appeared before the men.

"Who are you?" The men were startled, mistaking the cloaked corpses for troublemakers and immediately drew their long knives.

"Someone’s causing trouble, trying to hijack our goods?"

These men were traffickers, planning to sell the captured women deep into the mountains.

"Who dares steal our cargo?" The leader climbed out of the car, pulled his pistol from his belt, and confronted the four cloaked figures.

"Who’s playing tricks here?"

Suddenly, the four corpses launched an attack. The leader fired at them, but the bullets only made the corpses more ferocious.

Within moments, the thugs were knocked to the ground.

Seeing his men defeated, the leader panicked and fled in terror.

Li Xinyi appeared before the girls, commanding a corpse to open the cage in the car.

Seven or eight terrified girls cowered in a corner.

"You’re safe now, run!" Li Xinyi said quietly.

Hearing his words, the girls scrambled out of the car, fleeing as fast as they could.

Li Xinyi took out his phone, called the police, and reported the traffickers’ location, then resumed his journey, controlling the corpses.

The last girl to exit the car hesitated, glancing at the fallen thugs and at Li Xinyi.

The other women, fearful the traffickers might revive, hurried away. Only this girl, after a moment’s thought, ran toward Li Xinyi.

Feeling her presence behind him, Li Xinyi turned and asked, puzzled, "Aren’t you going home?"

The girl shook her head. "I have no home."

"No home?" Li Xinyi frowned. "Why not?"

"My father sold me for my brother’s bride price. The moment I was sold, I had no home."

The girl looked at Li Xinyi, frightened, but with nowhere else to go, she followed him.

Li Xinyi pulled out several hundred-yuan bills from his pocket. "Take this and find a job to support yourself. As for your old home, if you don’t wish to return, don’t."

The girl took the money, looked at Li Xinyi, and timidly asked, "Am I pretty?"

Li Xinyi was momentarily stunned. She seemed eighteen or nineteen—though not fair and beautiful, she was pure and charming. He replied gently, "Yes, you’re pretty. You’ll find a good partner one day."

"Can I be your partner? Your wife?" The girl edged closer. "My family says I have wide hips and can bear children. I could give you a child—ten, if you want."

Li Xinyi smiled and asked, "What’s your name?"

"Yudie. Rain-Butterfly—the butterfly in the rain."

Yudie walked to Li Xinyi’s side.

"Go home or find a job, Yudie. Don’t follow someone like me, a fugitive."

With that, Li Xinyi continued on his way, leading the corpses forward. After a moment’s hesitation, Yudie quietly followed behind, moving in silence.