Chapter Twenty-Three: Civil Strife (Fourth Update)

Through Xiao Han’s message, Wujue finally learned that Princess Anyi had suddenly taken action, actually managing to stop the rebels in their tracks. After ensuring the others were safely back inside the cells and ordering the doors to be locked, he himself launched a full counterattack.

He unleashed the results of a night’s cultivation in one overwhelming surge. First came a powerful Lion’s Roar, shaking the very ground and blasting the zombies far away. Those closer were smashed to pieces, blood and flesh torn apart, unable to get up again.

Seizing the opportunity, Wujue dashed forward, his steel blade flashing coldly as he beheaded over a dozen zombies before finally reaching the open cell door. It was clear someone had deliberately sabotaged this spot to let the zombies in—there was no need for guesswork; it could only be that fiendish Grin.

Wujue shut the door and was about to lock it when suddenly, a zombie lying just outside sprang up, seized his arm, and sneered, “Did you think it would be that easy? If it were, what would become of my reputation as Grin?”

To his astonishment, Grin had disguised himself as a zombie, lying in wait for Wujue to fall into his trap. Wujue glared at him, furious, struggling to break free, but Grin quickly snapped a chain around their wrists, binding them together.

“Trying to run? Not so easy. Let’s play a thrilling game—let’s see who gets bitten by the zombies first!” Grin laughed maniacally, recklessly attracting the zombies to surround them.

Before long, zombies swarmed from all sides. They grabbed at Wujue, fiercely trying to bite him. He fought desperately, kicking and punching his way free, but their relentless attacks seemed endless.

Was he to be bitten again? He remembered the agony of the last infection, the unforgettable torment. Deep inside, anger surged, telling himself he would never let it happen again.

At that moment, a zombie leaped onto his back and bit down hard—only for a miracle to occur. With a crisp crack, the zombie’s own teeth shattered, its hideous head exploding violently. Blood sprayed everywhere as its headless body collapsed.

Wujue’s fury had triggered a transformation in his body, pushing him beyond human limits. In this instant, he achieved a higher mastery of the Invulnerable Golden Bell technique—truly impervious to blades or bullets.

He seized Grin’s hand, fighting back with a wild grin of his own. “Now look who’s trapped in his own web! It’s your turn to be punished, Grin.”

With a surge of power, he yanked the iron door before him high into the air, leaping skyward and snapping the chain that bound them. Still clutching Grin, he hoisted him and the iron door overhead.

A single move would suffice to smash Grin’s mortal body to pieces, leaving him for the zombies below to devour until nothing remained. The threat was so real that even the notorious Grin felt genuine terror. “Master, spare me! You can’t kill me, aren’t monks supposed to show mercy? Are you going to break your vow? I’m not one of those zombies—I’m still alive!”

At his plea, Wujue’s eyes softened for a moment as he silently recited the mantra of compassion, though his heart was bitter.

How could he pardon such evil? Xiao Yang and the others rushed over and cried, “Master, don’t listen to him! He’s pure evil, a scourge to the world. Because of him, many of us died today—Quickhand has already confessed; it was all his plot.”

Quickhand himself was pushed out, obviously having taken a beating. Princess Anyi, still angry, pounded her fist and said, “Too cunning by half! Tried to hide in the zombie zone when things went wrong—thought he’d escape, but sadly for him, I’m invulnerable too and dragged him right back.”

Quickhand, utterly defeated, said wretchedly, “Grin, accept your fate. Better you die than all of us—no one can save you now.”

Grin only laughed louder. “What a joke! A cosmic joke! Monk, do you see? This is the apocalypse—there’s no room for reason! Kill me, and you’ll prosper. Take my place as master of this prison.”

Wujue, however, merely pondered as he slowly descended. Gazing at the tide of zombies below, he suddenly declared, “I will not kill you! Death is not the greatest punishment. I want you to face real torment, to suffer in hell—get ready to spend your days among the zombies.”

With that, he dragged Grin into the living quarters and jammed the iron door deep into the ground behind them, sealing off the cell block. Dodging zombie after zombie, he reached the center and with a wave, tore a nearby wire fence into a circle, tossing Grin inside and separating him from the undead.

Using his strength, Wujue fastened the wire in place. Facing Grin’s despair, he said, “Stay here. Live among the zombies. Taste true despair.”

Grin fell to his knees, surrounded by the horrific undead stretching their arms through the wire, desperate but unable to reach him.

“Don’t leave me here! I’ll starve to death! You might as well kill me—just end it!” Grin tried to grab Wujue, attempting another trick, and reached for his mask.

Wujue kicked the mask off his face, shattering it. Poison gas hidden inside burst out, spraying Grin’s face and causing him to howl in agony on the ground.

Wujue didn’t spare him another look. He wanted everyone to see Grin’s fate, so that any ill intent against them would meet the same end.

He called out to Princess Anyi, “Throw Quickhand over here—don’t let Grin get lonely.”

Quickhand, terrified, tried to run, but was grabbed by Princess Anyi, who tossed him like a shot-put. Wujue caught him midair and hurled him into the wire enclosure, then used his lightness skill to walk atop the zombies and return outside.

Rejoining Princess Anyi and the others, Wujue’s face was set with a resolve he had never shown before. In the apocalypse, his path to survival would slowly but surely make its mark on the world.

“How many casualties?” he quietly asked Xiao Yang.

Xiao Yang shook his head. “Six dead, seven wounded. More than half the prisoners joined the riot—over a dozen died in the fighting, the rest are either wounded or locked up, and those uninvolved are isolated.”

Xiao Han added, “Master, you’re not entirely to blame. We all overlooked things—and we’ve only just arrived, still unfamiliar with the place. Someone took advantage.”

Wujue waved him off. “No, we must never forget this lesson. In the apocalypse, a single failure could doom us all. Come—take me to the captured prisoners.”

Xiao Yang led him to the cells, where a dozen prisoners were forced to their knees, enduring the survivors’ accusations and rage. Many wished to kill them all for revenge—after all, these were criminals to begin with, a threat to any hope of survival.

Xiao Han asked how Wujue planned to deal with them.

Wujue stepped into the crowd and said to one pleading prisoner, “Grin is locked in the zombie zone. Do you still want to rebel?”

The man cradled his head, “We were forced—really forced! We’ll never do it again, please, Master, let us go. We’ll obey you from now on.”

“You’re lying. You have no sincerity,” Wujue shook his head, his face without mercy. Turning to the other survivors, he said, “I want your opinion: should we keep them? As for me—betrayal once, no trust ever again.”

With a sudden bang, Wujue drew his gun and shot the prisoner before him dead.

Blood immediately stained his monk’s robe.

In the apocalypse, there was no room for mercy.

Wujue’s ruthless decisiveness stunned everyone present. Even those who had called for the prisoners’ deaths hadn’t expected what it would mean to actually carry it out. A dozen lives, executed right before their eyes?

Xiao Yang gripped his wheelchair hard, struggling to stand, but simply bit his lip and murmured, “This isn’t right…”

Princess Anyi leapt behind Wujue, grabbing his gun hand. “Are you mad? If you start a massacre, how are you different from Grin?”

Wujue looked at her steadily. “The only difference is, I gave them a chance—Grin didn’t. I can’t let my people face another crisis—if that happens, we deserve to die.”

His answer was firm and irrefutable—a lesson learned in blood and fire.

Against such enemies, Buddhist compassion was useless.

Princess Anyi had never expected things to turn out like this. It shook her to the core, even as she found it hard to accept.

But the others began to agree, roused by Wujue’s words—some even shouting for the prisoners’ execution.

Unable to bear it, Xiao Yang turned his wheelchair and left, shouting, “You’re all mad!”

The surviving prisoners, in a panic, tried to escape. Wujue flung Princess Anyi aside and fired repeatedly, killing them one by one.

When only two remained and his gun was empty, he threw it to the ground, seized one with his bare hands, and with a few cracking sounds, broke his neck.

The last man, desperate, ran to Princess Anyi and fell to his knees. “Miss, you’re a good person! Please let me go—I’ll never come back, just let me take my chances outside. I won’t harm any of you.”