“Dong.......”

Again a sound like knocking on a door.

Something's in the next room!

Zhang Yuanqing quickly swapped the rusty kitchen knife for a rusty short sword, and the wooden stick for a spear.

Carrying his weapons, he lightly ran out of the room. Moonlight was like frost, and the surroundings were silent.

Zhang Yuanqing bent low, stealthily approaching the window.

The paper covering the window was already tattered. He crouched down, carefully peeked through a hole in the latticed window.

The cold, frosty moonlight was compressed into beams through holes in the roof, bringing light to the narrow room.

Seeing the scene inside, Zhang Yuanqing's heart skipped a beat.

In the dim, silent room, there were three old coffins, their black paint peeling, the lids covered in dust.

Two mummified corpses lay beside the coffins, wearing work clothes. One had a copper awl that had rolled out of its hand.

The awl caught Zhang Yuanqing's attention. The object was half an arm's length, cast from brass, the handle engraved with runes and carvings, meticulously crafted. The key point was that all the weapons were rusted, but this one was a bright yellow, with no trace of copper rust.

An image involuntarily appeared in his mind: the hand of the Three Mountain Goddess, her five fingers closed as if holding something.

But her palm was empty.

“Dong......”

The muffled sound came again, forcing Zhang Yuanqing to shift his gaze to the middle coffin.

A teeth-grinding "creak" sounded, and the coffin lid slowly slid open.

A blue-black hand reached out, grabbing the edge of the coffin.

Then, a terrifying figure sat up from inside.

By the bright moonlight streaming from the roof, Zhang Yuanqing could see what it looked like: wrapped in tattered rags, its face swollen and highly decomposed, its lifeless eyeballs bulging.

Its hair was like withered grass, a messy mass on its head.

“Heh heh～”

It raised its head towards the moonlight above, exhaling a cloud of turbid corpse gas, its two fangs shockingly prominent.

A zombie? A zombie!!

Zhang Yuanqing felt his Uncle Ying PTSD acting up.

So it's a zombie. Yes, it must be a zombie. Otherwise, what's the point of having the Talisman of Corpse Suppression? Zhang Yuanqing felt like retreating. He had obtained enough information at this point.

It was time to return to the main hall.

But just then, his shoulders suddenly felt heavy. A familiar chill descended, invading his body, bringing goosebumps.

At this critical moment, the Shoulder-Sitting Ghost had arrived.

Fifteen minutes were up... Zhang Yuanqing's heart sank.

In this dangerous ancient temple, his mind was highly tense, making it difficult to focus on silently counting the time. He could only estimate it by feeling, which meant there would be discrepancies.

The appearance of the Shoulder-Sitting Wraith was adding insult to injury, and what followed was adding fuel to the fire.

As if sensing the presence of a living person, the zombie sitting in the coffin stopped looking up. Its bulging eyes shifted and looked towards the window, towards the eyes peering in at it.

... Amidst the rising goosebumps, Zhang Yuanqing jumped up and ran without looking back.

As he turned, he heard a loud 'bang' as the coffin lid hit the ground.

Not daring to look back, he ran with heavy steps, carrying the wraith on his shoulders.

There was another loud 'bang', and the door was smashed open.

As Zhang Yuanqing sprinted, he glanced back and saw the grotesque figure wrapped in tattered rags rush out of the house, leaping like a hungry tiger in pursuit.

Is this a zombie? Where's the "zombie" part? His expression changed drastically. He spun on his heel, using the momentum to turn around, and stabbed at the zombie's chest with his spear.

He planted the end of the spear on the ground, forming a makeshift barricade.

At the same time, he saw a hideous hole in the zombie's chest, as if its heart had been gouged out.

Eldest Brother? The zombie is the Eldest Brother from the notebook!

The next moment, the zombie charged forward with the spear, the finger-thick shaft bending like a drawn bow, then snapping with a 'crack'.

Without time to think, Zhang Yuanqing seized the opportunity created by the spear, rolling past the zombie's feet. His nostrils filled with the stench of decay, and he heard the sound of a broadsword striking the ground behind him.

He rolled to the zombie's back, then sprang to his feet, wielding the short sword in his hand.

“Clang!”

The short sword struck the back of the zombie's head, as if hitting steel. Aside from cutting off a few strands of withered grass-like hair, it did no damage.

Instead, the force transmitted through the hilt of the sword caused Zhang Yuanqing's hand to ache, and he nearly dropped the weapon.

"Copper skin and iron bones?"

Zhang Yuanqing was greatly alarmed. Then he saw the zombie quickly turn around, raising its black-nailed, sharp hands to grab his shoulders.

Pain immediately struck.

The black, sharp nails pierced his skin, and crimson blood stained his coat red.

Stimulated by the scent of blood, a scarlet light surged deep within its bulging eyes. The zombie opened its fangs, exhaled a foul breath, and bit fiercely at Zhang Yuanqing's neck.

The purifying effect of the candle was still in effect. He didn't lose his mind to fear. With a thought, a glowing blue item bar appeared, and a talisman appeared in his hand.

Thump, thump, thump... The zombie, which had been ferocious and brutal just moments before, retreated repeatedly as if avoiding a venomous snake upon seeing the talisman.

It's effective. It fears me. It has some intelligence... Zhang Yuanqing endured the pain from the wounds on his arms, tensed his muscles, and stared intently at the zombie, retreated slowly step by step, bearing the wraith on his shoulders.

As he retreated, he prayed that the female ghost in the well wouldn't pop up and add to the chaos.

Fortunately, whether it was because of the zombie or because Zhang Yuanqing was walking backwards, the female ghost in the well didn't appear. Zhang Yuanqing retreated from the east courtyard and returned to the courtyard house. Not daring to stop, he stumbled towards the main hall. As he approached the upturned eaves of the main hall, he heard a faint, piercing scream in his ears.

His shoulders lightened, and all negative effects dissipated.

.......

“Huff, huff...”

In the main hall, Zhang Yuanqing leaned against the latticed door, panting heavily, his legs uncontrollably spasming.

Half of this was out of fear, and half was the physiological reaction after the adrenaline wore off.

After resting for a few minutes and letting the adrenaline subside, the wounds on his arms began to ache. He grimaced as he took off his coat and T-shirt, revealing that both arms were scratched and bloodied, the flowing blood was red and black.

Clearly, the zombie's nails contained a deadly poison.

The situation suddenly turned grim.

"There's no disinfectant here, no tetanus shot. How fast will the corpse poison take effect? I'm not going to die from poisoning, am I?"

A series of thoughts flashed through Zhang Yuanqing's mind. He was surprised to find that he wasn't very scared. Then he realized... it wasn't his courage, but the candle's.

He basked in the candlelight, and his emotions gradually calmed down.

"I've been poisoned by corpse toxin, so I can't delay any longer. I'll just take the second option."

Before entering The Way of the Extraordinary, Zhang Yuanqing had formulated two plans for himself. The first was to explore the Mountain God Temple cautiously, gain information, and then seek a way to break the situation.

A safe and steady approach.

Then, inspired by playing games with his aunt and looking for patterns and methods, he formulated a second, relatively risky plan.

To try to subdue the Red Shoes.

Since they were both items, and he could use the Yellow Paper Talisman, who was to say he couldn't use the Red Shoes?

Guan Ya had said that breaking the rules of rule-based items gave you a certain chance of subduing them.

"With my abilities, it's unlikely that I can stick the Yellow Paper Talisman on the zombie's forehead myself."

Sticking a talisman on the forehead of a ferocious, terrifying, and intelligent Yin creature was like a child challenging an adult with a knife. Although the adult would be wary of the blade, that didn't mean the child could actually harm him.

Zhang Yuanqing didn't delay any longer. He steadied himself against the latticed door, stepped over the threshold, and came to the courtyard in front of the main hall.

This was where he had first encountered the Red Shoes.

The round moon was like a plate, casting light on the ancient house, weeds, and swaying shadows of trees.

He waited and waited... standing among the weeds for a long time, wary of changes in his surroundings, but he didn't see the Red Shoes appear.

The shoes didn't seem to have a fixed location. They had followed him when he first entered the temple, then appeared in the courtyard house. Now, he didn't know where they had gone.

Zhang Yuanqing sighed. The longer he dragged it out, the worse his physical condition would be. He reluctantly turned around and returned to the main hall.

As soon as he turned around, his body froze.

“Da da...”

Between him and the main hall, a pair of red dancing shoes emitting a faint red glow were moving up and down, as if an invisible person was wearing them and stepping in place.

The sound of footsteps echoed eerily in the empty, silent night.

Can't you change your entrance? It's always so terrifying... Zhang Yuanqing's nearly frightened soul slowly returned to his body, and he quietly swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

Even though he had been hoping for its appearance, Zhang Yuanqing still felt his sanity plummeting uncontrollably as he faced the strange dancing shoes.

The Red Shoes continued to step in place, the heels hitting the ground with a crisp sound, the echoing "da da" sound becoming increasingly lonely and terrifying.

A glowing blue message suddenly appeared in Zhang Yuanqing's field of vision:

[Would you like to dance with me? If so, please step in place.]

The message appeared next to the Red Shoes, as if it was talking to him.

As expected, it wanted him to dance. If he didn't dance with it, it would kill him. Nasty shoes... Zhang Yuanqing had no choice but to gamble. He had realized that the Red Shoes had cut off his escape route.

It had appeared between Zhang Yuanqing and the main hall.

If he failed to dance, he would surely die.

Was it a coincidence? Or were the shoes doing it on purpose? Did it also have intelligence...? Zhang Yuanqing focused his mind, calmed his emotions, and visualized his father's appearance in his mind.

At the same time, he raised his foot and began to step in place.

Da da... As if flipping a switch on the item, the rhythm of the Red Shoes' stepping changed along with his steps, shifting to a series of extremely fast tap steps.

It was tap dancing, with a catchy rhythm and an extremely fast pace. The loud "tap" sounds echoed in the silent night sky, echoed in the deserted ancient temple.

Under the moonlight, among the weeds, on the cobblestone path, a pair of Red Shoes danced alone, giving off an indescribable, bewitching beauty.

Zhang Yuanqing opened his eyes wide, allowing his pupils to absorb the moonlight, staring intently at the Red Shoes. He didn't need to consciously memorize them; he only needed to imprint the other party's steps into his eyes.

At the same time, his heart was like an overloaded engine, beating rapidly. He could hear the cacophony of noise, and countless fragmented images flashed through his mind.

His brain began to automatically receive external information: the sound of the wind, the posture of the swaying weeds, the frequency of the distant large locust tree leaves swaying, the Red Shoes' posture and frequency of tapping...

His brain quickly analyzed and memorized the received information.

A few minutes later, the Red Shoes stopped contentedly, crossing its left foot behind and rising up onto its toes.

The posture looked strange, but if someone was wearing it, it would be a standard curtsy.

Quite polite... Zhang Yuanqing muttered in his heart, his nose bleeding. Then, he saw a sentence appear above the Red Shoes:

[Your turn!]

In those few minutes, it had danced hundreds of rhythms, and the steps were all different. This was already beyond the average person's ability to memorize quickly.

Zhang Yuanqing steadied himself and took a small pill from his pocket, placing it in his mouth.

Then, his brain entered a strange state, replaying the scenes from the past few minutes frame by frame.

“Da da da da...”

He danced a few rhythms at a slow speed and with an awkward posture, then carefully observed the Red Shoes.

If the other party's standard was an exact match, then even if he could remember all the rhythms and movements, it would be impossible to complete the task.

Seeing that it showed no abnormality, Zhang Yuanqing was relieved and began to dance with all his attention.

Tap, spin, small hops, crossing left and right feet... He danced slowly, his posture awkward and ugly. Compared to the Red Shoes' smooth movements, it was simply appalling.

But the slow rhythm of the dance steps could ensure that he made no mistakes.

Seven or eight minutes later, Zhang Yuanqing replicated all the Red Shoes' steps and stopped, panting.

His nose was filled with warm liquid, dripping down his lips and chin, but he couldn't care less about wiping it away. He stared intently at the Red Shoes.

Whether he could leave The Way of the Extraordinary alive, whether he could successfully complete the trial.

It all depended on this moment.

[Your dancing skills are as terrible as ever!]

The Red Shoes displayed this message. Then, it transformed into a dark red glow and disappeared into the night.

Immediately afterward, Zhang Yuanqing heard a cold voice in his mind:

[Ding! You have accompanied the Red Shoes in a dance. Congratulations, you have gained the Red Shoes' appreciation. However, due to your poor dancing skills, the Red Shoes will only appreciate you for half an hour. Good luck!]

Zhang Yuanqing collapsed to the ground, exhausted, his face pale, his brain throbbing.

After half a minute, the symptoms subsided, and he sat up, his face pale, and couldn't wait to open the item bar.

In the second slot lay a pair of red, brand new dancing shoes.

After staring at the shoes for a few seconds, the item information automatically appeared.

[Name: Red Shoes]

[Type: Footwear]

[Function: Tracking, Pursuit]

[Introduction: Its former owner was a princess of a Western kingdom. The princess was naturally beautiful and skilled in dancing, and the men of the kingdom were smitten with her. But the wicked stepmother, jealous of her talent and beauty, imprisoned her in a high tower. The lonely princess danced alone in the cold moonlight and eventually died. These Red Shoes inherited her will and began to wander, never stopping their solitary dance.]

[Note 1: Use Mode 1: Throw the Red Shoes at a designated target (or use the target's blood, hair, skin, or other cells as a medium to lock onto the target). It will relentlessly pursue the target. During the pursuit, it ignores any physical obstacles, cannot be escaped, cannot be destroyed, until the target dies or dances a dance with it (any dance genre is acceptable).]

[Use Mode 2: Wearing the Red Shoes will increase agility, improve evasion ability, run regardless of terrain, and require no stamina. The only thing you need to pay attention to is that you can only wear them for five minutes at a time. If you exceed that time, the Red Shoes will never be able to be removed, and you will run with it until the end of your life, or you cut off your feet.]

[Note 2: Don't dance with me? All die.]

It's an artifact... Zhang Yuanqing was excited after reading the item's property description.

This is a rule-based item?

It's ridiculously powerful.

The previous Yellow Paper Talisman and Candle had relatively simple item descriptions, just a few short sentences. But this pair of Red Shoes had a long, detailed item information.

From this alone, one could see the Red Shoes' uniqueness.

"Too bad I'm only appreciated for half an hour..."

Zhang Yuanqing noticed the countdown timer next to the item bar and felt a pang of regret.

If he could own such an artifact, it would be of great use both in reality and when entering other The Way of the Extraordinary in the future.

.....

ps: A super long chapter for you, please give me some monthly tickets. I will correct typos and update them later.