My Misfortune Crushed Instances

"..."

After hearing this bizarre story, Li Rui felt quite speechless. Perhaps he was accustomed to the organizational strength of major nations, and he thought this group was a bit too casual.

But he could understand it, after all, they were fleeing for their lives from the Western Kingdom’s pursuit, and surviving was already pretty good.

Li Rui asked, "Do you know who’s in charge here?"

Kawina said, "I should know, I’ll take you there."

She led Li Rui past two senior assassins with complicated expressions, then through a passage flanked by undead soldiers, into a spacious cavern within the mountain.

"It seems a few impressive-looking people are here. I don’t know who they are either," Kawina whispered in his ear.

Li Rui glanced around and saw that the cave was still full of undead, all motionless like lifeless statues. In the center, against the wall on a high platform, stood a few more indistinct tall figures, surrounded by even stronger Evil Qi.

But upon reaching this place, he noticed that the Evil Qi in the cave was somewhat different.

Normally, undead are formed from the souls of the deceased, usually harboring resentment, which gives a chilling and cold feeling. But these undead were different; they seemed like living dead.

Li Rui walked to the platform and brought Yuan Erliang out.

"Hey, hey, can you understand?"

After the Monkey Demon translated, the figures on the platform remained unresponsive initially, but upon hearing a language they could communicate in, they suddenly became excited.

"Thank the Wind God, finally someone can understand us!"

"....."

Li Rui felt like the three from the Redfield family had tormented this group of souls quite badly. These dead beings could coexist peacefully with the three living humans mostly because they had something to ask for, but language barriers made communication difficult.

"Who are you people?"

He wanted to first determine their identity.

One of the souls on the platform floated down, resembling a heavily armored commander, similar in appearance to the other souls outside, but with a more robust body and thicker armor.

"We are the Divine Power heavy cavalry under the Wind King. I am Ju Ye. Who are you?"

He looked down from above, surrounded by a few sinister souls, exuding an intimidating aura that naturally made others shrink from him.

Li Rui replied coolly, "I am the Grand General of the Divine Wood Grove. My name is Li Rui."

"Ah, the Grand General of the Divine Wood Grove, my apologies."

The Ghost General named Ju Ye patted his chest armor with one hand, perhaps their way of saluting akin to cupping fists.

He likely didn’t understand what the title grand general meant, but knowing what the Divine Wood Grove was, he assumed it was someone of high status in Zhangye State.

Li Rui nodded and asked, "You say you’re under the Wind King, meaning you served as soldiers for the Great Chief of the Wind Slave Royal Court on the plateau when you were alive?"

"Indeed."

Ju Ye answered proudly.

"Why have you become wild ghosts in the cave?"

"Because of disloyal traitors, we failed to protect the king, were forced into exile, and to evade persecution, we entered this evil cave, faced the bone-scraping Yin Wind, became separated from our bodies, and ended up like this," Ju Ye replied.

Li Rui frowned, thinking these ghost entities might be quite complex. If they failed to protect the king, didn’t that mean the opposition succeeded in rebelling? That would mean the leader they were loyal to was already dead.

He asked, "When did this happen?"

"Ten years ago."

Ju Ye answered resentfully, "We swore revenge every day, marking the rising and setting moon, and it’s been exactly ten years now."

Li Rui thought for a moment and said, "To summarize, you mean that ten years ago someone rebelled and succeeded, you loyal generals became rebels, fled into an evil cave with Yin Wind, and turned into ghosts?"

Ju Ye said, "More or less."

"Where is the evil cave with Yin Wind?"

"It’s at the other end of this place. When we fled into the cave, we didn’t know the strong wind carried evil Qi. We were warriors capable of fighting many, but couldn’t resist this sinister force, became separated from our bodies and trapped here."

Li Rui finally understood and asked, "So when outsiders come here, is it because you need help?"

"Yes."

"Speak."

"We want to regain vitality and fight back to the Royal Court."

Li Rui nearly burst into laughter.

"Do you know how difficult it is to bring someone back to life?"

Even saying this was being polite. Not even Chongxu would claim to have a way to resurrect the dead, only lunatics like Zuo Qiutian would attempt to bring back deceased people.

Ju Ye said, "I understand, but my master died due to our failure to protect him. If we can’t personally avenge him, then I dare not die either!"

After hearing Yuan Erliang’s translation, Li Rui stroked his chin, contemplating before saying, "How impressive is this Divine Power heavy cavalry you speak of?"

Ju Ye replied proudly, "In the days of the Royal Court, among the twelve divisions of heavy cavalry, our Divine Power Division of a hundred riders was the best!"

Li Rui thought to himself that there were a hundred Demon Race undead here. If they had intended to harm, Kawina and the others might not have survived.

He asked, "If you know how impossible resurrection is, why not attack us living people?"

Previously, they coexisted peacefully with the three from the Redfield family, only attacking Li Rui because they mistakenly thought he was chasing Kawina and the others.

Ju Ye said, "That lady showed kindness to us, how could we harm her!"

Li Rui confirmed with Kawina and learned that as time passed, the souls here gradually dissipated, their power weakening. When they arrived, one armored soldier was about to vanish.

She happened to have a rare item from a Secret Realm of an undead estate containing Power of Yin Sha, so to express goodwill and avoid conflict, she gifted it to them, saving that soul.

Li Rui felt Ju Ye and his ghostly cohort were quite principled.

"Perhaps I can recruit them?" he pondered.

[Heavy Cavalry of Undead Favorability: Neutral.]

"Hmm....."

Li Rui turned to Ju Ye and said, "Could I see the Yin Wind and your bodies?"

Although Ju Ye felt hope was slim, it was rare to encounter living beings here after so many years. With the mindset of nothing to lose, he agreed to lead the way.

"Please."

Li Rui followed him, Kawina followed Li Rui, and the elite assassins of the Redfield family followed Kawina, forming a line moving deeper into the cave, finally reaching a much larger cavern within the mountain.

This space was filled with glowing wind, pale blue, appearing quite beautiful, yet combined with the neatly arranged corpses made it eerie.

Li Rui marveled, "Is this where your bodies separated from your souls back then?"

"Yes," Ju Ye answered, "Now we only have souls. If afflicted by the evil wind, we will be scattered, so we remain trapped here."

These undead were indeed different from usual ones, seemingly weaker than when alive, unable to withstand the strong winds outside or the evil winds inside the cave.

He looked towards the direction of the wind, guessing something there might be causing this, likely a prize to claim.

"Wait here, I’ll go in and take a look," he said.