The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 97

Chapter 97: The Eerie Bai Xing Lake Village (Seeking Subscriptions)

2024-09-02

Chapter 97: The Eerie Bai Xing Lake Village (Seeking Subscriptions)

The Bai Xing Lake was still shimmering with lights, but these scattered lights gave off a chilling, eerie feeling.

As Gu Xi’s Demon Coffin entered the lake’s surface area, he distinctly felt something pursuing him from beneath the ice.

Four Ghostly Spirits hovered around Gu Xi, eager to break through the ice and capture whatever was below.

Gu Xi, huddled on the coffin lid, bundled in a cotton-padded coat, gripped his Fragmentation Rod, ready to strike at any moment.

Just as Gu Xi was intently watching the ice, a human corpse suddenly drifted by beneath the surface. The corpse had clearly been submerged for a long time; its eyes and much of its skin had been eaten away by fish.

As it passed under the ice, the corpse suddenly widened its eye sockets, revealing empty, hollow pits where its eyes should have been.

Gu Xi, who had been observing the movements beneath the ice, was startled. His hand trembled, and the Fragmentation Rod struck the ice.

The Fragmentation Rod was primarily designed for breaking shields; the higher the enemy’s defense, the stronger its effect. This effect also worked on city walls, gates, or even mountainsides, and the ice surface fell within the rod’s range.

Gu Xi’s accidental strike instantly cracked the ice.

A heavy, chilling aura surged from beneath the ice, startling Gu Xi.

But in the next instant, a gust of cold wind froze the crack shut, dispersing the chilling aura. If it weren’t for the visible crack, Gu Xi might have suspected it was all a hallucination.

This, however, heightened his alertness.

Gu Xi sat up straight, stopping the Demon Coffin, and remained seated on the coffin lid, intently observing the ice.

“Something’s wrong beneath this lake.”

After a moment of silence, Gu Xi noticed the problem: the area was unusually quiet. Even with the lake frozen over, the Bai Xing Lake residents should have been out and about.

The situation was clearly off. Without hesitation, Gu Xi made his judgment, “Go, to the nearest hut.”

The Demon Coffin turned, not heading towards the area with the most huts, but directly towards the closest one to Gu Xi.

Gu Xi also sat up straighter, wrapping himself in his cotton quilt, carefully surveying his surroundings.

About a minute later, the Demon Coffin stopped before a small hut on the water.

Gu Xi recognized the type of hut immediately. It was a type of wooden water hut, about a meter above the water’s surface, with wooden planks forming the floor and walls.

The hut wasn’t large—eight supporting wooden beams and about twenty square meters in total area.

Gu Xi could see numerous dried fish hanging around the hut, and some firewood stacked on the wooden platform.

The hut was brimming with the signs of life.

But upon reaching it, Gu Xi noticed that while the hut was lit, there was no sign of life within.

“Let’s go check it out.”

Gu Xi gestured, and the four Ghostly Spirits flew towards the hut.

Behind Gu Xi, the gates of Death City slowly began to appear. Gu Xi feared something had gone wrong and prepared for battle.

At that moment, the Ghostly Spirits that had entered the hut flew back out, their appearances indicating that the hut was now completely empty.

This puzzled Gu Xi. He controlled the Demon Coffin to approach the hut, leaped out, and landed before the door.

The hut’s door was already open. Gu Xi peered inside and saw it was filled with thick furs. In a corner, he noticed a pile of bone weapons and fish spears.

The fireplace was cold; the light Gu Xi had seen earlier came from an oil lamp hanging from the ceiling. The lamp was the only metal object in the hut, completely mismatched with its style. Though the lamp only flickered with a tiny flame, the size of a thumb, Gu Xi and the others outside could sense a presence as if someone were home.

This made Gu Xi’s hair stand on end.

This was beyond the capabilities of ordinary undead.

Just as Gu Xi was about to retreat, he felt his feet moving uncontrollably towards the lamp.

“Damn it, mind control again! Next time I go out, I need to find a way to become immune to this!”

Gu Xi raged internally, but his actions were swift. He raised the Fragmentation Rod and pointed it at the lamp.

“Bone Spikes!”

At Gu Xi’s command, a bone spike shot towards the lamp.

But just as the bone spike was about to hit, a walrus-man figure, with ivory tusks, emerged from the lamp, blocking the attack.

With this single blow, Gu Xi understood what was happening.

The Bai Xing Lake had been invaded and corrupted by undead forces.

A powerful entity was controlling the entire village through some unseen method, using mind control to lure everyone who saw the lamp’s light into it.

Their bodies would serve as fuel for the lamp. As for their souls, after losing their bodies, they’d become undead, possibly taken away or used for some other purpose by this entity.

Gu Xi broke out in a cold sweat, realizing this.

“Ghostly Spirits, put out that lamp!”

At Gu Xi’s command, the four Ghostly Spirits rapidly attacked.

But before they reached the lamp, they were stopped by a burst of flames. Gu Xi saw the burning walrus-man within the lamp. Despite being engulfed in flames, it remained motionless, clearly dead before the fire ignited.

“Corpse Explosion!”

Seeing the Ghostly Spirits unable to advance, Gu Xi changed tactics. He pointed at the walrus-man’s corpse inside the lamp, unleashing a lesser Corpse Explosion.

In the moment, Gu Xi hadn’t considered the consequences. He reasoned that if the lamp used corpses for fuel, destroying them would render the lamp useless.

However, he was completely unprepared for the enemy’s countermove.

As the walrus-man’s corpse exploded within the lamp, the hut itself detonated.

Gu Xi was blown back by the blast and landed heavily on the ice.

(End of Chapter)

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