Chapter 104: A Heap of Zombies

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The two of them had not started a fire, fearing it might attract zombies. However, Yue Qi took some rations from his mustard seed bracelet and handed them to Qin Luo. He himself didn’t feel hungry, but judging by Qin Luo’s appearance, she was clearly starving.

“Did you find anything? Can we go back now?” Qin Luo asked, chewing on the dry food, pouting slightly. There was a hint of playfulness and charm in her expression.

“Miss, we’ve only walked a few steps. You keep saying something every few steps. Can’t you just quietly finish your food?” Yue Qi complained, somewhat annoyed. He even began to suspect that the old master might have wanted to offload this burden onto him by telling him to take Qin Luo out into the world.

“Mmm, mmm, mmmm…” Qin Luo’s mouth was full of food, and although she muttered some discontented words, Yue Qi couldn’t catch a single one. He decided to ignore her and continued walking ahead alone.

Qin Luo dared not fall behind. She swallowed her food, cursed under her breath, and hurried to keep close behind Yue Qi, fearful that a zombie might leap out from the forest at any moment.

The trees around them gradually thinned, and the path Yue Qi was following became wider. On the trees lining the path, marks of human cutting and chopping appeared.

“Is there a village nearby? This looks like signs of habitation…” Yue Qi frowned as he spoke. He was unfamiliar with the area; if there really was a village nearby and no survivors remained, it might be overrun with zombies. Although Yue Qi didn’t fear ordinary zombies, a large group of them could still pose a serious challenge.

“How would I know? I’m not from around here,” Qin Luo pouted in dissatisfaction. Then she suddenly remembered something. “Junior apprentice brother, if you’re worried about zombies nearby, let’s hurry back. I’ll cover you!” She patted her small chest, striking a heroic pose.

“You’re the one who’s scared…” Yue Qi muttered. Seeing Qin Luo not responding, and about to ask again, he quickly changed the subject. “Let’s check if there really is a village nearby. Maybe we’ll find survivors.”

“All right…” Qin Luo’s hope was rekindled at Yue Qi’s words, and the two quickened their steps.

The late autumn moon failed to appear, and the sky was a dull gray. A layer of mist or haze hovered around. The surroundings were eerily silent, without even the sound of small animals. Two figures walked along the forest path like two wandering lost souls.

“Look! There’s a village over there!” Qin Luo’s eyes were sharp. She saw what looked like a hamlet not far away and quickly told Yue Qi. Although no light burned there, Qin Luo hoped they might find survivors.

“I see it. Don’t shout,” Yue Qi said calmly. As a cultivator, he had spotted the village early on, but he hadn’t mentioned it. The village gave him an eerie feeling of deathly silence, as if no living soul remained. That black void seemed to beckon them like a demon’s whisper.

They continued forward and entered the village. Strangely, there was no roar of zombies, confirming Yue Qi’s suspicions.

“Let’s go. There’s probably nothing here,” Yue Qi said, leading the way deeper into the village.

As expected, the village was unnervingly quiet, completely empty. The houses and fields were well preserved; Yue Qi even noticed some vegetables growing in the garden, untouched.

“This doesn’t make sense. Even if there were no survivors, shouldn’t there be zombies?” Yue Qi muttered, frowning. This was the strangest village he had seen so far. Other villages always had some zombies, but here there was nothing.

“Why don’t we rest somewhere for now and continue searching tomorrow?” Qin Luo realized she couldn’t persuade Yue Qi to turn back and suggested this instead.

“All right…” Yue Qi pondered for a moment before agreeing. Traveling at night was directionless and confusing.

They found a well-sealed house and finally made a fire, adding a bit of life to the terrifyingly silent village.

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“What do we do tomorrow? Still want to look for zombies?” Sitting by the fire, Qin Luo couldn’t stand the silence and finally asked. Yue Qi remained silent.

“Let’s go a bit further. We haven’t walked far. If we find nothing by morning, we’ll turn back,” Yue Qi said. He truly thought so. If they hadn’t encountered zombies after such a distance, maybe it was just coincidence. Perhaps the zombies were more concentrated near Changzhou City. After all, there had been no such outbreaks in Qingzhou or Qinghe Town.

“All right!” Qin Luo brightened slightly. The two “little animals” that appeared earlier had vanished somewhere. Yue Qi was glad to have some free time. Tonight would be sleepless but perfect for meditation to recover spiritual power.

Suddenly, “Crack!” Something exploded in the fire, startling Yue Qi awake. His spiritual power had mostly recovered. Qin Luo looked carefree, indicating that her spiritual power hadn’t been drained much by the earlier formation.

“I really don’t know how she trains…” Yue Qi sighed, glancing at her. As the ancients said, comparing yourself to others only makes you angry. Yue Qi was lucky not to be irritated to death. Looking at Qin Luo’s profound spiritual power versus his own… better not compare.

“Boom!” Suddenly, a sound came from outside, as if something had fallen from a height. Qin Luo was also awakened, anxiously scanning the surroundings. Seeing Yue Qi still beside her, she relaxed.

“What’s wrong?” Qin Luo asked. Yue Qi was already standing, seemingly about to check outside.

“I don’t know what happened. I’ll go look. You stay here…” Then he reconsidered. “Or come with me. You choose.”

“Of course, I’m coming with you,” Qin Luo quickly replied. She could handle a few zombies, but if a horde appeared, it would be bad luck.

“All right…” Yue Qi shrugged. Without even putting out the fire, he stepped outside.

The village was still deathly silent. Yue Qi saw nothing but heard a few frogs croaking in the once quiet forest.

“How strange, frogs in autumn…” The thought popped into his head but before he could ponder further, a shadow suddenly appeared behind a nearby house.

“Who’s there?!” Yue Qi was startled and rushed toward the shadow, dragging Qin Luo along.

The shadow was discovered and suddenly bolted, no longer concealing its presence. Yue Qi recognized it immediately — the same zombie he had been chasing that afternoon. Could it be that this zombie hadn’t fled but was hiding here all along?

A cold sweat broke out on Yue Qi’s forehead. What was this Foundation Establishment-level zombie? Not only powerful but intelligent, something Yue Qi had never seen before.

“After it!” Yue Qi shouted, quickening his pace.

The zombie left the village, its direction seeming random but always circling back. Yue Qi, clever as he was, saw through the zombie’s strategy. He pressed on cautiously, leaving markers along the way and alerting Qin Luo.

“Wait, I sense a strange pressure ahead…” Qin Luo suddenly stopped, looking grave as she glanced at Yue Qi.

“Strange pressure?” Yue Qi was stunned. His spiritual power wasn’t that advanced yet. Could the zombie be deliberately leading them somewhere?

The more Yue Qi thought about it, the more likely it seemed. He stopped and said, “Let’s see what this zombie is up to.”

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Qin Luo nodded but then seemed to remember something. She pulled out several formation flags.

“Let’s set up a formation here, just in case,” she said with a nod to Yue Qi. He agreed; this girl was surprisingly reliable in crucial moments—something he hadn’t anticipated.

They set up a simple Bagua formation, just like the one in the old master’s forest. Qin Luo said, “We’ll wait here and see if this zombie acts intentionally or not.”

The zombie seemed to have lost their trail and never appeared again. Yue Qi began to suspect it might have escaped.

Time passed unknowingly. Yue Qi glanced at the gray sky. Suddenly, Qin Luo trembled and said, “It’s a trap!”

Yue Qi understood immediately. The zombie had a purpose—probably had noticed them long ago and was leading them here deliberately.

“There’s no point questioning it. Let’s kill it,” Yue Qi said decisively. Trapped in the formation, even a Foundation Establishment zombie would be utterly defeated by him. Qin Luo’s formation also had soundproofing effects. After a while, Qin Luo confirmed the zombie was dead.

“What now? Move forward or head back?” Qin Luo packed away the flags and asked.

“Let’s go forward. Since this zombie had a scheme, killing it means it can’t warn anyone,” Yue Qi decided.

Curiosity is a strange thing. Knowing there might be danger ahead, they still pressed on resolutely.

They hadn’t gone far when even Yue Qi felt an inexplicable pressure. Steeling himself, he looked at Qin Luo and noticed her brows were already tightly furrowed.

“Maybe you stay here? I’ll go check ahead,” Yue Qi suggested, worried that his recklessness might invite disaster.

“No, let’s go together,” Qin Luo shook her head. Yue Qi barely recognized this calm, composed girl; she was unusually sober and restrained.

He nodded, and they continued forward. But as soon as they crested a hill, what lay before them stunned them both. Below was no building, just a vast valley—like the Dragon Burial Pit—but much larger.

More terrifyingly, the valley was densely packed with zombies. Even the hordes Yue Qi had seen atop Changzhou’s city walls paled in comparison.

“This… we’ve walked right into a zombie nest,” Qin Luo murmured to herself.