Chapter Seventeen: When the Oil Runs Dry and the Lamp Dies

From the foot of the mountain, they pressed onward, following the path upward. At first, they could spot traces left by Bai Lian’s group, but as they climbed, those signs faded away, leaving Yue Qi and his companions to blindly forge ahead, hoping for any clue at all.

Originally, the trail of blood on the ground led straight up the mountain; but perhaps out of fear of attracting zombies, the three fugitives had taken care to hide their wounds. After all, with the zombies’ keen sense of smell, even the faintest scent of blood might draw them.

“Which way should we go?” Yue Qi wondered as he came upon a fork in the path. He remembered that one trail led into the town, while the other climbed toward a cliff.

“Qi! Come over here, quickly!” Yue Er called out from a nearby thicket, sounding as though he had discovered something important.

“Look at this!” Yue Er, who was supposed to be carrying their mother, had been relieved for a while by Yue San, who feared he’d tire too quickly. Yue Er held up a blood-stained strip of cloth he had just found.

“This is…” Yue Qi looked closely and realized it must have been used to dress the wound of the injured person. Now soaked through with blood, it was clear the wound was severe.

“It was found here…” Yue Qi mused. If he was right, the three of them must have been fleeing from zombies, and had hidden here in the brush for a while, taking the opportunity to change the bandage for the wounded.

“Come on, this way!” Yue Qi gritted his teeth, his judgment leading them along this path. If he was wrong, those they sought would be in grave danger.

“Yue Qi, that way leads to a cliff. They wouldn’t force themselves into a dead end, surely…” The village leader hurried up, expressing his concern. Indeed, since Yue Yunsheng was among the three, and he was very familiar with the area, it made no sense for him to lead them toward certain doom. There would be nowhere to go once they reached the edge.

Yet Yunsheng had not thought that far ahead. With Yuqi slung across his back, blood trickling from his left leg—gouged by a zombie—he followed Bai Lian, who now led the way, a young man running at her side.

“Sister Lian, this is a dead end! We can’t keep going this way!” Yue Yunsheng gasped, calling out to Bai Lian ahead of him.

“There’s no other way. It’s too late to try another route now…” A fleeting trace of exhaustion crossed Bai Lian’s delicate features. Four zombies were in fierce pursuit behind them; not only did she have to fend them off, but she also had to find a place for the group to hide.

Yue Yunsheng’s brow was deeply furrowed as he shot a dark look at the young man running with Bai Lian.

“This is all your fault! If it weren’t for you, Yuqi wouldn’t have been hurt! We wouldn’t be trapped in a dead end!” he spat, wishing he could strangle the young man on the spot.

A flicker of guilt passed through the young man’s eyes, but he said nothing, perhaps too exhausted to reply. His lips had turned pale from the long flight, and his trembling legs betrayed his limits.

“Enough! No more arguing! Think—are there any places nearby where we can hide? The zombies are close behind. If we don’t find cover, we’ll never shake them,” Bai Lian interjected, unwilling for her team to fall into discord at such a moment.

“There’s nowhere!” Yunsheng shook his head. “The trail leads to the cliff. If those zombies catch up, our only option will be to leap off.”

Bai Lian felt a wave of helplessness. She and Yunsheng had been safe in the hut, but then came the frantic pounding at the door, and that young man appeared—followed by a dozen zombies.

A dozen zombies! If Bai Lian still had her spiritual power, she might have dispatched them with ease. But now, stripped of magic, all she had was her sword; she did not have the confidence to fight a dozen zombies alone.

With great effort, she had used the terrain to her advantage, killing six of them and shaking off another two, but she was utterly spent. Four zombies remained, and she doubted she could handle even two more if they appeared.

Where is he? Why isn’t he here yet? In this moment of danger, Bai Lian’s thoughts turned suddenly to Yue Qi. For reasons she could not explain, her nose stung, and tears welled up.

He can’t have died, can he…? She kept running, heart pounding with worry, but tried to steady herself. No, he can’t die so easily. I have to wait a little longer—he will come for us! she thought, the image of the scruffy, show-offish, slightly lecherous man surfacing in her mind. She hadn’t realized how deeply Yue Qi’s presence had lodged in her heart.

“Sister Lian, Yuqi can’t hold on much longer!” Yue Yunsheng cried behind her, voice breaking.

“What’s wrong?” Bai Lian knew of Yang Yuqi’s bite but hadn’t expected it to be so severe. She had seen cultivators turn into zombies after being bitten, but knew of no cure; they would have to take things one step at a time.

“Her forehead is burning! And she’s starting to ramble!” Yue Yunsheng wailed. They had survived this apocalypse together; he had tried so hard to protect the one he loved, but still, Yuqi had…

Yunsheng’s mind replayed that moment: Bai Lian, fighting six zombies alone, had no strength to help them; he and Yuqi had been together, but his single moment of carelessness allowed a zombie to bite her leg. If Bai Lian hadn’t arrived in time to kill it, Yuqi might have lost her leg altogether.

“There’s nothing I can do. I just hope she can pull through…” Bai Lian offered what comfort she could, though she herself knew it was unlikely. She pulled a snow-white handkerchief from her robe and handed it to Yunsheng.

“Change her bandage again. She’s losing too much blood—the smell could attract zombies.” She paused, waiting for Yunsheng to replace the bloody cloth and toss it to the roadside, hoping both to lure zombies away and to leave a sign for Yue Qi, if he came.

“We should run to the summit—maybe Yue Qi will come to save us soon…” she said to Yunsheng, then pressed forward without pause.

“We’re going the right way, aren’t we…?” Some of the people trailing Yue Qi whispered among themselves as they ran.

“It doesn’t matter. As long as we follow, we won’t die. We survived that disaster in the Yue family stronghold, didn’t we? Finding a few people now shouldn’t be so hard,” said one of the older men.

“That’s right. With Brother Qi leading us, we can’t go wrong. If he hadn’t come to rescue us, we’d have starved back there,” said a younger man.

“That’s true…”

Yue Qi heard all their words clearly, but had no time for relief—just ahead, a zombie appeared!

Could it be…? he wondered. Surely this meant Bai Lian’s group had passed through here, and zombies were still on their trail.

The zombie charged, claws outstretched; Yue Qi dispatched it with a single stroke. But though his body felt little fatigue, his mind was suddenly seized with a wave of dizziness.

He had lost count of how many zombies he’d slain today—at least fifty, perhaps more. Physically, he felt fine, but a faint, sickly scent of blood and a wave of nausea lingered in his chest.

He shook his head hard, uncorked the bamboo flask at his waist, and gulped down a mouthful of water, forcing down the nausea.

The water helped. Spotting the bloodstained cloth on the ground, Yue Qi was overjoyed and shouted to those behind him, “Hurry up! They’re not far ahead! Keep going!” He pressed on, his steps unsteady.

Meanwhile, Bai Lian and her companions had reached the summit: a flat expanse dotted with bizarre boulders, providing little in the way of shelter.

“Sister Lian, we’re at the top!” Yue Yunsheng gasped, exhausted. He didn’t have Yue Er’s strength; after carrying someone so far, he could go no further.

“Hide behind the rocks. I’ll deal with the zombies!” Bai Lian said through clenched teeth. The shadows of three zombies loomed not far away, but at least she seemed to have lost one—three were better than four.

Yue Yunsheng knew he’d only be a hindrance if he stayed, and with Yuqi to care for, he obediently hid behind a large stone, making sure to keep them both concealed.

“Miss, let me help you…” the young man offered, unwilling to watch Bai Lian face the danger alone.

“No, hide!—” she started, but the three zombies were nearly upon them, and it was too late to flee. “Just hold off one of them!” she shouted, drawing the sword her master had forged for her and charging to meet the threat.

“How far to the summit?” Yue Qi called anxiously to the village leader. He had seen no sign of Bai Lian’s group, and a sense of foreboding grew stronger with every step.

“Not far, just ahead!” the leader replied, having spotted the bloody cloth and grown certain the three had come this way. Seeing Yue Qi’s urgency, he answered quickly.

Yue Qi nodded, remaining silent as he quickened his pace. He felt utterly drained of spiritual power—if only he could cast a Wind Summoning spell…

Before he could finish the thought, the sounds of battle erupted ahead.

“Hang on, Sister Lian!!” he bellowed, knowing without a doubt that Bai Lian was fighting the zombies. With a roar, he hurled himself forward toward the fray.