Chapter Thirty-Nine: Killing Is But a Flick of the Finger

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At dawn, the golden sun rose in the east, and the fresh green foliage was covered in glistening dewdrops. Had it been before the arrival of the apocalypse, this would have been considered a truly splendid day...

Before a stretch of city wall in Qinghe Town, a zombie stared ahead with bloodshot eyes, as if determined to break through the obstacle before it.

"Hey, you mutt, your grandpa’s right here!" Suddenly, a man appeared behind the zombie, wielding an axe and yelling at it like a fool. Even more striking was the black patch over his left eye—he clearly had only one eye.

Nearby stood a young man dressed all in white, a stalk of grass dangling from his mouth. He carried no weapon, only looked on with a bored expression as the one-eyed man made a scene.

As expected, when the zombie noticed the two of them, it charged at them like it had been injected with adrenaline. But halfway through, it stumbled over something and crashed to the ground.

"Zombies really are stupid..." the young man in white shook his head, spat out the grass, and gestured for the one-eyed man to proceed.

The one-eyed man shot him a cold glance but said nothing. Following the signal, he produced a rope from behind his back, stepped forward, and expertly tied the zombie up.

How strong is a zombie? Far stronger than an ordinary human, at least. Yet this one-eyed man seemed to have no trouble at all; he simply straddled the zombie’s back, and it lost most of its strength to struggle.

"Truly a brute—strong but dim-witted..." the man in white muttered under his breath, then suddenly tensed, but relaxed again when he realized the other hadn’t heard him. Once the zombie was secured, the one-eyed man walked away without a second thought, completely unconcerned that the ropes might snap. The zombie struggled, but it was futile—the knots held firm.

"The Dragon-Binding Cord really is handy... Alas, with my spiritual power gone, it’s nothing more than an ordinary rope now..." the youth in white sighed, wearing a melancholy look. Judging by his words, he had once been a cultivator.

"The young master is still waiting for us..." The one-eyed man picked up a branch and pressed it beneath the zombie’s jaw, holding the other end of the rope as he dragged the zombie behind him. Whenever the creature tried to bite, the branch would block its jaws.

"What a fine dog you make," murmured the white-clad youth, "always going on about the young master..." He sighed, finding it dull to keep company with such people, always talking about their precious master. In the old days... The youth sneered inwardly. The so-called young master wasn’t even worthy of carrying his shoes.

But such words, he dared not utter. Not only would he stand no chance in a fight against the one-eyed man, but more importantly, he was now living at the mercy of others. In the apocalypse, a cultivator without spiritual power was worth less than a dog.

He stooped to pick up a fine, transparent white thread from the ground—clearly the cause of the zombie’s earlier fall. He put it away carefully before following the one-eyed man.

"Hey, Cyclops, how many zombies have we caught now?" the man in white asked, feigning boredom as he tried to make conversation with his companion.

"My name is Liu Kui..." the one-eyed man, Liu Kui, stared at him for a while before replying, "It should be enough by now. But, Xiao Ke..." Liu Kui paused, then added, "This was your idea. If we fail, I’ll kill you."

The white-clad man, Xiao Ke, felt a chill run through him but nodded obediently. Still, a flicker of malice flashed in his eyes: Once I return to the sect, none of you will live...

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Catching zombies was the task assigned to Xiao Ke and Liu Kui that day. The "young master" of whom they spoke was none other than Wang Chao, Wang Jian’s elder brother.

Since Liu Caifu had been killed in Qinghe Town, Wang Jian had turned the place upside down searching for Yue Qi and Bai Lian, but to no avail. Wang Chao, upon hearing the news, flew into a rage and immediately dispatched his two favored subordinates to assist.

Liu Kui was the only son of Liu Caifu. Upon hearing of his father’s murder, he volunteered to come to Qinghe Town and avenge him. But Liu Kui, unlike his father, was a brute with little wit; thus, Wang Chao sent Xiao Ke along to help.

Xiao Ke was a disciple of the Qinghe Sword Sect, with decent talent and a small reputation among his peers. When disaster struck, he’d been out on a supply run, and with his spiritual power gone, returning alone to the sect was impossible. So he’d thrown his lot in with Wang Chao for the time being. Xiao Ke, though cunning and somewhat clever, also possessed a few magical treasures—not as valuable as Bai Lian’s, but enough to earn Wang Chao’s favor.

“Didn’t we already lure that group of zombies over yesterday? Why are we still catching them today..." Liu Kui turned as he walked, questioning Xiao Ke.

"You don’t get it," Xiao Ke began, "zombies are valuable. If you use them properly, you can ambush—oh, forget it, you wouldn’t understand anyway..." He trailed off, shaking his head into silence.

But not far away, behind a nearby house, two pairs of eyes watched them closely. They belonged to Yue Qi and Bai Lian, who had just pledged their lives to each other.

"That man seems familiar—I think he’s from our sect. If I recall, his name is Xiao Ke. One of my senior brothers once took him as a disciple..." Bai Lian frowned. "But he doesn’t have a good reputation. I’ve heard he often targets the weaker disciples..."

"Probably sent out to buy supplies," Yue Qi replied. "But if he’s siding with Wang Jian and the others..." A glint of coldness flashed in his eyes.

Bai Lian remained silent but nodded. She was no longer the meek girl she once had been. If Yue Qi said they must kill, she would not hesitate.

"But why are they catching zombies?" Yue Qi wondered aloud, noticing the zombie trailing Liu Kui, but unable to guess their purpose.

"No idea. But if we want to get into the camp, it looks like we’ll have to deal with those two first..." Bai Lian didn’t dwell on what she didn’t understand. She made a slicing gesture across her neck.

"I’ll do it—no, let’s go together. Neither of them should be much trouble..." Yue Qi pondered a moment, then agreed; he truly didn’t consider them a threat.

Xiao Ke and Liu Kui had taken only a few steps when Liu Kui suddenly felt an icy chill at his back—a murderous intent, cold as death, giving him no chance to dodge. But he didn’t try to escape; instead, he raised his axe defensively before his chest.

Clang! The clash of weapons rang out. Liu Kui staggered back three paces, his grip loosening so that the axe dropped to the ground. In the commotion, the branch he’d been using to restrain the zombie also fell.

Such strength! Liu Kui thought, but the zombie behind him lunged forward.

With no weapon in hand, Liu Kui saw the zombie rush straight for him!

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Yet Liu Kui remained calm. A zombie with its hands bound was like a tiger without teeth. He kicked out at its leg, sending the creature sprawling once more, then snatched up his axe and brought it down, splitting the zombie’s skull.

Yue Qi stared in astonishment at the scene, surprised by the cyclops’s prowess—and even more so that his own sure-strike sword had been blocked.

"This one is quite strong..." Bai Lian joined Yue Qi, nodding in approval at Liu Kui.

"Wait, that woman looks so familiar... Where have I seen her before?" Xiao Ke had already retreated to the side. If Liu Kui couldn’t handle these two, then he certainly stood no chance. He knew his little tricks worked well on brainless zombies, but against humans, they were of little use.

Liu Kui, now armed once more, glared menacingly at the pair.

"So it was you two who killed my father! And yet you dare show yourselves again!" Liu Kui had never met Yue Qi or Bai Lian, but he’d heard they were responsible for his father's death. Yet to their surprise, Liu Kui didn’t rush them in a fit of rage; instead, he watched them coldly and carefully.

"Did we kill his father?"

"No recollection..."

Their flat exchange was enough to make anyone uneasy. Liu Kui’s already short temper flared—veins bulged on his neck as he reached the peak of his anger.

"But since you dared to show yourselves... Don’t worry, girl, I’ll be sure to enjoy you thoroughly. As for you!" Liu Kui pointed his axe at Yue Qi and grinned cruelly, "I’ll carve the flesh from your bones, piece by piece, as an offering to my father’s spirit!"

At these words, Yue Qi’s eyes turned icy cold. He didn’t care what threats were made against him, but to insult Bai Lian...

Yue Qi thrust his sword into the ground and regarded the furious Liu Kui with an amused look.

"You’ve made yourself insufferable. So now you can die." With a flick of his right hand, a small flame shot toward Liu Kui at astonishing speed.

Time seemed to freeze in that instant, until a blood-curdling scream shattered the silence.

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