Chapter 21 & 22
by LhaoziChapter 21: Just Like a Ghost! [1]
“Are you… are you people, or monsters?!”
The man standing inside the doorway—who else could it be but Wu Dashan!
However, unlike the calm and honest demeanor he had put on in front of Qin Xi and Qin Song in their past life, this person right now appeared shrewd, slippery, and downright greasy.
Then again, this only proved that he truly was a master actor; otherwise, the two of them wouldn’t have been duped by him in their past life!
Qin Xi looked at Wu Dashan, sizing him up carefully for a long moment until she was certain this man had definitely not been reborn.
Wu Dashan was exceedingly agitated. Shrinking behind the door, he stared at the man and woman before him:
“You’re humans, right? Did you come to save me?! Is the rescue team outside?!”
As he spoke, he stood on tiptoe to peer past them toward the outside.
Yet the courtyard gate was shut tight, and there was no rescue team in sight. Instead, he caught sight of a familiar figure standing right behind the two!
He froze in momentary bewilderment:
“Bai Hanyue? What are you doing here?!”
Having fled through the storm all night long, Bai Hanyue was drenched to the bone despite wearing a raincoat.
Her hair was plastered to her face, and rainwater streamed down her temples, leaving her looking quite disheveled.
At the same time, however, her posture carried an aura of cold detachment—the look of someone with nothing left to lose.
In Wu Dashan’s eyes, it inexplicably filled him with dread!
He couldn’t help but tighten his grip on the kitchen cleaver he had been clutching, holding it defensively against his chest:
“Bai Hanyue, what did you come to my house for?! This is my home—get out of here right now!”
Sure enough, just as he had feared, the girl outside turned a deathly pale face toward him and let out a chilling sneer:
“Wu Dashan, it’s the apocalypse. Didn’t you say that if I had the guts, I should get someone to kill you to pay for my sister’s life [2]? Well, I’m here now!”
The girl’s voice was not loud, yet falling upon Wu Dashan’s ears, it made a freezing chill run down his entire body!
The… the apocalypse?
He recalled those monsters.
An apocalypse meant that law and order were no more!
And right now, three clearly hostile people carrying sharp weapons had barged into his home!
His lips trembled. Overcome by a wave of sheer terror, he couldn’t even squeeze out a word and subconsciously slammed the house door shut with all his might!
BANG!
The main hallway inside the house instantly plunged into darkness!
Wu Dashan stood frozen solid with his back against the door, his mind completely consumed by the memory of Bai Hanyue’s face outside—a face that looked ready to drag him down to hell with her [3].
Just like a ghost! [1]
The tightly shut door offered him a minor sense of security.
However, in the very next second, a massive crash erupted from the direction of the east bedroom window!
CRASH!
Immediately following was the sharp, chaotic clatter of shattering glass!
Wu Dashan felt a violent buzzing in his brain—that little brat Bai Hanyue was actually dead serious!
In a frantic panic, he turned around and yanked open the inner door, only to feel a blast of icy wind strike his face the moment it opened.
The man standing at the doorway was half a head taller than him, looking down at him with an icy, silent gaze.
Wu Dashan felt his mind go completely blank!
Driven by pure reflex, he slammed that door shut as well. Hearing the sound of someone leaping inside from the east room, he had no time to think and turned to scramble toward the west bedroom instead.
The footsteps echoing from the east room sounded like a death knell.
He scrambled on all fours over to the window. With trembling hands, he yanked open the window sash of the west room, throwing one leg over the sill, just about to vault outside.
Suddenly, the overhead light burst into a brilliant glow, and right before his eyes appeared a drenched, ghost-white face!
“AAAAAHHHH!!!”
Jumping out of his skin at the face popping up right in front of him at point-blank range, Wu Dashan let out a terrified shriek, his body jerking backward as he slammed heavily onto the floor!
He finally broke down completely. Waving the kitchen cleaver in his hand, he cowered into the corner of the wall, screaming at Qin Xi and Qin Song, who had already stepped inside from the doorway:
“What are you doing?! What on earth do you want?! I’ve never crossed you guys—you can’t listen to Bai Hanyue!”
As he rambled on, his voice took on a sobbing whimpering tone as he cast a pleading look at Bai Hanyue:
“Hanyue! Little Yue, I was a scumbag, Uncle Wu was a scumbag! I’m willing to compensate you! I… I’ll apologize to your sister! I can go to prison! Please don’t! My leg is injured—give me a break this once! Just give me a break!”
Hearing Wu Dashan’s words, Qin Xi raised an eyebrow in mild surprise.
Following the direction of Wu Dashan’s gaze, she saw that a large section of his pant leg was indeed torn open.
However, there were no bloodstains.
She recalled that back when they first formed a team in their past life, Wu Dashan had mentioned that when Qin Song rescued him, his leg was slightly sprained.
Looking at it now, he did have a leg injury, but it wasn’t particularly severe.
She let out a scoff, strolling over to the window and leaning against the balcony, curious to see what kind of trick Wu Dashan was still trying to pull!
At this point, however, Bai Hanyue had no intention of wasting words.
Leaping inside through the window while gripping her rebar, she lunged forward and stabbed it viciously toward Wu Dashan’s crotch!
Scared to the point that his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, Wu Dashan hurriedly clutched his vital area and dragged his body backward across the floor to dodge.
The rebar struck the floorboards, producing a sharp clack.
Having dodged one strike, Wu Dashan didn’t even have time to catch his breath; he reached out to snatch the rebar, but Bai Hanyue dodged his grab.
“Little Yue! Little Yue! I was wrong! Listen to me!”
He scrambled to his feet on all fours, only to be struck twice on his body by Bai Hanyue with brutal force, while the girl’s heart-wrenching screams echoed in his ears:
“Go to hell! Go to hell! Go to hell! Pay for my sister’s life! Wu Dashan, pay for my sister’s life!”
The strikes from the steel rebar carried heavy physical weight; every single blow made Wu Dashan contort his body in sheer agony.
At the same time, however, a surge of malicious resentment welled up from the depths of his heart.
His groans of pain grew fewer, and his panicked mind gradually cleared up!
Right as Bai Hanyue gripped the rebar and prepared to plunge it forcefully into his back, he suddenly spun around, his hands shooting out to catch the rebar thrusting toward his face!
The pity-seeking tone in his voice vanished completely, replaced by a smug sneer flashing across his bloodshot eyes:
“You bratty little girl, I gave you a face [4] and you took it for weakness, didn’t you? You actually want to kill me? Go to hell instead!”
With that, he gripped the steel rebar and yanked it toward himself with all his might!
Bai Hanyue’s slender frame was dragged toward Wu Dashan in an instant.
Veins of blood burst across his excited eyes. Raising the kitchen cleaver with his other hand, spittle flew everywhere as he barked:
“Want me to pay with my life?! Wait for your next life!”
The gleam of the cold cleaver charged straight toward Bai Hanyue’s face.
Bai Hanyue closed her eyes by pure reflex!
In that split second, she had already braced herself to welcome excruciating pain.
Yet in the very next instant, a sharp CLANG resonated through the air as the steel rebar in her hands shuddered violently, numbing her palms!
Following that, a bloodcurdling scream erupted right beside her ear:
“AAAAAHHHH!!! MY HAND!”
The kitchen cleaver dropped onto the floor, clattering noisily.
Opening her eyes, she saw Wu Dashan—who had been acting cocky just a second ago—collapsed in a pool of blood!
The arm he had used to hold the cleaver had been severed clean off, and the sheer agony turned his entire face paper-white.
Right at that moment, the man who had remained silent all evening—resembling a handsome sculpture—finally moved.
He stepped forward, bent down, grabbed Wu Dashan by the collar with one hand, and dragged him outside like a dead weight.
As the tide of adrenaline receded, Wu Dashan finally remembered that besides Bai Hanyue, there were two other people in this room!
Regret came far too late.
Clutching his blood-drenched stump, he shrieked in sheer horror:
“What are you doing?! I can’t go outside! I can’t go outside! I’ve never done anything to you…”
Soon, however, his voice was swallowed completely by the curtain of rain outside!
-
Chapter 22: He Got Off Too Easy!
Outside, the rain clattered loudly.
Qin Xi walked to the doorway and waited for a few minutes before seeing Qin Song return from the darkness.
He stepped inside, pulled the door shut to block the cold wind outside, and looked down at Qin Xi:
“He’s completely dead.”
Hearing this, Qin Xi’s brows twitched slightly, and a faint flicker of relief appeared in her eyes.
The corners of her lips curved up slightly as she looked at Qin Song:
“It’s almost four in the morning, and you didn’t get much sleep last night either. Go back to sleep for a bit; we’ll head out after dawn!”
Qin Song naturally had no objection.
Qin Xi hadn’t slept the entire night either; even if she wanted to leave now, he wouldn’t agree to it.
Only, both of them turned their gazes toward Bai Hanyue at the same time.
The little girl, who had been somewhat frantic moments ago, had now calmed down as the rush of emotion passed, a hint of restraint returning to her posture.
When she heard Qin Song say that Wu Dashan was dead, her eyes instantly turned red.
Covering her mouth, her tears fell like beads.
Her parents had passed away long ago, and her older sister had turned into a zombie. She had run out here in a state of confusion, briefly taking revenge as her only goal.
Now that her vengeance had been exacted, she had no idea where she should go tomorrow.
Qin Xi looked at Bai Hanyue silently for a few seconds without saying anything.
Suddenly remembering something, she walked over to the doorway of the east room and turned on the light inside.
As her vision cleared up, a thick scent of blood grew distinct alongside it!
On the floor inside the room, a female corpse and a male corpse lay in a pool of blood.
However… the male corpse’s head had clearly been beaten heavily, and along with those blackened fingernails, it was very obviously a dead zombie.
As for the female corpse, she was still in human form. Aside from a wound on her head, a large chunk of flesh had been torn off her leg!
Qin Xi turned to look at Bai Hanyue, who was following behind her and trying hard to hold back her sobs, and asked:
“Do you know these two people?”
Hearing Qin Xi ask her, Bai Hanyue slowly walked forward a few steps, stood at the doorway, and glanced down at the floor inside the room.
Yet the moment she saw it, her face—which had just regained a bit of color—turned deathly pale once more.
The overly gory scene made her stomach turn violently upside down. She endured it again and again, holding back the surge of nausea, and looked at Qin Xi:
“They are Wu Dashan’s parents—a very pitiful elderly couple.”
Hearing this, Qin Xi’s eyes flickered slightly.
Wu Dashan’s father had turned into a zombie, his mother’s leg had been bitten, and his own pants had been torn by scratches.
Yet his mother had died while he remained unharmed.
Moreover, the injury on the old woman’s head was clearly inflicted by someone on purpose.
Zombies wouldn’t swing wooden clubs, and since the old woman hadn’t turned yet, there was no necessity to kill her.
That left only one explanation: Wu Dashan!
“He used his mother to block the zombie and escaped by himself!”
Qin Song’s calm voice rang out inside the room, instantly pulling Qin Xi’s thoughts back.
She raised her head to look at Qin Song, realizing her elder brother had figured it out as well, so she didn’t hide her tone either:
“He could even sacrifice his own mother; letting him die so easily really means he got off too easy!”
The girl’s tone was indignant, but her otherwise calm face seemed to gain a bit of vitality.
Looking at Qin Xi and listening to her finish, a smile inevitably floated into the depths of Qin Song’s eyes.
He raised his hand, patted the top of Qin Xi’s head, and said softly:
“The old woman was bitten. She’ll probably turn into a zombie in a little while. I’ll dispose of these two corpses. Go sleep in the west room first; I’ll head over to keep watch shortly.”
Hearing this, Qin Xi didn’t refuse.
She truly felt a bit exhausted!
She and Bai Hanyue returned to the west room.
Jiangcheng was located in the north; the layout of rural houses here included heated brick kangs inside the rooms.
Standing on the floor, Qin Xi looked at the bedding on the kang. The light blue bedsheets and duvet cover were already somewhat blackened.
Especially the part of the blanket that rested near the neck—it was so greasy and filthy it actually glistened dark!
Feeling a bit disgusted, Qin Xi put on a pair of plastic gloves, dragged the whole set of bedding off, opened the door, and tossed it into the courtyard!
Then, from her space, she took out a set of bedding she had purchased previously.
She had no intention of pulling out a set for Bai Hanyue as well.
Bai Hanyue, this little girl, was also very perceptive.
Without making a sound, she ran into the east room, dug out a slightly newer set of bedding from the old couple’s cabinet, and laid it out on the kang as well.
However, she kept a bit of distance between herself and Qin Xi!
Watching her movements, Qin Xi recalled the struggle between her and Wu Dashan earlier.
She suddenly had a hunch: Bai Hanyue’s resolve for revenge had been so unyielding. Perhaps in her past life, she had also sought revenge against Wu Dashan, only to fail!
After all, in her past life, Wu Dashan hadn’t died!
As for Bai Hanyue…
Qin Xi remembered that in her past life, the reason she first developed dissatisfaction toward Wu Dashan was that after the base was established, this man began exposing his lustful behavior.
He even openly started building a harem of sorts.
For such a lustful person, facing a young girl who came to his doorstep, Bai Hanyue had probably…
Thinking of this, Qin Xi felt even more strongly that Wu Dashan had died too easily!
But now that the man was dead, regret was useless!
Meanwhile, Qin Song had already removed the two corpses from the east room and returned inside.
He had found a sheet of iron from somewhere.
Bringing it to the window in the east room that Qin Xi had broken, he activated his metal superpower to fuse the iron sheet and window frame together.
This would prevent mutated animals from crawling through the window!
When he reached the west room, Qin Xi was still sitting up, not yet lying down.
Seeing him enter, she couldn’t help asking aloud:
“Big Brother, are there many zombies outside?”
Hearing this, Qin Song nodded:
“The commotion earlier was a bit loud, so there’s a good number of them. But after tossing Wu Dashan’s corpse out, once the zombies finish eating and see there’s no more food, they’ll disperse!”
Qin Xi let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that.
However, she thought of the old couple again and asked:
“Where did you put the old man and woman’s bodies?”
“There’s a cellar behind the yard; I put them both down there!” Qin Song sat down on the sofa Qin Xi had brought out, and after speaking, he voluntarily added an explanation:
“The old woman was on the verge of turning, so I took care of her as well.”
Only then did Qin Xi put her mind at ease.
Once a person was bitten by a zombie, regardless of whether they were dead or alive, as long as the brain and one-third of the upper body remained intact, they would turn into a zombie!
Therefore, for any corpse that had been bitten, the brain had to be destroyed!
She crawled into her blanket and lay down.
Taking out a small nightlight from her space, she handed it to Qin Song, then switched off the main room light.
Qin Song turned on the nightlight and placed it beside the sofa.
Bai Hanyue had already lain down long ago.
The little girl seemed a bit nervous in front of Qin Song.
Yet due to the current peculiar circumstances, she didn’t dare go sleep in another room by herself either.
All of her courage today seemed to have been completely drained during her attack on Wu Dashan earlier!
Qin Xi fell asleep very quickly.
Outside the window, the sound of rain ebbed and flowed, occasionally accompanied by the clatter of hail slamming against the glass.
The dreary sky delayed dawn by two hours.
When a sliver of light finally peeked through from outside, Qin Xi happened to open her eyes.
She sat up from under the covers and turned her head, only to see that there was no longer anyone on Bai Hanyue’s mattress next to her.
Startled, she heard Qin Song’s voice come from the direction of the sofa on the floor in the next second:
“She’s in the kitchen making food.”
Qin Xi was taken aback.
Realizing that rural homes generally had stored grain, along with firewood and gas tanks in the house, she also put on her shoes and prepared to wash up.
At the exact same time, unknown to the three of them, down at the factory administrative building at the foot of the mountain:
A group of people, who had been trembling in fear the entire night, suddenly heard dense footsteps coming from downstairs.
Lin Xin, who was currently using the bathroom, suddenly felt a terrible foreboding!
Without even having time to pull up his pants properly, he quickly darted over to a small room at the other end of the hallway and hid himself!
Immediately after, before long, terrified pleas for mercy suddenly rang out from the area where everyone was resting:
“N-No, don’t! I’ll give
everything…”
Gave you a face (給妳臉 – gěi nǐ liǎn): A common Chinese colloquial expression meaning to show someone respect, leniency, or courtesy when they don’t deserve it.
0 Comments