Early afternoon, the weather grew hot again, so the group packed up their utensils and cloth, returning to Peach Blossom Village.
Yan Hongxia had no interest in mahjong or Go but was intrigued by Xiaocui’s carving work.
Picking up a carving knife, she mimicked a small monkey Xiaocui had previously carved.
“Scrape, scrape, scrape—”
Moments later, an identical small monkey appeared in her hand.
“Easy!” Yan Hongxia grabbed another piece of wood, her knife dancing swiftly, soon producing a wooden peach blossom.
Xiaocui: ⊙_⊙
Do sword cultivators get a bonus in carving skills?
That afternoon, all the wooden carvings Xiaocui had prepared for sale gained a “twin sibling” from a different parent.
…
After cooling off under the old peach tree and dining at Peach Blossom Village, the three bid farewell and headed back to Tonglin County.
As they trekked along the mountain path, Yan Hongxia gritted her teeth, as if making a firm decision, and said, “I’m leaving tomorrow!”
Liu Qingyan was startled, “So soon?”
Though she knew Yan Hongxia wouldn’t stay long, Liu Qingyan hadn’t expected her to leave tomorrow.
“No need to rush, right?” Liu Qingyan urged her to stay, “There are still scenic spots nearby, Yuling Garden has two signature plays, and I have so much to learn from you, Hongxia.”
Yan Hongxia shook her head, “I’ve taught you all I can. I don’t specialise in flying swords, and I don’t know Feiyu Mountain’s secret techniques.
Besides…
These three days have been too comfortable. If I stay longer, I might not want to leave. No, no! I must go!
Sob… and… could you prepare some food for me?”
Yan Hongxia swallowed, blinking expectantly, “Like chocolate and toffee…”
“Of course,” Liu Qingyan grabbed her hand, “I’ll prepare some tonight. Let’s talk by candlelight, and if your travels bring you nearby, come back to Tonglin County.”
Yan Hongxia smiled, “Naturally.”
Lu Zheng laughed, “Leaving tomorrow? I’ll prepare something for you too.”
Yan Hongxia grinned mischievously, “Great, I won’t refuse!”
…
Chatting and laughing, they hurried along the forest path.
Suddenly, Lu Zheng stopped, and Yan Hongxia and Liu Qingyan halted too, turning toward the dense woods to the east.
“Netherworld aura.”
“And corpse qi.”
A mix of netherworld aura and corpse qi drifted over.
“Let’s check it out!”
Yan Hongxia’s eyes narrowed, sword qi swirling around her. She leapt forward, charging into the eastern woods.
Lu Zheng held Liu Qingyan’s hand, their figures floating gracefully, seemingly slow but actually fast, closely following Yan Hongxia.
Liu Qingyan held Lu Zheng with one hand and her red jade sword with the other, scanning around, ready to strike.
After advancing less than two li, they found the source of the netherworld aura and corpse qi.
Two corpses, and a figure with blood-red eyes… a zombie?
The corpses aside, the zombie wore tight clothing, its face bluish-black, fangs slightly visible, fingers sharp, pupils pure red, seemingly mindless.
“Roar!”
Spotting them, the zombie growled, paused, and lunged.
“Hmph!”
Yan Hongxia didn’t stop or dodge. Her lips parted slightly, and a sharp sword qi shot from her mouth, piercing the zombie’s neck.
As it pierced, the sword qi, almost tangible, twisted, severing the zombie’s neck entirely.
“Roll, roll…”
The zombie’s head tumbled off its shoulders, rolling down the slope.
“Thud!”
The zombie’s body collapsed, completely still.
“A zombie?”
Yan Hongxia stepped to the head, snapped a branch, and poked it.
“Snap! Snap!”
The head still tried to bite the branch.
Lu Zheng examined the two corpses, their skin ashen, likely poisoned by corpse venom but not turned into zombies.
“Their souls were too weak, killed outright by the venom,” Liu Qingyan said, frowning.
Yan Hongxia flicked a sword qi, destroying the zombie’s soul within its head.
“It’s corrupted by corpse venom, no trace of consciousness.”
Lu Zheng blinked, “So it’s not a first-generation zombie?”
Having spent a year here, Lu Zheng knew zombies existed—souls trapped in bodies, absorbing extreme yin qi from the earth, forming ghost corpses.
Strictly speaking, they weren’t fundamentally different from giant corpses, water corpses, or corpse infants.
The only difference was zombies’ unique venom, which could erode souls, turning those not directly killed by zombies into zombie-like monsters.
But these monsters lacked consciousness, driven by instinct, sometimes called corpse puppets.
Not everyone could become a corpse puppet, though. The other two bodies here had their souls dissipated, killed by the venom.
“A zombie nearby?” Lu Zheng scanned the area.
“Zombies are usually in tombs.”
Liu Qingyan checked the other corpses with a branch, finding small tools used by tomb robbers.
“Tomb thieves?”
“Probably broke into a tomb and encountered a zombie.”
“Ugh… that’s rough…”
“Burn them, or the venom could spread if passersby or beasts encounter them,” Liu Qingyan said.
So, the three gathered branches, found a clearing, and burned all three bodies.
“Will that zombie come out?”
“Probably not? We’ve been in Tonglin County a while, no zombie troubles.”
“But what if it was dormant and the tomb robbers woke it?”
“…”
“Can we find its tomb?”
“No, just corpse venom. These bodies have no other traces.”
Yan Hongxia added, “That zombie was a martial artist in life. The tomb’s likely far from here.”
Finding the tomb would be difficult.
Lu Zheng looked around at the dense forest and high mountains, indeed impossible to search.
“Let’s head home and wait. If the zombie causes trouble, word will spread in the county. We won’t need to find it; it’ll come to us.”
So they continued back to the city.
“I’m not leaving yet!” Yan Hongxia said seriously, “I’ll stay a few days, wait for news. If that zombie harms people, I’ll deal with it before I go.”
“Great!” Liu Qingyan happily grabbed her arm, “No rush then. Since we can’t find it, how about watching *Red Silk Saga* at Yuling Garden tomorrow?”
“Really? Yes, yes!” Yan Hongxia’s eyes lit up, nodding eagerly.
Lu Zheng: (ー_ー)!!
