Little Zombie had been tricked again. She hadn’t even gotten to touch him, yet she was accused of being a heartless jerk. The evidence was conclusive, and she couldn’t defend herself no matter what she said. She was almost ready to find a lawyer to help her take the case to court!
But empty words proved nothing, and she was afraid even a lawyer wouldn’t be able to help.
Fu Qi was cunning, and he sometimes stuttered when he spoke, but Little Zombie certainly couldn’t win an argument against him. She could beat him in a fight, but she couldn’t actually kill him. Otherwise, the zombie really would need a lawyer to defend her in court.
After bitterly reflecting on the matter, Little Zombie decided that from now on, whenever Fu Qi promised her anything, she would make him write down every detail—the time, the place, and all the terms—then sign and stamp it as evidence. For that purpose, she specifically went upstairs to find some paper and a pen.
Now that she had both, she might as well read for a while.
Reading required brainpower. If she got her zombie brain working, it would become smarter, and then Fu Qi’s schemes and tricks would never fool her again.
So that night, while the two humans rested, the zombie diligently read for the entire night.
The next morning, Fu Qi woke up first, as usual. He greeted Qin Zhen but received no response. Thinking she was still angry with him, he went outside to check the surroundings.
Twenty minutes later, he returned. The old lady had also woken up by then, and the moment she saw him, she said, “Captain Fu, come take a look! Something seems wrong with Miss Zhang!”
Fu Qi went over and found the zombie sitting there in a daze, exactly as she had when she’d first been frightened out of her wits by a talisman.
Had being forbidden to touch him made her go stupid?
“Sweetie?” He lightly patted the zombie’s face.
The zombie remained vacant and completely unresponsive.
It was the first time Fu Qi had seen her like this. After observing her carefully, he pulled the book and pen from her hands, then turned on a small electric fan and blew it at Qin Zhen for a while. Only then did she come back to herself, though she still looked foolish.
“Sweetie, look at me. Do you still recognize me?”
The zombie stayed dazed for a moment longer. Gradually, a spark returned to her eyes.
“Sweetie,” she said.
After a pause, she slowly pointed at the book beside her. Her voice trembled as she said, “Sweetie, th-this thing… it’s p-poisonous! It only h-harms zomb—”
Just as she was about to say “zombies,” Fu Qi quickly cut her off.
“It only harms Jiangjiang.”
“That’s right!” Jiangjiang nodded vigorously. “I read it all n-night, and my br-brain can’t m-move anymore! It keeps m-m-m-m—”
Fu Qi looked at her horrified expression, then at the advanced mathematics book the zombie had spent the whole night reading. He tried to hold it in, but in the end he couldn’t stop himself from laughing so hard his whole body shook.
Fortunately, after swimming through the ocean of knowledge all night, the zombie’s brain hadn’t merely crashed and her stutter returned—her intelligence had also regressed by twenty years. She no longer knew how to hit people. She could only stare at him blankly.
Fu Qi made no effort to restore her intelligence. He took a piece of candy from her little shoulder bag, unwrapped it, and stuffed it into her mouth. Then he led her to the vehicle and left her to her own devices.
It was almost noon before they stopped to rest along the way. Only then did the zombie recover from the torment of knowledge. After recalling what had happened that morning, she silently found a scrap of cloth and began polishing the peachwood sword.
The old lady, unable to see through the cause and effect, asked curiously, “What are you doing, Miss Zhang?”
The zombie didn’t feel like talking, so Fu Qi answered for her. “Our Sweetie has abandoned literature for martial arts. She’s polishing her sword and preparing to slay the enemy.”
“Oh, how ambitious!” the old lady praised. “Practicing martial arts is good, but you can’t neglect your studies, either. You have to read more to become smarter…”
Those words made the zombie tremble violently, but they pleased Fu Qi. He began laughing again, infuriating the zombie so much that she silently gritted her teeth and decided that once she had finished polishing the sword, she would kill both of them!
But who could slay enemies with a wooden sword?
The old lady assumed Fu Qi was joking and asked, “What’s Miss Zhang’s full name? Sometimes you call her Little Zhang, sometimes Little Jiang, and sometimes Jiangjiang.”
Fu Qi answered, “Her name is Jiang Xiaojiang.”
“Oh, so her surname is Jiang. I’m hard of hearing, so I kept calling you Little Zhang… I’m sorry, Miss Jiang.”
The Little Zombie said, “N-no problem.”
It didn’t matter what the old lady called her. She was wrong either way.
The old lady continued, “My surname is Jiang too. When I was young, my friends all called me Jiang Xiaofeng.”
Little Zombie said, “You mean Jiang Little Crazy. That’s… p-pretty much the same!”
The old lady caught the homophone and burst out laughing. “It really is! That’s what my friends used to call me…”
As they were talking, a vehicle came speeding toward them in the distance, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Five years had passed since the zombie virus outbreak. After such a long time, even the most delusional teenager had accepted reality and given up on dreaming of becoming the protagonist who ruled the world.
Life was difficult. When most people encountered one another outside a safe base, they might not offer help, but they generally wouldn’t cause trouble for no reason, either.
The people in this vehicle, however, were an exception.
As they passed by, they not only failed to slow down in a friendly manner, but also began hurling stones at them.
Fu Qi reacted quickly and shielded the two women. Then he turned around, his expression darkening.
“Good grief! In times like these, there are still people like that…”
While the old lady was lamenting, Qin Zhen asked, “Were they m-making fun of us? Th-that?”
The old lady took a careful look at the vehicle. “They really were!”
It was the same vehicle that had passed by earlier, when the two of them had been surrounded by zombies while riding the motorcycle.
The other party hadn’t stopped back then. There was nothing to criticize about that. In the apocalypse, helping was kindness, but refusing to help was normal too. However, making obscene gestures and spitting at people in trouble was going too far.
Still, it wasn’t worth fighting to the death over such a small matter.
After hearing their explanation, Fu Qi said nothing. Once they had rested a little longer, the group got back into the vehicle and continued on their way.
They had originally agreed to let Qin Zhen drive, but Fu Qi changed his mind, saying that her brain still hadn’t fully recovered and he was worried she might cause an accident.
The zombie was so angry that she continued polishing her sword.
Fu Qi was always a steady driver, so there was no need for anyone to worry. One woman had her eyes covered, while the other was absorbed in polishing her sword. The two chatted fitfully without paying attention to what was happening outside.
Then the vehicle suddenly began rocking violently, again and again.
Qin Zhen looked up. First she saw the scenery rushing backward outside the window. Then she spotted the familiar vehicle diagonally ahead of them, and instantly understood what Fu Qi was planning.
“Y-you have to drive safely!”
The old lady’s previous road-rage outburst had left the zombie traumatized. The moment she saw what was happening, she panicked.
Fu Qi said, “It’s fine.”
As he spoke, the vehicle shot forward with a whoosh, covering a great distance in an instant. The zombie grabbed the seat belt in fright.
“The p-police are coming! They’ll r-revoke your d-driver’s license!”
Fu Qi laughed. “Then I’ll just draw a new one.”
The old lady, who had no idea what was happening because her eyes were covered, asked, “What’s going on?”
“He’s speeding after them to settle the score!” Qin Zhen said. The moment she saw the culprits, she became angry. “It’s all your fault, Sweetie! You t-taught us bad habits!”
Fu Qi wanted to laugh whenever he heard her speak. He raised the corners of his mouth and reassured her, “I’m not speeding. We’re just low on gas, so we’re going to ‘borrow’ some from the vehicle ahead.”
The old lady didn’t leave the base often, but she wasn’t completely ignorant of the world, either. After hearing a few words, she understood and gently advised, “Forget it, forget it. It’s not a big deal. There’s no need to hold a grudge.”
“I really wasn’t planning to,” Fu Qi said. “That vehicle up ahead isn’t the one you two encountered before.”
Two vehicles fought over the lane, repeatedly brushing past each other. Qin Zhen was tossed around inside the car. Gripping the overhead handle, she squinted at the other vehicle and said, “Yes, that’s it!”
“No, we’ve never seen that car before.” Fu Qi stepped on the gas and overtook the vehicle ahead. “Little Zombie, you’re not thinking straight today. Did you forget?”
Qin Zhen really was dizzy and light-headed. By the time she tried to get a closer look, Fu Qi had blocked her view of the other vehicle, and she began to hesitate.
Fu Qi added, “Don’t believe me? Academician, why don’t you take a look?”
Hearing that, Academician Jiang removed her blindfold. Just then, the vehicle slowed down, giving her a perfectly clear view of the other car. She instantly exploded. Rolling down the window, she bellowed at the people inside, “You little bastards! Were you the ones flipping me off? Just you wait—I’ll kill you!”
Qin Zhen: “……”
Fu Qi laughed.
“You’re still laughing!” Qin Zhen wanted to hit him.
After being cursed out by the old lady, the people in the other vehicle recognized them as well. They suddenly swerved toward them, attempting to ram their car. Fu Qi was still grinning, but his hands never relaxed for a moment. He turned the steering wheel, and the other vehicle missed them completely.
The two cars began weaving across the empty highway, chasing one another.
The two humans handled it with ease, while the one indestructible zombie screamed in terror.
“Fu Laoqi, pull over right now!”
“If I stop now, Academician Jiang will chew me out, then try to grab the steering wheel again.”
Qin Zhen hurriedly reached over to restrain the old lady and put her blindfold back on.
The old lady stubbornly refused. She shoved Qin Zhen away while continuing to hurl abuse, until even Qin Zhen lost her temper.
She couldn’t bring herself to rough up the old lady, but she was also afraid that a collision would hurt her. In desperation, she shouted, “Jiang Little Crazy, if you keep being so unre—unreliable, I’m going to cu—cut ties with you! Don’t ever ta—talk to me again!”
Something in those words seemed to strike a nerve with the old lady. She suddenly froze. After a moment, she said, “I remember now.”
Under the circumstances, nobody cared what she had remembered. Qin Zhen took advantage of the moment and tried to put the blindfold on her. But the old lady suddenly snapped back to reality and turned around to resume shouting at the people in the other vehicle.
The zombie broke down. Just as she was about to force the old lady down, the other car suddenly accelerated. It barreled toward them like a gale, with the vicious determination of something that would not stop until it had killed them all.
On the other side of the road were rough stones and dense brush. If they crashed into it, the car could easily roll over or become trapped among the rocks and shrubs. Either way, everyone inside would certainly be injured.
Qin Zhen couldn’t die, so she wasn’t afraid of being hurt. But she was afraid the old lady wouldn’t be able to take it.
With the two cars about to collide, the zombie let out a shriek, threw herself over the old lady, and shielded her with her own body.
There was a thunderous crash, accompanied by the sound of the vehicle overturning and cries of pain. Yet the impact Qin Zhen had imagined never came. Instead, after traveling a short distance, the car came to a steady stop.
“Their lives aren’t worth much, but I’ve got treasures in this car. How could I bear to crash head-on with them?”
The car door opened from outside, and Fu Qi’s amused voice drifted in.
He hadn’t actually intended to fight the others to the death. He had merely provoked them, then unleashed the berserk old lady to inflame their tempers. When they finally charged at him in fury, he dodged at the last moment and let them suffer the consequences themselves.
But the zombie was still furious. This was her first official mission!
Qin Zhen released the old lady and pounced on Fu Qi, pounding him twice.
Fu Qi waited until she had finished before explaining, “Their vehicle is sturdy, but it’s slow and not agile enough to match ours. Besides, at that distance, I was confident I could kill all of them within three seconds.”
In short, he had been completely certain that no one on their side would be hurt.
Only then did Qin Zhen forgive him.
Their internal conflict was easily resolved. Now it was time to deal with the outsiders.
The F-branded SUV had overturned in the wasteland, with half its wheels hanging in midair. The people inside had blood streaming from their heads and crawled out in a daze. Instead of begging for mercy, however, one of them pulled out a knife and lunged at Fu Qi.
Fu Qi twisted the man’s wrist and took the knife away.
Seeing this, Qin Zhen stopped holding back. She grabbed her peachwood sword and gave the others a thorough beating. She would charge this beating to Academician Jiang—if the humans pursued the matter later, she would take the blame for the zombie.
The five young men in the car surrendered completely after being beaten. Under the threat of force, they voluntarily handed over their supplies.
This was the first time Qin Zhen had helped rob humans. She was terribly nervous and worried that she might end up with a criminal record. But after seeing Fu Qi and Academician Jiang take the others’ gasoline, food, and water without the slightest hesitation, she gradually grew bolder.
Taking advantage of their authority, she boldly claimed a flashlight and two novels for herself.
She had just turned around with them in hand when she ran straight into Fu Qi.
She hurriedly hid the items behind her back. Then, after thinking it over, she took them out again and stuffed them into Fu Qi’s hands, whispering, “Sweetie, I got these fo—for you.”
Fu Qi’s feelings were complicated.
On the one hand, he found the zombie’s combination of criminal intent and utter lack of nerve incredibly adorable. On the other, he finally realized that he was largely responsible for the zombie’s delinquent tendencies.
Because of those conflicting feelings, he didn’t confiscate the novels this time.
By evening, however, he regretted that decision.
They traveled along a desolate northern highway. There were few people, even fewer zombies, and barely any villages along the way. That night, they had no choice but to sleep in the car. To guard against accidents, someone had to stand watch.
When Academician Jiang wasn’t going berserk, she was gentle and easy to get along with. Feeling bad about making the two young people handle every watch, she insisted on taking a shift herself. In the end, she and Qin Zhen took the first half of the night.
Nothing happened during the night. With a new source of entertainment, the zombie tossed her advanced mathematics textbook far away and began reading one of the newly acquired novels by flashlight. The old lady had nothing else to do, so she leaned over and read with her.
What kind of good literature could a young thug possibly carry around for entertainment?
After reading for a while, the two ladies began whispering to each other.
“Why is this making me so uncomfortable? Miss Jiang, do you have any other books?”
“Wou—would you like the advanced ma—mathematics?”
“…The old lady isn’t quite that fond of studying.”
With no other options, they could only endure the discomfort and keep reading. After another rustle of turning pages, they began whispering again.
“I can’t read this anymore… I’m an old woman, and I don’t want to put myself through this. Give me the advanced mathematics instead.”
“I used to have a lo—lot of books, but Sweetie said they were ba—bad for my brain and threw them all away.”
“What kind of books did you have?”
The zombie listed them one by one. After listening, the old lady shook her head and asked, “They sound too tame. Do you have anything more stimulating?”
“What kind of stimulating?”
“You know, the one where someone refuses, and the other person forcibly takes them… What was it called again? Oh, right—forced domination…”
“What did you say you remembered when we were in the car, Academician?” Fu Qi suddenly interrupted.
He had no choice. The zombie learned far too quickly, and Sweetie was getting nervous.
The two ladies had thought he was asleep and had been whispering in secret. Once they realized he was awake, they stopped bothering to lower their voices.
The old lady said, “I remember where I’ve seen a medical institution with the DF insignia.”
The news came so abruptly that Qin Zhen clearly felt Fu Qi’s body tense up at once. She tilted her head to look at him, and when Fu Qi noticed, he quickly relaxed again.
This was the truth behind why those A-country people had traveled thousands of miles, crossing mountains and rivers in their search for something despite the terrifying zombie virus. It was also the fundamental reason they had clung so stubbornly to Fu Qi. Only by figuring this out could they learn what those people’s ultimate goal was.
This mission had been ongoing for several years, beginning before Qin Zhen joined the team. She knew very little about it and had never cared much, but those people from A Country had fired at her before, so they were more or less her enemies. She turned her face aside and listened carefully.
Academician Jiang slowly began, “It was a charitable hospital called Haien—Haien Charity Hospital. More than thirty years ago… No, it must have been over forty years ago. Back then, I often went to that hospital. I had a friend who was receiving treatment there…”
“Was your friend the one who, who sat in your car and got, got injured, so she was hospitalized?”
The old lady said, “No. I was around twenty at the time, and my driver’s license had already been revoked.”
“…” The zombie was baffled. “How could you say that so, so calmly?”
The old lady burst out laughing.
The cramped car was deep in the night, and the atmosphere had been somewhat tense. But after the two of them exchanged a few lines like that, all the heaviness vanished. Fu Qi began laughing too.
After a while, the old lady explained in a low voice, “Actually, after my grandaunt retired, she was hired to oversee the place. I was a medical student, so I went there whenever I had nothing else to do and learned a few things from her. Over time, I got to know some of the patients, and little by little, we became friends.”
All right, then.
Qin Zhen nodded and let Fu Qi continue asking the questions.
Fu Qi asked, “The hospital was called Haien. What did it have to do with DF?”
“It was precisely because the connection wasn’t very significant that I never remembered it,” Academician Jiang said. “That charitable hospital was funded by foreigners. I heard my grandaunt mention that DF seemed to be some kind of insignia of theirs… It was too long ago, and I don’t remember the details.”
“Where was this hospital?” Fu Qi asked.
Academician Jiang thought for a while before saying, “I don’t remember the name of the street. As for the location… it was beside the No. 1 High School in my hometown, separated from the school’s west gate by only a tree-lined avenue… Yes, every year around the beginning of summer vacation, all the albizia trees along both sides of the avenue would bloom. During those years, I often rode my bicycle down that flower-lined street to visit my grandaunt at the hospital or see my sick friend. Every time, I felt like the heroine of a novel…”
As she spoke, she smiled. Her eyes were gentle and distant, as though she were reminiscing about those youthful years that could never return, and the beautiful memories sealed away by time.
The zombie was truly envious.
Compared with the old lady, the zombie’s memories were painfully monotonous: an empty tomb and the corpse that had kept her company.
But after Fu Qi barged into the tomb, everything had changed—
First, he kicked in the coffin lid. Then the tomb was blown up, her husband was forced to be buried, and on her first day out of the tomb she was shot. After that came the terrifying little Daoist, an assassination attempt, a car accident, and the crazy old lady…
Why was it that when she sorted through everything, life alone in the tomb had seemed merely dull and bleak, while after leaving the tomb, it had become downright sunless?!
At the thought, the zombie glared at Fu Qi with a stiff expression.
Fu Qi: “?”
He had no idea what Qin Zhen meant, so Fu Qi continued with the matter at hand. “Is the hospital still there?”
The old lady came back to herself and shook her head. “It disappeared a long time ago. My grandaunt worked there for only two years before she passed away. After that, I was busy with my studies, internships, and graduate school entrance exams, so I rarely returned to my hometown. When I went back after graduating, I discovered that the hospital had already been completely cleared out.”
“Why was it cleared out?”
“I don’t know.”
The matter had happened far too long ago. At the time, Jiang was just an ordinary university student studying in another province, and she had learned only bits and pieces about what was happening in her hometown during occasional phone calls with her family.
“There seemed to have been police involvement, too…” Academician Jiang struggled to remember. “By the time I found out, the hospital had already been closed for more than a year. Some people said it was because they were selling organs there. Others said the investors had gone bankrupt. Still others said the hospital was haunted… That’s how small towns are. Rumors are numerous and jumbled; people will say anything.”
That was all Academician Jiang knew.
The hospital had been sealed, and the police had been involved, yet there was no mention of it online. That meant the matter had been extremely serious.
If this had happened before the apocalypse, Fu Qi could still have investigated it step by step through the proper procedures. But now that the judicial system had collapsed, they could only unravel the truth on their own.
More importantly, there were too few clues, and the events had taken place too long ago. Even if the relevant records had been preserved, they were probably sealed paper documents. They would have to go deep into the enormous archives in the city center and search carefully… and even then, they might not find anything.
Fu Qi considered this for a moment before asking Qin Zhen, “What do you think?”
Captain Fu valued teamwork. Whenever a matter concerned a mission, he required every team member to participate actively in the discussion. Qin Zhen was already used to it.
She worked her brain a little and asked, “Did your grandaunt leave, leave behind any records?”
“No.” Academician Jiang shook her head. “So many years have passed. Not a single one of her belongings remains.”
“What about your friend?”
“She went abroad for treatment,” Academician Jiang said. “Back then, smart devices hadn’t really become widespread, and they were even rarer in small towns. I went to study in a big city while she stayed in the county for treatment, so we weren’t in contact much. Later, when I went back to look for her, I heard that her whole family had left long before the hospital was sealed.”
Those few sentences were essentially useless. The zombie couldn’t think of anything else to ask, so she turned to look at the captain.
Fu Qi asked Academician Jiang whether she had any other information related to the hospital.
Academician Jiang shook her head and said she did not.
She had excelled at university, then gone on to take the graduate school entrance exam, earn her doctorate, pursue further studies in the capital, and settle there. Her parents had moved away from the small county with her. After that came marriage and children, and a busy career. Gradually, she lost contact with all the acquaintances and friends from her youth.
Now, all the clues pointed toward the hospital in that small county—the one that had been sealed. To uncover the truth, the best option was to go there in person.
There had to be some local people still alive. They would surely be able to ask around and find out something.
Academician Jiang had thought of this as well. She said, “If you’re going there to investigate, you can mention my name if you come across any surviving locals…”
She was a renowned scientist, a source of pride to the entire province, and a role model for the younger generation. In that region, everyone knew who she was.
After a pause, Academician Jiang added, “You can also try looking in the teachers’ dormitory at No. 1 High School. Back then, teachers could still be assigned housing. My friend’s parents were both teachers at the school, and they always kept their documents neat and organized. After the family moved abroad, they left the apartment to a relative named Bai Yunbian. That relative lived out of town and rarely went back, so the apartment probably hadn’t been disturbed much. There might still be some clues inside.”
Fu Qi nodded and asked, “What was your friend’s name?”
“I don’t remember,” Academician Jiang said. “I’m old now. There are so many things I can’t recall anymore…”
Qin Zhen nodded too and said, “Your friend’s name must have been very ordinary—probably something plain and old-fashioned.”
Academician Jiang threw her head back and laughed, nodding. “Exactly. If she were as unique as that relative of hers, I’d definitely remember her for years… Bai Yunbian. I remember that the moment I heard the name, I guessed her cousin must be incredibly handsome. I even thought about dating him.”
“Did you?”
“No.” Academician Jiang rubbed her temples as she recalled the past. “We only exchanged a few letters as pen pals. How should I put it… Bai Yunbian had a dashing, handsome name, but his handwriting was an absolute disaster. I was completely turned off.”
Qin Zhen snickered.
“How do you have the nerve to laugh at someone else?” Fu Qi said.
Qin Zhen could tell he was mimicking the way she had questioned Academician Jiang earlier: “How do you have the nerve to say that so calmly?” She knew he was hinting that her own handwriting was just as awful. She lifted her peachwood sword and pressed it against his neck, saying coldly, “Say that again?”
Fu Qi said, “Jiang Xiaojiang.”
To the zombie’s ears, that name automatically transformed into “Qin Zhiqin.” She let out an “ah!” and, holding the sword in one hand while forming a hand seal with the other, began chanting, “Urgently, as the law commands! The Three Pure Ones are here, are, are above! God of Wealth, bless me! Amitabha! Let me finish off this, this big bad guy with one strike!”
Once she finished chanting, she lunged toward the front seats and slashed at Fu Qi’s neck with the peachwood sword.
The two of them were used to roughhousing, but when they moved, the flashlight and book resting on Qin Zhen’s lap fell beneath the seats. The carriage immediately plunged into darkness.
“Hey, hey, hey…” Academician Jiang cried out. “There’s an old lady here too. Don’t accidentally hit me…”
The old lady avoided the fray and bent down to retrieve the flashlight. Her hand unexpectedly touched a backpack, and she asked, “What’s this?”
In the middle of wrestling with Fu Qi, Qin Zhen spared a glance back. The flashlight beam was pointed at an angle, so she couldn’t see clearly. “I don’t know. O-open it and see.”
The old lady casually pulled open the zipper, then exclaimed, “Oh my! A Taoist transmission certificate, a Taoist clergy identification card, Taoist talismans…”
Qin Zhen knew what this was!
It was the parting gift Fan Kong had given her!
“Ahhh!” The zombie shrieked, released Fu Qi, and hurried back. She snatched the backpack away, zipped it shut, and shoved it all the way back beneath the seat.
Fu Qi laughed nonstop from the front.
Only the old lady, completely unaware of what had happened in the past, saw how nervous the zombie was. Then she glanced at the peachwood sword that never left her hand and suddenly understood. “So Miss Jiang is a Taoist priest after all. My apologies for my earlier disrespect. I suppose I should call you Little Daoist Jiang from now on.”
“Yes, Little Daoist Zombie,” Fu Qi chimed in, his voice practically dripping with amusement.
“…”
The zombie was stunned by the title.
She had never imagined that after spending several months among humans, she—a zombie—would actually be respectfully addressed as a Daoist priest.
The zombie felt numb at the absurdity of it all. She was a little afraid of disgracing the title “Daoist priest,” but at the same time, a faint sense of pride welled up inside her.
In all five thousand years of Chinese history, had any other zombie ever received such an honor?
Besides, this wasn’t her fault… The only ones to blame were the humans, who were simply too bizarre.
That reasoning successfully convinced her. The zombie’s vanity flared up. Under the old lady’s admiring gaze and Fu Qi’s mocking one, she said with studied composure, “Ahem. I-I’m only a little Daoist. It’s, it’s nothing!”
