Chapter Fifty-One: Are There Still Survivors?

Tonight, Qingzhou City seemed especially noisy, particularly in the southern quarter. In some rooms where zombies had not been cleared out, they now appeared agitated, endlessly howling into the night.

It was no secret that there were zombies within the city. All the residents knew that in certain grand and secluded mansions, many zombies remained, left uncleared. Still, since these creatures couldn’t get out, few bothered to risk the manpower and resources required to dispose of them.

But this was precisely what made things so difficult for Yue Qi and his companions. They had assumed that this courtyard had already been cleared and simply sat empty, but unexpectedly, it was overrun with zombies. Now, trapped in the city and unable to act without drawing attention, Yue Qi dared not use fire or lightning spells for fear of being discovered. In this cramped space, both water and wind, among the five elements, were sorely lacking, and only earth spells were available—but their lethality was limited.

At last, with a single stroke, Yue Qi brought down the final zombie in the courtyard. The group breathed a collective sigh of relief, but fearing the disturbance might draw the attention of outsiders, they quickly retreated back into the underground tunnel.

Gradually, the sounds of zombies faded, and silence descended once more. The Liu family’s compound remained shrouded in darkness, the dense branches overhead rendering the place invisible from outside—and, of course, vice versa.

“Is it over?” Li Qinglan whispered, trembling uncontrollably as he hid behind Hong Ye. During the earlier battle, Yue Qi, Bai Lian, and Hong Ye had all stepped forward, but Li Qinglan, completely unskilled in combat, could only watch helplessly and pray the zombies wouldn’t discover him. By some stroke of luck, he had maintained enough distance from the other three that he escaped notice, emerging unscathed—though not unshaken.

Yue Qi glanced at him, saying nothing, though he felt a twinge of dissatisfaction. Perhaps he shouldn't have brought along such a burden. If he had known earlier, he would have let Li draw a map and come alone.

But Yue Qi forgot that he hadn’t fully trusted Li Qinglan before, and even if he had been given a map, there was no guarantee he could have found such a concealed spot on his own.

“It seems things have quieted down, but we probably can’t get out tonight…” Bai Lian pondered, then added, “Even if we could, there’d be nowhere safe to stay. This mansion is a decent refuge.”

“Yes…” Hong Ye nodded. Li Qinglan chimed in, “Wang Chao has stirred up quite a storm here in Qingzhou. He’s split the survivors into several squads, each with a leader. Every day, they do a roll call, and if the numbers change, they go through the list name by name…”

“That’s easy enough. We could ambush a few people, disguise ourselves, and slip in…” Yue Qi said indifferently.

“That won’t work,” Hong Ye shook his head. “Not only are we all unfamiliar faces, but—” he glanced awkwardly at Bai Lian, “there’s no one in Qingzhou quite as striking as her. If we go out, we’ll be noticed in an instant…”

“Ah, perhaps being too beautiful has its drawbacks,” Yue Qi sighed, though his tone was clearly teasing Bai Lian.

Of course, Bai Lian was not one to suffer in silence. She pinched Yue Qi’s arm sharply before turning to the others. “Aren’t you all missing something?”

“Huh?” The others stared at her, awaiting her explanation.

“We’re here for revenge, aren’t we? There’s no need to infiltrate Wang Chao’s group,” Bai Lian looked at them as if they were fools. “We have a cultivator on our side. As long as we know where Wang Chao is, our target won’t even have a chance to fight back.”

The three exchanged sheepish glances. After a long pause, Li Qinglan muttered, “That’s true. Brother Yue is a cultivator—he handled dozens of zombies without breaking a sweat. How could those survivors possibly be his match…”

“Weren’t we all thinking we should sneak close to Wang Chao and then ambush him?” Hong Ye gave Yue Qi a pointed look.

“I suppose so. That’s what I thought, anyway—I never considered another way…” Yue Qi scratched his head, casting an embarrassed glance at Bai Lian.

“You blockhead! Ask them where Wang Chao is staying. The sooner we finish this, the sooner we can get out of here!” Bai Lian glared at Yue Qi, though his sheepish expression struck her as somewhat amusing.

“Right, right! You’re the clever one, Lian’er!” Yue Qi praised, then turned to Li Qinglan, “Do you know where Wang Chao is staying?”

Li Qinglan and Hong Ye exchanged a look, then shook their heads. “I’m not one of Wang Chao’s trusted men. There are too many houses in Qingzhou, and Wang Chao is unpredictable. He might spend the night at a widow’s house today, and tomorrow at some young lady’s room…”

“Hmph!” Bai Lian snorted at this, clearly angered by Wang Chao’s debauchery. “Why hunt all over? Tomorrow we’ll seize the city wall and call Wang Chao out directly! Are we really afraid of a brute like him?”

“That’s not a bad idea…” To everyone’s surprise, Yue Qi didn’t object, but answered thoughtfully after careful consideration.

“That seems a bit reckless…” Hong Ye frowned. “We have the advantage of being hidden, while Wang Chao is out in the open. We don’t know what tricks he might have up his sleeve. If we act openly, the situation reverses—he’ll be hidden while we’re exposed. That could be dangerous…”

Bai Lian snapped back to reality at Hong Ye’s words, realizing she had indeed been too hasty. Yet Yue Qi had agreed to her idea so readily… She shot him another glare.

“So what do we do? Sneaking in won’t work, and a frontal assault is too risky…” Yue Qi spread his hands, leaving the difficult planning to the others. He was never one for strategy—being a fighter suited him just fine in the apocalypse.

“Can’t you think for yourself? What if we weren’t here?!” Bai Lian scolded, irritated by Yue Qi’s indifference.

“All right, all right, my lady… But you’re here now, aren’t you?” In truth, Yue Qi was rather afraid of Bai Lian—he was the very picture of a henpecked husband, and he generally did as she said.

“In that case, we still need a plan…” Bai Lian began, but suddenly there was a faint sound from outside the tunnel. The group heard it distinctly—it was no zombie.

“Someone’s out there?!” They exchanged nervous glances. Yue Qi, reacting first, quickly extinguished the torch. It was only safe to use a torch in the tunnel—outdoors, it would make them a perfect target for anyone watching from the city wall.

“I’ll go check,” Yue Qi whispered. Wind-walking spell at his feet, he moved swiftly to the tunnel’s exit.

He peered out cautiously, expecting to be discovered, but the courtyard was empty—nothing but the corpses of zombies and overgrown weeds.

“What’s going on?” With his sharp eyesight, Yue Qi could see the courtyard clearly, and there was no one there. But where had the sound come from?

He leaped down into the courtyard. The night wind was cold, but gentle—not strong enough to have caused the noise.

Suddenly, Yue Qi’s ear twitched at a faint, desperate voice. “Help me… help me…”

“Who’s there?” he called, looking toward the source of the sound. Yet nothing was visible—several interlaced trees blocked his view.

“Help me, please… help me…” The plea grew louder and more urgent, as if the person had heard Yue Qi’s voice.

“Where are you?” Yue Qi frowned, stepping forward slowly. He could tell the voice was genuinely weak, the kind only the truly dying could utter.

But just then, the voice fell silent. Yue Qi entered the thicket and finally found a “skeleton” on the ground.

That was almost no exaggeration—this person hadn’t eaten in days, reduced to skin and bones, hair tangled like a bird’s nest, lips pale and cracked. A corpse might have looked better.

“Hey! Wake up!” Yue Qi frowned. The man had fainted dead away. After a moment’s hesitation, Yue Qi gritted his teeth and carried him back into the tunnel.

“What now? Should we try to save him?” The torch flickered faintly in the tunnel’s thin air—the oil barely kept it burning.

“This man…” Li Qinglan frowned. “He looks familiar, but I can’t recall from where…”

“He’s lucky, that’s for sure. Survived out there all this time and the zombies never found him. Most people would have died long ago,” Hong Ye remarked with a wry smile.

“Could he be from Liu Feng’s estate?” Yue Qi wondered, turning to Li Qinglan.

“No,” Li Qinglan replied with certainty. “I’ve worked at Liu Feng’s estate for quite some time, but I’ve never seen this man before. Perhaps he’s from Qingzhou—maybe someone I passed by and forgot.”

Li Qinglan’s identity remained something of a mystery. He worked in Liu Feng’s mansion and knew of its secret passages, but no one truly knew who he was. Now, though, was not the time for questions. Yue Qi looked at Bai Lian, waiting for her decision.

“We should save him,” Bai Lian said with quiet authority. With that, water gathered in Yue Qi’s hand, and droplets fell gently onto the man’s body, gradually reviving his flagging life.

At last, the man opened his eyes.