Chapter 78: Gravely Wounded

Two zombies lay motionless on the ground, not getting up. Yue Qi walked over slowly, exhaustion overwhelming him. Though his body bore no real wounds, the depletion of his mental energy made him feel unbearably heavy.

“Second Brother, Third Brother, Fourth Sister…” Yue Qi walked step by step to his remaining kin, then fell to his knees before them.

“Are these my last family?” The thought flashed through Yue Qi’s mind, only to be drowned in an endless tide of grief the next moment.

“Qi-ge? Qi-ge?” It was Bai Lian’s voice. Hearing nothing more from the cellar, she grew worried and decided to come down. But upon descending, she found only darkness—nothing at all.

Yue Qi didn’t answer. He couldn’t bear for his beloved to see him so lost and broken. Dead. All his family was dead. Only he remained alive—yet what meaning did that hold?

Despair flooded Yue Qi; the world seemed drained of hope. He’d trained so hard, journeyed all the way to Mount Sanqing—what was it all for? Wasn’t it simply to let those he loved and who loved him, live happy and peaceful lives? Yet, in the end, because of his own negligence, his family had all been killed by zombies…

At this thought, Yue Qi’s tears flowed uncontrollably, streaming down his face; his soft sobs were especially loud in the dark.

“Qi-ge…” Bai Lian came to his side. Her eyes had now adjusted to the gloom, and Yue Qi’s crying was all the clearer. She said nothing, simply stood there, quietly…

“Cry. Let it out—you’ll feel better…” Bai Lian sighed. She, too, had felt this agony. The teacher who raised her from childhood had died saving her, killed by zombies. It took her a long time to recover from such pain. But for Yue Qi? Blow after blow—what kind of impact would this have on a boy not yet grown?

Suddenly Bai Lian found it all so laughable, so bitterly ironic… Heaven had gifted Yue Qi unparalleled spiritual power in this apocalyptic world, yet forced him to watch, helpless, as each of his loved ones left him, dying one by one. Was this his punishment?

How unfair this world was. It gave hope, only to snuff it out bit by bit; let one taste happiness, only to engulf it in sorrow…

At that moment, Xin Zi and the others entered, torches in hand. The small flames instantly illuminated the cellar. The air was thick with the mingled scents of blood and wine—a strange, unsettling blend. Xin Zi opened his mouth as if to speak, but upon seeing Yue Qi’s grief, swallowed his words.

“A Qi…” Yun Sheng wanted to offer comfort, but Yu Qi held him back.

“Let him be alone for a moment…” she whispered, feeling a sudden sense of relief herself.

Back at the camp, when Yun Sheng said he wanted to follow Yue Qi’s group, Yu Qi had disagreed. But she couldn’t resist his pleading and eventually relented. If she’d stayed behind, she’d likely be dead now as well…

Gradually, Yue Qi’s sobs subsided. He looked dully at the people around him, but his eyes remained lifeless. He wanted to die—it was true. He wanted to end his life before his family’s corpses, atone with his own death. But he feared meeting his parents in the afterlife, feared their reproach—why hadn’t he protected his brothers and sisters?

Yue Qi’s entire body trembled uncontrollably. His spirit was on the verge of collapse, and in that moment, the last remnants of his mental strength burst forth. Everyone in the cellar felt a crushing pressure descend.

“Go upstairs, now!” Bai Lian frowned and quickly ordered Xin Zi’s group. Xin Zi hesitated, but the overwhelming pressure in his mind forced him to leave.

Bai Lian seemed unaffected, but watched as Yue Qi stood, lost in some unknown thought. The sword Yue Qi had thrown remained embedded in the wall. Bai Lian went over and pulled it free, but whether from Yue Qi’s strength or something else, the once razor-sharp blade now bore a notch at both tip and edge. This sword had been a gift from Yue Qi’s master—not quite a magical weapon, but it had slain so many zombies, now it was ruined…

With a sigh, Bai Lian realized how long the disaster had lasted. She wondered: if Yue Qi weren’t by her side, what would she do? Most likely, she’d have been zombie food by now…

A bleak smile crossed her lips. She simply sat down as well. Though the spiritual energy around was wildly unstable, Bai Lian seemed determined not to leave. In her heart, she believed Yue Qi would never hurt her…

But just then, disaster struck!

Xin Zi had taken the torch upstairs, and darkness reclaimed the cellar. On the ground, the supposedly dead mutant zombie’s fingers twitched. Its eyes, tightly shut, suddenly sprang open.

It wasn’t dead! Only severely wounded and knocked out. With the mutant zombie’s regenerative power, regaining consciousness was only a matter of time; Yue Qi’s earlier attack had simply been too fierce, so it had taken this long to revive.

A low, guttural growl escaped the zombie’s throat—so faint Bai Lian didn’t hear. Pinned beneath two of its own kind, the zombie couldn’t immediately rise. Yet spotting Yue Qi kneeling not far away, its eyes flashed crimson.

Instinct told it this human no longer posed a threat. Though he’d killed two of its kind and nearly destroyed it, the zombie’s hunger for fresh blood now overwhelmed everything. It suddenly struggled up and lunged with terrifying speed at Yue Qi!

“No!” Bai Lian saw it all, but Yue Qi didn’t react. Even if he had, what could he do? He was spent, unarmed, and so exhausted in body and soul that he’d likely not resist at all—perhaps he even welcomed death at the zombie’s hands.

Yue Qi closed his eyes, a faint smile on his lips. “Let it end, then. Dying like this… it’s fine. Only…” Suddenly he remembered Bai Lian, still by his side, and an unfamiliar feeling stirred within him…

But death didn’t come for him. Instead, Yue Qi felt something sticky and warm spill onto his head, along with the sharp tang of blood.

“The smell of blood…!” Yue Qi jolted awake, eyes flying open—only to be stunned by what he saw. Right before him, Bai Lian had shielded him with her body, and the zombie had slammed into her instead!

How deadly was a mutant zombie’s full-strength blow? Yue Qi didn’t know. He only knew that had he not defended himself, he’d be grievously wounded. But Bai Lian—just a frail girl without spiritual power, struck with all the force of a mutant zombie—her fate seemed sealed…

“Ah!!!” Yue Qi went mad—utterly mad. He seized Bai Lian, his eyes turning demonic red, startling the zombie into a wary retreat. But the man before it gently laid the girl on the ground, then fixed his gaze upon his enemy.

Yue Qi attacked. No spells, no techniques, not even a weapon. Using both hands and feet, he charged the mutant zombie, tackling it to the ground. In an instant, his fingers gouged into its eyes, tearing both orbs free.

But a zombie’s instincts weren’t so easily quelled. Feeling no pain, the creature clung to Yue Qi’s back, trying to dig out his heart. But beneath Yue Qi’s clothes was a slick, resilient armor—the soft cuirass he wore earlier. The zombie could not break through!

This was its final struggle. Yue Qi’s fingers remained buried in its eye sockets. With a savage wrench, he tore away both sides of the zombie’s face.

Still, he hadn’t finished. The zombie tried to fight back, but Yue Qi drew back his right arm and smashed its skull with his fist. In the cellar’s eerie glow, a grim spectacle unfolded—a man atop a zombie, raining blows upon its head, blood spraying in brilliant crimson blooms…

The zombie was dead! Beaten to death by Yue Qi’s bare hands. He didn’t know how many punches he’d thrown, only that he no longer had the strength for one last blow.

Covered in blood—especially his fists, the skin on his knuckles raw and split, zombie blood seeping in—Yue Qi didn’t care. He crawled to Bai Lian’s side with hands and feet.

“Lian’er!!” Yue Qi’s anguished cry echoed. Bai Lian was dead. The one person he cared about most in the world was gone—what meaning was left?

“Cough… Qi-ge, be gentle! It hurts!” Suddenly, a sweet voice rang out. Yue Qi froze, thinking he was hallucinating. But no—Bai Lian had opened her eyes, looking at him with a faint, mischievous smile.

“You’re all right?!” Yue Qi’s confusion turned to wild joy.

“Yes, I’m fine!” he exclaimed, clutching Bai Lian tightly, terrified to lose her again.

Bai Lian was hurt, and badly. But thanks to the soft armor her master had given her, even a mutant zombie’s all-out strike only knocked her unconscious for a moment—soon, she came to.

“Hurry up and get up here! More mutant zombies have appeared above!” came a sudden shout from the cellar entrance. It was Yu Qi.

PS: Just got back from dinner, update’s late. By the way, to the reader who called this a ‘brainless story’—my dignity is in pieces, but hey, mindless tales can be fun! Just a simple, pure story…