Chapter Nine: Infiltration

Early the next morning.

All four of them woke up early; they had slept soundly through the night—a rare occasion to find such a place for proper rest. After breakfast, not a single scrap of food remained in the hut. Even if they didn’t plan to investigate the village today, Yue Qi would have to figure out a way to get more food. Yue Qi himself ate very little. Though still a young cultivator, he was, after all, on the path of immortality. Once one reached the Core Formation stage, one could live without eating, and Bai Lian had nearly reached that realm before, just a step away, but now, having lost all her spiritual power, she could no longer go days without food as she once had.

“Ah Qi, you must be careful. If anything goes wrong, just run back—there’s no rush!” Yue Yunsheng patted Yue Qi’s shoulder. He knew it sounded simple, but carrying it out was far from easy. Just avoiding the notice of all those zombies would be hard enough, not to mention needing the ability to escape if surrounded.

“Don’t worry, I am a cultivator, the first in Yue Family Village! Trust me, won’t you?” Yue Qi answered with confidence.

“Hmph! You better come back alive, or even if I die, I won’t let you off!” Yue Yunsheng smiled, his words light-hearted, though he still worried for Yue Qi.

“If you’re dead, how could you not let me off? Are we supposed to fight as wandering ghosts in the afterlife?” Yue Qi joked, dissipating much of the tension among them.

“All right, I’m off. Wait for my good news!” Yue Qi said easily, though only heaven knew how nervous he truly was. His gaze slid, almost unconsciously, toward Bai Lian, and he smiled.

Bai Lian pursed her lips. This fellow was growing bolder—he’d never dared look at her this way before. Even so, concern for Yue Qi welled up inside her, but her maidenly reserve allowed only a soft, “Come back alive.”

Yue Qi grinned without a word, waved, and left the hut under their watchful eyes…

On the eastern slope of Yue Family Village, three solitary zombies wandered aimlessly, but abruptly, as if sensing something, they moved together toward the summit.

A muted “thud, thud, thud”—three bodies dropped to the ground, each with a bloody hole in the temple.

A figure stepped from the woods—it was Yue Qi, of course. He had already reached the slope, heading for the village square, and those three zombies had been dealt with on the way.

With the Wind Taming Spell, Yue Qi’s speed far surpassed that of ordinary zombies—one of the reasons for his confidence. But with his limited spiritual power, the spell would last only a few minutes; sometimes, though, a few minutes was all that determined life or death.

The zombie he’d just killed had indeed been someone from Yue Family Village, one of the village chief’s men, if he recalled correctly.

Yue Family Village was not as poor as one might imagine. Aside from a few families like Yue Qi’s, most lived comfortably. The area was sparsely populated, and with its proximity to the Qinghe Sword Sect, the fields were both plentiful and fertile. They farmed for self-sufficiency, and hunting brought in a tidy sum at market.

However, the village chief had divided the arable land in such a way that Yue Qi’s family received too little, and their large household led to their poverty. Later, when Yue Qi caught the attention of the Qinghe Sword Sect, the chief granted them more land, but what did it matter? Yue Qi had little fondness for those who only offered help when it was convenient, so even now, seeing these people turned into zombies, he felt no sorrow.

With his keen senses, Yue Qi confirmed there were no more zombies on this slope—unless any were deliberately hiding, which, given their limited intelligence, was unlikely.

He could have avoided these zombies entirely, but to prevent complications during an escape, he preferred to deal with them now—classic caution.

From the hillside, he could see the layout of the village. The square was indeed crowded; with at least three hundred people, Yue Family Village was a large settlement for miles around. Yet, there were only a dozen or so zombies, far fewer than he’d expected.

“Where are the rest? There should be more zombies here…” Yue Qi frowned, puzzled. He and Yunsheng had guessed the place would be overrun, but only about twenty zombies wandered the square.

“Could some survivors have drawn the others away? No, I need to check for myself…” Concern for his family weighed on him. After recovering some spiritual power through meditation, he slipped quietly into the village.

Yue Family Village was large enough that he wouldn’t be spotted by zombies at every turn. As he walked the narrow lanes, childhood memories surfaced—though most were painful, it felt good to be home, treading its familiar soil, breathing its air, even if the place was not what it once was.

The houses near the square belonged to the wealthier families—much like city centers, where the rich lived. But even here, there were few zombies. “Perhaps at the village chief’s house?” Yue Qi wondered. If there were enough survivors, only the chief’s residence could shelter them all.

In fact, the current head of the village was not a native. Originally, Yue Family Village migrated from remote Jizhong, a branch of the Yue clan. The first head, Yue Lingshan, had been exiled for some wrongdoing and, disheartened, led his family here to farm. As he lay dying, a young man appeared, claiming to be a direct descendant of the main Yue family in Jizhong, bearing both genealogy and a decree from the clan head. Miraculously, he brought Yue Lingshan back from death’s door.

After Yue Lingshan recovered, whatever the young man said compelled him to hand over the position of village chief. In time, the young man’s own relatives moved here, and so the village, though seeming to be one bloodline, was actually two, both surnamed Yue, eventually blending into one. Now, the fourth generation led the village.

Moving quietly, Yue Qi encountered many solitary zombies—some were even old acquaintances who had once helped his family. Yet, he steeled himself and dispatched them with his sword.

“This is it…” Hiding behind a fence, Yue Qi finally glimpsed the chief’s residence.

As a child, Yue Qi had dreamed of owning such a large house, where his parents, siblings, and friends could all live together. That dream remained, so long as his loved ones survived.

“Yes, they’re here!” The grand house was surrounded by zombies. The place was practically a mansion, fortified by brick walls the zombies couldn’t climb—an excellent refuge.

“Maybe they truly are inside!” Yue Qi’s eyes lit up, excitement surging within. But so many zombies… Best use the old trick.

Without hesitation, Yue Qi dispatched a zombie trying to sneak up on him. He murmured an incantation, and a small ball of lightning spun around his fingertip. Opening his eyes, he sent the lightning ball flying—it struck a patch of ground not far from the house.

At the sound, the zombies were instantly drawn away, though a handful still lingered near the building.

“Now’s my chance!” Yue Qi cast the Wind Taming Spell, wind surging beneath his feet as he raced for the wall. In this brief span, he didn’t realize just how much his mastery of the Five Elemental Arts had improved; now, his recitations were smooth and fluent.

He drove his sword through a zombie’s eye, used its shoulder as a springboard, and leaped onto the wall—taking a moment to see if the corpse was a familiar face.

Such commotion could hardly escape notice. Even those zombies lured away by the lightning ball came rushing back, howling as they charged at Yue Qi.

But by then, he was already atop the wall, untouchable despite their furious cries.

To see those he once knew now turned into zombies, and to have to kill them by his own hand—what torment for a boy of fifteen. But for the sake of his parents and siblings, he forced himself to endure, pushed aside his discomfort, and vaulted into the courtyard.

“There really are survivors!” Joy welled up in Yue Qi’s heart. The first thing he saw was chaos—zombie corpses littered the ground, though not too many; likely the leftovers dispatched by the survivors.

“Don’t lose hope! Seventh Brother will come save us!” A voice rang out from a nearby building.

Yue Qi’s heart leaped for joy—he knew that voice well. It was his sixth sister!