“What’s wrong?”
The burly Northeastern man scratched his head. “Why can’t—”
“I said no, and that’s final.” Qin Wang’s voice was grim, his stance unyielding.
The others in the room were left looking bewildered.
“You, come with me.”
Ignoring everyone else, Qin Wang grabbed Qiao Xi by the wrist and dragged her into the back courtyard despite her resistance.
Behind them, Li Chuan watched the two leave with a dark expression.
It was a compound courtyard—the front facing the street held the shop, the back held the living quarters, and in between was a small yard where fruits and vegetables had once been planted. Now, with no one to tend it, it was overgrown with weeds.
Qiao Xi was dragged along for a stretch before he yanked her around to face him with a sharp pull of his arm.
He lit a cigarette, frowning at her. “How exactly do you plan to heal Li Chuan?”
Qiao Xi rubbed her wrist and shot him a glance. “What’s it to you?”
“Answer me.” Qin Wang stepped forward, his face dark enough to be frightening.
Qiao Xi shrugged nonchalantly. “However I helped you, I’ll help him the same way.”
Her tone was light, her demeanor casual, as if she hadn’t even noticed the murderous look in Qin Wang’s eyes.
The next second, she was roughly yanked into his arms. Qin Wang wrapped one arm around her waist, squeezing so hard it felt like he was trying to press her into his body.
“Qiao Xi, you’re something else.”
Qiao Xi met his gaze, her heart skipping a beat at the violent turbulence churning in his eyes.
But only for a moment—then she was back to normal.
In a soft, coaxing voice, she said, “You said I’m a Healing-type Ability User. I don’t have any way to defend myself, so isn’t it my job to support stronger people?”
“Helping you is helping, and helping him is the same. What’s the difference?”
Qiao Xi’s face turned ashen.
“Or is it…”
She draped her arms over his shoulders, leaning close to his lips, her tone teasing and probing. “Are you jealous?”
Qin Wang looked down at her.
They were so close—close enough that their breaths intertwined, close enough to feel each other’s heartbeats.
After a few seconds of silence, he suddenly curled his lips into a smile.
The smile was cold, laced with contempt and mockery. “You woman, full of nothing but lies.”
“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re scheming. Don’t pull any tricks in front of me, or else—”
“Or else what?” Qiao Xi wrapped her arms around his waist, chin resting against his chest as she looked up at him. “Would you kill me?”
Qin Wang’s body stiffened, as if burned. He shoved her away abruptly, disgust flashing in his eyes as he warned coldly, “Don’t set your sights on the people around me.”
Qiao Xi said nothing, just looked at him.
He knew that look all too well—she hadn’t taken his words seriously at all.
Qin Wang’s expression darkened, irritation written all over his face. He ground out his cigarette butt with the toe of his shoe.
Then he grabbed Qiao Xi and headed straight for the living quarters in the back.
Kicking open one of the doors, he tossed her inside, then layered a Lightning Sigil over the door, crackling with electric current.
Having been shocked once before,
Qiao Xi instinctively stepped back half a pace, frowning at him. “Qin Wang, are you an animal?”
Qin Wang didn’t even spare her a glance. He turned and walked away.
Watching his retreating figure, a cold smile curved at the corner of Qiao Xi’s lips.
He didn’t really need to set up that barrier to keep her from escaping—because she’d changed her mind now.
Qiao Xi scanned the room. It was a small single room, packed full with a bed, a desk, a wardrobe, and a massage chair.
The pillow and bedding on the bed were yellowed and stained, carrying a musty smell mixed with the odor of age.
There were no windows to climb out of, but the space behind the poster on the left wall was hollow. There used to be a door there, connecting to another room, but now it was just a place to stack bedding.
Qiao Xi tore down the poster and tossed the bedding aside, only to startle a few mutant rats that squeaked and scattered in every direction.
She glanced at the nest they’d made underneath, her face twisting with disgust.
She kicked a hole through the wooden door behind it.
The moment she poked her head out, a startled yelp rang out from the other side.
“Whoa, jeez!”
The burly Northeastern man, who had just walked in with a backpack, was so startled he jumped. “Miss Qiao, what in the heck are you doin’?”
He clutched his chest. “A head just pops outta the wall—scared the livin’ daylights outta me.”
Qiao Xi flashed a grin. “Do me a favor, yeah?”
The burly man tossed his backpack aside, walked over, and pried the wooden boards apart in a few quick moves, making an opening big enough for her to squeeze through.
“Mind the splinters—I’ll catch ya!”
“By your accent, you’re from the Northeast, right?”
The burly man blinked. “How’d ya tell?”
“I thought I didn’t have an accent.”
His name was Chen Zhiang. He had a crew cut, sharp features with a hint of roguishness, and looked to be only around twenty years old.
He just spoke in a gruff, booming voice that made him sound older.
The two chatted for a bit.
Qiao Xi asked about Li Chuan’s condition.
“Li Chuan’s in the room at the far end. Nothin’ serious. Brother Qin went out to find him some medicine,” Chen Zhiang said as he tidied up the bed, glancing out the window. “Medicine ain’t easy to come by—probably won’t be back till nightfall.”
“What’s the relationship between Qin Wang and Li Chuan?” Qiao Xi asked.
Chen Zhiang thought for a moment. “I ran into them later on. Glasses said they’ve known each other a long time—saved each other’s lives before.”
“Their bond must be something special.”
After a pause, he added, “Brother Qin is indeed a bit off today, but it’s understandable. He’s a man, after all.”
“What do you mean?”
“Territorial, you know.” Chen Zhiang smiled at her. “After all, you’re pretty good-looking, even if you are a bit filthy…”
Qiao Xi raised an eyebrow. “I’m filthy?”
“You’re not?”
“Look at yourself—covered in blood and mud, starting to stink, and you’re saying you’re not filthy?”
“A pretty little girl like you, dressed all dirty and messy—what a sight to behold.”
Qiao Xi glanced down at herself. Her clothes were stained with dirt and dust, and the blood that had splattered on her skirt last night had long since dried.
But unless you sniffed closely, you wouldn’t even catch a whiff of the sour smell.
She looked back up at Chen Zhiang—his body odor was practically stinging her eyes.
And he had the nerve to criticize her.
Absolutely outrageous.
This room was reserved for Qin Wang. Chen Zhiang tidied it up a bit before leaving, saying he’d go look for a usable car somewhere.
Qiao Xi found an empty bucket from under the table, planning to fetch water for a wash.
The house had no bathroom, and the faucet in the courtyard didn’t produce any water either.
Carrying the plastic bucket, Qiao Xi found a water pipe in the alley. The water flowing from it was relatively clean.
As she was walking back with the bucket of water, she happened to glance up—and her steps faltered.
Directly ahead of her, a figure had appeared without her noticing.
A stranger—a young man.
Tall and lean, wearing a black hoodie, hands in his pockets, his posture lazy and relaxed.
He was strolling slowly in her direction.
Half a year ago, Qiao Xi wouldn’t have paid him any mind.
But this was the apocalypse.
The boy’s cleanliness and ease stood in stark contrast to the dried bloodstains and chaos surrounding them.
Qiao Xi frowned slightly as she watched him.
The boy walked at an unhurried pace.
As if he hadn’t even seen her.
Perhaps she was too focused—she’d only taken two steps when her foot suddenly slipped.
As the water sloshed over the rim of the bucket, a clean, slender hand steadied her arm—and the bucket too.
“Careful there, big sister.”
A clear, slightly soft voice sounded by her ear.
Qiao Xi turned her head and met the boy’s smiling eyes beneath his tousled hair.
He withdrew his hand quickly and continued walking on.
Qiao Xi watched his retreating figure grow distant, her expression shifting.
She’d smelled it.
A faint trace—the scent of her own kind.
Exactly the same as hers.
Qiao Xi’s fingers tightened around the bucket handle.
Suddenly, Li Chuan’s words came back to her:
“It’s a zombie that can disguise itself as a normal person, and it can think—that’s how it tricked my parents into opening the door…”
She lowered her gaze to where he’d touched her, the cold sensation still lingering on her skin.
When she looked up again, the empty alley no longer held the boy’s figure.
Qiao Xi’s heart raced.
So—was that monster who killed Li Chuan’s family… him?