Rules Revised

"Brother Xuan, once my grandfather's affairs are settled, I'll go to your place," Tingting said.

"No problem. I also need to discuss with my master how to deal with your grandfather. Oh, right—Uncle, Tingting, if you run into a zombie, remember to hold your breath," Yang Xuan said seriously.

"Okay, Brother Xuan." Tingting clearly took his words to heart, while Master Ren showed a trace of disdain toward Yang Xuan's warning.

On the way back, Yang Xuan glanced to the side and saw a tombstone: Grave of Dong Xiaoyu. Looking at Qiu Sheng, who was planting incense all over the area in the distance, Yang Xuan walked up to the tombstone and murmured, "That man is my senior apprentice brother. I don't care about anything else, but you can't harm his body."

"People fear three misfortunes, and incense most dreads two short sticks and one long stick. Yet it was burned exactly like this. If incense is burned this way in a household, someone there is sure to die." Uncle Nine glared at Wen Cai, who was about to pick up one of the offerings to eat. The latter trembled in fright.

"Is it Master Ren's house?"

"Obviously. What else could it be?" Uncle Nine said irritably.

"Master, the corpse is bloating." Yang Xuan looked at Master Ren's corpse.

"Prepare paper, brush, ink, a knife, and a sword," Uncle Nine said anxiously.

"Senior, prepare yellow paper, a writing brush, black ink, a kitchen knife, and a wooden sword," Yang Xuan reminded him.

After performing a ritual, Uncle Nine handed the ink fountain to Qiu Sheng. "Snap it against the coffin. Don't leave any gaps."

"Got it, Master," Qiu Sheng replied.

Still uneasy, Yang Xuan watched the two of them snap the ink line across the coffin. Sure enough, they left the bottom untouched.

"Senior, the bottom of the coffin hasn't been done yet. Leave the rest to me," Yang Xuan said.

"Brat, don't run! Snap my ink line!" Qiu Sheng tossed the ink fountain to Yang Xuan and shouted at Wen Cai's retreating back.

Watching the two close brothers run off into the distance, Yang Xuan used telekinesis to manipulate the ink line and snap it across the entire coffin again. That should take care of it. In the past, whether Master Ren was bitten to death had nothing to do with Yang Xuan, but Ren Tingting could be considered a friend now. He really couldn't stand by and watch a friend's father die.

Looking at the crisscrossing ink marks covering the coffin, Yang Xuan chuckled. Let's see how you get out now.

Ahh~ Yang Xuan stretched and headed back to sleep. Damn, he was exhausted. He'd better eat a few protein bars, or he'd wake up hungry again.

After Yang Xuan left the morgue, he failed to notice the enormous black cat crouching in a corner, staring fixedly at the coffin.

Several hours later, the black cat was licking its paw when a thunderclap suddenly exploded. Frightened, it leaped straight onto the coffin lid. With a boom, the coffin burst apart, and the zombie escaped just as it had in the original plot. Perhaps the thunder had masked the sound of the coffin breaking, because the sleeping people did not notice a thing.

And so the days passed uneventfully. Several days later.

A murder had occurred at the Ren residence.

Yang Xuan was shocked when he heard the news. How was that possible? He had covered the entire coffin in ink lines.

"System, what's going on?"

"Host, every world has its own operating rules. The weaker the world, the weaker its rules. When someone tries to correct the plot, a weak world will use relatively gentle methods. If it is a powerful world, its methods may be more intense. As I have said, the stronger the host becomes, the greater my resistance to the world's rules."

"What happens if the rules of a world are relatively strong and I kill the protagonist?" Yang Xuan asked tentatively.

"Then the host will face pursuit from the entire plane."

"Tch, that's nothing impressive. If worse comes to worst, I'll just run back to the real world," Yang Xuan said with a curl of his lips.

"Host, the spatial barriers of powerful worlds are generally sturdier. You may not be able to return in a short period of time. Furthermore, if the rules target you, your return ability has a high chance of being locked. More seriously, some mighty beings can launch attacks across worlds. Perhaps the host will be strong enough to withstand one or two attacks from such beings by then, but the cities in the primary plane certainly will not survive."

The system's words made Yang Xuan break out in a cold sweat. He had always thought that it didn't matter what happened in a dimensional plane, since it could never affect the peace of the primary world. But that was no longer the case. If he didn't become stronger, his own death would be the least of it—he might even drag his world into utter ruin.

It looks like I'll have to be careful whenever I travel through worlds in the future. I absolutely cannot affect the primary world, Yang Xuan silently reminded himself.

"Junior Brother, something terrible happened! Master is going to jail today!" Qiu Sheng rushed in frantically.

"Did Master say anything?" Yang Xuan asked, slowly calming himself after the system's warning.

"Master said that two zombies might appear today. He told Wen Cai to protect Tingting, and you and me to bring some chicken blood, an ink fountain, yellow talismans, and—oh, right—glutinous rice to find him." Qiu Sheng recalled the instructions.

"Senior, what are you doing? We're going to find Master soon, so why are you still cooking?" Yang Xuan asked, puzzled.

"Master said to bring glutinous rice," Qiu Sheng said as he lit the fire.

Yang Xuan slapped his forehead helplessly. "Senior, you've studied the Way with Master for so long. Didn't you realize something was wrong?"

"Does Master not like the rice I cook? Should I add some edamame or cured meat to the glutinous rice?" Qiu Sheng asked, baffled.

Three black lines appeared on Yang Xuan's face. "Master is probably going to deal with zombies today. He wants raw glutinous rice. What are we supposed to do with cooked rice?"

"Oh, so that's what he meant. Good. Now I don't have to light the fire," Qiu Sheng said.

Yang Xuan was speechless. If he had two disciples this foolish, he would have died of anger long ago. His master's skill at teaching disciples was truly mediocre.

After the plot was corrected, Yang Xuan became much more careful as well. He checked everything Qiu Sheng had prepared, then, still feeling uneasy, took several kilograms of glutinous rice and put it in his storage space.

"Senior, it's about time. It's almost dark. Let's go," Yang Xuan said.

Seeing Master bound up, Yang Xuan knew there was no real danger. After all, Uncle Nine still had considerable prestige in Ren Family Town. Whenever something happened, people would have Uncle Nine handle it. A-Wei was only trying to scare him.

After climbing down the wall, Qiu Sheng and Yang Xuan exchanged glances, both wearing amused expressions.

"You two little bastards! Are you happy seeing your master with his head stuck? Stop wasting time and help me get my head out!" Uncle Nine said awkwardly.

"Hehe, Master, Senior is better at this. I'm going to check on Master Ren's corpse," Yang Xuan said, amused.

"Master, will Junior Brother be all right?" Qiu Sheng asked worriedly. Although Yang Xuan was skilled, Qiu Sheng was still somewhat afraid of zombies.

"Don't worry about your junior brother. He'll definitely have no problem dealing with zombies. Help me get my head out first," Uncle Nine said urgently.

Yang Xuan walked over to Master Ren's corpse. Master Ren was lying flat on a makeshift bed, his eyes open.

Suddenly, the corpse sat up. After freezing for a moment, it lunged straight at Yang Xuan.

So after being bitten by a zombie, it really is just like Master said—a walking corpse. It can walk but not jump, and its contagiousness is low. Let's test its strength and physical toughness.

Yang Xuan raised his leg and kicked straight out. Master Ren was sent flying, then climbed back up as if nothing had happened and charged at Yang Xuan again.

After restraining Master Ren with both hands, Yang Xuan pressed the spot where he had kicked him. It had already caved in. The force was fairly strong, though the damage was not particularly serious. Still, it was only about twice the strength of an ordinary person.

Forget it. I won't mess with you anymore. Yang Xuan hung Master Ren on the rack used to execute Uncle Nine. He enjoyed watching the zombie try to bite him but fail to reach him. Heh. After all, he was a friend's father. Otherwise, Yang Xuan would have smashed him to pieces.