Grasshoppers on the Same String

The dog teeth were inches away from touching Qi Xing's neck, but Jiang Zhaosu forcefully closed her mouth and turned her head away.

No, she couldn't eat Qi Xing now.

She wanted to surrender to the Orthodox Sect, but her current identity was a zombie, and both Xiao Yi and Xiao Chuxi already treated her as Qi Xing's sister. How could they possibly trust her?

She and Qi Xing were now grasshoppers on the same string. If Qi Xing died, and those two came after her, she'd be lucky to survive on her own.

Although Qi Xing's breathing was weak, its rhythm was steady.

Jiang Zhaosu nudged his face a few times with her hand, wiped the dirt off his face with her sleeve, and then briefly checked his body. She found no wounds.

Although she didn't know what had just happened, Qi Xing should be fine.

Jiang Zhaosu's mood finally eased slightly.

Qi Xing was unconscious, and Jiang Zhaosu wasn't in much better shape.

She was too hungry.

If she stayed with Qi Xing any longer, she couldn't guarantee she could control her desire to devour the man.

Jiang Zhaosu looked around and suddenly had an idea.

She hugged Qi Xing's waist and thighs, picked him up, and walked a distance before hiding him in a patch of dense, dry grass.

Qi Xing looked as thin as a piece of paper, but he was surprisingly heavy to carry.

Fortunately, she was a zombie now and had increased strength. Otherwise, she might not have been able to lift this man, who was over 1.8 meters tall and covered in muscle.

In addition, Jiang Zhaosu plucked some dry branches and leaves from nearby and sprinkled them evenly on Qi Xing's body and face as camouflage.

After doing all this, Jiang Zhaosu looked at Qi Xing, who lay perfectly hidden in the dry grass of varying depths, and clapped her hands with satisfaction.

Mission accomplished!

This way, she could go elsewhere to find food with peace of mind.

Not long after Jiang Zhaosu left, Qi Xing, who had a large withered yellow leaf placed on his face, making him look like a zombie suppressed by a talisman, suddenly sat up with a roll of his abdomen.

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!"

Qi Xing spat out grass debris from his mouth several times.

Looking at the messy yellow dirt and dry grass on his body, Qi Xing couldn't help but laugh and cry, "Fugui, did you bury me like a corpse?"

Qi Xing was exhausted.

Fighting those mutated giant rats had consumed too much of his stamina.

After destroying more than half of them, those foolish creatures finally knew fear and fled with their tails between their legs.

Qi Xing then lay down to rest for a while.

He hadn't expected Jiang Zhaosu to wake up as soon as he closed his eyes.

The little zombie had been sneakily pawing at him for a while, probably debating whether or not to eat him.

In the end, she had some conscience and didn't bite.

Otherwise, Qi Xing would have snapped her neck the moment her teeth touched his skin.

Where was such a weak and incompetent little zombie, incapable of even protecting herself, going at night instead of staying by his side?

Qi Xing got up from the ground, brushed off the dust, and walked to a centuries-old tree, reaching out to touch its rough bark.

The roots of these large trees were very deep, some extending tens of meters underground and intertwining with the roots of other trees.

Under the effect of the Wood Ability, these crisscrossing root systems acted like a complex and vast information network, gently conveying information about the forest to Qi Xing that others could not obtain.

Qi Xing quickly sensed where Jiang Zhaosu was and walked quickly in that direction.

Jiang Zhaosu hadn't gone far.

She first followed the scent of blood back to where Qi Xing had fought the mutated giant rats.

She had wanted to eat some of the mutated rat meat to satisfy her hunger, but after picking up the meat from the ground, Jiang Zhaosu looked at the disgusting fur covered in maggots and couldn't bring herself to eat it.

Whether as a human or a zombie, eating rat meat sounded too horrifying.

Jiang Zhaosu hesitated for a long time, then picked up a large leaf from the ground, wrapped two pieces of meat in it, and put it in her hoodie pocket, deciding to eat it only if she was truly starving.

Afterward, she walked a bit further and unexpectedly discovered a stream.

Perhaps due to the surrounding trees, the water in this stream had not been eroded by the acid rain, and the water was very clear.

Zombies had good night vision, and Jiang Zhaosu saw that there were fish swimming in it. Moreover, the fish eyes looked normal and had not been zombified.

This meant that Qi Xing could also eat these fish.

For the past two days, Qi Xing had been collecting supplies and hunting, and Jiang Zhaosu couldn't do anything.

Qi Xing called her a little waste, and Jiang Zhaosu couldn't refute him.

Now that Qi Xing was unconscious, the task of gathering food naturally fell to her.

Hmph, when I bring back a big pile of food, let's see if Qi Xing can still call me useless.

Just imagining Qi Xing's shocked and amazed expression when he saw her return with a large bag full of fish made Jiang Zhaosu excited. She rubbed her hands together and walked towards the stream.

She took off her shoes and first dipped one foot into the stream to test the water. Finding her skin unharmed, she boldly entered the water and reached out to catch the fish.

However, Jiang Zhaosu's neck had just taken a heavy blow, her spine was half-broken, and her head was still tilted, hanging precariously on her shoulder.

This made her view of the fish distorted. Although she aimed, every time she lunged, she missed.

After more than half an hour of trying, Jiang Zhaosu hadn't caught a single fish. Angered, she let out a frustrated roar, waving her arms in the water and splashing around.

"Pfft."

Qi Xing, who had been hiding behind a tree and watching her for over half an hour, couldn't help but laugh out loud when he saw this.

"Awooo—"

Startled by his laughter, Jiang Zhaosu jumped in place, thinking someone or a mutated beast had arrived, and hastily assumed a defensive stance.

"Fugui, it's me."

Qi Xing walked out from behind the tree.

Seeing the familiar, handsome face, Jiang Zhaosu let out a sigh of relief and lowered her hands. "Awooo..."

So it was that scoundrel Qi Xing.

Scared the zombie to death.

"Does Fugui want to eat fish?"

Qi Xing picked up a blade of grass from the ground and held it between his fingers.

With a swift, almost magical flick of his pale wrist, the dry, yellow blade of grass was covered in a faint green light. It became like a thin, sharp blade, which he flicked from his fingers, accurately hitting a fish near Jiang Zhaosu.

Bright red blood spread through the stream.

The fish's body was cut open. It thrashed violently a few times before finally floating belly-up, slowly drifting towards her with the current.

Instead of being impressed by Qi Xing's skill, Jiang Zhaosu was stunned by his sophisticated move, her mouth agape, her jaw almost dropping.

She reached out and scooped up the fish. After a moment's thought, she walked to the bank, treading water, and offered the fish in her hand to Qi Xing.

"For me?"

Qi Xing looked at the fish in Jiang Zhaosu's blood-stained hand, a little surprised.

"Awooo!"

"You eat first, Fugui. Otherwise, if I'm too hungry and weak, and enemies come again, we won't be able to fight them."

Hearing her response, Qi Xing's eyes widened slightly for a moment, then curved upwards along with his long, thick eyelashes.

When he had no expression, Qi Xing's appearance was cool and refined, with delicate features and pale skin.

But when he smiled, those beautiful, narrow fox-like eyes would naturally narrow, the slender outer corners curling upwards like little hooks, giving off an aura of a fox spirit who had cultivated into human form, enchanting the hearts of men.

If Jiang Zhaosu didn't know Qi Xing, and saw him smiling at her like this, she would definitely think he was untrustworthy, trying to steal money from her pocket.

Of course, she knew him.

And she also thought Qi Xing was very untrustworthy.

But even so, Jiang Zhaosu had to admit that Qi Xing was indeed very handsome and charming.

If she were a rich woman, she might very well be hooked by this guy and generously throw her money around.

But the reality was, she was so poor in life that she could only afford to live in a basement. After death, she was a weak zombie who couldn't even protect herself, and had to rely on Qi Xing for protection.

Jiang Zhaosu took Qi Xing's hand and ingratiatingly placed the fish in his palm, also flashing him a smile.

In the dim night, Qi Xing's dark eyes reflected her and the stream, appearing soft and tender as if filled with water.

Qi Xing, like a child making a promise, took the fish and hooked her little finger with his own, smiling as he said softly, "Then thank you, Fugui."