Facing a Zombie

Zhou Yan warily watched his surroundings, slowing his pace a little.

He needed to conserve his strength and stay in control, so he wouldn't be carried along by his momentum and could react in time if danger arose.

He stayed especially alert in places where few people were around.

Some places were busy during the day and perfectly safe.

But at night, when every household shut its doors and few people ventured outside, they became breeding grounds for darkness and crime...

"Hmm, over there..."

Zhou Yan saw lights shining brightly ahead and instinctively stopped.

After a brief recollection, he immediately remembered that it was the Li Family's old residence.

The Li Family was a prominent household whose lineage in Shen City stretched back nearly a century. They owned vast tracts of land outside the city and more than a dozen shops within it.

By rights, given their circumstances, the Li Family should have moved to a more prosperous neighborhood.

But their family was small, and their old residence was here, so they had stayed put.

Still, they had plenty of guards—at least fifty or sixty—and they were all armed.

Ordinary gangs and even bandits wouldn't dare provoke them lightly.

Zhou Yan was still several hundred paces from the Li Family's old residence. He could just make out the commotion, and what sounded like a fight, so he instinctively wanted to avoid the place.

But before he could react, he heard a beastlike roar. Then a figure came hurtling straight toward him, and his expression shifted slightly.

He swiftly moved aside, and the vehicle behind him shifted with him, neatly dodging the oncoming figure.

Zhou Yan and his vehicle had both avoided the collision, but when he looked ahead, his expression turned grim.

It had a blue-green face and fangs, wore tattered clothes, and held its hands aloft, its long black nails gleaming with a faint, eerie sheen.

What's more, it advanced in hopping steps, yet it was hardly slow.

"Zombie!"

Zhou Yan turned to look at the figure on the ground. As expected, it was dressed like a Daoist, but it was already dead.

With no time to think, he instinctively let go of the handlebars and swiftly took down the three bamboo tubes hanging from his vehicle.

Ever since he'd learned this was a world haunted by sinister spirits and ghosts, Zhou Yan had made preparations.

The three bamboo tubes held raw glutinous rice, Boy Urine, and Rooster Blood—all useful for dealing with evil spirits.

Aside from the raw glutinous rice, he replaced the Boy Urine and Rooster Blood every three to five days.

The Rooster Blood in particular needed replacing almost every other day in summer.

All of this added up to a hefty extra expense.

But Zhou Yan hadn't dared skimp. He'd replaced them regularly, never imagining that today he'd finally need them...

Of course, all this knowledge came from movies and TV shows in his previous world. He had no idea whether it would actually work.

But he had no other means of dealing with evil spirits.

An exorcism talisman from a famous temple cost five silver dollars, and there was no guarantee it would work.

Compared to that, these folk remedies were much cheaper.

"Sniff, sniff..."

The zombie seemed to catch the scent of a living person. It slowly turned its head toward Zhou Yan, then hopped excitedly toward him at speed.

Watching the zombie, Zhou Yan fought to steady his pounding heart and gripped the bamboo tube tightly.

When it drew to within about ten meters, Zhou Yan suddenly flung the Boy Urine at it.

"Sizzle..."

The Boy Urine splashed all over the zombie, and a sizzling sound rose from its body as if it were being eaten away by sulfuric acid.

Some had hit its head, too, and it let out a piercing shriek.

"Roar..."

The people in the Li Family compound huddled together in terror, many of them staring fearfully toward the gate.

While the zombie was outside, the Li Family head, Li Deyou, had quickly rallied the panicked servants and guards. The elderly, women, and children stayed at the back; the strong young men stood in front with knives, spears, and cudgels; and the armed guards took the very front.

Li Deyou had always treated his servants well, and had balanced kindness with authority. So no one ran away. They all obediently followed his instructions.

Just as Li Deyou and the others were trembling with fear, they suddenly heard the zombie's pained howl outside.

In that instant, a glimmer of hope rose in Li Deyou's heart.

"Could the Daoist have survived and killed the zombie instead...?"

Li Deyou glanced at the body of another zombie lying in the courtyard, gritted his teeth, and slowly went out with several guards.

As they stepped outside, they saw a young man fighting the zombie...

Seeing that the Boy Urine had worked, Zhou Yan couldn't suppress a smile.

He'd been trembling with fear earlier, with little confidence that his plan would work.

After all, he'd only seen this stuff on television.

But now he was facing a real zombie!

In that moment, Zhou Yan couldn't help regretting that he hadn't prepared more.

If he'd known, he would have brought eight or ten jars. Then he'd be much safer now.

But in that case, his vehicle would probably have turned into a "stink-mobile."

The zombie let out a piercing roar, but instead of backing away, Zhou Yan stepped forward and flung the raw glutinous rice in his hand.

"Crackle, crackle..."

The raw glutinous rice struck the zombie, forcing it back again and again. Yin energy and corpse energy poured from its body, nearly forming a tangible black haze.

If the Boy Urine had caused the zombie pain, then the raw glutinous rice had injured it.

After a tube of raw glutinous rice, the zombie's aura had weakened considerably, and its shape had grown even more ragged.

From head to toe, its body was riddled with pits and gouges, making it look even more hideous.

By then, Zhou Yan had reached the Daoist's corpse.

With a quick step, he lifted the Daoist's Peach Wood Sword from the ground and swiftly gripped it.

The next moment, Zhou Yan uncapped the bamboo tube of Rooster Blood and poured it all over the Peach Wood Sword.

The zombie seemed to sense the danger. It gave a low, "Woo, woo," and retreated instead of advancing.

There was no way Zhou Yan would let it escape. Never mind how many people might fall victim to it if it got away.

If it held a grudge and came back for revenge once it had recovered, Zhou Yan wasn't confident he could handle it.

This fight had gone so smoothly not only because he'd caught it off guard, but also because the zombie had already battled the Daoist for a long time and was far from its peak.

Strike while it's down!

Holding the Peach Wood Sword covered in Rooster Blood, Zhou Yan rushed after it and drove the blade hard into its heart.

Rooster Blood splashed over his face and clothes, but he didn't bother wiping it off. With a fierce expression, he kept stabbing the zombie again and again, his mind seemingly lost in a frenzy.

One stab, two, three...