Escaping Death

By the mountain stream, the winter north wind howled bitterly.

Big Household Zhou opened his eyes groggily. A desolate scene filled his vision. The back of his head throbbed fiercely; when he reached up to touch it, his hand came away covered in thick, dried blood.

For that instant, his mind was blank. Then, in a daze, countless shattered images came flooding back—

Strange creatures!

Strange creatures everywhere!

They had surged from the darkness, swarming toward the living to bite, tear, and devour them... Those bitten to death rose again before long, transformed into new strange creatures, their faces savage and their hearts blind to kin.

He had seen it with his own eyes. At the critical moment, Manager Qian had shoved him aside, only to be pinned to the ground by a lunging strange creature. His face twisted out of shape beneath its gaping bloody maw, his throat was bitten open, and blood gushed forth... Before long, he too had risen, but he was no longer himself.

Boom!

Big Household Zhou shuddered as though struck by lightning, then began gasping for breath. Every inch of his body hurt, yet compared to the agony in his heart, the pain of flesh and bone was nothing.

More than five years ago, he had brought Manager Qian and a large group of people here after selling off part of his fields and properties in Xiaopei County to buy land and establish themselves in Dajiang County. Back then, he had been full of lofty ambition. He had believed that Dajiang County, with its Agricultural Path Cultivators and the protection of the Daoist Sect, was blessed land—a fine place to build wealth and prosper.

The first few years had indeed gone smoothly. Several among those he had brought had awakened Awakened Wisdom and become "Farmers." Thanks to them, Big Household Zhou's standing in Dajiang County had risen with the tide. He had made many connections; some acquaintances had even been chosen by the Daoist Sect, and through them he had forged good ties with several Daoist masters.

He had thought that in another two years, he would be able to move his entire family into Dajiang County and put down roots for good.

Who could have known... Tonight, the Strange Calamity had struck without the slightest warning!

Those strange creatures had appeared out of nowhere and begun slaughtering Dajiang County's people without discrimination. Even hell on earth could scarcely compare.

He vaguely remembered how slowly he had run. He was already over fifty, his legs stiff and unreliable, breathless after only a few steps. If not for the loyalty of those around him, carrying him on their backs and shoulders as they fled, he would have died halfway there.

But later, the people around him had fallen one after another.

At the end... at the very end, he had seen a pregnant woman pinned to the ground by a strange creature, its jaws opening to bite down. He did not know where the strength had come from. Perhaps he had thought that since he could not survive anyway, he might as well die like a man. With all his might, he had lifted a huge rock and smashed it down on the strange creature.

After that, he remembered nothing.

At last, Big Household Zhou came back to himself and looked around in bewildered terror.

Four children lay sprawled on the ground, staring blankly with hollow eyes. Not far away, a young man sat cross-legged, both hands pressed against the pregnant woman's back. He was clearly channeling qi to keep her alive!

The pregnant woman's face was white as paper, her breathing thin as a thread.

Big Household Zhou narrowed his eyes and carefully studied the young man's profile... Hm? The outline seemed familiar.

Suddenly, his eyes flew wide in disbelief. "Goudan! Is that you? Old Wang from the west side of the village's Goudan!"

Wang Congyun's hand jerked, and his true qi nearly went astray.

He drew a deep breath, suppressed his churning blood and qi, and shot Big Household Zhou a glance before making a silencing gesture... Could you fucking read the room?

Big Household Zhou wisely shut his mouth, and Wang Congyun focused on the rescue.

But... something strange happened. Once the Daoist Sect's true qi entered the pregnant woman's body, it became exceptionally bizarre. The true qi seemed to suddenly come alive. Rather than nourishing her meridians and stabilizing the fetus, it began greedily absorbing the woman's life force.

The pregnant woman's breath weakened at a visible rate.

Swoosh!

Sweat beaded on Wang Congyun's forehead.

Something was wrong!

He had never encountered such a situation. Daoist Sect true qi was supremely firm and pure, the very foundation of expelling evil and supporting righteousness. How could it turn around and harm someone instead?

He had no time to think. Gritting his teeth, he drew the qi back to his dantian and stopped his cultivation.

Only then did the pregnant woman's condition cease worsening. Her breath became even fainter, like a candle flame guttering in the wind.

Wang Congyun rummaged through his clothes and pulled out several medicine bottles. After picking through them, he selected several pills and fed them to the pregnant woman. These were all Premium Quality treasured pills he had collected, bought, and saved over the years. One was even a costly Daoist Sect elixir meant to save lives—and it was the only one he had!

Once the pills entered her mouth, the pregnant woman's breath improved slightly, and a trace of color returned to her face. Yet her hands clutched her belly tightly, her features twisted in pain, veins bulging across her forehead as a low murmur escaped her lips—

"Pain... It hurts so much... My child... my child..."

Big Household Zhou's eyes widened at once. He sprang over and fished several medicine bottles from his own clothes, selecting two and thrusting them forward.

"Goudan, hurry! One strengthens the foundation and nourishes vitality, while the other stabilizes the fetus and protects the pregnancy! Give them to her quickly! Otherwise, the child definitely won't survive!"

Wang Congyun accepted the bottles, stunned for a moment. But he had no time to dwell on it and swiftly poured out the pills, feeding them to the pregnant woman.

Once the medicinal power entered her body, the pregnant woman's symptoms visibly improved! Her complexion gradually became rosy, blood and vitality returning to her face. The agonizing pain in her abdomen faded as well, and her tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed.

Wang Congyun let out a breath and wiped away his sweat. "Master Zhou? After all these years, you still carry life-saving medicine and miscarriage-prevention medicine on you?"

Big Household Zhou did not answer. He only sighed and sat down heavily on the ground.

Wang Congyun continued on his own. "Just like before... Whew. Still, pills made from these Premium Quality herbs truly aren't inferior to the Daoist Sect's expensive basic Daoist elixirs! What a pity. Only those 'Farmers' who awakened Awakened Wisdom can grow Premium Quality crops like these... It's all gone now. After this disaster, the medicinal fields and farmlands are all gone... What a fucking waste!"

Big Household Zhou remained silent.

The Zhou Household had always struggled to produce heirs, each generation passing down through a single line. Now in his fifties, he had wives and concubines in droves, but only one young daughter beneath his knee—a daughter born to him late in life. Fortunately, he had not brought her to Dajiang County, or the consequences would have been unthinkable... This generation, he feared his line would truly end.

In his early years, his wife had once conceived a child. Later, they had confirmed it was a son. But that year, she had encountered something unclean and suffered a fright that disturbed the pregnancy. They had no medicine on hand and could not save her in time. Mother and child had both died!

From then on, Big Household Zhou had kept life-saving and miscarriage-prevention medicine on his person. This old tale was known to nearly everyone in Xiaopei County!

"So it really is you, Goudan."

Wang Congyun's face fell. "Master Zhou, can we use another name? I'm Wang Congyun now. I'm a Daoist Sect disciple, after all. Give me some face, will you..."

Big Household Zhou said no more. The tragic sight of those around him falling one by one filled his mind, while Manager Qian's face lingered before his eyes, impossible to dispel... Those "Farmers" who had supposedly awakened Awakened Wisdom had been no different from ordinary people before the strange creatures. They had possessed no ability to fight back; one bite, and everything was gone.

Only after a long while could he not help looking toward Wang Congyun.

"A Daoist Sect disciple! Right, you're a Daoist Sect disciple!! Then can you tell me what exactly happened? I remember that several Daoist masters were permanently stationed in Dajiang County to suppress evil. How could such a massive Strange Calamity suddenly erupt and slaughter the entire county?!"

"Where are those Daoist masters? Why didn't they step forward to protect us?!"

Thinking back now, throughout the entire flight, he had not seen a single person from the Daoist Sect take action.

Not one!

Something was wrong. From beginning to end, this whole matter had reeked of something being wrong.

Wang Congyun's brows were tightly drawn, his face full of conflict. He opened his mouth, then shut it again, as though desperately suppressing some thought.

A moment later, he abruptly shook his head.

"I... I don't know what happened either! I want to know why too... Maybe, maybe the Strange Calamity erupted too suddenly, and the Daoist Sect didn't have time to react..."

The moment he said it, even he did not believe it.

He had lied.

In truth, three days earlier, he had already sensed the aura of strange creatures nearby. Ordinary people could not sense it at all, but he had received the Daoist Sect's true teachings and was especially sensitive to such things. He had suspected that the flourishing Agricultural Path in this area had drawn the strange creatures' attention, so he had immediately reported it to his master, Dong Daozi.

Then... how had things become like this?!

Wang Congyun did not dare think any further. What followed was anger—overwhelming anger!

He drew a deep breath, suppressed his emotions, and rose to his feet.

"Master Zhou, I'll escort you and the children back to Xiaopei County first. Then I must return to my sect and find out what happened... Something may have happened. Something huge!"

At those words, Big Household Zhou immediately braced his aching old waist and climbed to his feet, helping support the pregnant woman from the ground.

The group of seven hurriedly disappeared beyond the mountain stream beneath the cover of night.

Xiaopei County, Locust Tree Village, Jiang Family Courtyard.

Underground.

Jiang Tu crouched beside a furrow, looking at a newly sprouted seedling with a faint smile on his face.

This underground farmland had been secretly built by him over many years. It extended two zhang beneath the ground, its four walls lined with blue bricks. Two small skylights had been opened in the ceiling and cleverly concealed by the flowers, trees, and scenery above. The sunlight drawn inside was not as bright as open air, but it was barely enough for crops to grow.

One furrow of dry field and one patch of paddy field lay separately to the north and south.

Over the past five years, he had cautiously transplanted Premium Quality crops and tended them with meticulous care. Including the two Premium Quality seeds he had received from the initial settlement, he now possessed seven complete Premium Quality plants and a small patch of Premium Quality seedlings bred through expansion. Every year brought new harvests.

One of them was rather special—a proper medicinal herb. It was an aquatic lotus planted in the corner of the paddy field. Its leaves were green as jade, its blossoms white as snow. Though its roots sank into the mud, they remained unstained by dust. At night, it emitted a faint glow, illuminating the patch of water until its ripples shimmered.

Jiang Tu had named it—the Wind-Listening Lotus.

This lotus had been an unexpected gain!

More than a year ago, he had dug a goldfish pond, diverted water into it, and carefully tended the lotuses planted there. It had truly been a pleasant surprise. Its lotus seeds had miraculous effects on ear ailments. Even an ordinary person who ate one could greatly enhance their hearing for a short time; they could hear the wind stir grass, a needle fall, or ants crawl.

Unfortunately, there was only one plant, so it could not yet be cultivated on a large scale.

Jiang Tu was considering whether he could grow a few more next year when an inexplicable palpitation suddenly surged through his heart!

He shot to his feet, his brows knitting tightly.

He had the distinct feeling that something had happened. This intuition was impossible to explain. Since entering Eighth Grade as a "Field Steward," he had gradually discovered that many of his instincts were remarkably accurate. He could sense rain before it fell and pests before they appeared in the fields, allowing him to take precautions in advance.

But this time, it did not seem to concern the weather or farming... Was it something else?

The next moment.

The Sequence Golden Codex deep within his consciousness suddenly began to tremble violently, like the ringing of an ancient bell from the Primordial Era!

Jiang Tu's heart tightened.

There was only one possibility when the Golden Tome trembled: sequence feedback!

Yet in the past ten years, its feedback had always been slow and gentle, like a thin stream flowing on without end. Whenever an Agricultural Path Cultivator occasionally appeared, the Golden Tome would only give a slight tremor before calming down. It had never continuously shaken like this—and it was fucking growing more violent by the moment.

Something huge had clearly happened, hadn't it?!