The cave master

"Brother Yi..." He coughed, then called softly, never slowing his steps.

"What is it?" Glancing at his soundly sleeping son, Zhang Yi lowered his voice too.

"The cave," Nan Shao said, and nothing more.

"I know." Zhang Yi understood immediately.

That ended their brief conversation. When they returned home, Meat Tower Chen and Li Muran were still cultivating. Zhang Yi lifted the sleeping Zhang Ruiyang off Nan Shao's back and laid him on the sleeping mat on the floor. He covered his son with the shirt again before going to get the clothes he wore outside.

Nan Shao caught sight of his bare upper body, tanned dark by the sun and still marked with patches of dirt. Though he was somewhat thin, Nan Shao could still make out the strength and beauty his muscles would have had when they were fuller. He could not help taking a couple more looks. Zhang Yi really does have a nice figure.

"Let's go." Zhang Yi pulled on his clothes as he headed toward the back.

Nan Shao fetched the lighter. The two found their usual weapons in the courtyard and headed once more toward the cave in the hill behind the house.

They had both noticed a rotten stench at the cave entrance earlier, but with Zhang Ruiyang there, they had said little about it. They had remained on guard the whole time, though fortunately nothing had happened. With a place like that in the hill behind them, how could they rest easy without investigating? After all, if there was a problem, their home would be the first place threatened.

On the way, they used a machete to cut several wrist-thick dead branches. Once they reached the part of the cave where no light penetrated, they lit one to see by. Flashlights were hard to find these days, and people generally did not use them. Unless they had a death wish or were powerful enough to fear nothing, nobody went hunting at night.

The cave was just as it had appeared from the entrance: a dozen or so meters in, it opened into a broad chamber of over two hundred square meters. Stones of all sizes littered its floor as well, and at first glance, there were no passages leading elsewhere. Yet after searching the entire chamber, they had still not found the source of the stench, so neither believed the cave was only as large as it appeared. They examined it carefully again and finally discovered an opening just wide enough for one person behind two overlapping boulders, one in front of the other. The rotten smell was stronger there than anywhere else, confirming their suspicions.

The two exchanged a look, both hesitant. The passage was too narrow, and they had no idea what lay inside. Rushing in would be far too dangerous. But if they turned back now, the trip would have been wasted, and they would never be able to rest easy afterward.

After a moment of silence, Zhang Yi suddenly picked up a sharp stone from the ground and drew it across his arm. Blood welled up at once.

"Brother Yi!" He had moved so quickly that Nan Shao had no time to stop him. Yet Nan Shao felt a little ashamed, because it had never occurred to him to solve their current problem this way. Or rather, aside from Nan Wei, he was not yet used to giving of himself for anyone else.

Zhang Yi shook his head to indicate that he was fine, then extended his bleeding arm toward the entrance to the inner cave. Human scent alone held an enormous attraction for zombies, let alone fresh blood. If there were zombies inside, the smell would probably have driven them wild already. Yet they waited a long while, and nothing came out. There was not even a sound.

"We can go in. But be careful," Zhang Yi concluded. He lit another torch and prepared to take the lead, but this time Nan Shao got ahead of him.

"Roll your sleeve up higher. Don't let it touch the wound," Nan Shao said without turning around, holding the burning branch straight out in front of him. In truth, he was trying to hide his unease.

Zhang Yi murmured in assent, pressed the burning end of his branch out, and freed his hands to roll up his sleeve as instructed. Nobody knew how long the zombie virus could survive outside a human body, so he did not dare take the risk either. As for the wound on his arm, he could only wait for the blood to clot on its own.

The passage was short, and Nan Shao soon stopped. When he remained motionless for a long while without speaking, Zhang Yi thought something was wrong. He quietly stepped forward and leaned over Nan Shao's shoulder to look inside. Just then, Nan Shao turned his head as if to speak to him, and their faces collided.

Zhang Yi felt his lips brush against something very soft. He hurriedly stepped back and asked quietly, a little embarrassed, "Everything all right?" The question had two meanings: whether there was any danger in the cave, and whether he had hurt Nan Shao when they bumped into each other.

Nan Shao's gaze flickered. Only after a moment did he answer, "Yes." He paused, then added, "There's a zombie inside."

Zhang Yi knew a single zombie could not have left him standing in a daze for so long. Unfortunately, he had not managed to get a clear look inside.

"A zombie tied to a stone pillar," Nan Shao continued before he could speculate further. "And quite a lot of food." As he spoke, he walked in.

As soon as he moved aside, Zhang Yi heard the familiar rasping breaths of a zombie. They sounded somewhat weak, though he did not know whether that was from hunger. If zombies really could be weakened by starvation, that would certainly be good news for them. With that thought, he followed Nan Shao inside, only to be stunned by the sight before him.

Chapter 24: The cave master

The cave inside was not large. When Nan Shao raised the burning branch a little higher, its light illuminated most of it. Of its roughly fifty square meters, half was filled with rice, flour, canned food, biscuits, salt, bottled mineral water, and other supplies. The other half was divided into two sections. Pots, bowls, basins, and a gas stove stood in the outer section, while a thin wooden partition screened off the inner section. Through it, they could dimly make out a bed, a small bookcase, and a simple desk.

The zombie Nan Shao had mentioned was at the far end of the narrow aisle left down the middle. A stone pillar rose there all the way to the cave ceiling, thick enough to encircle with both arms. The zombie sat on the ground against it, a rope passing around his chest and abdomen to bind him to the pillar. When it saw the two enter, it feebly waved its two free claws, trying to lunge at them. The rope binding it did not look particularly tight, but it was sturdy, leaving it to struggle in vain.

At first glance, Zhang Yi thought there was something odd about the way the rope was tied. Only when he drew closer did he discover that the knot was in front of the zombie, as though it had tied itself up.