Thump, thump!
"Coming, coming!" In a quaint little courtyard, a woman dressed modestly but respectably walked quickly to the door, peeked through the peephole, and then hurriedly opened the door. "Master, weren't you attending the magistrate's banquet? Why are you back so soon?"
The teacher, who had been shooed back, was pale and looked terrified. "Where are the children? Are they all home?"
"They're all here," the woman said hastily, seeing her husband's terrified expression. Realizing something serious must have happened, she nodded quickly, but then, as if remembering something, added, "No, no, the Laoda's child is still at the academy. Isn't he having a small exam the day after tomorrow? He invited a few of his roommates, saying they'd study at the academy. He told me then, and I agreed!"
"Oh dear!" The old scholar immediately lowered his head and stamped his feet in frustration.
The Laoda son's grandson Shiyi years old. He has an exceptional talent for studying and is incredibly diligent for his young age. He will be taking the imperial examination for the first degree by next year at the latest. He is his most beloved grandson, and he is usually extremely satisfied with his grandson's diligence and sensible nature. But today, he complained to himself, "Why is he so diligent?"
"Master? Has something happened?"
"Disaster! Terrible disaster!" The old scholar seemed flustered, but still lowered his voice. "Quickly, go and call the children and daughter-in-law to hide in the cellar. Remember, stay quiet inside and don't make a sound. No matter what you hear outside, don't come out!"
The lady was immediately startled. "What on earth has happened?"
"Stop asking questions, go now, or your entire family will be wiped out!"
Hearing this, the woman dared not ask any more questions and hurriedly went to call the other children, but seeing her husband running out again, she anxiously asked, "Master, where are you going?"
"Go find your grandson, hurry up and don't delay!" The old man went out the door, carefully closing it behind him.
He closed the door and ran into the street, where he immediately heard chaotic shouts and screams in the distance, mixed with the howls of wild beasts and the chilling sounds of tearing and biting. Terrified, he quickly ran towards the academy.
But he was getting old, and he was panting heavily after running only a short distance. Suddenly, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder, and he was so frightened that he turned around and punched them!
"Ouch!"
A familiar voice rang out, and an old man covered his face and fell to the ground.
" Master Yang?" The old man was taken aback, then quickly stepped forward to help him up. "What are you doing here?"
"After you took your leave, I felt it was pointless. Since nobody cared about a private tutor like me, I quietly followed you out." Master Yang covered his face and said, "You old bastard, you really went all out!"
"It's good that you came along too," the old man said as he helped the other person up.
"Isn't that right?" He shuddered at the thought of those things crawling out of the river when he left the restaurant. Luckily, the group of scholars kept their composure and no one shouted in fright, otherwise they might have ended up in the same miserable state as those people drinking and carousing along the river at that time.
It was dark at the time, but he could see clearly by the open flame of the restaurant. Those people died so tragically, their intestines were ripped out alive. Just thinking about it makes his legs weak!
"Are you also going to the academy to rescue children?"
Master Yang nodded. "After instructing my family to hide, I learned that my grandson and your grandson were both at the academy, so I rushed out. Where are the other teachers?"
"I don't know," the old man shook his head. "I just took a look. Our South Street is farther from the river, so it might be a little better off. North Street and West Street should be the first to suffer. I'm afraid Master Wang and Master Li will be in trouble."
"When we came out, the county magistrate and the others seemed to still be in the restaurant," Master Yang suddenly remembered.
"Why bother with those good-for-nothings?" The old man was so angry he almost lost his voice, then he muttered angrily, "These scoundrels do nothing but their jobs all day long! If they had paid even a little attention to the prefect's warning letter, things wouldn't be like this! They deserve to die a thousand deaths for this disaster that has befallen Spirit Deer County!"
Master Yang fell silent upon hearing this. That group of people was indeed quite unreasonable, but the contents of the prefect's letter were something most people wouldn't believe. It wasn't that they didn't believe in demons and ghosts, but they generally wouldn't believe the claim of tens of thousands of living corpses coming ashore. After all, the West Sea had a 100,000-strong navy stationed there, Jiangnan also had tens of thousands of elite troops. How could they possibly let so many demons and ghosts in?
If that were the case, the world would have been in chaos long ago!
And then there's the name of that prefect.
Chen Qing
Was Chen Qing someone I taught?
--
At this moment, West Street and North Street along the river, just as the old scholar had said, were the first to be attacked. Those two streets had many vendors and were very lively at night, attracting a large number of zombies instantly, resulting in a horrific massacre.
Countless people strolling the streets with their wives, children, or friends were pounced on by the rampaging zombies, their blood and flesh splattering everywhere. Regardless of age or gender, everyone was subjected to the most primitive and savage slaughter.
The screams of women and the cries of children evoked no pity whatsoever; it was truly a living hell.
Meanwhile, the officials who were supposed to be responsible for the safety of the entire county took advantage of the moment when the zombies were distracted and quickly escaped from the chaotic situation. It's hard to imagine that a group of frail scholars could escape from the nearest restaurant along the river.
At this moment, everyone followed behind Liu Yiqi cautiously, including Gu Beiquan, who used to look down on Liu Yiqi the most. They followed carefully and followed Liu Yiqi's orders without question.
If Chen Qing saw this, he would definitely find it strange, after all, how arrogant was the top scholar Gu? In fact, that was the case. At first, not to mention Gu Beiquan, even the Ninth Rank registrar who was First Rank lower than Liu Yiqi didn't think much of this guy, let alone listen to Liu Yiqi in such a crisis, until just now, after witnessing this guy's ruthless methods with his own eyes!
That was a quarter of an hour ago. The zombies had just come ashore and were immediately drawn to the riverside restaurants, where they were doomed.
But before the zombies could slowly surround them, Liu Yiqi preemptively called over two unsuspecting women from the restaurant, who then pushed the man down.
Two frail women fell from the third floor of the pavilion, instantly becoming bloodied and mangled, screaming in agony. This attracted the attention of the zombies, and the commotion drew the attention of a group of people in the restaurant. While the other patrons were still looking downstairs, he quickly told his group to leave.
The methods were both despicable and ruthless, which made everyone, including Gu Beiquan, extremely wary of them.
Clearly, no one realized that this guy, who usually liked to put on airs, was actually such a ruthless person!
Thus, this group of far-sighted officials fled into the crowd in a panic. They knew full well what kind of disaster was about to befall them, but none of them were willing to speak out. They clearly understood that the more chaotic the situation, the less chance they had of escaping. They wanted to take advantage of the fact that everyone was unaware and quickly leave the bustling city to save their lives!
As for the lives of the common people, everyone chose to forget that.
--
" Master Miao, Master Ye, you're here too?"
" Master Zhang, Master Yang?"
Inside the academy, the old master, who was on his way, saw two other masters leading a group of students preparing to leave. He immediately spotted his grandson, and overjoyed, rushed forward.
The little grandson was clearly frightened and hugged his grandfather tightly.
"We just got here too," the two teachers who had led the way said hastily. "What's the situation outside?"
"Oh no!" Master Yang shook his head hurriedly. "When I arrived, some of those man-eating monsters had already spread to South Street. At this point, I'm afraid South Street has already fallen, and we won't be able to bring the children back."
"What should we do?!" Upon hearing this, the two tutors were extremely anxious, like ants on a hot pan. Their families were all on South Street, and although they had been instructed to hide in the cellar, how could they not be worried?
Just then, screams of agony came from outside.
The cries of men, women, and children, followed by the screams of children, sent chills down their spines. Master Yang, being a bit braver, quickly climbed a tree in the courtyard to look out, but after just one glance, he ducked down and fell from the tree.
"Be careful!" A group of people rushed forward to help.
Master Yang fell from the tree, wincing in pain, but dared not utter a sound. He hissed, "There are living corpses everywhere; we can't get out!"
The group of teenagers turned pale with fright, and the teachers also looked utterly desperate.
The people of Spirit Deer County are simple and honest, with kind hearts. While they may not be so destitute that no one would pick up lost items at night, most are good families. How cruel Heaven is to allow such a calamity to befall these people!
"Let's go, retreat inside and hide well, don't attract attention!" one of the teachers said calmly, reacting first.
But just as they were about to lead the group inside, they turned around and saw an extremely horrifying scene!
Under the moonlight, a woman appeared behind them unnoticed. She was dressed in white, her skin even paler than her clothes, and her bloodshot eyes bulged out like goldfish eyes. Black blood gushed from her mouth, and she stared at them as if they were the most delicious meat.
Several teachers retreated in fright, but only Master Yang's eyes flashed with a ruthless glint. There was only one monster, and he had brought a sharp weapon with him when he went out. He had been a wandering knight in his youth, and although he hadn't fought for many years, he felt that he was not without a chance.
If they can kill the monster before it makes a sound and avoid attracting the attention of the undead outside, they may still have a chance to hide in the inner chamber with the children.
Before he could act, the younger children behind him couldn't help but scream in fright. Upon hearing this, Master Yang's face turned pale, and he exclaimed, "Oh no!"
As soon as he turned around, he was so frightened that he dropped the sharp weapon in his hand!
Suddenly, dozens of pale, bloated faces appeared on the wall, staring intently at them just like the woman!
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