"This world is truly terrifying."
Looking at the terrifying faces on the wall, Master Yang felt as if he had just woken from a very long dream.
It seems like a long time ago, a voice told him: Get some sleep, and when you open your eyes again, the world will be safe.
The voice was very convincing. He remembered sleeping soundly and peacefully that night, and just as the voice had said, when he opened his eyes, it felt like he was truly safe, safe for twenty years!
Yes, he remembered.
This world has always been like this.
Cold, terrifying, and hopeless!
As a human being, being killed or eaten one day is a very common occurrence. What is happening now is not sudden, because this is how it has always been!
"No matter how terrifying it is, we have to look at it properly."
Master Yang had already closed his eyes, awaiting the most tragic outcome, because he simply could not bear to watch his own grandson die such a miserable death before his very eyes.
But the sudden sound made him open his eyes abruptly. He hadn't heard that sound in a long time, but he remembered it.
"Long time no see, Old Yang!"
" Chen Qing?" Master Yang was taken aback. He hadn't seen the boy for four or five years, and the boy had grown quite a bit taller.
No, that's not Chen Qing!
Master Yang suddenly realized what was happening and looked back, only to find that everything around him had stopped—the living corpses on the wall, the frightened children and teachers below, even the flying insects in the sky had all stopped.
"Twenty years." The young man, who looked remarkably like Chen Qing, smiled slightly. "I never expected that you, Old Yang, would be the first to unlock my memories."
"It's you." Master Yang recognized him immediately, even though he had changed his appearance.
But why? It changed to Chen Qing's appearance.
They say you're dead!
The young man smiled slightly, turned around, and with a casual wave of his hand, the living corpses on the wall, including the female corpse next to them, all disappeared instantly. Master Yang was stunned. It felt like he had casually deleted something on a computer. Those hideous monsters really did disappear without a trace.
Wait, what's a computer?
"Only by looking at the world with a straight eye can you have the courage to resist." The boy stood with his hands behind his back, smiling as he looked at the bright moonlight. " Old Yang, this is what you taught me back then."
"You're still alive!" Master Yang knelt down abruptly, his eyes bloodshot. "Why... why didn't you save us?"
Wait, why would I say that?
"Because... an anomaly has occurred!"
An anomaly?
Just as the boy was about to speak again, he suddenly sensed something and looked sharply behind him. Master Yang also looked over, but there was nothing there. However, he could clearly feel something terrifying approaching.
" Old Yang remembers that Chen Qing was an anomaly!"
"What anomaly? Explain yourself!" Master Yang suddenly tried to grab the boy, but he missed. The boy's body became blurry, like a reflection on water.
" Old Yang, you must remember this," the boy's voice grew softer and softer, and Master Yang dared not rush forward again, but listened intently.
"You must remember who you are!!"
--
Chen Qing arrived in Spirit Deer County early the next morning.
The scene was worse than I imagined.
The city was desolate and deserted, and the streets were a mess, with blood and bits of flesh visible everywhere, and occasionally a completely mangled corpse, the death was extremely gruesome!
"Ugh!" A group of young soldiers who had never seen bloodshed before knelt down and vomited, their faces pale and filled with lingering fear. They couldn't help but worry about their families.
"My lord, we are late." Chen Ying was still able to hold back, after all, she had followed her master all over the country and had witnessed many scenes of demons harming mortals.
Chen Qing pursed his lips. Of course they would be late. The zombies floated down the river, while they came by land. It would be a miracle if they made it in time.
"We should still take the waterway," Chen Ying said, frowning.
"Waterway?" Chen Qing looked at the other person speechlessly. "Who knows how many living corpses are in that river? If you encounter them at night, even if you can fly, how many soldiers on the boat will survive?"
Chen Ying looked at Chen Qing, somewhat puzzled. "Isn't there you, sir?"
In her opinion, with so many amazing abilities, Chen Qing's strength must be no less than her master's; dealing with some zombies shouldn't be a problem, right?
Chen Qing: "."
It seems I've been showing off too much lately, giving someone some unrealistic misconceptions.
Currently, his Divine Path power only consists of two minor gods who have not yet reached the rank. Even if he can borrow their abilities, in terms of overall strength, he is only at the level of Fifth Rank sorcerer, and his abilities are not comprehensive. After all, he has too few Divine Path systems under his command and his methods are too limited. In a real battle, he would most likely be no match for a true Fifth Rank sorcerer.
The only thing they could rely on was the Ghost Child, who remained in Liuzhou to serve as a military force. After all, it would be difficult for Fatty Zhou and Wei Gongcheng alone to defend against the infected Laojiu of the Shen Family.
"Sir, may I visit my fellow villagers in Sand Creek? I have an elderly mother and a seven-year-old sister at home!"
"My lord, my lord, it's the same for me. I'm really worried!"
A group of people knelt down one after another, and the huge men began to cry and shout, clearly frightened by the scene before them.
"No!" Chen Qing hardened his heart. "You have already joined the army. Departing without permission is considered desertion, and according to the laws of our Great Jin, it is punishable by being cut in half at the waist. You should think carefully!"
The group of people choked on their words, their faces turning extremely grim.
"Please have mercy, Your Excellency!" The group kowtowed in unison.
"It was agreed before we came that we would stagger our rescue efforts!" Chen Qing said sternly, "Are you ignoring what your superior said?"
The crowd fell silent after being reprimanded, and Chen Qing then softened his tone. "You don't need to worry. All the families of the soldiers will be given priority in rescue. I believe that your comrades, having joined the army, will rely on each other for their lives in order to survive on the battlefield."
"Moreover, most of your relatives live in the countryside, away from the river, which is much safer than this county town."
This last sentence brightened everyone's eyes, and their faces immediately regained a lot of vitality.
"Don't waste any more time. We need to rescue the survivors before dark. Don't forget, your comrades who went to rescue your relatives are also hoping you can bring their families back safely!"
Hearing this, the group felt a surge of warmth in their hearts, wiped away their tears, and stood up, saying with shame, "You are right, sir."
Chen Qing sighed and looked around, her expression complicated.
Spirit Deer was his hometown. The Chen Household originally lived in Chen Household Village, on the north slope outside the county town. He had no respect for his elders. They bullied his widowed mother and a group of people ganged up to seize their land at a low price. The clan chief led the way in preventing his mother from selling the land to a wealthy man in the county. If it weren't for Master Yang's help, which allowed him to hold on until he passed the imperial examination, he didn't know how badly he would have been bullied.
Now that I've become the prefect, I wonder if my mother and the others will go back to their hometown to show off first.
These men worry about their families, but how could I not worry?
He only hoped that his mother hadn't been caught up in the turmoil in Jiangnan. He now actually hoped that the emperor would be more lenient and keep his whole family in the capital.
"Let's search separately. Just recite what I taught you before!"
"Yes, sir!" The leading soldier wiped his face and stood ramrod straight as he replied, "First: Avoid dark corners during the search, and try to make a lot of noise in open areas to alert the enemy. This will let people know we've come to rescue you, and it will also lure out the monster."
Second: No one may act alone; everyone must work in groups of five, paying attention to blind spots, and remembering that you must never separate and act alone under any circumstances!
"Third, stay no more than 100 meters away from the main group. If you encounter trouble, shout for help and call for backup. Do not try to act recklessly alone!"
Hearing this, Chen Ying felt extremely strange. Why did this adult's way of disciplining the soldiers seem so cowardly?
"Very good!" Chen Qing nodded in satisfaction. He was afraid that these soldiers would be like those brainless idiots in the TV shows of his previous life, who would split up and act separately when they had nothing to do, and then inevitably get bitten to death.
"Let's begin, and be efficient. We must be back here by at most one hour!"
"Yes, sir!"
Watching the soldiers begin to disperse in an orderly fashion to various streets, Chen Ying couldn't help but ask, "Sir, isn't an hour a bit too much of a stretch?"
After all, it's a large county; shouldn't they have searched it more thoroughly?
" Spirit Deer County is located along the river and is a densely populated county. Places like this are more likely to attract a large number of zombies, and very few will survive," Chen Qing patiently explained. "On the contrary, the countryside is farther from the river and mostly consists of small paths. Generally, large numbers of zombies will not gather there, and there will be more survivors. It is only natural that more time will be spent in the countryside."
To be honest, if it weren't for the large number of scholars in Spirit Deer County, he wouldn't have really wanted to come here. The risks were high and the rewards were low; spending an hour here was already his limit.
"I see." Chen Ying nodded, looking enlightened. Just as she was about to ask more questions, a soldier shouted from afar, "Sir, there's a situation here!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Qing hurried over. It was a small courtyard, clearly belonging to an ordinary family.
But the scene in this ordinary family's courtyard was quite gruesome. The streets of the entire county were actually quite devastated, but this place was particularly outrageous. There were at least thirty or fifty corpses lying haphazardly in the not-so-large courtyard. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that these corpses were not people who had been bitten to death, but rather living corpses!
Most of these zombies were deformed, clearly having suffered heavy blunt force trauma. Following the direction of the corpses into the courtyard, you would find more and more zombies being crushed to death along the way. Finally, deep in the backyard, you would see a man nearly nine feet tall standing next to a well, desperately protecting it with his body. His body was a bloody mess, with many parts of his body gnawed away, exposing the bone in many places, and half of his face was bitten off!
Although the scene was gruesome, he had managed to kill all the living corpses around him. Chen Qing could see that several people who died next to the big man had their necks snapped by hand!
"What a tough guy," Chen Qing couldn't help but say.
Chen Ying nodded in agreement. "Truly a fierce warrior. Despite not being of noble birth, he is so valiant. Even a mortal would admire him."
Chen Qing glanced at her upon hearing this.
"My lord, did I say something wrong?" Chen Ying looked at Chen Qing with a puzzled expression.
"No." Chen Qing shook his head. "I'm just a little sentimental. I remember Wei Gongcheng telling me that you also came from an ordinary farming family and only got into the Yin-Yang Academy by chance. Now you can actually say things like that, even to an ordinary person."
"Is something wrong?" Chen Ying frowned, finding the other person's words somewhat grating.
"Don't underestimate ordinary people." Chen Qing looked sternly at the young girl whose values still needed reform, and said, "You've just been luckier. In the future, the ordinary people you speak of may not achieve as much as you."
Chen Ying: "."
Is this guy joking?
With his talent, few in the entire Yin-Yang Academy could match him, and now that he has received the Azure Dragon Inheritance, how can he be compared to ordinary mortals?
Chen Qing didn't say anything more, but instead looked at the burly man and approached him step by step.
"Sir, be careful, this guy is alive."
The soldiers nearby quickly reminded them that, in principle, such injuries should have meant death, but just as they approached, the burly man suddenly lunged at them and bit them. If they hadn't reacted quickly, their necks would probably have been bitten off.
Sure enough, the moment Chen Qing approached, the burly man seemed to be suddenly activated, and he lunged at Chen Qing.
Prepared for this, Chen Qing pressed down with one hand, and the powerful wind pressure directly slammed the big man against the well. The big man struggled frantically, his veins bulging all over his body, and he was extremely strong. The granite well behind him was slowly cracking as he struggled, but he was still unable to move.
"It's already zombified." Chen Qing squinted, his eyes full of wonder. Zombification was normal; after being bitten like that, countless insects must have entered its body. It would be strange if it didn't zombify. But the key point was that this guy, despite being zombified, didn't hide in the shadows. Even though it was Heavenly Capital dawn, he was still guarding this well. His willpower was truly astonishing; even the insects couldn't control his obsession!
Thinking of this, Chen Qing took out a mirror from his pocket and pointed it at the big man.
Xu Hu, 35 years old, has no bloodline, is an ordinary person, and has the appearance of a tiger. If he can join the army, he will definitely be a fierce general on the battlefield. He is suitable for the Door God System. His aptitude is extremely high, and he has the appearance of a heavenly general!
really!
Chen Qing's eyes lit up. He took out a bottle, walked up to the man, brought the jade bottle to his lips, and used the wind to forcefully pry open the man's mouth, sending a drop of green liquid into his mouth.
Chen Ying looked over in surprise. She recognized the substance; it was the so-called spiritual liquid bestowed by the Mountain God of South Mountain. Curious, she asked, "Sir, can this spiritual liquid save someone who has been bitten?"
"No." Chen Qing shook his head.
"Then what is this, sir?" Chen Ying asked, puzzled.
"It can temporarily suppress the poisonous insects inside the body," Chen Qing whispered.
This promising talent can't be allowed to die so easily. He's already been judged by the Mirror Demon to have the potential to become a Heavenly General before even Divine Path. It seems my first candidate for War God System has been found.
It seems the trip to Spirit Deer County was worthwhile.
After drinking the elixir, only a few breaths later, the burly man stopped struggling. The ferocity on his face faded, replaced by a look of peace. His eyes, which had rolled back, regained their senses slightly. "Save them."
"Don't worry!" Chen Qing nodded. "Is your family in the well? If they're still alive, I'll make sure they're safe."
The burly man's eyes filled with gratitude upon hearing this, but the next second he added, "And also, Your Excellency the Magistrate..."
"Ah?"
Chen Qing was taken aback. Upon hearing this, he immediately used wind power to move the big man away, and also moved the boulder on the well. He could then see that there were quite a few people in the well.
No wonder the big man threw away his weapons; he was fighting off the zombies while simultaneously leading the bucket of water down into the well, which is why he was bitten to death by the well.
"Wow!" Chen Qing burst out laughing. "You guys are all here!"
There were more than just the county magistrate under the well; seven or eight men in official robes had all gathered together.
It's truly a case of wickedness living for a thousand years. Tens of thousands of people must have died in the entire county, and these few guys actually managed to survive.
" Chen Qing?" Inside the well, Liu Yiqi suddenly became excited. "Quickly, save us!"
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