Translator: Pika
While Shi Kun and the others were dealing with the Vampiric Boar Bats, Zu An quickly slipped deeper into the passageway with Chu Chuyan in his hands.
“I wonder if those bats carry viruses on them,” murmured Zu An worriedly.
There were many bats flying around earlier, and the air was suffused with their flesh and blood. One must know that bats were known as a vat of germs and viruses in his previous world; many diseases that plagued humans had originated from them. Even the great Bear Grylls, a man who stood at the top of the food chain, had to cook them for several hours before daring to eat them.
However, such thoughts were swiftly dispelled from Zu An’s mind. We’re already on the verge of getting killed! Who cares about viruses or germs?
After running for some time, Zu An noticed that he was finally approaching the end of the passageway and heaved a sigh of relief.
While the passageway was still fairly safe, there was only one road to run and nowhere to hide. If Shi Kun were to catch up with them in there, they would be doomed.
Of course, the end of the passageway was likely to be filled with dangers too, especially the zombie army Zu An encountered previously. So, he was planning to find a hiding spot and camp there. As long as he didn’t alert the zombie army, he should stand a fair chance of surviving this ordeal.
His plan was simply to lure Shi Kun sufficiently deep into the cavern, where he would be utterly obliterated by the zombie army.
He carefully entered the cavern, only to feel two terrifying wind pressure gushing down toward his head right away. Fortunately, he was prepared and immediately used Sunflower Phantasm, allowing him to retreat a meter back right away.
Once he regained his footing, he immediately took a look at his assailants. They were two ax-wielding zombie soldiers.
The two zombie soldiers were stunned by their missed attacks. They were certain that their strikes were going to land squarely, so it was unimaginable to them how their target was able to vanish right before their eyes.
However, after a brief moment of astonishment, they instinctively raised their axes and began chasing after Zu An.
Zu An shook his head. These two zombie soldiers looked to be at the second rank at most, so there was no way they could have been a match for him. It was just that he was reluctant to get into a fight with Chu Chuyan’s in his arms, so he chose to flee instead. In any case, his speed was faster than the two of them anyway, so there was nothing to worry about.
But unexpectedly, their chase alarmed some of the other soldiers, leading to more and more people getting on Zu An’s tail, as if a deadly snake game. Soon, there were more than twenty soldiers chasing after him.
Seeing this, Zu An frowned. He was starting to get a little pressured now, knowing that he couldn’t continue like that. At this rate, it wouldn’t take long for the zombies to fully encircle and corner them.
So, while escaping their attacks with his movement skill, he began scanning the area for places to hide. To his dismay, even though the area was far wide than the passageway, there were no hiding spots around. The cavern was practically empty.
“Your movement skill is really incredible,” remarked Chu Chuyan.
She saw how Zu An was able to maneuver around the zombies without getting struck at all, reminiscent of a butterfly weaving around a field of flowers. This was not her first time seeing Zu An’s movement skill, but for some reason, it seemed much more formidable than before.
As a prodigious cultivator, she was naturally interested in his movement skill too.
He really has done well concealing his true skills. It’s no wonder why Shi Kun and his lackeys end up suffering a lot under his hands. He really is... scheming.
“It was imparted to me by my teacher. It’s my trump card to survive dangerous situations.” Zu An was planning to attribute everything that he couldn’t explain to his teacher.
“Your teacher is an incredible person. I can’t figure out its crux even when watching it up close,” said Chu Chuyan.
She might have lost her cultivation, but her eyes were still working perfectly. She had been paying attention to Zu An’s movement skill all this while, but to her astonishment, she was still unable to make sense of it.
“He’s indeed an incredible man.” Thinking of the unfathomably powerful Old Mi, Zu An nodded in agreement as well.
“What about that skill of yours which... makes other pregnant?” This was the one thing that Chu Chuyan was the most curious about. She had seen with her own eyes just how much Shi Kun suffered from it earlier on, and she couldn’t imagine how there could be such a skill in the world. At least Zu An’s ingenious movement skill was still within the boundaries of common sense, but that skill sounded nothing but illogical to her.
Now that she thought about it, it was weird how Snow failed to assassinate him in the Chu Estate back then. Everyone was baffled back then to hear that a fifth rank cultivator had suddenly suffered from a stomachache and ended up failing her mission, but looking at it retrospectively, Zu An must have used this skill against her.
Snow must have been enraged to have such an embarrassing skill used on her...
“It’s not real pregnancy; the skill just simulates the feeling of childbirth. However, there’s a hefty price to pay for using it too, so there’s a limit to how many times I can use it. Otherwise, I’d have made that bastard faint from the pain!” Zu An suddenly changed his tone at this point and said, “Honey, if you’re interested, there’s actually no need for me to use the skill at all. We can do it for real.”
Chu Chuyan was rendered speechless. It was as if he had to tease her every few words he spoke. However, having known one another for quite some time, she had gotten used to him running his mouth that it couldn’t faze her as much anymore. “Earlier, your speed and strength increased significantly after you got injured. Was it a skill you learned from your teacher too?”
“Yup. The cultivation technique I’m learning is rather peculiar.” Zu An thought about how Old Mi had been hiding amidst the Chu Estate all this while, as if a dangerous power was after his life. This made him realize that the skills he was learning could potentially bring about danger, so he wasn’t sure if he should tell Chu Chuyan about the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra or not as it could risk implicating her too.
Fortunately, Chu Chuyan didn’t probe deeper into it. One’s cultivation techniques and skills were considered a secret in this world as revealing them were no different from exposing one’s openings to another. Her questions earlier were a little overboard, but she simply couldn’t resist her curiosity, especially since she was already on the verge of death.
She didn’t think that Zu An would answer her question earnestly. Is he not guarded against me at all?
Zu An looked at Chu Chuyan and fell into deep thought once more. Afraid that she would fall asleep, he tried searching for a topic to engage her, but the warning bells in his mind suddenly blared then. He immediately darted aside instinctively.
Pu!
A sharp spear landed on the spot where he was standing earlier.
Zu An noticed that there were nine zombie soldiers armed with spears standing not too far away. In terms of physique and equipment, these zombie spearmen were clearly of a higher position than those zombie axemen.
Those zombie spearmen orderly placed their shields and spears in front of them before marching a step by a step toward Zu An, closing the distance between them. Their orderly footsteps and imposing vibes made Zu An feel as if he was faced with an entire army.
This wasn’t good for Zu An. The formation of the zombie spearmen was much more organized, leaving no room for him to weave around with Sunflower Phantasm. As a result, he could only continuously back down.
Soon, he could already see the wall of the cavern behind him. He knew that if he backed any further, it would really be the end of him. So, he waited for an opportunity to dash forward to leap above their heads. This was the only way out that he could see here.
But while he was in the midst of jumping past them, three of the zombie spearmen leaped up into the air and thrust their spears from multiple angles toward Zu An.
“*&%*[email protected](“ Zu An.
What the hell! These zombies are actually able to jump so nimbly too?!
The earlier clumsy zombie axemen had left him with a mistaken impression of the zombie soldiers as a whole, which led to him underestimating what the zombie spearmen were capable of.
Stuck in midair, there was no way for him to dodge. However, he didn’t give up just like that either. He quickly raised his arm and shot out an arrow from his hidden crossbow. It struck one of the spearmen in the air squarely.
Under the impact, the spearmen were knocked down to the ground, and after twitching for a bit, it stopped moving altogether. It looked like the armor-piercing arrow was indeed extremely effective against these zombies.
At the same time, Zu An also took out Poisonous Prick to deflect one of the spears heading in his direction, pushing it a few centimeters away to his side, where another zombie spearman was standing. Then, making use of this opening, he quickly nicked Poisonous Prick toward one of the zombie spearmen, causing a loud screeching sound from the dagger scraping against the bones.
Zu An thought that he could end the life of the spearman with that, but unexpectedly, the latter remained perfectly fine. It was then that he realized that these zombies were undead creatures, so the effectiveness of Poisonous Prick was limited on them.
To make things worse, the spearman retaliated by thrusting his spear toward Chu Chuyan.
The might of the incoming spear wouldn’t have posed a threat to Chu Chuyan in the past, but right now, it was more than enough to shatter her entire body. She sighed deeply before closing her eyes in resignation.
Seeing that Chu Chuyan was going to be struck, Zu An howled furiously as he forcefully twisted his body midair to take the spear thrust with his own back.
Pu!
Blood spurted from Zu An’s mouth, but he couldn’t care much about it in the midst of the battle. He made use of the impact from the stab to bolt out of the encirclement of the spearmen.
Meanwhile, upon feeling warm fluid dripping on her face, Chu Chuyan opened her eyes, only to see a trail of blood seeping from Zu An’s mouth. She was able to figure out what had happened immediately, and her long eyelashes quivered in disbelief.
“Young miss!”
Numerous vines shot across the air to smash the axemen who were about to hack their axes down on Zu An and Chu Chuyan.
Zu An turned his head around, only to see that Qiao Xueying had appeared in the vicinity. Her hair had morphed into vines once more and was currently pummeling a zombie. Meanwhile, Shi Kun and his other two fourth rank lackeys were also busy fighting with a group of zombie soldiers.
“What are you looking at? It’s not as if I’m trying to save you!” Noticing Zu An’s gaze, Qiao Xueying glared at him and harrumphed.
“I know that you’re embarrassed to admit that you care about it. Don’t worry, I understand.”
“...” Chu Chuyan.
This fellow sure is narcissistic. Also, is he seducing another woman right in front of me? This feels... weird.
Qiao Xueying noticed Shi Kun shooting a bizarre glance at her upon hearing Zu An’s words, and it made her both embarrassed and infuriated. “What nonsense are you spouting? I’ll kill you!”
You have successfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +134 Rage!
As she said those words, she sent a vine straight toward Zu An, intending to tie him down.
However, Zu An was already prepared. With a chuckle, he dodged the vine easily and escaped. Qiao Xueying immediately tried to pursue him, but a new group of zombie soldiers charged forth to stop her path.
Shi Kun, on the other hand, was incredibly displeased to see this. It was one thing for Zu An to be holding onto his dream lover, but to think that he would dare to flirt with his maid too! He glared at the skeleton axemen around him and roared furiously, “How dare you block my path? Go to hell!”
A powerful outburst of wind blades gushed outward, slicing the zombie axemen into slices. The zombies might be incredibly resilient, but there was no way they could survive after being sliced into pieces.
However, Shi Kun’s actions caught the attention of the zombie spearmen. They immediately turned around, directed their spears toward Shi Kun, and began marching over. These spearmen were much more difficult for Shi Kun to deal with; even his powerful wind blades only left small marks on the shields of the spearmen before dissipating.
Watching as the formation of zombie spearmen approached him, Shi Kun’s complexion darkened. He gathered his strength and swept his sword outward, releasing a ten meters long ki that sliced all of the shields of the zombie spearmen into two.
The zombie spearmen looked at the half-shattered shield and let out a miserable cry.
“Shit, they are calling their companions!” exclaimed Qiao Xueying.
While Shi Kun’s group was plagued with chaos, Zu An decided to head deeper into the cavern. He was thinking of seeking refuge first till both Shi Kun and the zombie army wore each other out before slipping past them to escape the cavern.
Shi Kun immediately noticed Zu An’s escape and tried to give chase. He, too, didn’t want to stay in this cavern for too long anymore, so he wanted to quickly secure Chu Chuyan and end Zu An’s life so that he could leave this place. He wasn’t certain if he could remain safe if Zu An were to venture any further in.
However, the formation of zombie spearmen stood in his path, so he could only roared at Zu An furiously. All of a sudden, he noticed that Zu An had stopped running. The latter’s footsteps halted for a brief moment before he began retreating. Seeing this, Shi Kun burst into laughter, “Hahaha, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you running anymore?”
Zu An continued gazing at the depths of the cavern as he retreated. With a gulp, he asked, “Brother Shit, how many zombie spearmen are you able to deal with simultaneously?”
Shi Kun was confused by the same question. Then, he heard the sound of orderly matching echoing from the depths of the cavern. He took a closer look and saw rows of zombie spearmen marching out from a stone door at the other end of the cavern.
Shi Kun recoiled in horror, bellowing, “Fuck you, Zu An! Don’t you dare come over here!”
😉