Stranger Danger

“Fine, fine. Sigh…”

Xuanlang had just taken two steps when he recalled something and came back, “Wait, your subordinates are already here, so why should I do anything? I’m just a volunteer!”

“Is that so?” Ye Qing nodded. Now that he thought about it, it was about time his men showed up. “You can carry this giant zombie to the entrance then. Don’t give me that look! Do you really want to cut your lifespan in half?”

Xuanlang: “...”

Ye Qing left after that. Xuanlang hesitated for a moment, but he ultimately lifted the giant zombie and started toward the entrance. Better safe than sorry.

The Fish Dragon Market had regained its order by the time Ye Qing made it back to the entrance. The zombies, the people who were hurt by the zombies, and those who were unharmed had all been segregated properly.

“My lord!” The Pacification Sentinels saluted as soon as they saw him.

“No time for pleasantries. Tang Yi, what’s the current situation?” Ye Qing looked at a Guardian.

The Guardian answered, “Most of the zombies in the Fish Dragon Market have been captured, my lord. All of the civilians have been rounded up as well. As far as we’re aware, everyone is present and accounted for.”

Ye Qing nodded. “Good job. Keep up the lockdown and continue the search for both civilians and zombies. Make sure you don’t miss even a single soul.”

“As you command!” Tang Yi replied.

Ye Qing then turned to a Pacification Sentinel and ordered, “Message Lieutenant Xu and ask him how he’s doing. I want to know if he needs reinforcements, and oh, ask him if he’s encountered a giant zombie.”

“At once!” The Pacification Sentinel left to carry out his orders.

After he was done giving out instructions, Ye Qing turned around and saw a refined-looking man examining the giant zombie thoughtfully.

“Have you found anything, brother?” Ye Qing walked up to him and asked.

The refined-looking man was none other than Runyu. Still staring at the giant zombie, he answered, “Nothing yet, but I suspect that this giant zombie is the reason the civilians have suddenly changed into zombies. Not only do they carry similar types of filth, their mutated organs look pretty similar as well. It’s just that this giant zombie carries more filth and has more advanced mutations.”

“On a related note, its filth is extremely infectious. Anyone it injures or makes prolonged contact with will become infected. You should be careful, my lord.”

“Heh, your guess is the same as Lord Ye’s, Runyu,” Xuanlang interrupted. The difference was that one of them was purely guessing, and another had actual evidence to support their theory.

Ye Qing ignored Xuanlang and pointed at the giant zombie, “Do you know where the filth comes from?”

Runyu shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Ye Qing asked another question, “Do you know a way to remove the filth then? Or should I say, can these people still be saved?”

This time, Runyu looked a little apologetic. “I don’t know.”

Ye Qing could not help but feel a little disappointed, but his answer was within his expectation. He saluted the two men and said, “The Pacification Bureau thanks you for your selfless service, gentlemen. My name is Ye Qing. If I may know your names…?”

“You flatter us, Lord Ye. It is no trouble at all,” Runyu returned the gesture respectfully, “My name is An Runyu.”

“And my name is Fang Xuanlang,” Xuanlang saluted as well.

Ye Qing was about to converse with them a little longer when the Pacification Sentinel who went away to message Xu Banren earlier came back. He passed a letter into Ye Qing’s hand and said, “My lord… Lieutenant Xu has responded.”

Ye Qing took one look at the letter and thought, I knew it.

According to Xu Banren, the situation at Nanping Boat was under control. More importantly, he had encountered not one, but two giant zombies.

“How troublesome!” Ye Qing took a moment to plan out his next steps while massaging his forehead. “Tang Yi, I leave this place to you. I need to make a trip back to the Pacification Bureau.”

“As you command!” Tang Yi responded affirmatively.

He then turned to Fang Xuanlang and An Runyu and saluted them both. “Brother Fang, Brother An, I need to get back to the Pacification Bureau for something. I shall thank you both properly when I’m free.”

“Don’t worry about it. You can treat us any day you like,” An Runyu and Fang Xuanlang understood the urgency of the situation and did not waste Ye Qing’s time.

Ye Qing nodded and bade them goodbye. Then, he left Fish Dragon Market and made a beeline for the Pacification Bureau.

After he arrived at the headquarters, the first thing Ye Qing requested was a meeting with Gu Suitang.

Gu Suitang obviously knew about the zombie outbreaks because the first thing he said upon seeing Ye Qing was, “How is the situation?”

Ye Qing answered, “It’s temporarily under control, and I found out why the civilians had transformed.”

“Oh? Tell me.”

And so Ye Qing told Gu Suitang the conjecture both him and An Runyu had arrived at.

“An Runyu?” Gu Suitang seemed surprised to hear that the doctor was involved in this incident. “If Runyu said the same thing, then it’s probably the case.”

Ye Qing: “...” Why do I feel like you’re looking down on me?

Noticing that Gu Suitang recognized An Runyu, Ye Qing asked, “Do you know An Runyu, chief?’

Gu Suitang replied, “An Runyu is one of the more promising young warriors of Luo Shui. He’s already quite powerful for his age, but his medical skills are even better. Even the senior doctors in the Healing Department are full of praise for him. We once extended an invitation to him, but unfortunately he decided that his future lies elsewhere.”

I see,” Ye Qing nodded. An Runyu must be incredibly impressive for the Pacification Bureau itself to reach out to him.

Not wanting to go off topic, Ye Qing said, “Although the situation is temporarily under control, I’m pretty sure this incident isn’t over yet. More zombie outbreaks may occur throughout Luo Shui, so I’d like us to be prepared for it.”

“What do you propose?” Gu Suitang asked.

Ye Qing answered, “Since we know that the giant zombie is the reason behind the outbreak, and the giant zombies are pretty conspicuous even before they fully transform, I suggest that we deploy additional manpower and search the entire commandery for anyone who is unnaturally fat, covered in oily fluid, and acting strange. They’ll be captured and kept in isolation, of course.”

“Besides that, we need to monitor anyone who has had prolonged contact with the giant zombie—remotely, because there is no need to cause undue panic.”

Gu Suitang mulled over his idea and agreed. “Very well, we shall do as you say. The real question though, is how did the giant zombies come to be to begin with? Is it an accident or a conspiracy? And if it is a conspiracy, who is the one behind this?”

Ye Qing agreed fully with his assessment, but for now the immediate priority was to keep the number of changed civilians to a minimum.

“By the way, has the Healing Department found a way to save the changed civilians? I’m not sure how much longer they will last at this rate.”

When he was inspecting the changed civilians earlier, he could tell that their organs were slowly withering and mutating into something unrecognizable. Their lives might be in danger if they took too long to come up with a cure.

Gu Suitang frowned and ordered, “I’ll write you a written order. Take it to Yu Huai and head to the first floor of the Tower of Secrets. The Human-grade Strange Artifact No. 58 should be able to save them.”

“Tower of Secrets? Human-grade Strange Artifact No. 58?” Ye Qing was confused to say the least.

Instead of explaining, Gu Suitang said, “Lin Yuhuai will tell you everything you need to know.”

“Understood.”

Ye Qing sought out Lin Yuhuai immediately after the order was penned. After he told Lin Yuhuai what he came for, they both headed straight for the Tower of Secrets.

The Tower of Secrets was one of the most mysterious and well-hidden places of the Pacification Bureau. It was where they kept their greatest valuables and secrets such as martial arts, medicine, Strange Artifacts, important documents, top secret intel and so on.

Ye Qing had heard of the Tower of Secrets before, but he had no idea where it was located, much less frequented it in the past. It was why he was beyond surprised when Lin Yuhuai led him to a dilapidated hut that looked like it had seen better days.

“This isn’t a practical joke, is it?” Ye Qing asked disbelievingly while looking the hut up and down.

Lin Yuhuai chuckled and gave him a non-answer. “You will know when we step inside.”

The first thing Ye Qing saw after entering the hut was a mysterious bronze door. The reason he thought it was mysterious was one, it was engraved with all sorts of complex and inexplicable patterns and images. Not only that, the patterns and images were constantly shifting and transforming as if they were alive. Even staring at it for just a few seconds was enough to induce nausea in Ye Qing.

The second reason was because the door was floating about one-third of a meter above the ground. It seemed to be held in place by a mysterious power.

Suddenly, Li Yuhuai slapped Ye Qing on the shoulder and warned, “Don’t stare at the Door Demon. He’s very dangerous.”

“Door Demon? Where? Wait, is he the bronze door in front of us?” Ye Qing asked.

“Kekeke… you came, you came… kekeke…”

It was at this moment a vile, eerie, and malicious cackle filled the room. It was otherworldly enough to make anyone’s skin crawl.

Ye Qing didn’t see it until after the fact, but the bronze door suddenly took on a blood red color and dripped fresh blood. A few seconds later, the pool of blood underneath it started warping into all sorts of horrifying faces including Lin Yuhuai and Ye Qing’s face. At the same time, mad ramblings and whispers filled their ears. It was bizarre to say the least.

What an evil door, Ye Qing thought. But that was it. He did not react visibly to any of the oddities happening throughout the room because he could tell that it was just an illusion. The sudden change of color, the blood, the faces, everything.

Of course, that didn’t mean that the illusions were harmless. A weak-willed person would succumb to them and lose their minds immediately.

“Cut it out, Door Demon. Take us to the Tower of Secrets,” Lin Yuhuai took out the order Gu Suitang had written and signed and waved it in the bronze door’s direction.

Buzz…

A terrifying pressure echoed from the written order. The mad ramblings and whispers in the air vanished abruptly, and the blood on the door was gone as well. Everything had turned back to normal… for now.

“Kekeke… you’re as dull as ever. Hmm? You brought a newbie with you today! Welcome, welcome, kekeke….”

The patterns on the door came together to form a twisted, hideous face. Judging from the way its mouth was opening and closing, it was probably the entity that had been talking to them this whole time.

“I said, cut the bullcrap and open the door.”

Lin Yuhuai waved the written order again, and the face finally cracked a fake smile and slid open.

The air rippled as the bronze door opened. What lay behind it was an infinite landscape of chaos and darkness. It was almost like a portal to another universe.

“Let’s go,” Lin Yuhuai said after the door was fully open. He took the lead with Ye Qing following right behind him.

Ye Qing’s vision darkened as soon as he stepped through the door. When the light returned, he found himself standing inside a massive tower.

The tower was segregated into countless big and small spaces by stone houses. That’s right, stone houses. Ancient, weathered and mysterious, the bizarre arrangement looked both chaotic yet beautiful at the same time.