With his body in such a poor condition, having just been unconscious, could he really handle the zombies?
Ning Xin was unsure, but she didn’t have the courage to help. She ran far away, hiding while peeking out cautiously.
About four or five zombies arrived, their terrifying faces and piercing cries making them more dreadful than beasts.
The twilight had dimmed significantly, leaving only a faint golden glow.
The figures of the man and the zombies flashed alternately. Occasionally, a blade swung, reflecting gold as it tore through flesh and viscera.
Don’t lose!
Ning Xin prayed silently, ready to flee at the first sign of trouble.
After a few minutes, the twilight disappeared, and the cave plunged into darkness.
There was a thud, as if a corpse had fallen.
Then footsteps approached her, accompanied by the sound of metal scraping against rock.
Ning Xin’s heart raced, feeling the person was now in front of her, reaching out.
Suddenly, another thud.
The person fell to the ground, gasping in pain.
“What’s wrong?”
She hurriedly crouched down, wanting to help, but recoiled as soon as she touched his body.
He was burning hot!
Wouldn’t he become delirious from such a high temperature?
She still wanted to keep him for sustainable development.
“Cold… cold…”
The man trembled all over, managing to utter a few words through his teeth.
Ning Xin was dumbfounded.
How could someone be cold with such a high temperature? Even a furnace would feel inferior.
“Don’t you…”
She wanted him to take off a piece of clothing, but he unexpectedly reached out and pulled her into his arms, pressing her tightly against him.
Especially his face, buried between her neck and shoulder, absorbing her body heat.
He was holding her too tightly, making Ning Xin’s eyes roll back, feeling like her bones were about to break. She struggled hard.
Sensing her movements, he eased his grip slightly but still held onto her tightly, refusing to let go.
Hungry and tired, Ning Xin couldn’t compete with his strength. She gave up and leaned against his body.
“You probably have an infected wound that’s causing inflammation. You need medicine, or it will get worse. Do you have any medicine here?”
The man remained silent, so she continued.
“I know a place where we can find medicine, but there’s no food there. If you help me get some food, I can take you back to treat your wound.”
Still, he said nothing.
Thinking he had passed out again, she raised her hand to slap him.
But he suddenly moved, pulling out a cloth bag from somewhere and stuffing it into her hand.
“What’s this?”
Ning Xin opened it and sniffed. It smelled of soil. She reached in and felt irregularly shaped small balls.
She was initially terrified, thinking it might be a bag of children’s skulls, especially after the encounter with the skull earlier. But considering that children’s skulls wouldn’t be this small, she carefully inspected the contents and finally identified what it was.
Potatoes.
Sour and spicy shredded potatoes, braised potatoes with meat, dry pot potato slices…
One dish after another flashed through her mind, making her mouth water and giving her the strength to run for her life.
“Don’t dawdle, let’s go,” the man said in a low voice.
“You can kill me and take the food,” he added.
She was puzzled. “Why would I kill you? I’m not that hungry.”
She was still counting on him to lead the way.
In the darkness, he seemed to be looking at her. After a while, he finally let go of her hand and stood up, leaning against the wall for support.
The previous fight had drained him of his energy. He staggered as he walked, still carrying the hefty broadsword.
“Do you want me to carry that for you?” Ning Xin asked.
Now that there were no zombies around, he saved his strength for when he needed to deal with them.
The man glanced at her and sneered.
“You can’t lift it.”
“Are you kidding me? How heavy can a knife be?”
She had personally carried goods weighing a hundred pounds when opening her store.
Ning Xin reached for the knife, and the man let go of it, holding his arm as he watched her.
The knife stood almost as tall as her head, but it wasn’t very thick, and its blade was exceptionally sharp.
She thought it would weigh about forty to fifty pounds at most. But as soon as he let go, the knife pressed down heavily, making her unable to stand, let alone lift it.
“Help… help…”
The man picked up the knife with one hand and slung it over his shoulder.
“Let’s go,” he said.
Rubbing her nearly dislocated arm, Ning Xin cursed inwardly, but quickly caught up and supported him.
“Slow down, be careful not to attract the zombies. By the way, why were you alone in this cave? Is this where you live? Do you know where this is? Why did you come here?” Ning Xin bombarded him with questions, but he acted as if he hadn’t heard and kept walking.
She asked a few more questions that interested her, but the man stopped and said, “If you keep making noise like this, you’ll attract those things.”
She quickly closed her mouth and obediently served as his crutch.
Exiting the cave went smoothly; they didn’t encounter any zombies.
Outside, a few zombies were wandering around, but before they could notice them, the man swiftly swung his blade and chopped off their heads.
With moonlight shining outside, Ning Xin noticed he was wielding the knife with only one hand, strengthening her resolve to cling to him.
If he could do this when he was sick, what could he do when he was healthy? She feared he could easily wipe out all the zombies.
“We need to go that way,” she pointed in the direction of the forest.
The man didn’t say anything and walked in the opposite direction.
Thinking he hadn’t heard her, she wanted to remind him, but some zombies were looking in their direction. Afraid of attracting their attention, she kept her mouth shut and followed him.
They circled around half of a mountain and reached a small road.
Ning Xin discovered something that filled her with joy.
This road had few zombies and also led in the direction of the asylum.
Was this intentional?
She looked up at him, and the man calmly explained, “There’s a special plant growing here. Its scent strongly repels zombies, and contact with its juices accelerates their decay. They generally avoid this area.”
Ning Xin looked around and indeed saw several strange-looking plants growing by the roadside. She sniffed them vigorously.
“Why didn’t I smell anything?” she asked.
“Are you a zombie?” he retorted.
Rolling her eyes, she ran to pull out several of the plants and stuffed them into her backpack.
Since they were so effective, she naturally had to gather some to deal with zombies.
The man opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something but gave up, continuing to walk with her support.
After passing that stretch of road, they encountered some zombies sporadically, all of which he swiftly dealt with, appearing relaxed.
However, Ning Xin keenly felt that as they progressed, his body became heavier, indicating that his stamina was depleted, and he needed to rest.
She quickened her pace, and finally, the asylum’s small building appeared before them.
Outside, it remained unchanged from when she left, indicating that no one had entered during her absence.
Ning Xin opened the door and waved at him. “Quick, come in!”
The man glanced up, hesitated for a moment, then was forcibly dragged inside by her.
Ning Xin locked the door behind them, turning to look at the familiar living room, feeling a huge sense of relief.
Thank goodness, she had come back alive! And she brought food!
She wanted to cook the potatoes right away, but the man’s condition didn’t look good. Thinking that there might be some medication in the warehouse, she instructed him to sit tight and not move while she drank some water and went to search.
The man sat in the living room chair, looking around. His gaze fell on the pile of canvas in the corner.
Underneath the canvas, blood had flowed out, long dried into an ugly dark red color.
There was a figure on the stairs, appearing at some point.
The old lady smiled at him.
“So, you’ve come.”
He averted his gaze, looking towards the door.
“I won’t stay long.”
“Is that so? I don’t think so.”
“We’ll see about that.”
He didn’t want to talk anymore, so he got up and walked towards the warehouse, leaning against the door frame and asking:
“Still haven’t found it?”
The warehouse had many shelves, filled with various items, leaving Ning Xin covered in dust, speaking with a distressed tone:
“Don’t rush me, I’ll find it in a moment. I clearly remember it being here…”
As she spoke, she sneakily glanced at him, unable to resist making a comment:
“Oh my goodness, are you made of bamboo?”
Being so tall, his head almost touched the door frame.
The man gave a cold snort but didn’t say anything.
Ning Xin continued searching frantically, and finally, with excitement, she exclaimed:
“Haha, found it!”
The medicines were packed in a large box, containing band-aids, antiseptics, and similar items.
She carried it in her arms and pushed the man back to the living room, wanting him to find a place to lie down.
However, there wasn’t even a sofa in the living room, so she simply pushed him into the empty sickroom on the second floor, letting him lie on the hospital bed.
“Just so you know, I don’t have much experience, so if I accidentally hurt you, don’t blame me.”
The man remained silent, waving his hand and closing his eyes.
Ning Xin picked up a bottle of disinfectant, intending to check the expiration date, but couldn’t find it. Thinking that having something to use was better than nothing, she didn’t bother much and just twisted open the bottle cap.
She rubbed her hands together in excitement, but that excitement disappeared as soon as she rolled up his pants and saw his wound.
It was disgusting.
Pus mixed with blood, emitting a foul odor, and the surrounding flesh was pale without any trace of blood, indicating that the wound had been there for quite some time.
She pressed gauze against the wound to absorb the surface pus, then disinfected a pair of tweezers, punctured the blister, letting the pus drain out, and continued wiping with fresh gauze.
After cleaning all the liquid, she disinfected the wound, applied some anti-inflammatory ointment, and finally bandaged it neatly, tying a pretty bow.
Ning Xin admired her handiwork, saying satisfactorily, “Not bad, right? Didn’t hurt you at all.”
The man remained motionless again, and she leaned in to take a closer look, unsure if he had passed out from the pain or fallen asleep.
She leaned towards the latter assumption, tidied up the items stealthily, and tiptoed out of the room, closing the door behind her.
Standing in the corridor, she stretched lazily.
Realizing that she hadn’t eaten the potatoes yet, she immediately dashed downstairs to start cooking.
The quantity of potatoes was still considerable, each about the size of a child’s fist, totaling several dozen.
Ning Xin was skilled in various ways, but she didn’t have time to show off her skills now. She opted for the simplest cooking method — boiling them in water.
After boiling for over twenty minutes, the aroma of potatoes began to spread.
She thought for a moment, fetched three bowls and divided them into three portions. She finished her own portion first and then carried the other two portions upstairs.
The man was still asleep, so she placed the potatoes on the bedside table and went to the old lady’s room.
The old lady was still sitting by the bed. When she saw Ning Xin, she asked, “Did you find food?”
“Yes, but not much, just enough for one meal. And… I brought someone back with me.”
“What kind of person?”
“Um… a man. I don’t know much about his situation, but he seems to be in good physical condition. He could probably protect us.”
Ning Xin asked cautiously, “Is it okay for him to stay here?”
The old lady replied, “I’m still counting on you to live, so it’s up to you.”
Ning Xin scratched her head, “I’ll go downstairs first. Call me if you need anything.”
“Okay.”
Ning Xin walked out of the room, took a few steps, then suddenly turned back.
She had only been here for a few days, so how did the asylum become a place where she had the final say?
She had been planning to find an opportunity to escape. She didn’t want to stay here forever.
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