bookpub Chapter 34 Covering the Rear
Chapter 34 Covering the Rear
"This place is dangerous. I hope my comrades will take a detour and not lose their lives. Once this matter is resolved, I, Jian, will certainly repay you handsomely."
Jian Shiqing's face was full of sincerity, not feigned.
Fang Hongxuan frowned slightly, but his calm tone carried a hint of helplessness.
"The walking corpse you're talking about, is it one with red hair, red eyes, and a face covered in bumps?"
Jian Shiqing looked at Fang Hongxuan in surprise, waiting for what was to come.
"They have arrived..."
In the jungle, there was a rustling sound and shadowy figures.
A man in hemp clothing pushed aside the branches and squeezed into the bushes. Ignoring his torn and bleeding face, he stared intently at the two people in front of him.
This man had yellow teeth, with strands of red meat mixed in between them. He was drooling, but his eyes never left the two men, his greed evident in his gaze.
"This is bad, let's move! They usually travel in groups. If we spot even one, it means we're surrounded."
More and more zombies emerged, moving slowly but steadily. In just a moment, Fang Hongxuan and his companion could see the terrifying red-haired monster everywhere they looked.
Fang Hongxuan coughed twice, then looked at Jian Shiqing.
"How did you escape before? A wise man does not stand under a crumbling wall; it is best to retreat first and wait for a better opportunity."
"I don't know why, but they seem to be afraid of water. I had no choice but to enter the water to try my luck, and that's how I drifted all the way here."
Jian Shiqing explained the situation in a few words. Seeing the zombies getting closer and closer, Fang Hongxuan no longer hesitated. He carried Jian Shiqing on his back, mounted his black horse, and plunged into the water.
Just as the black horse stood on the rock in the middle of the stream, the surrounding riverbanks were filled with walking corpses.
After a quick glance, Fang Hongxuan got a rough idea of the quantity.
"About sixty or seventy people."
"I wonder if those who have contracted the plague can recover through treatment?"
When Fang Hongxuan suddenly asked this question, Jian Shiqing was stunned for a long time before he reacted.
"It shouldn't be possible. Anyone who contracts the plague has depleted energy and blood, and their blood is blocked. They are like walking corpses, so how can they be cured?"
The pool here is not deep, and the current is not rapid. If one finds a good place to stand, going upstream is not just a pipe dream.
"If you stay here any longer, you'll probably become a dead ghost in the water tonight."
Fang Hongxuan swung the reins, and the black horse galloped across the rocks in the stream. The powerful strides sent water splashing up a meter high around its hooves, as if it were riding on waves.
"I was previously hiding in a place where no zombie could possibly attack. If I hadn't stumbled upon the distress signal from my colleagues in the Demon Suppression Division, I wouldn't have ended up like this."
Jian Shiqing wore a bitter expression, but dared not hide anything. The sky grew increasingly dark, and if it were to turn completely dark, the two of them would be doomed.
"If it were just one person, it would be fine if they died here, but they must not be a burden to my savior."
As Jian Shiqing thought this, the resolute intent in his eyes was obvious.
"Where is that location? We need to get there before night completely falls. Otherwise, we're likely in grave danger."
Fang Hongxuan's voice grew increasingly urgent, and his horse was galloping wildly.
The reason is simple: more and more zombies are converging on this side, numbering in the hundreds, if not thousands.
"About eight miles upstream, there is a nearly abandoned local temple. Before our routine investigation, my five brothers and I placed our equipment there as a backup."
"There are even two fast horses tethered inside that temple. If we get a chance to break out, we must notify the government troops and have them clear out this place."
Jian Shiqing recounted his grievances indignantly, while Fang Hongxuan seemed lost in thought.
"That local earth god temple..."
"It has only been abandoned for about three years, and there are still a few incense sticks left at the local earth god's place. If it weren't for the chaos of war, this place would not have been abandoned."
Jian Shiqing responded quickly; at that moment, he too had spotted the densely packed zombies. Even though he had successfully escaped once before, seeing such a sight this time made him somewhat uneasy.
"These walking corpses never went into the water; they were merely left in the water by the residual warmth of the sun. They belong to the extreme yin and the most filthy things, so naturally they would not come into contact with the extreme yang, not because they are afraid of water."
Fang Hongxuan, his face gloomy, expressed his opinion.
Indeed, that was the case, as the scorching sun was not exactly appealing to him.
The black horse carried the two people, riding the wind and waves.
The stream babbles, and schools of fish swim happily.
A pair of feet, swollen from being soaked in the water, stepped into the stream, followed by a chaotic and rapid series of splashes.
'Click click'
The palm-sized fish were quickly snatched up, and the zombies who hadn't yet gotten any fish food started fighting each other.
The scene was extremely chaotic, and the clear stream was stained with streaks of red.
"The water temperature is dropping, and time is running out. Besides, Wu Qi is already exhausted..."
Fang Hongxuan looked up at the almost completely setting sun. Although his expression remained indifferent, a trace of worry was evident between his brows.
If he were alone, he could come and go as he pleased. But there was Jian Shiqing, whose condition was unknown.
"We're almost there; the Earth God Temple is just ahead."
"This fellow also understands the principle of 'quenching thirst by looking at plums' (a Chinese idiom meaning to look at something in a bad light)."
Fang Hongxuan glanced at Jian Shiqing with a strange expression, but said nothing. Instead, he quickened his whipping, trying to squeeze the last bit of strength out of the black horse.
The reason was simple: Fang Hongxuan didn't see the slightest trace of the local temple.
"With the giant tree in front as the boundary, once we cross this place, we can rest easy."
Fang Hongxuan hesitated, wanting to ask something else. The zombies on the riverbank were already grinning impatiently, letting out low growls.
It charged towards the two people in the middle of the stream, baring its teeth and claws.
"Go on ahead, I will cover your retreat here."
Fang Hongxuan braced himself on the saddle, rolled several times in the air, and then landed steadily in the stream.
The stream water, just above his ankles, spread out in ripples as Fang Hongxuan walked, holding his sword and waiting for the zombie to arrive.
"Comrade...you..."
Jian Shiqing looked horrified, but tears welled up in his eyes involuntarily.
He was by no means the kind of person who would drag things out, but the reins he gripped tightly in his hand made a cracking sound.
Jian Shiqing knew all too well that if this fine horse hadn't carried the two of them and galloped for nearly ten miles, they would never have been able to exhaust themselves here.
"They went to such lengths for a colleague I've never even met..."
Tears were flung into the stream, creating ripples, which were then splashed even more violently by the horse's hooves. With just a swift movement, the horse had covered dozens of steps.
"My comrade, hold on a little longer. I'll go get weapons and then we'll stand shoulder to shoulder!"
"thorough.."
As if sensing its master's safety, Wu Qi disregarded its already nearly boiling blood and moved its hooves even faster.
How could the already exhausted horse push itself to its limit? It stumbled a few steps and rolled several times in the stream, horse and rider alike.
Ignoring his grief and pain, Jian Shiqing staggered to his feet and limped toward the City God Temple not far away.
Wu Qi lay trembling in the stream, his horse-like mouth opening and closing repeatedly. His lower body, in contact with the water, stirred up a hissing white mist...
"Hurry...hurry up..."