Chapter 3, this zombie steals apples

She can only determine which one it is by the color of its pupils

Qiao'er hid in the shadow of the tree by the spring, while two zombies confronted each other in the forest, howling low like beasts vying for territory

The next day, a farmer came to the temple in tears, saying: "Master Chongling, you must stand up for us. Last night, a zombie came into our yard and stole apples from the apple tree. My wife was so scared when she got up at night that she wet her pants..."

It quickly rushed towards the spring, scooped up Qiao'er with one hand, and dashed back into the cave

This matter is something that the old Daoist Chongling has experienced extensively, so he came to Qiao'er in the afternoon and wrote a talisman for the zombie

Qiao'er felt a bit scared and hurriedly avoided it. It quickly took a few steps forward, and only then did Qiao'er see another zombie appear in the forest. This one was also scantily clad, but its pupils were red, emitting a faint cold light under the cover of the sparse shadows in the mountains

The zombie absorbed the moonlight at the cave entrance, while Qiao'er opened the coffin and took it to the spring to wash clothes. Afterward, feeling that it was quite dirty, she wiped it down with a wet cloth

But how can she not run away? She can't possibly spend her whole life with a zombie like this

The old Daoist Chongling paid no attention to it, hurriedly picking up the severed arm from the ground to examine the red-eyed zombie. The zombie possessed considerable cultivation; if it truly harmed him, it would be a source of regret.

Her nails had already retracted, and her hand fumbled with the clasp at her chest for a moment, reaching beneath the hem of her garment, only to discover that beneath the clothing was surprisingly soft skin

In a few days after this, another dojo was established across the mountain.

It turned its head and saw the jade-like figure in the spring water, and immediately moved closer to touch it all around. Qiao'er slapped its hand, but it was not angry and continued to press around on her back.

In the late night, Qiao'er was almost asleep when it finally turned around, and surprisingly, it was holding six apples

Before leaving, there seemed to be some lingering concern about this toy. After circling around the coffin twice, it still took Qiao'er, placed her inside the coffin, and covered it properly, before hurriedly exiting.

Qiao Er carefully scrubbed, and when she reached her legs, she felt a bit embarrassed

Qiao'er felt somewhat afraid of it; its fangs were menacing, and the hostility radiating from it had yet to dissipate. When it pressed her down to lie, she trembled all over

It had been quite a while since it went out, and it only returned at the end of the ugly hour. When the coffin was opened, it surprisingly brought back two apples, insisting on handing them to Qiao'er, who took a long time to realize that it intended to feed them to herself: "You... where did you come from?"

This is the corpse of an adult male; although the body is completely rigid, all the necessary organs are present.

Before dawn, it was still in good spirits, sitting tightly in the coffin, while Qiao'er held it closely, silently nibbling on an apple

As the ink line was not yet tied up, the red-eyed zombie let out a low howl and hurriedly fled

Fortunately, during the day, it was in low spirits, playing for only a short while before closing its eyes to sleep again. From then on, Qiao'er no longer dared to mention the matter of getting dressed

The old Daoist Chongling is in a predicament

By the late hours of the night, the thunder and rain ceased.

The next day, the old Daoist Chongling came again, still looking at the zombie in the coffin, and replaced Qiao'er’s water and food

The sensation of touch on the skin is undoubtedly far superior to that on clothing. It curiously explored by touching here and there

Before the old Daoist Chongling could speak, the young monk named Xiao Si had already chuckled, "Oh, what's this? Have you developed feelings for a zombie?"

As it went out to absorb the moonlight, Qiao'er crawled out of the coffin, washed the apple clean with fresh water, and began to nibble on it

"You... can I help you put on your clothes?" she whispered in its ear, and it squinted, lying still on her. Qiao'er gently demonstrated the action to it: "Put on... do you understand?"

The next day, several villages at the foot of the mountain were in an uproar, as it was said that a zombie had broken into the newly opened temple, wreaking havoc inside and even breaking the waist of the temple master

Water inherently gathers negative energy; it does not reject it and allows her to wipe it.

... ...

At night, the zombie still rises. Qiao'er does not know whether it can truly understand the strange characters on the yellow talisman, but it really stood in front of her for a while before wanting to go out

Although the moonlight is bright, their movements are indeed too swift, and she cannot discern who has the upper hand. Just as she is filled with dread, the old Daoist Chongling also hears the commotion and hurriedly brings three disciples over: "Form the formation, first separate them!"

It squinted its eyes, lazily stroking her flat and illustrated abdomen, then curiously moved upward

He remained composed as three Taoists stretched a chalk line between the fighting zombies, attempting to separate the two corpses. However, at this moment, the green-eyed zombie had clearly gained the upper hand. Its stiff left arm came down sharply, severing the right arm of the red-eyed zombie at the elbow, the sound faint, akin to cutting through rotten wood

It seemed to have some awareness as it reached out to touch her face, but Qiao'er tightly closed her eyes and turned her head aside. After a while, it seemed to recall something, stood up on its own, and still closed the coffin as it exited the cave

She carefully took the apple and confirmed once again: "This is for me, right?"

A zombie in the neighboring cave was startled by the thunder, bursting out of the cave and running wildly through the mountains. Qiao'er, seeing that rigid figure darting out from the cave, felt a chill in her heart and pressed tightly against it, not daring to make another sound

It reached out to pull, and Qiao'er panicked: "Don't... don't move around!"

In the evening, a thunderstorm. It sits in the coffin, trying not to move

She blushed, lightly wiped her legs, and then slightly loosened her clothes, washing herself with the spring water.

The lightning illuminated the cave entrance, and the thunder rumbled

It held onto Qiao'er tightly, and Qiao'er felt uncomfortable being encircled so closely. She struggled with all her might, and it lowered its head beside her ear. Although its lips did not move, she could hear soft murmurs, as if it were saying something.

The old Daoist Chongling hurried over and immediately came to check on Qiao'er in the cave. Seeing that she was safe, he let out a sigh of relief and then went to look at the two nearby corpses, only to be met with great dismay.

The final thunderclap reverberated, shaking the earth

The Daoist Chongling brought several disciples with him and conducted a ritual in a seemingly proper manner, embellishing the accounts of the demons he had encountered for the villagers. The ignorant crowd was completely in awe.

It then jumped out, scaring the child away, and stole two for itself

Qiao'er, unable to bear the disturbance, hurriedly dried herself and put on her clothes. Just as she was getting dressed, she suddenly turned her head and let out a roar towards the depths of the forest, a sound that was completely different from her usual roars, filled with murderous intent

The old Daoist Chongling did not say much, but instructed Xiao Si to bring over two sets of clothes and place them down: "I can provide you with the clothes, as for how to put them on, it depends on your own abilities"

The zombie was extremely pleased to see her. It went to the temple on the mountain opposite to cause some trouble, and upon returning, it saw some children stealing apples. Thinking that they all looked similar, it assumed she would also eat this.

Qiao'er hesitated quite a bit: "Can you... can you give it two sets of clothes?"

Qiao'er was still being pressed down by it, yet her face was flushed red. Its clothing had been torn into rags, and with their skin touching like this, she felt truly embarrassed

She tugged at her own clothes to demonstrate, and the zombie also noticed her clothing, curiously reaching out to pull at it. Then it discovered that beneath that layer of clothing, there was actually another layer of skin!

Thus, she continued to exert herself to push the coffin lid, only to find that once the lid was tightly sealed, it became exceedingly difficult to move. After struggling for a while, she ultimately had no choice but to stop and catch her breath

The villagers were outraged—how could you still dare to operate a Taoist temple when they were all being ridden by zombies! In their fury, they expelled all three Taoist priests from the temple.

After spending a few days together, Qiao Er had roughly become familiar with its temperament— as long as she did not run away, it did not often frighten her

The prestige of the Master Chongling has risen several levels in this area

Qiao'er naturally could not understand, but the voice carried no anger, so she gradually quieted down and allowed it to hold her

Qiao'er was both anxious and flustered, yet she did not dare to move too vigorously—her clothes could easily tear.

As the two left, Qiao'er had come to understand its temperament somewhat; it would not move during the day. The more she struggled to get up, the tighter its grip became.

The two corpses of the zombies have been struck by lightning, leaving half of their bodies scattered; at this moment, they appear like a piece of charred carbon

Qiao'er caught its hand, her eyes reddening with shame, tears swirling within: "Let go, shameless! Scoundrel!"

At noon, the old Daoist Chongling found six apple cores, neatly arranged and not a single one missing, in the cave of the green-eyed zombie.

The rain fell heavier and heavier, and all that could be heard between heaven and earth was the sound of the pouring rain. The entrance of the cave was situated at a higher elevation, so the water would not flood in. Outside the cave, the curtain of rain was thick, and lightning cleaved through the dense darkness of the night, only to be quickly swallowed by the shadows again. It held Qiao'er tightly, remaining completely still.

The summer weather is unpredictable, and in the blink of an eye, the bright moon is once again high in the sky