Chapter 117

Chapter 117

By the time Qingshui returned to the room, night had fully fallen.

Qingshui pushed open the door. Wen Lianfeng and Chu Jingchu were reclining on their respective beds, and both looked up at the sound.

“You’re back?” Wen Lianfeng sounded languid, as though she had just woken up.

Qingshui nodded and sat down beside her own bed. Her ankle was still swollen, but it was much better than it had been during the day. At least her limp was no longer so obvious.

Chu Jingchu suddenly sat up, pulled a blister pack of pills from beneath her pillow, and tossed it to Qingshui.

“Catch.”

Qingshui caught it and looked down. It was ibuprofen, but there was only one pill left.

“Where did you get this?” she asked, looking at Chu Jingchu.

“From the Director.” Chu Jingchu lay back down, her tone casual. “You still have a fever, don’t you?”

Qingshui held the pill between her fingers and fell silent for two seconds.

If she endured it for a few more days, she might recover on her own. But… the two of them had still gone and found medicine for her.

She put the pill in her mouth and swallowed it dry. A faint bitterness spread across the back of her tongue before sliding down her throat.

Wen Lianfeng said, “Tomorrow night, we’re going out with Meng Rui’s group to collect gasoline.”

Qingshui frowned. “I’m coming too.”

Chu Jingchu raised an eyebrow. “Coming where?”

“Tomorrow night. I’m going out with you.”

The room fell silent for a moment.

Wen Lianfeng’s gaze settled on her face, then moved down to her ankle. “Your leg’s better?”

Qingshui rotated her ankle.

“Much better.”

She was telling the truth. She had slept so deeply that it felt as though she had finally made up for some of all the sleep she’d been missing. She was in much better shape now.

Wen Lianfeng studied her in silence for a few seconds, then refused without hesitation. “Keep resting.”

Qingshui opened her mouth to argue, but Chu Jingchu’s muttering cut her off.

“Who volunteers to go out…” The low-ponytailed woman rolled over, turning her back on them. Her voice came out muffled. “Everyone else would do anything to avoid it…”

Wen Lianfeng ignored her and simply shook her head at Qingshui. “Focus on recovering first. Once you’re better, you’ll have plenty of chances to run around.”

Qingshui lowered her eyes.

“Let’s sleep,” Wen Lianfeng said as she lay down again. “I haven’t had enough yet. We’ll have more work to do when we wake up.”

Qingshui lay down as well and closed her eyes.

Soon, the steady breathing of two people filled her ears. Wen Lianfeng and Chu Jingchu were already asleep.

She wanted to sleep too, but certain thoughts kept circling through her mind. As they drifted on, her consciousness gradually faded.

She had no idea how much time passed.

Then Qingshui felt someone shaking her.

It wasn’t a gentle nudge. Whoever had hold of her was shaking her hard enough to make her whole body sway.

“Wake up. Hey, wake up.” It was Chu Jingchu’s voice.

Qingshui’s eyes flew open.

Chu Jingchu’s face was only inches from hers, slightly blurred in the dim light. When she saw Qingshui open her eyes, she let out a breath of relief and released her.

“Nightmare?” she asked.

Qingshui didn’t answer immediately.

She lay there gasping for breath, her heart pounding so hard it felt ready to burst from her chest. The hair at her temples was soaked with sweat and clung stickily to her skin. Her back and chest were drenched. She looked as though she had just been pulled from the water.

But her mind was clearer than it had ever been.

The grogginess that had plagued her before was gone. So was the hazy feeling that made it seem as though she were viewing the world through a veil of fog. Her thoughts were no longer a muddled mess. Her head felt completely clear and refreshed.

They had slept straight through until dawn, several uninterrupted hours in all.

She flexed her ankle. The swollen ache had eased considerably as well.

Qingshui changed into dry clothes and headed downstairs with Wen Lianfeng and Chu Jingchu.

The moment they reached the stairwell landing, Qingshui stopped.

An extremely complex mixture of scents rushed into her nose. Among them was a sickeningly sweet odor.

Qingshui’s entire body tensed. Before she could speak, Wen Lianfeng beat her to it.

“Something happened.”

Her voice was calm, but beneath that calm lay a trace of barely perceptible tension.

The three of them quickened their pace and rushed down to the first floor.

There were only a few people in the lobby. Following their directions, Qingshui and the others made their way to the side courtyard, where most of the survivors had gathered.

And on the ground… lay several dead Madmen.

Crude wooden arrows protruded from their heads, and blood was splattered everywhere.

Had the Madmen slipped inside?

Xu Wenlie stood closest to the bodies, with Ye Que and Qi Zhi behind her, their expressions grave. The muscular woman named Meng Rui was there too, standing off to one side with her people.
A dozen or so survivors still stood nearby. Some leaned against the walls while others watched from a distance, but no one approached.

The Director stood at the front of the crowd.

She wore a dark gray coat, her hair still neatly combed back. Her eyes were as calm as a pool of stagnant water.

When Qingshui and the other two entered, the Director glanced at them. Just once, without any particular expression. Then she turned back to Xu Wenlie and said, “Move these things to the basement for now. When we go out to search tomorrow night, we’ll dump them somewhere far away.”

Xu Wenlie nodded, and all the survivors immediately got to work, including Meng Rui’s people.

Meng Rui herself did not move. She simply stood there, watching the bodies being dragged away with a slight frown.

Only after they had finished moving the corpses did she speak. “Looks like we’ll need a few more guards.”

Her voice was rough, her tone blunt and none too polite. “These Madmen really are everywhere.”

The Director frowned. “Mm.”

Qingshui was assigned lookout duty that day. She and Xu Wenlie climbed to the roof of the main building.

The wind was fierce up there, whipping their hair in every direction. From that height, they could see far into the distance.

Qingshui raised the binoculars and focused on the distant horizon.

Through the lenses, trees and ruins filled her view. Whenever the wind blew and the shadows of the trees swayed, it looked as though something was moving.

She carefully scanned the area, but there was nothing.

Xu Wenlie stood beside her with her arms folded, also gazing into the distance. The silence stretched on for a long time before she suddenly asked, “Where did you come from?”

“Xiangjiang.”

Surprise flickered through Xu Wenlie’s eyes. “From that far away?”

“Mm.”

“…You took the mountain roads?”

“Highways and mountain roads.”

A long moment passed before Xu Wenlie said softly, “You were… pretty lucky. Taking the highways or entering cities is practically suicide. If you run into Madmen who know how to drive, the roads become their hunting grounds.”

Qingshui lowered the binoculars and glanced at her.

“Were we?” she asked quietly. “They’re all dead.”

“Besides,” Qingshui continued, ignoring the way Xu Wenlie instantly stiffened, “you rescued me there.”

Xu Wenlie gave a bitter smile. “We didn’t have a choice. Rescuing you was a coincidence. We normally wouldn’t dare enter a city.”

Qingshui fell silent. It did not sound like a pleasant story. Everyone had their own nightmares, and there was no need to pry.

Time passed little by little.

She could vaguely make out other lookouts on the surrounding rooftops. Some stood, some sat, and some held binoculars just as they did.

Night was coming.

When their replacements arrived, Qingshui handed the binoculars to one of them, then went downstairs with Xu Wenlie.

Wen Lianfeng and Chu Jingchu had set out as well.

Qingshui watched them get into the vehicle and drive away. She remained rooted to the spot for a long time before returning to the room alone.

Wen Lianfeng’s and Chu Jingchu’s beds were empty, their blankets folded as neatly as they had been the night before.

Qingshui sat on her own bed with a bowl of gruel in her hands, sipping it one mouthful at a time. The warm food slid into her stomach, but it could not warm her heart.

Emptiness. That feeling had returned.

It was as if something had carved a hole into her chest. Wind poured through it, hollowing her out completely.

Wen Lianfeng’s words echoed endlessly through her mind.

“No one has managed to kill me yet.”

When she had said it, her voice had been so certain, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

She would not die.

Neither of them would die.

Qingshui set down the bowl, lay back, and closed her eyes.

Sleep.

She forced herself to sleep.

By the time she woke up, they would be back.

She did not know how much time had passed before she began to rise from the depths of dreamless sleep. She did not wake. Instead, she began to dream.

In her dream, she walked endlessly along a road. It stretched so far that she could not see where it ended. Corpses were piled along both sides, one after another, packed together so densely that she could recognize some of them without even turning them over.

At last, Qingshui stopped and rolled over one of the bodies.

The first was An Xiaolin. Her baby face was covered in blood, her eyes wide open and staring blankly at the sky.

The second was Chen Yuhui. Her bloodless lips were slightly parted, as though she had wanted to say something but never managed to get the words out.

The third was Lin Hao. Tears still streaked his face, but his body had already gone cold.

One body, then another, then another. She knew every single one of them.

Then she turned over Wen Lianfeng.

That weary face, those sharp eyes, were now tightly shut and drenched in blood.
Her hand trembled as she turned over the next body.

Chu Jingchu.

She too lay on the ground, motionless.

Qingshui’s heart clenched violently. She wanted to scream, but no sound came out. She wanted to run, but her legs wouldn’t move.

Then, the two corpses suddenly opened their eyes.

Wen Lianfeng’s mouth slowly split open into a huge, eerie grin. Chu Jingchu did the same, her mouth stretching from ear to ear, revealing a mouthful of blood.

They looked at her and spoke in unison:

“You’re the one who got us killed!!!”

The sound was sharp and piercing, hurting her deeply.

“It’s all your fault!!!”

“It’s all your fault!!!”

“It’s all your fault!!!”

“Ugh-!”

Qingshui snapped her eyes open.

Her heart raced, beating so fast it felt like it would burst from her chest. Her entire body was drenched in cold sweat, soaking her clothes. She gasped for air, stars dancing before her eyes. It took a while for her vision to clear.

This was the room, their room. Wen Lianfeng’s and Chu Jingchu’s beds were still empty.

Empty.

They… hadn’t come back yet?

Qingshui shook her head desperately, trying to shake the image from her mind. It wasn’t real. It was all fake. Just a dream.

She threw off the covers and rushed out of the room as if fleeing. She found Xu Wenlie and blurted out urgently:

“Are they back?”

Xu Wenlie shook her head, her expression somewhat grave, but she said, “Don’t worry, it’s only been one night. Sometimes we go out for two nights.”

Assuming they… found a safe place to spend the night.

Qingshui squeezed her eyes shut hard. “I understand…”

She turned and went to the backyard. Ye Que was already there, whittling wood. Hearing footsteps, she looked up. Seeing Qingshui’s pale face and sweat-soaked hair, she frowned.

“You… what’s wrong?”

Qingshui sat down next to her, picked up a knife, and grabbed a piece of wood. “I’m fine.”

She spoke hurriedly, and her hands moved even faster.

Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish-slice after slice, so quickly it seemed like she was venting something. Wood shavings flew everywhere, some falling to the ground, some sticking to her clothes and hair. She didn’t care; she just kept whittling.

When one was done, she tossed it aside and grabbed the next.

Whittled again.

Tossed again.

Grabbed again.

Ye Que and another unfamiliar man exchanged a glance, both watching her from the side, wanting to speak but hesitating.

Time passed slowly. The sky began to darken again, until it was pitch black.

Qingshui’s heart tightened uncontrollably, began to ache, making it hard to breathe. Deep in her mind, that voice echoed again.

“Your arrival is a disaster…”

Qingshui’s hand paused.

The voice was much clearer than before. Her lucid mind made every word unmistakably clear.

Cut.

“Wen Lianfeng and Chu Jingchu, they’re next…”

Cut!

“It’s all your fault. It’s you. It’s you. It’s you. It’s you. It’s you, it’s you, it’s you, it’s you, it’s you-”

“Shut the hell up-”

Qingshui suddenly lifted her head, brought the knife down with a fierce chop as if something had ignited her, veins bulging on her neck, her voice nearly tearing from her throat:

“Shut up-!!!”

Ye Que was so startled that her wrist jerked, nearly dropping her knife. She stared wide-eyed at Qingshui, looking as if she’d seen a ghost.

“Hey…” She opened her mouth to say something.

But at that moment, on the rooftop, the lookouts were signaling something in unison. Their movements were synchronized, as if rehearsed countless times.

That was the signal for “return.”

Qingshui’s breath caught sharply. She threw down her knife and bolted toward the gate. She ran to the gate, where survivors were already waiting.

In the distance, a black van was slowly approaching.

The van drew closer and closer. In the moment it passed by, Qingshui caught sight of Wen Lianfeng and Chu Jingchu through the window.

Their faces were covered in dust, hair disheveled, but they were alive.

Wen Lianfeng gave Qingshui a slight nod, her lips moving as if to say something, but the window muffled it.

At that moment.

The world fell silent.

All sounds-the wind, the heartbeat, that damn whispering in her mind-vanished.

Only that van, and the people inside it, remained.

They… were alive.

Then, in the corner of the van, two more familiar faces.

It was… Song Yunqing and Wu Wujie.

They were actually still alive too!