Joining Tiandao Company: Starting by mending a zombie world

Duanmu Ying stared at Chu Sheng for a full three breaths before the dry rations suddenly choked her, causing her to bend over and her pale face to turn bright red.

"You—cough cough—what did you say—"

Chu Sheng reached out and patted her back, saying, "I told you you're my woman."

"What's wrong?"

He added, "Weren't you quite outspoken back in Shaozhou, daring to say things like 'be your father's daughter-in-law'? Now you're playing the coward?"

Duanmu Ying coughed even more violently.

Once she caught her breath, she slapped his hand away hard with her left hand, tears still welling up in her eyes.

Her glare was utterly harmless; instead, her glistening almond-shaped eyes only made her look more aggrieved.

"I'm a virgin, I can't let you take advantage of me for nothing!"

"Oh." Chu Sheng drawled, a slight smile playing on his lips. "So you said you wanted to be my father's daughter-in-law just so I wouldn't get away with it for nothing?"

Duanmu Ying opened her mouth, then realized it was a trap.

Saying it is tantamount to admitting that you have feelings for him.

Saying no would be tantamount to admitting that what he said back then was true—it's a trap no matter what. So he simply turned his face to the side, leaving Chu Sheng with only a stubborn back of his head.

After a moment of silence in the temple, Duanmu Ying asked curiously, "When did you start thinking like this?"

Chu Sheng leaned against the wall, looked up at the roof with a large hole in it, and laughed:

"The first time I met you."

Duanmu Ying was stunned.

She turned her face, her almond-shaped eyes, brimming with moisture, staring straight at Chu Sheng, as if judging how much of his words were true and how much were false.

"Is this the first time you've seen me?" Her voice was very soft, almost drowned out by the tinkling of the eaves bells in the night breeze outside the temple.

"At the gate of Shaozhou Girls' School, I stood behind General Zhang with a medical kit, and you didn't even glance at me."

"Who said I didn't look?" Chu Shengli said confidently. "I glanced at it, then pretended I didn't."

Duanmu Ying was speechless, choked by his shameless face, but the blush on her pale face wouldn't fade.

She tried to put on a stern face, but the corners of her mouth involuntarily curled up in a very subtle arc.

"Glib-tongued."

She snorted through her nose and turned her face away again, but this time she didn't show the back of her head. She just tilted her head slightly, showing him half of her profile and her bright red earlobe, which was half covered by her stray hairs.

He then suddenly said seriously, "Do you know how dangerous I am right now?"

Duanmu Ying turned her face around, the tears still glistening in her almond-shaped eyes, but her tone had already turned somber.

"Chu Sheng, I'm not joking with you. Do you know why Lü Ci pursued me for seven months?"

Chu Sheng's expression turned serious, as if he were talking about something completely unrelated to himself, "Qi Body Source Flow, Tongtian Talisman, Shuangquan Hand, Feng Hou Qimen, Shenji Bailian, Liuku Xianzei, Daluo Dongguan, Juling Qianjiang—how many people have died in the martial world because of these eight names?"

"Each of these techniques is a means to seize the power of heaven and earth, and each one can allow the person who obtains it to ascend to the highest level in one step."

Duanmu Ying's eyelashes trembled, the smile on her lips vanished completely, and she looked down at her trembling hand.

"Chu Sheng, do you know what the most ridiculous thing in this world is?"

"What is it?"

"They mastered the eight most powerful martial arts techniques in the world, yet they couldn't even save their own lives."

She turned her head and looked at Chu Sheng. There were no tears in her almond-shaped eyes, only a clear-headedness that had settled after being hunted for seven months.

"As long as I am in this world, they will keep hunting me."

Chu Sheng didn't respond; he naturally understood the significance of the Eight Extraordinary Techniques.

"So," Duanmu Ying looked at Chu Sheng, emphasizing each word, "you now know how dangerous it is to stand beside me."

"The Lü family is just the first batch. Later, there will be the Wang family, the Lu family, the Tang Clan, the Quanxing... Everyone in the entire martial arts world who wants the Eight Extraordinary Skills will come to me."

"I'm grateful that you saved me today. But you've also gotten yourself involved."

Chu Sheng looked down at her hands, then looked up at her eyes.

"Duanmu".

Duanmu Ying was taken aback. This was the first time he had called her by her name directly.

"Do you know why I was at that alleyway?" Chu Sheng asked.

Duanmu Ying shook her head.

"Because I'm looking for you," Chu Sheng said. "Because I need you."

"So what you're saying is meaningless to me. Whether it's the Lü family or the Wang family, no matter how many people are chasing after you—since I'm here, I have no intention of leaving alone."

Duanmu Ying stared at him for a long time, a blush creeping onto her face, and whispered, "What do you need from me?"

Chu Sheng leaned against the wall, looking up at the roof with a large hole in it. "I need a stupid, not-so-bright woman."

Duanmu Ying chuckled, but halfway through her laugh, she winced in pain as a sharp pain shot through the fracture in her right shoulder.

Chu Sheng let her lean on his shoulder, reached into his pocket and took out a small cloth bag, unfolded it, and inside were a few thinly sliced ​​ginseng slices.

"Wild ginseng, 120 years old." He held the ginseng slice to Duanmu Ying's lips. "Hold it in your mouth, don't chew it. You're currently deficient in both qi and blood. If you don't replenish it, you won't even be able to stand up tomorrow."

Duanmu Ying looked down at the ginseng slices without opening her mouth. The edges of the ginseng slices had a pale yellow sheen, and the cut surface was delicate; it was indeed a top-grade product.

"Where did you get such a valuable item?"

"You forgot? I also got that bowl of ginseng soup we had in Shaozhou." Chu Sheng said casually, pushing the ginseng slices forward again. "Open your mouth."

Duanmu Ying hesitated for a moment, then slightly opened her mouth. Chu Sheng gently placed the ginseng slice under her tongue, his fingertips brushing against her lower lip, cool and carrying a hint of the ginseng's own bitter aroma.

With a ginseng slice in her mouth, Duanmu Ying mumbled indistinctly, "You Taoist priest, how come you have all sorts of things on you?"

Chu Sheng put a slice in his mouth, leaned against the wall, and closed his eyes. The ginseng slice slowly dissolved in his mouth, and a warm medicinal power slid down his throat, spreading to his limbs and bones.

The wound on his chest, stitched up by Duanmu Ying with her skillful hands, felt warm, like being soaked in lukewarm water.

The temple fell silent. Only the copper bells on the eaves jingled softly in the night breeze.

Duanmu Ying leaned on Chu Sheng's shoulder, her breathing gradually becoming steady.

His right arm had been simply secured with two wooden sticks and strips of torn clothing, hanging in front of his chest, making him look quite disheveled.

But when she fell asleep, her pale face finally showed less of a guarded look and more of the tranquility that one should have at her age.

In the latter half of the night, moonlight leaked through the hole in the roof of the dilapidated palace. Duanmu Ying unconsciously snuggled closer to Chu Sheng in her sleep, probably because she was cold.

Chu Sheng glanced down at her, then reached out and took off his clothes, gently covering her with them.

Duanmu Ying's brows relaxed a little.

As dawn approached, Duanmu Ying woke up.

She opened her eyes and found herself almost curled up in Chu Sheng's arms. His Taoist robe was draped over her, while he himself wore only a thin undergarment, leaning against the cold wall with his eyes closed and his breathing even.

Duanmu Ying was stunned for a moment, then very gently and slowly withdrew from his embrace, her movements as careful as if she were defusing a bomb.

"Awake?" Chu Sheng didn't open his eyes, his voice hoarse from just waking up.

Duanmu Ying froze in mid-air, like a thief caught red-handed. She bit her lower lip and simply put on Chu Sheng's clothes.

Chu Sheng opened his eyes, took the Taoist robe and put it on. He stretched his stiff shoulders, which had been used as a pillow all night, and made a few crisp cracking sounds.

"Your shoulder..."

"It's nothing." Chu Sheng waved his hand, about to say something, when suddenly his expression hardened and he raised his hand to signal Duanmu Ying to be quiet.