Zombie Life Begins in Hongxi Village

Lin Ziwang arrived in the afternoon.

He changed into a clean black uniform, with the Mauser pistol he had taken from Awei's holster tucked into his waistband.

He walks with his back ramrod straight and his chin held high, a stark contrast to the timid, stuttering man with his hands raised that morning.

He was followed by fifteen security guards, who lined up in two rows at the entrance of the Ren residence. Although they were of varying heights and builds, and their flintlock rifles were rusty and old, they still managed to stand in a somewhat orderly manner.

Ren Tingting was burning paper money in front of the coffin when she heard Uncle Fu announce her arrival. She got up and walked to the entrance of the main hall.

She glanced at the uniformed men below the steps, her gaze finally settling on Lin Ziwang's face, and nodded slightly.

Lin Ziwang snapped to attention, raised his right hand to his temple, and gave a somewhat distorted military salute:

"Young Miss! All fifteen members of the security team are in position! From this day forward, they will follow your every command, Young Miss and Mr. Lin! They will fight without hesitation, through fire and water!"

He spoke with great force, clearly having practiced in front of the wall several times before coming. Although his last word, "糊" (hu), was off-key, he managed to maintain his momentum.

Ren Tingting turned her head and glanced at Lin Yi.

Lin Yi was sitting in a grand chair drinking tea when he felt her gaze and nodded at her while holding his teacup.

Ren Tingting turned her head and gave Uncle Fu a few instructions.

Uncle Fu turned and went into the backyard. A moment later, he brought out a small wooden box and opened it in front of the security guards—it was filled with neatly stacked silver dollars, which shone brightly in the afternoon sun.

"Brothers, I've seen your loyalty." Ren Tingting's voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear. "Our Ren family never mistreats its own people. Here's five silver dollars for each of you, as a small gift."

In addition to your monthly salary, the Ren family will give you an extra two silver dollars. Good performance will be rewarded further.

The fifteen security guards stared wide-eyed at the box of silver dollars.

Five silver dollars! They only earned two and a half dollars a month, and during holidays they couldn't even afford a piece of meat.

Immediately, some people pounded their chests loudly, each shouting louder than the last: "Don't worry, Miss! Anyone who dares to cause trouble at the Ren residence, I'll shoot them dead!"

Ren Tingting nodded and told Uncle Fu to distribute the silver dollars one by one.

Lin Ziwang took his share, but instead of putting it in his pocket like the others, he held it in his hands and bowed to Ren Tingting.

He was more shrewd than others, knowing that this job had fallen to him entirely because of his "pragmatic" choice this morning.

He also secretly reminded himself that he must always keep the words "knowing when to be pragmatic" in mind, especially when it comes to Lin Yi, he must never make a mistake.

After distributing the silver dollars, Ren Tingting gave Lin Ziwang some more instructions.

In the next two days, the security team will be divided into three shifts to stand guard at the entrance of the Ren Mansion, with two people per shift, rotating every four hours.

Lin Ziwang agreed to all of them and immediately arranged a duty roster. Although he had only attended a private school for two years, he was quick-witted and clearly arranged the names of the duty personnel and their rotation order.

Just as the security team's affairs were settled, Uncle Fu jogged over to report: The manager and stewards have arrived.

The first to arrive were Zhou, the manager of the rice shop; Chen, the manager of the cloth shop; He, the owner of the teahouse; and Qian, the manager of the inn…

They were all dressed neatly. Upon entering, they first offered incense and bowed to Ren Fa's memorial tablet, then retreated to the courtyard and stood there without saying a word, only occasionally exchanging glances with each other out of the corner of their eyes.

They had heard about what happened at the Ren residence before they arrived—

The three uncles of the Ren family led a group of men to attack the door, but they were all broken by Ren Tingting's fiancé who suddenly appeared. The eldest uncle died of anger on the spot, and Awei was also crippled.

The messenger described the story vividly, saying things like, "That guy surnamed Lin broke the arms and legs of seven or eight people like he was breaking dry firewood," and "He kicked a security guard three zhang away with one kick," making the story more and more exaggerated.

They were initially observing – Ren Fa was dead, and the Ren family only had a seventeen-year-old girl left. These managers and stewards didn't say it aloud, but they all had their own little schemes in mind.

But after hearing what happened that morning, all their little schemes were temporarily put aside.

Shopkeepers from the provincial capital and the county also arrived one after another.

These people had traveled for half a day and were covered in dust, but as soon as they entered the Ren residence, they sensed that something was wrong—armed security guards were standing at the gate.

Then, looking at the young man standing next to Ren Tingting, he was dressed in a sharp suit and had a calm demeanor. Although he hadn't said much, all the shopkeepers who went in to report could feel the weight of his eyes on them.

They've been in the business world for decades, so they still have a basic eye for business.

The person who could uproot almost the entire Ren family must be no pushover.

A total of twenty-eight people came, filling the courtyard in front of the main hall of the Ren residence.

After the worship ceremony, Ren Tingting stood on the steps at the entrance of the main hall and asked them to come forward one by one to report on their respective accounts and business operations.

After Ren Tingting and everyone else had finished reporting, she cleared her throat.

She didn't give a long speech; she only mentioned two things.

First, the operation of all Ren family businesses will continue as usual, and the positions of all managers will remain unchanged.

Second, all shopkeepers and managers will receive a uniform 10% commission on their monthly salary, effective this month. At the end of the year, for any profits exceeding last year's, the shopkeeper will receive 20% as a bonus.

The atmosphere in the courtyard immediately lightened considerably after those words were spoken.

Several shopkeepers, who had been keeping a straight face, unconsciously smiled and exchanged relieved glances.

Raising wages is the most practical reassurance in any era, more effective than any empty talk.

Lin Yi didn't interrupt at all.

He sat in the armchair in the main hall, listening clearly to the commotion outside through the curtain.

Ren Tingting handled these matters with far more skill than he had imagined—twenty-eight people, some gentle and some tough, some honest and some cunning, she dealt with them one by one, giving them a good talking-to and comforting them as needed, with a clear rhythm.

In particular, the final move of raising wages for everyone not only stabilized morale but also temporarily prevented those with ulterior motives from finding a reason to criticize.

She is indeed more suitable than him to do these things.

He only cares about the results. He has no interest in, nor does he want to, the process.

If he has to handle all these worldly matters, then what is the point of having Ren Tingting?

However, he could also see that the situation had only been stabilized temporarily today.

The Ren family's businesses are spread across several places, with shops in provincial capitals, county towns, and townships. The managers and supervisors are all shrewd and capable.

Today they appear obedient on the surface, but no one can say for sure what they are really thinking.

Once this period of intense public scrutiny passes, it's hard to guarantee that no one will start having ulterior motives again.

However, that's something Ren Tingting herself will have to face.

As evening fell, Lin Yi finished eating, put down his chopsticks, and told Ren Tingting that he needed to go back to the mortuary.

The gold bars and silver dollars that had been taken from the military police were still kept in the side room of the mortuary.

He left the government office and walked west along the stone-paved road.

Renjia Town is a completely different world during the day and at night. The eastern part of the town is still alright, with lanterns still lit in front of a few large houses.

There were some small vendors on the street, and occasionally a rickshaw carrying passengers would run by.

The further west you go, the fewer streetlights there are. When you get to the section near the mortuary, there are only dark wooden houses on both sides.

Only a few scattered windows let in the dim light of kerosene lamps.

The gate to the mortuary was ajar, with a sliver of light shining through the crack.

Lin Yi pushed open the door and went in. Uncle Jiu was sitting in a grand chair, holding a ruler in his hand, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.

In front of him was a wooden chair, and tied to the chair was a person, Qiu Sheng.

Qiu Sheng was tied to a chair with his hands and feet bound together. His hair was a mess, his eyes were dark, his lips were chapped, and he looked as listless as if he hadn't slept for three days.

His shirt collar was open, and there were several dark red marks on his neck—Lin Yi knew what they were at a glance.

Qiu Sheng struggled and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Master! Let me go! I really have something important to tell you!"

Uncle Nine was so angry that his veins throbbed, and he slammed the ruler in his hand hard against the armrest of the chair, making a sharp crack.

"Important things? I think you're bewitched! Look at yourself in the mirror—your yang energy is waning, your soul is adrift. If that female ghost sucks your life force again, you'll be heading straight to the underworld!"

Wen Cai squatted down beside him, one hand propping up his chin, a smug smile on his face: "Junior brother, wasn't that female ghost quite a catch?"

Qiu Sheng turned and glared at him, but he didn't have time to argue with Wen Cai right now, so he turned back to continue pleading with Uncle Jiu:

"Master, Xiaoyu isn't a ghost! I'm over twenty years old, and I've finally found a woman I like. Master, please have mercy on me—"

"You call me cruel?" Uncle Nine slapped Qiu Sheng on the back of the head. "I think you're bewitched! You've lost your mind because of a female ghost!"

Wen Cai, adding fuel to the fire, recited with a swaying head: "What is love in this world that makes people willing to die for it? Qiu Sheng is dying under the peony blossoms; even as a ghost, he'll be romantic."

Uncle Nine turned his head and glared fiercely at Wen Cai. Wen Cai immediately shut his mouth and barely managed to suppress his gloating expression.

But his darting eyes betrayed him.

After scolding Wencai, Uncle Jiu then scolded Qiusheng. Just as he was getting into the swing of things, he caught a glimpse of a figure at the door.

He turned his head and saw Lin Yi standing at the entrance of the main hall. He immediately felt embarrassed, coughed twice, straightened his collar, and put on a slightly more presentable expression.

"Ayi, why are you back? You must be laughing at me. This kid is up to no good, he went off to hang out with a female ghost, and even after I tied him up, he still doesn't know how to repent."

Lin Yi smiled, walked into the main hall, and lingered for a second longer on the hickey on Qiu Sheng's neck.

Sure enough, even without the scene where he went to buy glutinous rice and Qiu Sheng walked alone at night, Dong Xiaoyu still approached Qiu Sheng.

Some things seem destined to happen, there's no way to avoid them, and the Undead Knight is Qiu Sheng's destiny.

"It's alright, Qiusheng is just going through a love tribulation, it'll pass," Lin Yi said casually.

Wen Cai diligently moved a chair over and poured a cup of tea.

Lin Yi thanked him and, after sitting down, said to Uncle Jiu, "Uncle Jiu, I'm here today to pick up some things. I'll probably be staying at the Ren residence from now on. If there's anything at the mortuary, feel free to come find me."

Uncle Jiu nodded and patted Lin Yi on the shoulder: "That's good, Miss Ren does need someone to take care of her."

If you encounter any problems in the future, come to the mortuary anytime. Although you are powerful, I doubt any demons or monsters would dare to mess with you.

But some strange and mysterious things can't be solved with fists alone.

The skills I learned in Maoshan over the years can still be put to some use.

He spoke with both sincerity and a touch of self-satisfaction.

Lin Yi nodded in agreement, thinking the same thing.

Uncle Nine, a Taoist priest from Maoshan, is indeed far inferior to a second-generation zombie in terms of pure martial arts skills.

But they have many other skills—exorcising evil spirits, suppressing malevolent forces, drawing talismans, and performing rituals. These skills are much more effective than fists in certain situations.

This is also why he has always deliberately cultivated a good relationship with Uncle Nine; he may not need this kind of connection, but he cannot be without it.

Lin Yi went to the side room to retrieve her suitcase, then returned to the main hall and bowed to Uncle Jiu to say goodbye.

Before leaving, he glanced one last time at Qiu Sheng, who was tied up like a rice dumpling on the chair.

The guy was still struggling, muttering "Xiaoyu isn't a ghost." Uncle Jiu's face darkened again, and he picked up the ruler to give him another lash.

Lin Yi smiled and shook her head, then picked up the box and walked out of the mortuary.

When Lin Yi left the mortuary, it was already dark, but the moon was very round and bright, almost like daytime.

Suddenly, the sound of rhythmic jumping and bells came from outside the town.

bang, bang, bang...

Ring ring ring!

Then a deep voice rang out, "The dead shall travel, the living shall evade."

Lin Yi looked closely and saw that a Taoist priest wearing glasses was carrying a long banner in one hand and ringing a bell in the other, heading towards the mortuary.

Behind him was a group of zombies dressed in Qing Dynasty official robes, hopping and skipping closely behind the Taoist priest.

"Master Four Eyes?"

Lin Yi recognized the person at a glance.

He was none other than Master Jiu's junior brother, the Four-Eyed Taoist Priest who made a living by transporting corpses.

Lin Yi didn't go up to greet them. Of all of Uncle Jiu's fellow disciples, the only one he was interested in was the eldest disciple, Shi Jian.

It's not that I'm interested in him as a person, but in his blood. If I could obtain his skills, Lightning Strike Fist and Wooden Pagoda Technique, by drinking his blood, that would be great.

Shi Jian is a villain after all. His son has harmed countless people by practicing evil arts and sucking his blood. Lin Yi won't feel any psychological pressure.

Lin Yi carried his suitcase and slowly walked eastward along the stone path. When he reached a fork in the road, he suddenly stopped.

A song drifted on the wind.

The singing was melodious and ethereal, as if it were drifting from a very far place, or as if it were ringing in one's ear.

The singer was a woman, and the tune was inexplicably eerie—it was clearly a very ordinary folk song, but every word seemed to be soaked in water, seeping wetly into the ears.

"Her vision, her vision."

It's like, it's like the stars shining...