Marvel's Death Merchant

How could Jie Liang let his feast slip away like that? He lunged forward, swinging his fire axe, which left a blurry shadow as it grazed the doe's neck.

The doe continued running forward, oblivious to everything, but suddenly she realized she could no longer breathe fresh air...

Jie Liang straightened up, as if he hadn't done anything. He calmly watched the walking corpse abandon the doe and rush towards him, his face expressionless.

The zombie ran until it was about a meter away from Jie Liang. Jie Liang raised his hand and brought the axe down. The axe head was embedded squarely in the zombie's head, as if it were meant to be there.

Jie Liang pulled out his axe, and the zombie fell straight to the ground. A few steps behind it was the dead doe.

Jie Liang looked around, chopped the zombie's corpse with his axe, and sat down on a rock.

After waiting for nearly half an hour, a rustling sound came from the bushes. Jie Liang smiled and looked over. A man with short hair and a short beard, holding a crossbow, walked out of the woods.

It was Daryl.

A strange man sat on a rock, smiling at himself. Beside him was the corpse of a zombie, with a fire axe slashed across it. In the distance, a doe lay on the ground.

Upon seeing this scene, Daryl cautiously aimed his crossbow at Mustard.

“Daryl?” Jie Liang asked with a knowing smile. “I’ve been waiting for you for half an hour.”

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Daryl frowned, exuding a roguish air, his tone as blunt as a hothead. It's worth noting that Daryl was a character some people liked—capable and never one to waste words!

“I’m your brother’s friend, you can call me Jie Liang. I saved your prey. This walker has been chasing this doe and was about to catch up. I felt that if the walker touched it, the doe would have to be thrown away.” Jie Liang looked at Daryl with gentle eyes, like a kind elder. Although Daryl was definitely older than Jie Liang in reality.

Daryl frowned, holding up the crossbow wire in his hand, and continued to watch Jie Liang warily: "Moll? Are you a new member of the camp? Did they bring you back from the city?"

“Yes.” Jie Liang said with a faint smile, pointing to the crossbow in Daryl’s hand, “Aren’t you tired of holding it like that all the time?”

“That’s right! I can hold it until the prey dies!” Daryl put down the crossbow that was pointing at Akira and then said to Akira in a threatening tone.

“What an excellent hunter.” Akira praised Daryl without any hesitation, pointing to the doe behind him and the string of squirrels hanging from Daryl’s body, and continued, “A very fruitful haul, isn’t it?”

Daryl frowned and kicked the dead walker on the ground. "A single axe blow? Not bad. What are you doing here?"

"I was just hungry—so I came out for a stroll, and I never expected to find such a great haul." Jie Liang stood up and said, "By the way, aren't you going to thank me? If it weren't for me, your entire night's tracking would have been for nothing!"

Jieliang walked in front of the doe, pulled out a fire axe and slung it over his shoulder, grabbed the doe's two front legs with one hand, and then gestured to Daryl: "How about lending a hand?"

Daryl didn't move. He stood there and carefully looked at Akira before stepping forward, lifting the doe by its hind legs, and together with Akira, carried the doe back to the camp.

This huge haul made Jie Liang very happy. After all, in the world of The Walking Dead, it's impossible to eat good food every day, which is why some foods feel all the more precious. (To be continued...)

Chapter 185 Approaching Danger

The people in the camp watched in surprise as Jie Liang and Daryl carried back a deer together, and greeted the two of them with beaming smiles.

"Hmm, Daryl, hit the big guy?" Moore stood on the RV with his gun in hand. His smile showed that he was very happy about his brother's return. However, for the rough-around-the-edges Moore, this was the best compliment he could give.

"This Jie Liang, he says he's your friend? Is he a new member you brought back from the city?" Daryl looked at Jie Liang with suspicion and asked Mor.

“Yes! He’s amazing! You should show him some respect, just like I do.” Moore said to Daryl with a stern face.

Daryl shrugged and said in a more conciliatory tone, “Well, thanks to him, my prey was saved. When I saw him, there was a walker lying on the ground that had almost contaminated our deer. I’m not sure if a deer eaten by a walker would be poisonous.”

"Speaking of deer, I'm getting a little hungry," Jie Liang said with a smile. "Anyone else feeling the same way?"

"Wait, you killed a walker in the woods?" Sean asked Jie Liang to confirm.

Jie Liang glanced at Sean, smiled, and replied, "Yes, it's not far over there. You sense danger approaching, don't you?"

“Take me there,” Sean said to Jie Liang in a commanding tone.

“Okay, follow me!” Jie Liang obediently turned and walked into the woods. Behind him, Sean, Rick, Dale, Jim, Glenn, Morales, T-boy, and a few other curious people followed. At Jie Liang’s signal, Moore stayed behind to keep watch. Actually, this was to give the two brothers some time to recount their experiences over the past two days.

The group saw the zombie that had been killed by the rascal.

“I’ve never found walkers this close before,” Dale said with some concern.

"It seems like there's only one. Maybe it just happened to come here by chance," Glenn said dismissively.

"We must be on high alert and not let our guard down," Sean said seriously, as if giving an order.

Jie Liang remained silent, simply watching them with deep concern.

The group checked the surroundings again. Ultimately, they couldn't offer any constructive suggestions and had to return to their camp the way they came.

Daryl was busily washing and skinning the squirrels he had hunted at the camp, while a pot of water was already filled next to him, seemingly preparing a delicious squirrel soup.

"Is there anything you can't do?" Rick leaned close to Jie Liang and said, "Go out for a walk and find a deer."

"That was hunted by Daryl! Don't blame it on me," Jie Liang said with a smile, waving his hand to clarify.

Rick smiled, glanced at the open space beside him, and continued to say to Jie Liang, "I have a bad feeling. It's like this camp is no longer safe."

“That’s just your feeling.” Jie Liang pointed to the elderly, women, and children in the camp. “They don’t belong to them. They think this is a safe haven, and it’s impossible to get them to give it up.”

“Inside the city… we left that bag of guns behind. We should go get it; there are too few weapons for self-defense in this camp,” Rick said earnestly to Jie Liang.

“Yes, we need more weapons. I only fired three shots yesterday, using up forty-five rounds of 9mm ammunition. But it shouldn’t be that bag of guns we left behind; there are too many walkers there. Why don’t we find a gun shop and ask around to see who knows the city’s roads?” Jie Liang suggested to Rick.

Rick looked at Jie Liang, nodded, and was about to leave when Jie Liang grabbed his arm again: "The time shouldn't be today. All available manpower needs to be rested. Remember that black father and son we met? They told us that walkers rarely act alone. The one we encountered this morning… was probably lured away from the herd by the doe! So, any action must be postponed until tomorrow! You and your family just reunited, haven't you? I think you should spend more time together, focus on your loved ones, and take your son out to play. I'll take care of your safety!"

After saying that, Jie Liang smiled at Rick and patted him on the shoulder.

Rick smiled gratefully and went back to be with his son.

One pot of squirrel soup isn't enough for 20 people! What they need is more than just weapons. Food, medicine—they have nothing.

"Hey, Dale, why don't you put your little boat in the water?" Jie Liang asked Dale with a smile. "Doesn't anyone here know how to fish?"

Dell raised an eyebrow. He shrugged. "I'd be happy to provide the tools!"

Andrea winked at her sister Amy, "Can we sign up?"

“Yes! As long as you know how to fish!” Akira said to them with a smile.

So Andrea and Amy put on hats and parasols, carried their boat, grabbed their fishing gear, and brazenly escaped the construction of the survivor base.

Some people were adding seasonings to the squirrel soup, while Daryl and Moore were cleaning the deer together. At this rate, the venison feast would have to be saved for the evening.

Seeing the others so happy filled Sean with resentment. Carl was having so much fun with his father that he completely forgot about his savior.

Sean's eyes kept glancing at Carl, but Carl always deliberately kept his distance from him.

Jie Liang seized the opportunity and walked over to Sean: "Hey, Sean, how about we talk?"

"What? What are you talking about?" Sean, who was experiencing a setback, seemed a little impatient.

Jie Liang leaned closer and lowered his voice, saying, "You know, although I haven't known Rick for very long, we've been through thick and thin together! Rick says you're his good friend, but I think your relationship needs to be changed."

Sean's face showed panic. Although he didn't know where this newcomer, Jie Liang, had gotten the information, it was clear that Jie Liang already knew his biggest secret. And Jie Liang had come with Rick; the two were very close!

Jie Liang walked into the woods on his own, with Sean following anxiously behind. As soon as Jie Liang stopped, Sean asked impatiently, "What did you hear?"

Jie Liang smiled but didn't answer. Instead, he turned to Sean and asked, "Why did you leave Rick alone in the hospital and only take his family?"

“I had no choice! You have no idea what the situation was like!” Sean defended himself. “The hospital was under lockdown, the soldiers were slaughtering the patients, and the walkers were multiplying. Rick was unconscious; how could I possibly escape with him? Rick was already in this state, and after so much time in the hospital, he still hadn’t woken up. Leaving the hospital? It was dangerous outside; if I carried him out, he would only die faster! And I might not escape either. What would you choose? Rick was basically dead, but he still had family.”

If I died, how could they, mother and son, survive in this world? So I left Rick in the ward, blocked the door with a stretcher, wanting him to live a little longer… and isn't that what kept him alive? (To be continued…)

Chapter 186 Sean

“I understand. It’s so difficult to escape with a burden! And you can’t be sure when he will wake up, or even if he will wake up at all.”

"Will he be able to withstand the bumpy ride? What should we feed him? What if we encounter walkers and need to escape? These are all problems," Jie Liang said gently to Sean. "Perhaps if you had taken Rick with you, you might have died on the road long ago."

“I think you did the right thing! Preserving your brother’s bloodline! If Rick really dies, he’ll be grateful to you from heaven! Even if he lives, he won’t blame you, will he? And he’ll be very grateful to you for protecting his family,” Jie Liang continued to say to Sean.

Sean scratched his head, clearly distressed. He had completely opened up: "I thought he was dead. There was no way he could have survived in those circumstances. It was a miracle! That's what I told her... Rick died, and she was heartbroken, as was Carl. I did everything I could to protect them and take care of them."

“Do you know what I’m thinking?” Jie Liang continued, “Everything I did before was absolutely right! You’re a good person! You did everything you were supposed to do! Even if Rick knew all this, he should still thank you and understand you! You did nothing wrong!”

"Thank you! I feel much better now that you've said that." Sean said to Jie Liang, clearly much friendlier than before.

Jie Liang knew him well; if she threatened him with his relationship with Lori, he would definitely want to kill her. He might even want to kill Rick right away.

“But what I’m trying to say is,” Jie Liang added, “what you should be doing now!” Sean looked at Jie Liang with a puzzled expression.

“That’s the end of it!” Jie Liang said sternly to Sean. “You shouldn’t be clinging to any more delusions! Everything you’ve done so far deserves the world’s praise. But Rick is back. I know you think you’ve fallen in love, but that’s not it. It’s just a compensatory feeling from your sacrifices! He accepted you out of gratitude. But that’s the end! Doing so would not only completely negate all your previous good deeds, but would also make you the object of everyone’s scorn!”

Sean looked at Jie Liang incredulously and quickly defended himself: "I didn't! After Rick came back, I completely gave up my original idea!"

Jie Liang smiled and continued, "This is just advice from a friend. Always remember the environment we live in! It's fraught with danger, and every day is uncertain. Survival is the primary goal. Don't let trivial matters affect you! Even now, we must survive."

“So,” Akira said, enunciating each word clearly, “our survival is the most important thing.”

Sean returned to the camp with a heavy heart, but Jie Liang had said everything he needed to say.

Jie Liang watched his retreating figure and smiled with satisfaction. These were all important figures in his future plans, and being able to resolve the conflicts between them would be of great benefit to what he needed to do in the future.

When Jieliang returned to camp, the squirrel soup was already cooked, about half a squirrel per person, just right for breakfast. Although breakfast was a bit late. It was a peaceful and tranquil day.

Andrea and Amy brought back a lot of fish; Mor and Daryl's deer were almost ready, the hides, blood, meat, and offal were all sorted and arranged, just waiting to be eaten that evening.

Jie Liang personally cleaned all the deer's intestines, and then directed the Dixon brothers to remove the venison from the bones. Then Dale got some flour, which was his last remaining stock.

Jie Liang mixed flour into the deer blood. Then he diced the venison and added a lot of salt. He mixed it all together and stuffed it into the deer intestines. Then he instructed the Dixon brothers to hang them up and smoke them for long-term preservation.

The remaining venison and the dozens of fish that the two sisters had caught were given to others to cook as dinner.

In the afternoon, Dell approached everyone with a worried expression and reported something: "I don't want to scare you, but it seems we're in trouble."

Dale pointed up the hillside: "Jim has been digging holes there since noon. I tried to persuade him to take a break, but he wouldn't listen."

The prophetic man in the story went mad. Actually, I've always felt that Jim was the most mysterious person in the original film because he successfully predicted the team's first major loss in a dream. The pits dug on the mountain were precisely to prepare graves for the dying. Jim was bitten by a walker that very night. Later, he voluntarily asked the team to abandon him, and then disappeared without a trace. The miracles he displayed made it hard to believe he could die so easily. I've always been curious whether Jim possessed the ability to foresee the future.

Now that Jim has started digging the hole, Jie Liang feels a little uneasy.

Was Jim just having a dream by chance? Was he simply making a prophecy based on the original plot? The plot has been changed: Jasmine's arrival, Moore's survival, Rick's decision not to lead the rescue, and the camp's strength surpassing anything seen before! So why is Jim still digging holes? Are his changes having no effect whatsoever? Those who are destined to die will still die. Perhaps it's the butterfly effect, allowing some things to unfold as they should.

Rick was playing with his son and had no interest in joining in. Sean was still preoccupied; Jie Liang's words kept echoing in his mind. Upon hearing Dale's report, he subconsciously glanced at Jie Liang.

Jie Liang nodded to Sean, who was looking at him: "Go take a look!"

Sean nodded as if possessed, and followed Dale up the hillside. Everyone else in the camp who had nothing to do followed.

After a while, Sean, with Jim in tow, followed by a large group of people, returned to the camp.

"What's wrong with him?" Jie Liang asked, feigning ignorance.

Sean touched his nose and said to Jie Liang, "He seems to be sunburnt and won't stop. When I tried to get his shovel, he attacked me. I think he needs to calm down; it would be good for everyone."

Jie Liang nodded and pointed to the edge of the camp, near the woods, where there was cool shade.