Chapter Sixty-Six: I’ve Been Protecting You in Secret

Seeing Li Changqing's hesitation, Uncle Yun grew anxious. "What are you hesitating for? This corpse energy is deadly poison to others, but for a zombie like you, it’s a nourishing elixir."

That was a corpse king, a formidable presence—its corpse energy was not something Miss Five could withstand for long.

"This is my first time," Li Changqing muttered.

"You've never drunk blood before? You need some sort of mental preparation, don’t you?" He found it hard to begin.

Uncle Yun was stunned—this guy had never drunk blood?

Li Changqing was reluctant, partly for the reasons he had just mentioned, but also because—

Damn it! Didn’t he lure Boss Shen into that place to get her killed? And now he was saving her? How did that make any sense? Maybe if he dragged it out a bit longer, she might not make it.

Uncle Yun lost patience. He pressed Li Changqing’s mouth to Shen Qingdai’s wrist.

Blood. The scent of fresh blood.

Ever since he’d become a zombie, the urge to drink blood had haunted Li Changqing’s mind, but he had always suppressed it.

Shen Qingdai could feel that terrifying, potent corpse energy inside her being drawn out through the wound on her wrist, sucked away by Li Changqing. The agony within her gradually eased.

After three minutes, Shen Qingdai had recovered. She sat up slowly and said, "Uncle Yun, I’m fine now. You can stop."

"Hey, are you getting addicted or what?" Uncle Yun forced Li Changqing away.

Li Changqing let out a burp, his head spinning. That blood was really something.

With a thud, he collapsed to the ground and lost consciousness.

"What happened to him?" Shen Qingdai asked.

"He’s too weak for such potent energy," Uncle Yun replied. "He was acting all hesitant, but that was a corpse king—something most zombies would beg for."

He turned to Shen Qingdai. "Miss Five, did you recognize which corpse king that was?"

Shen Qingdai shook her head. "How could something that horrifying end up in an abandoned factory in Nanlin City? Besides..."

"A corpse king inside with such overwhelming corpse energy is one thing, but that abandoned factory was also filled with an equally sinister demonic aura and ghostly energy."

Uncle Yun shivered. "Are you saying, Miss Five, that there are two other beings in there—one a demon, one a ghost—each no weaker than the corpse king?"

"It's just my guess," Shen Qingdai replied, her expression darkening. Proud by nature, she hadn’t expected to be defeated in a single blow by that corpse king.

"The cause of Huang Chao’s death is tied to this abandoned factory. It seems we can’t investigate any further." She shook her head slightly. The secrets hidden in that place were simply beyond their reach.

"What about him?" Uncle Yun pointed at the unconscious Li Changqing. "He led us to that factory, and he’s a zombie. Could it have been deliberate?"

Shen Qingdai narrowed her eyes, a glint of murderous intent flashing as she gazed at Li Changqing.

"Forget it," she said at last. "Dump him by the roadside. Let’s go."

...

Li Changqing heard a gentle voice calling to him through his haze.

"Li Changqing, wake up. Wake up."

He opened his eyes in a daze to find Tang Xiaoyu crouched by his side.

He sat up with a start and realized he was by the roadside. Night had already fallen.

"What are you doing here?" Li Changqing rubbed his head, trying to recall. Wasn’t he just sucking the corpse energy from Shen Qingdai? Afterward, he’d gotten dizzy and passed out. Those two bastards had just left him by the road?

"I... I saw it was getting late and worried something might happen to you, so I couldn’t help coming out to look for you," Tang Xiaoyu replied, her face showing hesitation and concern. She pulled out two stacks of bills. "If you really like shooting so much, could you just spend twenty thousand on it and not blow through all my money?"

Before coming, Tang Xiaoyu had already made peace with the idea that Li Changqing might take all her money.

Li Changqing was startled, recalling how he’d threatened her before leaving.

"You’re out here alone at night—aren’t you afraid?"

"Of course I’m afraid..." she admitted, "but there are fewer people on the streets at night, so it’s a little better."

Li Changqing knew her too well. This timid girl must have been scared out of her wits searching for him.

He was touched and asked, "You didn’t go into that abandoned factory, did you?"

"I did, but it was so dark inside, I didn’t dare enter. Then I thought I’d look around nearby, and I actually found you sleeping here."

"Do I look like I’d just nap by the road for fun?" Li Changqing retorted.

"Then why were you lying here?" she asked, her big eyes blinking with curiosity.

"I... fine, I was sleeping here," he conceded. Sleeping here sounded better than admitting he’d fainted and been left behind by those two bastards.

He got up and brushed the dust from his clothes. "Come on, let’s go home. Keep your money—I won’t take it. Don’t worry."

"Really?" Tang Xiaoyu’s eyes lit up with delight.

"You silly girl, don’t ever go out alone at night again. It’s dangerous," he chided, though her concern for him had genuinely moved him. Still, it was reckless.

This world was full of people with strange powers. Remember that monk who came begging? Not to mention all the other shady characters out there. If she fell into the wrong hands, she might be exorcised or, worse, used for evil purposes.

"Did everything go smoothly this time? Did those two die in the factory?"

"No, a corpse king came out—one even more powerful than before."

"A corpse king?" Tang Xiaoyu echoed.

Li Changqing recounted the whole story, including how he’d helped Shen Qingdai by drawing out the corpse energy.

"What? You drew out the corpse energy for her? You kissed her?" Tang Xiaoyu stared at him in disbelief. "And she didn’t resist? She’s so pretty, and you’re so ugly—if you kissed her..."

"Her wrist—not her lips. What are you thinking?" Li Changqing rapped her lightly on the forehead. "You’re too young to have such dirty thoughts."

Hearing it was just her wrist, Tang Xiaoyu finally smiled. "I knew it—she’d never let you kiss her."

Li Changqing paused and came to his senses. "Wait, who are you calling ugly? Just for that, I’ll take all your money and go practice shooting tomorrow."

Tang Xiaoyu shook her head frantically. "No! Absolutely not!"

The two of them bickered as they made their way back toward the detective agency under the dim streetlights.

By the time they returned, it was nearly midnight. Li Changqing, weary, sank onto the sofa. Though he’d slept most of the day, a night on the hard ground by the roadside was nothing like a soft bed.

Rubbing his sore shoulders, a thought suddenly struck him—

Damn it, he’d been lying by the road the whole day!

And what about the person who was supposed to be watching over him?

He pulled out his phone and called Hu Xiong. "Hello, Mr. Hu? Where are you?"

"I’m watching over you from the shadows," Hu Xiong replied.