Chapter 31: Feng’er, Your Aunt Lost Her Composure!

Qin Feng followed Mu Ruxue back to their room. To be honest, he did not hold much expectation for the blood she had collected for him. With his current cultivation and strength, the blood of ordinary people no longer provided him with any significant benefit. It simply lacked the necessary energy; even drinking ten large barrels of it would not be enough to help him break through even the smallest realm.

However, when Qin Feng saw the large barrel full of blood sitting in the room, he was stunned. He took a deep breath, and a fragrant scent assailed his nostrils. Having consumed the blood of many mages before, Qin Feng immediately determined that this was the blood of Taoist mages, though their levels of strength were varied and uneven. To fill such a large barrel, at least five or six of them must have been killed.

"Aunt, did you kill these Taoist mages?" Qin Feng asked, looking at Mu Ruxue in shock.

"My injuries haven't fully healed yet. I can manage those with weaker cultivation, but I can't take on anyone at the Spirit-Communing Realm," Mu Ruxue replied with a smile.

"Then this barrel of blood..." Qin Feng hesitated.

Mu Ruxue explained without reservation, "I went back to the White Cloud Temple and had those senior and junior brothers of mine drain it for me."

"You can even do that..." Qin Feng was dumbfounded. His aunt’s methods were truly impressive.

"Did they ask you what you needed the blood for?" Qin Feng asked.

"They did, but I told them to mind their own business, and they stopped asking," Mu Ruxue said with a playful, lighthearted giggle. "Feng'er, you should drink the blood quickly. Increasing your strength even a little will help you face the Yiyang Sect and the others. I estimate they will find us within two days, and they will likely come during the day. Sunlight suppresses your strength significantly. Even if they can't beat you, they could tear through the roof and use the sunlight as a weapon against you."

"Aunt, there is no rush," Qin Feng said, taking out the thousand-year-old ginseng. "Aunt, this is for you."

This thousand-year-old ginseng was his greatest harvest tonight. If he had to choose between a breakthrough in his cultivation and this ginseng, he would choose the ginseng without hesitation, as it could heal his aunt’s internal injuries.

"Feng'er..." Looking at the ginseng in his hands, a wave of warmth washed over Mu Ruxue, and her eyes grew moist. She could imagine the immense price Qin Feng had paid and the grave danger he had risked to obtain it. He was a zombie, yet he had infiltrated a group of dozens of Taoist practitioners. Just thinking about it made her skin crawl; she truly didn't know how he had managed it. And yet, she had been scolding him just moments ago.

"Feng'er..." Mu Ruxue choked up and pulled Qin Feng into an embrace.

"Au... Aunt..." Smelling her refreshing hair fragrance, Qin Feng stood with his arms awkwardly open for a moment before finally gently wrapping them around her, patting her back softly.

After a long while, Mu Ruxue pulled away, her face flushed red. She lowered her head, awkwardly smoothing her messy hair. "Fe... Feng'er... I lost my composure just now..." She felt that Qin Feng's body was soft, except for one spot, and that he felt just like a normal human in her arms, not a zombie.

"It's fine, Aunt. You should hurry up and consume the thousand-year-old ginseng to recover from your injuries," Qin Feng said.

"Yes." Mu Ruxue took the ginseng, sat cross-legged on the bed, and began to circulate her energy to absorb its essence. The thousand-year-old ginseng was a rare treasure; its essence could not only heal injuries but also help one break through cultivation bottlenecks. That was why people like Taoist White Crane had been after it, eventually even drawing in the evil cultivators of the Ten Thousand Evils Sect—though that sect had suffered heavy losses, gaining nothing but trouble for themselves.

Qin Feng watched for a while. Seeing his aunt fully focused on healing, he picked up the bucket and began to gulp down the blood. It was quite satisfying. As the blood flowed into his stomach, energy surged through his limbs and bones. Unfortunately, he still didn't manage to break through his current realm. The blood was simply too weak; had it been from masters at the Soul-Exiting or Soul-Wandering realms, this barrel might have been enough to push him up two small levels. After reaching the early stage of a Fur-Covered Zombie, he found his requirements for blood had increased significantly. To break through using this low-level mage blood, he would need at least four or five more barrels. As for the blood of ordinary people, he would need to add two more zeros to that count.

Wiping his mouth, Qin Feng moved aside to practice his hand seals. Once his aunt recovered, he would need her to teach him some footwork techniques. Currently, he only knew two, both of which he had stolen from Taoist White Crane. He needed to master more so he could switch between them freely in battle; otherwise, a strong opponent would easily spot the weaknesses in his limited repertoire.

...

Time ticked away. Soon, dawn broke, and a new day began.

Beyond the daily grind of the working world, the Songshan City Criminal Police Brigade was in chaos. A criminal case had occurred the previous night: Li Bufan, the son of the chairman of the Li Group, had been murdered. Along with him, two women and his personal bodyguard were also killed.

According to witnesses, the killer was a green-faced, fanged zombie. Surveillance footage confirmed this; the figure moved by hopping, and the recordings showed the creature jumping several meters at a time. It possessed incredible speed and reflexes, slaughtering the security guards as if they were nothing. After the killings, the bodies seemingly underwent post-mortem changes, and the zombie burned them all. As if in an act of provocation, the entity had not destroyed the cameras.

The senior officers of the police brigade were in a heated debate. One group believed it was truly a zombie, citing the unnatural jumping and the post-mortem changes to the victims. The other group argued that it was impossible in the modern age, suggesting the killer was merely a martial artist disguised as a zombie, and that the victims had perhaps been infected with a virus, forcing the killer to burn the bodies to prevent a spread. Or perhaps, they speculated, it was a failed human experiment.

They had sent people to search for the killer, but so far, there were no leads. Just then, the phone of the team captain, Li Aimin, rang. He listened, nodding repeatedly. After hanging up, he looked at his team with a stern expression. "Alright, no need to argue. The higher-ups are aware of this case. They have transferred it to a relevant department; we are not to interfere."

"Captain, what 'relevant department'?" a young officer asked.

"Don't ask me. I don't know either. In any case, it's out of our hands now. Everyone, dismissed." Li Aimin waved his hand.