Chapter 109: Shancheng: He’s Jealous!

Ye Xing still maintained his princely appearance, clean and tidy, completely unlike someone struggling to survive in the apocalypse.

His soft, light chestnut hair gave off a gentle vibe as he walked ahead, with Chen Yu leisurely following behind.

When they arrived, the house was filled with the aroma of food. Lin Mu and the others were in the middle of a meal.

They had stewed pork ribs, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and a dish of greens.

In Shancheng, food wasn’t particularly scarce because half of the city’s area was quite vast.

Apart from the mutated individuals who took on hunting missions daily, ordinary people could claim a plot of land from the mission hall to grow various vegetables and crops.

However, during harvest time, they were required to submit a certain percentage of their produce to the mission hall as a form of tax.

The surplus was considered personal property, which could either be exchanged for points or consumed privately.

Ye Xing, at Wunan Tower, usually had his meals managed by Lizhou.

It was typically bread and pastries, or at best, beef spaghetti—simple Western-style dishes.

Now, catching the rich aroma of stewed meat and rice, his stomach let out a loud “grumble.”

“Mumu, I want to eat too.” His light blue eyes sparkled as he stared intently at Lin Mu.

Lin Mu gave a soft “mm” in response, standing up to fetch him a bowl and chopsticks.

“Tsk, you little brat. You’ve got the nerve to come here for food after posting that mission to get us all killed?”

He Ze shot him a glare, completely unimpressed by Ye Xing’s cute, little princely act.

Ye Xing lifted his chin defiantly. Since Lin Mu was already getting him a bowl, he couldn’t care less about this person.

“It’s not like I did it on purpose. I just thought Chen Yu and Fu Jingmo were… you know, involved.”

“…”

The bluntness of the statement left everyone at the table silent for a moment.

Fu Jingmo raised an eyebrow, giving the child a glance before addressing Chen Yu. “Keep him in check.”

Chen Yu tugged on Ye Xing’s hand. “Xingxing, you can’t say things like that.”

Ye Xing immediately drooped his head, rubbing against Chen Yu’s hand as he said, “I’ve been really good. He was the one who talked about me first.”

Ye Xing’s delicate, fair finger pointed at He Ze, who pointed at his own nose in response.

“Didn’t I just tell the truth?”

Placing the bowl and chopsticks in front of Ye Xing, Lin Mu chuckled and said, “Alright, that’s enough. Let’s eat.”

Then he glanced at Chen Yu. “There’s only one bowl left. Can you two…”

Before he could finish, Ye Xing had already handed the bowl and chopsticks to Chen Yu, looking as though he intended to feed him.

Chen Yu shrugged at Lin Mu, smiled, and took the bowl and chopsticks from Ye Xing’s hands. Without complaint, he began diligently serving Ye Xing food.

Ye Xing swung his legs as he enjoyed being fed, his curiosity piqued. “Lin Mu, your abilities are amazing! Yours is the vine whip, right? Oh, and this gege’s abilities are incredible too.”

He turned to look at Shen Rangchen, who was seated at the far end of the table.

Shen Rangchen was fully focused on eating. He approached everything with dedication, and his seriousness was especially evident during meals. Unless his name was called, he almost never responded to anything.

Lin Mu called out, “Rangchen.”

Only then did Shen Rangchen lift his head from his bowl. His eyes regained their usual cold clarity as he glanced at Lin Mu and then followed his gaze to Ye Xing.

“Gege, what’s your ability? Are you a Taoist?” Ye Xing asked curiously.

Shen Rangchen slowly and methodically picked up a napkin, wiped his mouth, and replied seriously, “Yes, I am the 56th generation master of the Xuyang Taoist Temple.”

“Wow, that sounds amazing! Your little paper figurines can even kill zombies. Can you give me one?”

“Xingxing.”

Chen Yu called his name in a warning tone.

Everyone’s abilities were hard-earned, and cultivating them was no easy task. Chen Yu had seen Shen Rangchen’s paper figurines before and knew they must take a lot of time and effort to create.

As if sensing they were being talked about, two small paper figurines peeked their white heads out from Shen Rangchen’s collar.

“So cute!”

Ye Xing’s eyes lit up, clearly genuinely fond of them.

Shen Rangchen nodded. “Yes, they are quite adorable. This one is called Strawberry, and this one is Tomato.”

“…Huh? Weren’t they Lucy and Lily?” He Ze mumbled, a piece of meat still hanging from his mouth, clearly unaware of any name changes.

Shen Rangchen shot him a glare before turning back to Ye Xing.

“But I can’t give you one,” he continued. “These paper figurines are difficult to make. They require the ashes of the dead, which are ground into fine powder, then refined with tri-flame fire and fused into talisman paper before being cut into shape.”

…

When he finished speaking, everyone chewing on their ribs silently put their chopsticks down.

Ye Xing looked at the two pale paper figurines and suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

Lin Mu and the others had only known that Shen Rangchen’s talisman ink contained ashes of the dead, but they hadn’t expected these paper figurines to be even more absurdly terrifying.

“Whoa, no way! I’m not sleeping in the same room as you tonight!!”

He Ze leapt up from his chair and dragged it over to sit next to Lin Mu, looking utterly distraught, as if on the verge of tears.

“Wuuu, why didn’t you say so earlier? That Lucy—uh, no, I mean Strawberry—was lying on me while I slept last night!”

Hearing this, Lin Mu rubbed his arms, suddenly feeling like strawberry-flavored things weren’t so appetizing anymore.

As the group chattered nonsensically, Fu Jingmo shook his head and turned to Chen Yu. “Why are you here? Something urgent?”

“Hmm? Can’t I come by just for a visit?” Chen Yu chuckled and poked Ye Xing’s fair cheek. “Weren’t you here to invite them?”

Ye Xing snapped back to attention and looked at Lin Mu. “Ah, right! Mumu, you guys should come to Wunan Tower the day after tomorrow. We’re hosting a banquet, come and join us!”

“A banquet?”

At a time like this, having the resources to host a banquet was undeniably extravagant.

Ye Xing nodded, his delicate face showing no hint of concern. “The giant python has been dealt with. Isn’t it worth celebrating with a banquet?”

A glimmer of cunning flashed in Ye Xing’s eyes. Yes, more importantly, he had a grand plan in mind.

Lin Mu habitually glanced at the person beside him, as if silently seeking Fu Jingmo’s opinion. The latter tapped his fingers lightly on the edge of the table.

“Do you want to go?”

“I don’t mind,” Lin Mu replied casually.

“Mumu, why are you asking him? Let me tell you, there’ll be so much good food at the banquet—cakes, steaks, and all kinds of cocktails and wines. And guess what? All the powerful mutants from Wunan Tower will be there. I can introduce you to some new friends,” Ye Xing said enthusiastically.

He glanced at Fu Jingmo dismissively. “Whether he goes or not doesn’t matter, but you have to come.”

Leaning closer to Lin Mu, he whispered, “Some of those mutants are really handsome, hehe.”

No matter how quietly he spoke, it was impossible for Fu Jingmo, a Level 4 mutant, not to hear it.

The hand tapping on the edge of the table paused.

“Drinking, huh? Then I’m coming too!” He Ze patted his chest confidently. “This young master can take down ten people solo. Tsk tsk, the legendary Thousand Cups Unfallen is back in action!”

“Hmmph.” Ye Xing snorted, his gaze fixed intently on Lin Mu. “Come on, Mumu, you’ve never been to my place.”

Unable to resist the kid’s whining and pleading, Lin Mu eventually agreed.

If Lin Mu decided to go, naturally, it meant all four of them would be going.

After finishing their meal, Ye Xing left in high spirits, but not before emphasizing once again that Lin Mu mustn’t forget to come.

“Why do I feel like Ye Xing is acting a bit strange?” Lin Mu mumbled as he got up and went back to his room.

He Ze, understanding his role, headed to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

Fu Jingmo followed Lin Mu back to the room. As soon as he stepped inside, he casually but coolly remarked,

“You’re that eager to go?”

“Huh?”

Lin Mu didn’t quite catch on at first. After thinking for a moment, he responded.

“Ye Xing’s just been whining non-stop. There’s no harm in going. Besides, it’ll be a good chance for everyone to relax. Once we leave Shancheng, we probably won’t get many opportunities like this.”

Lin Mu licked his lips, feeling a subtle desire to drink. Perhaps it was the oppressive atmosphere of the apocalypse weighing on him all this time.

Or maybe it was the restless emotions of recent days that made him want a drink to unwind.

Fu Jingmo’s gaze darkened slightly as he watched Lin Mu’s pink tongue lightly swipe across his lips.

“You’re not just going because you want to meet those handsome mutants, are you?”

“…”

What’s wrong with him? Lin Mu thought silently.