Chapter 25- Part 2

“Um, I was just casually saying that,” Xia Chen stammered, suddenly realizing he might have overshared when silence met his words.

“I think what Yuanbao said makes a lot of sense, but how does you know all this?” Zijian’s voice was still gentle, but Xia Chen broke out in a cold sweat.

“I-I heard it from other flowers.” He had completely forgotten he could simply destroy the trumpet flower to end the conversation. Instead, Xia Chen scrambled for an explanation, fully committing to his role as a flower spirit.

“The Peony… she used to be kept by a wealthy family, so she’s very knowledgeable. And the Foxtail, he goes around listening to gossip. The Tongban Grass knows how to tell stories, and he’s told me a lot. I’ll tell them to you later, and then you’ll understand.”

Xia Chen’s fabrication was surprisingly convincing. Children with physical disabilities and lack of love like Zijian were most likely to go astray. He hoped to share inspiring stories, wishing for a better life for this child he felt connected to.

As he spoke, Xia Chen recalled famous figures from his past life who had overcome disabilities to achieve great things. The first to come to mind was Abing^[1]Blind Abing’s original name was Hua Yanjun, in Wuxi in 1949. His most famous composed music is “Moon Reflected on the Er-quan Spring” which is a score of Erhu., the blind musician… He felt a bit sheepish, but before he could continue his story, he noticed the red color of the trumpet flower fading.

Is it out of energy?

Then he remembered that Zijian couldn’t see. Knowing he’d be upset if he spoke to the flower without a response, Xia Chen quickly said, “Zijian, I’m out of spiritual energy and need to rest for a while. If you want to talk to me, just touch my petals. If I’m awake, I’ll respond to you.”

This was how the trumpet flower worked. Touching the petals was like dialing a number. The first connection wasn’t bound, so Zijian’s side connected directly. After binding, either side could “dial” as long as there was enough energy, and the flower on the other side would glow. Touching the petals again was like answering, and the petals would change color. When they reverted, it meant the energy was depleted.

As for energy, well, flowers just need some sunlight. Functionally speaking, the trumpet flower was quite an excellent phone, except for the random binding and single-line communication, which were somewhat problematic.

Because Zijian was blind, even if he touched the petals to dial, he wouldn’t see the flower glow. Xia Chen simply omitted that detail to spare his feelings.

On Zijian’s side, the camellia suddenly turned red again, startling him. Before he could react, the little flower spirit rattled off a string of words. By the time the white camellia was fully red, it no longer responded, no matter what he said.

Zijian tried touching the petals. The red camellia emitted a faint light, then quickly dimmed.

“Spiritual energy?” Zijian murmured, looking at the seemingly duller camellia. “What do flower spirits eat?”

The sky was darkening, but Zijian remained in front of the camellia. The little flower spirit had said many things, and while he wasn’t sure if they were all true, the concern in its words had been genuine.

It had been a long time since he had felt such warmth. He had died at only twenty-two, then existed in a state between human and non-human for over a decade.

Yes, he had died once. If others encountered a flower spirit, they would be shocked, but Zijian wasn’t surprised at all. After all, he had experienced stranger things. He had already lived one life, yet here he was, starting over, back to when he was twelve years old.

Zijian’s surname was Wen, given name Shu, courtesy name Zijian. He was the eldest son of the Duke of Dingguo in the Imperial Capital, born to the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Pingle’s main branch.

He had lost his mother at a young age. The following year, his mother’s cousin had been brought into the Duke’s mansion and became his stepmother. A year after that, she gave birth to Wen Zhuo, the second son of the Duke’s family.

At this time in his previous life, Wen Shu had been bedridden. He had intervened when his half-brother, Wen Bo, was bullying Wen Zhuo, only to be pushed into the lake, resulting in a high fever.

His stepmother had sent news back to the Marquis of Pingle’s Mansion. His maternal uncle came to support him, but Wen Shu was still ill when his father, Duke Wen Hai, called him out. He wanted Wen Shu to tell his uncle that it was just brotherly roughhousing and that he wasn’t angry with Wen Bo.

Although Wen Shu was the eldest legitimate son of the Duke, his life in the mansion wasn’t easy. His mother had died early, and his stepmother showered him with seemingly endless care and affection, never scolding him. Wen Shu was precocious and noticed the difference in how she treated him compared to Wen Zhuo, but he still respected her and often looked after his younger brother.

As for his father, Wen Hai had never liked Wen Shu, his eldest legitimate son. In his early years, before inheriting the title, he had fallen in love with Yan Niang, a famous courtesan in the Capital. For this woman, he nearly had his legs broken by the old Duke.

Later, even after marrying the young lady from the Lin family, Wen Hai did not settle down. Behind Lin-shi’s back, he set up Yan Niang in a separate residence. By the time Wen Shu was born, Wen Bo, Wen Hai’s son with Yan Niang, was already three years old. Wen Hai even attempted to register Wen Bo under Lin-shi’s name, aiming to usurp Wen Shu’s rightful position as the eldest legitimate son.

Fortunately, the old Duke hadn’t lost his mind yet. He administered family punishment, giving Wen Hai a severe beating, and then officially registered Wen Shu as the eldest legitimate son in the family records.

After the old Duke passed away, Wen Hai inherited the title. Although he did not go so far as to harm Wen Shu directly, he often treated him coldly and was quick to criticize him. In contrast, he excessively doted on Wen Bo, his eldest son born from a mistress.

Wen Shu was young, and though intelligent and talented, he lacked support. It wasn’t appropriate for his maternal family to intervene in every minor matter, so he endured many grievances.

In his previous life, Wen Shu had suppressed his anger and disappointment, striving to be an obedient son. He was the young master of the Duke of Dingguo’s Mansion and was expected to love his siblings and heed his elders’ teachings.

Even his maternal uncle, who had come to seek justice for him, told him after a private conversation with his father that as the grandson of the Marquis of Pingle, no one in the household could surpass him. When he inherited the Duke’s title, if he found those illegitimate sons troublesome, then he could easily dismiss them with some silver.

Wen Shu had grown up stumbling along this path. The older he got, the harsher his father became towards him. Wen Bo attempted to harm him several times, but Wen Hai turned a blind eye. Wen Shu could only seek his own way out.

At fifteen, Wen Shu became a disciple of the great scholar Fang Houxue and studied abroad for three years, returning at eighteen. Within a month of his return, a series of incidents occurred around him, culminating in the death of Zheliu, his milk-brother.^[2]Milk-Brother: The son of his wet nurse. He was brought up drinking the same milk as Zheilu so it’s called as such.

After Zheliu’s death, Wen Shu knew that the Duke’s Mansion could no longer accommodate him. As long as Wen Hai remained alive and well despite his indulgence in wine and women, Wen Shu would not be able to avenge Zheliu.

Wen Shu devised a plan that resulted in Wen Bo breaking a leg. Before Wen Hai could react, he left for the border with just a horse; he was prepared to die in the war. There, he unexpectedly became sworn brothers^[3]Sworn brothers are males who have sworn loyalty to each other. with Young General Fu Zhan, with whom he had previously been at odds.

In the seventh year of Xiyan, when Wen Shu was twenty, his coming-of-age ceremony was held at the border, presided over by General Fu Zhishan.

In the ninth year of Xiyan, Wen Hai sent three letters from home in one month, urgently summoning him back to the Capital. Upon his return, Wen Shu learned that Wen Bo’s eldest son had fallen seriously ill and needed a thousand-year-old ginseng for treatment. While hundred-year-old ginseng was easy to find, thousand-year-old ones were rare. Even if other families had them, they would keep them for emergencies and would not lend them out.

His father had called him back because there was a thousand-year-old ginseng in his mother’s dowry. After her death, to show the new wife’s stance, she had called in people from her maiden home as witnesses, along with some old servants who had served Lin-shi. They had then sealed the dowry warehouse according to the inventory list, and the key was given to Wen Shu’s wet nurse.

When Wen Shu left home at fifteen, he had moved his mother’s dowry out. Wen Hai, who was fond of flowers and addicted to sensual pleasures but didn’t care much for money, had merely watched coldly and sneered at his lack of noble spirit.

Now that he needed to ask him for help, his father didn’t even bother to put on a good face. He even brought up Wen Bo’s lame leg, implying that Wen Shu owed his brother and should do his utmost to make amends. He all but demanded that he give up his life to repay this debt.

Naturally, Wen Shu refused. Wen Hai flew into a rage and threatened to drive him out of the Duke’s Mansion. Unfortunately, before he could act, the world turned upside down overnight.

Many newly buried corpses crawled out of their coffins, drawn to the city by the scent of living humans. When the guards at the city gates went to investigate the disturbance, they were bitten and scratched, turning into walking corpses themselves.

The Imperial Capital’s walls were tall and sturdy. Once the captain guarding the gate realized something was wrong, he acted quickly and isolated the infected soldiers. This allowed them to use the city walls to hold back the incoming walking corpses.

However, this didn’t mean the Capital was safe. Some citizens suddenly fainted and soon turned into walking corpses as well.

These newly transformed walking corpses were later classified as the lowest-level purple zombies, named for their purple-black, swollen appearance when they first transformed. Although they were strong and were impervious to blades, and felt no pain, they moved slowly and feared sunlight. Many items could restrain them, and as long as one was careful not to be scratched or bitten, they weren’t difficult to eliminate. Even ordinary citizens could handle them.

However, this “not difficult” was relative to people who had experienced the apocalypse for several years and gained experience. On the day of the zombie outbreak, the entire Capital fell into chaos. Many citizens fell victim to their own family members. Once one person in a household turned, rarely did anyone else survive.

In fact, the zombie poison from purple zombies could be cured, but in the beginning, no one knew this. Those who were scratched or bitten could only wait to turn into zombies themselves.

That day, the entire Imperial Capital resembled hell on earth. Many noble families suffered great losses that resulted in numerous deaths.

In the Duke’s Mansion, Wen Bo’s eldest son, the sick child, suddenly transformed into a zombie, biting the wet nurse and maids serving him. By the time Wen Shu received the news and rushed over, the entire small courtyard was overrun with over twenty maids and servants who had either turned into zombies or were infected with the zombie poison. Wen Bo, on the other hand, cowered behind his personal guards, and still ordered people to rush in and rescue his son.

After dozens of lives were lost, no one else dared to enter. In a fit of frustration, Wen Bo drew his sword and began swinging it wildly, his guards scattering to avoid the blade. This chaos allowed the zombies in the courtyard to break out, biting several more people.

Seeing the dire situation, Wen Shu ordered the soldiers who had returned to the Capital with him to join forces with the household guards. Together, they killed the zombies that had escaped the courtyard and then set the entire courtyard ablaze, trapping the remaining zombies within.

Afterwards, Wen Shu led his subordinates and the household guards to clear out the other zombies in the mansion and securely locked the gates.

By some twist of fate, or perhaps misfortune, on the day of the zombie outbreak, almost none of the masters in the Duke of Dingguo’s Mansion suffered any casualties. Wen Bo’s loss of a son and the scratching of one of Wen Hai’s newly favored concubines by a zombified maid were the only exceptions.

At daybreak, Wen Shu sent scouts to gather information. They discovered that the Imperial Capital had transformed overnight. There was still no news from the imperial palace, and grotesque zombies with swollen bodies and fierce expressions lurked in the shadows of every alley.

Some people attempted to flee the city, only to find that even the areas outside the city gates were teeming with zombies.

Meanwhile, a small number of people discovered they had developed special abilities. For instance, a doctor in a city clinic found he could heal and cure diseases without medicine or needles. Tragically, this doctor did not live long, perishing at the hands of those fighting over his newfound power.

Wen Shu himself discovered that his five senses had been greatly enhanced. He could hear and see things from afar, and during fights, his enemies’ movements seemed to slow down, allowing him to easily counter them.

However, this heightened state did not last long. Initially, he would feel dizzy and unable to continue after less than fifteen minutes.

When Wen Shu led his subordinate soldiers in formation, he vaguely sensed that their combat effectiveness had improved, with slight increases in strength and stamina. This was perhaps a gift from the heavens, offering humanity a chance at survival.

On the third day, the imperial guards, now reduced to half their original number, mobilized. They closed the city gates and took advantage of the daylight to clear out zombies. But their efforts were in vain. The Imperial Capital was vast, with potential zombies hiding in every shadow and every room. More citizens were infected with the zombie poison each day, swelling the ranks of the undead.

After the city gates were locked, the Imperial Capital was cut off from outside supplies. Starving citizens, faced with the choice of being bitten to death or starving to death, chose to take their chances. Shops were ransacked, and many people died not at the hands of zombies, but at the hands of their fellow humans.

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Translator’s Note: 

Today’s release (2/3). One more~