Chapter 33 (Part 2)

With a teasing laugh, Hengwu Immortal Lord scolded lightly, “Using a young lady to block sunlight? Come over here—I guarantee none of you will get exposed.”

He reached into his Qiankun Bag and pulled out a strip of red cloth. With a quick incantation, it expanded before their eyes.

But for some reason, the cloth’s shape was peculiar. It looked suspiciously like… undergarments.

Turning Shanshui into a coffin was a last resort. Seeing a better alternative, Xiang Feng didn’t press the issue further.

The group hurriedly ducked under the red cloth, leaving Yu Zhengzheng to follow. However, Rongshang grabbed her and held her back.

His voice was cold. “You’re not going.”

She frowned. “Why not?”

Rongshang didn’t explain. Instead, his fingers hooked onto the sash at her waist, refusing to let her go. From his Qiankun Bag, he pulled out an oil-paper umbrella and opened it above them.

Yu Zhengzheng glanced at the umbrella, barely wide enough for one and a half people. She nearly slapped him in frustration.

“That tiny thing—how are we supposed to share it?”

Rongshang responded nonchalantly, “You can stand closer to me.”

Yu Zhengzheng: “…”

Curse this ridiculous ghost king! How much closer could she get? What did he expect her to do—climb onto him?

Faced with his impassive gaze and the sunlight inching closer, Yu Zhengzheng gritted her teeth. In one swift motion, she leapt onto him, clinging like a koala.

Her arms hooked around his neck, her legs dangling awkwardly as she buried her head against his chest, as though trying to merge with him.

In her heart, she repeated a silent prayer: Don’t let the sunlight touch her. Let it hit this absurd Ghost King first if it must.

Each time she whispered this in her mind, her arms tightened their grip. Rongshang tried tugging her arms free, but they were locked like iron clamps. He frowned, holding the umbrella in one hand while using the other to lift her slightly by the waist.

“Don’t move,” he commanded as she fidgeted.

Yu Zhengzheng: “…”

Things weren’t going much better on the other side.

Everyone but Shanshui squeezed under Hengwu Immortal Lord’s red cloth.

A strange smell wafted from it. Xiang Feng sniffed the air twice. “What’s that smell?”

Hengwu Immortal Lord replied with a mischievous grin. “What smell? Must be your imagination.”

Xiang Feng frowned but said no more.

An Ning raised her gaze toward the red cloth. “What exactly is this made of?”

She didn’t voice her suspicion, but the cloth’s resemblance to undergarments was unsettling.

Hengwu Immortal Lord maintained his smile. “Oh, nothing much.”

He continued, “It’s just my underwear from yesterday. Haven’t had time to wash it.”

An Ning: “…”

Hengwu Immortal Lord added casually, “It’s my zodiac year, you see. Red’s auspicious.”

An Ning: “…”

Even Xiang Feng and the ever-composed Xiao Yuqing couldn’t hide their changing expressions.

Yu Jiangjiang blatantly covered her nose, her face full of disdain.

Xiang Feng was annoyed. “What do you mean by that?”

Hengwu Immortal chuckled good-naturedly and explained, “This pair of underpants was a birthday gift from Nezha. They’re made from the fabric of the Qiankun Ling, perfectly suited to block the sunlight in this illusion.”

The Qiankun Ling was an extraordinarily rare and precious material, impervious not only to sunlight but also to the flames of the Grand Supreme Elder Lord’s alchemy furnace.

Of course, he didn’t tell the whole truth. Nezha had indeed gifted him a bolt of Qiankun Ling fabric, half of which he used to make a set of underclothes, though he hadn’t worn them yet. As for the strange smell on the underpants, it came from rubbing a few viburnum flowers on them when he took the fabric out of his Qiankun pouch.

Due to his frail health, Hengwu Immortal carried various medicinal items, including viburnum flowers, which he often brewed into tea to aid digestion.

Hengwu Immortal smiled faintly. The scent of viburnum flowers symbolized vitality—surely, they’d appreciate it.

Xiang Feng wanted to punch him, but knowing that the Qiankun Ling relied on Hengwu Immortal’s spiritual power, he held back. Without that power, the cloth would revert to its original size, leaving them exposed to the sunlight. He decided to deal with him later, once they were out of this predicament.

Standing nearby, Yu Zhengzheng overheard their conversation and finally understood why the Ghost King wouldn’t let her join them under the cloth.

The thought of hiding under someone else’s oversized underwear, with that odd smell, was enough to disgust even her carefree nature.

She clung tightly to the Ghost King’s neck, her small face buried against his chest. “Is the sun gone yet?”

Rong Shang glanced down, about to answer, but his thin red lips inadvertently brushed against her earlobe, making her shiver involuntarily.

He squinted slightly, his gaze falling on her reddened earlobe.

So, ears could change color.

As time passed without a response, Yu Zhengzheng asked again, “Isn’t it gone yet?”

Distracted, Rong Shang replied absentmindedly, “No.”

Her earlobes were petite and round, resembling small, plump pearls—a good omen, the type to bring fortune and fertility.

Her eyelashes seemed a bit long too. Her fair cheeks carried a faint blush, and there seemed to be dimples when she moved—quiet as a maiden, lively as a rabbit.

Actually, she was quite… interesting.

Rong Shang suddenly froze, his brows knitting.

Interesting? Since when did he find her interesting?

Irritated by his own thoughts, Rong Shang grabbed her and set her down abruptly.

Yu Zhengzheng stumbled and nearly fell, baring her teeth as she glared at him. She wanted to throw out a few choice insults but held back when she saw his frosty expression. She muttered under her breath, “The sun’s already gone; why didn’t you just tell me? It’s not like I wanted to stay up there.”

Rong Shang gave her a cold look. “Who told you to climb up in the first place?”

Feeling wronged, Yu Zhengzheng pouted. “You told me to get closer.”

He had said “closer,” but he hadn’t specified how close.

One centimeter was close; ten centimeters was close. Negative twenty centimeters—well, let’s not go there.

Regardless, the sunlight had finally passed.

The villagers who had been peacefully eating moments ago all lay dead on the ground. Hengwu Immortal leisurely retracted the Qiankun Ling and began searching among the corpses.

He said, “We need to leave here before nightfall. Help me find the village chief’s body.”

Although he said “everyone,” only Xiao Yuqing and Yu Zhengzheng stepped forward.

The Ghost King was too fastidious, Yu Jiangjiang was too timid, and Shanshui seemed unwell. An Ning was still too frightened, so Xiang Feng stayed behind to look after them.

Xiao Yuqing felt queasy at the sight of headless, bloodied corpses, but seeing that even Yu Zhengzheng, a woman, didn’t flinch, he couldn’t let himself appear cowardly.

Before starting, Yu Zhengzheng confirmed with Hengwu Immortal what the village chief had been wearing. She had been too focused on the chief’s goat beard earlier to notice his attire.

Once she got the description, she worked quickly.

She tossed severed heads into a pile like they were radishes, sorted the bodies into male and female categories, and then swiftly scanned the male corpses to locate the village chief.

Hengwu Immortal and Xiao Yuqing were left dumbfounded, staring at her efficiency as if they’d just witnessed a miracle.

Hengwu Immortal had assumed they’d be lucky to find the chief by sunset, given the hundreds of bodies scattered around. He hadn’t expected Yu Zhengzheng to locate him so swiftly, as if she’d done this countless times before.

In fact, she had.

During the apocalypse, she’d been a weakling who could only flee from hordes of zombies. Her teammates, finding her useless, relegated her to cleaning up leftover zombie limbs wherever they set up camp.

She’d grown fond of sorting trash and body parts by type, so her actions earlier were second nature.

Hengwu Immortal, unable to resist, tried to poach her. “You’re a remarkable woman. Interested in becoming a guardian of the Demon Clan?”

Before Yu Zhengzheng could reply, Rong Shang’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “How about I kill the Demon Lord and take his place? Wouldn’t that be even better?”

Hengwu Immortal: “…”

He wisely chose not to argue, knowing he couldn’t beat Rong Shang.

Lowering his head, Hengwu Immortal placed his palm on the village chief’s chest and used a dagger to carve a hole.

A peach-pink crystal glimmered within, which he deftly extracted with the dagger’s tip.

Holding the crystal, he chanted a spell. The light within it grew, radiating a blinding crimson glow that engulfed them all.

In the next instant, everyone lost consciousness.

When Yu Zhengzheng opened her eyes again, she found herself in yet another unfamiliar place.

This time, her sight was greeted by an endless stretch of lush greenery, resembling a vast tropical rainforest. Towering trees pierced the skies, their canopies dense and vibrant, surrounded by thick undergrowth and an array of unidentified flowers and plants.

She scanned her surroundings but saw no one else. It seemed as though she was the only one in this seemingly boundless forest.

Yu Zhengzheng calmed herself, feeling a little fear.

Although unfamiliar with this place, she had survived in forests during the apocalypse with her companions. She had learned a great deal about wilderness survival and was confident she wouldn’t perish anytime soon.

To prevent getting lost, she first found a large tree and observed its foliage. The side with denser leaves usually indicated the direction with more sunlight. Based on this, she determined her bearings.

Foliage was typically denser in the south and sparser in the north. After confirming her direction, she didn’t rush to leave but took two laps around the area to see if there was anything unexpected.

Initially, she planned to rely on her hearing and sense of smell to locate a nearby water source. Instead, she accidentally discovered An Ning unconscious behind a large tree not far away.

Yu Zhengzheng noticed An Ning’s furrowed brows, her expression suggesting she was enduring some kind of pain. A faint smile appeared on Yu Zhengzheng’s lips.

It looked like An Ning was dreaming.

What kind of dreams would An Ning have?

Yu Zhengzheng’s smile grew brighter. While awake, An Ning could wear layers of false masks, but no one could hide their true self in their dreams.

She was curious to see the real An Ning.

With this thought, she placed her fingertip on An Ning’s forehead, her lips curling into a faint smile as she successfully entered An Ning’s dream.