Zombie…?

My brain short-circuited. Frowning in confusion, I stared at the deathly pale hand clawing out of the earth. *Is this another one of Jilianbing’s traps?*

I turned to look at her—only to freeze at the ecstatic grin splitting her face, her eyes burning with fanatical delight.

In that instant, I understood everything.

This was a real corpse reanimation!

Jilianbing ignored me completely. She strolled deeper into the graveyard like she owned it, stepping past grasping hands erupting from the soil.

“Hey! Lianbing!” I yelled desperately. She didn’t even flinch, moving forward as if hypnotized.

“Damn it!” I sprinted after her, determined to drag her out of this death trap. *We can still make it!* My gut screamed: *Run before they fully crawl out!*

I caught up, grabbing her wrist. “This place is dangerous! We need to leave—now!”

“…”

She didn’t turn. Her pull yanked me off-balance. “Hey! It’ll be too late!” I glanced back. The first undead corpse had heaved half its body free. Even from behind, its aura reeked of pure menace—a nameless dead thing clawing back from hell’s abyss.

“Leave…? Why would I leave?”

“Because—!”

Her expression cut my words short. She looked like an archaeologist uncovering a lost civilization—pure, unbridled euphoria.

“I’ve spent years chasing clues… but never *seen* one. Today… I finally witness it.” Her voice stayed unnaturally calm, but excitement crackled beneath. “You truly are my lucky star, Master Cheng. Being with you always brings the unexpected… hehehe~”

I had no reply. Her mindset was utterly alien.

*So twisted.*

How could she smile? Why was she *happy*? Didn’t she feel fear?

*We might die here!*

“This… is a zombie? A walking corpse…”

More undead clawed free, wailing like tortured souls. Grayish skin stitched with crude sutures. Pupil-less white eyes, hollow and lifeless.

*This scale…*

Not dozens. *Hundreds.*

Factory-made zombies?!

Shouldn’t corpses need a century to reanimate? And this graveyard—lush with plants and insects—should’ve rotted bodies to dust ages ago! Where did these *fresh* corpses come from?

*Don’t ask why I know this.* Back in middle school, I’d devoured useless occult trivia hoping to meet ghosts or zombies. Cringey black history.

Irony bit deep: just as I’d accepted this boring, normal world, the supernatural crashed into my daily life…

*This is when some wild-bearded old man should burst in selling anti-zombie plants!* I’d trade my dignity for survival!

But no such luck.

The horde surrounded us, stiff arms reaching. Slow, but endless.

“Graaahh…”

“Tch!”

*Why isn’t anyone helping?!* The funeral home stood right behind this public cemetery. How hadn’t they noticed? Had they all fled? Or…

“GAAAH!”

They attacked.

One lunged to bite me. I ducked, scrambling to Jilianbing’s side, sweat stinging my eyes.

“…Sorry, Master Cheng.”

“Sorry?! What good is that now?! I told you to run!” I kicked away a grasping hand. “I’m really dying with you this time!”

“No need.”

“Huh? WAH—!”

Before I could ask why, her hands seized my wrists.

A monstrous force yanked me upward—I lost my footing, spinning wildly!

“WAAAAAH!”

She was swinging me like a hammer thrower!

*Dizzy…!*

Where did that frail body get such strength?!

*My shoulder—about to pop!*

“Master Cheng… thank you for teaching me what ‘liking’ someone feels like.”

Those were the last words I heard before she let go.

I flew.

Scenery blurred. I crashed shoulder-first, tumbling across graves until a headstone stopped me.

My body screamed in protest.

But Jilianbing mattered more.

She’d thrown me out of the horde—selflessly.

*Wait.* She was a necrophiliac killer. With that strength, she could escape alone. If I went back, she’d probably call me a nuisance.

*Yeah. That’s Jilianbing!* She’d break free any second! Maybe even go on a rampage!

She didn’t.

The horde surged inward. Her pink coat vanished under a sea of rotting black fabric.

I stood frozen, jaw slack, watching the chaotic frenzy.

Beyond the wails came wet, sickening sounds—ripping, chewing, swallowing.

A horrific image flashed in my mind.

*No way…*

*Run.*

*Just run.*

*Get out.*

*Find help. I can’t do this alone!*

My legs trembled as I stumbled backward.

I clutched at excuses, twisting logic to justify fleeing.

*This is smart. Safe. Rational.*

But not what I wanted.

“…Tch!”

Damn it!

“DAMN IT!”

Why stay? Why not run? Why not fight?

Only one answer: Jilianbing was a **Necrophiliac Killer**.

Her obsession with corpses bordered on madness. These zombies? Walking corpses. Her earlier ecstasy confirmed it—she’d hunted them for years.

She’d kill *people*… but not *corpses*.

*You idiot!*

I laughed—a bitter, broken sound. Yet my chest felt lighter.

I couldn’t betray my own heart.

I took a deep breath. The trembling stopped. Pain from the fall faded under a strange, rising thrill.

“Hah… OHHHHHHHHHH!”

*I’m an idiot too!*

*I’ve lost my mind!*

Charging into a zombie horde? Insane!

She’d tried to kill me! A twisted, corpse-obsessed murderer! Maybe these zombies were *her* victims, risen for revenge!

*This is her karma. I shouldn’t help!*

I crawled through the horde on all fours. When one bent to bite me, I surged up, headbutting its jaw.

My shoe flew off. My suit jacket tangled around a zombie’s teeth as it snapped at my shoulder.

Pathetic. Humiliating.

But the zombies ignored me. I reached the center, scrambling on hands and knees.

Jilianbing stood there—one arm clutched tight, the other wielding a broken headstone against the tide.

*Alive!*

“Lianbing!”

Her eyes locked on me. Panic twisted her face. “Why… why come back?!”

“SHUT UP!” I snarled louder, silencing her.

Before she could argue, I hoisted her onto my shoulder.

*No princess carry—need one hand free to fight.*

Unlike my entry, every undead eye now fixed on us.

*Yeah… they probably want to suck us dry. Gnaw us to bones.*

*Not scary! Not scary at all!*

*Let’s give them cute nicknames… “Jumpies”!*

*Yeah! Jumpies are adorable! Everything can be moe!*

“GRRRAAAH!”

“DAMN IT! NOT CUTE! DISGUSTING!”

Claws raked my cheek. Teeth sank into my arm—searing pain.

“Why not run?!” she shouted.

“A man runs when he should! But he *never* runs when a woman’s about to die! Got it?!”

I’d flee from a woman trying to kill me.

But not from a woman about to be killed.

Past grudges? Forgotten.

As that eternal elementary schooler said: *Killing needs a reason. Saving someone? Needs none.*

“Worst possible scenario!”

Zombies closed in. I couldn’t hold them off alone.

*No protagonist aura for me…* Heroic rescue failed. Now I’d die too. Pathetic.

*I’m… not cut out for this!*

“I don’t wanna die here! I never had big dreams—but I wanted a quiet job! A gentle wife! Two kids! To grow old, holding my partner’s hand… that’s the life I pictured!”

“That’s such a… small-town dream.”

“So what if it is?!” I roared. “I *am* small-town! I told you from the start—we’re not the same! Why force this connection?!”

*Why?!*

“So! Murderers! Demons! Zombies! Stop appearing before me!”

*Especially you zombies!* It’s *afternoon*! Undead things shouldn’t strut around in daylight! At least respect the classic sunlight weakness!

Less a complaint. More a lifeline for my courage.

“Seriously… ever since I met you, my whole life’s collapsed!”

"And it spiraled completely out of control—what the hell is this?!"

Seriously, seriously, that’s enough!

I poured out all my pent-up resentment, and instantly felt so much lighter.

At least this way, I could die in peace.

"Put me down! Let me throw you out!"

Jilianbing grew anxious too, speaking urgently, trying to pull the same trick again to fling me from the undead corpse horde.

"Seriously! You confessed first, and now you want to dump me? Are you playing with my feelings?!"

"That’s not what I meant…!"

"Then what? In this hero-saves-beauty moment, you—the heroine—should say ‘Thank you for saving me!’ or ‘I’ll dedicate my life to you!’ Got it?!"

Tch. So painful. If only I had a weapon…

Wounds multiplied across my body, blood staining my white shirt crimson. My vision blurred.

"Master Cheng… why save me?"

"Yeah, why did I save you?! So stupid! You’ve schemed to kill me, yet I still tried to save you—utterly idiotic!"

My voice sped up with excitement. Probably the first time I’d ever shouted like this.

"Why save you? Because I’m a good person! A ridiculously rotten good person!"

"Master Cheng, you’re not the meddling type, right?"

Tch. She really knows me.

"Fine. Truth is, you’re too beautiful. Watching you die would be such a waste!"

"That might be true…"

"Full of yourself, huh?!"

Joking aside, time was running out.

What to do? At this rate, Jilianbing and I would both die under this sea of undead corpses.

My brain raced for an escape plan.

Then—I spotted someone sitting cross-legged under the giant cypress at the graveyard’s heart.

…No! Not human!

[Undead Corpse (Awakened)]

[Gou Xawen]

It had a name!

A named undead corpse!

Lili’s joking words flashed in my mind:

"—Seeing true names is a demon’s kryptonite. Maybe you’re the legendary Demon King, Master Cheng!"

Of all things, that silly line surfaced now.

True name, huh…

Questions lingered—would this demon trick work on undead corpses?

But desperate times called for desperate measures!

Just chant the true name, right?

Ah! Screw it! I’ll gamble! Doing nothing meant death anyway—might as well fight!

I sucked in a deep breath and bellowed the name, loud enough to be heard:

"Gou Xawen!"

The undead corpse under the tree jolted awake.

Unlike others, it had blue pupils, no visible wounds—almost human.

Heart pounding, I didn’t wait to see if it worked. I commanded:

"Block them!"

It leaped before us, sweeping aside surrounding undead corpses with one kick.

So strong!

Was this the boss? Lucky break!

Hope surged. I sprinted for the cemetery gate with my last strength. Any undead corpse lunging at me was blocked by the blue-eyed one.

I reached the entrance. Bursting through felt like piercing a membrane—a sudden isolation.

I glanced back. The graveyard lay peaceful. All undead corpses vanished. Not even disturbed earth remained.

Escaped!

Wow! Thank heavens! I’m alive!

"Ha, hahaha… hiss…"

Relief brought pain crashing down.

Blood seeped from shallow and deep wounds. Dizziness hit. I collapsed.

"Master Cheng!"

"Aah…"

So tired… body so heavy…

My head rested on something soft. Was she giving me a lap pillow?

"Thank you… for saving me."

No need to thank me. You’re my girlfriend…

"And I’ll dedicate my life to you."

Joking… I won’t marry you…

Unless you switch to Soft Ice mode… and swear not to kill me…

"Master Cheng!"

Her shout forced my eyes open.

Last sight: her trembling body, teeth clenched on her lower lip. A mist clouded her hazy eyes. Tears welled but didn’t fall, clinging to her pale cheeks like reluctant dew.

I whispered:

"Don’t cry… idiot."

She froze. Then frowned hard, forcing a bright smile—but tears spilled instead.

Heh. Ugly smile…

But maybe… the most genuine one she’d ever given…

Eyelids met. Sensations faded. Thoughts dissolved.

Consciousness cut off.

…

"Sorry! Sorry! I’m late…"

"You’re way too late, Li Nai!"

"Ahaha… lost track eating cheese ribs with friends. My bad~"

"Seriously, picking you as corpse herder was a mistake!"

"I didn’t want this either—the city lord insisted… Huh? You’re hurt?"

"Ah, nothing. These scratches’ll heal. Just gave those whitejiang a free feast of my flesh."

"What happened?"

"Two humans breached the barrier."

"Eh?! Ordinary ones?"

"One commanded me as a shield. Such strong spiritual power—they’re no ordinary humans."

"Wow~ Taoist priests? This is bad!"

"I snapped their photos on my phone."

"Let me see… Huh?!"

"What?"

"That’s classmate Jilianbing and Mr. Invisible!"

"People you know?"

"Hmm… but… how…"

"Report this to the city lord. Be careful—they’re dangerous…"

"Mm…"