Mr. 011

Seeing Fang Zhiyi's deeply pained and distressed appearance, the townspeople began to feel sympathetic.

"As for how to deal with these two thieves, I have a humble suggestion," Fang Zhiyi said.

Yan Wushuang wanted to interrupt but hesitated. According to the law, he was supposed to escort Nightingale to the provincial capital, but his ideas had been mocked by Fang Zhiyi for quite some time.

"Escort her to the province? Do you have evidence proving she stole before? What if she turns the tables and accuses you of arresting an innocent person just to claim credit? What if she has connections and gets released the moment she arrives? Then what?"

Yan Wushuang was left speechless.

"Having only one category of exhibits is indeed a bit monotonous," Fang Zhiyi remarked.

Nightingale looked at him in confusion, then saw the dawning realization on the faces of the townspeople, and an ominous premonition rose in her heart.

And so, Nightingale became neighbors with the captured zombies. Looking at the lifeless corpses in the iron cage next door, she felt as if she were on the verge of a breakdown.

"Didn't you say there were no zombies? You said it yourselves, that's superstition!"

Fang Zhiyi nodded. "It is superstition. They aren't zombies; they are staff members, merely pretending to look like zombies."

"You!"

Fang Zhiyi didn't stay to hear what else she had to say. He simply closed the door and left, leaving her alone with the zombies she had released.

After Lin Adai was paraded before the public, the mayor arranged for him to do hard labor. He didn't complain, simply doing his work honestly. Watching from a distance as his master chatted and laughed with the police chief, he wanted to call out to him, but the word "Master" got stuck in his throat and he couldn't force it out for the longest time.

Fang Zhiyi didn't pay him any mind. It was only because Lin Adai was truly stupid that he was spared; otherwise, Fang would have insisted he become neighbors with the zombies as well.

Next was the eldest apprentice. Without his master to stop him, Li Huaian spent all his days mixing with the snake demon. His body gradually wasted away, yet he stubbornly refused to die. After he had outlived his usefulness, the snake demon, Ah Qing, finally revealed her true colors and swallowed him whole.

But the snake demon hadn't anticipated that the man she swallowed was rather uncanny.

Li Huaian had a very long dream. In the dream, he was a Feng Shui master revered by the masses. Even warlords were polite and deferential when they met him, and that annoying master of his had long since turned into a pile of bleached bones.

However, other things gradually began to appear before his eyes. Grotesque and motley scenes pressed in on him, making him feel as though he were suffocating. He desperately sought an exit, biting with his teeth, tearing with his hands—he had to get out!

When he tumbled to the ground, his consciousness returned to reality. He was stark naked, covered in foul-smelling mucus. Behind him lay a giant, dead snake. There was a gaping, terrifying wound on the snake's belly—one that he had torn open himself.

The surrounding saplings had been snapped in half; one could only imagine how the snake demon had struggled in its death throes.

Li Huaian gradually began to laugh. "Ha... ha ha ha... you... you..." He wanted to declare victory, but he felt a strange sense of emptiness and loss. In the end, he simply stumbled away from the scene.

Washing himself in a stream, Li Huaian discovered something strange. His skin had become hard, the texture feeling wrong to the touch. It wasn't until he saw his reflection in the water that he nearly jumped out of his skin in fright. Half of his face was covered in scales—snake scales.

"How can this be? How?" Li Huaian panicked. He tried to claw the scales off with his fingers, but even as blood streamed down, it was to no avail.

"No, no... Master!" He suddenly thought of him. That master of his could definitely save him! At this moment, he had completely forgotten everything he had done before.

He didn't notice that not far away, a pair of eyes was staring right at him.

"So the legends are true. I thought they were made up." Fang Zhiyi shook his head.

Little Hei spoke up as well. "Is this considered a curse from the snake demon, or an infectious disease?"

Fang Zhiyi curled his lip. "I'm not sure. When I was a Taoist priest, I saw a similar affliction once. It was a woman who grew snake scales on her body, and her tongue gradually forked. The cause was determined to be Gu poison. But this... it's hard to say."

Little Hei's eyes suddenly lit up. "Could this be the source of that Gu poison you mentioned?"

Fang Zhiyi's eyes widened. "You don't say! You might actually be on to something! Could this be the original Patient Zero?"

Li Huaian walked on. Occasionally, he encountered woodcutters or hunters, but upon seeing his appearance, they fled in terror, completely ignoring his pleas for help.

He felt his body growing colder. Looking down, he saw that the snake scales had already covered more than half of his body. He wanted to speak, but when he opened his mouth, he could only produce strange, rasping gurgles.

Li Huaian slumped to the ground. He was tired; he wanted to sleep.

In this sleep, he saw a different future for himself. His master caught the snake demon and saved him. His master died at the hands of the zombies. He received help from his martial uncle, inherited his master's dying wish, and lived a life of boundless glory...

Li Huaian woke with a start, staring up at the sky. That dream felt so real! Yes, it was Master! He actually refused to help me! He let me be bewildered and seduced by the snake demon! It's all his fault!

He couldn't wait to get back to town. He wanted to publicly question his master: why would he do this? Was he dreaming too? Li Huaian moved faster and faster. Walking on two legs was too exhausting, so he chose to crawl on the ground. Using his hands and feet was also too tiring, so he simply slithered forward like a snake.

Finally, he reached the edge of Qingxi Town. The town seemed very lively at the moment; many townspeople were building something.

He saw the young person he used to tease often. He wanted to open his mouth to say hello, but still only emitted rasping "he-he" sounds. The eerie noise attracted the other's attention.

"A monster!" the young girl screamed, and soon, many people looked over.

Li Huaian shook his head repeatedly. He wanted to say he wasn't a monster, but he couldn't get the words out.

"Quick! Go get Mr. Fang!" someone shouted.

Yes! Go find my master. He will definitely recognize me! As long as he saves me, I will forgive him!

Fang Zhiyi sauntered over slowly; he had actually been following behind Li Huaian the whole time.

"He-he." Li Huaian was agitated.

The townspeople sucked in a breath of cold air in unison.

"Mr. Fang, what kind of thing is this monster?"

"Looks like a snake."

"It has a human face! And hair!"

"It seems to have hands, too."

"No feet."

"How disgusting."

Li Huaian was frantic. At this moment, he could only pin his hopes on his master.

Fang Zhiyi looked at him with a meaningful expression. "Everyone, it seems our collection of exhibits has grown by one."

The townspeople were stunned for a moment, then murmured in realization.

Li Huaian didn't understand. He began to writhe and twist. Several bold townspeople immediately approached with wooden poles looped with hemp ropes, attempting to capture him.

Li Huaian wanted to scream curses at them, but he could no longer produce a human voice.