Who Doesn't Want to Be Human

"Assemble! All of you, gather at the tavern now!"

Li Yingling crushed the bones beneath her foot with a stomp, her icy gaze fixed on the rotting zombies before her.

"Eat your brains! Eat your brains!"

The zombies turned their hollow eyes toward her, arms outstretched, ready to lunge.

Just as Yuan Kong was about to open his mouth to translate—

A sharp sword light split one of the zombies clean in half. Li Yingling stepped forward, resting her blade against the zombie’s skull, her spiritual energy slowly carving into its head like a dull knife sawing through flesh.

"This isn’t a discussion. Not a notice. It’s an order!" Li Yingling sneered, sweeping her gaze over the remaining zombies.

"If any of you can still crawl but aren’t at the tavern in two quarters of an hour, don’t blame me for mincing you into paste!"

The zombies, which had been poised to attack, now froze in place, trembling as they awkwardly turned their bodies, as if preparing to flee.

Yuan Kong stared at Li Yingling’s cold expression, speechless.

With this level of intimidation… did she even need a translator?

Another fierce sword energy lashed out, blasting a nearby zombie into pieces.

Li Yingling’s voice was frigid. "You’re going the wrong way."

"If you dare disobey, and I catch you—go ahead, test me."

"You can run, but where exactly do you think you’ll escape to?"

With that, she beheaded another zombie with a swift slash before turning and walking away, moving toward her next target.

The remaining zombies stood frozen, utterly lost.

After a long silence, they exchanged glances and then trudged silently in the same direction.

From then on, Yuan Kong followed closely behind Li Yingling.

Though he claimed to be there as a translator, he never got a single word in.

Or rather, Li Yingling simply didn’t need one.

Kicking down doors, issuing threats, cutting people down—

The more she did it, the more efficient she became.

After making her rounds through the small village—and incidentally decimating a quarter of its inhabitants—

Li Yingling finally finished her sweep. She stood behind the last batch of zombies, herding them toward the tavern.

No one dared ask why the zombies obeyed. The answer was simple: this woman would truly chop them into mincemeat.

Yuan Kong trailed behind her in silence, not daring to utter a word.

His senior brother had been right—women outside the mountain were like tigers.

When the final group of zombies was brought in,

Yuan Kong’s face twisted in horror at the sight before him.

A massive iron cauldron had been set up, flames licking at its base, boiling oil bubbling inside.

A wooden frame stretched over the cauldron, and the tavern owner—who had previously been hanging from the ceiling—was now suspended upside down above the scalding oil.

Splashes of oil occasionally struck his face, eliciting agonized screams.

The zombies knelt on the ground, not daring to make a sound, listening to the tavern owner’s wails.

Clearly, these ancient zombies had already been subjected to some… persuasion.

The village chief sat hunched in a corner of the tavern, head bowed, silent.

Evidently… not only did Li Yingling not need a translator, but Chu Xingchen didn’t either.

Seeing this, Yuan Kong felt a surge of relief that he had gone with Li Yingling instead.

To him, the scene was surreal—a bright, sunny day, a tavern owner dangling over a boiling cauldron, screaming in agony.

A crowd of ordinary villagers trembled as they groveled on the ground.

And standing calmly before the cauldron, stirring the oil with a large ladle, was Chu Xingchen—his expression serene, even amused.

At a glance, Yuan Kong could only think of him as a tyrant reveling in his cruelty.

No wonder his senior brother had said, "Always look beyond appearances to the truth of actions."

Li Yingling approached Chu Xingchen with Yuan Kong in tow, clasping her hands in salute.

"Master, nearly everyone is here. We’ll deal with the missing ones later."

Chu Xingchen nodded in satisfaction, his gaze sweeping over the zombies kneeling across the open space.

"Village Chief, bring out the Taohua Village Ultimate Management Regulations I drafted."

The village chief, seated inside, scrambled to grab a sheet of paper resting atop a coffin and hurried to Chu Xingchen’s side.

Chu Xingchen gave a slight nod. "Read it."

The village chief took a deep breath and began:

"Management Regulations:

"One: All forms of fighting, assault, theft, verbal abuse, and any behavior deemed to have negative value are strictly prohibited."

"Two: Full resumption of production begins immediately. All collapsed or damaged houses must be rebuilt. All pollution must be cleaned. Laziness and slacking are forbidden."

"Three: Absolute obedience to all orders from the highest authority. Questioning or slandering the authorities is prohibited."

"Four: Obedience is mandatory. Any act of defiance will be treated as the gravest crime."

Once finished, the village chief retreated behind Chu Xingchen.

Chu Xingchen clapped lightly. "You’ve lived too loosely, forgotten how to be human. But don’t worry—I’ll teach you again!"

Pausing, he turned his gaze to the tavern owner.

"I’m willing to treat you as people—but only if you choose to act like them."

"As for those who refuse… don’t blame me for treating you accordingly."

With that, the hanging tavern owner was dropped into the boiling oil.

Smoke and steam erupted as the man thrashed violently, his screams piercing the air.

But spiritual energy had already trapped him inside the cauldron.

No matter how he writhed, howled, or clawed at the scalding metal—

Chu Xingchen remained composed, pointing at the man in the oil.

"This one—a heartless monster. He broke villagers’ limbs, forced them to labor for him."

"I’ve heard many of you suffered under him. But now that I’m here, things will change!"

"Oppression exists? Then we topple it!"

"If you desire peace, stability, and happiness—I will be your strongest shield."

"If you crave evil, slaughter, and malice—I will be your worst nightmare."

"Taohua Village must change for the better! Haven’t you suffered enough, wallowing in filth?"

"Everything starts anew—until you live in a world you’re satisfied with!"

With each word, the tavern owner’s struggles weakened.

By the time Chu Xingchen finished speaking, the oil had turned a deep, bloody red.

Pointing at the cauldron, Chu Xingchen said calmly:

"Now—tell me your choice."

After a brief silence, one of the zombies suddenly roared:

"Kill you! Kill you!"

"Rip out your heart! Rip out your heart!"

Li Yingling instinctively moved to draw her sword, but Yuan Kong stopped her.

"They’re saying—"

"What they say doesn’t matter," Chu Xingchen interrupted. "Now, all who choose to be human—gather at the village entrance! Start by cleaning up the nearest ruined houses. Rebuild everything!"

"Those who refuse—jump into this cauldron now and keep its contents company."

The village chief gaped at Chu Xingchen.

If you put it that way… who in their right mind wouldn’t choose to be human?