As night fell, the green-eyed zombie emerged from the sea right on schedule. By now, Qiao’er no longer found this startling. She quickly helped it wipe away the seaweed clinging to its body and changed it into clean clothes.
It intended to head to the docks for work, and the red-eyed zombie crawled up as well, trotting along behind the green-eyed zombie with eager persistence.
Qiao’er hurried to stop it. Perhaps because its cultivation was still low, although its joints could bend, its movements were somewhat bizarre. Having spent the day playing in unknown reaches of the seabed, it was covered in far more moss and algae than the green-eyed zombie. Its entire body looked like a humanoid plant, a truly ghastly sight.
Qiao’er caught it, intending to give it a good scrubbing as well. Unexpectedly, this provoked the green-eyed zombie’s temper; it lunged forward and drove the red-eyed one away with a flurry of punches and kicks.
The green-eyed zombie originally hadn't intended to take Qiao’er to work, but with the other one lurking about, it didn't feel safe leaving her behind. Thus, it carried her out as usual.
The red-eyed zombie followed from a distance. The docks were crowded, so it didn't dare show its face, hiding in the shadows to peer out.
Because it had tasted Qiao’er’s blood, its aura was not as pure as the green-eyed zombie’s, making it particularly prone to attracting the attention of righteous cultivators. Furthermore, its cultivation was shallow, and it could not yet control its aura at will. Even at night, it was frequently discovered by those hunting the supernatural.
In the past, it would simply flee in all directions. Now that it was following the green-eyed zombie, it had learned to huddle close to its companion whenever danger appeared.
Since the green-eyed zombie’s spiritual power was vastly superior, the Taoists suspected it was an accomplice. They would become incredibly tense, not daring to be careless, and naturally shifted their full firepower onto the stronger zombie.
Qiao’er witnessed the green-eyed zombie hoisting the red-eyed one up by its collar countless times, roaring right into its face. She couldn't understand its language, but the general translation likely went something like this: *“Damn it! If you don't want to die, then cultivate properly! If you want to die, don't drag me down with you! You went out to play again today, didn't you?! Didn't you?! You went out yesterday too, right?! Right?! My wounds from yesterday haven't even healed yet! Would it kill you to stop playing for one day?! Would it?! Would it?!”*
Thus, this story teaches us—a lazy, play-loving zombie is truly unbearable!
That night, the two zombies and the girl were once again ambushed. The opponents initially aimed to hunt the red-eyed zombie, only discovering the green-eyed one later. Consequently, the two zombies managed to win quite easily.
The Taoist fled with injuries.
The green-eyed zombie happily carried Qiao’er back, but she was filled with worry. The enemy had been repelled this time, but she feared they would return better prepared. Winning again would be much harder.
However, she didn't know how to tell the green-eyed zombie—she certainly couldn't teach it to "silence the witnesses" by killing them, could she?
She couldn't quite describe her feelings. As a human, she really shouldn't be worrying about a zombie. When does a mouse ever worry for a snake?
Yet, she was deeply unwilling to see the green-eyed zombie captured or hunted by those righteous defenders. Perhaps humans were simply creatures ruled by emotion, forever mired in self-contradiction.
After much thought, she finally wrote in the green-eyed zombie’s palm, telling it that the Taoists might return fully prepared and urging it to be careful.
It pondered for a moment, then patted her calf—a gesture of reassurance.
Back at the cabin, the green-eyed zombie habitually fetched water and chopped wood, then caught some plump fish and shrimp to keep in the water vat. It had carried this vat back itself so that Qiao’er could store more fresh water.
Finally, Qiao’er brought out the clothes she had sewn for it to try on, noting down areas that needed adjustment. It made an effort to stand still, cooperating with the fitting.
In truth, it didn't like these fabrics. When it traversed jungles and mountain streams, they would only snag on branches and vines, becoming an obstacle.
But it wore them nonetheless. It had worked at the docks for some time now and knew these were "shame-coverings" for humans; one would be looked down upon if they didn't wear them.
But what "shame" did this cloth actually cover?
It felt, rather dismissively, that humans were perhaps no wiser than monsters—they were simply more hypocritical.
After the fitting, it held Qiao’er and slept in the coffin for a while. Once she was sound asleep and dawn was approaching, it rose slowly, tiptoeing out of the house and closing the door softly.
When it was present, it forbade the red-eyed zombie from entering the house. It regarded the small wooden cabin as its own burial mound—a zombie’s absolute territory where no others of its kind were permitted.
The red-eyed zombie, however, lacked any sense of propriety. It was constantly poking its head around, trying to see what secrets lay within this strange "burial mound."
It was frequently beaten for this, yet it never seemed to learn its lesson.
Days passed in peaceful warmth, and before they knew it, spring arrived with a slow, lingering step.
Qiao’er usually woke near noon. Realizing she had plenty of free time during the day, she planned to buy some poultry to raise, hoping to earn a bit of pocket money. When she wrote this idea to the green-eyed zombie, it gave no immediate reaction. However, the following night, it finished work early and used wooden planks and palm bark to build a livestock shed next to the cabin.
It worked busily for three consecutive nights. Qiao’er felt quite guilty; her intention was to earn a little money so it wouldn't have to work at the docks every day, perhaps allowing it more time to focus on its cultivation. Other than that, she didn't know what else she could do for it.
In reality, it didn't seem to care what she did; it simply did its utmost to fulfill her wishes.
And so, flocks of chickens and ducks could often be seen outside the cabin. In those days, the population was sparse, and even thieves were rare.
Thus, Qiao’er didn't watch them constantly, letting them forage on the outer beach and occasionally feeding them millet or other coarse grains.
Raising chickens proved quite convenient for the green-eyed zombie. When it rested in the coffin with Qiao’er, it no longer had to constantly monitor the sky; it only needed to listen for the rooster's crow.
Later, Qiao’er noticed that the locals mostly grew watermelons, so she cleared a small patch of land on the hillside near the cabin, preparing to sow seeds when the spring rains arrived.
When the first spring rain finally descended, the thing Qiao’er had been dreading finally happened. Upon hearing news of a "Flying Zombie" in the area, Cuiwei Mountain took the matter very seriously. They immediately dispatched a team of disciples to eliminate the demon. The leader was the Sect Leader’s first disciple, Fan Shaojing.
The two sides clashed in the small woods near the fishing village. Qiao’er had been with the green-eyed zombie for a long time and had seen many of its battles with other creatures, but none had ever been this brutal.
Qiao’er didn't recognize the sword in Fan Shaojing’s hand, but the green-eyed zombie was extremely wary of it. Though its body was now an "Indestructible Vajra" form, the blade left charred, black marks wherever it struck.
The light in the forest was dim. A jagged moon flickered in and out behind thick clouds, and the deep blue night was thick with mist.
Qiao’er could only see ink-lines and paper talismans emitting brilliant golden light upon the zombie's body before instantly dissolving. Her heart raced with panic; she wanted to write to it but feared distracting it.
Eventually, the red-eyed zombie began to howl in terror. She finally couldn't help but tell it to leave, to go back to the sea.
It didn't even have time to respond, carrying her as it dodged and leaped through a barrage of charms. As they neared the northern gate of the formation, the talismans began to glow with an intense golden light. Qiao’er suddenly reached out and actually tore a talisman down. The moment the banner-sized charm touched her hand, it shrank into a yellow paper slip half a palm wide.
She crumpled the paper and threw it far away. With its incredible speed, the green-eyed zombie seized the opportunity to burst out of the formation, fleeing through the air.
Fan Shaojing failed to catch it. The red-eyed zombie was also fast enough when fleeing for its life and soon caught up. They ran for an unknown amount of time until even the red-eyed zombie was left behind. Finally, the green-eyed zombie grew tired.
Its exhaustion was not physical—its body had long forgotten the meaning of fatigue—but rather, its spiritual energy was depleted.
It lay spread-eagled in a hidden spot at the bottom of a valley. Qiao’er sat beside it. It was too dark to see its injuries clearly, and she didn't know how to care for it.
She felt a deep sense of guilt; at the critical moment, she could never do anything to help.
She pressed her face against its chest. It reached out with agonizing slowness to stroke her hair. The valley was silent, save for the occasional night breeze rustling through the weeds.
The moon hung like a silver hook in the deep blue canopy. The world was so quiet it felt as though no other life existed.
Following this heavy blow, the green-eyed zombie did not go to work at the docks for five nights. It spent the vast majority of its time at the bottom of the sea, only coming out late at night to sleep with Qiao’er for a while, leaving as soon as she was sound asleep.
The charred marks faded miraculously, leaving no trace upon its body. Yet Qiao’er repeatedly relived the scene in the woods in her dreams. The dreams always ended with a sword piercing its heart, leaving her waking with a lingering palpitation.
The red-eyed zombie was also genuinely well-behaved for a while. It seemed frightened by the narrow escape and wanted to turn over a new leaf and be a "reformed" zombie. On the first day, it restrained itself and went nowhere, obediently absorbing spiritual energy at the bottom of the sea for over a dozen hours. On the second day, it absorbed energy for ten hours before playing for a little bit. On the third day, it absorbed energy for five hours. On the fourth day, it absorbed energy for two hours. On the fifth day... everything returned to normal, and it resumed its idle, wandering ways.
***
