93: Chapter 90: Desperation!

93: Chapter 90: Desperation!

Thud, thud!

“They’ve arrived, they’ve arrived!” In a unique little courtyard, a well-dressed woman who was elegant but not extravagant hurried to the front door.

She peered through the peephole before quickly opening the door, “Master, weren’t you at the County Magistrate’s banquet?

How come you have returned so soon?”

“Shh…” The Master who had returned was pale, his face showing terror, “Are the children all at home?”

“They are…” Upon seeing her husband’s fearful expression, the woman realized something terrible must have happened.

She quickly nodded but then seemed to remember something, “No, no, the eldest’s child is still at the academy.

Isn’t there a minor exam the day after tomorrow?

He arranged to study with some classmates and informed me, so I allowed it!”

“This…

This…

Alas!” The Master instantly hung his head and stamped his foot in frustration.

The eldest grandson was eleven years old, extremely gifted in his studies and diligent despite his young age.

He was set to take the child prodigy exam next year at the latest.

He was the Master’s most beloved grandson, and he was always exceedingly satisfied with the boy’s diligence and sensibility.

But today, he felt nothing but regret.

Why did the boy have to be so diligent?

“Master?

Has something happened?”

“Disaster, a great disaster!” The Master appeared panicked but still lowered his voice, “Hurry, gather the children and daughters-in-law together, hide in the cellar, remember to stay quiet inside, don’t make a sound.

No matter what you hear outside, do not come out!”

“Master…” The woman was immediately frightened, “What in the world happened?”

“Don’t ask, just go, or we shall all perish!”

Without daring to ask any more questions, the woman hurried to call the other children, but when she saw her husband running out, she anxiously said, “Master, where are you going?”

“To find the grandson, you hurry, don’t delay!” After the Master left the house, he carefully closed the front door behind him.

Once he was on the street, he could already hear the chaos in the distance: panicked shouts and agonizing screams, mixed with the cries of wild beasts and the ghastly sound of tearing flesh, which made him hurry towards the academy.

But after all, age had caught up with him, and he hadn’t gone far before he was gasping for breath.

Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder, which scared him so much he nearly punched back in fear!

“Ouch!”

A familiar voice cried out as a figure fell to the ground, clutching his face.

“Master Yang?” The old man paused, and upon regaining his senses, rushed to help the fallen man, “Why are you here?”

“I saw you all taking leave, and I also felt bored; besides, no one cared about a private tutor like me, so I quietly followed you out…” Master Yang said, holding his face, “You old thing, you really pack a punch!”

“Lucky you followed us out.” The old man said as he helped the other up.

“Isn’t it?” Master Yang shuddered when he recalled what he saw emerging from the river after leaving the tavern, “I’m glad none of the masters panicked and made a noise, or we might have ended up in the same dire straits as those pleasure-seekers along the river.”

It was a dimly lit night, but by the light of the tavern, he could see clearly — those people died such horrendous deaths, their intestines ripped out while still alive.

The mere thought of it made his legs weak now!

“Are you also headed to the academy to save the children?”

Master Yang nodded, “After instructing my family to hide, I found out that your grandson and my little grandson were both at the academy, so I immediately came out.

Where are the other scholars?”

“I don’t know…” The old man shook his head, “I checked a moment ago; South Street is far from the river, it might be safer.

North Street and West Street are likely to suffer first.

I fear for Master Wang, Master Li and the others…

alas.”

“When we left, the County Magistrates seemed to be still at the tavern,” Master Yang suddenly remembered.

“What’s the use worrying about those useless officials?” The old man angrily hissed, then whispered resentfully, “This bunch of incompetents do nothing worthwhile all day.

If they had paid the slightest attention to the Prefectural Governor’s warning letter, how could it have come to this?

Luling County has totally fallen to this calamity; they have innumerable deaths on their conscience!”

Master Yang fell silent upon hearing this.

Indeed, it was hard to believe the contents of the Prefectural Governor’s letter, not because of disbelief in demons and ghosts, but the idea of tens of thousands of zombies invading was far-fetched.

After all, the West Sea’s standing fleet of a hundred thousand and tens of thousands of elite troops in Jiangnan, how was it possible that they’d let so many monsters through?

If that were the case, the world would have been in chaos long ago!

And there’s the name of the Prefectural Governor…

Chen Qing…

Could it be the Chen Qing I taught myself?

———————————————–

At this time, as the old Master mentioned, West Street and North Street along the river were the first to be attacked.

Those two streets, bustling with traders, became lively at night.

Countless families strolling with children, along with friends hanging out, were suddenly pounced upon by the emerging zombies.

Blood was shed, bodies torn apart regardless of age or gender, all subjected to the most ruthless and primitive slaughter.

The screams of women and the cries of children couldn’t stir the slightest pity, turning it into a true inferno on earth.

At this time, those officials who should have been responsible for the safety of the entire county, were quickly fleeing the chaotic scene while the living corpses were distracted, it was hard to imagine how a group of frail scholars could escape from the restaurant closest to the river.

Everyone was now following Lyu Yiqi with caution, including Gu Beiquan, who once looked down upon Lyu Yiqi the most, but now he was carefully following him.

It could almost be said that wherever Lyu Yiqi said to go, they would go, heeding his commands!

If Chen Qing saw this, he would definitely find it strange; after all, how proud was Gu Dazhuangyuan?

In fact, it was so at the very beginning, not to mention Gu Beiquan; even those who were one rank lower than Lyu Yiqi, the ninth-grade registrars, didn’t think much of him, and wouldn’t listen to him during such a crisis, until just now…

after witnessing his ruthless methods with their own eyes!

That was a quarter of an hour ago, when the living corpses had just landed.

They were initially attracted to the riverside restaurants, doomed to be inescapable.

But Lyu Yiqi called over two unsuspecting serving women from the restaurant and pushed them down before the living corpses slowly surrounded them.

The two frail women fell from the third floor, instantly becoming a bloody mess with continuous shrieks, but this also attracted the attention of the living corpses.

The commotion quickly drew the attention of everyone in the restaurant; while other guests were still looking downstairs, he quickly motioned his group to retreat.

His methods could be described as both despicable and ruthless, but because of them, everyone, including Gu Beiquan, was extremely fearful of him.

Clearly no one had suspected that this man, who liked to posture on a normal day, could actually be such a ruthless figure!

Just like that, a group of precocious officials, frantically escaped into the crowd, fully aware of the disaster behind them yet none willing to raise the alarm.

Obviously, they all understood that the more chaotic the situation, the less likely it was to escape; they had to flee the bustling urban area before everyone else caught on, that was the only chance to save themselves!

As for the lives and deaths of those commoners…

everyone chose to forget that detail.

————————————

“Master Miao, Master Ye, are you also here?”

“Master Zhang, Master Yang?”

In the academy, an elder scholar hurriedly led a group of students preparing to leave and spotted his grandson, his heart filled with joy as he quickly approached.

The little grandson, obviously scared, clung to his grandfather.

“We just arrived too,” the two leading scholars hurriedly said: “What’s the situation like outside?”

“It’s bad!” Master Yang hurriedly shook his head: “When I was coming over, some of those monsters that eat people had already spread to South Street.

By this time, I’m afraid South Street has already fallen, and it’s not safe to take the children back.”

“What…

what shall we do?” Upon hearing this, the two scholars instantly became as anxious as ants on a hot pan.

Their relatives were also on South Street, and although they had instructed them to hide in the cellar, how could they not worry?

Meanwhile, screams were already coming from outside.

Men, women, children’s cries, followed by children’s shrieks–just listening was enough to make their skin crawl.

Master Yang, being braver, quickly climbed a tree within the courtyard to look outside, but after only one glance, he hastily tumbled down from the tree.

“Be careful!” A group of people quickly went forward to help him.

Master Yang had fallen from the tree in pain, grimacing yet not daring to make a sound, he gasped in a low voice: “Living corpses are everywhere, there’s no way out!”

“This…” A group of teenagers, frightened, turned pale, and the scholars also wore expressions of despair.

In Luling County, where the people were simple and kind-hearted, it wasn’t exactly a place where one could leave their doors unlocked at night, but the majority were good, decent folks; how could the heavens be so cruel to subject these innocents to such a calamity?

“Let’s go, get inside and hide quickly, don’t attract attention!” One of the scholars was the first to regain composure and spoke calmly.

But just as they were about to lead everyone inside, they turned around and saw an extremely horrifying scene!

Under the moonlight, unbeknownst to them, a woman stood behind them, in white, her skin so pale it was whiter than her clothes, her blood-red eyes bulging like a goldfish, black blood oozing out of her mouth.

Looking at the group like she had seen the most delicious meat…

Several scholars retreated in fright, but only Master Yang’s eyes flashed with determination, seeing that there was only one monster, and he had brought a weapon with him when he left home.

Although he hadn’t practiced martial arts for many years, he had been a young knight once, and he felt he was not completely without a chance.

If he could kill her before the monster made a sound, without alerting the living corpses outside, there might still be a chance to hide with the children in the inner hall…

But before he had a chance to act, a few younger children behind him couldn’t help but scream in terror, at which Master Yang’s face turned white, immediately thinking, “This is bad!”

As he turned around, he was so frightened that the weapon in his hand fell to the ground!

Suddenly, pale, bloated faces had appeared over the courtyard wall, just like the woman’s, staring dead at them!!