Chapter 39: A Heart Turned to Ashes

Before dawn, Qiu Zhenhu was wheeled out of the operating room. The three siblings of the Qiu family hurried to stabilize the company situation, leaving only Su Meiqi in the hospital room.

She sat by the bedside, watching Qiu Zhenhu glare at her in anger, unable to suppress a smile.

“You can’t blame me. All these years I lived a life worse than death, yet I never wronged you in the slightest…”

...

“So that’s how it is!” Ye Tian finally understood. Over time, the head of the prominent Pan family in Yanzhou, Pan Qingyang, would arrive here every year, and the surrounding fishermen knew the pattern, as did the townspeople of Yanzhou. In fact, Ye Tian and his companions had disturbed others today.

Nie Jing’s anger subsided somewhat, especially since Zhou Qian had never been so humble before her.

The handle of that samurai sword was peculiar, shaped like a strange serpent. The snake had eight magpie heads, each with a different expression, all menacingly flicking their tongues as if ready to devour an enemy.

Zheng Ze forced a bitter smile and nodded. “Tian’er has grown up and has his own opinions. This is a good thing, and as a father, I have no reason to refuse.” As Zheng Ze spoke, the sigh and emotion on his face still lingered.

It was a small pond, about ten meters square, with only sparse tufts of weeds by its bare banks, and not a single tree casting a shadow. The dark green water’s surface was still, the pond water slightly turbid, thick with scattered floating plants.

He stepped forward and gently reached out, catching Li Sisi, who seemed to return home like a fledgling swallow.

Shen Feifei dared not reveal too much over the phone, but her longing for her family overcame her caution. In times like this, just hearing their voices was enough. At least, she’d confirmed that Shen Father and Shen Mother were safe, which gave her peace of mind.

“What happened earlier? You looked so anxious.” Yan Bo’s voice was crisp, tinged with delight.

The information provided by Old Xu was just knowledge, unable to be applied in practice—mere dead facts. Because of that, Wang Hao and Jiang Jun missed their chance this time.

Now, they could either retreat back to the base, or press forward in one go and capture that high-level zombie.

“Hong Taiyang, where are you going?” Hong Taiyang glanced at Zheng Chen several times, then turned and strode into the forest.

Between them sat a chessboard—not the popular game of Go, but Chinese chess.

From Zheng Chuchu’s words, Zheng Chen caught the subtlety and immediately understood her current situation.

“You—” Brother Wu’s face flushed red as he collapsed to the ground, clutching his crotch with one hand and pointing at Qin Fen with the other, stifling his voice.

Qin Yu thought it over and decided to ask, even though Wu Yuansheng didn’t know. That didn’t mean it didn’t exist, especially since the wager seemed genuine.

3. Warfare is the way of deception: show capability as incapability, use force as if unused, present closeness as distance, and distance as closeness.

Wu Long, who had been charging forward, suddenly stopped, his body tense with alertness as he gazed toward the forest.

“Come, Xian’er, let’s ignore this scoundrel and play Five-in-a-Row with your princess.” Chu Lin’er finished, pulled out her phone, and eagerly dragged Xian’er away.

It was a pity. The leader of the Tianyuan Sect was far too naïve—even if he brought seventy or eighty people, or all the disciples of his sect, today’s outcome would not change.

All these years, he seemed as good as dead, vanished without a trace. Relying on the family’s meager plot of land, who knew if it could feed everyone? His blind mother couldn’t do much, and who could say if anyone bullied her?

Only now did Ye Feiyang truly feel free. If he’d been imprisoned, the consequences would have been unimaginable. Not only would he lose his position as anchor, even the radio station would have been out of reach.