Naming

Ye Hangzhi rarely raised his voice, causing Huo Ze’s body to tense instinctively as he carefully observed the other's expression. In reality, Ye Hangzhi only gnashed his teeth for a moment and did not perform any terrifying actions toward him. He certainly didn't call that mutated Marshal Ji over to peck him apart.

"The golden one shall be called Jin Wu, and the white one shall be called Yu Long," Ye Hangzhi decided directly. His spiritual pets had to possess an extraordinary aura. He flatly rejected Huo Ze’s suggestions and simultaneously made a serious decision to strip Huo Ze of the right to name anything ever again.

The two young spirit hounds were not very satisfied; they wanted to be called Xiao Jin and Da Bai. They circled Huo Ze’s pant legs, acting spoiled, but their protests were futile. Meanwhile, Huo Ze quietly breathed a sigh of relief. As he reached down to stroke the spirit hounds' heads, he earnestly agreed, "Sir is indeed a man of profound learning."

Hearing this, Ye Hangzhi slightly arched an eyebrow. Thinking of his fabricated identity in this world, he looked at Huo Ze and spoke leisurely, "I never went to university; you did." Huo Ze was nearly choked by the somewhat disdainful look in his eyes and silently turned his head away, saying nothing. Ye Hangzhi didn't mind, scooping another bowl of porridge and unhurriedly finishing Huo Ze’s mantou.

As Huo Ze looked down at the empty tray, he suddenly realized that his entire body was now completely relaxed. His hands unconsciously kneaded the fluffy spirit hounds, and his mind only thought about how fortunate it was that no food was wasted; he would go wash the dishes in a moment. Time passed slowly and peacefully.

The conversation from the previous night had been somewhat useful. Huo Ze felt that as long as he didn't cause further trouble or anger this eccentric person, he could try to test the limits of his freedom of movement. This was because Ye Hangzhi had given Huo Ze a miraculous feeling: living in this Hidden Valley, he seemingly didn't need to worry about anything anymore. Furthermore, as long as he wanted, he could live in such leisure forever. This strange sense of security made him give a bitter smile, yet he couldn't help but continue kneading the spirit hounds' backs and stroking their heads.

***

After talking for a while, the sun rose high, and the chilly air in the Hidden Valley gradually grew warm. Ye Hangzhi dismissed Huo Ze and returned to the inner chambers, but before leaving, he grabbed the exceptionally excited Marshal Ji.

This Marshal Ji also had a name—it was Marshal Ji. Compared to the adorable spirit hounds, Ye Hangzhi’s naming of the rooster was much more casual. He discovered that as Huo Ze’s body began to recover, Marshal Ji’s desire to devour him grew even more ravenous, almost becoming uncontrollable. Last night, it had even sneaked to the backyard, lingering in front of Huo Ze’s door. Therefore, Ye Hangzhi decided to give it a temporary lecture on its ideology.

Currently, Marshal Ji no longer possessed the majestic air it had this morning. It trembled, prostrating itself on the ground, not daring to move. Its smooth feathers were flattened, looking quite dejected. Speaking of which, Ye Hangzhi didn't understand why all poultry feared him so much. He always raised these potential spirit pets in an open-range manner and never performed any dangerous actions toward them.

However, at this point, Ye Hangzhi remained very calm. He was not someone good at scolding or lecturing; he simply chanted a mantra and pointed a finger, placing a soul imprint onto Marshal Ji’s soul to make future communication and control easier.

"You all have received my grace and drunk my water; you are not allowed to kill one another. Otherwise, tomorrow I will have Huo Ze stew you into chicken soup. Humans eat meat, and meat eats humans," Ye Hangzhi said in a sincere tone.

"Ak ak..."

Ye Hangzhi smiled with satisfaction. "Very good. Don't do it again in the future, understood?"

The pressure etched into its soul made the rooster nod frantically. It was so terrified that its beady red eyes almost turned black, and it wished it could kowtow to Ye Hangzhi on the ground several times.

At the same time.

Huo Ze lifted his clothes to check the injuries on his abdomen. His skin was fair, making the dark scars look even more gruesome, yet Huo Ze was very pleased. It was truly unimaginable that they could scab over so quickly.

After confirming his physical condition, Huo Ze pondered for a moment and decided to go for a run along the small creek. During the apocalypse, food and medicine were scarce, so maintaining health was of utmost importance. He wanted to use his free time to train more and quickly recover the strength of his previous life. After all, Huo Ze did not believe Ye Hangzhi would protect him forever, nor did he think he would stay here permanently.

He jogged while breathing in the fresh air, rarely feeling so joyful and relaxed. The scenery of this Hidden Valley was extremely beautiful, seemingly even greener and more vibrant than in the memories of his past life. Wild flowers and grasses grew thick along the creek bank, some shrubs reaching nearly to Huo Ze’s knees. The creek water was crystal clear, almost transparent, with fat fish swimming playfully, splashing water with their tails.

In the distance, a beautiful white swan glided proudly on the water’s surface from upstream to downstream. It suddenly dipped its head and fiercely swallowed a large fish, then raised its head high again, maintaining its elegant and haughty appearance. When its eyes met Huo Ze’s, the white swan’s gaze was filled with contempt for a lower life form.

This one... seemed to be another animal raised by Ye Hangzhi. Huo Ze’s face stiffened for a moment, and he decided to pretend he hadn't seen it. After finishing his run, he panted and used the cool creek water to wash his face. He sat on the grass to rest for ten minutes, then began doing push-ups on the spot.

His ears were filled with silence, leaving only the sound of his own breathing, the gurgling water, the waddling of chickens and ducks, and the buzzing of insects... Huo Ze suddenly stopped his movements, looked up at the sky, and then carefully observed the lush green foliage on the cliffs and the towering trees.

He suddenly realized that there were no birds here. Not a single species of bird, not even common sparrows! No wonder he had felt something unusual since last night; it was because he hadn't heard a single bird song. This Hidden Valley was vast; to drive away all wild birds was absolutely not something a mortal could achieve.

Huo Ze felt a slight chill down his spine, and his recently relaxed spirit tensed up again. He suddenly felt that his previous life had been shallow. Problems that seemed insurmountable might be nothing more than trivialities in front of Ye Hangzhi. Ye Hangzhi was either an ancient Daoist from a secluded clan or a possessor of a rare ability who could control exotic beasts. Huo Ze became even more certain of this deduction.

If Ye Hangzhi had been there when he went to save that family of three... Huo Ze closed his eyes. What was the use of regret now? He continued his push-ups, striving to perform each movement with the utmost precision. Sweat slowly trickled down from his cheeks, soaking into the grass and disappearing without a trace.