The Peculiarities of the Valley

Upon waking, Huo Ze instinctively reached for his back, then sat up alertly.

His gun was gone, his body temperature had dropped, but his head was still spinning.

Huo Ze instinctively pinched his thigh, forcing his protesting brain to quickly clear.

Only then did he realize he was in an unfamiliar room, decorated in an ancient style, with intricately carved patterns on the rosewood bedside cabinet.

At first glance, Huo Ze almost thought he had transmigrated.

His clothes were still what he wore when he left home, but they were unbelievably clean... The dirt from rolling down the mountain, falling into the stream, and tumbling on sand and rocks had all vanished, leaving no trace of blood.

In fact, they were so clean that he almost felt as if he wasn't wearing clothes.

Even his underwear was the same.

Huo Ze stroked the pristine bullet hole on his shirt, feeling the unusually light and agile sensation of his body, his expression couldn't help but be a little strange.

The room door was guarded by two puppies.

The Golden Retriever, seeing Huo Ze wake up, enthusiastically wagged its tail and ran over, circling the edge of the bed.

He tried stroking its chin, then turned to look at the chubby white dog, round like a rubber ball.

Less than a few seconds later, a clearly mutated rooster burst through the door, its bloodshot eyes staring at Huo Ze, seemingly coveting something, but then quickly and inexplicably retreated.

...What kind of house is this?

Huo Ze turned his head to look at the mountain scenery outside the carved wooden window, quickly recalling his experiences in his previous life, but still couldn't figure out the reason.

This valley, apart from the poachers, should have no other inhabitants. In his previous life, he had led a team here to take shelter for a while and was very familiar with the place.

Everything here was strange, yet it made Huo Ze feel very calm and comfortable, as if just breathing a few more times would make the wound on his abdomen heal quickly.

He was slightly worried that he was hallucinating.

Overthinking was useless. Huo Ze, filled with suspicion and vigilance, put on his excessively clean sneakers and followed the enthusiastic Golden Retriever towards the front courtyard.

This was a three-section courtyard house, and Huo Ze was placed in the innermost room of the back courtyard.

Ancient and aesthetically pleasing. If not for the brand-new furniture, Huo Ze would have almost suspected he had transmigrated.

He walked very quickly, his footsteps silent. Despite the wound on his abdomen, he could still keep up with the puppy's pace, but he froze for a few seconds upon entering the main hall.

Ye Xing Zhi was brewing tea. Hearing the sound, he didn't look up, slowly pouring the golden tea from the pot.

Hot steam rose, and he was like a Cultivator who didn't belong to this world, his demeanor calm and harmless. His shoulder-length hair cascaded down his back, and his fair, slender hands slowly stroked the porcelain tea set.

Huo Ze instinctively tensed up.

The moment they met, Ye Xing Zhi gave him a dangerous, needle-like sensation, but it immediately vanished completely, with no fluctuations of Ability, only infinite calm.

This calm made his mind a little clearer. He looked at Ye Xing Zhi and suddenly recognized a vague sense of familiarity.

Huo Ze's memory was not bad; he quickly recalled seeing Ye Xing Zhi's face in a movie theater in his previous life.

It seemed he had even had close contact with this person, but he couldn't remember exactly when.

He only knew that Ye Xing Zhi was clearly a movie actor... So why was he here?

Huo Ze found that he couldn't raise his guard in front of this man, which in itself was a very dangerous thing.

The faint scent of tea wafted around his nose. His thoughts completely lost control, and he stood dumbfounded at the door for a long time, unable to speak.

Coincidentally, Ye Xing Zhi also didn't know what to say. His mood was even stranger than Huo Ze's. He just kept his head down, brewing tea without a word, making the atmosphere gradually awkward.

Finally, Huo Ze was the one to break the silence.

He cleared his throat and softly said, "Did you save me, Sir? Thank you."

A person under another's roof cannot but bow their head; he even used the honorific "Sir."

Ye Xing Zhi tightly clenched his inexplicably warming palm, thinking of the customs of this world, then slowly opened his mouth: "No need to be polite. You still have a fever; go back and rest."

"Truly, thank you very much, Sir," Huo Ze repeated seriously, his attitude good, even a little constrained, "Thank you for letting me stay for a while; I will recover quickly."

Hearing this, Ye Xing Zhi looked up at him.

Huo Ze was only nineteen years old now.

His lips were still pale, but his face was unusually flushed from the fever. His black hair obediently fell across his forehead, and his long eyelashes lowered slightly when Ye Xing Zhi looked over, concealing his gloomy eyes, making him look particularly innocent, obedient, and utterly weak.

Like a young man who had not yet experienced the world, encountering a great calamity, a little embarrassed to accept help from others, very polite.

But Huo Ze did not mention the missing gun.

Ye Xing Zhi seemed to be pondering something, unconsciously evaluating his long, thick eyelashes. After a long moment, he slowly said, "The kitchen is in the southeast corner of the courtyard. There's a gas stove; make whatever you want to eat. If you want to kill a chicken, remember to call me."

After all, Ye Xing Zhi truly didn't know how to cook; at most, he could make porridge, which almost killed his dog. These ingredients wouldn't be wasted on Huo Ze; letting him eat his fill and regain his strength would allow him to continue contributing to humanity's future.

Incidentally, it would also allow him to thoroughly investigate whether Huo Ze was hiding any secrets.

As for the "fated wife" that the Heavenly Dao mentioned, Ye Xing Zhi indicated he didn't want to think about it.

Huo Ze froze for a moment, then obediently nodded, repeated his thanks, and followed the Golden Retriever back to his room.

Meanwhile, Ye Xing Zhi stared at his straight back, then suddenly curled his lips meaningfully.

This protagonist must be very good at assessing the situation.

*

Back in the room.

An warm cup of water had appeared on the bedside cabinet at some point. Before Huo Ze left, there was clearly nothing there.

Huo Ze didn't think anyone else lived in this building.

His pupils contracted slightly. Remembering the needle-like gaze that had pierced him earlier, he almost without hesitation picked up the cup and drank more than half of it.

A pleasant warmth spread through his stomach.

This wasn't because Huo Ze acted rashly, but rather... his instinct for self-preservation in a tense situation.

—Try not to do anything that would anger Ye Xing Zhi. This person is very strange, Huo Ze repeatedly warned himself.

He couldn't discern any emotions from Ye Xing Zhi's expressionless face, but if Ye Xing Zhi had wanted to do something to him, he would have done it when he was unconscious.

But at least for now, this mysterious person seemed quite friendly towards him, and furthermore, didn't seem to care about being discovered for anything unusual.

Could Ye Xing Zhi also be reborn? Thinking of this, Huo Ze's expression grew a few shades more serious.

If that were the case, then hiding in this valley first could also be explained. Zombies hadn't yet learned to climb mountains and cross streams; this decision was indeed very wise.

The more Huo Ze thought, the more his head ached. He had no choice but to lie back down and rest.

He was reborn the day before the Apocalypse, the time was too short, and many things hadn't been prepared. The sudden change in his travel route was indeed a bit impulsive, and he ran into poachers who had been hungry for days in the valley.

He struggled to fight off the fever to deal with those poachers, only to fall into Ye Xing Zhi's hands. His body, already weakened after being soaked in water, continued to suffer from a persistent high fever. He had no right to negotiate with others.

Both lucky and unlucky.

Huo Ze had confirmed a very important matter, but he was not yet completely free.

In front of Ye Xing Zhi, perhaps he could only wait until his fever subsided and he gained his Abilities before he could gain more initiative.

His current predicament forced Huo Ze to remain highly vigilant. He absolutely could not let his rebirth give him an advantage, then relax his guard at any time... Except for this moment.

He closed his eyes, falling asleep to the enthusiastic panting of the Golden Retriever.

This sleep was surprisingly good.

The high sun slowly moved from east to west, and dusk gradually fell, but Ye Xing Zhi still hadn't left his seat by half a step.

Today, he had spent the entire day immersed in cultivation, not worrying that Huo Ze would wake up hungry or that his wound would worsen.

Last night, after bringing the man home, Ye Xing Zhi had cast the Purification Art three times on the weakened protagonist, used Spiritual Power to extract the bullet from his abdomen, and even gave him a Grain Abstinence Pill.