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Xu Zimei glanced at the old man and saw that his body was stiff, his skin taut, and very cold to the touch.
Clearly, he looked like a dead person.
But there was still a faint breath from his mouth.
Xu Zimei frowned slightly, this state reminded him of some situations.
"Big brother, please take a seat, I’ll go and prepare grandpa’s medicine," the little girl said with a smile.
Watching the little girl’s retreating figure, Xu Zimei surveyed the room.
But he couldn’t figure anything out.
So he decided to look around the area.
Stepping out of the main door, the neighborhood looked even more like a slum.
The buildings here were all dilapidated.
They were the kind that might collapse at any moment.
Xu Zimei had only walked a few steps when he heard crying from the courtyard next door.
A crowd had gathered in the small courtyard, seemingly discussing something.
Xu Zimei squeezed through the crowd to get inside.
He saw a woman in the center holding a child and crying bitterly.
The child’s body was pale, utterly devoid of any trace of blood.
He was unmistakably dead beyond any doubt.
Xu Zimei furrowed his brows again; there seemed to be something eerie about this slum!
He squatted down slightly and said to the woman, "May I look at the child?"
The woman gave Xu Zimei a wary glance but, after a brief pause, still laid the child on the ground.
Xu Zimei looked over the child and lifted up the clothes on his back.
There were five small holes on the back.
It was as if someone had forcefully inserted five fingers in.
There was no blood left inside.
"Has the killer been caught?" Xu Zimei asked, looking at the woman.
"No," the woman quickly shook her head.
She replied, "I have already consulted a doctor, and he said that the child’s blood had been drained, and he could no longer live."
Xu Zimei fell silent for a while.
Someone nearby spoke up, "It seems a monster’s misdeed, if this continues, we’ll all have to move away from here."
"Do things like this happen often here?" Xu Zimei asked, puzzled.
"Not really, it was usually peaceful before,"
someone explained, "But recently, there have been frequent murders.
The victims are left in a frightful state, and their blood drained."
"Doesn’t the City Lord Mansion care?" Xu Zimei asked curiously.
"They did at the beginning, deploying a large number of troops here," the person said with a shake of the head and a sigh.
"Unfortunately, it was to no avail; people still died one after another.
And then it was left at that."
"This is getting interesting," Xu Zimei commented with interest, nodding his head.
After leaving the courtyard, Xu Zimei returned to the little girl’s home.
The little girl had already prepared the medicine and was feeding it to her grandfather.
And Xu Zimei now knew her name, Guo Xiaoyun.
"How did you come to know Lu Zesong?" Xu Zimei pulled up a chair and sat down next to her, asking.
"I was born on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month," Guo Xiaoyun paused before finally responding.
Xu Zimei also immediately understood.
Recently, the City of Fearlessness was abuzz with the heir looking for adopted sons and daughters.
It was common knowledge!
"Before, when grandpa was sick, I thought if I were chosen, I could afford to buy medicine."
Guo Xiaoyun continued to explain.
"Unfortunately, the people from the City Lord Mansion told me, it would be a month before all those who accepted the inheritance could gather together.
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"Only by choosing one among us."
"You met Lu Zesong at that time too, didn’t you?" Xu Zimei nodded slightly.
"Actually, I only saw him once. I didn’t expect him to remember me," Guo Xiaoyun replied, somewhat surprised herself.
"Alright, your area has been unsafe recently. Be careful," Xu Zimei waved his hand and responded.
"Big brother, why don’t you stay at my house tonight?" Guo Xiaoyun looked at Xu Zimei with hopeful eyes and said.
Xu Zimei initially wanted to refuse, but after glancing at the elderly man lying on the bed, he eventually nodded and agreed.
Guo Xiaoyun immediately beamed with joy and hurried off to prepare a bedroom for Xu Zimei to rest in.
...
The night was enchanting, with the warm winter winds wreaking their last havoc.
The season of early spring was already hinting at its arrival.
As night gradually fell, due to the recent spate of strange events,
people had already returned to their rooms just as dusk began to settle, opting not to go out anymore.
Xu Zimei lay alone on the bed in the room.
The silent solitude and darkness of the night enveloped the place.
In the dead of night, he heard a series of footsteps.
The footsteps were quite heavy, advancing slowly in the direction of his room.
"It seems that indeed someone is up to mischief!" Xu Zimei snorted coldly.
With a "creak,"
he heard the door open gently, while he was lying on the bed.
He could feel someone slowly walking step by step towards his bedside.
The bright moonlight cast the figure’s shadow on the wall.
Suddenly, there was a "whoosh."
A gust of wind came rushing in, sending a blast of air straight at Xu Zimei’s head.
"Bang bang," two sounds echoed.
The dark figure struck Xu Zimei, but the blows were blocked by Tyrant Shadow.
Xu Zimei instantly jumped up from the bed and turned around to look at the figure before him.
Under the bright moonlight, the dark figure stared emotionlessly at Xu Zimei.
Its eyes seemed devoid of any sentiment.
"I should have thought of this earlier," Xu Zimei murmured.
The shadow in front of him was none other than Guo Xiaoyun’s grandfather, who was seriously ill.
But now, the old man had not a trace of human appearance left.
His skin was covered with black stripes.
Veins were bulging on his body, and he growled deeply.
His visage was extremely fierce and terrifying.
"Ever since I entered, I found it strange; how could someone who should be long dead still have a breath of life," Xu Zimei said.
"It seems you’ve already become a walking corpse."
The old man roared, his mouth full of thick saliva, as he frantically attacked Xu Zimei.
Xu Zimei was too lazy for trouble and allowed Tyrant Shadow to fall from the sky.
Endless momentum was gathering, pinning the old man directly under the blade.
No matter how much the old man struggled, it was of no use.
At this moment, Guo Xiaoyun from the room beside also heard the commotion and hurried over.
"Grandpa," she screamed in an instant, looking at the scene before her in disbelief.
"Big brother, my grandpa woke up," Guo Xiaoyun looked at Xu Zimei and asked hastily.
"Your grandpa has long been dead, turned into a walking corpse by someone," Xu Zimei paused for a moment before finally stating.
"Lately, this place has had frequent deaths because it has drained those people of their blood."
Guo Xiaoyun collapsed to the ground, unable to believe what she was seeing, staring at the familiar yet strange old man before her.
The old man seemed to struggle to a certain extent.
Suddenly, he roared and his body unexpectedly swelled without warning.
Following that, the skin on his back split open, and a very fat worm burrowed out from his insides.
