Having mended Xiao Shu’s injured hands, Xiao Shu’s impression of him had significantly improved from moments before. She drifted off, her thoughts snagged on the matters of Li Bingyu and Li Taiming, and before she knew it, Yuan Qi had effortlessly pulled her to her feet, and she followed him along. Behind them, Zhang Yuqiu bounced along, agitated and frantic, wishing she could seize Li Xiao Shu’s arm and wrestle him away from that living corpse. However, the instant he turned to look at her, she immediately snapped back into her submissive and docile appearance, grinning sheepishly as she trailed after them.

“My dear lady, for your own safety, I suggest you refrain from following,” Yuan Qi said deliberately, noticing how she refused to leave Xiao Shu’s side.

Suddenly hearing the living corpse address her, Zhang Yuqiu feigned melancholy. “Alas, if I were free to leave, I would have done so long ago. We are all servants, are we not? Since you know his status, you should surely understand why I must remain tethered to him.”

“Heh, I understand perfectly, but my companions might not. As you know, the forest is vast, and there’s every kind of bird within it. I hear that two more specters were devoured by the Ghoul Worms at the asylum—I wonder if that count is accurate?” Seeing her pretense, Yuan Qi decided to use the asylum incident to frighten her in turn.

Zhang Yuqiu knew his words were laced with malice, and she mentally cursed him ten times before replying, “That figure is inaccurate. There were six specters in total, plus four doctors, placed in the four corners of the rooftop. Whoever engineered this likely intended for the Ghoul Worms to surround the hospital from all directions.”

“Oh, so that’s the hospital you people run—Sun Erniang’s dodgy establishment. No wonder we heard the new successor was held captive there for two whole months. I wonder if he plans to settle that score with you folks,” Yuan Qi mused, watching her wobble back and forth like a tumbler doll no matter how much he pushed. He decided to tease her, his tone sour and dripping with sarcasm, finding the exchange immensely amusing.

However, careless words often find a sensitive ear. Hearing the phrase, “the new successor was held captive there for two whole months,” the first person Xiao Shu thought of was Xiao Yu. He wondered: Could Xiao Yu be the future leader of this legion of the Undead? If that were true, it would explain why Li Taiming came to save him, and why Wen Shu was turned into an Undead being. But if there was a future, there must be a present—who was the current leader? Where were they? What was their goal in sending so many Undead beings to operate within the city? And most importantly: If they no longer died, why did they need a successor? A string of questions tumbled out of Xiao Shu’s mind. Just as he was about to ask, having managed only a preliminary “Please,” Zhang Yuqiu seized the collar of his tunic from behind, signaling him fiercely to remain silent.

“Please?” Yuan Qi heard the utterance but not the follow-up, finding it quite odd. He turned back to fix his gaze upon Xiao Shu. “What were you about to ask?”

Pulled forward by Zhang Yuqiu gripping his clothes, Xiao Shu could not voice his intended question. Feeling slightly guilty, he didn't look up at Yuan Qi until he walked straight into his chin, realizing the man was staring intently at him.

And so, the two of them froze like statues, while Zhang Yuqiu, hiding behind Xiao Shu like a skittish kitten, secretly monitored their exchange.

“I… I… nothing, I just wished to ask you to guarantee the safety of this friend of mine; otherwise, I won’t come with you,” Xiao Shu stammered, finally manufacturing a pretext to dress up the question he hadn't managed to ask.

Seeing Xiao Shu attempt to negotiate terms, Yuan Qi’s face instantly hardened. The gentle demeanor he had displayed while healing Xiao Shu vanished into thin air. He narrowed his eyes into a terrifying glare. “If you refuse to leave, I will extinguish her right now. How about that trade?”