Chapter 114: Turning the Tables

The very first second Shen Shi arrived, Qin Sheng knew someone had come.

She did not need to guess much to know it was him.

Qin Sheng draped her coat over her shoulders, lifted the tent flap, and stepped outside.

In her hand, she also carried a few packets of compressed biscuits and a bottle of water.

Although Qin Sheng and Shen Shi did not have much interaction, the few times they had spoken were enough for her to know him in broad strokes. She could not simply watch him go hungry out there by himself.

She was no saint, but she was never stingy toward people she admired. Besides, these were only a few biscuits that were practically worthless in her storage space. Doing a small favor along the way would hardly do any harm.

She casually tossed the biscuits to Shen Shi and set the bottle of water beside him.

Seeing that Shen Shi had made room for her, Qin Sheng abandoned the thought of returning to sleep and sat down beside him instead.

Perhaps because he knew the temperature difference outside was severe, Shen Shi did not immediately open the biscuits and eat. Instead, he first lit the fire.

Warmth once again gathered around Qin Sheng, and she stretched lazily and comfortably.

Shen Shi slowly and carefully opened the packet, biting into the biscuits at an unhurried, measured pace. Even the way he ate was elegant.

For some reason, Qin Sheng thought of Song Qing'an, whose manners at the table were just as graceful.

If it had been Song Qing'an, and she had handed him compressed biscuits, that handsome face would probably crease ever so slightly, his lips would pout, and his eyes would be full of disdain. But he would still obediently open the packet and take a bite or two, looking pitiful every time. And every time, Qin Sheng would not be able to bear it and would take out his favorite foods for him.

His mood changed faster than the weather. One moment he would look miserably wronged, and the next he would be smiling like a crescent moon.

Come to think of it, it had been a long time since she had seen Song Qing'an.

Before she knew it, Qin Sheng had drifted off in thought.

At the thought of Song Qing'an's expression, she could not help letting out a soft laugh.

Shen Shi's hand paused around the biscuits. Hearing the girl beside him laugh like a silver bell, he instinctively turned to look. There he saw her, her eyes shimmering with delight and tenderness as though she had recalled something wonderfully happy.

It was a look he had never seen on her before.

In that moment, what Shen Shi saw in the girl's eyes was not ambition but something more like a little neighbor girl who had just bought a doll and was smiling brilliantly.

He had to admit that Qin Sheng looked very beautiful when she smiled.

But she did not seem to like smiling very much. Her cold, detached expression was perhaps like a mask; unless certain conditions were met, she would not remove it.

Qin Sheng gradually came back to her senses. Realizing that she had just inexplicably thought of Song Qing'an and then sat there grinning foolishly, her little face flushed, whether from the heat of the fire or from something else.

"Done eating?" Qin Sheng glanced at Shen Shi and saw that he was about to throw the wrapper into the fire.

Shen Shi nodded lightly. The moment the biscuit packet touched the flames, it ignited at once and then turned to ash, carried away by the wind.

He lowered his head and said softly, "Thank you..."

It seemed the boy rarely said words of gratitude. For a moment he did not know what expression to use, so he simply bowed his head to hide the emotions he was not very good at showing.

The corner of Qin Sheng's lips curved faintly. "As long as you're full."

Just as Qin Sheng was about to stand and return to the tent to continue sleeping, Shen Shi suddenly called out to stop her.

"Wait."

Qin Sheng looked at him in some confusion, then sat back down in her original place.

"Zhang Dong killed someone." Shen Shi did not know why he was telling Qin Sheng what he had seen today, but some instinct told him that if he warned her, she would also be on guard.

Qin Sheng raised her brows slightly in surprise, as if she had not expected Zhang Dong to be so bold.

"He seems a little different. Be careful around him." Shen Shi pressed his slightly dry lips together and finished quickly, then opened the water bottle and took a large gulp.

Qin Sheng nodded. Not only Zhang Dong—she would be careful with everyone. She had simply not expected Shen Shi to tell her something like this.

Had he forgotten that she was the one competing with him for the position of captain?

As if he had guessed what Qin Sheng was thinking, Shen Shi left behind one more line before quickly rising and walking into another tent.

"Repayment for the biscuits."

After leaving that sentence, Shen Shi hurried away, leaving Qin Sheng standing there, a little stunned.

Seeing the slight air of flight in his retreat, Qin Sheng found it rather amusing. She shook her head helplessly and was about to return to her tent.

But just as her hand touched the tent flap, the bushes not far away rustled for some reason, and a few leaves drifted down.

The sound was so faint it could almost be ignored, but some instinct told Qin Sheng it was not that simple.

Probably her powers were influencing her again.

Qin Sheng felt that someone was in those bushes.

Whether there was someone there or not, she could not startle the snake by beating the grass. And that did not seem like a zombie, either. Qin Sheng pretended not to notice, lifted the flap, and went into the tent, where she lay down in her sleeping bag.

As expected, less than fifteen minutes later, soft footsteps sounded outside.

Qin Sheng had always been extremely alert, and lately, she did not know why, but her instincts seemed even sharper. Just like before, she had felt someone in that spot, and sure enough, someone had come.

The footsteps were careful and very light, but still full of flaws. It seemed the person had never learned any proper martial technique and could only soften their steps by instinct.

Even so, the intruder remained extremely cautious. After reaching the tent, they did not make any immediate move, but instead observed for a while to see whether anyone in the camp had truly fallen asleep.

It seemed they did not dare to walk in openly, and could only watch near the entrance.

Qin Sheng steadied her breathing, appearing as though she were truly asleep.

But her palm was clenched tightly, ready to fight back at any moment.

The person searched around for a while and then left. Qin Sheng found it very strange. She had not seen them make any extra moves at all; they had simply watched for a bit and then slipped away.

When something was out of the ordinary, there had to be something wrong with it. Qin Sheng was extremely cautious. She checked nearby for anything suspicious, and also inspected the water bottles. Very strangely, it seemed the person had only come to scout the area.

But clearly, if they had come to scout it, that could not have been their only purpose.

Qin Sheng returned to the tent, but she tossed and turned without falling asleep, always feeling that this strange matter was closely tied to what Shen Shi had told her tonight about Zhang Dong.

In a haze, Qin Sheng did not know when she finally closed her eyes and drifted into sleep.

In the deep stillness of night, another person came sneaking into the camp.

This time the intruder was extremely cautious. They checked each tent and only acted after confirming that everyone had fallen asleep.

Under the moonlight, the person's face could be made out in dim outline.

Zhang Dong.

Zhang Dong fished a small medicine bottle from his pocket and sprinkled the powder inside into Qin Sheng's group’s water bottles. That was not all—he also put some into the cups they used for drinking.

The person who had scouted the area earlier was none other than the fool with the beard that Zhang Dong had sent. Zhang Dong had had him come to divert attention, and at the same time he had made that fool sprinkle in the other bottle of powder that Guo Jun had given him.

An odorless, colorless sedative. The dose did not even matter much; it even had a slight sleep-inducing effect. The stronger a person's ability, the more soundly they slept.

When Qin Sheng woke up, it was already broad daylight.

She had not expected to sleep so deeply, without noticing a thing. On ordinary days, her biological clock would rouse her at the first hint of dawn, but today they were in the Zombie Forest, and she had still managed to sleep so heavily. She did not know whether she had simply become bolder or her nerves had loosened.

But to Qin Sheng, that was unacceptable.

She quickly got up and tidied herself. She had intended to go out for a drink of water, but the water was already ice-cold, and on top of that it was leftover water from the night before. Qin Sheng decisively took a bottle of water from her storage space, slung her Tang saber over her back, and went to practice swordplay not far from the camp.

She had gotten up a little late today, losing an hour of training time, so she would have to make it up by using the time that would have gone to breakfast.

By the time the sun climbed to the tops of the trees, the Zombie Forest had gradually warmed again. Qin Sheng was drenched in sweat, and only after she finally finished the day's practice did she stop.

Since she had some time to spare, she even slipped into her storage space to take a shower and change her clothes.

When she returned to camp, it was already noon.

What puzzled her, however, was that the fire outside was still burning, yet not one of the three men who should have been awake had appeared.

Qin Sheng was not very familiar with Wang Qiang and Xiao Pang's routines, but Shen Shi certainly would not sleep until the sun was high in the sky. This was the Zombie Forest; he would never let his guard down so much while sleeping.

Unless.

A bad feeling rose in Qin Sheng's heart, and she hurried forward to lift the tent flap.

Sure enough, all three were lying inside their sleeping bags, but the unusually flushed color on their faces immediately aroused her suspicion.

Wang Qiang was the nearest to Qin Sheng. She shook him awake.

Wang Qiang opened his eyes dazedly and said weakly, "Maybe I caught a chill. I wanted to boil some hot water, but I don't have any strength at all..."

Qin Sheng frowned slightly and placed a hand on Wang Qiang's forehead. His cheeks were unnaturally flushed, yet his body was icy cold.

It did not look like a fever.

"Did you eat anything this morning?" Qin Sheng focused her attention on the food and drink.

By rights, the sleeping bag she had bought was of excellent quality, so the chance of catching a chill was small. It was probably that he had eaten something wrong.

Wang Qiang thought for a moment and shook his head lightly. "I didn't eat anything. I just drank the water left in the cup."

Qin Sheng frowned and glanced at Shen Shi and Xiao Pang, who were still unconscious, then asked Wang Qiang again, "Did Shen Shi and Xiao Pang drink water too?"

Wang Qiang was dizzy and muddle-headed, but he still remembered that they had just drunk some water.

"This water has a problem."

After telling Wang Qiang to lie down and rest, Qin Sheng went straight to the place by the fire where the water was heated, taking the others' cups and bottles as she prepared to investigate.

She seemed to hear movement from not far away.

It looked as though someone had come prepared.

Qin Sheng instantly understood something and also realized why she had fallen asleep so easily yesterday.

So she had been tricked.

Since she had been tricked, then there was no harm in turning the tables and using their own plan against them.