Chapter Forty-Three: Follow Her and Protect Her

“You’re leaving?” The moment Song Qing’an returned, he heard from Lu Shenchen that Qin Sheng was planning to leave the Suíyuán Shop. Without even stopping for tea, he hurried to Qin Sheng’s room.

Qin Sheng had nothing much to pack; she simply cleaned the room thoroughly. Her back injury had mostly healed, and after learning some news about her grandfather yesterday, she knew she couldn’t just stay here as a freeloader. She had her own matters to attend to.

“Yes, I’m getting ready to go,” Qin Sheng sighed in reply.

Song Qing’an stood at the doorway, at a loss for words. After a long pause, he finally murmured, “Leaving so soon? Isn’t your back still not fully healed?”

Qin Sheng straightened, twisting at her waist to show him. “Look, it’s almost completely recovered.”

Seeing that Qin Sheng really was nearly healed, Song Qing’an continued searching for something to say. “So as soon as your back is better you’re leaving? Aren’t you going to thank those of us who saved you? Isn’t that a little cold-hearted?”

Qin Sheng pressed her lips together; she had actually planned to settle accounts with Song Qing’an about this, but hadn’t expected him to bring it up himself.

“Speaking of that,” Qin Sheng walked slowly up to Song Qing’an, a meaningful smile on her lips, “have you ever considered that if you hadn’t rushed in to save me, I might not have been injured at all?”

Song Qing’an unconsciously took two steps back. That day, when he saw Qin Sheng about to be swallowed by the flames, he’d acted without thinking and dragged her out—only to bang her against the doorframe as he did. That was the reason her back had taken so long to heal.

He swallowed nervously, then suddenly found his voice, sounding indignant. “Even so, we’ve looked after you for so long. Shouldn’t you at least show some gratitude?”

Qin Sheng had thought of this and was already prepared. “I’ve left something for you in the kitchen. Take a look later and you’ll see.”

With that, she ushered Song Qing’an out of the room, making space for the next guests. Having lived here for several days, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of reluctance as she looked around the little room one last time. Smiling, she closed the door tightly behind her.

“It’s fine. If you want to go, just go. We know we can’t make you stay.” Song Qing’an leaned against the wall, his tone deliberately casual, though a hint of regret was unmistakable in his eyes. Still, he was determined not to show it.

Qin Sheng’s departure was inevitable; it was only a matter of time. Song Qing’an knew he’d only been able to keep her here for a little while.

“Next time, I definitely won’t let you eat my survival rations,” Qin Sheng joked, patting Song Qing’an on the shoulder before walking over to Lu Shenchen.

Lu Shenchen, who had already discovered the trove of food Qin Sheng left in the kitchen, was beaming with delight, looking nothing like the stern man who had made her clean the porcelain yesterday.

“Are you satisfied with the gifts?” Qin Sheng asked with a smile.

Lu Shenchen clapped his hands, grinning from ear to ear, his pleasure obvious. “This is amazing! Qin Sheng, where did you get all this stuff?”

Song Qing’an also glanced at her.

Qin Sheng hesitated, swallowing and making up an excuse. “I found it while out for a walk last night.”

Lu Shenchen didn’t seem to find that strange. “Oh, I see.”

“Right, exactly,” Qin Sheng replied awkwardly.

But Song Qing’an’s eyes dimmed. He knew perfectly well Qin Sheng hadn’t gone out last night, so there was no walk and certainly no way she could have brought back a microwave and an oven. Still, everyone had their secrets, and he saw no need to press the matter.

“Well then, thank you all for taking care of me these past days. I need to get back to school and find my friends.” Qin Sheng’s gaze swept over everyone, finally settling on Song Qing’an.

He looked up just as her warm gaze met his. Qin Sheng smiled gently, her eyes full of tenderness.

Song Qing’an wrinkled his nose, then managed a reluctant smile of his own, acknowledging her decision.

“I’m off. Until we meet again.” With that, Qin Sheng strode out of the Suíyuán Shop, pausing at the door to glance back at the little store and at Song Qing’an and Lu Shenchen, who were watching her leave.

“Until we meet again,” Lu Shenchen called, waving.

Qin Sheng smiled, her gaze lingering on Song Qing’an for a moment before she withdrew it, regaining her usual cool composure.

Song Qing’an watched her retreating figure grow smaller, his lips parted as if to speak, but he couldn’t guess what words might come.

Qin Sheng stepped through the main gate of the Suíyuán Shop. She paused and turned, shouting up to the rooftop, “Next time we meet, I’ll definitely beat you!”

A heavy silence answered from the roof.

With a light laugh, Qin Sheng turned away. She knew Xun Feng had heard her. Whether he replied or not didn’t matter; that blockhead only cared about fighting anyway.

By that measure, Xun Feng was her sparring partner.

The road away from the Suíyuán Shop was uneventful. The place seemed untouched by the devastation of the zombies, perhaps the last pure land left—certainly the safest days she’d had in a long while.

“Until we meet again,” Qin Sheng murmured as she turned back to look at the shop, her words both a farewell and a hope for the next meeting.

A roar erupted behind her—a zombie’s howl. Qin Sheng’s smile vanished instantly. In a flash, her Tang sword was in hand.

A short distance away, zombies staggered toward her, snarling. Qin Sheng’s lips curled in a faint smile as she tightened her grip on the blade. After all this training, it was time to see if she’d improved.

In a heartbeat, Qin Sheng moved like the wind, slicing through the zombie horde. In less than a minute, every zombie’s head had rolled, blood pooling everywhere.

Qin Sheng herself was only splattered with a bit of blood. The sunlight glinted off her sword, illuminating the confidence on her face.

She sheathed her blade and sprinted toward the school, completely unaware that two figures had silently appeared behind her.

“Master, she really has improved a lot these past days,” Xun Feng remarked, watching Qin Sheng’s departing figure and speaking to Song Qing’an.

Qin Sheng’s wild, unrestrained style had not escaped Song Qing’an’s notice.

“She’s done well,” Song Qing’an said, a handsome smile curving his lips, clear admiration in his expression.

Xun Feng, seeing his master’s smile, felt an odd sense that Song Qing’an was genuinely proud.

Song Qing’an folded his arms and chuckled softly. “Xun Feng, go with her.”

Xun Feng looked puzzled. “Master, do you mean you want me to protect her?”

Song Qing’an nodded, his expression at odds with his casual tone. Xun Feng, of course, would not disobey.

“Don’t let her find out,” Song Qing’an added.

“Yes.” Xun Feng clasped his fists and looked in the direction where Qin Sheng had gone. A gust of wind, and he was gone.

Song Qing’an sat down on the rooftop, surveying the battlefield Qin Sheng had left behind. Curling his lips in fond exasperation, he said, “Once again, I have to clean up your mess.”

He snapped his fingers, and in an instant, the blood-soaked battlefield became spotless, with no trace of the carnage left behind.

Qin Sheng moved quickly, soon reaching the school cafeteria. Without glancing at the scene of her earlier fight, she headed straight for the storeroom.

She knocked several times, but there was no response from inside.

Impatient, Qin Sheng gathered her strength and kicked the nearly useless door open. The two guards were knocked to the ground.

When they saw who had entered, shock rendered them speechless.

Qin Sheng was here to find Jiang Miaomiao and the others; she wasn’t interested in wasting words, and strode into the storeroom.

Inside, the crowd was loudly condemning Jiang Miaomiao’s group for not returning. They complained they were starving to death, and hunger had worn away their patience. As they spoke, their voices rose higher, heaping scorn on Jiang Miaomiao and the others.

“They must have seen all that food and decided to abandon us. So selfish.”

“Exactly! We trusted them so much!”

Wang Yu was too weak from hunger to speak, but hearing the slander against Jiang Miaomiao’s group, he still managed to protest with what little strength he had. “They must have run into trouble. If not, they’d have come back.”

But his voice was soon drowned out by the others’ accusations. At the forefront was Li Chengbin, the most arrogant of them all.

“Everyone can see now—not everyone is worthy of trust. I hope you’ll all learn to judge people better from now on.” In recent days, Li Chengbin had earned a good reputation by sharing his food with the group, and enjoyed the prestige of a rescue squad leader at the start of the apocalypse.

“Captain Li is right. We really have to depend on you. Otherwise, we’d have starved long ago.”

“That’s right, Captain Li, we all owe you.”

“Yes! We’re starving here, and who knows, maybe Jiang Miaomiao and the others are living it up. It’s clear for all to see who really cares about us.”

Li Chengbin’s supporters joined in, and soon there was no one left on Jiang Miaomiao’s side. Li Chengbin was clearly pleased by this turn of events. Luckily, Qin Mengchun had thought to take plenty of food with her, or he would have had to work much harder to win the crowd.

He was even more satisfied with the woman beside him, pulling Qin Mengchun into his arms.

“As long as you follow me, I promise you’ll never go hungry,” Li Chengbin declared to the crowd.

“Is that so?”