Salted Fish Zombie Chapter 69.1

Published at 5th of October 2023 06:18:38 AM

Flower Servant (17)

September 28, 2023 by Wyrd

  Ning Su tore into a chicken leg and slowly chewed it in his mouth.

With a look of happiness, he thought, “It wasn’t in vain raising those two kids. When they grow up, I can finally live a more carefree life.”

Holy Maiden didn’t allow the flower attendants to eat meat, but generally, these white-robed individuals didn’t bother with them too much.

As Ning Su ate his roast chicken, the white-robed people cleaned the main hall.

After a night, the main hall was a horrifying sight, covered in various sticky liquids and blood. The partitions needed to be wiped clean, the bedding replaced, and the bodies taken away.

Most of the flower attendants who had been tormented throughout the night were still asleep, with only a few awake.

As one of the white-robed individuals cleaned up a pool of liquid by a flower attendant’s bed, the flower attendant crawled on the bed, reaching out with a hoarse and dry voice, “Don’t, please, don’t take it away.”

The liquid was mixed with a lot of blood.

The flower attendant had a pale complexion, with silver-colored veins visible. Silver was the lightest color in the spectrum, and when veins turned silver, it meant there was hardly any blood left in them.

When blood flowed properly through the body, it was essential for life.

As the precious drops of blood slowly leaked away, and the blood left in the veins diminished, every drop became a source of panic.

In that emaciated hand with protruding veins, like stiff silver snot, the flower attendant tried to grasp the thread of blood.

Ning Su thought of Hua Feng’s brother’s hand.

Its obsession after death was blood. Without blood, it would go mad and destroy everything, but with blood, it would be quiet.

Ning Su wanted to look over at Hua Feng on his left. He saw Zhu Shuangshuang bringing three thin blankets from the storage room, covering Hua Feng on the left first, and then another.

“Su Su, are you okay?”

Her face was pale, with obvious red bloodshot eyes, and even dark cicles under had appeared.

Thinking back to last night, it probably hadn’t been easy inside the room where Su Wansheng was.

Fang Qi had said the first night was very dangerous and painful.

Ning Su said, “I’m fine, not in much pain. Don’t worry.”

After witnessing Su Wansheng’s suffering all night long, Ning Su didn’t want Zhu Shuangshuang to worry about him as well.

She made a sound of acknowledgment and covered Su Wansheng with the thin blanket, then sat by the partition, looking at Su Wansheng, who had been physically and mentally exhausted throughout the night, and at Hua Feng.

After being carried down, both Su Wansheng and Hua Feng, who had expended their physical and mental energy throughout the night, had fallen into a deep sleep.

Before long, Fang Qi also woke up.

Ning Su asked, “How much has your sacred flower grown?”

Fang Qi lifted his wide sleeves and pointed to his arm, saying, “Here.”

Yesterday, when examining the connection between his arm and shoulder, after a whole night of active growth, it had already extended up to his upper arm.

Ning Su nodded.

Taking a quick look around, it was evident that the two women Fang Qi mentioned, who represented the most exceptional flower attendants in this place, had already grown to the point where their flowers extended to their wrists and necks.

Ning Su lowered his head and took another bite of the grilled chicken. Just then, he heard the creaking sound of the heavy black door opening. While chewing on the tender chicken leg, he looked towards the door.

It was the head of the Haobei family, accompanied by the flower attendants of the Haobei family.

As the Flower God Festival drew nearer, major families were sending their flower attendants into the Flower God’s temple.

The Haobei family had already sent a pair of flower attendants, Meng Linjia and her boyfriend, who had already been declared a failure and taken out of the Flower God’s temple.

Today, it was the remaining flower attendants, Jia Chensheng and four native flower attendants.

When they entered, they were just as nervous as the Yenan family’s flower attendants were yesterday.

This nervousness eased a bit when they saw Ning Su sitting by the bed, eating grilled chicken.

As they passed by, Jia Chensheng loudly asked, “How is it going?”

Ning Su gave a graceful “ok” gesture.

Seeing Su Wangsheng sleeping on the bed and Ning Changfeng and Zhu Shuangshuang standing nearby, they really thought everything was okay.

Ning Su finished eating the grilled chicken, and Ning Changfeng took the trash out and searched for a wet towel to wipe his hands.

The other two players from the same courtyard took the opportunity to approach Ning Su’s bedside.

One of them had already told Ning Su his name last night; he was called Leng Chang.

Leng Chang first introduced the person beside him, saying, “This is my companion, Dong Xilai.”

Seeing them remain silent, Ning Su spoke first. “Are you from the Yongming Guild?”

“Yes.”

Ning Su continued, “Did the Gu Witch send you?”

“...Yes.”

Ning Su made a thoughtful sound. He had guessed as much when she saw Leng Chang’s hand last night.

Shi Tianzhu explained that the Gu Witch had placed a love Gu on him, connecting the two people just like players and ghost friends in the last instance. The difference was that players and ghost friends had friendship and family bonds, while the love Gu created love.

At first, Ning Su wondered how the Gu Witch could trust him to enter a level-five instance alone. He wondered if the effect of the Gu Witch’s love Gu was not as powerful. If it was, then he should have worried about his safety. It turned out he sent people to protect him.

Ning Su asked, “How many in total?”

Leng Chang replied, “Five, and we’ve confirmed that two have been turned into sacrifices.”

He continued, “Around noon, the Holy Maiden will also take the two of us upstairs. Life and death are uncertain. The instance is nearing its end, so let’s get to know each other. You can order me anytime.”

Yesterday at noon, the Holy Maiden had only managed to call three groups upstairs, and the sacred flower hadn’t been transplanted yet. Today, the first group should be going up.

The Gu Witch had sent him to protect Ning Su, originally thinking this handsome and seemingly foolish young man was just a pretty face. They intended to protect him accordingly.

However, as they observed him secretly, they realized that this young man was no pushover.

As the danger of this instance gradually became apparent and they were about to enter its critical final phase, they decided to let Ning Su have a direct share of the resources.

Leng Chang told Ning Su frankly, “Don’t hold back. If you die, I won’t survive. My only mission in this instance is to protect you.”

Ning Su thought again about the Gu insect wriggling under the other’s nails.

He asked, “Do you know why the Gu Witch wants you to protect me?”

After a brief hesitation, they both nodded.

Ning Su pondered, “Can the love Gu really make me fall in love?”

Leng Chang smiled, “With just a casual Gu worm, the Gu Witch can control my life. The love Gu inside you is her most precious and powerful one. It’s an easy task for it to make you fall in love with someone.”

Ning Su made a thoughtful sound again, “But it has gone rogue. How will it function now?”

“What?”

They were about to ask, but they saw Ning Changfeng walking over. It was evident that they were wary of Ning Changfeng and quickly left.

Ning Changfeng asked, “What are they doing?”

Ning Su: “We’re about to transplant the sacred flower right away; let’s discuss what comes next.”

Ning Changfeng placed the damp towel into his hands and wiped them, saying, “I’m thinking, perhaps you should transplant the sacred flower into me much earlier. When I’m lying in bed, will you take care of me?”

Ning Su had a serious look on his face and replied, “So, that’s your plan? I’ll think about it.”

Ning Changfeng: “...”

The noon offering ceremony concluded, and the Holy Maiden began her “midday rest.”

After entering, she went straight to Ning Su’s side and said to the white-robed individuals, “Keep an eye out. If anything unusual happens with the sacred flower, kill it immediately.”

Ning Changfeng’s expression was very grim as he sneered, “What do you mean by ‘unusual’? From what I see, the sacred flower in the Flower God’d temple is always like this.”

The Holy Maiden glanced at him, then turned to Ning Su and said, “The statue trembled yesterday, and the people claim it’s a manifestation of the Flower God. Don’t actually think it’s that simple.”

“It’s also possible that the Flower God is angered. As for the reason for the anger, according to the timeline, it coincides with the time when the monster was implanted in your body. The monster entered the body of the Flower Attendant and was nurtured by the Flower Attendant. Can the Flower God not be angry?”

The young man’s face froze slightly as he silently looked at her and said, “I see.”

Holy Maiden: “...”

Ning Su’s calm and frozen demeanor left her speechless. She remained silent for two seconds before going upstairs.

Hua Feng knocked on the partition on the left, then slowly moved to the foot of the bed and said to Ning Su, “The Holy Maiden used to live in the same room as my brother. She transplanted the sacred flower to him.”

Several players were taken aback.

Fang Qi supported himself on the edge of the bed and slowly walked over.

Su Wangsheng also moved to the foot of the bed, along with Zhu Shuangshuang, to look over.

Fang Qi asked, “What does this mean? Is the Holy Maiden also a Flower Attendant?”

Those who hadn’t lived in the same courtyard were unaware of how the various major families assigned accommodations.

Hua Feng nodded and said, “Both she and my brother are first-generation Flower Attendants.”

Zhu Shuangshuang was concerned, “Do first-generation Flower Attendants also live together like us, like picking the ones with good relationship?”

Hua Feng wasn’t sure.

Su Wangsheng said, “It’s possible that first-generation Flower Attendants were like this back then. It’s also possible that they weren’t, and the practice of having a good relationship among Flower Attendants came later, as they gained experience from the ones before.”

Several players fell into contemplation.

Chapter end