Chapter 26: Threat

The hard wooden planks were truly uncomfortable to sleep on. As soon as dawn broke, everyone woke up one after another. Song Chengfeng had to look after the little one, so his sleep the previous night had been restless, and the fatigue on his face was hard to conceal. Aside from Lin Wu and the other man, Qu Yan was the only one who looked refreshed.

Song Chengfeng couldn't help but feel envious, secretly asking him for the secret to improving sleep quality.

Qu Yan only smiled without a word, lowering his head to drink his porridge.

After the meal, Song Chengfeng and Lin Wu finalized the route for scouting abandoned vehicles later that day. Regardless of what happened yesterday, he now wore a smiling face, even patting Lin Wu on the shoulder a couple of times as they spoke. An outsider would have thought they were the best of brothers.

In the distance, the yellow-haired man saw this and curled his lip, clearly looking down on such behavior.

Song Chengfeng naturally paid him no mind. After finishing, he turned around and saw Yan Zhuo looking distracted, so he stepped forward to tease, "Still haven't woken up?"

Yan Zhuo snapped back to reality instantly, taking a step back.

His face remained expressionless. Finding it dull, Song Chengfeng moved on to business: "Are you staying behind or coming with us?"

Yan Zhuo answered without hesitation: "Staying."

Song Chengfeng had anticipated this. It was clear that the previous events had left a shadow on Yan Zhuo, making him even more cautious when facing Qu Yan.

Qu Yan, who had just finished his porridge, said, "You go with them."

Yan Zhuo turned his head, his gaze meeting Qu Yan's before quickly darting away. Memories of the previous night—absurd yet real—surfaced, and he couldn't help but soften his voice: "I want to stay."

He insisted. Song Chengfeng didn't press the matter, chiming in, "Let's just have Yan Zhuo stay behind."

Qu Yan remained unmoved. "Don't waste time. If things go smoothly, it's best to set off today."

On this matter, Yan Zhuo was not so obedient. Qu Yan beckoned him over, signaling for him to lean down.

The two quickly huddled together. Qu Yan whispered something; Yan Zhuo nodded and shook his head in turn. Standing so close, it looked to an outsider as if they were kissing in total disregard of others. Song Chengfeng’s mouth twitched as he fought the urge to think of anything else.

A moment later, Yan Zhuo walked over and asked, "When?"

So he was obedient now? Song Chengfeng gave Qu Yan an admiring look. "Right now. Go quickly and return quickly."

After leaving those words, he called out to Lin Wu and led Yan Zhuo down the dilapidated stairs.

The iron door creaked shut, and the dust suspended in the air took a long time to settle. Qu Yan rubbed his brow with one hand and looked at the yellow-haired man. "What is it you want to tell me?"

The yellow-haired man was startled for a moment before he regained his composure and pinched his earlobe. With the movement, the exaggerated ornaments on his ears jingled together.

Qu Yan waited for his answer, in no hurry.

After a long time, the yellow-haired man let out a breath. "I want you to take him away."

Qu Yan narrowed his eyes. "Lin Wu?"

The yellow-haired man used a wooden stick to poke at the ashes on the ground and said calmly, "You have seen his ability. He is very useful to people like you."

Qu Yan was noncommittal toward his words. "What is your trade?"

The yellow-haired man paused, his expression turning odd. "This is to your advantage. Does it need a trade?"

Qu Yan raised an eyebrow, clasping his hands together. "Of course. I am a businessman, after all."

The yellow-haired man gave a hollow, emotionless laugh and stood up, leaning on his legs. He walked a few steps toward Qu Yan, the wooden stick in his hand dragging across the uneven ground to create a jarring sound.

"You can refuse, but..."

As he spoke, he raised the stick. The tip, sharpened to a point, stopped at Qu Yan's throat—a clear threat.

"But what?" Qu Yan's gaze fell on the stick, which was only half an arm's length away, his breathing steady.

The yellow-haired man covered his mouth to cough and did not answer the obvious question.

Qu Yan looked languid. The wooden board had been uncomfortable; he had woken up and fallen back asleep several times throughout the night, finally drifting off only while resting his head on Yan Zhuo's arm.

He increasingly felt that Yan Zhuo was a good person, and he thought that when the time came to let go in the future, he might even feel a tinge of reluctance.

Recalling his thoughts, he said coldly, "What gave you the illusion that you could do this?"

The yellow-haired man was slightly stunned, not understanding his meaning.

The next second, a soft, tearing sound came from behind him, as if something was being ripped open. He didn't even have time to turn his head before he felt something coil around his lower leg.

That thing was fast; it wound around his leg a few times before climbing upward, wrapping around his throat in an instant.

The wooden stick clattered to the ground as the owner lost his strength. The yellow-haired man collapsed, the vines wrapped around his entire body nearly curling him into a ball.

Qu Yan looked down at the strangely positioned man, his expression still cold. "What exactly gave you the illusion that you could threaten me?"

The vine, thick as a wrist, tightened around his throat. The yellow-haired man struggled to breathe, his face turning a hideous shade of red. He couldn't even beg for mercy, thinking he was about to die. But the next moment, the vines that tightly bound him vanished with a *pop*, green sparks falling to the ground and dissolving into the air until they were completely gone.

It was as if everything that had just happened was a dream.

The yellow-haired man arched his back, pressing a hand against his throat and coughing violently.

Qu Yan withdrew his hand and rested his chin on his palm, looking elsewhere.

"So, you are also one of those..." His voice was raspy. Sitting on the ground, the yellow-haired man looked at Qu Yan with both disgust and fear.

"Have you learned your lesson now?" Qu Yan asked him.

"What?"

Qu Yan tapped his wheelchair armrest with his fingertips. "How to beg. Since you can't come up with anything to trade, your posture should be a little lower."

He spoke slowly, making the hair on the yellow-haired man’s arms stand up.

He twitched his lips. "If I beg you, will you agree?"

Forgive him for not believing that Qu Yan was that kind-hearted.

"No," Qu Yan said.

The yellow-haired man hummed in his throat—he knew it.

Qu Yan estimated the time and said bluntly, "The reason you spoke to me alone is because Lin Wu would never agree to it. You knew all along he wouldn't abandon you. Why go through the futile effort?"

The yellow-haired man's pupils dilated, clearly surprised that Qu Yan would say such a thing. He then gave a bitter smile. "Otherwise? Let him stay behind and watch me die?"

His speech was mixed with wheezing, and he pressed down on his coughs to speak word by word.

Qu Yan suddenly asked, "How much longer do you have to live?"

"I don't know. Terminal cancer. It should be soon." The yellow-haired man was not surprised that Qu Yan knew he was terminally ill. His tone was calm, as if the dying man were not himself. "A person of your status, pampered and well-off, probably wouldn't know the taste of being unable to afford medical treatment, right?"

He said mockingly, "Honestly, I quite like the zombies. Rich or poor, beggar or king—it doesn't matter. Once bitten by a zombie, everyone meets the same end. Isn't that great? That’s what I call true equality."

"But he is different. There is no reason for him to wait for death with me. My parents died early, and he acted as both father and mother to raise me, working himself to the bone to pay for my studies. It's a pity I have no talent for learning. I can't drag him down with me until the end."

"He won't agree to it, and doing this is useless," Qu Yan said, indifferent to his emotions.

"Yes, you are right." The yellow-haired man wiped away his expression. "I know you won't tell him about this, and so I won't reveal your secret either."

Qu Yan shifted his gaze. Perhaps realizing that Qu Yan wouldn't actually kill him, the yellow-haired man lost some of his fear. "You don't want your companions to know about your ability, right?"

Qu Yan did not speak, and the yellow-haired man took it as an admission. "Rest assured. You spare my life, and I will keep your secret. We'll be even."

Qu Yan only saw his mouth moving; he hadn't actually listened to a word of what he was saying. He was thinking about Yan Zhuo.

He had whispered to Yan Zhuo earlier, telling him to go find vehicles with Song Chengfeng. Yan Zhuo was obedient in all other matters, but he was stubborn when it came to this.

The place they were going wasn't far, and since the yellow-haired man wouldn't do anything to Qu Yan because of Lin Wu, Qu Yan had used that to persuade him, and Yan Zhuo had reluctantly agreed.

Later, he had jokingly made a bet: if he was safe and sound when Yan Zhuo returned, he would grant him one request.

At this moment, Qu Yan was both curious and expectant about what request Yan Zhuo might come up with.