Chapter Thirty-Four: Guo Ting Is Bitten

For reasons unknown, after Lin Ran left the mass grave, the surrounding gloom seemed to thin considerably, and the area became much clearer. Lin Ran silently resolved that once this ordeal was over, he would buy some spirit money to burn for these lonely, departed souls.

He hadn’t actually gone very far. Through gaps in the trees, he could barely make out the outlines of the factory and hurried toward it. As expected, there was no sign of Guo Ting or Fan Beixiao at the factory’s entrance. Coupled with the scream Guo Ting had let out earlier, he realized they might be in grave danger.

Staring at the empty gate, Lin Ran’s heart sank to its lowest depths. There was no signal in these mountains; he had no idea where to begin searching for them.

Just as he was about to look around for clues, he suddenly realized his foot had sunk into the earth, pressing down so hard he’d made a pit. He turned to examine the footprint and, comparing it to his own, discovered it was much larger. Lin Ran took out his phone to illuminate the print, his expression changing dramatically—these weren’t his footprints, but two side-by-side prints.

He hurried into the factory, as the trail of footprints ended right at its door, with some flattened grass nearby.

The moment he stepped inside, Lin Ran felt as if someone was watching him, as if a pair of eyes lurked in the darkness. He could no longer afford to hesitate.

The factory was neither large nor small, but chaos reigned everywhere. Zombie footprints littered the scene, as if a fierce battle had just taken place. Yet, Lin Ran saw no sign of any zombies. It wasn’t until dawn that he found Guo Ting and Fan Beixiao in a basement room.

“Brother Ran! Guo Ting was bitten!” Fan Beixiao was visibly disoriented, clutching the unconscious Guo Ting tightly, but his mind was still relatively clear.

“What happened?” Lin Ran immediately noticed two fang marks on Guo Ting’s arm, resembling a snake bite, the surrounding skin already blackened.

“It was a zombie! Right after you left, one showed up! I couldn’t beat it, and Guo Ting got bitten!” Fan Beixiao was wracked with guilt, feeling utterly useless for the first time in his life.

Lin Ran then saw that Fan Beixiao’s clothes were torn and bloodstained, his body covered in alarming wounds, with fresh blood still marking the floor.

“We need to leave, now!” Lin Ran’s heart sank as he took in the scene. He knew that anyone bitten by a zombie would meet a terrible fate if they didn’t get help in time.

He and Fan Beixiao hurried down the mountain, supporting Guo Ting between them. At the foot of the mountain lay a village. Lin Ran spotted a house with its door open and walked in.

An elderly couple, both around sixty, were in the yard splitting firewood. The wife was washing clothes in a basin.

“Oh my! What’s happened here?” The old woman, seeing Lin Ran carrying Guo Ting, was startled and rushed over.

Relieved to see her, Lin Ran gritted his teeth against the ache in his legs, still carrying Guo Ting.

“What’s wrong with this girl? Goodness, she’s burning up! Quick, bring her inside!” The old woman touched Guo Ting’s forehead, shocked by her fever.

“Old man! Come quickly!” She called to her husband while helping Lin Ran lay Guo Ting on the heated brick bed. Lin Ran collapsed onto the floor, exhausted, as the old man led Fan Beixiao inside.

“Old man! Go fetch the young doctor! This girl’s been bitten by a snake!” The old woman shouted, seeing the dark fang marks on Guo Ting’s arm. The young doctor was the village’s medicine man.

“Grandma, there’s no need for a doctor. She wasn’t bitten by a snake! Grandma, do you have any glutinous rice at home?” Lin Ran finally caught his breath and grabbed her arm.

“No doctor? That’s not right… Glutinous rice? What do you need that for?” She looked at him, puzzled.

“Grandma, only glutinous rice can treat my friend’s wound! We’re police officers, trained at the academy! Only we can handle this kind of injury!” Lin Ran improvised a reason, not caring for further explanations.

She eyed him skeptically, then went to fetch a bowl of glutinous rice. As she left, she exchanged a glance with her husband.

“Grandpa, could you please boil a pot of hot water? Beixiao, go help him gather firewood!” Lin Ran saw through the old woman’s intentions and turned to Fan Beixiao. It looked like help, but it was really to keep watch; he could not afford any interruptions now.

Fan Beixiao understood at once. The old man sighed as Fan Beixiao approached; if even Fan Beixiao understood Lin Ran’s meaning, how much more so would a man who had lived most of his life?

The old woman soon returned with the bowl of rice, and seeing her husband and Fan Beixiao tending the fire, she understood and silently handed the rice to Lin Ran.

Lin Ran grabbed a handful of glutinous rice and pressed it against Guo Ting’s wound, but the scab made it ineffective.

“Alcohol! Scissors!” Lin Ran called out without turning.

The old woman had no choice but to fetch scissors and white liquor. Lin Ran took the scissors, sipped the liquor, spat it onto the blades, and then used them to open Guo Ting’s wound. A gush of black blood flowed out, and he pressed fresh rice onto it.

Immediately, a cloud of black smoke rose from the wound, accompanied by a sizzling sound. The rice quickly turned black. Guo Ting, still unconscious, moaned softly from the pain in her arm.

Hearing her, Lin Ran was delighted—the toxin and corpse vapor were being expelled. He pressed fresh rice to the wound again and again, until all the blackness receded from her arm.

Only then did he stop.