Joining Tiandao Company: Starting by mending a zombie world

Above the entrance of the small building hangs a plaque with black background and green characters: "Wuxing Tea House".

The tea shop's courtyard is small, but extremely exquisite.

The elegant room is located at the deepest part of the courtyard. It is an independent octagonal pavilion, where Mr. Wu is already waiting.

Seeing the three enter, he rose to greet them, exchanging a few pleasantries with Duan Henian before his gaze fell upon Chu Sheng, and he went straight to the point:

"The fragrance of the elixir that young man took out that day in the dark is still unforgettable. Can it truly prolong life?"

"This pill is called the Ginseng Spirit Pill," Chu Sheng said truthfully. "It is made from century-old wild ginseng as a guide, supplemented with thirteen kinds of spiritual materials. It prolongs life, enhances physical fitness, and has no side effects."

Mr. Wu's fingers tightened slightly as he held the medicine bottle.

Prolonging life, enhancing physical fitness, and having no side effects—these words, to a collector, might just be a common description of medicinal effects.

But what this means to him, only he himself knows.

"A piece of broken moon iron in exchange for a Ginseng Spirit Pill," Chu Sheng said.

Mr. Wu was silent for a few seconds, then took out a brocade box from his pocket, placed it on the table, and pushed it towards Chu Sheng. "Deal."

Chu Sheng opened the brocade box. Inside, there was a dark blue velvet cloth, and in the center was a silver-white metal fragment about the size of a thumbnail.

The surface of the fragment shimmered with a faint silvery glow.

Shattered Moon Iron.

Genuine broken moon iron.

He closed the brocade box and pushed the ginseng pill in front of Mr. Wu. "Thank you for your generosity, Mr. Wu."

Mr. Wu carefully took the medicine bottle and put it in his pocket, a rare warmth flashing in his sharp eyes.

"It's just a matter of mutual benefit, young man, no need to be so polite."

……

After the transaction was completed, the three of them did not linger at the tea shop and returned directly to the villa. Chu Sheng locked himself in his room and began to plan his next schedule.

Today I got the Shattered Moon Iron, and with the Dark Wood Heart I got from the Dark Field before, I've collected most of the materials for the Sky-Splitting Shuttle.

However, there are still a few scarce materials that we need to figure out when we get back to the main world.

The most important thing right now is to prepare for the trip to Qingsongling in seven days.

He sat down at the table, took out yellow paper, cinnabar, and a talisman brush from the spatial compartment, and began to draw talismans.

The true qi of the Lesser Pure Yang Body was infused into the tip of the brush, and the final stroke of each rune was accompanied by a very faint purple-gold halo.

That was an unusual phenomenon produced by the fusion of pure yang energy and cinnabar.

He draws extremely fast and with great focus.

He drew from noon until dusk, and the stack of talismans on the table became a thick pile, at least fifty or sixty sheets.

After doing all this, he leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh.

The internal injuries have healed by 90%, and the remaining bit will be completely cured with two more hours of meditation and breath regulation.

His condition is gradually returning to its peak.

...

The following day, Chu Sheng and Dai Ran bid farewell to Duan Henian.

Duan Henian, leaning on a huanghuali cane, stood under the rose trellis in front of the villa, his white hair fluttering slightly in the morning breeze.

"Old Dai and Old Zhou have already told you everything that needs to be said, so I won't go on about it. Be careful on your journey."

Chu Sheng solemnly clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Take care, Grandpa Duan."

Duan Henian then looked at Dai Ran, a kind smile appearing in his old eyes: "Ran, next time you come to Shanghai, remember to visit your grandpa."

Dai Ran's eyes were slightly red, and she nodded vigorously.

Once inside the car, the dark green Mercedes slowly drove off the road lined with plane trees. Duan Henian's figure grew smaller and smaller under the rose trellis, eventually disappearing into the morning mist.

Back in the Suzhou branch,

It was already evening.

Chu Sheng pushed open the door of the hall, and Madam Qingling floated out of the memorial tablet with Su Xiaoyao in her arms, landing beside him.

Su Xiaoyao tilted her head and looked him over, asking in a childish voice, "Master, not only have your injuries healed since you went out, but your breathing is also more stable than before."

"By chance," Chu Sheng said, sitting down at the tea table and recounting the highlights of his trip to Shanghai to Madam Qingling.

He recounted everything from the somber Mu Xin in the dark, to the list of names of Mr. Zhou's ancestors, and then to Duan Henian's visit to Qingsongling thirty years ago.

After telling Madam Qingling about what had happened in the past few days and giving instructions on the affairs of the branch, Chu Sheng locked himself in a quiet room on the second floor.

He sat cross-legged on the futon and looked inward at himself.

Duanmu Ying's dual-wielding skills were indeed extraordinary. The old wound on her chest had long since healed, and the hidden injuries in her meridians had also been mostly gone. The flow of true qi within her body was now completely unimpeded.

I closed my eyes, and the interface of the company's app appeared in my mind—the countdown for the mission "Martial Arts Zombie" was ticking away second by second.

Finally, the countdown reached zero.

The light and shadow shifted before my eyes, and a familiar sense of separation swept over my entire body.

This time, the journey was more intense than any before. The spacetime barrier was like a thick curtain, pressing in layer by layer and tearing open layer by layer.

When I opened my eyes again, the world was a pure white.

The cold wind, carrying snowflakes, scraped against my face like a knife. Looking around, mountains, trees, and distant cities were all covered in a thick layer of snow.

The leaden-gray sky hung low, as if it might collapse at any moment and completely engulf this world.

Chu Sheng found himself standing on an official road that was mostly buried in snow.

Chu Sheng found himself standing on an official road that was mostly buried in snow.

The snow underfoot was up to my calves, and each step made a dull crunching sound.

He exhaled a puff of white mist, looked around, and quickly confirmed his location—the snow-covered city gate at the end of the official road was the west gate of Jingzhou City.

Everything was exactly as recorded in the register: In the twelfth month of the twelfth year of the Shunzhi reign, heavy snow sealed off the city of Jingzhou.

He didn't rush into the city, but first checked his own condition.

The snow fell heavier and heavier, leaving only a vast expanse of white between heaven and earth.

Suddenly, a cacophony of shouts reached my ears.

Curious, he walked over and saw four men in tattered cotton-padded coats punching and kicking a small figure at the corner of the road.

The figure huddled in the snow, clutching its head tightly with both hands, uttering no sound.

"Stop!" Chu Sheng shouted to stop them.

The four men turned around simultaneously, paused for a moment, and the leader said, "Where did this eccentric Taoist priest come from? Mind your own business!"

Chu Sheng ignored him, his gaze fixed on the huddled figure in the snow, and frowned, asking, "Why did you hit him?"

"This brat stole our shop's dry rations!" The bearded man pointed at the child and said menacingly, "Caught red-handed, don't you think he deserves a beating?"

"How much did you steal?" Chu Sheng asked.

"Three multigrain pancakes and a big bowl of cornmeal porridge!"

A tall, thin man behind the bearded man chimed in, "These days food is so precious, he's just a stinking beggar, what right does he have to—"

Before he could finish speaking, Chu Sheng took out a small piece of silver from his pocket and casually tossed it over.

The silver coin traced an arc in the air before landing on the snow at the bearded man's feet, sinking half an inch deep.

The bearded man paused for a moment, bent down to pick up the silver, and looked up at Chu Sheng with a changed expression.

"Is that enough?"

"That's enough, that's enough."

A smile spread across the bearded man's face. He pocketed the silver, waved to his three accomplices, and said, "Let's go, let's go. This kid got lucky."