Chapter 38—The Promised Land of myths and legends

By Bocchan13

Extra Chapter!

Xiao Zi did not have much strength, but he had been a biochemist and pharmacist. Seeing the jagged scar on Lan Zhou’s leg, he knew that if it hadn’t been treated early, it could become septic leading to shock and blood poisoning.

“You’re doing a good job cutting the dead skin. Make sure you don’t cut the muscle. Feel it with your finger, the layers. Cut as closely as you can.”

Song Yu nodded and continued to cut the sides of the wound. His skills were rudimentary, but passable. Wang Cheng had only been gone three or four minutes before rushing back in.

“I got it! Song Yu! I got it! Here!” Wang Cheng took the medicine out of his breast pocket, his face filled with glee.

“Feed him two tablets and wash it down with water. I’m still working on the leg.”

“Yessir!”

Yu Ci and Lu Jingxiu had little to no knowledge other than military first aid. They watched silently as the other three worked on Lan Zhou. Xiao Zi was still in the wheelchair, and his bruised ribs didn’t let him lift his arms. But he was deeply knowledgeable in medicine, so counseled Song Yu in handling it.

Song Yu was breathing heavily, sweat pouring everywhere. Like he did yesterday, he stitched the newly cleansed wound together. He had cut quite a bit, so the skin was very taut. Song Yu diligently sewed 37 stitches, drizzling the cleaning agent on top, and wrapped Lan Zhou’s leg himself.

The sun was now high in the sky, and everyone was dead tired. Lan Zhou’s fever still hadn’t broken, but his temperature went down a notch.

“Thank you.”

Song Yu was washing his hands when he heard it. Turning around, he saw 4 men bowing deeply to him. Their reverence and respect was evident in every aspect of their bearings. His breath caught. Lu Jingxiu came up to him and put something in his hands. Opening it, he saw a spirit stone.

Spirit stones were a manifestation of someone’s spiritual resonance. When the apocalypse occurred and people started getting abilities, someone managed to condense their ability into a stone. Because it took so much effort, time and energy, the stones in itself held massive power. They could be used to help in upgrading the spiritual level, or used in combat against zombies.

The smaller the stone, the bigger the input. This became comparable to gold. Used as currency, those who had higher levels could create even purer stones that resembled marbles.

However, the biggest drawback was that spiritual stones could only be made using active abilities. Things like fire, water, ice, earth, lightning, wind, and others were applicable. For Song Yu’s and Wang Cheng’s space ability and Xiao Zi’s healing ability being passive, they could not input a spiritual resonance.

Song Yu blankly stared at the marble-like stone. It glowed a vibrant blue, swirling inside like a galaxy. It held a small depth of warmth. Song Yu knew that this was a very powerful spirit stone. The last one Song Yu saw in his previous life was one just like this, used for…Song Yu forgot?

But looking at the stone, with little to no impurities; Song Yu realized that the stone was probably their last trump card. With both Lan Zhou and Xiao Zi out of commission, they could have used this spirit stone to kill him.

But they didn’t. Instead, they gave him their last weapon. Holding the marble, with its beautiful blue sheen, the ability user was most likely Lan Zhou’s blue flames. They trusted him with this. They were willing to die just to thank Song Yu.

The humble feeling of being validated. The glow of pride when someone compliments you on a job well done or the brief pat on the back when the day is over; it was something he hadn’t felt in a long…long time.

Those lonely days fighting with his colleagues about Paradise Base, those subordinates that wouldn’t listen to him, or the levels of hostility when he was out of commission because he exhausted his spiritual powers…his entire past life was like a joke.

All he ever wanted was a ‘You can rest now. You did well.’

And unexpectedly, it came in the form of four awkward men, and one unconscious man huddled in the medic room, with eyes filled with veneration and courtesy. Song Yu laughed bitterly to himself. Was that all it took to get his defenses down?

But it truly was. Song Yu realized that he wouldn’t have minded to have these people around him. But that was a thought he would think on later. Cradling the spirit stone he nodded in acknowledgement.

“You guys must be hungry and tired. Wang Cheng, move Lan Zhou and Xiao Zi into your space. I’ll take you guys somewhere more comfortable. Get you a shower and a change of clothes.”

Minds made up, Wang Cheng did as instructed; Song Yu leading them, they left the medic room, out of the gym and into the sunlight.

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.

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Lan Zhou felt clammy. There was pain in his torso, but a burning sensation on his leg. It felt like someone took a hot poker and slid it across his skin. But more than that, he felt dizzy and nauseous. The discomfort made him wake up. Opening his eyes to slits, his blurry eyes took in the view. Up above his head was a cascading canopy of white, enveloping him. Sniffing the air, he smelled sunshine and…washing detergent.

There was so much confusion. He cracked his head to the side and saw a gigantic window that opened to a large roof veranda. On the veranda was a table with an umbrella on top. Scattered around it was books and magazines blowing pages in the sunny afternoon.

Did…I get reborn again?

He struggled to get up and winced when he put pressure on his abdomen. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and his bodysuit had been taken off, only leaving a pair of briefs. He saw on his leg a very large bandage that looked to have been freshly applied. He didn’t even know that his leg was hurt.

His head was still dizzy, but his mind was overall clear. Looking around the room, he saw a comfortable low table and sofa with a few throw pillows and blankets on it. To the left was a door leading to the bathroom and another to the closet. On the walls hung pictures of various maps and agricultural study texts; peering in closer, there were red dots and markings showing locations of various cities and villages in the area.

Lan Zhou leaned off the side, his barefoot touching soft carpet.

Where am I?

He hobbled out of the room to the veranda. The veranda was sizeable, almost spanning the entire roof. Not only was there the table, but a hot tub and foot bath. It looked like a summer villa for the extreme elite. Lan Zhou peered over the veranda to the view outside and was stunned. Beautiful mountains, forests and a stunning blue lake were in his sights. A paradise of nature, the afternoon sun shining the vibrant colors of green, blue, and reds spanning as far as the eyes could see.

Now Lan Zhou knew he was in heaven.

He heard some light laughter. Looking down from two stories, his eyes widened once again. Down below, he saw Wang Cheng, Yu Ci and Lu Jingxiu wearing straw hats, gloves and mud boots, holding…gardening equipment? They laughed mildly as they continued walking. Lan Zhou saw that to the south, there was a large vegetable patch, filled with luscious harvest.

They still sported weapons on their bodies like knives, but their overall aura was one of contentment and...happiness.

Lan Zhou quickly left the veranda, his hobbled steps trying to find the exit. His eyes were searching around this seemingly expansive villa. Every room he walked past felt like times when the zombie apocalypse didn’t happen. He could see light bulbs shining brightly, water dripping from the sinks, and the unmistakable smell of grilled meats and rice.

Like this place had been frozen in time two years prior. All of this was a painstaking effort to keep that simple life. Lan Zhou now understood Song Yu’s hesitance in bringing them here. If it was anyone else, they would have killed him and taken over his land, corrupted it and transformed it.

Although his eyes looked at these treasures, all he felt was relief and happiness for Song Yu. Song Yu had done well despite the apocalypse.

Lan Zhou felt relief. Relief that Song Yu didn’t struggle after the apocalypse. Relief that every day, Song Yu had a full belly of food, fine companionship, a solid stable life and the only worry of what he would do the next day.

He saw the long flights of stairs and couldn’t help but sigh. His leg was still aching, and his struggle to get downstairs could inevitably make him fall. He hobbled back into the room where he was staying at and left to the veranda once again.

The view was simply extraordinary.

But the thing that got his eyes to widen even further was the tall, lithe man tilling the fields already. The straw hat sheltered his face from his view, but he would recognize that back anywhere. The person took off their gloves and wiped their face with the towel around his neck, showing white delicate skin. A gleam of sweat dripped down, travelling down his shirt.

The head suddenly jerked to his direction. Eyes meeting eyes, Lan Zhou gulped; heart palpitating. Once again, he was struck by how much Song Yu affected him.

But funnily enough, he didn’t mind it one damn bit.