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墨書 Inktalez
"Your dog's name is ridiculous."
A sharp voice echoed through the hall, startling Lin Daozhang.
The two turned to see a young lady with her hair tied up rushing into the bar. She glared at the Fake Taoist and said to the woman, "Sister Qian, do we still have any herbicide? I can't find it in the storage."
"There should be some left. Last time Ming Ge and the others moved back a lot," replied Sister Qian as she shooed away Big Yellow Dog. "You can ask Xiao Xiong later; he should know."
"Where is he?"
"He went out with Xiao Wei; there are Zombies outside." Sister Qian casually grabbed a towel from the bar and wiped the sweat off the girl's face, smiling as she said, "We have guests."
Song Jiu and his companion quickly stood up, awkwardly greeting them.
"What are Gaoyang and his crew up to this time?" The girl looked suspiciously at the two, puzzled. "I haven't seen you before."
"They're not from Gaoyang," Sister Qian chuckled, pulling the girl to sit across from them. "I'm Luci, this is Yinuo, and that dog is Erguotou. Don't get mixed up."
Boss Lin's face turned red with embarrassment as he clasped his hands and bowed slightly, apologizing, "Sorry, sorry. I'm Lin Qiangu."
"Song Jiu," Song Jiu replied simply, shaking hands with both women. He explained, "We were passing by when my companion got injured. We heard you have a doctor here, so we took the liberty of coming in."
"Bringing wine!" Yinuo laughed, giggling as she said, "Haha, Ming Ge will definitely like your name."
Song Jiu smiled awkwardly at her teasing and asked, "When will your doctor be back?"
"Almost there. The city hasn't been peaceful lately, and some of our people have been injured. We should be back by noon," Luci waved off the enthusiastic Foreigner and asked, "Where did you come from, and what’s the situation outside the city?"
"Same as before, just more Zombies."
"Are there many of you? Do you have a place to stay?" Luci inquired further.
"About twenty or thirty people. We're temporarily resting at the Taoist priest's place," Song Jiu replied cautiously, unsure of her intent.
"Oh, spring has come, and the Zombies are increasing again. If it's difficult for you to settle over there, you can come here," Luci stated directly. "We have enough housing to accommodate your people."
Song Jiu was taken aback; she hadn't expected such an offer and momentarily found herself at a loss for words. Typically, camps of Survivors tended to keep to themselves. They weren't necessarily unfriendly, but they wouldn't be so eager either. After all, resources were limited—more people meant more mouths to feed, and with mutual distrust, who would dare invite dozens of strangers into their midst?
Seemingly sensing Song Jiu's confusion, Luci didn't rush to respond. She stood up and brought over a teapot to pour cups of water for everyone. "I’m just throwing it out there; you can think about it without any pressure."
Song Jiu returned a polite smile. "Thank you for your invitation. After wandering outside for years, I’m not quite used to this sudden hospitality."
"I understand," Luci said with a warm smile as she stood up. "You all chat; I’ll step outside for a moment."
As Song Jiu and her companion watched Luci leave, they exchanged glances, unsure of what to say next. Yinuo across from them remained silent, resting her chin on her hand while observing the two with an inscrutable expression.
After a while, Yinuo seemed unable to hold back any longer and furrowed her brow as she asked, "Haven't I seen you somewhere before?"
"Um..."
"You—this ancient Taoist priest."
"No, no way," Boss Lin said, a bit nervous as he quickly averted his gaze and pretended to sip from an empty cup.
"That's not right, you've definitely been seen before." Yinuo suddenly reached out and tugged at Boss Lin's long beard, then covered the yellow crown on his head with her hand. Squinting for a moment, she exclaimed, "Oh, you're that thief!"
"Pfft." Song Jiu sprayed water all over the table and began to cough violently.
"You've got some nerve coming here," Yinuo said, standing up while gripping Lin Daozhang's proud beard. She frowned and added, "Get out of here, now."
"Miss Yinuo—"
"You can leave too." Yinuo's eyes widened as she glared at Song Jiu. She shouted towards the door, and soon several rugged men rushed in. She ordered, "Throw them both out."
Seeing the situation turning dire, Song Jiu realized that Boss Lin might have done more than just steal some seeds. Just as he was contemplating how to speak up, he suddenly spotted Luci running in through the door.
"What’s going on?" Luci asked in surprise, holding two plates stacked with golden fried buns.
"Sister Qian, this is a thief! Don’t you remember someone stole from the warehouse last year?" Yinuo glared at the two men angrily, exposing Boss Lin's past.
"No, no, I came here two years ago," Boss Lin stammered, his face turning red as he tried to explain. "It wasn't really stealing."
"Still trying to deny it?" Yinuo rolled up her sleeves, ready to strike. Luci quickly stepped in between them, first shooing away the men at the door before turning to Song Jiu. "Did you come here to steal something?"
"I don’t know; I really just arrived yesterday," Song Jiu replied, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. Seeing Yinuo's furious expression made him dread what Fake Taoist might have stolen. While trying to calm both sides down, he silently cursed himself for thinking that the temple seemed so innocent; it turned out to be quite the opposite.
"Let’s not argue; we need to clarify this," Luci said as she pushed the furious Yinuo back into her seat. She frowned at Song Jiu and asked, "What exactly happened?"
Song Jiu rolled his eyes, saying, "How many times do I have to say it? I just got here, why are you staring at me?"
"I confess, I confess," Lin Daozhang said with a wronged expression. After a moment of hesitation, he continued, "Two winters ago, I ran out of food and wanted to go into the city to find something to eat. Back then, you hadn't built the wall yet, and I saw some seeds by the vegetable field, so..."
"Don't give me that. Didn't you steal food from our warehouse?"
"I really didn't!" Lin Daozhang exclaimed, raising two fingers in a vow. "That was given to me by your boss!"
"Sister Qian, don't stop me. I'm going to beat him up today. Who would believe that Brother Ming would give you anything? Nonsense!" As she spoke, she broke free from Luci's restraint and lunged forward, grabbing a cup from the table to throw at Old Lin's head.
Song Jiu was taken aback; he hadn't expected her to actually go for it. If that cup hit solidly, it would definitely cause some damage. Following the principle of helping in emergencies, Song Jiu hurriedly pushed Old Lin aside and grabbed Yinuo's wrist, urging, "Let's talk this out calmly."
"You’re not any better!" Yinuo snapped back, one hand restrained while her other hand swung toward him with a whoosh.
What did I do to deserve this?
Song Jiu quickly dodged but found himself in a tight spot; the booth was cramped and made it difficult to maneuver. Meanwhile, Old Lin stood there foolishly, neither helping nor escaping. The hall quickly descended into chaos: Yinuo was furious and ready to fight, Luci was trying to mediate on both sides, and Yellow Dog was barking excitedly in the dance floor corner. Before long, a crowd had gathered at the entrance.
After being tugged around for a while, Song Jiu grew annoyed. If he didn’t need medical attention so badly, he would have slapped her twice already. Old Lin stole from you; why are you taking it out on me?
Fortunately, Yinuo's temper flared up quickly and faded just as fast. After a while of fruitless fighting, she huffed in frustration and plopped back down on the sofa.
"Can we talk this over calmly?" Song Jiu sighed in relief. This trip had been exhausting; he hadn’t run into any zombies but had been pulled around by a woman instead—how embarrassing.
Yinuo’s anger subsided somewhat as she glanced at Song Jiu and said, "This has nothing to do with you. Wait for your doctor; he must leave immediately."
“Yinuo, what’s going on?” Luci was also a bit confused; how did the usually good-natured girl suddenly explode like that?
“He’s a pervert,” Yinuo fumed, frustrated by the crowd around her, unable to explain clearly.
Song Jiu and Luci exchanged glances, both realizing something at the same time. They turned their attention to the dazed Lin Daozhang standing nearby.
Old Lin seemed to have given up on explaining. With a mournful sigh, he lamented, “It really has nothing to do with me. Just ask your boss, that Cyclops Dragon.”
“What do you want from me? Why is it so lively here?”
A male voice suddenly broke in, and the entire hall fell silent.
“Brother Ming!” Yinuo perked up immediately, bouncing on her feet and pointing at Lin Daozhang to accuse him. “That guy who sneaked away with the supplies is back!”
Song Jiu quickly turned to look and saw a thin man wearing a pink eye mask stepping forward from the crowd. He shook off his coat to dust it off and tossed it to someone behind him. His muscular torso was clad only in a tank top, revealing skin marked with scars. The man held a bottle of liquor, tilted his head back to take a couple of swigs, and then cheerfully ruffled Yinuo’s hair, his single eye scanning the awkwardly standing Song Jiu and Lin Daozhang before letting out a burp.
“Hey, why are you back?” Luci finally found an opportunity to put down her bowl. She waved her hand to disperse the onlookers and pulled down the curtain to block their curious gazes.
The light in the hall dimmed as sunlight filtered through the ventilation window, casting two square patches of light on the floor.
“There’s trouble at the city wall; there are quite a few Zombies and some unfamiliar faces,” Cyclops Dragon ignored the two girls and plopped down onto the sofa. “Xiao Wei will come back later to inform him. Everyone should stay alert; if the city gate falls, all those Zombies will come pouring in.”
“What about Gaoyang? Is he dead?” Luci raised an eyebrow and sneered.
“I don’t know; Yao Yao is keeping an eye on things over there. I came back to bring some people and grab a bite; I’m starving.” Cyclops Dragon laughed heartily as he grabbed a piece of steamed bun and stuffed it into his mouth, finally turning his attention to Song Jiu and Lin Daozhang.
"You guys, it's you," Cyclops said, a glint of unusual color flashing in his eyes as he pointed at the Fake Taoist and laughed. "When did you become a monk?"
Old Lin looked embarrassed. Seeing that this fellow recognized him, he finally let out a sigh of relief and said, "You have to help me explain. She insists that I stole something."
"Oh, you know each other?" Luci was completely confused. She stepped outside for a moment and brought in an elderly woman with graying hair.
Song Jiu immediately noticed the white coat the old lady was wearing. While he felt delighted, he couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. This doctor looked quite old; could she handle delicate surgeries?
"I know her. Didn't I tell you? This kid was out in the suburbs all alone," Cyclops grinned, pulled out a metal box, opened it, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag from the bottom of the bottle before asking, "Why can't you manage on your own?"
"I'm doing fine; it's him who needs your help," Lin Daozhang estimated that he probably wouldn't get beaten up now and, being quite loyal, added that Song Jiu was still a bit nervous. "I've done the disinfection."
"Okay, what about follow-up treatment?"
"Uh..."
"Don't worry; I can treat it." Doctor Yu affectionately ruffled Song Jiu's hair and gave him a kind smile. "It's just that we don't have any anesthetics left, so you'll have to bear with it, as will your companion."
After the business car left, the crowd that had gathered to watch dispersed back to their posts.
Cyclops remained seated in the booth, frowning as he pondered something while the ashtray beside him accumulated several more cigarette butts.
"It's suffocating," Yinuo said as she lifted the curtain to let in some air. She sat down opposite him and asked, "What happened? Just now Sister Qianqian wanted to recruit them; didn't you say you were short on manpower?"
"Yes, it's a lack, but we can't keep them here." The Cyclops Dragon exhaled a puff of smoke and sighed, "The Zombie's hand is getting longer; I don't know how much longer we can stay calm here."
Mentioning the Zombie made Yinuo's expression darken a bit. She sighed softly, "Should we consider Sister Yao's suggestion to find Dongdong and Xiao Jin?"
"Let's wait and see." The Cyclops Dragon hesitated, unable to voice his true feelings. He extinguished his cigarette and stood up from the booth. "Clean up a bit; I'll take the night watch tonight."
"Okay." Yinuo didn't ask further. She stood up to tidy the table when she suddenly noticed something. Bending down, she picked up an object from under the booth. "Oh?"
"What is it?" The Cyclops Dragon paused at the door.
Yinuo stared blankly for a moment, then turned around, holding up a picture frame in her hand. "Where did this come from?" she murmured.
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