My heart skipped a beat, but I didn't loosen my grip. Instead, I tightened it further, making Lord Huang yelp in pain.
Only after securing my hold on him did I climb off the female corpse.
Seeing her blood-red eyes staring back at me was unsettling, so I quickly freed a hand and pulled the black cloth back over her face.
Lord Huang trembled all over, momentarily forgetting to struggle. When he saw me cover the woman's face, he stammered, "Kid, y-you better tell me honestly, where did you get this woman?"
"None of your business!" I snapped, carrying him toward a wooden stump where I had prepared a club.
Seeing that I intended to kill him, Lord Huang panicked. "Wait! Listen to me! Let me go, and I can save your life. Otherwise, you won't survive this woman—ten lives wouldn't be enough to cover your death!"
Thinking he was still trying to scare me, I slammed him against the stump and sneered, "She's my wife. What's she gonna do? Bite me to death?"
Lord Huang scoffed. "Ignorance is bliss. Wife? Just because you call her that? Mark my words—seven days from now, you're doomed."
"Seven days? What do you mean?" I hesitated, my club pausing in midair.
Seeing a glimmer of hope, Lord Huang hurriedly said, "Seven days later, her inner core—"
But before he could finish, his eyes widened in sheer terror, fixed on something behind me.
I frowned. "You think I'd fall for that trick?"
Without waiting, I pinned his head to the stump and brought the club down hard.
His body twitched, his limbs spasmed, and then—silence.
I sighed in relief and stood up, ready to deal with the other yellow weasels still lurking around the windows and door.
But the moment I turned around, my legs went numb, as if filled with lead. The club slipped from my grasp and clattered to the ground.
The female corpse had sat up.
I took several deep breaths, forcing myself to stay calm.
We stared at each other for minutes, neither of us moving. When she didn't react further, I cautiously stepped closer and muttered, "Wife, don't scare me like that. I was just handling the yellow weasels for you. If I hadn't stopped them, you'd probably be giving birth to little weasels by now."
"We swore our vows before heaven and earth. If you bite me or scare me to death, you'll end up a widow."
As soon as I finished speaking, she collapsed back onto the bed.
I exhaled deeply.
So, even zombies fear becoming widows.
Before I could fully relax, Lord Huang, who should've been dead, suddenly bolted up from the stump. In a flash, he scurried toward the door.
Cursing under my breath, I chased after him.
He reached the entrance, turned back, and sneered, "Kid, you'll regret this."
With that, he vanished into the fields.
Frustrated, I clenched my fists. That damn creature had a ridiculously hard skull.
At least he ran away. His minions, however, were still trapped in my snare.
Glancing at the woman on the bed—still motionless—I went to the side room and found an iron cage meant for trapping rats. I stuffed the captured weasels inside, secured the door with iron wire, and hung the cage on a wooden pole in the courtyard.
Once finished, I shouted into the empty night, "If you don't come explain this tonight, I'll stretch your little disciples out and see how flexible they really are!"
Lord Huang wasn't smart, or else he could've bitten through the rope and freed his kin earlier.
But he was cunning in his own way—he wouldn't have fled too far. He had definitely heard me.
By the time I was done, it was already midnight.
I shut the door and returned inside, my gaze settling on the woman's still abdomen.
Recalling my mother's worried expression, I knew I couldn't delay this any longer.
But setting her on fire? I didn't have the guts to do it now.
After much deliberation, I decided to wait seven days and see.
For now, I had to check if she had a heartbeat.
Blushing, I reached my hand inside.
I swear, I had no ulterior motives. I just wanted to confirm if her heart was beating.
As for why it took a while… well, blame her overly ambitious chest for affecting my judgment.
And honestly, the feeling was… very strange.
By dawn, Lord Huang still hadn't shown up.
It seemed he had truly abandoned his disciples.
Unable to stay awake any longer, I leaned against the woman's bed and drifted into sleep.
The next morning, when I checked her again, I still couldn't detect a heartbeat.
I sighed in frustration.
I'd have to try again tonight.
Stepping outside, I glared at the weasels in the cage.
Since their master refused to show, I'd deal with them myself.
Finding an old, rusty hatchet, I carried the iron cage to a stone slab and began sharpening the blade.
As the grinding sound echoed, the little yellow weasels curled up inside, trembling.
Even though they weren't fully sentient, they had enough intelligence to understand their fate.
While sharpening, I muttered, "Don't blame me. Blame Lord Huang for abandoning you."
After testing the blade's sharpness, I grew impatient.
How long was Lord Huang planning to wait? Was he really going to abandon them?
If I didn't kill him first, taking revenge on these little ones would only escalate our feud into an endless cycle of bloodshed.
After half an hour, I lost my patience.
Staring at the caged weasels, my murderous intent grew.
I reached in, grabbed one, and pressed it against the stump.
Just as I raised the hatchet, a pleading voice called from the entrance, "Brother Li Yang, my dear brother!"
Hearing my name, my heart skipped a beat.
I tightened my grip on the hatchet.
Lord Huang cautiously approached, holding a wooden box. He opened it to reveal a jade bracelet.
"What's this supposed to mean?" I asked, keeping the blade close to the little weasel's throat.
Lord Huang squeezed his floral-patterned shorts between his legs and shuddered. "Brother Li, this is a great treasure—I dug it up from an ancient tomb in the mountains!"
Seeing he still wasn't sincere, I dragged the blade across the weasel's neck slightly.
Lord Huang's short legs trembled, and with a thud, he dropped to his knees.
Huh.
I took a closer look at the little weasel in my grip, memorizing its features.
"Brother Li, let's just put this behind us. I, Lord Huang, swear—if I ever cause trouble for you again, may I never become human!"
For them, never becoming human meant never achieving immortality.
I didn't believe in immortals, but he did.
Since he swore by it, I was somewhat reassured.
I didn't want a never-ending feud. As long as Lord Huang stayed away from the female corpse, this could be settled.
Lowering the hatchet, I asked, "What else do you have to say?"
Lord Huang hesitated, then warned, "There's a new predator within a hundred miles."
I frowned. "And?"
Lord Huang's eyes darkened. "Far more dangerous than me."