A Time-Traveling Zombie Romance (GL) - Chapter 10

“Junior Brother, it won’t be long before we reach Anle Village. Anle Village is a small village near the capital city. It’s quite close to the city, so I believe we’ll be there soon. For now, let’s rest here for a while.” After traveling for nearly four hours, Yunxi and I found a large rock on a hillside near Anle Village and sat down to rest.

“Senior Sister, why do we have to go to this Anle Village? I’m exhausted! We’ve already been walking for almost four hours!” I exclaimed in frustration. Four hours is equivalent to eight hours in total—my legs would have surely collapsed if I hadn’t trained in lightness skill and had sufficient inner strength. Even now, my knees still ached. Thinking of this, I couldn’t help but curse my senior uncle, Qin Fei.

“Endure it a little longer, Junior Brother. Once we reach Anle Village, we’ll find an inn to stay for the night and change your bandages. Tomorrow morning, we’ll continue our journey. We should be able to reach the capital before noon,” Yunxi said with a gentle, innocent smile, instantly melting my frustration. My mind went blank as I stared at her.

“Oh… okay. Alright, I’ll listen to you, Senior Sister,” I said after a brief pause, quickly regaining composure with a smile.

After resting on the rock for a short while, Yunxi and I resumed our journey. We finally arrived at Anle Village before sunset and went to an inn called “Manfu Inn.” Upon entering, I saw it was filled with many guests. The noise of chatter, drinking, and laughter mingled together, creating a lively atmosphere. Over the past ten years, except for my master and Yunxi, I had hardly seen anyone. Now, seeing so many people gathered in this inn, I truly felt like I was part of this world. A smile crept across my face.

Yunxi, who was used to the tranquility of the mountains and forests, felt slightly uncomfortable with the noise and frowned.

However, the lively inn fell silent as soon as Yunxi and I entered. I noticed various emotions in the eyes of those present: surprise, admiration, envy, love, and jealousy. The men stared at Yunxi in awe, their mouths agape, and I even thought I saw a trace of drool from some of them. The women stared at me, their eyes filled with hearts. I felt a tinge of displeasure seeing these men ogle Yunxi, while Yunxi herself appeared slightly annoyed at the attention.

“Ahem,” I cleared my throat, and my loud voice snapped everyone back to reality.

“Innkeeper, two rooms, please,” I said, holding Yunxi’s hand as I approached the counter, tapping on the table.

After a moment with no response, I looked at the innkeeper in confusion. The innkeeper, still dazed, stared at us. I gave him a cold glare. Feeling the warning in my eyes, he immediately regained his composure and said, “Sir, you’ve arrived at an inopportune time. We only have one room left.”

“One room?… Well… let’s look for another inn, Junior Brother,” Yunxi suggested, trying to pull me toward the door.

“It’s fine, Senior Sister. One room will do,” I replied.

“Senior Sister, it’s fine, I’m the female, so it doesn’t matter,” I whispered, leaning close to her cheek. Yunxi’s face turned crimson from my action, while the people in the inn were shocked by our apparent intimacy.

“Hehe, have a servant show us up,” I said, placing a small coin on the counter. The innkeeper quickly accepted it and called a nimble servant to guide us upstairs. I held Yunxi’s hand openly as we ascended.

Yunxi’s ears were red, her head lowered. After we left, the people downstairs whispered among themselves.

“Wow, that woman is stunning,” a man exclaimed to his companions.

“Indeed, she’s like a celestial goddess. Her slender waist, fair delicate hands, and flawless beauty… if she were my wife, I’d die beneath the peonies, even in the afterlife it would be glorious!” another man gushed.

“Tch, that young master is handsome too, dressed in white like an immortal. I wish he were my husband,” a woman swooned.

“They’re a perfect match, a heavenly pair on earth,” others echoed.

I laughed out loud on the floor, contrasting with my previous imposing demeanor.

“Senior Sister, hehe, did you hear that? They said… we’re a ‘heavenly pair on earth,’ hahaha!” I chuckled.

Yunxi lowered her head, embarrassed, and said, “Alright, Junior Brother, stop laughing.”

I mischievously stuck out my tongue and called, “Servant!”

“Yes, sir! How may I serve you?” the servant replied promptly.

“Boil two buckets of water for us. We’ll bathe,” I instructed.

“Right away, sir!” the servant ran off.

After half an hour, Yunxi and I finished bathing and sat on the bed in our clothes. Yunxi held the ointment to treat my wounds, sitting cross-legged opposite me. I stretched my legs, letting her apply the medicine.

“Senior Sister, let’s sleep together tonight,” I teased.

Blushing, Yunxi shyly replied, “O-okay, Junior Brother.”

“Hehe, why be shy? We’ve slept together before,” I said.

“But… this isn’t our place,” she whispered.

After applying the medicine, we had a simple dinner downstairs and then went back to the room to read for a while before sleeping. Even with high martial skills, a day of travel required proper rest.

“Junior Brother, what do you want to be in the future?” Yunxi asked suddenly as we lay facing each other.

“Hehe,” I smiled softly, “I want to be a free wanderer.”

“Oh? What’s a free wanderer?”

“Living between heaven and earth, appreciating its wonders. Occasionally in the halls of power, yet distant from the mundane world. Witnessing the suffering of the people, admiring the beauty of the land. Sometimes upholding justice, sometimes drunkenly reclining across the mountains. Sharing wine with a loved one, roaming freely across the world. That is a free wanderer.”

“How free indeed. If life is such, what regrets could there be?” Yunxi’s eyes lit up with a smile.

“Yes, exactly! Haha!” I nodded eagerly.

“Then I shall also be a free wanderer with you, Junior Brother! Otherwise, I’d envy you too much,” Yunxi smiled softly.

“Perfect. Then, Senior Sister, let us drink and roam through this world together!”

“With you, I roam freely,” Yunxi said seriously, gazing into my eyes.

Somehow, my heart warmed, and I felt a subtle joy. Seeing her so focused on me, my face blushed uncontrollably.

“Eh? Junior Brother, your face is red,” Yunxi teased with a mischievous smile.

“Who… who said that? I’m not blushing,” I stammered, trying to change the topic, “Go get some rest, Senior Sister. We have to continue our journey tomorrow.”

“Okay,” she replied.

I soon drifted into a peaceful sleep that night.

Unbeknownst to me, Yunxi had been staring at my face for a while, gently touching my forehead, eyebrows, eyes, nose, and lips, whispering, “Do you know my heart, Junior Brother…” before leaning into my embrace and falling asleep.

In the morning, I woke to see Yunxi already dressed. She asked, “Junior Brother, did you sleep well last night?”

“Hehe, very well,” I replied.

After washing up, we had a simple breakfast and prepared to continue our journey, preferring to avoid the lecherous gazes of the crowd.

Before noon, we finally arrived at the capital within two hours.

Outside the city gates, many people dressed in plain clothes, carrying bundles, moved in and out. I was stunned at the sight of the tall city walls and armored guards standing like wooden statues. The thick brick walls resembled an iron fortress. Looking inside, I could only see a seemingly endless street with bustling people and vendors, creating an atmosphere both solemn and lively.

“Senior… Senior Sister, is this the capital?” I asked, wide-eyed, like a naïve child discovering the world.

“Yes, this is the capital,” Yunxi confirmed.

“Alright then. Let’s hurry into the city,” I said, grabbing Yunxi’s hand and running forward.

“Ah, Junior Brother, slow down! People are watching!” Yunxi exclaimed.

“Don’t worry,” I replied, holding her hand as we ran.

As we entered the city, people stared, both astonished by our appearance and scandalized by our hand-holding. (In the ancient times, even slight contact between men and women could be considered improper.)

“Wow! Senior Sister, what’s this? Looks fun…” I exclaimed, noticing a vendor selling curious items.

The vendor, seeing a handsome young master, smiled brightly and said, “Sir, I have everything! This is a jade piece, smooth and white, very valuable. And this folding fan, exquisitely crafted.”

“Uhm… maybe not,” I replied, turning my attention to another vendor calling out, “Delicious candied hawthorn, come and buy!”

Eyes sparkling, I asked, “How much for one skewer?”

The honest-looking vendor replied, “Only two wen per skewer.” (Based on my currency system: 100 wen = 1 tael of silver, 100 taels silver = 1 tael gold.)

“Wow, so cheap! Give me two skewers,” I said excitedly.

After buying them, I handed one skewer to Yunxi.

“Junior Brother, why didn’t you buy those fancy things? Why the candied hawthorn?” Yunxi asked.

“Hehe, the antique vendor seemed sly. Those jade pieces and fans were ordinary, but he exaggerated their value to scam others. The hawthorn vendor is honest and fair-priced. Plus, I really wanted to eat it,” I explained, taking a bite.

“Hehe, Junior Brother, you…” Yunxi chuckled, lightly tapping my forehead.

“Senior Sister, eat! It’s really good,” I said with my mouth full. Yunxi laughed, bit into the top hawthorn slowly, and said, “It’s really delicious.”

I finished mine quickly, wanting more, but the vendor had already left. I felt a bit disappointed.

“Don’t worry, Junior Brother, you can buy it anytime,” Yunxi reassured me.

“Mm,” I replied.

As we headed toward the Xiaoyao Wangfu (Xiaoyao Prince’s Mansion), a girl in a red dress suddenly collided into me. I jumped.

“Miss… are you alright?” I asked with concern.

The girl looked up, stunned, then said angrily, “Let go of me!”

“Oh… sorry!” I stepped back.

“Miss, wait for us, slow down!” Her attendants chased after her with gifts.

“Hmph, if it weren’t for my brother returning today, I’d have punished you for impropriety. Remember this!” she said, blushing, before leaving.

I stood there, stunned. “Senior Sister, didn’t she bump into me? Why blame me?”

“Hehe, Junior Brother, it’s fine. She’s just thinking of her brother,” Yunxi said.

After a while, we finally arrived at my home, Xiaoyao Wangfu. Seeing the four characters on the gate, I felt immense excitement and shouted inwardly: “I’m home!” Holding Yunxi’s hand, I walked into the mansion.