CH 38

Chapter 38: Peach wood defensive talisman

"Not. One. Bit." Gritting his teeth and spitting out these three words, one can clearly see senior officer Long's small store of patience has long depleted.

"Since you don't love them, then why keep searching?" Huo Zaiyuan inquires.

"I do not wish to, but my grandfather forced me to. The entire story is like this…" Long Zhanye explains the entire story from head to tail, the amount of bitterness in his words is enough to flood the entire Z City.

Hearing that whole story, Huo Zaiyuan gazes at Long Zhanye with a face full of pity, his heart understanding just how vexing the entire ordeal would be.

"Older brother Long, I really sympathise with you." Putting down his chopsticks, he reaches out to pat his (LZY) shoulder in comfort. "So what are you going to do now? The entire Z City is filled with zombies."

If he was the previous Huo Zaiyuan, after listening to the Elder Taoist's calculating Long Zhanye's fate in life, he would have treated it as a joke. But now, he dares not to distrust it. The notes Huo Tianji left behind all have something to do with cultivation, talismans, arrays, etc, but not one talked about calculating someone's fate. Therefore, he has no way to help Long Zhanye calculate his fate again and can only stand by to watch.

Not be able to live past thirty…

"I wouldn't search anymore. Before the apocalypse, I didn't manage to find them. Now, with zombies roaming everywhere, I wouldn’t be able to find them even if I want to." Long Zhanye shrugs his shoulders, expression uncaring. "Doesn't everyone becomes stressed when talking about their own fate? Perhaps that person and I have no fate together. Even so, the Heavens doesn't treat me all that badly, allowing me to meet Little Yuan." Saying that, he grins at Huo Zaiyuan.

After the meal, Long Zhanye automatically gathers the bowls and chopsticks, washing them and putting them back in order. Watching that person's slender back view, his left hand flicks beneath the table, bringing out the Holy Dragon Bone Brush, a bamboo tube filled with spring water, the glass bottle containing the crystals, the ink saucer as well a wooden tile before laying everything out on the table before him.

Dropping a crystal onto the saucer, then add spring water, Huo Zaiyuan dips the brush in the scarlet ink, mixing his spiritual energy with the brush's and injecting the fusion through it. Lifting the tile, he focuses all his attention on drawing a spell on it.

Finished washing the dishes, Long Zhanye returns to the table only to find Huo Zaiyuan focusing intensely on gripping a calligraphy brush and drawing runes he can't make sense of onto a piece of wood. Although he is curious about how the youth manage to bring so many things out in such a short amount of time, he refrains from making any noise and disturbing him.

When the final stroke is done, Huo Zaiyuan exhales a long breath and places the Holy Dragon Bone Brush beside the saucer. This is his second time using a devil ant crystal as material to create a talisman. Running his finger lightly over the runes, he can sense the strong power emitting from it, even more than the ones he created during his first go at using this scarlet ink. Feeling very pleased, he raises his eyes and meets the deep dark gaze of the man sitting opposite him, a fist at his cheek propping up his head.

"Older brother Long, this is a defensive talisman. If you keep it on you, it will protect you." While he knows the other male is very strong, the moment he heard the sentence "cannot live past thirty", he immediately thought of a way to provide some measure of protection.

Taking the offered peach wood talisman, Long Zhanye smiles lightly, tucking it into his clothes like a treasured item.

Seeing that he accepted it without hesitation, Huo Zaiyuan smiles, returning the items on the table into his space all at once. Upon seeing this, Long Zhanye is momentarily stunned.

(Translator’s notes: In case it’s not clear, LZY didn’t tell HZY the name of the person he wants to find…but they found each other anyway! (ω ) ~ )