CHAPTER 273: CHAPTER 273: TOP TIER DRAMA

"Keep your voice down," Meng Nian muttered under his breath, only half aware of Ruihuang glancing over at the sound of his voice. "We’re not sightseeing."

[Pfft, grumpy as ever. You should be thrilled, this is top-tier drama. Blood, betrayal, a creepy ex waiting in a haunted building. Peak content...you know.]

He ignored her.

The road stretched long ahead of them, the midday sun hanging high and still. Wind dragged dust across the broken sidewalks.

A few carcasses of abandoned vehicles lay sunken into overgrown gutters, long since stripped of anything useful.

Ruihuang whistled low under his breath, gaze scanning the terrain.

"If it weren’t for the end-of-the-world vibe, I’d say this place was peaceful."

Qingran didn’t respond.

Her eyes were locked ahead, every sense sharpened. She could feel the pull in her chest, like a taut string stretched between her and Boran. She hadn’t seen him since she got reborn , but the memories were sharp enough to sting.

She didn’t need Lingquan to remind her what she was walking into.

But still, his voice came.

[This won’t go the way you think.]

"I know."

[And yet you’re still going.]

"Im going to save Wei Sheng and make sure he doesn’t harm any of my people..."

[Pfft! Very well, I’ll protect you when the time comes..]

A breeze stirred through the rustling grass by the road’s edge. Ruihuang stepped over a collapsed sign, pausing briefly to glance at Qingran again.

"You sure we’re not walking into a trap?"

"Yes."

"Then you’re either very brave..." he said, falling back into step beside her, "...or incredibly reckless."

Qingran gave the faintest smile. "Both, probably..."

Meng Nian called out from ahead. "Rail line’s just over this hill. We’ll follow it north until the bend, then veer east."

Ruihuang gave a mock groan. "God, I miss cars."

"We all do.." Qingran muttered.

The hill was gradual, and the ascent gave them a better view of the sprawling wreckage that had once been the city’s eastern block.

Skyscrapers loomed far in the distance, but the nearer ruins were squat, half-fallen office buildings, rusted signage, exposed concrete beams.

But there was something else too.

Silence.

Not the comforting kind. The heavy, watching kind.

The kind that made Ruihuang lower his voice without meaning to. "No one’s infected?"

"Not yet, zombies aren’t in this zone?" Qingran said.

Which meant they were either lucky... or Boran had cleared the path intentionally.

Qiaoqiao’s voice danced in Meng Nian’s mind again.

[You feel that? That eerie tingle? That’s the rot trail. It’s faint, but present. We’re heading the right way.]

"You sure?"

[Please, I’m never wrong. And this Boran guy? He reeks.]

Meng Nian didn’t like the sound of that. But he kept quiet. Qingran already had enough on her mind.

They descended the hill and walked in silence for a while. The sun shifted gradually, and the shadows grew longer across the rail. Their steps crunched over gravel and dry leaves. Nature had begun reclaiming this place, but its breath was shallow, cautious. Even the birds were quiet.

Finally, Ruihuang broke the silence.

"You ever think what you’ll say to him when we get there?"

Qingran didn’t look at him.

"Why should I think about what I’m going to say to that bastard? He should be happy I don’t kill him on the spot.."

"Isnt he your ex? You should bekre ruthless "

-_-

Qingran chuckled "I loved him but I didn’t trust that bastard enough to date him. I was always getting this nagging feeling from him, but love clouded by vision. Because he hid his flaws, Feng Yizhou showed up like a creep the first day we met, it was very off putting but after spending some time with him, I realized I still liked him despite all that.."

Her voice held no tremble. She had nothing on Boran so she would face him with vengeance.

Meng Nian said nothing, but his fingers curled slightly tighter around the straps of his bag.

Far in the distance, past rusted wires and drooping lampposts, the ruins thickened.

The east side was close now. Whatever Boran had planned, they’d know soon enough.

Ruihuang rolled his neck. "Well, I came all this way. If we’re going to burn bridges, let’s make sure we salt the earth too."

Qingran didn’t answer. But for a moment, her steps quickened.

Meanwhile.

Inside the decaying structure that served as Boran’s current den, Wei Sheng’s body had been cleaned up but barely.

Boran had done the job himself.

He’d rinsed the worst of the blood away from his neck and arms, wiping the skin down with a damp rag that had once been part of someone’s uniform.

Wei Sheng’s pulse was weaker than before.

Moli watched him from across the room, curled lazily against the wall like a cat who’d eaten too much.

"You’re sentimental and delusional.." she said suddenly.

Boran didn’t reply. He was adjusting the broken leg of the old desk, making it stand level with a folded bit of cloth. His movements were deliberate.

"You don’t need him anymore..." she went on. "You know you don’t. You’ve already torn through his mind. He’s nothing but a husk."

"That’s all I need him to be but Qingran doesnt know that? I want her to believe she can still save him..."

Moli smiled "If you don’t need her as you claim, then let me kill her.."

-_-

Boran chuckled, what a fun y thing to say. "You couldn’t kill her when she was powerless, what gives you the guts to think you can kill her now? That blood that you drink doesn’t give you superhuman abilities. Don’t tell me it’s gotten to your head now?"

-_-

Moli gritted her teeth, but she didn’t say anything.

"Qingran is mine to use and discard and I’m just getting started. It’d be best to catch her offguard.."

[Your lady is heading this way, I can sense you plan on doing nothing to her. Your thoughts and what you say are two different things.]