Nie Zheng — The Unassuming Dagger

"…Levi." Bai Jingting raised an eyebrow, his tongue rolling over the name several times before he finally shrugged it off.

No matter how he tried to tune his voice, it was bound to come out strange.

"Sleep. You'll need it to regain your strength."

"Where did those strange beings come from?"

Bai Jingting had already taken three steps away when Levi's question stopped him in his tracks, causing him to pause momentarily.

He turned, meeting the gazes of others who perked their ears at the inquiry. It was a question that had plagued them all since the beginning of the outbreak of this pandemic, which made it a struggle to survive without knowing the actual source of the problem.

From Bai Jingting's expression, it seemed like he might know a thing or two.

The man with the crossbow, who had just settled in for the night, hesitated. He lowered the bedsheet he was about to pull over himself, glanced at Levi and then covered himself up again while releasing a distasteful but low sigh.

Being the only man standing while others sat or were leaning against the wall, Bai Jingting could see and feel he was the focal point of everyone in the fairly large room.

"They're fellow humans like you and I, who were used as experiments by Lord Meng of Meng residence. Spirits from the netherworld were summoned and forced to take over their bodies. The intention was to create an unstoppable army, however most of the spirits weren't accepted willingly by the hosts. The result… the bodies mutated into the terrors we now see on the streets."

"You're saying Lord Meng caused this!" A woman gasped, her voice shaking. "My husband works in that manor and he hasn't returned since yesterday!" Tears pooled in a woman's eyes as she trembled like a frail cat in the snow.

Bai Jingting's expression didn't change. "What's his name?"

Hope shone in the woman's eyes, like the first light of the dawn.

"Li Chen. He's an inner manor guard and he's good with the sword. They won't use someone like that for such an evil experiment… right?"

Levi froze.

'That man was her husband?!' His eyes narrowed. 'No… Maybe it's another man with the same name.'

Although he tried to convince himself, the woman's description echoed several times until his false conviction shattered.

Levi ground his teeth. 'You could have just said your husband's name is Li Chen! What was the need for all those descriptions!'

Yes, it was to make sure Bai Jingting wouldn't think of another person. But that didn't stop Levi from grumbling.

He knew the man was dead.

He felt bad, not for Li Chen but for his wife.

She would probably loathe him if she discovered that her husband died while chasing him.

'He was probably doing it for his family… but I also want to survive to get back to my family.'

His gaze suddenly lacked the empathy it once had.

If he were the one who died, his mother would cry just like this frail woman.

Bai Jingting sighed. "Sigh! I don't know his fate but an inner manor swordsman should be able to survive. However, against a perfect host… he won't stand a chance."

Levi's ears perked.

This perfect host, was it that seemingly sentient being whose face was hidden behind that eerie rabbit mask?

"Perfect host?" The woman repeated, then shook her head in denial. "Li Chen is smart. He won't fight against those stronger than him."

A hot burst of air left Levi's lips.

A soft scowl that no one except the shifty-eyed man beside him heard and saw.

For some reason, the shifty-eyed man turned his focus to him—not exactly at him, but rather the bleeding cut on his cheek.

The way he stared made Levi wary.

Bai Jingting continued. "The perfect hosts are bodies that allow the spirits without rejection. They are the highest-ranking infected and can attack without clawing or biting at you—!"

"If you see one of them." the crossbow man's muffled voice cut in from beneath the sheets, "you must know one thing. You're dead because those things mark the scent of those they see and can track them anywhere."

Levi almost collapsed.

Bai Jingting chuckled. "It's okay. We have placed a talisman that wards them off."

"Yet they can teleport." The crossbow man sat up suddenly. "If anyone here has seen a perfect host… they should leave. Those things will hunt them down. And they will kill us all in the process."

The air grew tense as everyone's eyes darted around the room, filled with uncertainty and suspicion.

Then—

All of a sudden, a man screamed, causing everyone to look in his direction.

It was the shifty-eyed man.

He scrambled backwards from Levi like he had seen a demon in human form.

"It's him!" he shrieked. "He has seen one!"

Swoosh!

The crossbow man threw the bedsheet off, shot up and looked at Levi.

Everyone stared at Levi, some had expressions of dread, some apprehension, and some had pity.

"He acted strangely when Elder Brother Bow mentioned the perfect host," the shifty-eyed man shrieked.

"He's also bleeding! Cast him out before he brings our doom!"

Levi stared at this slim yet crafty man, imagining himself slamming an unrelenting barrage of punches into his face. But the thought remained just that—in his mind. Acting on it would turn him into a public enemy.

"It's true. His blood will attract those things!" A rotund man who no one knew how he was able to survive this far, pointed his short, plump finger at Levi.

"Their sense of smell isn't that acute. And don't you think it's shameful to point fingers at a kid?" Bai Jingting glared at the accusers.

"Humph! My nephew was already married at his age," the rotund man scowled.

Levi's heart pounded against his rib. His palms were already sweaty but he didn't dare say a word as anything he said might reveal something they would use by twisting it against him.

Instead, he kept a shocked facade, hoping to deceive the crossbow man. But he knew it wouldn't last forever.

Yet, the man kept staring at him with the piercing eyes of a seasoned hunter.

"What if he was truly seen by a perfect host?"

The frail woman's soft voice shattered any remaining hope.

This was it.

This was the end.

Doubt had poisoned the hearts of others, meaning it no longer mattered if he was seen or not, they simply wanted him out!

Levi felt scorching rage burning inside his heart.

Rage like no before.

At that very moment, the crossbow man rose to his feet, pointing his crossbow at him.

"We can't risk it."

Bai Jingting finally turned to Levi with an apologetic gaze.

"Can you do one thing for me?" Bai Jingting approached and placed his hand on his shoulder.

Levi knew Bai Jingting was the only one with a favourable view of him so his vigilance lowered—just a bit.

From his robes, Bai Jingting unwrapped a cloth, revealing a dagger with a gleaming, polished blade.

It was a one edged black blade with the sharpened edge being silver in colour.

Etched on it were two words: Nie Zheng.

"You were seen." Bai Jingting said.

The words hit like a hammer.

Levi's eyes widened.

A hand with the colour and texture of an oak tree bark tore through the door, landing heavily on the rotund man's shoulder. The black claws pierced through his tunic and into the soft flesh beneath.

"Argh!"

Boom!

With strength beyond an average human, the hand yanked the man through the wooden wall. His desperate screams grew louder until they suddenly stopped.

Step.

Levi took a single step back, turned and dashed toward the other side.

There had to be a backdoor.

The others scrambled to their feet while Bai Jingting and the crossbow man turned to face the rattling door.

Then—

It shattered followed by sticks and bamboo-paper panels exploding everywhere.

Standing right outside the door was a perfect host. One with a rabbit-faced mask.

Shing!

The unmistakable sound of a blade being drawn fell into Levi's ears as he dashed out of the backdoor. His gaze remained fixed on the tea plantation stretching the hillside.

The scent of the tea leaves—maybe, just maybe, it could mask his own.

It was the only means of survival he could see.