Divination between Heaven and men. Not even such a capable, experienced Taoist can calcte what is toe


    Seating on the windowsill, his hand stops flipping the pages of the book as Huo Zaiyuan''s brow knits lightly, soft sighs escaping every now and then.


    This is the scene Long Zhanye sees upon entering the room. Lips curling into a gentle curve, he approaches the window and engulfs Huo Zaiyuan in a warm hug.


    "Are you still pondering over the Elder Taoist priest''s words?" He asks as he kisses that soft, dark hair.


    He was told about the conversation between Tian Jizi, Long Haotian and Huo Zaiyuan as soon as his little Yuane back home. However, he is not a pessimist and still believes that one should grasp their own destiny in their hands.


    "Didn''t that Elder say once I find you, the cmity that will befall me in the future will be broken? Now that I''ve found you, it means we have already ovee that obstacle. As for the future which cannot be calcted, it all depends on the individual and the choices we make, isn''t that so?"


    Listening to Long Zhanye, Huo Zaiyuan chuckles softly, turning his neck slightly to stare at him. "You may be optimistic, but grandfather is so anxious because of you and your current circumstances." Reaching out to wrap an arm around a broad shoulder, Huo Zaiyuan draws closer and states firmly. "I will not let you die. If you doI will apany you."


    Long Zhanye''s heart all but melts at the child''s serious face and honest deration. Hot and sweet feelings surging forth, he ims Huo Zaiyuan''s mouth in a deep, slow kiss. "I will not abandon you. I''ve said before that I will always protect youeven if I do die, I will crawl up from hell and return to my rightful ce by your side."


    "Hehesuch a terrifying promise"


    ~~~


    Brush in hand, Huo Zaiyuan sits straight-backed before the table, intensely focused as he draws a line of characters upon a piece of low-quality yellow paper. From the first stroke to thest, there are no pauses or breaks, smooth and unhesitant as though he has written this out a hundred times over.


    Seated to one side, the Elder Taoist priest regards the youths serious concentration with a contented nod. Afterwards, he drags thepleted talisman across the table until it lies before him.


    "Hmm, this is a fire spell? Unless it is to start a fire in the wilderness, very few would use it." Stroking his long beard, the elderly man nods and looks at Huo Zaiyuan. "Little friend, why did you draw this particr charm?"


    Hearing the Elder priest say "starting a fire in the wilderness", Huo Zaiyuan feels sweat breaking out on his brow.


    "On the journey from Z City to A City, Zhanye and I, together with another two friends came across a pregnant female zombie which gave birth to a zombie infant, as well as evolved zombies that devours the brains of its kin to grow stronger. Elder Taoist priest, being the Head of the School of Taoism, I hope you are able to convey to all the disciples who apany mercenary squads about the importance of carrying fire talismans. The corpses of all zombies need to be burned to ashes in order to prevent more from evolving."


    "Un, we are aware of this matter about evolving zombies long ago. The research institute and the School of Taoism are always working together to find any and all means to either undo or prevent this evolution. To think that this is the reason behind their sudden increase in strength." The Elder Taoist strokes his beard. "Not only do zombies prey on humans and are capable of turning us into one of them, they are also cannibals. Hmm"


    "Did Elder priest grandfather think of something?" Huo Zaiyuan inquires as he notices the elder''s pondering expression.


    "It''s a vague inkling with no way to be confirmed yet. When I went back to the Taoist temple in B City, I studied some of the ancient texts stored away. I shall wait for another two days, when the children send all of them over from B City before I''ll consult those scrolls once more." As the Elder says this, he ces a piece of white paper in front of him and dips a calligraphy brush in ck ink, then draws a circle on the paper with a line through it. "Little friend, take a look. Isn''t the current circumstances like this? After the outbreak of zombie virus, humans be infected and transforms. Afterwards, the undead turn on each other, devouring their kin in order to evolve. Isn''t this akin to evil sorcery?"


    "Gu[1]?" Huo Zaiyuan stiffens, then takes out the ancient book given to him by thete grandmother Zhang from his backpack. Flipping it open to the desired page, he set it down before the Elder. "This book was bestowed upon me by thest shaman of the Zhang family before her death. Besides runes for charms, spells, arrays and other formations, it touches upon various topics too. Amongst this is a sorcery ssified as "Gu". The method to create one is to take a group of hatchling snakes and put them all in one container. They will mutually devour each other until one is left. Thisst one standing will be a Gu. ording to Elder''s spection, the thing that is causing humans to turn into zombies is currently using this country or maybe even the entire Earth as the container. The zombies are the group of hatchling snakes mutually devouring each other until thest one standing will be"


    "Un. On the night the apocalypse began, I was studying the heavens above only to discover the star alignment became extremely fierce. Thereupon, arge-scale cmity befalls thend, seeking to drown humanity under. However, little did I expect this catastrophe to be even graver than I could possibly imagine. Aiafterwards, the research institute managed to catch a zombie alive. This Elder discovered its body contains a portion of evil energy equivalent to that of an inferior demonic being. However, should one gather several portions of this energy and concentrate it all into one being, this demonic being will be "a devil".


    "A devn evil spirit?"


    "Correct." Tian Jizi nods. "As I see it, your talisman produces golden fire capable of burning a zombie to nothingness due to pure spiritual energy shing with evil energy. Clearing the bodies of the undead after ying them will be an effective way to prevent more evolved ones from surfacing, as well as the possible creation of evil spirits."


    "Un." Huo Zaiyuan agrees, then takes out hisptop from his bag.


    It is the very sameptop he carried around with him before the apocalypse. Later, due to not being able to find any sockets to charge it or wifi to connect to, he didn''t touch it again for a rather long time. Only after arriving in A City''s safe zone does he finally recharge the battery, bringing it along for today''s one-on-one conversation with this Elder.


    Opening hisptop, he opens all the pictures he saved into a folder and erges them before flipping the screen around and setting it down in front of thesenior Taoist priest.


    "This is" ncing through the pictures on the screen, Tian Jizi''s expression freezes.


    The very picture he is currently looking at was the photo of the first eruption of G City''s dead volcano. The one showing arge number of red ants amongst the ashes.


    "The first time I encountered a zombie, I found a red ant in its skull that was identical to the ones in this image. Due to a mishap, the corpse was burned and from the body, I discovered a red crystal simr to this ant." As he speaks, he removes a small ss bottle containing a few sesame seed size red crystals from the backpack. "At the same time, these crystals have another use. It is simr to cinnabars and can be used as ink for drawing talismans. On top of that, the ink produced from it is much stronger than cinnabar."


    "Much stronger than cinnabar?!" The Elder exims.


    Before the apocalypse, wanting to acquire the purest form of cinnabar is already a very difficult matter. After Judgement Day, cinnabars be a precious resource. Even if there is arge stock of it in each Taoist temple, with so many disciples and so many undead, it will run out very quickly no matter how one wishes to conserve it. Now, Huo Zaiyuan reveals that a material collected after burning zombies can also be used in ce of cinnabar. This information is rather rming and a life-saver for the various disciples who are able to create talismans.


    Setting a saucer before him, Huo Zaiyuan pours a bit of ordinary water on it, then drops a few crystals in. Dipping a brush in the scarlet ink, he draws a simple defence charm on a low-quality yellow paper, then hands it over to the Elder for inspection.


    "Elder priest grandfather, please take a look."


    Taking the offered talisman, the Elder scrutinises it carefully. Within the ink on the paper, a thick spiritual energy flows, runes gleaming with faint traces of light. Compared to cinnabar, it is obvious that this ink is in no way inferior.


    "Un, it truly is better than cinnabar."


    "Did Elder priest grandfather catch any ws? I have always wondered why these crystals can be used as a substitute for cinnabar as they are materials taken from the bodies of zombies." Huo Zaiyuan frown lightly. "I did form a theory. Perhaps it is because undead are ssified as an inferior demonic being, thus a substance that is able to resist its infection emerged. Just like where venomous snakes can be found, so too can antidotes to their venom."


    "That''s not the case." The Elder Taoist picks up the ss bottle, studying the crystals within for a moment, then shakes his head. "The reason why cinnabars can be used as ink to draw talismans is due to the innate righteous energy within, allowing it to link with pure spiritual beings and repel demonic ones. However, these crystals contain a much greater amount of spiritual energy. Zombies are ssified as demonic beings, hence, it is impossible for them to produce a substance able to counter them. As you said, these crystals appear only after you burn their corpses with golden fire. It is due to the cleansing nature of those mes that altered these crystals, consequently turning them into a material capable of substituting cinnabars."


    Listening to the Elder''s exnation, Huo Zaiyuan''s frown doesn''t fade. "Then, can Elder priest grandfather determine what kind of energy is contained within the crystals?"


    "This Elder doesn''t know." The Elder shakes his head again. "But it is possible that part of the spiritual power within is able to repel demonic energy, or else the evolved zombies would be much stronger than they are now."


    "Then it is necessary to investigate the origin of the spiritual power within these crystals"


    "Mhm."


    Huo Zaiyuan continues discussing a few other topics with the Elder. Only when Long Zhanyees knocking on the Elder''s door does their conversatione to an end.


    Footnotes:


    [1] Gu () = a venomous insect/parasite in legends and folklores typically used for evil spells by sorcerers