"It’s mountains outside. Only this hot spring with cabins is still the same"

Su Bai put his bathrobe on. White bathrobes and slippers from their rooms were all they had got since Seven’s stuff and Gyatso’s hatchet were left in the room.

Seven and Gyatso also got out of the water. Now they were just three men in bathrobes.

"I think out priority for now is to find some clothes." Gyatso pointed to his bathrobe.

Indeed, it would be insane to wear bathrobes in a story world. It would be super awkward if their robes got loose or torn during the fights revealing their private parts.

"Exactly." Seven said. Apparently, as a monk, he felt odd without his own gown. Besides, a short bathrobe would be fine when bathing or swimming, but if they had to wear it for a really long time, the monk would possibly go nuts.

"Well, for starters, let’s get out. I think there should some villages nearby, in which we can at least learn something about this story world, and get some clothes as well."

"Ow…"

It was chilly, even for Su Bai who had two gloomy physiques. It must be late autumn or early winter in the mountain.

Seven and Gyatso also walked out. They were physically strong and the chill didn’t affect them too much.

Outside the cabin of the hot spring, there was only one rough path which seemed to have formed under natural forces rather than built by man. In fact, judging by the age and style of the cabin, it couldn’t be a modern age; China didn’t pay attention to tourism or infrastructure in scenic zones until 1978, when the reform and opening-up took place.

Three men walking on a mountain road in white bathrobes and slippers— this must be the weirdest beginning for a story world that Su Bai had ever been through. Luckily, it didn’t last long; in no time, Su Bai found light down the hill. It must be a village.

"It must be a long time ago." Seven said, "That’s light from candles, not electric lights."

"Since the story world is named ‘Mr. Zombie’, it can’t take place in a modern time. Otherwise, no zombie could survive the hit of an RPG[1]." Su Bai said.

Seven nodded. "We should keep going, it’s not far." Then he looked at Gyatso behind him, "How are you doing?"

Gyatso smiled. "I’m fine, just a little cold."

Just when they were about to go over the hill and enter the village, they heard the thump of hooves.

"Someone’s coming." Su Bai quickly cast a glance at Seven.

"Hide." Seven immediately made up his mind. The three of them jumped into the bushes by the road and ducked down. The gra.s.s was high enough to shelter them; it was moonless, so even though they were in white robes, they wouldn’t easily be seen.

Seven hors.e.m.e.n approached, heavily armed with weapon, looking rather valiant.

However, there were long braids behind their heads.

Su Bai, Seven and Gyatso were not far from the hors.e.m.e.n; Su Bai slightly turned to Seven and silently hinted him with his lip-moves: "Qing soldiers[2]."

Such armors and iconic braids were the typical appearance of soldiers in Qing Dynasty.

Nowadays, most TV dramas based on royal life in Qing Dynasty were actually romantic idol dramas, therefore many a feature was changed against historical facts, including the braids.

In fact, during Qing Dynasty, people didn’t shave the front half of their hair. The hairstyle like Zhan

g Guoli and Zhang Tielin[3] in The Bronze Teeth didn’t appear until late Qianlong Period. Normally, a man would shave most of his hair except for a small part on the back side of his head and then plait the remaining hair into a pigtail. A person from modern times would consider it stupid and ugly; if those dramas were to reproduce such hairstyle, young pretty actors would probably refuse to act in them.

Su Bai was no expert on history, but he did know something. The hors.e.m.e.n’s armors couldn’t be seen clearly in the darkness, but they seemed to be blue. Probably from Bordered Blue Banner or Plain Blue Banner[4].

The seven hors.e.m.e.n didn’t stop. Apparently, they were scouts.

Su Bai, Seven and Gyatso didn’t come out. About five minutes later, another troop arrived: a carriage with two hors.e.m.e.n in the front and armed soldiers on both sides. It must be someone n.o.ble in that carriage.

After the carriage was gone, the three of them got out of the bushes.

Their white bathrobe was stained green by the gra.s.s.

"It must be Qing Dynasty. But which year? And where are we?"

The regime of Qing had been established years before they invaded Central China through Shanhai Pa.s.s[5]; it was after the civil strife of Ming Dynasty that Qing armies managed to take over. Therefore, it was hard to infer detailed background information from those people.

"Amitabh, I think we’re inside Shanhai Pa.s.s. It doesn’t look like outside the Pa.s.s." Seven said, "Well, let’s go find some clothes first."

The three of them didn’t go after that troop; instead, they went downhill and found a village after half an hour. However, Seven and Gyatso signaled "stop" at the same time when they were still two hundred meters away from the village.

Su Bai shrugged. He felt much at ease with these two professionals.

"Hatred. And it’s rather strong." Seven said.

"Yes, some people were just killed. A lot of people." Gyatso gazed at the village, "I smell fresh blood."

"So you are saying… the villagers were ma.s.sacred?" Su Bai was squatting on the ground with a straw of gra.s.s in his mouth. Without his clothes, he was out of cigarettes. Now Seven and Gyatso were discussing and a.n.a.lyzing, Su Bai was just idling about. All he was thinking about was what if he wanted to smoke but they had to stay in this story world for a real long time? Find an ancient hookah?

Soon, Gyatso and Seven started to walk toward the village. Sometimes, there was no other choice. The did need clothes desperately.

Su Bai stood up and went after them.

After they entered the village, the smell of blood became stronger and even… choky.

In the village, there were dead bodies everywhere: some were by the doors, some against the walls, some near the well; men and women, young and old. Everyone was killed in a short time.

Seven turned over an old man’s body by the well. "He was killed by a sword or a knife, not a zombie."

"I’ll go find something to wear in the house. Otherwise we’ll have to wear dead people’s clothes."

Gyatso and Seven kept looking for clues in the neighborhood while Su Bai went into a house with burning candles. There was no wardrobe in the room, but there was an unlocked chest. Su Bai opened the chest and found some clothes inside; they were old and worn, and smelled musty, but it was not the time to expect too much. After all, those were much better than bathrobes and dead people’s clothes.

Just when Su Bai was picking clothes up and throwing them onto the bed, he heard a tiny sound from under the bed. Su Bai suddenly stopped what he was doing. He reached out for a hoe hanging on the wall, then silently moved towards the sound.

It was a simple wooden bed. Su Bai took a deep breath and kicked it over. Someone jumped out from beneath.

Su Bai smashed without hesitation.

"Bang!"

The man’s head was smashed; he fell onto the ground twitching, but soon he was lying still with his blood and brain spread on the ground.

The noise attracted the other two from outside the room. Su Bai throw the hoe away, picked up the clothes, tossed them to Gyatso and Seven and said:

"This one has already turned into a zombie."

Seven took the clothes, then he quickly examined the body, turned to Su Bai, hesitated for a little while and said:

"Amitabh, I think he was alive."

FOOTNOTES:

[1] RPG: Rocket-propelled grenade. A very powerful weapon.

[2] Qing soldiers: soldiers of Qing Dynasty(1636-1912).

[3] Zhang Guoli and Zhang Tielin: Both are Chinese actors, both played in a well-known Chinese TV drama name The Bronze Teeth in 2009, telling the legendary stories among Emperor Qianlong, the wise merciful governor, Ji Xiaolan, the righteous scholar, and He Shen, the cunning corrupt official.

[4] Bordered Blue Banner or Plain Blue Banner: two of the Eight Banners of the Qing dynasty military. In war, the Eight Banners functioned as armies, but the banner system was also the basic organizational framework of the society of Man Ethnic Group.

[5] Shanhai Pa.s.s: Also known as Yu Pa.s.s. Along with Jiayu Pa.s.s and Juyong Pa.s.s, it is one of the major pa.s.ses of the Great Wall of China. In 1644, the Qing troops invaded the Central Plains through Shanhai Pa.s.s. —Wikipedia