Chapter 26: Senior Brother Zombie and A Lesson They Would Never Forget

"Gasp!"

Yu Liang jolted awake. He was panting heavily as if he had been gasping for air. His forehead was drenched in sweat and his heart was pounding against his ribs like it was trying to escape.

"That dream again..." he muttered.

The line between dream and reality seemed to blur for just a moment. Faces flickered through his mind, the man, the smiling face, boy clutching a sleeve, home, a child, a gentle woman, and many more.

A faint, almost wistful smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"It’s been... so long."

But just as quickly as it came, the warmth slipped away. His smile faded, replaced by a deep sadness in his eyes, as though something buried within him had suddenly resurfaced that weighed even more than a mountain.

He barely had time to sink into it before a pair of arms wrapped tightly around him.

"Thank god! You’re awake!" a voice said, trembling with relief. "You scared the hell out of me Senior Brother. do you have any idea how long you’ve been out? I thought you weren’t gonna wake up!" The grip tightened around him, almost desperate. "You don’t even know how many times I called your name!"

Yu Liang blinked, slowly coming out of his daze. His throat tightened.

’At least... let me be sad for a moment,’ he thought quietly.

Then he blinked twice, realizing the voice and the arms, which belonged to Xiao Fei. A full grown man, currently clutching him like a long lost lover.

"OI—OI!" Suddenly, Yu Liang shoved him back with twisted face. "Get away from me! I don’t like guys, goddammit!"

Xiao Fei froze, arms half raised mid-hug, eyes blinking rapidly like a puppy who just got kicked out of bed.

His lips trembled. "...You... you’re rejecting me?"

"Wha—Don’t say it like that!" Yu Liang snapped, backing away. "Say it normally, people might misunderstand—!"

Xiao Fei’s eyes shimmered dramatically, as if a tragic opera was about to begin.

"I stayed up all night taking care of you, fed you medicine, wiped your sweat, even—"

"STOP! Don’t list things like that in that tone!" Yu Liang’s face went crazy. Goosebumps rose across his whole body like an army.

But Xiao Fei just sniffled, staring at him like a betrayed lover.

"You didn’t even say thank you..."

"I said GO AWAY!" Yu Liang barked, grabbing a pillow and hurling it at him. "You’ll make me catch a second illness!"

The pillow bounced off Xiao Fei’s face. He stood there dramatically clutching his chest as if struck by emotional lightning.

In one corner of the room, the servant watching the scene tried to hold back his laughter, and the scene became very funny.

Yu Liang was still catching his breath when a familiar thin, malnourished figure stepped into view, it was none other than Wei Feng as his frail outline was unmistakable.

Only after seeing him did Yu Liang really look around.

He was lying on a simple wooden bed. A faint herbal fragrance filled the air. The walls were lined with shelves full of jade bottles and folded talismans. At the far end, a few injured disciples groaned under hanging tubes that pulsed with faint light, it was a spirit essence flowing slowly through them.

Yu Liang’s eyes moved downwards. His breath hitched.

From his chest down to his legs, he was wrapped tight in layers of bandages, faint red seeping through in places. His right arm was stiff and the faint glow of recovery talismans pulsed over his skin.

He blinked, his head felt heavy. "...Tch."

Wei Feng’s mouth twitched but relief was evident in his tired eyes. "At last you’re awake. I thought you’d be sleeping for another week."

Yu Liang just stared at the ceiling, voice hoarse.

"...Looks like I’m still in one piece."

Wei Feng’s tone was calm at first, but a hint of amusement crept in as he continued.

"While you were being carried back by disciples, you were covered in blood from head to toe. Your eyes were half open, rolling back, and your mouth kept twitching — like some spirit-possessed corpse."

Yu Liang blinked.

"...What?"

Wei Feng nodded solemnly, though he was clearly struggling to hold back his laughter. The contrast was almost comical

"One of the outer disciples almost attacked you. Thought someone from the Passion Sect was still alive."

"What the hell—" Yu Liang started, but before he could finish, a loud, obnoxious snort came from the corner.

It was Xiao Fei, already doubled over, clutching his stomach.

"Pfft—HAHAHAHA! I can see it!" he wheezed between laughs. "Senior Brother Yu Liang, our great zombie hero, charging at the enemies with blood all over his body drooling —’FLEEESSHH!’"

"Shut up!" Yu Liang snapped, glaring at him.

But Xiao Fei was already on the floor, kicking his feet with tears at the corners of his eyes.

Wei Feng, for once, couldn’t hold it either. A small laugh slipped out eventually.

Even the patient in the next bed tried and failed to stifle a chuckle.

Yu Liang groaned and pulled the blanket over his head. "Great. I survived getting sliced open by a lunatic, and now I’m sect entertainment object."

Xiao Fei’s muffled laughter echoed across the infirmary. "Don’t worry, Brother Zombie as next time we’ll bring incense to welcome you home!"

As Xiao Fei’s laughter continued, Wei Feng shook his head, lips twitching with amusement.

"Who was it," he said slowly, "that went down on his knees not once, but twice even after hearing what Yu Liang said?"

Xiao Fei paused mid-laugh. His face flushed crimson.

Wei Feng continued, eyes narrowing playfully. "Really... only peeing your pants was left, wasn’t it?"

Heat crept up Xiao Fei’s neck, spreading across his cheeks. He opened his mouth to protest, but no words came. His laughter drained into embarrassed silence. He fidgeted and muttered under his breath while the others quietly snickered.

Yu Liang peeked out from under the blanket, one eyebrow raised.

Xiao Fei just glared, still blushing, and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "Don’t you ever dare bring that up again..."

The infirmary erupted into suppressed giggles. The memory of the "kneeling twice" moment was already becoming legendary among the disciples.

Amidst the laughter, the memory of the horrific scene still lingered in the corners of everyone’s minds. The blood, the chaos, the desperation — it hadn’t truly left them. The jokes and giggles were a fragile attempt to push it aside, a way to breathe fresh again after the weight of fear and helplessness.

For the handyman disciples, it was nothing short of a blessing that they had survived at all. If not for Yu Liang be it his strength, his quick thinking of the sheer force of his will, then every one of them would have died horribly. That truth settled over them quietly, even amidst the situation.

The laughter softened the edges of the nightmare, but the lesson remained carved into their hearts. No one would dare take on such a missions again. The memory of what had happened, and of Yu Liang’s role in saving them, would follow them forever.

Even as they joked and teased, a silent respect lingered between them, a mixture of relief, gratitude, and an unspoken vow of never to underestimate the dangers they might face again.