Chapter 246: The Phoenix Man Who Soared Before the Apocalypse (51-52)

Two heads popped up from the neighboring courtyard, straining to get a look outside.

And what they saw shocked them—it was Old Shen’s son from next door, back in the village.

One of them shouted loudly, “Shen Xiuyan, how did you get back? What’s going on out there? Is everything okay now???”

Shen Xiuyan shook his head and called back, “No, it’s a mess out there. Full of zombies. Corpses everywhere.”

The man shrank back in fear, muttering, “That bad, huh…”

Another head popped up from a different household and called out, “If it’s that dangerous, how did you make it back?”

Shen Xiuyan patiently explained, “Uncle, we have supernatural abilities. Since I’m back already, I figured I’d help clean up the zombies in the village. Do you know how many are still around?”

“N-no idea,” came a confused voice. “After we realized getting bitten turns you into one of them, we haven’t dared go out. But every household has food and water, and we figured the government would come save us sooner or later, so we weren’t too worried. Didn’t expect things outside to be this bad…”

“If you hadn’t come, we’d still be in the dark.”

Shen Xiuyan shook his head. Just as he thought—rural areas suffered the least and people were far too relaxed.

Even with no signal, they weren’t panicking at all.

It really made you wonder just how dull their daily lives must have been before.

Shen Xiuyan said, “Alright then, we’ll take a look around first.”

Inside the house, Father Shen heard this and was startled. He quickly shouted, “No, don’t go!”

Shen Xiuyan smiled and reassured him, “It’s fine. We have supernatural abilities, we’re safe. If you don’t believe me, climb up and take a look for yourself.”

Seeing he couldn’t talk his son out of it, Father Shen grew anxious and immediately climbed the ladder to peer outside.

At that moment, Shen Xiuyan gave instructions. “Guys, clear out the zombies we saw on the way in.”

With his command, everyone scattered.

Before long, loud noises echoed through every corner of the village. Curious villagers couldn’t resist and began poking their heads out from behind the walls.

Good heavens, what were they seeing?

Was this divine intervention???

Flames, vines, and stones flew wildly through the air.

In no time, the terrifying zombies collapsed to the ground, completely lifeless.

Shen Xiuyan thought to himself that these zombies were once villagers too, so he left them a shred of dignity and didn’t have anyone dig out their Core Crystals.

Shouts came from the walls.

“Isn’t that Old Shen’s eldest son?”

“That’s him, that’s him! The only college student in our village! He must be the reincarnation of the God of Literature—how else could he use magic?!”

Shen Xiuyan couldn’t help but laugh. “Auntie, it’s called a supernatural ability. Nothing to do with gods.”

The auntie was flattered that Shen Xiuyan spoke to her. “Ah? What’s a supernatural ability?”

Shen Xiuyan waved his hand. “It’s not something I can explain in just a few words. Once we’ve cleared out the zombies in the village, we’ll come out and talk.”

“Alright, alright! Old Shen’s eldest is really something!”

“Yeah, he even said he’ll help us deal with the zombies!”

“My goodness, I always knew he wasn’t ordinary. When other kids were still picking their noses, he was already reading books like his life depended on it.”

“No wonder he got into college—and a top university at that!”

Flattery never goes out of style.

Brother Lei couldn’t help but laugh when he heard all this. He said to Shen Xiuyan, “Didn’t expect Young Master Shen to be a top student too.”

Shen Xiuyan replied, “Not much, just graduated from Q University.”

“Damn, no wonder they worship you. That’s seriously impressive.” Brother Lei gave him a respectful nod.

Q University was famous across the country. Money alone couldn’t get you in—you had to rely on real talent and hard work. Who would’ve thought Young Master Shen was this capable?

Truly admirable.

No wonder he had such powerful supernatural abilities. Geniuses really were in a league of their own. Brother Lei was once again thoroughly convinced.

By the time they had cleared out all the visible zombies nearby, Father Shen finally opened the main gate.

“Xiuyan, Xiuyan, come in quickly—” Father Shen waved his hand eagerly.

Shen Xiuyan and his group quickly headed over, while the villagers watching from the walls looked a little disappointed.

“Ah, they’re leaving already?”

“Hey, Shen kid, don’t go! Can you finish clearing out the zombies in the village?”

“Yeah, yeah! With those zombies around, we really don’t dare go outside.”

Shen Xiuyan waved and smiled. “Uncles, aunties, just stay home a little longer. Once we’re free, we’ll sweep the whole village. When it’s safe, we’ll let everyone know.”

“Alright, alright, we’re counting on you.”

“Really appreciate it. Be careful out there.”

“Got it.”

Shen Xiuyan stepped through the Shen Family’s front gate—good grief, the entrance was piled high with stuff.

Like they were afraid zombies would crash through the door at any moment.

Their sense of security was oddly strong.

Once they were inside, Father Shen quickly shut the gate again. Just as he was about to start piling everything back up, Shen Xiuyan stopped him.

“Dad, don’t worry. We’re here now, no need to block the door again. We’ll be heading out again soon anyway.”

“Still going out…”

Father Shen hesitated for a moment, then decided to listen to his son and didn’t insist on piling everything back.

Nervously, he asked, “What exactly is going on out there? And that supernatural ability you mentioned—is that some kind of magic?”

Shen Xiuyan gestured for Brother Lei and the others to find a place to sit outside, then helped his elderly father into the house.

“It’s chaos out there. Full of zombies—it’s no exaggeration to call it hell on earth. Supernatural abilities are the powers we just used. They’re not magic. In the Apocalypse, some people awakened these abilities, and they can be used to fight zombies.”

“Incredible…” Father Shen murmured.

Though he was just a rural old man, he had a surprisingly strong capacity for understanding.

At least after Shen Xiuyan finished explaining, he only offered a word of praise and didn’t ask much more.

It was Shen Xiuyan’s mother and younger sister who stared at him in disbelief, their expressions completely frozen.

They looked like they’d been turned to stone.

Shen Xiuyan was curious too, so he asked, “No one in our village awakened a supernatural ability? That can’t be…”

Father Shen shook his head. “Nope. There’s barely a hundred people left in the village. Most of the younger folks moved to the county to enjoy life. The few poor families had their kids go out to work. The only ones left are people over fifty like us.”

Shen Xiuyan nodded. “Might have to do with age and physical condition. Everyone here is older, so it’s probably harder to awaken a supernatural ability.”

From what he knew, the better your physical condition, the more likely you were to awaken. But with a village full of the elderly, sick, and frail—and so few people to begin with—it really wasn’t surprising that no one had awakened a supernatural ability.

After Shen Xiuyan finished speaking, he glanced around the house.

To be honest, the place wasn’t nearly as run-down as he had imagined. On the contrary, the house was quite spacious, and the interior looked newly renovated.

Seeing him looking around, Father Shen smiled and said, “Didn’t you give us money before and tell us to buy a place in the county? Your mother and I talked it over and decided we didn’t want to leave here, so we just rebuilt the house instead. Then you never came back, and now the place looks completely different. Feels unfamiliar, doesn’t it?”

Mother Shen, worried he might be upset, spoke somewhat nervously, “Don’t be mad, okay? We didn’t mean to go against your wishes. It’s just that after we made the decision, we really couldn’t get in touch with you. But we kept a room for you. It’s the biggest and nicest one in the house. Want me to show you?”

Father Shen chimed in, “Yes, yes, and it’s fine if you don’t like it. We’ve got plenty of empty rooms. Pick whichever one you want. Even if you like mine or your sister’s room, just say the word and we’ll move.”

Shen Xiuyan waved them off with a smile. “No need for that now. I’ve got some things to take care of first.”

The Shen parents thought he was angry and immediately tried to explain further.

Shen Xiumei couldn’t stand seeing her parents acting so humble. She rolled her eyes dramatically.

“Why bother explaining so much to him? He’s the one who disappeared and couldn’t be reached. Now he’s blaming us?”

Father Shen shot her a disapproving look. “Is that any way to talk to your brother?”

Shen Xiumei retorted, “Did I say anything wrong?”

“You’re not wrong, but you still shouldn’t say it like that,” Father Shen said sternly. “This house was rebuilt with your brother’s money. You can’t enjoy the benefits he gave us and still talk about him like that!”

Shen Xiumei pouted, unable to argue back.

Mother Shen also tried to mediate. “Exactly. I know what you’re thinking. You think your brother left and doesn’t want to acknowledge us anymore, right? But if that were true, he wouldn’t have come back, and he definitely wouldn’t have given us so much money.”

“Now go apologize to your brother.”

Shen Xiumei lowered her head and mumbled, “Sorry…”

“It’s alright, it’s my fault,” Shen Xiuyan said. “I wasn’t trying to avoid you guys on purpose. I was just really busy during that time. Actually, something happened. Let me explain.”

He rubbed his nose, feeling a little guilty. The things the original Shen Xiuyan had done really did match what they were thinking.

But he couldn’t admit to that. Why should he take responsibility for what the original had done?

With a sheepish look, he said, “Actually, I got married.”

“!!!”

The room fell silent. Everyone stared at him with their mouths agape.

Shen Xiuyan raised his right hand, the ring on his ring finger clearly visible. “Back then, little sis was preparing for her high school entrance exams. I didn’t want to distract her, so I didn’t say anything…”

Father Shen felt his fists clench. How could he keep something this big from the family?

He immediately lunged at Shen Xiuyan to hit him. “You got married and didn’t tell us? You’ve got some nerve!”

“Exactly!” Shen Xiumei looked at her brother in disbelief. “Don’t you dare use me as an excuse!”

Shen Xiuyan ducked and ran. “I’m telling the truth! She really was preparing for her exams back then, and didn’t the whole family go to the county to stay with her? If I had told you, wouldn’t you all have come rushing back? What about her exams then?”

Father Shen pointed at him furiously. “Then you could’ve postponed the wedding!”

Shen Xiuyan rubbed his fingers awkwardly. “It was a spur-of-the-moment decision. Once we set the date, it was too late to change it.”

Mother Shen frowned. “Why? What’s so hard about changing a date?”

Shen Xiuyan scratched his head in embarrassment. “Well, my wife’s family… they’re not exactly ordinary…”

Father Shen: “???”

“What do you mean ‘not ordinary’? Isn’t your wife that girl you dated in college? Don’t tell me you changed partners???”

Shen Xiuyan shook his head quickly. “No, no, it’s still her. But I didn’t find out until after graduation that her family is one of the most prominent in B City. We’re talking serious wealth. And she’s their only daughter. Once the wedding date was announced, there was no changing it. With their kind of status, people would start speculating. Might even make the news…”

Father Shen: “!!!”

Mother Shen: “!!!”

Shen Xiumei: “!!!”

The three of them were completely stunned.

What?

Their daughter-in-law/sister-in-law was actually one of those heiresses you only see in TV dramas???

How did she end up with Shen Xiuyan?

Was she crazy? Or blind?

No matter how you looked at it, they didn’t seem like a match…

What could she possibly see in a poor guy like him? His looks?

There were plenty of men out there who were better looking and richer. Why would she choose Shen Xiuyan?

It had to be true love.

The words “true love” slowly floated through all three of their minds.

It seemed like the two of them must really be in love.

In that moment, their opinion of this unseen daughter-in-law/sister-in-law improved dramatically.

How had their family gotten so lucky?

If this had happened in the past, it would’ve been a sign that their ancestors’ graves were giving off lucky smoke.

“Wait a minute, where’s my daughter-in-law???” Father Shen suddenly snapped out of it and shouted, “Don’t tell me you came back alone and left such an important person behind in the city???”

Mother Shen’s expression turned fierce. “You must have a death wish! How could you do something so heartless and ungrateful?”

Sensing the shift in mood, Shen Xiuyan quickly explained, “No, no, I brought everyone with me. My in-laws are here too. They’re all waiting on the mountain road outside the village. The car’s just too big to get through for now.”

Father Shen let out a sigh of relief. “Good, good. There’s no danger outside the village, right?”

Shen Xiuyan shook his head. “I checked on the way in. No zombies, and there are people guarding the area.”

Father Shen clapped him on the shoulder. “Then what are you still sitting here for? Shouldn’t you be figuring out how to bring them in?”

Shen Xiuyan protested, “I already said I had something to do, but you guys kept interrupting me.”

Father Shen: “…”

Alright, fine. Guess this one’s on them.

Who would’ve thought something this big would happen with their son?

Shen Xiuyan stood up. “I’ll go clear out the zombies in the village first, so everyone can come out safely.”

“Go, go,” Father Shen urged. At this point, he wasn’t even worried about his son running into danger.

“Oh right, honey,” he said to Mother Shen, “go kill one of the chickens we’re raising and make a few proper hot dishes. Let Xiuyan take them over to our daughter-in-law. She must be exhausted from the trip.”

“Alright, alright.” Mother Shen didn’t hesitate for a second. She rolled up her sleeves and headed straight to the kitchen.

“Wait a sec,” Shen Xiuyan suddenly paused mid-step, as if remembering something.

“Listen, when my wife gets here, don’t scare her. Be nice, all of you. Especially you, Xiumei.”

Father Shen grinned. “Got it, got it. You don’t need to tell us.”

Shen Xiumei was just being childish earlier. She’d only acted that way because she was upset.

Now that it seemed her brother hadn’t done anything wrong—and all her suspicions were proven false—her attitude had improved a lot.

She patted her chest and promised, “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of her.”

Her sister-in-law had married into their family. She couldn’t let her feel even the slightest bit of dissatisfaction.

If the woman didn’t mind their humble background, then she had to treat her with extra warmth.

Shen Xiuyan smiled in satisfaction, looking like a sly old fox. “Then I’ll leave it to you.”

Shen Xiumei waved him off. “No need to thank me.”

— Translator’s Notes —

• Flattery never goes out of style.: A Chinese proverb (千穿万穿,马屁不穿) meaning that while many things may fail, flattery always works.

• ancestors’ graves were giving off lucky smoke: A Chinese idiom referring to extraordinary good fortune believed to come from blessings bestowed by ancestors. The phrase implies that such good luck must be due to ancestral merit.