Title: A Fake Holy Mother in the Zombie Apocalypse
Translator: Little Bamboo Spirit
Chapter 216 - If that was a sin, then your Saint Yawen was quite guilty (3)
There were so many types of satellite phones. It couldn't be a coincidence that this one was the same model. This woman probably had something to do with Huo Ren's group.
The woman was leaning against the door frame. She played with the ends of her curled hair while speaking to the phone.
Fortunately, Bei Nuan could understand what she was saying.
"Yeah, I had them look everywhere. That person hasn't been found yet. We were delayed last night from the heavy rain. We found a place to stay. You wouldn't want me to be out in the rain, would you?"
Her tone sounded like she wanted the other party to pamper her.
Bei Nuan couldn't hear the other side's reply.
The woman continued, "... don't have cars anymore. There was a landslide on the way. We had to get out… We'll return tomorrow. Will I see you there?" Her tone was hopeful.
However, the other party said something, and the woman's gaze became disappointed.
She hung up the phone after saying, "Oh."
It seemed as if she noticed just now that there was a person waiting by the door. She asked Jue Niu, "What is it?"
Jue Niu very respectfully crossed his arms and deeply bowed.
“Saint Yawen, the people from the neighboring house came out. There were a few men that matched the age of that man. We couldn't tell for sure and didn't dare to let them go. We brought them over for you to check."
Saint Yawen furrowed her brow and looked like she was annoyed that they couldn't even do such a simple task.
However, Jue Niu didn't seem to notice at all and waited respectfully for her reply.
Saint Yawen rubbed her forehead with her painted nails and glanced at the hallway. That one glance was enough for her headache to disappear. She froze, and her eyes sparkled above her veil.
Bei Nuan turned to see what was so special that could alleviate the priestess's headache.
A ray of sunlight from the hallway window shone on Lu Xingchi. He was as fresh as a breath of morning air. He was like a deity that had come down to stroll in the mortal realm at night, become attached to this place, and forgot to leave before the sun rose.
He was perfect, an elegant timeless beauty. Only the faint outlines of his muscles under his shirt that could be seen from the ray of bright sunlight reminded others that he was a predator, not prey.
Bei Nuan glanced at his clothes. How come she hadn't noticed that his clothes were so see-through under certain lighting before? Lu Xingchi, it's so early in the morning. Aren't you cold? Shouldn't you put on more clothes?
Before Bei Nuan could think anymore on this topic, Saint Yawen said, "None of them look like that guy, but…" She glanced their way again, titled her, and whispered something to Jue Niu.
She took another look at Lu Xingchi before closing the door.
Jue Niu respectfully bowed to the closed door before turning around and leading the group downstairs.
He and the other young man gingerly walked down the stairs. They seemed terribly worried about disturbing their precious saint. Jue Nie didn't speak to Bei Nuan and the others until they reached the first floor.
"You're in luck. Saint Yawen said there's zombies everywhere, and it's not easy to survive. Out of the kindness of her heart, she said she'll give you the option to join our tribe and follow us."
Bei Nuan silently ridiculed. Yeah right, it's lustful thoughts, not a kind heart.
Still, this tribe was looking for that mysterious man, and they wanted to follow this tribe. This offer came at the right time.
Lu Xingchi acted as if he was seriously considering whether to join their tribe. He carefully asked them about the tribe's situation.
As it turned out, the tribe was originally located on a large stretch of flat land by the Yanhe River. Their home was too remote, and they had no one to rely on, so they suffered a significant loss when the zombies reached them.
The original location of their tribe wasn't easily defensible against zombies, so they left, found a safe place, and were currently constructing defenses against zombies. Saint Yawen led them out to do something. On their way back, they passed by here and happened to meet Lu Xingchi and the others by chance.
As for what they were doing before they met Lu Xingchi's team, they wouldn't say.
Bei Nuan was sure that they left camp to look for that mysterious man.
After listening to their answers, Lu Xingchi pretended to mull over his decision and went through the motions of discussing it with the others before agreeing.
Jue Niu was very happy. "We're quite strict about recruiting people to our tribe. We usually test the candidates for morality and character. It's rare that Saint Yawen would be willing to forgo those tests."
He talked a bit about the tribe's customs, and Bei Nuan quickly noticed that this tribe was strange.
Since ancient times, they had believed in a water god. It was probably because they had lived by the Yanhe River for so long. They believed that water was the originator of life and that it could cleanse the body and soul. They also believe that all sorts of evil was caused by a villainous fire god named Xiu Ye.
They believed that fire could make people uneasy, greedy, lustful, and irritable. Thus, as long as they kept their distance from fire, nothing bad would happen.
Bei Nuan suspected that a fire had broken out in their tribe many, many years ago, which left behind a collective trauma.
"So then, do you guys light a fire to cook?" Bei Nuan was curious. It couldn't be that they ate raw food for every meal, right?
Jue Niu answered, "Of course. There are people that specialize in cooking. They're chosen from the people that are most favored by the water god. After they finish cooking, they'll wash their hands to purify themselves. It was much easier to cook back when we had rice cookers and induction cooktops."
Bei Nuan blurted out, "You had electricity? Why doesn't electricity count as fire?"
Jue Niu sternly replied, "We use hydroelectricity of course."
Alright, they were quite clever.
This tribe had another feature, which was that everyone was extremely polite. They had to keep calm and be gentle to avoid being controlled by Xiu Ye.
No one even raised their voice here. There were so many people on the first floor, but it was quieter here than when a boss was present in a conference room.
There were times when Bei Nuan forgot to control her volume. If she spoke even slightly too loud, someone nearby would smile at her and make a "shh" gesture.
When this happened, Jue Niu would repeatedly apologize.
The sky was clear after that rain. The nice weather was suitable for traveling. Soon, the tribe packed up and set off on foot.
"Will you be okay?" Lu Xingchi quietly asked Bei Nuan and held her hand.
"It's okay," Bei Nuan replied. What else could she do? Ask him to carry her on his back?
And then she heard Lu Xingchi say, "I'll carry you when you can't walk anymore."
Jue Niu had been following them. When he saw them holding hands, he felt a bit embarrassed.
"I forgot to tell you about another rule we have," Jue Niu said, "We're not allowed to date."
Bei Nuan blurted out, "If you're not allowed to date, how will people get married and have children?"
It was a miracle that this tribe hadn't died out.
"We have arranged marriages," Jue Niu replied. He blushed, unable to keep calm. "If our performance is good, the tribe will arrange a wife for us when we reach marriageable age."
Hmm, that was quite worry-free. It was like having a partner fall from the sky when you reached marriageable age.
Jue Niu continued to say, "We only get married for the purpose of having children. The children belong to the tribe, and the tribe will send people to help raise the children."
He patiently explained, "We believe that things like falling in love and wanting children is a sinful desire. The evil god uses these desires to lure us down the wrong path."
Bei Nuan thought; if that was a sin, then your Saint Yawen was quite guilty. Thinking back on it, why did no one comment on the saint's impatience and say that she was letting Xiu Ye's evil fire get the better of her?