Cultivation Reconstruction in the End Times

Chapter 7 Running Away

After calling Zhang He three times and getting no answer, his aunt hurried to Zhang He's residence and found that the place was already empty. To her great anger, in one of the rooms, the window glass was shattered into pieces, the walls were covered with black soot from the smoke, the floor had several big holes smashed into it, and the whole place was in a complete mess. There were also some broken pieces of wooden planks on the floor.

Several neighbors heard Zhang He's aunt's scolding and came over to watch. The neighbors upstairs and downstairs all said that on the day of the thunderstorm, they had heard some strange noises that were very loud. They had thought that the people next door were watching "Animal World." The neighbor living downstairs from Zhang He also said that on the day of the thunderstorm, there was a huge bang from the roof, and the water in the fish tank in his home splashed out, and the wine glasses and utensils were all knocked askew, scaring the children into crying loudly. The neighbor across the door also said that they had heard the noise, and after the weather cleared up, there was no sound coming from the room.

The woman opposite said that her younger sister lived in the building opposite. During the thunderstorm, it seemed that she had seen thunder and fire rushing into a window of a house in the opposite building, and a blue light had flashed out. Then the group of people gradually lowered their voices. They looked at the layer of black charcoal burned on the ground and then all turned to look at Zhang He's aunt.

At first, Zhang He's aunt had been scolding very harshly. But after hearing the others chattering about the thunderstorm and seeing the suspicious black soot on the ground, she gradually fell silent. A woman in her fifties beside her said to her, "Aunt Rong, I'm going to say something unpleasant. Your nephew hasn't been heard from for three days and you can't get in touch with him either. Could something have happened to him? It's probably best to call the police."

Upon hearing this, Zhang He's aunt's eyelids involuntarily twitched. She didn't have much affection for this nephew, but if he had really been burned to death by lightning in this house, not only would she not be able to live here in the future, but it would probably be difficult to sell the house at a good price.

So she hurried back to discuss with her husband. Just as the couple was considering whether to call the police or not, Zhang He called. At this time, he had already taken a car to a certain township in Province G. It was a well-known rice-producing township with a high output of rice and a low price. He had just bought some rice and stored it in the peach pit space. Because the place was a bit remote, the signal was poor and he couldn't make calls. After leaving the rice township by car and returning to Province G, he finally called his aunt.

As soon as his aunt heard that he was okay on the phone and realized that it had been a false alarm, she immediately started cursing at him without any regard for her dignity. She had originally been in business, and her mouth was almost as sharp as a knife, capable of scolding people as if they were being cut into a thousand pieces. Zhang He hung up after listening to a few words. The reason he called was just to let her know he was safe, lest she really call the police and cause trouble for himself.

At this time, he was wearing a sky-blue short-sleeved cotton shirt, cotton and linen pants on his legs, and a pair of white cloth shoes on his feet. He had just taken a car to tour around Province G and found that not only was the output of rice high in Province G, but the output of cotton was also very high. There were also many production and processing of cotton products, and the prices were at least three times cheaper than in City S. Zhang He immediately ordered more than ten sets of cotton bedding, more than a dozen bolts of cotton fabric, and cotton yarn. He also found a garment factory and ordered hundreds of sets of pure cotton clothes and pants, including both winter and summer clothes, for future changes.

During the end of the world, for the sake of safety, everyone wore polytetrafluoroethylene clothes that had been processed several times, which were similar to raincoats. Although they were dirt-resistant and durable, they were not as breathable as cotton clothes. Most people who wore such clothes all year round had heat rashes all over their skin and felt extremely itchy. Because cotton products were very scarce, the available ones were mostly used to bandage the wounds of the injured. Even if someone accidentally found some, they would be snatched up immediately.

Since it would take time to customize the clothes and bedding, Zhang He temporarily stayed in Province G and rented the cheapest hotel room. There were three people in one room, and each bed cost twenty yuan. The reason Zhang He didn't choose a single room was that the single room was too expensive, costing around eighty yuan. He had so many things to buy, and even though he had hundreds of thousands of yuan in his hand, in fact, it wasn't much compared to the things he wanted to buy. So he didn't want to waste money and there was really no need to spend extra on this.

At the beginning, he had asked his aunt for 350,000 yuan in cash, which he had all put into the peach pit space. He had already spent 100,000 yuan on buying rice and cotton products, and he had to spend the remaining 250,000 yuan carefully.

At this time, he was wearing pure cotton clothes all over his body, looking very ordinary. He was only carrying a leather bag in his hand. Even when staying in a crowded place, he didn't attract much attention.

After entering the room, the other two beds in the room were already occupied. The two people seemed to know each other and were sitting on the bed talking. One was in his twenties and the other was in his forties. After Zhang He entered, he didn't greet them. Instead, he went to wash his face first, and then directly got on the bed, sat cross-legged, and started practicing the breathing and qi-nourishing technique.

When the two people saw Zhang He sitting cross-legged on the bed with his eyes closed after entering, they were a bit curious about his unusual posture. However, they were both people who had traveled far and wide for work and were not inexperienced. There were not a few Taoist temples and Buddhist temples nowadays, and many Taoists and Buddhists often went in and out of stores and hotels, and there were also many believers. Maybe this person was one of them. After taking a couple of glances, they shifted their gazes and continued talking about things on the construction site.

After Zhang He closed his eyes and practiced breathing exercises for half an hour, he opened his eyes. His legs didn't feel numb at all, which showed that during the breathing exercise just now, the qi had circulated throughout his body unobstructed. Then he took a look around the room. It was noon, and after the two people had talked for a while, they got up and went out to eat. At this time, there was no one in the room.

Zhang He then glanced at the leather bag he had placed by the bed, and then reached out and pulled the wooden plaque with the talisman engraved on it that was tied to the mouth of the bag. At this moment, the bag that had been motionless suddenly shook, and a little leopard the size of a black cat crawled out of it.

At this time, it was staring at him with a pair of tiger-eye-like eyes, full of hostility. It bared its teeth slightly at him, with one paw stretched out, and its body and head lowered, as if on guard against Zhang He, and also as if it was going to pounce on him and bite his throat when he wasn't paying attention.

Zhang He glanced at it. If this black leopard was still in the state it was in when the forbidden technique was successfully completed that day, he might have fled in a hurry at this moment. But this little leopard, which was only the size of a black cat now, even though it showed a mouthful of fully grown sharp teeth, didn't pose any threat to him at this time. The reason why the thing refined in the forbidden technique was called a servant beast was naturally that it was meant to be commanded by the person who refined it.

The method of commanding it was also recorded in detail. Because the essence of the beast on it was refined with Zhang He's blood essence, once the essence of the beast merged with it, even if it was reluctant, it had to be commanded by Zhang He. As long as Zhang He infiltrated his blood into the talisman and then drove it, it had to use all its strength to complete the order, otherwise it would suffer the pain of its soul being scattered.

However, the ability of the little leopard was still small. After merging with the essence of the beast, it also needed to gradually understand and utilize the power contained in the essence of the beast. Driving it now couldn't make it do much for him.

Moreover, Zhang He was really annoyed at taking it on the road. It had a strong attacking desire and was full of hostility towards all things and people. Zhang He had once passed through City T and stayed there for two days. Due to a momentary oversight, he let it escape. Fortunately, it was recorded in the forbidden technique that he could accurately find its position. When he finally caught it back, there was still some flesh and blood, either from an animal or a person, in its mouth. Zhang He wasn't shocked at that time, but just frowned and worried that now, since it wasn't the end of the world, if it really killed someone, it would cause him a lot of trouble.

So that night, he took a car and left City T. He put it in the leather bag and sealed it with a talisman for two days. The servant beast refined by the forbidden technique was different from ordinary animals, both in terms of its intelligence and body. Because it had been comprehensively transformed by the ancient essence of the beast, even though it was only a few months old, it could now understand human language and a lot of meanings. Its body had also been extremely strengthened due to the essence of the beast, and it wouldn't die even if it was starved for more than half a month.

According to the records in the forbidden technique, the essence of the beast was the concentrated essence of an ancient beast. Once the soul of the little leopard merged with the essence of the beast, it could directly receive the inheritance of the species of the ancient beast when it was alive, which was extremely powerful. That's why it was called a forbidden technique.

Although Zhang He couldn't experience the inheritance himself, he could more or less understand that it should be a kind of spiritual substance that could make the servant beast stronger and stronger. On the one hand, he thought it was good to have the inheritance, which could make it stronger and be more helpful to him in the future.

However, when he thought of the look in its eyes that always wanted to kill him with its claws, he couldn't help but feel discouraged. If he didn't seal it in the bag now, it would be staring at you in the dark all the time, and it would open its mouth and bite your neck when you weren't prepared, making you unable to sleep peacefully or eat with peace of mind. Now that it was only a few months old, it already had such a persistent and difficult-to-deal-with combat power. This not only made Zhang He feel that the two bowls of blood essence he had wasted were worth it, but sometimes he also felt creepy and wondered if he had personally found an opponent to torture himself. He always felt that even if he didn't die at the hands of the living dead and the blood vine in the future, he would be destroyed by this forbidden technique he had cast in the past.

However, since some things had already been done, it was useless to regret them later. He could only keep moving forward. Anyway, it was still in his hands now. As long as he had the talisman, he could command it. Just like the monkey in the palm of the Buddha, it couldn't run anywhere. There were also conditions for the backlash in the forbidden technique. At least for now, it didn't have the ability to do that.

Zhang He took out a talisman from the space, shook it in the air, and it immediately caught fire. He swiped it over the little leopard's head. After it burned out, the little leopard immediately went limp. He reached out and grabbed it by the back of its neck and lifted it up.

However, even after giving it a talisman to disperse its strength, when he lifted it up, its hind legs still bent upwards in the air with force, just like a shrimp arching its body. Zhang He couldn't help but remember that when he was a child in the countryside, he always heard people say that a cat that could catch mice would arch its legs when lifted up, and such a cat was extremely fierce when catching mice. As for those lazy cats that didn't catch mice, when lifted up, their bodies would stretch out very long and their feet would hang down.

Zhang He didn't know if what they said was true or not, but at this moment, it seemed that this leopard was really like that. Leopards and tigers both belonged to the cat family, so it should be somewhat applicable.

Thinking of this, he suddenly felt more cheerful. When he saw the leopard baring its teeth at him, he wasn't as annoyed as before.

The reason Zhang He was holding it was that he wanted to take it for a bath. Since he had taken it away from City S, it had been six or seven days, and it hadn't taken a bath at all. Even though its fur was black and relatively resistant to dirt, it was already sticky and stuck to its body, and there were also some dark red blood-like substances on it, almost the same as the stray cats and dogs on the street.

Especially in summer, and it had been stuffed in the leather bag for two days. The smell wasn't exactly disgusting, but it definitely wasn't pleasant either. At this time, Zhang He was holding the little leopard, passed through two doors, and entered the toilet. He went directly to the sink, threw the little leopard into the sink. Before it could climb up, he turned on the faucet, and the water immediately sprayed onto the little leopard.

After a while, it became like a drowned dog with its fur sticking tightly to its body under the water. At this time, Zhang He had turned the water on to its maximum. The water splashing on the little leopard made it growl in anger in a low voice. Then it struggled to climb up with all four legs again and again, but as soon as it climbed up, it was splashed by the water and slipped back into the sink. Then it continued to climb up and was knocked down into the sink by the water again.

At first, Zhang He just watched coldly from the side. It wasn't until after more than a dozen repetitions that it finally gave in and lay motionless at the bottom of the sink, letting the water splash on its head. Although it was still stubbornly resisting the water, its head was already trembling a bit from the impact of the water.

Zhang He saw that its black fur was sticking tightly to its body, revealing a skinny appearance. He had originally wanted to teach it a lesson for its unruly behavior, but thinking that it had been tortured for more than half a month before it died, he finally relaxed his brows. He reached out and turned the water flow of the faucet down a bit, and then took a thin piece of soap that was left beside it and lathered the little leopard all over its body. He washed it from head to tail and rinsed it twice.

When he was washing its head and mouth, this guy took the opportunity when he wasn't paying attention and bit Zhang He's wrist hard. Even though it had been cast with the talisman to disperse its strength, the original power of the ferocious beast still bit out blood beads on his wrist. Zhang He had to throw it away and wash the injured area with water. Although he was angry in his heart, since there were people coming and going in the sink at this time, he couldn't really throw it downstairs to vent his anger. His character also wouldn't allow him to beat it in retaliation just because it bit him. So he could only wash the wound and drag it back by its neck.

Obviously, on the way, some people looked at the naked little leopard he was holding with curiosity. But because its size was very similar to that of a cat, many people thought it was a cat and just took a few glances and then ignored it.

When Zhang He carried the little leopard back to the room, the two people in the room had already come back after eating. When they saw the black cat he was holding, they stared at it intently. And when the little leopard saw the strangers, it immediately glared angrily and showed its fangs fiercely at the two of them. The two people were immediately startled. They had never seen such a fierce black cat before.

Zhang He, with a serious expression, threw the little leopard into the leather bag, hung the wooden talisman on it, and then took out the gauze to wrap around his wrist. He decided not to let it out of the bag for the next few days and starve it for a few days to teach it a lesson and curb its wildness.

In the following days, Zhang He almost spent all his time meditating on the bed, whether it was day or night. Because the peaceful days now would decrease by one day as they passed. He not only had to use the ancient technique on the silk to improve his physical condition but also practice more to generate essence for drawing talismans.

In the few days, apart from eating, the only time he went out was to buy some talisman paper and cinnabar. He had bought some talisman paper and cinnabar in City S before, but at that time, he was short of money, so he only spent a few hundred yuan. Twenty yuan could only buy a hundred pieces of talisman paper, and a hundred pieces would be used up in one day of practice. The consumption was very high. In addition, he had used a lot of talisman paper when practicing drawing the Seven Star Talismans on the way. By now, there were only dozens of pieces of talisman paper left in his hand, and the two boxes of cinnabar were also almost used up. He had to replenish some for future use. There wouldn't be anyone preparing these things for you to buy during the end of the world.

Usually, the places selling these things were relatively remote, mostly places selling things like paper money and candles for sacrifices. With a little asking around, he found the place.

As soon as Zhang He entered, he saw that it was full of various sacrificial items. There was a young girl inside who was sorting out the goods. She looked up at him, then lowered her head and continued sorting the goods. She casually said, "If you want to buy talisman paper and cinnabar, please come in..."