“Ow, ow, ow, ow,” I hiss as Su Xinya pours antiseptic over my arm.

In all the excitement, I’d nearly forgotten about my arm, but it all came back when the group stopped for a break. Snowflake probably could have kept walking forever, but everyone else is human and needs to eat and rest, Liu Guanjun especially. She’s still conscious, but with all the pain she’s in, maybe it’d be better if she wasn’t.

Kui Renshu, the only one with any medical training, is tending to her. His face is grim. Ms Lu is assisting him. Lu Yang and Xiuying-jie went off as soon as their wounds were seen to, and I think they’re searching for a pharmacy to raid. The old lady, who told me to call her Granny Yang, is comforting the child. His name is Zhu Aiyao and they’re not related. Granny Yang found him crying in a shop somewhere and has been looking after him ever since.

Su Xinya finishes bandaging my arm and helps me stick bandaids on all the other small cuts and scrapes I have. I smile at her.

“Thank you, Su Xinya.”

“You can call me Xinya-jie if you’d like.”

“Okay. Thank you, Xinya-jie.”

She smiles back at me but pales as soon as her eyes move to over my shoulder. I reach behind without looking and smack Snowflake.

“Knock it off,” I say in English. “Is there really a need to look so scary?”

“Hmph.”

I smile apologetically at Xinya-jie. “I’m sorry. I also thought Bai Xuehua was scary but he’s really a good person!”

“A-ah.”

Once she leaves to tend to Jin Hailin, who’s hanging around the fringes of the group as lookout, I carefully walk over to Granny Yang.

“Are you okay?”

She gives me a warm smile. “I’m fine. Please thank your handsome friend for me.”

“Okay.” I look down at the kid. “What about Yaoyao?”

“Yaoyao is just tired. Let him sleep.”

“Ah. When he wakes up, can you give him this lolly?”

I hand her a watermelon flavoured lollipop. She takes it and promises to give it to the kid. Pathetically, I am exhausted from even that short walk. I rest a bit before ambling back to Snowflake. I drop to the ground and rest my chin on my knees.

I stare at him.

His robes have not the slightest bit of dirt on them and even the hems are pristine, despite having been dragged along the ground while he was carrying me. His sleeves flap gently in a breeze of dubious existence as he sips a cup of tea that appeared from out of nowhere. If someone were to bring a classical painting of a noble scholar to life it’d probably result in this.

Seriously, where is that wind coming from?

I lick a finger and hold it up in the air. Nothing.

“That is unsanitary,” Snowflake says. His words radiate disapproval, but I have achieved immunity through overexposure to my mother. “When was last time your hands were cleansed?”

I wipe my finger on my shirt, which makes him twitch.

“Says the guy who made me eat something straight from a corpse.”

“Extenuating circumstances. What even are you doing?”

“Just enjoying the view.”

“Flirt with someone your own age, child.”

“Do you even know my age?”

“I estimate fifteen winters have passed since your birth.”

“Ha, wrong! It’s seventeen!”

“Ah, yes, because two years is such a long time.”

I boo him and reach for his tea.

“Can I have some tea? Where’d you even get it?”

He smacks my hands away. “No. Do you think you are the only one with the ability to bring-”

Snowflake shuts his mouth abruptly and looks away.

Oho. Was he just about spill something he shouldn’t?

“Ability to bring…?”

“Nothing,” he says curtly. He refuses to say another word on the subject no matter how much I pester him, nor can I get him to fall into casual banter with me again.

I pull out my phone and spot the newest unlocked option in the Compendium. Perfect time to check it out. The picture on the button is the silhouette of a person’s head and shoulders. I tap it.

A stats screen pops up. It comes with a picture of my face. I squint at it. I don’t remember ever taking a photo like this. The closest thing is my passport photo but this one is much more flattering. I chalk it up to the magic of the Compendium.

So this must be my own status. I screenshot both it and Snowflake’s stats screen for comparison. My numbers are much, much lower than his, which, while not unexpected, still kinda pisses me off. It’s not exactly pleasant to be presented with numerical evidence of your weakness.

The pharmacy raiding team soon comes back with supplies. They’re covered in a bit of gore but don’t seem to have received any serious injuries. Kui Renshu still makes them sit down for treatment and I learn the word for infection.

Lu Yang gathers the group together to brief us on what we’re going to do. Not including Snowflake, there are ten of us, with four willing to fight, two able, two invalids, one elderly and one child. At least this invalid isn’t half dead. We’re a few blocks away from the edge of the city. Once we’ve reached a portion of the road where it’s less congested (but not empty, this is China after all), we’ll split up into two vehicles and drive to the military base.

I want to offer to carry all our supplies in my Compendium space, but Snowflake tells me it’s best to keep the full extent of what I can do secret. I think he’s being paranoid, but on second thoughts, putting everything in one place is a bad idea anyway. At his insistence, I also ask everyone to not go spreading my ability around. I do my best to explain with clumsy Chinese and wild gesturing the damage that has been done to my body and let them draw their own conclusions as to what caused it.

We pack up. Snowflake lifts me up and I automatically wrap an arm around his shoulders. Liu Guanjun is being supported between Xinya-jie and Ms Lu. Granny Yang shakes Yaoyao awake and takes his hand. He sleepily sucks on the watermelon lollipop she gives him.

The four fighters surround the seven of us and we set off.

Snowflake collects the cores of any zombies they kill. He allows me to explain what they are when asked. I don’t have the vocabulary though and only manage to convey that it’s good for you, and that Snowflake recommends that only people with abilities eat them. Kui Renshu starts coming up with theories but every time he looks at me for confirmation I can only shrug and say, “Maybe?” The cores are split evenly between Lu Yang, Xiuying-jie and me.

By the time we reach the outskirts of the city, I have gained 22 souls and 7 cores. There were a few close calls and Jin Hailin got a nasty scratch across his face, but we make it out in one piece. While Kui Renshu treats the scratch, Xiuying-jie and Lu Yang go search for vehicles we can use. Xinya-jie goes with them for some reason.

It’s only when they come back with two largely undamaged jeeps do I find out why; Su Xinya knows how to hotwire a car. Talk about hidden depths.

Lu Yang designates himself and Xiuying-jie as the drivers. I’m in Xiuying-jie’s car along with Kui Renshu, Ms Lu and Liu Guanjun. Snowflake disappears after placing me in the car and warning me about placing too much trust in others. I can only smile cluelessly at the shocked looks everyone gives me at his abrupt departure.

I ride shotgun. Kui Renshu and Ms Lu have to concentrate on making sure Liu Guanjun isn’t in too much pain in the back.

Lu Yang’s car leaves first. Xiuying-jie steps on the gas and follows.

Soon the city we left is disappearing into the horizon.