The dense fog dominated the early morning.

The way up the mountainside was rugged as the villagers of Xiangyang carried a bright red sedan chair cautiously to the mountaintop, where they placed it before an old, twisted tree.

The fog was so heavy, the sky so dull, that the silhouette of the tree remained ambiguous, standing eerily like a hanging ghost that one dared not glance at twice.

"Mountain God, we bring the offerings!" cried the lead villager with a voice so sharp it startled the fowls in the surrounding woods, sending them fleeing and scattering the dry leaves on the ground.

The villagers skillfully laid out edibles at the mouth of the cave, burning some incense. Meanwhile, an old temple woman began to sing and dance around the offerings. No sooner had the incense been half-burnt than a mystic gust cleared up the fog, unveiling the crooked tree and the dark hole concealed behind it.

The mouth of the cave was ominous, like the jaws of some giant creature, with stalactites hanging down as if they were savage teeth. The sudden reveal sent the villagers running in terror, leaving behind the red sedan chair that appeared hauntingly crimson under the morning light. It seemed to glisten as if it was soaked in blood.

A breeze lifted a corner of the curtains to reveal the maiden inside the sedan chair. With her eyes closed, she was pallid, wearing a bright red wedding robe, tightly bound hands and arms, looking just like a wrapped dumpling.

Hearing the approaching heavy footsteps, Tao Baoer stealthily opened her eyes. Her eyes were big and bright, clear as the washed grape, filled with tears.

Her intense fear made her eyelashes flutter rapidly, causing a stream of tears to spill across her face without a sound.

The closing footsteps boomed like tumbling stones rolling down during a landslide, making Tao Baoer rather nervous. Was she about to be devoured?

While she was carried in the sedan chair, she overheard the villagers say that they needed to run as fast as they could, otherwise they would be eaten. But being bound so tightly, she wasn't able to run.

Being eaten or being consumed by fire, the final result would be the same -- death... And she didn't want to die.

The curtain was abruptly drawn back, revealing a man entirely engulfed in bandages making him look like an unwieldy monster. The villagers called him the Mountain God to his face but labeled him a "zombie" in his absence.

Ever since he appeared in Xiangyang Mountain, a significant number of livestock had perished, and there hadn't been a drop of rain in three months.

Now, the monster's eyes were visible underneath the bandage, its blood-red pupils were staring straight at her.

This was the man-eating zombie she heard about. This thought zipped through her mind, and she opened her mouth, trying to speak with a pair of watery eyes staring at the zombie, her pupils filled with pleading.

I'm not a human.

I'm a piece of wood. I don't taste good, please don't eat me.

"I...." Barely a whisper escaped her lips when the zombie across her stretched out its hand and clutched Peach Baby’s neck. Following that, it lifted her out of the sedan chair with one hand and dangled her in mid-air.

Her body was bound and she couldn't even beg for mercy.

The zombie's head leaned over, its fangs piercing her slender neck. The pain in Peach Baby’s neck was excruciating; it felt as if a layer of skin and flesh was scraped off. The next moment, she noticed the zombie suddenly loosen its grip, emitting a low growl from its throat as fumes began to rise from its mouth.

It bit her and tasted blood, but it was the one who got hurt instead?

The zombie covered its throat with its hand and roared in pain for a while before it recovered, its pupils changing from crimson to dull black with a slight movement in them.

It slowly approached Peach Baby, stretched out a finger and gently poked her.

A red mark immediately appeared on Peach Baby’s fair skin, startling the zombie.

The red mark didn’t hurt him.

Taking note of this, the zombie rubbed on the red mark with his finger. After rubbing a red spot the size of a copper coin, he nodded to himself, signifying he understood the situation.

As long as no skin was pierced and blood was not exposed, there was no problem. Having concluded this, the zombie picked up Peach Baby and carried her into the cave.

The gloomy cave ceiling hung with many bats, and there was a coffin in the depths. At this moment, the coffin lid was open; laid with white fur inside, with a jade pillow placed on top.

The zombie threw Peach Blossom into the coffin, then pulled her out after a while. Upon untying her ropes, he started to strip her clothes.

Peach Blossom was stiff all over, her heart pounding in fear and she curled instinctively into a small ball. Could it be that this zombie also intended to sleep with her?

But it was said that she could only serve a single Immortal, and could not allow anyone else to see her naked. She didn't comprehend much, but she was sure to remember and obey anything taught to her.

While she was frightened into a tight ball, she clumsily attempted to resist. Her body may be immobilized, but her head could still move. She opened her mouth to bite the zombie, but was abruptly pushed down by a fingertip before she could make contact. Her head knocked against the wood with a thud.

Although she missed her mark, Peach Blossom's proactive bite took the zombie by surprise.

He hadn't expected this little thing to attempt to bite him; the zombie scoffed scornfully after one glance at her mouth.

Planning to bite without fangs? Ridiculous!

He continued peeling off Peach Blossom's clothes, like peeling a bamboo shoot, until she was left only in white undergarments. He no longer continued, instead setting Peach Blossom onto the snowy soft fur. Then, he covered the coffin.

As the light slowly disappeared, Peach Blossom laid inside the coffin, releasing a deep sigh.

Perhaps this zombie favored cleanliness and purity? Was it that he simply found her clothes too dirty? Even though her understandings were limited, she had drunk the spiritual water from Linglong Mountain and gained some wisdom. Through her own reflections, she gradually understood some principles; her guess might not be too far from the truth.

Peach Blossom didn't continue contemplating, instead, she attempted to push the lid, to no avail. Following that, the sound of clanging rang from outside of the coffin, jolting her nerves and stopping her from touching anything rashly.

After a while, everything became completely silent. In the darkness, all was tranquil. Peach Blossom originally thought that she would be too afraid to sleep, but she began to feel drowsy.

These past few days, she hasn't had a sound sleep. She had finally escaped from the Waterwood Palace, crawling out of the long and dark caves before entering the mortal world. Who would have thought that she would be abducted by a group of villagers, replacing their daughter as a sacrifice to the mountain god.

They searched her body, not only taking away her clothes and jewelry, but also seizing the Relic left to her by Golden Spirit. For Peach Blossom, the immortals of the Waterwood Palace and the villagers from Yang Village were more terrifying than the zombie before her.

At least, this zombie hadn't killed her yet.

One of them set her house on fire, the other threatened to feed her to zombies.

She didn't even know what she had done wrong.

Tao Baoer crossed her hands and placed them over her heart. There was no physical hurt, just a dull pain and mostly, worry and confusion.

She drifted to a troubled sleep, only to be awakened when the coffin lid was pushed open again. She sensed light but didn't rush to open her eyes - a faintly cold presence was approaching, and she dared not move.

A zombie held a kerosene lamp as he opened the coffin lid to take a look if Tao Baoer was dead. She lay there seemingly lifeless, yet different from a dead object.

The lamp in his hand was tilted, spilling oil on Tao Baoer’s face. The pain made her breathe in sharply and she couldn't help but open her eyes, surprised to see the zombie startled and his lamp almost dropped. Fortunately, he was quick to react and caught it mid-air; otherwise, the coffin would be ablaze.

Their eyes met, and Tao Baoer noticed the zombie’s eyes weren't red but were normal black pupils. He appeared uneasy and restless.

Was the zombie afraid? It must be her imagination. Tao Baoer blinked. As she opened her eyes again, she was already pulled up by him and thrown out of the coffin.

The zombie sat aside, staring fixedly at her.

She dared not move, but after sitting for a while, her body felt stiff. When she saw that the zombie didn't seem to want to cause her any harm, Tao Baoer summoned her courage to get up and look around in the dim light.

She was hungry, her stomach grumbling. She had no idea if there was any food to be found in this zombie den.

Treading lightly to avoid making noises and stealing glances at the zombie, Tao Baoer noticed encouragement in the zombie’s eyes when their gaze met.

Was he encouraging her to leave?

Though confused, Tao Baoer felt like she understood the zombie's idea. So, she mustered her courage to take a big step forward. But with a thud, she hit an invisible wall head-on. She noticed the zombie's eyes brightened. His face was tightly bandaged, leaving only his eyes exposed. His eyeballs moved around, full of anticipation.

Was he chuckling at her bumping into the wall?

Tao Bao'er thought to herself that she was not a fool. She reached out, little by little, probing forward. To her surprise, she found an invisible wall three feet ahead of her, surrounding her on all sides, forming a metal tube, confining her in a tiny space.

Understanding she can't get out, Tao Bao'er decided to save her energy and simply sat down.

Now, this left the zombie rather frustrated. He wondered why this little creature was so calm and composed, unlike the frantic rabbits he'd caught running into the barrier and dying in the past.

The zombie watched her.

She watched the zombie, too, glaring at each other for a long time.

Later on, the zombie got restless and started walking around Tao Bao'er in circles. Tao Bao'er was so hungry that her stomach began to grumble, she was barely holding on. With a weak voice, she asked, "What's your name? What are you going to do?"

"Can you let me out, please? I promise I won't run, I just need to find something to eat." She didn't even know where to run in this foreign world that was utterly new to her.

The zombie pacing around her immediately stopped.

He tilted his head to look at her, hesitated for a moment, then extended a finger. The dark teal fingernail on his finger suddenly grew a few inches longer. As he pointed forward, Tao Bao'er felt the air around her vibrate, as if something collapsed.

She felt the fluctuation of spiritual energy. Despite not knowing any magic, she understood immediately what happened. The zombie must have used magic to dissolve the barrier that trapped her.

With this thought, Tao Bao'er straightened her arm, stretching her finger forward. There was no longer any obstruction.

Her eyes brightened. Without any fear, she quickly stepped out of the cave, looking for something to eat. She knew the offerings presented by the villagers included buns, steamed bread, and a whole pig. Even a bit of those could satiate her hunger.

Eagerly reaching the cave entrance, Tao Bao'er found the plate still there but utterly clear of food. Even the plate was spotless, not a single drop of oil, as if it had been licked clean.

As she turned her head, she saw the zombie standing at the entrance of the cave, watching her with an expectant look in his eyes, and one hand was rubbing his own belly.

Tao Bao'er immediately understood what had happened.

Just now, the zombie let her go because she said she wanted to go out and find food.

It seems like he was also hungry and was hoping for her to find food?

Peach Bao'er guessed right once again.

There were many trees around, and she found bird eggs up in the trees and also picked a few fruits. Just as she sat down to eat and was contemplating how to start a fire to roast the bird eggs, the eggs were snatched away by the zombie who swiftly cleaned them up in a gulp.

After eating the eggs, he then set his sight on the wild fruits in Peach Bao'er's hand. He took one to taste, but spat it out once he found it distasteful, and returned the remaining fruits to her.

Even the one that he took a bite from, he shoved it into Peach Bao'er's hands. He then watched and waited until he saw her eat that same fruit he bit into before he finally gave up his vigilance and turned to go into the cave.

After walking a few steps, he turned back, picked up Peach Bao'er, and tossed her back into the cave, into the coffin.

However, this time, after he put Peach Bao'er inside, he laid down beside her.

The coffin was fairly spacious, but that's when there's only one person in it. Now with two people, it became extremely crowded, with half of their bodies overlapping each other.

There was no stench on the zombie's body, but his body was firm and stiff, like a cold piece of rock.

With half of her body pressed by this rock, she felt as if stomach acid was going to spurt out.

The zombie stretched out an arm and gave Peach Bao'er a little push.

His strength was great. With his push, Peach Bao'er found herself turned sideways, facing the wall of the coffin, with her nose practically touching it. She remained still and tried to make herself take up less space, her back against the zombie in the hope of keeping some distance between themselves.

Yet, within the next moment, that gap was filled again.

The rock-like figure came closer, his hand still resting on her hip.

Peach Baby's heart fluttered, her body stiffened like a piece of wood. She knew from experience that there were certain parts of the body that immortals loved to touch. Was the same true for immortals, even for zombies?

As her body stiffened, her thoughts began to wander.

The palace master of Water Wood Palace, the celestial being Chu Yan, used to pamper and love her, calling her his treasure. He stayed in her room every night. She didn't understand but others told her that this was because he loved her. He liked sleeping with her because he loved her.

Chu Yan pampered her because he loved her.

What had she done wrong to anger the celestial being? He suddenly stopped loving her, and not only did he stop loving her, he even wanted to kill her.

Without reason, she was loved, and without reason, she was hurt. In a short period of time, she had experienced the roller coaster of life's ups and downs.

When he doted on her, she was the respected Lady Peach of the Water Wood Palace.

When he abandoned her, she was as insignificant as a speck of dust, invisible to all but Jin Ling'er.

But all of this was not what she wanted. She was just a newly sentient peach tree who didn’t even know any magic yet. Having been forcibly imbued with magical abilities and transformed into a human, she didn’t even know how to return to her original form.

No one had taught her.

They only taught her how to serve the palace master.

Tears welled up in Peach Baby's eyes. She wished that if she knew a bit of magic, she could transform into a tree at this moment. After all, if she became a tree, the zombie would not be able to humiliate her.

She didn't want to sleep with the zombie. She didn't love him.

Cold hands touched her waist.

Peach Baby trembled. Just as her tears began to flow uncontrollably, she felt her body lighten and was lifted from the animal fur pad. Then, she was thrown out, straight and stiff, landing on the ground.

She fell and felt dizzy, when she got up, she saw the zombie lying spread-eagle in the coffin. He had his eyes closed, apparently, it was more comfortable to sleep like this.

Tao Bao'er: "..."

The sadness in her heart disappeared along with the sight of the spread-eagle zombie.

If he found it cramped, he shouldn’t have pretended to be generous and offered half a bed from the start. There was no logic in retracting his offer. She glared at the zombie, sat down beside the coffin, and her gaze drifted towards the exit, a fleeting thought of running away crossing her mind.

Where could she possibly run to?

She had nowhere to go, no real abilities. If this zombie only treated her as a maid, she was willing to stay. Maybe in the future, he would even stand up for her and retrieve the items taken by the villagers.

Especially the amber that Jin Ling'er had given her, she wanted to retrieve it, very badly, very badly.