The old man's corpse had changed!
In the original plot, after the transformation, the first person the old man killed was his own son, Master Ren.
That was because once a corpse is transformed into a zombie, it retains fragmented memories and instinctively seeks out people it once knew.
Tonight, the plot was unfolding in the same way.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
In the dead of night, a dark figure dashed rapidly toward Renjia Town.
Late Night.
Ren Mansion.
Lying in bed, Fenric's eyes snapped open.
"…You've arrived."
Thanks to his extraordinary hearing, he had heard the faint thud of footsteps—heavy, unnatural steps that landed like thunder inside the Ren household.
Each step was deliberate and powerful.
Clearly, these were not human footsteps.
Fenric immediately got out of bed.
From a distance, he saw a zombie in a Qing Dynasty official uniform, hopping toward the inner courtyard.
Its direction—Ren Tingting's room.
Fenric's expression changed slightly.
In the original timeline, didn't the zombie target Master Ren first? Why was it after Ren Tingting now?
Had his appearance caused a change in the sequence?
Actually...
That wasn't the case.
What Fenric didn't know was that Ren Tingting had recently moved her room closer to the back of the inner courtyard—just to be nearer to her handsome teacher.
And zombies, driven by their instincts, seek out relatives first. Since Ren Tingting was closer…
She became the first target.
Crash!
The window burst open, jolting Ren Tingting awake.
"Who's there?!"
She quickly got dressed and stood up.
Suddenly, a large shadow lunged at her.
"Roar!"
The figure let out a low, guttural growl that clearly didn't belong to a human.
Under the pale moonlight, Ren Tingting could see its face—a grotesque monster with green skin and protruding fangs.
"AHHH!!"
Her scream pierced the night, echoing through the entire Ren residence.
Just as Ren Tingting fell into despair, a tall figure descended from the sky—shattering the rooftop as he landed directly in front of her.
Like a divine guardian, he shielded her from the monster.
Ren Tingting blinked, stunned by the familiar silhouette.
It was the very man who'd been occupying her dreams lately.
Her handsome teacher—Fenric!
Boom!!
A heavy impact followed. The zombie was sent flying, smashing through a wall and out the window.
Fenric retracted his fist casually.
"…Huh. Might've used too much strength. Hopefully I didn't beat him to death. If I did, the plan's going to need a delay…"
His current strength attribute was 155 points—
Fifteen times stronger than a regular human.
A single punch from him could unleash impact forces measured in tons.
"Teacher!"
Ren Tingting's panicked voice pulled him back. He turned and asked gently, "Tingting, are you alright?"
After two days of interaction, Fenric had grown quite fond of her. She was sweet, polite, breathtakingly beautiful, and had a stunning figure. He wasn't made of stone—of course he felt something.
So, that concern he showed? It was genuine.
"Mhm… Teacher, I was so scared…"
Without hesitation, Ren Tingting threw herself into his arms.
At that moment, a strange warmth washed over her.
Pressed against Fenric's firm chest, she felt something she could only describe as… happiness.
Just moments ago, that monstrous figure nearly claimed her life. But now, in his arms, she felt utterly safe. Her teacher had descended like a god of war and blown the creature away with a single punch.
Fenric smiled, gently patting her back. "Don't worry. As long as I'm here, no one can hurt you."
And that wasn't bragging.
With his current strength, even if a legion of zombies appeared, he could take them on without breaking a sweat.
"Tingting! Tingting! What happened?!"
Master Ren's voice echoed from afar.
Fenric said softly, "Alright, your father's coming. Get dressed quickly."
Reluctantly, Ren Tingting pulled away from his embrace and began putting her clothes back on.
But before Master Ren could arrive—
"AHHH! G-GHOST!"
Another terrified scream rang out.
Fenric sighed. "Tingting, don't worry. I'll go save your father."
Leaving those words behind, he turned and left.
"Be careful, teacher!" Ren Tingting shouted after him.
Outside.
Master Ren had fallen to the ground, too terrified to move.
The transformed corpse—now a zombie—was hopping toward him.
Fenric rushed forward.
Bang!
Another clean hit. The zombie flew again.
"Master Ren, are you alright?"
Master Ren, still shaking from fear, looked up and saw the powerful figure who saved him.
"Nephew! Nephew! Help me!"
"Don't worry, Master Ren. I'm here."
While reassuring him, Fenric subtly pushed Master Ren back to safety.
By now, the household servants had also rushed in—only to scream and scatter again upon seeing the zombie.
"Stop yelling! Go get the thickest iron chain you can find!"
Fenric barked the order.
Hearing his command, the servants seemed to regain composure. One of them quickly ran off toward the warehouse.
Fenric approached the zombie.
Surprisingly, instead of attacking, the zombie shrank back in fear—curling into a trembling ball.
After all, Fenric had already punched it twice. The creature now understood: this human was terrifying.
In the original plot, the zombies transformed by the old man's corpse retained a sliver of intelligence. When the Four-Eyed Daoist later subdued one using a spirit-hanging talisman, it showed the same fear.
[TL/n: Four-Eyed Daoist and Master Nine. He's a fellow Taoist priest and an old friend of Master Nine.]
Fenric narrowed his eyes.
"Scared already? So this is the legendary zombie? Hmph."
Of course, he could talk big—his power now far exceeded normal limits. To him, a newly awakened zombie was like a punching bag.
As he got closer, the zombie suddenly turned and attempted to flee.
Fenric snorted.
No words—just fists.
Boom! Boom!
A series of iron-fist beatings followed.
"Stay down!"
He activated Armament Haki just to be sure—not that he needed it against this level of threat.
Finally, a servant arrived with the chain.
Without hesitation, Fenric bound the zombie's upper body tightly with one end and held the other end in his hand.
It looked like he was walking a particularly hideous dog.
"Master Ren, I'll take this monster outside. No need to let it dirty the place."
Master Ren nodded frantically. "Yes, yes! Thank you, nephew. Please—take it away!"
In his blind panic, Master Ren hadn't even realized the truth—
The "monster" being dragged off like a dog…
…was his own father.
What a filial father and son indeed.
_____
[Translation Note: New Arc Starts
Rank 1st = The Whole Mr. Vampire Arc Chapters Updated
Rank 3rd = 5 Chapters Daily.
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Ps: Cover Updated]