Before long, Quan Xiaoyu came in with the doctor and the others. Before entering, he had already briefly explained the situation inside the church to the doctor.
Chu Tian had already chosen a spot and waved at everyone as they came in.
As soon as they met, Chu Tian smiled at Quan Xiaoyu, then pulled the doctor aside, and the two of them began whispering together.
The others did not know much about the situation inside the church, but out of obedience to the doctor, they conscientiously organized their belongings without asking many questions.
Quan Xiaoyu could not describe what he was feeling at this moment.
Originally, he had thought that, with this lifetime following a completely different path from his previous one, perhaps everyone would never meet again in this life. Unexpectedly, fate still seemed to have its arrangements. Was this giving him an opportunity to resolve the knot in his heart?
“Young Master Quan, is that you? Ah! It’s you! It really is you!”
A figure rushed toward Quan Xiaoyu, interrupting his thoughts. Because of the combat instincts he had developed during the apocalypse, he almost drew his samurai sword.
But then he remembered that this was the church where the priest sheltered survivors, and that the voice sounded somewhat familiar, so he managed to stop himself from swinging the blade.
Even so, he still raised a hand and blocked the person, pushing away the man who attempted to throw his arms around him.
Quan Xiaoyu did not use much force. By now, he was already able to control his strength very well.
The man nevertheless staggered slightly, but his enthusiasm did not diminish in the slightest.
“Young Master Quan, you’re all right? That’s wonderful! You’re all right! You’re still alive!”
Quan Xiaoyu frowned deeply and stared at the excited man dancing around in front of him. Finally, he recognized who he was.
Xie Mingxuan, the lawyer his father had once designated as their family’s legal representative. He was also the lawyer who had once worked together with Li Shunwei to help Quan Xiaoyu fight for his inheritance.
Actually, Quan Xiaoyu had always thought this person was rather careless and unreliable. It had been his father’s decision to appoint Xie Mingxuan as their family lawyer. Although he did not know what connection Xie Mingxuan had with his father, he had never opposed his father’s decisions. As for property and inheritance, he had never cared much about those things.
What he had not expected was that after his father’s death, this young lawyer with no family or relatives would work so hard to help him.
It was not merely about the inheritance. In his previous life, this foolish and guileless young lawyer had insisted on following Quan Xiaoyu, swearing that he would take care of him for the rest of his life.
Unfortunately, later on, Xie Mingxuan’s own excessive kindness ended up costing him his life.
In his previous life, just before the apocalypse arrived, Xie Mingxuan happened to be volunteering at the church. After the apocalypse broke out, he stayed behind, helping the priest rescue and assist survivors, just as he had in this life.
It was not long before Quan Xiaoyu encountered him here. He had been just as happy as he was now, stubbornly and unilaterally deciding that he absolutely had to take care of Quan Xiaoyu.
The Quan Xiaoyu of his previous life was much more withdrawn than he was now and barely paid any attention to him.
Later, Quan Xiaoyu was moved by Lei Shi’s speech and decided to leave with Lei Shi. Xie Mingxuan, who had originally planned to remain at the church with the priest, saw that Quan Xiaoyu was determined to leave and decided to follow him as well.
Quan Xiaoyu could do nothing about it and simply let him come along.
At first, things went well. The initial zombies were easy enough to deal with, and most of those who left survived.
As an ordinary person, Xie Mingxuan also stayed closely with the group. Perhaps influenced by the priest, he always did his best to help others along the way, especially taking care of Quan Xiaoyu.
Later, even Quan Xiaoyu could not help but remind him several times not to be overly kindhearted. The apocalypse was no longer the same as the world they had known before.
But Xie Mingxuan would always cheerfully agree, only to turn around and continue doing exactly as he pleased.
A typical case of humbly accepting criticism but never correcting himself.
Later, he really did end up dragging himself to his death.
At that time, there were quite a few ordinary people in the group. When it came to elderly people, women, and children who needed help, Xie Mingxuan was always willing to offer them the greatest assistance possible.
That particular incident happened approximately half a month after they left the church. The zombies had already evolved into first-level zombies. However, during the process of zombie evolution, several more ability users had also awakened within the group.
That day, everyone stopped their vehicles to regroup and rest. A small wave of zombies arrived. The ability users, who now had experience fighting enemies, did not pay much attention to zombies of this level. Everyone moved forward together to engage them, hoping to finish the battle quickly so they could make time for food and rest.
No one expected that several zombies would take advantage of the distraction and somehow sneak into the area where the ordinary people were resting, attacking a woman.
That mother, however, actually pushed her own daughter forward to block the zombies while she escaped. Xie Mingxuan rushed forward to save the child.
At that time, Quan Xiaoyu was fighting the small wave of zombies alongside the other ability users. By the time news of the incident reached them and he and several other ability users hurried back, Xie Mingxuan and the little girl had already been dragged away by the zombies.
And so, in less than a month, Xie Mingxuan had lost his life on the road.
Sometimes, Quan Xiaoyu wondered whether, if Xie Mingxuan had never encountered him and had instead continued following the priest, he might have ended up with a different fate.
As for encountering Xie Mingxuan here again in this lifetime, Quan Xiaoyu was not particularly surprised. Before coming here, he had already considered that during the beginning of the apocalypse in this life, he had not encountered Quan Xiaoyu. Perhaps he would remain by the priest’s side.
Now, it seemed that was indeed the case.
Quan Xiaoyu felt a helpless sort of resignation toward this person.
“Lawyer Xie, long time no see.” Quan Xiaoyu spoke calmly. In his heart, he had already decided to find an opportunity to speak with the priest. He had to tell him about S City, which was about to be destroyed.
When communicating with clergy members, he could simply say it was a divine revelation. He could claim that it was guidance from the Lord, and the priest probably would not ask too many questions.
“Yes, yes! Young Master Quan, it’s wonderful that you’re all right! I was even thinking about going to look for you. I was afraid that you…” Xie Mingxuan grabbed Quan Xiaoyu’s hand, looking so grateful that he seemed ready to throw himself forward and hug him at any moment. “Thank the Lord! Thank the Lord for protecting you and keeping you safe!”
Xie Mingxuan had always referred to Quan Xiaoyu’s father as Mr. Quan. Once, when Quan Xiaoyu had reacted strongly against this man, who was only a few years older than him and not particularly familiar with him, calling him “Xiaoyu,” Xie Mingxuan had thereafter always addressed him as “Young Master Quan.”
The scene and conversation were almost exactly the same as in his previous life, which made Quan Xiaoyu extremely awkward.
But he had no idea how to get rid of Xie Mingxuan, making the scene look as though Xie Mingxuan were harassing him.
So Chu Tian quickly walked over.
Without making a fuss, he pulled Quan Xiaoyu to his side, separating the two of them. Then, with a faintly amused smile, he said to Xie Mingxuan, “Mr. Lawyer, what’s going on here? Did my companion offend you?”
Just moments ago, when he had been fishing for information, Chu Tian had still been calling everyone fellow believers and brothers. In the blink of an eye, he had turned into “Mr. Lawyer.”
“Oh, oh, oh!” Xie Mingxuan was not truly stupid. He quickly realized how presumptuous he had been and awkwardly rubbed his hands together. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. I was just too happy! Really, really happy!”
“Happy?” Although Chu Tian’s tone was questioning, he quickly thought of what Xie Mingxuan had previously said about the “son of his benefactor.” There was no way it could be such a coincidence, right?
He turned his head and glanced at Quan Xiaoyu, whom he was protecting at his side.
Quan Xiaoyu’s expression was one of helpless resignation.
He truly could not handle Xie Mingxuan. This person seemed to possess an endless supply of enthusiasm, filled with beautiful fantasies about human nature and life, even in the apocalypse.
In his previous life, Quan Xiaoyu had rejected him many times and told him not to follow. But he insisted on coming anyway. Quan Xiaoyu had also advised him many times not to be excessively kindhearted, yet he continued doing exactly as he pleased.
In the end, he had paid for it with his life.
Therefore, Quan Xiaoyu was completely helpless when it came to him.
He only hoped that this time, Xie Mingxuan could leave this place together with the priest. Quan Xiaoyu felt that the priest was truly someone capable of receiving God’s protection. Following him might at least be somewhat safer.
If Xie Mingxuan insisted on following him, then with his excessively kindhearted personality, the doctor would be the first to object, not to mention Chu Tian.
“Yes, yes, Brother Chu Tian! Young Master Quan is the son of my benefactor! This is wonderful! You must have rescued him, right? Thank you so much! Thank you all! Thank you for your kindness! The Lord will surely bless you!”
No one knew what Xie Mingxuan had imagined in his head. He stepped forward and grabbed Chu Tian’s hand, shaking it gratefully.
Quan Xiaoyu’s eyes widened. He could not describe what he was feeling inside at that moment.
Then Chu Tian suddenly remembered Xie Mingxuan’s previous description of the “benefactor’s son.” He had said that the son was quiet and kind, physically incapable of fighting, unable to manage daily life, and incapable of taking care of himself. Because of this, Chu Tian had once been deeply worried about the “benefactor’s son’s” chances of survival.
Physically incapable of fighting?
Chu Tian glanced at the samurai sword in Quan Xiaoyu’s hand, recalling how Quan Xiaoyu had calmly and effortlessly sliced off one zombie head after another amid the zombie horde. He could not help but let out a sudden snort of laughter.
Therefore, the doctor, who had been standing nearby and listening to the entire conversation, had originally stared at Xie Mingxuan for quite some time with an expression usually reserved for monsters. Then he turned and gave Chu Tian a look usually reserved for lunatics.
After thinking about it, he decided to walk away. He might as well go torment his subordinates a little and gather information about the other groups. He should not waste his time and nerves standing around with lunatics.
Chu Tian’s shamelessness proved useful at this moment. He did not feel anything was wrong at all. He nodded and withdrew his hand.
“What a coincidence. I never expected that the person we rescued would turn out to be the very person Fellow Believer Xie was looking for! What a fortunate connection, what a fortunate connection.”
Chu Tian had already come up with a plan. He intended to stay here for two more days. This Xie Mingxuan might prove useful.
The decision to stay for two more days was something he and the doctor had just agreed upon. They wanted to use this opportunity to understand the strength of the other groups and, while they were at it, see whether they could obtain any valuable information from the other survivors.
Quan Xiaoyu shot Chu Tian a glance: What are you planning to do?
Chu Tian smiled and returned his gaze: Don’t worry. I’ll explain later.
Helpless, Quan Xiaoyu turned his head away, intending to become nothing more than a piece of wood and ignore them. Let them do whatever they wanted.
But the moment he turned his head, he happened to see Jia Lunxu walking over from the other side.
It seemed that he had been observing them for some time. Now, he finally approached.
Quan Xiaoyu immediately felt his chest tighten with frustration.
Great. He was not even being given a moment to catch his breath. All the people looking for trouble had gathered together at once. Well, this was going to be interesting.