The wooden house was submerged in the silence of the great forest. Thuong Sinh sat still in the darkness, sensing Lam Thanh Moc's breathing gradually becoming rhythmic. He didn't sleep immediately, instead taking time to observe the place more closely.
The thick layer of dust clinging to the wooden table and household items showed that the former owner had departed a long time ago. Perhaps even before the first screams echoed in the major cities. A place forgotten by both humans and the undead.
He moved slightly; the aching in his muscles had subsided significantly thanks to the rapid recovery of his toxic internal power. He realized that after each time he exhausted his strength, the "Marsh Blood Corrupting Heart Manual" showed signs of operating more smoothly, as if the extreme poison in his blood was gradually and completely assimilating with every fiber of his flesh.
— The Next Morning.
Morning sunlight pierced through the gaps in the roof, shining on dust motes floating in the air. Thuong Sinh opened his eyes to find Lam Thanh Moc had already awakened. She was using a wet cloth to wipe the wooden tabletop, trying to create an organized space amidst the ruins.
"You're awake?" she smiled softly, the fatigue on her face having lessened.
Thuong Sinh stood up, stretching until his joints let out a series of cracks. He stepped to the door, taking a deep breath of the fresh forest air—a scent that didn't exist in any urban area.
"We will stay here for a while," Thuong Sinh said, his eyes fixed on the dense forest ahead. "This place is outside the Luc Thuy Garrison's patrol range; the treacherous terrain serves as a natural shield."
Lam Thanh Moc stopped her movements, her eyes brightening: "Really? Staying here?"
"Yes. This house is sturdy enough. I will reinforce the doors and the roof."
Lam Thanh Moc's joy was evident. For her, stopping at a quiet place without worrying about being pursued or watched was like a luxury dream in the middle of the apocalypse.
The following days passed in a rare peace.
Thuong Sinh carried his longsword out of the wooden house. With the strength of a cultivator, chopping hard timber didn't consume much effort. Every sword strike he swung carried not only power but was also controlled so as not to disperse his toxic blood essence, avoiding damage to the wood's quality.
He reinforced the rotting wall sections and secured the doors more firmly. Rusted old corrugated iron sheets found in a small shed behind the house were repurposed to cover holes in the roof, ensuring wind and rain could not leak in.
To the left of the house, the sound of splashing water caught his attention. It was a small stream flowing down from the mountain peak, winding through rocky crevices.
Thuong Sinh approached the stream, looking at the crystal-clear water rushing by. He frowned slightly. In this apocalypse, forest water might look pure, but it harbored many hidden dangers. Zombie viruses, mutated bacteria, or the carcasses of dead animals upstream could turn this stream into a deadly plague source.
"The water here isn't very clean..." Thuong Sinh muttered.
Lam Thanh Moc stepped up then, carrying an old plastic bucket. She looked at the stream and then at Thuong Sinh, smiling reassuringly: "Don't worry, my ability can sense life. I will filter the water using a plant system. Help me dig a small sand pit beside the stream."
Thuong Sinh nodded, using his sword to dig a deep pit next to the flow so the water could seep through the natural sand and stones, removing coarse debris.
Then, Lam Thanh Moc placed a special type of root she had just found into the pit. Under the influence of her lush green ability, these roots suddenly grew vigorously, intertwining to form a natural biological filter, neutralizing hidden toxins and impurities.
The water seeping through the roots became crystal clear and carried a fresh scent of vegetation. Thuong Sinh cupped a handful of water to his mouth. A cool sensation spread; there was no bitter taste or strange odor.
"Good," Thuong Sinh stood up, wiping the water from his mouth. "With this water source, we can hold out here longer than expected."
Every evening, after helping Lam Thanh Moc tidy the house, Thuong Sinh sat by the stream. The sound of flowing water drowned out the chaotic noises in his mind. He began to circulate his technique, letting the blood power flow rhythmically with the babbling of the stream.
He realized that in this pure natural environment, the cultivation of the "Marsh Blood Corrupting Heart Manual" lost some of its violence and gained an incredible stability. His heart, which had turned black from the poison, now seemed to be forming a new protective layer, helping him control his power better.
The longsword in Thuong Sinh's hand trembled slightly. He realized this stability was only a stepping stone. To truly break through to the next level, he couldn't rely solely on drinking stream water or eating dry rations.
He stood up, his deep red eyes scanning the darkness of the old forest.
"Stability is for control, but to become stronger, I need more resources."
Thuong Sinh turned to Lam Thanh Moc, who was busy in the small garden he had mentioned earlier, and said softly: "I'm going a bit deeper. Don't go outside the trap perimeter."
He glided away, his body merging into the darkness. Thuong Sinh wasn't looking for peace; he was looking for death. In the deep forest, there was no shortage of mutated creatures.
Snap!
The sound of a breaking branch; from behind the bushes, a mutated wild boar weighing over three hundred kilograms emerged. Its skin was as thick as steel, its tusks long and crooked, and most notably, its back was covered in blue-purple pustules.
To an ordinary person, this would be a reaper. To Thuong Sinh, this was a tonic pill.
He didn't draw his sword immediately. Thuong Sinh wanted to test the protective layer around his heart. He circulated his power; his hand wearing the Black Star Glove was suddenly enveloped in a layer of dense black smoke.
The wild boar roared, charging like a truck.
Thuong Sinh didn't dodge; he took a step forward, his left hand directly grabbing the sharp tusk, while his right hand punched straight into a pustule on its neck.
Thump!
Toxic fluid sprayed everywhere, soaking into the glove and then seeping through his pores into Thuong Sinh's arm. A numbing sensation immediately traveled to his heart, but at that moment, the protective layer around his heart vibrated, absorbing that toxin and converting it into pure blood essence.
The blood power inside him erupted. Only then did he draw his longsword, tracing a line across the beast's neck.
The wild boar's blood sprayed out.
Thuong Sinh stood there, letting the blood splatter over him. He operated the "Marsh Blood Corrupting Heart Manual", forcibly absorbing the blood essence and toxicity from the dead beast into his body through his acupoints.
His muscles bulged, and the black veins on his face reappeared clearly, but this time they no longer drove him mad with pain. His control had increased significantly.
When he returned to the wooden house, it was late at night. Thuong Sinh brought back a wild boar haunch that had been filtered of toxins—the poison having been entirely absorbed into his own blood—as food for Lam Thanh Moc.
Lam Thanh Moc saw him return with his killing intent not yet dissipated; she sighed softly but didn't stop him. "You went hunting?" she asked, taking the meat. She noticed this meat was strangely clean.
"Yes, took care of a boar above the waterfall," Thuong Sinh replied briefly.
He sat down on a small wooden stool, removing his black gloves. His hands were still trembling slightly, and the heat from his body rose like a faint mist in the cold night air. His gaze gradually returned to normal, the black veins sinking deep beneath the skin, vanishing as if they had never appeared.
Lam Thanh Moc glanced at him while roasting the meat, her gaze a mix of concern and worry: "That state of yours... it seems more stable lately, but I feel the coldness radiating from you is getting heavier."
Thuong Sinh was silent for a moment, staring at the flickering fire in the fireplace: "It's fine, I can control it."
The truth was, his heart was beating with a rhythm entirely different from that of a normal person. The toxic layer covering his cardiac vessels was becoming denser, turning him into a true "grinder" of toxins. Each hunt like tonight, swallowing the poison from mutated beasts was no longer a burden but had become a purification process, quietly consolidating his strength.
The Next Morning.
The chirping of forest birds woke Thuong Sinh. He felt extraordinarily refreshed, the blood power in his body flowing smoothly like a great river. He went to the stream to wash his face, but as he leaned down, his eyes suddenly froze.
Beneath the clear water, trapped in a clump of roots by the bank, was a strange object.
Thuong Sinh used his sword to nudge it, dragging it ashore. It was a tattered military backpack, soaked in water and mud. Notably, the flap was printed with the insignia of the Luc Thuy Garrison.
Inside, he found a notebook with smudged ink: "August 3rd – Patrol Squad 7 lost trail in the Northern mountain area. We didn't encounter Zombies, but the fog here is very strange. It's not just toxic, it's as if it's alive. The Captain went missing last night... We must leave here before—"
The final page was torn, leaving only a dried, pitch-black bloodstain.
Thuong Sinh narrowed his eyes, looking toward the head of the stream—the deep part of this forest he hadn't yet set foot in. It seemed the peace of this wooden house was not so simple.
Lam Thanh Moc stepped out from the house, seeing him standing silently by the stream with the old backpack, she asked worriedly: "What happened?"
Thuong Sinh handed her the notebook, his voice deepening: "The military was here once, and they met something that wasn't a Zombie. We might not be the only ones considering this forest a hiding spot."
"We cannot sit and wait for that thing to find us." "Instead of letting it rule the darkness, I will find it first."
Lam Thanh Moc held the notebook, her fingers tightening on the damp leather cover. She understood Thuong Sinh's personality. "Fine, I'll go with you. After all, here, the trees are also my eyes and ears."
They prepared light gear. Thuong Sinh re-wrapped the bandages on his sword hilt and donned his black gloves. Lam Thanh Moc brought a pouch of seeds and a small dagger. The two began to head upstream.
The higher they went, the denser the forest became. Sunlight could not penetrate the thick canopy, leaving only a murky gray-green color. The sound of rushing water grew louder, roaring through large rock crevices.
After traveling about five kilometers, the air suddenly changed. A thin, slightly gray mist began to hover over the stream water.
"Thuong Sinh, look." Lam Thanh Moc lowered her voice, pointing toward the ancient trees.
The bark was no longer a normal brown-gray but was covered in a deep purple fungus that emitted faint pulses like a heartbeat. Thuong Sinh stopped; he felt the blood power within him stirring.
"Don't breathe deeply," Thuong Sinh warned, while circulating his power.
He took a step forward, his gloved hand touching a fungus-infected trunk. Immediately, purple filaments latched onto his glove, trying to pierce through in search of flesh and blood. Thuong Sinh snorted coldly; a surge of pitch-black blood poison erupted from his palm, directly corroding the purple filaments, causing them to shrink and wither instantly.
"This thing is hunting life," Thuong Sinh observed.
They continued to where the mist was thickest. There, the stream poured out from an open-air cave. Before the cave entrance, they saw what had terrified the soldier in the diary.
It was a pile of corpses consisting of forest beasts and skeletons wearing Luc Thuy Garrison uniforms. But they weren't lying on the ground; they were suspended in the air by purple vines piercing through their chests and eye sockets. The corpses weren't rotting; they seemed to be being nourished to maintain a bizarre vegetative state of life.
In the center of the cave, a giant flower—petals gray-white like the skin of a dead man—was slowly blooming. The thickest gray mist was the breath from that flower's pistil.
"Get back!" Thuong Sinh suddenly pulled Lam Thanh Moc's arm.
From within the suspended corpses, eerie sounds echoed. The skeletons and beast carcasses began to move; they weren't Zombies, but puppets controlled by that flower.
The gray-white flower vibrated slightly, its pistil turning toward Thuong Sinh as if it had sensed the powerful and delicious blood essence standing before it.
Lam Thanh Moc mobilized her ability. Thuong Sinh drew his sword, the gray blade cold and chilling.
From the suspended corpses, deep purple vines like octopus tentacles lunged toward Thuong Sinh and Lam Thanh Moc. Simultaneously, the skeletons in military uniforms began to shake, their hollow eye sockets flashing with a demonic red light as they charged.
Lam Thanh Moc mobilized her ability; brilliant green vines erupted from the ground, fearlessly clashing with the flower's purple vines.
Rip! Rip!
The two types of plants fought violently. Lam Thanh Moc's vines were powerful, but upon touching the purple vines, they showed signs of corrosion and withering.
Thuong Sinh didn't leave Lam Thanh Moc alone. He dove into the circle of skeletons. His sword carved out pitch-black lines—not to cut, but to corrode.
Slash—! Crack—!
A sword strike slashed across a skeleton's neck. The bones didn't break but turned to ash at the point of the cut, a black smoke rising from the empty bones. The blood poison from Thuong Sinh's blade was ravaging them.
"Thuong Sinh, over there!" Lam Thanh Moc warned.
An enormous purple vine, as thick as a human thigh, extended from the flower's pistil, lunging straight for her. It carried a dense gray toxic mist, trying to envelop her.
Thuong Sinh leaped lightly, his foot stepping on the head of a skeleton he had just slashed, launching himself toward the vine. He didn't use his sword. His hand wearing the Black Star Glove directly grabbed the giant vine.
Hiss—!
The sound of the purple vine being squeezed tight. Thuong Sinh's blood poison was rapidly channeled backward into the flower.
The gray-white flower in the cave suddenly trembled violently, its petals convulsing as if enduring excruciating pain. The toxic mist from the pistil began to thin out. Thuong Sinh felt a source of energy flowing back into him. This was a mutated plant containing a massive amount of toxic essence.
"Keep it up!" Thuong Sinh's eyes were glowing red. He didn't let go, continuing to use his blood poison to corrode and absorb the flower's energy.
Seeing this, Lam Thanh Moc understood his intent. Although her ability was being countered, she didn't give up. She controlled her strongest vines, forming whips that lashed continuously at the flower, preventing it from focusing its counterattack on Thuong Sinh.
Thuong Sinh stood there, absorbing and absorbing. His face turned half-green, half-red, then shifted to black, but his gaze remained fiery red. Finally, after about five minutes of fierce struggle—
Crack—!
A loud sound echoed. The giant flower trembled violently then suddenly wilted, the gray-white petals falling scattered to the ground, revealing a pitch-black pistil that had been completely turned to ash.
Thuong Sinh let go, his whole body shaking. He stood upright but his breath was heavy, his body emitting a faint black smoke. On his skin, the black veins had become clearer than usual, and his eyes were redder than normal.
He had absorbed the entire essence of the Corpse Flower.
Lam Thanh Moc rushed over, supporting him. She looked at him, her gaze both worried and astonished. Every time he was in this state, it made her uneasy.
Thuong Sinh looked at his palm. A scalding heat spread, and he knew: the "Marsh Blood Corrupting Heart Manual" had broken through.
The flow of blood essence in his body, which had always been seething and violent with extreme poison, suddenly condensed. It was no longer a flow but became thick like mercury. Thuong Sinh felt his heart skip a powerful beat, then slow down significantly. Every heartbeat echoed like a bronze bell, pushing that blood to every corner of his body.
The black layer covering his heart, which previously was only a faint mist, had now crystallized into a glossy black shell. It was like a perfect filter, allowing him to no longer feel pain when in contact with toxins. Instead of straining to endure, he now felt like a bottomless deep lake, able to swallow and digest any type of extreme poison without a ripple of backlash.
He turned to Lam Thanh Moc; the redness in his eyes had completely disappeared, replaced by a pair of deep black pupils, terrifyingly still.
"It's done," he said, his voice low and carrying an unusual resonance.
Thuong Sinh lightly swung his longsword; a whistling sound cut through the air, but it was no longer a simple metallic screech; it carried a deep, somber silence. The sword was re-wrapped in its bandages and placed at his hip.
Lam Thanh Moc stood watching him, sensing the most distinct change: the air around him was becoming cold and profound, like an abyss.
"Thuong Sinh?" she called softly, as if wanting to confirm if the soul inside that body was still the person she knew.
Thuong Sinh looked down at her, his deep black pupils wavering slightly. Finding courage from somewhere, he reached out with his black-gloved hand and gently stroked her hair. After a moment, he regained his composure.
Lam Thanh Moc was slightly dazed as she felt Thuong Sinh's hand lightly touch her hair. A warm sensation seeped through her hair, and although it was only for an instant, it was enough to make her heart skip a beat. She caught a glimpse in those deep black eyes of an unprecedented flicker of bewilderment—a fragment of lingering tenderness behind the cold shell.
But Thuong Sinh was still Thuong Sinh. The awkwardness lasted less than two seconds before he managed to retract his emotions. He quickly moved his hand away, turning toward the rushing stream, his shoulders stiffening slightly. A fake cough echoed through the silent cave, trying to dispel the budding awkward atmosphere.
"Ahem, let's head back."
He walked ahead, his pace a bit faster than usual, as if trying to flee from his own previous gesture.
Lam Thanh Moc watched his straight back, the corners of her lips curving into a meaningful smile. She didn't tease him or ask further, simply picking up her backpack and walking quickly after him.
"Hey, wait for me!" she called out, her voice regaining its usual brightness.
They walked along the stream back together. As the evening sun began to dye the leaves red, the small wooden house appeared behind the thorn-bush barricade. It remained still and peaceful as it was when they left. Thuong Sinh stood before the porch, looking at what Lam Thanh Moc had painstakingly cared for. He felt the new strength coiling in his veins, stable and powerful. For the first time since leaving Luc Thuy, he felt he truly had the capability to protect something.
To protect this house, and the person standing next to him.