Hu Tao Is Monetizing My Existence. [60]

Zombies follow commands.

Right now, Qiqi must have given herself the order to climb the cliff and gather herbs—but she had gotten stuck under a rock.

If a normal person encountered this situation, they would try to climb from another angle or find a different path. But zombies lacked adaptability. As a result, she simply kept climbing in place, stuck in an endless loop.

Watching Qiqi struggle, Hu Tao sighed internally.

Isn’t this kind of existence far too painful? Why does she refuse to move on?

“Qiqi, how long have you been stuck here?”

There was no telling when she had arrived or how long she had been climbing in vain. If Jiang Bai hadn’t happened to look this way, would she have remained trapped indefinitely?

And judging by her current state, this probably wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.

In all the times she had been in situations like this before, how had she managed to get out?

Hu Tao’s resolve to send her off grew even stronger.

Qiqi didn’t answer.

Tears streamed down her cheeks in large droplets, but she never stopped climbing. She kept muttering to herself—“Death… run… must run…”—over and over again.

“Director Hu, what’s going on?” Jiang Bai, utterly bewildered, asked once more.

Hu Tao briefly explained what she knew about Qiqi.

Jiang Bai understood—but at the same time, an unfamiliar surge of anger welled up inside him.

“Who the hell would send such a little girl into the mountains alone to gather herbs?!”

If they hadn’t come across her, would she have just kept climbing forever?

Even if she was a zombie and didn’t feel exhaustion, this was no way to treat someone!

For the first time since waking up, Jiang Bai felt true anger. But along with it, he was deeply relieved that the person he had met upon his return was Hu Tao.

Otherwise, as someone who had also come back from the dead… his fate might not have been much better than Qiqi’s.

“Who else but that Baizhu fellow?” At this moment, Hu Tao’s opinion of Baizhu hit rock bottom.

She had always known that Baizhu took Qiqi in for ulterior motives, but at the very least, he should have treated her better.

If Qiqi had encountered situations like this before and it was always Baizhu who came to rescue her—then just how long had she waited each time?

A day? Two days? Three? Or even a whole week?

Having one’s soul trapped in the mortal world was already an unbearable suffering. But for her, that suffering had been multiplied countless times over.

“Calm down, calm down. I’m not here to send you off today!” Hu Tao tried to reassure Qiqi.

But obviously, she had no credibility with the zombie girl. Her words had absolutely no effect.

“What if we just pull her down?” Jiang Bai suggested.

“Worth a try.” Even Hu Tao wasn’t sure.

This was her first time encountering Qiqi in the wild, and only now did she realize just how miserable her situation was.

If she had known earlier, she would have sent her off sooner—at least then, she wouldn’t have to suffer like this.

Jiang Bai summoned a Geo pillar beneath his feet, lifting himself up to Qiqi’s level.

Reaching out, he grabbed her under the arms and gently lifted her.

“Don’t be afraid, I’ll help you.”

The zombie’s body was stiff and ice-cold—Jiang Bai felt like he was holding a solid block of ice.

His warm voice reached Qiqi’s ears, and for the first time, her climbing stopped.

Dazed, she turned to look at the man holding her.

Undoing her command was actually quite simple.

All someone had to do was embrace her from behind and say, “I like you the most.” The more sincere the words, the more effective the release.

She had set this condition herself.

Alone in this world with no family, she desperately craved acknowledgment and affection.

Even if those words weren’t genuine, she still longed to hear them.

Jiang Bai didn’t say, “I like you the most.”

But he truly, sincerely wanted to help her.

And that alone was enough to break the command effortlessly.

Qiqi’s expression became even more bewildered.

Even Dr. Baizhu had trouble undoing her commands—so why was this complete stranger genuinely willing to help her?

Seeing the confusion on her tear-streaked face, Jiang Bai sighed inwardly.

The mortal world is full of suffering. To be caught between life and death is even worse.

“It’s alright now.”

He reached out and wiped away her tears. Even her tears were cold.

As the Geo pillar slowly lowered, Jiang Bai gently set her down.

The moment her feet touched the ground, Qiqi darted behind Jiang Bai, clutching the hem of his clothes as she nervously peeked at Hu Tao.

“Qiqi… doesn’t want to die…”

Her tear-streaked face was filled with fear. Jiang Bai, the one who had saved her, had instantly become her only source of comfort.

Looking at the tiny zombie girl hiding behind him, then at Hu Tao, Jiang Bai’s expression was complicated.

“Director Hu… what exactly did you do to her to make her so afraid of you?”

Back at Bubu Pharmacy, he had already suspected that Hu Tao had done something to Qiqi. Now, seeing the sheer terror on the girl’s face, it was obvious that whatever happened wasn’t just a minor incident.

“What could I have done?” Hu Tao sighed. “I simply can’t bear to see her suffer like this in the mortal world. I only want to help her pass on.”

As someone who maintained the balance between the living and the dead, Qiqi’s existence disrupted that harmony. Dealing with her was Hu Tao’s responsibility.

Besides, why choose to live in such pain?

In death, all suffering would end.

“But she clearly doesn’t want to pass on,” Jiang Bai said, lightly patting Qiqi’s head in an attempt to calm her down. He looked at Hu Tao, who, despite her position as the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor’s master, was still quite young.

Even though she had inherited the responsibility of the parlor at such an early age, there were still many things she had yet to experience. When it came to handling certain matters, she was too rigid—too lacking in empathy.

“Director Hu, have you ever asked for her opinion before making this decision?”

“I think this kind of thing should be up to her. If you’re sending her off against her will just because you think it’s for her own good… how is that any different from simply killing her?”

Jiang Bai didn’t know whether zombies retained their ability to cry.

But Qiqi’s tears were real.

And in them, he saw her fear—her fear of death, and her strong attachment to life.

Hu Tao didn’t argue with him.

She simply looked at Qiqi—at her tear-streaked face, at the fear in her eyes, at the overwhelming longing to stay alive.

It was the first time Hu Tao had ever seen Qiqi cry.

All the other times, her face had been blank, expressionless. Her eyes, always vacant.

Only now did Hu Tao realize—zombies could cry too.

She recalled how Qiqi’s memory was terrible, how she used to be caught by her so easily.

But after many encounters, she gradually learned to hide. Then, she learned to escape.

And now, she fled the moment she saw her.

Just as Jiang Bai had said… she had never truly asked Qiqi what she wanted.

Or rather, she had asked—but she had never listened to the answer.

—

T/N: AHHHHHHHHHH QIQIS CRYING I CANT!!!!

This is a fan translation of 胡桃拿我冲业绩 by 余溯. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!