Apocalypse: My Tattoos are Ten Yama Kings-Chapter 310 - 304: Tomb Guardian Zhao Kuo

Zhao Kuo evidently bore no malice toward Lin Yuan. After sizing him up, Zhao Kuo gave a smile that he probably thought was kind.

Of course, given his current state, this smile looked even worse than crying.

"Young man, it was you who summoned Bai Qi and the others, right?" Zhao Kuo asked.

Lin Yuan nodded and replied, "Yes!"

Zhao Kuo nodded as well, seemingly satisfied with the response, patted Lin Yuan on the shoulder, and said, "Good job, young man."

"After being dead for so long, now resurrected, seeing a young talent like you among the Human Race brings me great comfort!"

Although, he had learned about the idiom "strategizing only on paper" since he was young.

However, Lin Yuan never underestimated Zhao Kuo as a person.

His first battle out of the mountains was against Bai Qi; anyone facing that wouldn’t stand a chance!

You could search through Huaxia’s five thousand years of historical generals, and no one could claim they would surely win against Bai Qi!

Thus, the reason Zhao Kuo lost the Battle of Changping wasn’t because he was incompetent, but because his opponent was a god!

"You flatter me, senior!" Lin Yuan humbly said.

Zhao Kuo looked at the headless body on Lin Yuan’s back and said, "Give him to me!"

After the battle at Pule Mountain, Bai Qi and Zhao Kuo were no longer opponents but comrades.

Comrades who fought side by side.

Lin Yuan handed Bai Qi’s headless body to Zhao Kuo, and Zhao Kuo seemed to be prepared, having already found Bai Qi’s terribly damaged head.

Even if Lin Yuan hadn’t brought back Bai Qi’s headless body, after burying all his comrades, Zhao Kuo would have gone to retrieve Bai Qi’s body himself.

It seemed like everyone had died, leaving only Zhao Kuo to bury them and take care of their bodies, which was his mission.

A broken spearhead, in Zhao Kuo’s hand, was quickly twisted into a needle. Somehow, he found beast sinew to use as thread.

Zhao Kuo carefully sewed Bai Qi’s body together, mumbling continuously as he did so.

"Back then, how glorious you were. Among the six states, who dared not respect you, Lord Wu’an?"

"Yet, I, Zhao Kuo, was not convinced by you. I just thought I was no weaker than you."

"At that time, I believed that if the times could create you, Lord Wu’an, Bai Qi, they could also create me, Zhao Kuo."

"When I truly lost to you, I admitted defeat, genuinely! Only then did I realize, while there could be countless Zhao Kuos, there was only one Bai Qi, unique and unparalleled."

"Today’s battle was the most exhilarating one of my life. Nothing in this world could compare to fighting alongside one’s idol."

"But, all of you are dead, leaving just me, just me alone!"

From Zhao Kuo’s tone, Lin Yuan could tell he wanted to cry!

He wanted to wail!

But, zombies have no tears.

Lin Yuan remained silently watching from the side, quietly listening to Zhao Kuo’s monologue.

After a long while, Zhao Kuo finished sewing Bai Qi’s body.

Although the needlework was evidently poor, and the result looked very ugly,

it was clear that Zhao Kuo had put his heart into it.

Zhao Kuo carried Bai Qi’s body step by step up the mountain, with Lin Yuan silently following behind him.

On the mountaintop, a grave had already been dug—a grave clearly prepared for Bai Qi.

Zhao Kuo placed Bai Qi’s body neatly in the grave, then started filling it with soil.

Zhao Kuo didn’t prepare a coffin. It seemed he hoped that one day the corpses on Pule Mountain might rise from the earth again.

"You buried me back then, and now I’m burying you now."

"The only difference is, when you buried me, I was still alive. Now, when I’m burying you, you are already dead!" Zhao Kuo mumbled while filling the grave with dirt.

Zhao Kuo’s movements were slow because once the grave was filled, the only one left alive would be himself.

It was not until dusk that Zhao Kuo completed the final scoop of soil.

"Alas!" Looking at the distant sky, Zhao Kuo sighed heavily, saying, "Now it’s just me."

Only then did Lin Yuan speak to Zhao Kuo.

"Senior, let me take you back!"

"Back to our world!" Lin Yuan said to Zhao Kuo.

Although Zhao Kuo wasn’t exactly human—being a zombie—

he had a human heart.

Lin Yuan believed that even in the Real World, Zhao Kuo would become a guardian of the Human Race.

"Our world!" Zhao Kuo murmured.

Then, shaking his head, he said, "No, my mission is to stay with them. Starting today, being a Tomb Guardian here isn’t bad either."

"Young man, tell me!"

"Tell me, what is our world like?"

Zhao Kuo didn’t want to return, and Lin Yuan did not insist.

Everyone has their own mission, responsibility, and choice.

"The world now..."

"No, it should be the world before the eerie invasion, where everyone could have enough to eat and wear. Though life wasn’t perfect, no one worried about food or drink."

"In the world after the eerie invasion, crisis came, and now people are hiding in various shelters. But, we’ve already started building cities, and once the Giant City of the nine races is completed, humans will be able to return to life as it was before the invasion!"

"Senior, I believe that we, the Human Race, are the bravest and most creative race. We have the ability to overcome any difficulties, no hardship can defeat us!" Lin Yuan said resolutely.

Upon hearing Lin Yuan speak of the world before the eerie invasion, Zhao Kuo smiled.

Because those carefree days of not worrying about food and drink were what the people of the Seven Kingdoms desired most back then.

Upon hearing that everything was destroyed by the eerie invasion, Zhao Kuo’s face was filled with rage again.

"Damn it!"

"One day, all these Evil Spirits will be exterminated!" Zhao Kuo said indignantly.

Lin Yuan patiently recounted the events after the Warring States to Zhao Kuo, who listened intently.

Soon, it was dawn.

Zhao Kuo stood up and said, "I need to go see my brothers now, young man, you should leave!"

"Be careful when you come to this world in the future, I don’t want to see you die here."

"If there’s anything I can help you with, just come find me!"

From now on, Zhao Kuo’s daily task was to walk around these graves every morning and evening.

If bored, he would chat with his brothers in the graves.

"Senior, I’ll take my leave then!"

"I’ll treat you to a drink if there’s a chance!" Lin Yuan cupped his hands respectfully.

He had immense respect for Zhao Kuo as well.

Suddenly, Zhao Kuo seemed to have thought of something. He reached into the Void and then opened his hand to Lin Yuan, saying, "Take this, it might be of use to you."

"Lord Wu’an hit too hard; these Power of Rules have been broken and battered, who knows if they’re still any good."

In Zhao Kuo’s palm were indeed the rules’ powers of the five Dharma Guardian Deities.

However, they were incomplete, broken, and chaotically merged together.