Zhao Yan had an idea.
Could this female zombie be the little zombie's mother?
Zhao Yan affixed a talisman that enhanced Yang energy onto her peach wood sword, causing the sword to emit a powerful surge of Yang energy.
The female zombie was hiding in the shadows, and a rash search would only put her at a disadvantage. Standing still wouldn't help either.
With that in mind, Zhao Yan decided to walk backward.
She wanted to see if the female zombie would try to stop her as she walked out.
As she moved towards the exit passage, the female zombie did not obstruct her, which only made Zhao Yan more puzzled.
It seemed the female zombie did not intend to keep her here.
Zhao Yan turned around. Just as she continued walking into the cave, the Yin-Yang Pearl in her backpack suddenly became hot.
This sudden heat alerted Zhao Yan, and she thrust her peach wood sword towards the source of the heat.
Yang energy covered the peach wood sword, and as she thrust, a golden light erupted.
The golden light instantly illuminated the female zombie's face.
Zhao Yan could not discern any expression on the zombie's stiff face, but her eyes clearly showed shock.
She didn't understand how Zhao Yan knew she had emerged from that spot.
The female zombie thrust her hands forward, blocking Zhao Yan's peach wood sword, then leaped up, kicking towards Zhao Yan's chest.
The female zombie's speed was incredibly fast, and Zhao Yan barely managed to react, dodging to the left.
Just as she dodged, the female zombie's legs struck the stone wall behind her.
To Zhao Yan's surprise, when the female zombie was about to kick her, she clearly held back a lot of her strength.
This caused the female zombie's kick to slow down considerably.
It was precisely this slowdown that allowed Zhao Yan to evade.
The female zombie was holding back against her.
From the beginning, the female zombie's gaze towards her had not been filled with murderous intent.
As Zhao Yan dodged the female zombie's legs, a look of relief appeared in the zombie's eyes.
It seemed the information the young Taoist priests had received was not entirely accurate; this female zombie was not filled with malevolence.
Zhao Yan had initially planned to use the Yang energy from the Yin-Yang Pearl to boost her own Yang energy.
Now, it seemed, that wouldn't be necessary.
Relying solely on the Yin-Yang Pearl would not be enough to deal with her, especially since she was an uncorrupted zombie.
Perhaps she should have sustained some injuries in the first exchange.
The female zombie showed goodwill towards people, and her attacks were merely meant to drive her away.
Zhao Yan took a few steps back and retracted her peach wood sword.
Seeing this, the female zombie quickly leaped backward, attempting to hide in the darkness again.
Zhao Yan spoke, "Please, stay! I am Zhao Yan, a disciple of Qingfeng Taoist Temple, and I have no intention of harming you."
"Can we talk properly? The situation outside is very unfavorable for you."
Although the female zombie was a zombie, she was still a human transformed.
Moreover, a being like an uncorrupted zombie should possess intelligence.
The female zombie, who had been about to flee and conceal herself, immediately stopped moving and turned to look at Zhao Yan.
Zhao Yan felt a wave of relief when she saw the female zombie turn around.
This indicated that there was room for communication with the female zombie.
Zhao Yan took a step forward, and the female zombie retreated a step, watching her warily.
Seeing this, Zhao Yan stopped advancing and remained in place.
To demonstrate her lack of ill will towards the female zombie, she placed the talisman and the peach wood sword on the ground.
Logically, she should be the one on guard against an uncorrupted zombie, but the female zombie before her was excessively cautious.
"The little zombie in Jiuling Mountain..."
Before Zhao Yan could finish, the female zombie immediately leaped forward. From her eyes, it was evident she was very worried.
This look conveyed a great deal of information, further confirming Zhao Yan's earlier suspicion.
Zhao Yan tried to make her tone as gentle as possible.
Zhao Yan said, "Don't worry, that little zombie is very safe at my home. I haven't done anything to him."
The female zombie took a step back, raised her hands, clasped them, and bowed towards Zhao Yan.
"Why are you here?" Zhao Yan asked.
She had been in Jiangcheng for so long and had never heard any news of an uncorrupted zombie like the female zombie.
The female zombie extended her hand and began to carve on the stone wall with her fingernails.
Her fingernails were as hard as iron, and as they scraped across the stone wall, they left no damage to themselves but created many scratches on the wall, which slowly formed simple drawings.
During their brief confrontation, the female zombie had already held back. Otherwise, such hard fingernails could have left deep scars on her.
After finishing her drawing, the female zombie pointed at it, signaling Zhao Yan to look.
Zhao Yan studied it for a while and vaguely understood the meaning of the drawing.
"You mean, you were originally sleeping in the mountains, and when you woke up, your son was gone, so you came to this mountain to find him?"
The female zombie nodded repeatedly and then began to draw again with her fingernails.
After drawing for a few minutes, she finished.
This time, Zhao Yan spent ten minutes before she could understand the meaning of the drawing.
"You mean, you are a good zombie, you haven't harmed any herders, and you exchanged your jewelry with the herders for the cattle on the ground."
Zhao Yan thought for a moment and vaguely understood what was happening.
It was likely that the female zombie had hopped forward, holding jewelry towards the herders.
Upon seeing the female zombie, the herders would have been terrified, abandoning their cattle and fleeing.
In their panic, they would not have noticed the jewelry in the female zombie's hand.
The female zombie drew another picture and then handed a piece of jewelry over.
Zhao Yan rubbed her chin, understanding the female zombie's intention.
"You want me to give your jewelry to the herder, the one who ran away, and he didn't receive your jewelry, is that right?"
The female zombie nodded and then began to smile.
However, her smile was strange; only her eyes moved, while her face remained very stiff.
She was simply trying to convey that Zhao Yan was very intelligent and always understood her meaning.
The female zombie drew more on the stone wall, this time drawing many small figures consecutively.
Zhao Yan understood her meaning and reassured her, "Don't worry, your son, the little zombie, is very safe at my home."
"How about this, you hide here for now, and when it gets dark, I'll come back to find you and take you to see your son. What do you think?"
Taking the female zombie back now would be problematic. Firstly, the sun outside was too strong. Secondly, those Xuanmen disciples were still searching for the female zombie's whereabouts, and if they found her, they would surely draw their swords, making the situation even more dangerous.
Both the older and younger Xuanmen disciples saw the female zombie as a valuable uncorrupted zombie, a treasure in their eyes.
In Zhao Yan's opinion, the female zombie had not harmed anyone and still possessed kindness, thus she could not be called evil.