Chapter 11 Chapter Eleven - Herd of Zombie Cows (2/2)

”Shut up, Tyler,” Dexter warned.”Ren tried to warn you before, you could have been zombie bait or worse if your luck weren't so good.So lay off him.”Tyler winced in memory of his reckless tree climbing.”Ren, are you sure about this?”

”I wish to see what exists beyond this foliage,” Ren told him.He had encountered plant-type monsters before in the middle realm, it would not be unexpected, in his views, to find them here.But where there were monsters of any type, there were often treasured herbs.He was not able to refine such into pills, he'd not the talent in it, but certain herbs could be refined within the body and could be beneficial to cultivation so long as one did not consume too much.There was risks with eating raw herbs, but in order to regain a little of his strength, he felt it might be worth it.

The thick hedge was long and Ren Zexian took many swift steps before coming to a large, wide gate of vertical iron bars.The gaps between the iron bars were narrow and there were horizontal bars attached to them.It was not the sort of gate that could be squeezed through by even a child.However, it offered a view of what was beyond it.

Harry whistled as they saw the large property a good length from the gate, at the end of a long drive.It was two storeys, but there were windows in the roof, indicating that in parts, it reached a third.A large door was at its midpoint, framed with pillars and reached by a series of steps.The building was mostly white rendered, with ivy vines rising up one corner and seemed as though it had been extended a couple of times over the years or decades.The roof was of grey slate and the windows in Georgian style, tall but with white lines dividing the glass into squares.The whole thing seemed to be placed in extensive grounds, surrounded by a wall of metal and hedgerow.

”What sort of money do you reckoned they earned to afford that?” Harry murmured.

”A lot more than we did,” Patrick replied.

”What does that matter now?Money is obsolete!” Tyler lifted his hands in the air in self surrender, ending the conversation.

”Hey… is that a person?” Harry said suddenly, pointing to the side of the house.Sure enough, in the distance, a humanoid figure seemed to walk from behind the house and disappeared into more hedges.

”It could be a zombie…” Paul became the voice of caution as the bed jumped out of the truck bed for a closer look.Ren Zexian did not hesitate and solidified the air in places around him and leapt on invisible platforms to vault over the fence.

”Be careful!” Patrick called to him, suddenly feeling anxious and the man turned briefly to him and nodded.

He ran swiftly and silently down the long and large brick road for a moment towards the house.As he neared it, he felt the poison core within his stir.There were definitely the living dead in side it, but he had no intention of releasing them, so he ran along side the building to where he had seen the human.He had no doubts that it was a living person, his vision was clear and good, but how that person would react was another matter.As he turned the corner, he saw someone move behind the property, but was unable to see clearly whether it was a woman or a man.

With continued silent steps, he ran to where that person was and before him appeared an extensive and rather bizarre garden.In places, there were beds of vegetables and fruits, as well as places which were home to sweetly scented flowers and yet in amongst theses were large or tall, monstrous looking plants, with large thorns or strangely coloured foliage and flora.Some oozed darkened auras, despite the passiveness they currently showed.

The leafed vines that decorated this part of the property as well, moved, slipping off the side of the wall and slithering over to the person crouching and talking in whispered tones to the ordinary, fruit yielding plants and patting the earth they were in.

”Look out!” Ren Zexian called out, startling the person, who looked up at him for a moment with large, sapphire eyes, before casting them down and standing upright.Though it had been only brief, Ren Zexian felt captured by their beauty and wished to view them once more and with thisthought, he stepped closer to this person, this young man.His hair was the colour of chestnuts, draping down to his shoulders.His body was a little on the thin side and he was not very tall.He made one wish to comfort and protect him.

The vines began to wrap around the boy's legs.