Throughout the entire journey, they met more than a few zombies, but the vehicle still manages to reach the entrance of Li Qing's mother's house without incident. Upon entering, one can see the corpses of zombies littering the ground, some with bullet holes in their skulls, other sporting deep gashes from blades of some kind. There were even a few that looked as if they were bludgeoned with a blunt, heavy object.
Li Qing was unconscious when he was kidnapped and only remembers his mother falling to the ground after being hit before fainting. Now seeing that the courtyard's entrance door is tightly shut, a sliver of hope surfaces in his heart.
The three of them exits the vehicle and Huo Zaiyuan frowns faintly as he glances at the bodies on the ground before his hand flicks. Injecting some spiritual power into a tile, he drops it in the middle of the scattered corpses, watching as a golden blaze rises.
Wholeheartedly wanting to check on his mother and ensure she is fine, Li Qing doesn't notice what his childhood friend did, instead gathering up his courage to traverse across the smattering of dead zombies and arrives at the door, patting against it softly.
"Mum...mum, I'm little Qing."
Calling and knocking for a good while, still, nothing steers within the house. Li Qing's heart sinks while Huo Zaiyuan and Long Zhanye exchange a quick glance. In that one look, the pair manages to understand perfectly what the other had in mind regarding their next step.
Just as Long Zhanye strolls over to the wall, prepared to scale it and intrude into the house, the sound of a lock sliding open comes from behind the entrance door.
"Mum!" The door opens, and Li Qing happily throws himself into the arms of the individual standing there.
However, upon seeing who exactly Li Qing was hugging, Huo Zaiyuan who is still standing beside the off-road vehicle immediately hardens his expression.
"Qin Jun!"
"Why are you here?" Roused by Huo Zaiyuan's curt voice, Li Qing abruptly raises his head to look at the very person who never fails to occupy his thought day and night.
"Looking for you." Qin Jun's dark eyes gaze serenely at the person in his arms.
His words manage to move Li Qing's heart a little, a hint of red creeping up his fair cheeks. Pushing Qin Jun away, he stutters. "W - who wants you to find me? We have already broken up. There's nothing between us anymore." He turns and walks away as soon as he finished speaking.
"Tsk tsk...he's embarrassed. He's obviously so happy he could die." A corner of Huo Zaiyuan's mouth curves upwards. Moving his gaze to Qin Jun, he sighs. "Never expected to come across two familiar faces in the span of one day."
"I also never expected to bump into you here." Qi Jun chuckles softly as he notices Huo Zaiyuan before his eyes shifts over to Long Zhanye currently standing behind Huo Zaiyuan.
"He's my friend, Long Zhanye."
"Hi. Soldier?" Qin Jun greets, extending a hand.
"Hello. Medical practitioner?" Long Zhanye clasps the offered hand in a firm handshake as he smiles lightly.
Off to the side, Huo Zaiyuan scowls, glaring at the two men. "Oi, both of you, enough. Seizing each other up so thoroughly. Are you Conan and Sherlock Holmes? Qin Jun, is little Qing's mother all right?"
"Oh damn, I forgot." Qin Jun freezes abruptly before whirling on his heels and dashing back into the house.
"Mum - " Right this moment, Li Qing's cry of alarm can be heard coming from within the house. Huo Zaiyuan and Long Zhanye immediately sprint towards the voice.
When the two enters the house, Qin Jun is already holding a sobbing Li Qing tightly in his embrace. On the sofa not far away lies a woman wrapped in bandages with a deathly pale complexion, devoid of a left hand. Her every breath is light and shallow, as though each one could be her last.
"Qin Jun, you are a doctor...please, save my mum. I beg you, please." Clutching Qin Jun's clothes in a death-grip, Li Qing pleads in between his sobs.
Hugging his sweetheart, Qin Jun shakes his head slowly. "I'm truly sorry, little Qing...it's impossible for me."
The only thing he can do is embrace the crying youth tightly and offer a small measure of comfort.