A Fake Holy Mother in the Zombie Apocalypse

A dense crowd knelt before the iron cage.

Everyone prostrated themselves deeply, adopting the most pious posture used during sacrificial rites.

Seeing no one respond, Holy Maiden Ya Wen gritted her teeth and walked into the crowd. Bending down, she snatched a knife from someone's waist.

The sharp blade reflected the blazing firelight. Ya Wen gripped the knife tightly, a murderous aura emanating from her as she approached Bei Nuann's cage.

Bei Nuan watched her, thinking: You wouldn't suddenly want to kill me for no reason, would you?

This would absolutely be suicide on your part, no one else to blame.

Bei Nuan stared at her, raising a hand to touch the top of her head.

Just as her fingertips were about to brush against her hair, a clear and firm voice came from behind the kneeling crowd.

"Ya Wen, what are you doing?"

Their Chief Jiahan arrived hurriedly with a large group of people. He walked so fast that his white robe billowed in the night wind.

The people behind him all saw Bei Nuan, holding the monkey, in the firelight, and they all knelt down in unison.

Only Jiahan remained standing.

He glanced at Bei Nuan first, with no particular reaction whatsoever.

It was as if several trees were burning fiercely, and next to them, a girl was locked in a cage, holding a monkey on her head. This bizarre scene seemed perfectly normal, entirely within his expectations.

Jiahan turned to Ya Wen, his voice calm and emotionless.

"Not only did you not kneel, but why are you holding a knife?"

Ya Wen stared blankly at Jiahan, clutching the knife. Suddenly, she dropped the weapon to the ground with a clang and turned to run.

Jiahan didn't look at her again. Instead, he walked to Bei Nuan's cage, arms crossed over his chest.

Bei Nuan saw him, once again, perform the same respectful bow he had used during the day, deeply inclining his head towards her.

"The Holy Maiden has descended, bestowing blessings and auspiciousness," he said.

Bei Nuan: ?

Ten minutes later, Bei Nuan was no longer in the iron cage.

She sat comfortably in a finished house where Jiahan lived, Dasheng perched on her shoulder, sipping hot tea from a cup held in her hands.

Jiahan had personally served her the tea.

After offering the tea, he sat down in an armchair next to Bei Nuan and turned to instruct those behind him, "Bring the portrait of the Holy Maiden."

Someone respectfully acknowledged the order and left. A short while later, they returned carrying a large box.

The box was made of antique rosewood, carved with intricate patterns and secured with an old-fashioned brass lock.

Jiahan took out a key, unlocked the box, and showed its contents to Bei Nuan.

Inside the box lay a painting.

It wasn't large, only about two feet square, painted on a piece of cloth. The fabric was yellowed, appearing quite old.

But as soon as Bei Nuan saw what was depicted in the painting, she froze.

It was a girl sitting cross-legged, draped in a blanket embroidered with complex patterns and adorned with tassels.

Beside her were several giant burning torches, and in front of her were narrow, faint vertical lines.

Most importantly, a small monkey clung tightly to the girl's head.

The girl's eyes were round, and so were the monkey's.

It was as if the painting had been made based on Bei Nuan's current appearance.

Bei Nuan: "…"

"This is something that has been passed down through countless generations in our tribe," Jiahan explained.

"Our tribe has always had a prophecy that one day, the evil god Xiuye will take over the world, bringing apocalyptic disaster, and countless people will die in the calamity."

"But God has not abandoned the world. A Holy Maiden, favored by God, will descend to save the world. This painting is the portrait of this Holy Maiden."

"Every time we hold a sacrificial ceremony, we hang this painting for worship. So, when everyone saw you just now, they immediately recognized you."

So, this painting was their tribe's depiction of the Holy Maiden.

A Holy Maiden with a monkey on her head. The image seemed rather comical.

But there was no doubt that the person in the painting strongly resembled Bei Nuan, as if the artist had witnessed the scene firsthand.

Bei Nuan recovered and stammered, "But doesn't your tribe already have a Holy Maiden?"

The one who, consumed by Xiuye's evil influence, almost killed someone, then threw away the knife and ran, with no one pursuing her.

"Ya Wen was found by my father when he was the chief a few years ago."

Jiahan's tone was gentle and objective as he explained Ya Wen's origins to Bei Nuan.

It turned out that years ago, when his father was the chief, he passed through a remote village where monkeys were worshipped as deities. The village was full of monkeys.

There was a family in the village who guarded the monkey temple, and their youngest daughter played with monkeys all day long.

The girl was very young, but she was beautiful and quite clever.

The moment Jiahan's father saw her, he thought she might be the Holy Maiden from the prophecy.

"Ya Wen has always been sweet-talking and good at pleasing people. She kept my father very happy, and she's held the position of Holy Maiden securely all these years."

Jiahan paused.

"But ever since I was a baby, held in my father's arms, I've looked at that portrait of the Holy Maiden over and over again. In my mind, the Holy Maiden should be exactly like the one in the painting, not like Ya Wen."

Jiahan gazed at Bei Nuan. "She should look like God's favored daughter at first glance, pure, beautiful, and different from everyone else."

Bei Nuan felt a little embarrassed, thinking, This truly is a world that values appearances.

Jiahan said, "Tonight, it's as if you stepped directly out of the portrait of the Holy Maiden."

Bei Nuan thought: If I were Ya Wen, I would also drape myself in a blanket, put a monkey on my head, and imitate the appearance in the portrait. Wouldn't that work?

Jiahan was just talking about this.

"Ya Wen, of course, knows what the Holy Maiden looks like. Every Spring Festival, when we pray for a good harvest, she dresses up according to the portrait and poses like the figure in the painting."

"She's not the problem. The problem is finding a monkey."

"She keeps a group of monkeys and has been training them, hoping they'll obediently hold onto her head without moving during the ceremony."

Jiahan's tone was calm, but Bei Nuan detected a slight mockery in it.

"Unfortunately, after training for a long time, only a very old monkey was willing to stay put on her head during the ceremony."

"The painting clearly shows a small monkey. Ya Wen wasn't very satisfied, but she had no other choice. Sadly, that old monkey died last winter. Ya Wen hadn't trained a new one yet before the zombie outbreak."

"And the vertical lines in the painting," Jiahan said, "we never understood what they meant. Ya Wen once tried hanging strips of light gauze in front of her during the ceremony, and even hung newly sprouted branches…"

Jiahan gave a rare smile.

"…I now understand that they are the iron bars of a cage. The torches on both sides are actually burning trees."

"What you're wearing is the blanket we spread on the altar. We had it made according to the pattern in the painting." Jiahan glanced at Dasheng. "Did the Holy Monkey fetch it for you?"

Bei Nuan: Holy Monkey?

Dasheng: Ooh?

Bei Nuan thought their tribe's method of recognizing the Holy Maiden was too unreliable.

According to him, the portrait of the Holy Maiden wasn't a secret; many people had seen it during the ceremonies.

Someone with ulterior motives could easily set up a trap, find a girl, have her wear a blanket and carry a monkey, just like Bei Nuan tonight, make everything seem natural and coincidental, put on a good show, and fool the entire tribe.

But Bei Nuan couldn't say this herself.

Jiahan gazed at Bei Nuan.

He suddenly changed the subject. "I noticed you earlier today. Were you the one who started all those fires today? And the fire in the trees tonight, was that you too?"

Bei Nuan immediately felt guilty.

Their tribe worshipped water and abhorred fire. If they knew she had started the fires, they might still think she was some imposter pretending to be the Holy Maiden and throw her into the Salt River after all.

But Jiahan's expression remained calm and gentle.

He continued, "Our tribe actually has a way to identify the Holy Maiden. It's a secret passed down only through the chiefs, and no one else knows, not even Ya Wen. My father thought it was nonsense, but I've always believed it."

Jiahan glanced behind him, and the few people standing there immediately retreated respectfully.

Only then did Jiahan continue.

"The prophecy says that the Holy Maiden, favored by God, is envied by the fire god Xiuye and cursed by him. She will accidentally set things on fire, arousing suspicion among God's followers."

"Therefore, if you see a sudden fire, there's no need to doubt; it means the true Holy Maiden has appeared."

Bei Nuan: ???

That worked too?

Her pyrokinetic ability, which she thought was a disaster waiting to happen, was actually the ultimate proof of her identity as the Holy Maiden?

Could it be any more ridiculous?

Jiahan added, "And only when she becomes the Holy Maiden can the curse of the fire god Xiuye be lifted."

Bei Nuan froze for a second, then quickly opened her task list and found that the countdown timer behind "God's Blessing" had indeed stopped.

Bei Nuan was overjoyed. She quickly touched the top of her head, and nothing happened.

Jiahan had been observing Bei Nuan. Seeing her surprised expression, he smiled. "Can the Holy Maiden no longer conjure fire?"

He had guessed correctly.

The time the countdown stopped coincided perfectly with the ancient prophecy.

But Bei Nuan didn't speak.

This Jiahan had been distancing himself from Ya Wen.

Could it be that he wasn't the person Ya Wen had been acting coquettish with on the phone?

If he was, it seemed like he and Ya Wen were involved. But if they were involved, why didn't he help Ya Wen at all and so readily acknowledge Bei Nuan as the Holy Maiden?

This matter might not be so simple.

"I've become the Holy Maiden, so what will happen to Ya Wen?" Bei Nuan asked tentatively.

Jiahan pondered for a moment.

"I've never recognized Ya Wen as the true Holy Maiden. After my father passed away, I originally planned to remove her title, but the zombie outbreak happened."

Jiahan frowned. "Ya Wen has been the Holy Maiden in the tribe for ten years. Making such a drastic change during this time of panic wouldn't be good for morale."

"Now that the true Holy Maiden has appeared, she should be sent away, but Ya Wen…"

Jiahan's brow furrowed even deeper.

"…After my father's death, she found herself a new backer. I can't touch her for the time being."

Bei Nuan was curious about who Ya Wen's new backer was, someone even Jiahan had to be wary of.

Jiahan thought for a moment. "So, I think it should be fine for both of you to be Holy Maidens in the tribe for now."

Bei Nuan was inwardly amused.

It was like playing Werewolf. It was the first time she'd heard of a game with two real witches. If two witches came out, either one was real and the other fake, or both were imposters.

Their prophecy about the Holy Maiden sounded like nonsense.

But why was there such an ancient painting depicting Bei Nuan, and so accurately? Bei Nuan couldn't figure it out.

Jiahan then asked for Bei Nuan's name and pondered for a moment.

"Your name doesn't sound like a local's name. How about this, I'll give you a new Holy Maiden name."

Bei Nuan didn't object and waited quietly.

After a long while, he said, "How about Zhende?"

Zhende? Saint Joan of Arc?

In the world of this book, all the countries and history were different, and there was no such short-lived but brilliantly burning Saint Joan of Arc.

Of course, Jiahan didn't know this.

She couldn't use this name. Firstly, it would be disrespectful to the historical figure, and secondly, it was too ominous.

"Let's choose another one?" Bei Nuan suggested. "How about Jiade? Holy Maiden Jiade?"

One was "true" (Zhen), and Bei Nuan was "false" (Jia).

Jiahan readily agreed.

"It's late," Jiahan stood up. "I've already had someone arrange accommodations for the Holy Maiden. Please go back and rest."

Jiahan instructed someone to call a girl named Dansui.

She was a young girl with an oval face and large eyes, looking about the same age as Bei Nuan.

The first thing Dansui did upon entering was to bow deeply and respectfully to Bei Nuan.

Bei Nuan was about to return the gesture when Jiahan stopped her.

"You are the Holy Maiden. No one is more noble than you. There's no need to return the bow."

Bei Nuan suddenly realized a huge advantage of being the Holy Maiden—she no longer had to remember those complicated bowing etiquettes and endless prostrations.

Others would bow to her, and she didn't have to bother responding.

"Dansui, from now on, you will attend to Holy Maiden Jiade."

Dansui bowed to Jiahan again and agreed. Although she didn't speak, her eyes were lively, curiously observing Bei Nuan and Dasheng, who sat quietly on her shoulder.

Jiahan said to Bei Nuan, "Dansui is very diligent and clever. She will take care of your daily needs. If you need anything or want to do anything, just ask her."

Bei Nuan thought, CEO Bei suddenly has a personal assistant.

It was very late. Bei Nuan stood up and took two steps outside, then suddenly turned back.

"Does being the Holy Maiden come with the privilege of choosing attendants from among the men of the tribe? I saw Ya Wen doing that."

Jiahan's normally aloof face showed a moment of awkwardness. "Yes."

Choosing suitable attendants to serve was a normal thing, but Ya Wen abused this power, specifically picking handsome men to attend her. This had led to various unsavory rumors circulating within the tribe, which Jiahan had tried to suppress over the years, to no avail.

He hadn't expected that the first thing Bei Nuan would request after becoming the Holy Maiden would be this.

Bei Nuan spoke fluently, "Then I want all four of the men who came with me to be my attendants."

Jiahan became even more awkward: Four men? Four??

Jiahan carefully chose his words. "Holy Maiden, you've only been the Holy Maiden for one day. Asking for so many people at once wouldn't look good. Could you… uh… choose just one for now?"

Just one?

Bei Nuan didn't hesitate. "Then I want the tallest and most handsome one!"

Jiahan: "…"

Bei Nuan thought, Now that my fire ability is gone, I need to get Boss Lu over here for protection.

Having inexplicably become the Holy Maiden and snatched the position Ya Wen had held for so many years, Bei Nuan knew that Ya Wen definitely wouldn't let it go.

That knife in her hand must be thirsting for blood.

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