Chapter 1: The Root of All Evil

Xiahou Yan stared absentmindedly at the lampstand before him. Made entirely of brass, it was shaped like a male lion, boasting an elegant, streamlined design. The lion’s jaws were wide open, filled with lamp oil, and a wisp of golden flame danced within its mouth.

"Lord Eliot? My Lord?" a soft voice called out from beside him.

Xiahou Yan finally snapped back to reality. Turning his head blankly, he saw a young girl in a maid’s outfit looking at him timidly.

"M-my Lord..." the maid asked uneasily, twirling a strand of flaxen hair near her temple. "Are you alright? I saw you staring at this oil lamp for several minutes now..."

"I’m fine," Xiahou Yan forced a reply, trying to recall the maid’s name. He drew a blank.

It had been two days since he crossed over into this world, yet the original owner’s memories remained a tangled mess. For now, he could only be certain that his name was Eliot Igor, an imperial noble and Feudal Lord. As for his age... was he eighteen? Or nineteen? Xiahou Yan pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"What... what was your name again?" he asked through gritted teeth, opening his eyes.

The maid froze for a moment before offering a gentle smile. "Lord Eliot, my name is Anjie Rendall. I am your personal maid," she said softly. "It has been less than two days since you woke from your coma. Occasional memory confusion is completely normal, so please do not worry."

Xiahou Yan gave a muffled grunt of acknowledgment. Naturally, the little maid could never have imagined that the original young noble, Eliot Igor, had already perished during his coma. The one currently controlling this body was an old ghost from Earth named Xiahou Yan.

Thinking of his new identity, he couldn’t help but survey his surroundings once more. Dull yellow cowhide tent fabric; a makeshift bed and sleeping bag laid out with animal skins directly on the dirt ground; and a pitiful little maid with a disheveled uniform and a pretty face stained with soot and grime. Indeed, this was no magnificent Lord’s manor, but a hastily erected tent in the wilderness. As an imperial noble and Feudal Lord, Eliot Igor was currently on a journey alongside his five hundred subjects.

Xiahou Yan did not know the full story behind all of this. He only vaguely remembered that the Igor family had their hereditary territory revoked by the empire for some reason. Having taken over as the family head at a young age, Eliot Igor was forced to lead his people on an arduous trek to relocate to a new territory assigned by the empire. Shortly after embarking on the journey, Eliot fell ill and slipped into a coma. It wasn’t until two days ago that Xiahou Yan’s soul awakened in this body.

He tried his best to imitate Eliot Igor’s usual tone, asking tentatively, "Is the place where we’re camped right now safe?"

Anjie paused, answering with a hint of hesitation, "Master Laurie used Magic to scout the area. He said there are definitely no zombies within ten miles, but any further out..."

Hearing the word "zombies" gave Xiahou Yan an instant headache. He frowned. "So, we still haven’t managed to leave the Undead Infected Area?"

Anjie shook her head. "Lord Eliot, Master Laurie said that after our caravan encountered the zombie horde during the day, we fled in a panic... Now, our campsite... is likely right in the center of the Undead Infected Area..."

The day... Xiahou Yan recalled the zombie attack from a few hours ago, his heart skipping a beat. "So, how many people did we lose in total today?"

The little maid’s expression instantly darkened. "Lord Eliot, during the zombie horde attack today, we lost a total of one hundred and two subjects, nearly seventy percent of our livestock, and... twenty-six Guards."

"Twenty-six Guards?!" Xiahou Yan suddenly remembered something, his face turning deathly pale. "Weren’t there only about thirty Guards in total?"

The little maid’s eyes grew moist. "Y-yes... Lord Eliot, we now only have seven combat-capable Guards left... Those who sacrificed themselves, t-they were all heroic Warriors. If not for them, we never would have survived the horde’s attack and made it to camp..."

Xiahou Yan fell silent. Using the limited knowledge in his memories, he calculated the probability of escorting the convoy through the zombie-infested Undead Infected Area with only seven Guards. The answer was zero.

"So..." he summarized their current predicament with difficulty, "Our group of five hundred is now trapped right in the middle of the infected area, surrounded by countless zombies with no way out?"

"Yes..." the little maid’s voice was as soft as a whisper and tinged with tears. "Master Laurie said that if worse comes to worst, we will abandon the subjects tomorrow and escort you out of the infected area alone... The seven Guards, along with the Master himself, should still be able to protect you..."

Xiahou Yan was stunned. "Escort me out alone? Then... what about you?" he asked absentmindedly.

"I-I..." Tears streamed down Anjie’s cheeks. "Anjie doesn’t want to drag you down..."

Xiahou Yan felt a lump form in his throat. Taking a deep breath, he tentatively called the little maid’s name. "Anjie?"

Anjie wiped her tears with the back of her hand and hummed a response.

Xiahou Yan closed his eyes. "Go tell Master Laurie that I cannot leave on my own," he declared through gritted teeth. "If I abandon my people and run away by myself, then what use am I as a Lord?"

"But Lord Eliot..." Anjie shook her head desperately. "We definitely won’t survive... E-even Captain Alice..."

"Alice?" Xiahou Yan felt a vague familiarity with the name. "Isn’t she our Captain of the Guard?"

"Yes..." Anjie shook her head sorrowfully. "When the zombie horde was about to catch up to your carriage, Captain Alice charged forward to protect you..."

Xiahou Yan pursed his lips. In Eliot’s memories, Alice was the Igor family’s Captain of the Guard, and even more so, a master-tier Swordsman. But even with her superb Martial Arts, charging head-on into a horde of countless zombies was undeniably a suicide mission.

"Master Laurie did his best, but he only managed to retrieve Captain Alice’s body..." Anjie wiped her tears, forcing a gentle smile. "Lord Eliot, the zombie horde is so terrifying. As long as you can be sent out safely, we will be very happy..."

"Regardless, there is no way I’m running away by myself." Xiahou Yan waved his hand irritably. "Let me have some peace and quiet. We’ll talk about tomorrow’s matters tomorrow."

Anjie hesitated to speak, but ultimately curtsied and turned to leave the tent. Both she and Xiahou Yan knew that the young Lord was merely stalling for time, deceiving himself. Inside the infected area and faced with the zombie horde, the only choice was ever between life and death.

Xiahou Yan waited until Anjie’s footsteps faded outside the tent before turning his head to look at the lion-shaped oil lamp by his bed. The gleaming yellow metal surface reflected a face that was far too young—pale and gaunt, its complexion appearing excessively gloomy against a head of black hair. Up until half a month ago, this young man named Eliot Igor was still a pampered noble young master, diligently studying for his Mage degree at the Imperial Mage Academy.

But now, he had become a bona fide noble Lord, leading his subjects deep into the infected area. The life and death of exactly five hundred people rested solely in his hands.

"Eliot Igor..." Xiahou Yan muttered his new name. The original body owner’s memories slowly awakened and flooded his mind: childhood family moments, leisurely days spent at the Mage Academy, and the once valiant, moving face of Captain of the Guard Alice...

He shifted his gaze away from the oil lamp. Reaching out, he slowly and somewhat hesitantly dug out an oilcloth bundle from his luggage by the bed. This was something Eliot had brought back from Academy City when he dropped out of the Mage Academy to inherit the family estate.

Everyone else thought this bundle contained textbooks from the Mage Academy, but if his newly revived memories were correct, there should be something else inside.

Taking a deep breath, Xiahou Yan unwrapped the bundle. The first thing to appear was a pitch-black diary. He hesitated for a moment before setting the diary aside, revealing several tattered old books underneath.

*Introduction to Curse Technique*, *Demonology*, *Ancient Ritual Atlas*...

Struck onto the cover of each book was the blood-red "Banned Book" seal of the Mage Academy.

He pulled out the bottommost old book from the bundle and stared at the cover for a moment before raising his voice. "Anjie!"

The maid’s voice quickly sounded from outside the tent. "Lord Eliot, what is it?"

Suppressing the trembling in his heart, Xiahou Yan shouted back, "Captain Alice’s body... where is it right now?"