Gu Qingcheng then had the villagers dig another similar moat at the mountainside. This moat was wider and longer than the one at the pass, with a width of 5 meters. Having gained experience, this moat was completed in only half a month. Similarly, large amounts of dry grass and firewood were placed inside.
Along the edge of the moat, on the side closer to Phoenix Village, a small brick and stone cabinet was built every 10 meters, with a torch inside. When needed, one would simply take out a torch, light it, and throw it into the moat to ignite the firewood.
As zombies are inherently flammable, once ignited, they would scurry around within the horde, spreading fire to their companions and eventually burning themselves to death. This defense line alone would kill at least half of the zombies. If this line failed and the remaining zombies continued to charge up, the catapults could provide support from a distance, rolling burning grass bundles down the mountain. This wave should be able to eliminate another third of the zombies.
By this point, the zombie numbers would be greatly reduced, allowing for a decisive battle. All combat personnel would put on protective gear, bring burning torches, and the archers would fire flaming arrows to annihilate most of the zombies. If any remnants remained, they would likely not be able to cross the final moat at the pass.
With this series of defenses, Phoenix Village should be relatively secure. For the two moats, drawbridges were designed for entry and exit. However, due to the severe flooding at the foot of the mountain, the villagers had nowhere else to go and were essentially confined to the village, so these drawbridges served primarily as channels for attacking during the zombie annihilation.
With everything in place, Gu Qingcheng breathed a slight sigh of relief as she looked at the seemingly impregnable Phoenix Village. With the basic infrastructure established, the villagers continued to diligently practice their combat techniques and diligently harvested the village's grain.
Gu Chaobei and Ge Hong had already begun refining all the elixirs that King Xia had consumed. Identifying which specific drug caused King Xia's neurological abnormalities was not easy, as Ge Hong did not have a complete record of King Xia's usual diet and medication.
The two men, engrossed in the process of elixir refinement, often discussed the matter. Ge Hong pointed out that without precisely knowing King Xia's daily intake and medications, they might not be able to pinpoint the cause of his illness, even if they successfully refined the elixirs and achieved cultivation. For instance, if King Xia had drunk a decoction for clearing lung heat on a particular day, and Ge Hong, unaware of this, prescribed a warming and tonifying elixir, the conflict in their medicinal properties might have triggered King Xia's transformation.
Gu Chaobei found this argument compelling but acknowledged the immense difficulty in investigating King Xia's diet and medication over the past year. It was impossible to do so even when he was close to King Xia, let alone now, as they were in the southern region, far from him. Gu Chaobei felt a wave of discouragement.
Ge Hong, however, slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Actually, understanding King Xia's diet and medication isn't that difficult. He is a prince, after all. The royal palace has food officials who meticulously record his every meal and medicine. Whatever King Xia ate or drank was meticulously documented, including his medications. If we can find this food official, Yin Zhiping, and obtain King Xia's detailed dietary records for that year, we can find the antidote."
Gu Chaobei's eyes lit up with joy, seeing this as a viable path. "But where can we find this food official? Is he still alive?"
Ge Hong pondered for a moment and replied, "This food official's hometown is said to be in the south. When I chatted with him, I noticed his southern accent. When I asked, he mentioned living in a small village called Lotus Pond Village. He hasn't returned home in many years and longs to go back. If he's still alive, he might have returned to Lotus Pond Village."
"What? Lotus Pond Village?" Gu Chaobei's spirits soared. "What a coincidence! We previously rescued a young man named Liao, who was also from Lotus Pond Village. It's a shame we didn't know this information back then and didn't inquire in the village if there was someone named Yin Zhiping."
"Oh, then it seems we'll have to trouble you to go down the mountain to search," Ge Hong said with a grin at Gu Chaobei.
Gu Chaobei left silently. He knew that for the sake of the people's future and to protect himself and his family from zombie infection, he had to descend the mountain with his family to find Yin Zhiping. Why did he have to involve his family? He understood that in the current dangerous environment, if he didn't bring his family, no one would let him leave. If they were to go, they would all go together. Moreover, to go to Lotus Pond Village, he would need to rely on his daughter's yacht, and he couldn't operate it without her.
As expected, when he returned home and shared his intention, everyone unhesitatingly agreed to descend the mountain with him. "Lotus Pond Village, we know the way, we'll get there soon," Gu Qingcheng said casually.
Just as Gu Qingcheng finished speaking, a frantic gong sound suddenly echoed through the village, followed by signal rockets being launched into the night sky andKongming lanterns rising one after another. This was the pre-arranged signal for a zombie attack.
Had the zombies truly arrived? No one was more surprised than Gu Qingcheng herself. But since the alarm had sounded, no one dared to delay. They donned their full protective gear, preparing to leave the village to fight the monsters. Gu Qingcheng told her mother and Mi Guo to stay home, stating that not everyone needed to go this time. The previous false alarm had left Hu Lanfang shaken, and she didn't want her to suffer that torment again.
However, Hu Lanfang calmly replied, "I have experience now, don't worry, I'll take good care of myself this time." Mi Guo added, "Although I'm young, I can shoot rockets. My aim is excellent, I guarantee one shot, one kill."
Very well, with everyone having their strengths, a compromise was reached. The Gu family of four donned their protective gear and quickly ran towards the pass. Yan Xin, leading the village's hunting team, had already descended to defend the first line. The trained villagers also rushed out with their long knives and torches.
Kongming lanterns continued to rise into the sky, illuminating the mountainside. Gu Qingcheng ran to the pass and looked down, letting out a gasp of cold air. The first defense line was already ablaze, and throughout the hillside below, there were flickering lights of moving figures – they were burning zombies.
Following that, just as they had rehearsed, the villagers fired rockets and rolled grass balls... The zombies were ignited one by one. Facing the grotesque zombies face-to-face for the first time, they were initially frightened but quickly regained their composure, continuously firing arrows to halt the zombies' advance.
As far as Gu Qingcheng could see, the mountainside was covered in a dense black mass, and she couldn't figure out where these zombies had emerged from. Impossible? Could it be that the villages below had all been infected? There were at least over 2,000 zombies. Furthermore, judging by their wet bodies, they could swim and had approached here by swimming. Gu Qingcheng's heart grew cold, but she was also grateful for their thorough observation, knowing that zombies feared fire. Otherwise, given the situation tonight, it wouldn't be strange for Phoenix Village to be wiped out.