Apart from the young Taoist priest saved by Zhao Yan, no one else had seen her face.
Some of the rescued Taoist priests had secretly taken photos of Zhao Yan with their phones, but only managed to capture her from behind.
In their words, Zhao Yan was portrayed as glorious and great.
As the news spread online, she became even more admired by the young Taoist practitioners.
Whenever Zhao Yan was mentioned, these young Taoist practitioners would give her a thumbs-up.
This left the older Taoist practitioners somewhat perplexed. They had imagined Zhao Yan to be a reclusive master, only to discover she was a young girl.
Recalling that Zhao Yan had saved so many Taoist practitioners, they were convinced she must possess great skill.
With this realization, the older Taoist practitioners also showed respect.
In this profession, the accomplished were always the teachers.
As long as one had sufficient skill, no matter how young, they were qualified to be called a senior.
Seeing so many people, Zhao Yan felt a bit troubled.
Her shop simply couldn't accommodate so many people.
"Forget about preparing tea, my disciple."
The water from the dispenser wouldn't even be enough to make tea for over a hundred people.
"It really is Senior Zhao."
A young Taoist disciple stepped forward and took a look at Zhao Yan.
Upon seeing Zhao Yan's face, he recognized her immediately.
It was this woman who had rescued him from his suffering.
Even if Zhao Yan turned to dust, he wouldn't mistake her.
"It seems we've found the right place. This is Senior Zhao who saved me and all of us," the young Taoist disciple announced.
The thirty-odd young Taoist disciples behind him immediately stepped forward, holding banners, and respectfully presented them to Zhao Yan.
"Please accept them, Senior Zhao."
The voices of the thirty-odd young disciples were remarkably strong. Their shout was as if they had been trained, their voices perfectly synchronized.
When they had dealt with the little zombie, they had been ordered around by the older Taoist practitioners.
Those older Taoist practitioners, relying on their seniority and experience, had pushed the younger ones to the front lines, treating them as expendable tools to drain the zombie's Yin energy.
This resulted in the victims of Yin energy invasion being predominantly the younger Taoist practitioners.
They deeply resented this.
Their skills were inferior to those of the older Taoist practitioners, leaving them no choice but to endure it.
It was at this precise moment that Zhao Yan appeared.
Zhao Yan cleared her throat. Since she was being called a senior, she had to maintain the image of a master.
She straightened her back, a gentle smile on her face, and accepted the banners one by one.
"We are all part of the Xuanmen. There's no need to be so polite. If it were me lying on the ground, none of you would stand idly by."
"My little shop is truly too small. I apologize for the inconvenience. Let's discuss matters outside."
Zhao Yan handed the banners she had received to Wang Xianzhi.
Wang Xianzhi quickly placed them on the table inside the shop.
"Senior Zhao, this is something we pooled our resources to create. It's a gift for you, a token of our gratitude for saving our lives. Please don't find it too humble."
As he spoke, the leading Xuanmen disciple clapped his hands.
Five people behind him carried a plaque forward together.
Wang Xianzhi, with his sharp eyes, immediately recognized that the plaque was made from high-quality huanghuali wood.
Ordinary huanghuali wood costs three to five thousand yuan per jin.
This high-quality huanghuali wood likely costs over ten thousand yuan per jin.
The plaque was two meters long and half a meter wide, weighing at least eighty to one hundred jin.
Combined with the exquisite carving on the plaque, it would have cost no less than a million yuan.
The plaque was carved with four large characters and an exclamation mark: "Wocao Master!"
Wang Xianzhi quietly informed Zhao Yan of the plaque's value.
Zhao Yan was astonished.
This seemingly ordinary plaque was worth over a million yuan.
Such a generous gift, for the revered and respected Master Zhao, how could she...
Well, she had to admit, this plaque would look great hanging in the room.
It instantly elevated the shop's prestige by a notch.
"You are too kind."
"Come, come, please be seated."
Zhao Yan led these young Xuanmen disciples into the shop.
It wasn't that she was greedy for the plaque's value.
She simply appreciated people who repaid kindness.
These young people suited her taste perfectly.
The shop didn't have enough seats, so Wang Xianzhi quickly went to borrow stools from nearby shops, as many as he could.
The older Taoist priests, who were just about to enter, found the shop already packed. They couldn't get in and had to stand outside.
They were instantly marginalized.
"Senior Zhao, we have come today not only to express our gratitude for your kindness but also to ask for your help."
"We are all members of the Xuanmen, and we bear heavy responsibilities. If that zombie, being an uncorrupted corpse, goes on a rampage and kills people, countless innocents will perish."
"Everyone present knows of Senior Zhao's abilities. With your help, we have a chance to capture the little zombie."
They had united to deal with the little zombie. Even though they had been invaded by the zombie's Yin energy, with Zhao Yan behind them, using her Yang energy to neutralize the Yin energy within them, it was like having a powerful medic.
This gave them more confidence when facing the uncorrupted corpse zombie and allowed them to suffer less.
"Little zombie? Have you found its whereabouts?" Zhao Yan asked with a hint of guilt.
She immediately regretted asking, thinking that if they had found the little zombie, they would have already surrounded her shop.
"Some of our colleagues just sent us a message. Last night, they found the little zombie in Jiangxi Nanshan. It should be hiding there."
"That zombie was harmed by our Yin energy, so it's likely recuperating in Jiangxi Nanshan right now."
"Our colleagues said that herdsmen have seen its tracks."
Zhao Yan let out a surprised "Oh."
The little zombie was on the second floor, yet they claimed it was in Jiangxi Nanshan.
"If you find the little zombie, what do you plan to do with it?" Zhao Yan asked.
"Since ancient times, good and evil are irreconcilable. If we find it, we must eliminate it quickly to prevent it from becoming a great menace."
Zhao Yan understood. In their eyes, the little zombie was still a Yin entity born of evil energy.
After a moment of thought, Zhao Yan decided to keep the little zombie here and discuss what to do with it after the old man was released from prison.
Before going to sleep, she had checked Jiuling Mountain and found no reports of zombie attacks.
Observing the little zombie's behavior, it didn't seem to kill people. Even when severely lacking Yin energy, it had only absorbed the Yang energy from Shi Jiechang and his junior brother.
It had absorbed two-thirds of their Yang energy but hadn't completely drained them.
"Please help us, Senior Zhao. If you can help us capture the uncorrupted corpse and achieve great merit, your reputation will become even more renowned. We can then consider Senior Zhao our leader and raise a banner together."
"Raise a banner together? What do you mean?" Zhao Yan asked, bewildered.