Chapter Sixty-Nine: Killing the Demon 9

This was a decision made out of necessity. The atmosphere was tense all afternoon. As the group went deeper, the danger increased exponentially, and the atmosphere was far less relaxed than when they first entered.

In the evening, a clearing was cleared between several large trees. Lu Cen helped add firewood to the fire. Everyone was busy with their own tasks. After adding the firewood, Lu Cen stood up to stretch his body. He accidentally walked a little too far away. The sound of birds chirping and animals flapping their wings filled the forest, creating a lively atmosphere.

Lu Cen moved his body like a zombie that had been around for thousands of years, his joints cracking occasionally. After the pain came a soft, sore feeling, and Lu Cen felt much better. Just as he was about to go back, something grabbed his ankle. He screamed and jumped up in a panic.

Ados charged over with the speed of a leopard and immediately saw that what was grabbing his ankle was a pale hand. He parted the grass with his longsword and saw a guard lying there covered in wounds, his consciousness blurred, blood gushing from his body, and he looked like he wouldn't live for more than a few minutes.

Ados suddenly half-lifted the person up, "Ril!"

A familiar voice jolted the guard awake. He struggled to open his eyes and, with his last ounce of strength, clung tightly to Ados. "Miss...Miss, save her...save her..."

The light in his eyes grew increasingly dim, and his voice grew softer and softer until his hand fell limply to the ground and slammed against the cold mud.

Lu Cen's heart skipped a beat. Could this young lady be the one among the players?

After a few minutes of silence, Ados ordered his men to dig a hole and bury him.

Then he carried Lu Cen back to the fire, his face very unpleasant. "Didn't I tell you not to go too far away from me? Why didn't you listen?"

Lu Cen looked at the newly formed mound of earth, which was only about ten steps away from him. "Is it that far?"

"From now on, you can't leave within five steps of me." Ados decided on Lucen's activity range.

"......."

Lu Cen remained silent, not wanting to get into a verbal argument with him.

He took out his own bowl from Ados's bag, filled his own bowl with food, and squatted down by the fire to eat carefully.

Ados: "......"

From the moment they met the guard, they stopped taking detours and headed east.

There was more blood on the road, and even several corpses.

They were fast, but they couldn't catch up with the group ahead. They also saw several golden frog corpses, which had been roasted by Ados that night. Lu Cen didn't like the meat; it was too tough for him to chew, and it had a distinctive animal smell. He sat on the carriage shaft with his beef and potatoes, legs crossed, as the steam rose up, making Lu Cen's face feel warm. After gulping down the hot soup, Lu Cen missed rice terribly.

He hadn't eaten rice for almost ten days, and as he thought about it, his mouth started watering again, even though he had just finished dinner.

He sighed, rinsed the bowl with water, and went to bother Ados, saying he wanted to take a bath. The Rohi Forest was rich in water and not short of water; sometimes there were rivers, sometimes there were pools. Ados was so bothered by him that he didn't even eat properly. "It's so cold. If you take a bath, you'll catch a cold. You can't take a bath anymore."

Upon hearing the devastating news, Lu Cen's mouth dropped open. "I'm not a savage."

“From now on, we can only live as savages.” Ados remained unmoved.

"I want to take a shower; I smell."

"What does it smell like?" Ados leaned in to smell his neck and whispered, "It doesn't smell like much, it smells nice."

Lu Cen: "......"

The captain of the guards, who had been a background figure all along the way, rolled his eyes. He really couldn't stand how lovey-dovey these two were!

Out of sight, out of mind, he took his sword and called a guard to go on night duty together.

That night, Lu Cen was unable to take a shower.

He was itchy all over and couldn't sleep soundly, tossing and turning in the carriage.

"Knock knock knock—"

Lu Cen opened the car door and saw Ados standing beside him. His face was not visible in the darkness, only his facial features were vaguely discernible. In the distance, a bonfire was still burning, and groups of guards huddled together for warmth. The firelight dispelled some of the night's chill.

Lu Cen pulled his coat tighter around himself, his fingertips feeling damp and cold from the wind, so he pulled them back inside. He leaned against the car and asked, "What is it?"

His tone was unpleasant; he was still sulking.

Ados said in a deep voice, "Come here, I'll take you to take a bath."

Lu Cen thought he was crazy. He wouldn't agree no matter what she said earlier, but now he was actually saying he'd take him to take a bath!

It's the middle of the night, he's not afraid, I'm the one who's scared!

"I'm not going."

Ados took two steps closer. "Didn't you say you wanted to take a bath tonight?"

"I don't want to shower now, I want to go to sleep!"

The forest was deep and quiet, with a light mist lingering around it.

The heat in the carriage quickly dissipated, and Lu Cen tried to close the door, but Yados reached out to stop her. "This is the last water source I'm familiar with. After this, whether we can shower or not at night will depend on luck. Are you really not going to shower?"

Lu Cen hesitated after hearing this.

"The pool isn't far from here, so go and come back quickly to avoid delaying things."

Looking at the dark forest in the distance, Lu Cen hesitated and said with dissatisfaction, "Why don't we go wash in the evening? Why do we have to go wash in the dark now?"

Ados paused for a moment, "It wasn't convenient back then."

But they didn't say anything about the inconvenience.

Ados simply picked the person up and rummaged through the box for clean clothes. "I'll carry you there, you don't need to get down."

Lu Cen stopped struggling upon hearing this, but as she pressed herself against his chest, a familiar fragrance wafted towards her.

The coat was left behind in the carriage. Ados carried the person deeper into the jungle. Soon, the guards' temporary camp disappeared from Lu Cen's sight.

It was surrounded by towering trees on all sides, so dense that it was impossible to get through.

Ados steadfastly faced one direction. Lu Cen didn't know how he discerned direction. The grass was trampled and bent over by his feet. After a while, the grass gradually disappeared, and strangely shaped stones covered the ground. In the distance, the forest looked like the entrance to a huge abyss, terrifying and dark. Lu Cen dared not look at it and buried his face in Ados's shoulder. The warm skin made Lu Cen feel attached, and he squeezed his legs tightly around Ados's waist. He was afraid of falling. Lu Cen's entire weight rested on Ados's large hands. Ados was supporting Lu Cen's buttocks while pulling his outer garment up to wrap Lu Cen under his clothes.

"Is it that far?" Lu Cen asked softly.

"It'll be almost over. Are you cold?"

"It's not cold, but I'm a little scared."

"What are you afraid of?"

"We've gone so far, what if we can't get back later?"

"Don't worry, you won't get lost."

Lu Cen responded with an "oh" and wrapped her arms around Ados's neck.

After a while, the two walked out of the darkness into a cool moonlight. Ados said, "We've arrived."

Lu Cen turned his head and saw a pool of water not far away, a deep blue color. There were no trees overhead to block the view, and the moonlight spilled across the surface of the water, making the moon appear to hang upside down in the water, like a beautiful nighttime landscape painting. There were also small animals drinking water by the pool, unaware that two humans had stepped into the area.

Ados placed Lucen on a smooth stone, and the delicate skin on the soles of his feet quickly turned red upon contact with the cold air.

Lu Cen squatted down, dipped his hands into the water, and shivered from the cold.

It's so cold.

Lu Cen muttered to himself, washed his hands and feet first, and then stood there brooding.

Yados, who was next to him, had already swum two laps in the water. Lu Cen gritted his teeth, shivered, and went into the water. He quickly washed himself and stood up. Water poured down from his fair body, dripping and hitting the stone surface. Soon, a small puddle of clear, transparent water gathered. Lu Cen wrapped himself in his clothes, his lips turning white from the cold.

"Ados, let's go back."

Lu Cen was puzzled when he didn't hear a reply. He looked around the surface of the pool, but there was still no trace of Ados.

He cried out in a panic, "Ados?"

Ados surfaced from the water. "What's wrong?"

The water he stirred up splashed onto Lu Cen's face, and he breathed a sigh of relief. "It's time to go back."

Ados got out of the water, grabbed his clothes and put them on. He came over and wrapped his arms around Lu Cen. The latter habitually lifted his leg. Ados understood and supported his buttocks. His legs stretched out from his waist and hung down naturally. Lu Cen leaned on his shoulder and his consciousness suddenly became blurred. He was dizzy and drowsy.

The two were pressed intimately together. Water droplets from Ados's hair dripped onto Lu Cen's face, pulling him back from his dazed state. He looked at the two sets of dirty clothes on the ground and asked in confusion, "Aren't you going to wash these clothes?"

Every time they took a bath, Ados would rinse their clothes in the water, hang them on the roof of the car, and take them down the next afternoon when they were completely dry.

“I’ll wash it next time,” Ados said, his chest trembling.

"Oh." Lu Cen paused, sniffing his skin. "Why do you smell so good today, like cheese?"

Ados grabbed his hair. "Don't move."

Lu Cen pushed his hand away, then lay down again, behaving himself.

The night turned from dark to light.

Two days later, Ados and his party caught up with the ladies' procession at dusk.

Besides her, there were two guards and a maid, as well as a young man dressed in animal skins. He had long chestnut hair, was muscular, and carried a light brown longbow. On his back was a basket containing dozens of arrows with clean, white fletchings.

It's clear he cherishes it.

Lu Cen didn't recognize him, but he recognized Lu Cen.

He rushed over from under the tree, "Inlai, why are you here?"

Lu Cen stared at him for two seconds, her mind racing, and hesitated before asking, "Luther?"

Ados, who was talking to the young lady, looked over when he heard the noise and frowned when he saw Luther grabbing Lucen's wrist roughly.

The young lady's name was Lisa. She had slightly curly blonde hair, eyelashes like brushes, a high nose, and a downturned mouth that made her look mean and unapproachable. Her brows furrowed with arrogance, an expression usually associated with those in high positions. Her face was dotted with freckles.

Lisa didn't notice that area at first, but when she realized that Ados was staring at it, she followed his gaze and realized that the chestnut-colored boy looked a lot like Lu Cen. Her mind raced, and she took the lead in moving closer to that area. Ados hesitated for a moment and then followed behind.

Luther: "How could you come into the forest when it's so dangerous!"

Lu Cen: "How did you end up with this woman?"

Luther: "No, I have to take you back."

Lu Cen: "Who is she?"

Luther: "We'll leave tonight."

Luther: "Was that maid brought by her?"

The two were talking at cross purposes; Luther was anxious, while Lucen was curious.

Lisa interrupted their childish conversation, "We seem to have met somewhere before?"

Lu Cen also found this woman to be very familiar. Who was she?