Chapter 128

The dew was heavy in the woods at night.

The snow leopard chased the Congolese lioness as she leaped onto a leaning, dead tree. The lioness, with her pale golden eyes, remained calm and proud. She looked up at the height of the tree, hooked her paws onto the bark, and easily climbed up.

The snow leopard crouched down, sensing the provocation. It glanced left and right, then used its hind legs to climb the tree, stepping on the fragile branches.

The two beasts quickly climbed to the top of the tree, startling a flock of crows.

Squeak—

A cold wind ruffled the lioness's short mane, and a small mouse with a pink tail peeked out from behind her, struggling to pry at its legs. Its partner had been spoiling it lately, feeding it too many treats, and it had become as round as a ping-pong ball.

Seeing that it was struggling to climb, the snow leopard went over and helped it with its nose.

The three spirit beings lowered their tails and gazed at the forest.

Judging from the birds taking flight and the subtle sounds, their master should be not far behind, but compared to the spiritual beings, their speed was still too slow.

Alena's mother was a sentinel and her father was a hunter in Tannijama. She grew up with her father and knew the forest very well, so she was very confident.

Jiang Wenxing is smart, but he can't possibly be physically strong. Yano is a piece of paper and not worth mentioning.

She must have something that makes her better than the two of them!

Alena walked faster and faster, full of pride and high spirits.

They had been walking for most of the night, and it was now 2 a.m. They still had more than 30 kilometers to go before reaching the market.

As she climbed the hillside, Alena stood with her hands on her hips and looked back.

Arno was the first to catch up, his delicate face tense, his forehead covered in sweat, and his chest rising and falling slightly, but he was in relatively good condition.

Jiang Wenxing was the last to climb up. He was coughing and panting, his face was as white as if it had been immersed in ice water, only his nose and eye sockets were red, and sweat soaked from his hair to his back.

After climbing up, I supported myself with my legs, and large beads of sweat fell to the ground one by one.

Jiang Wenxing usually appeared refined and composed, and Alena had never seen him so disheveled.

Alena pulled him: "Jiang, are you alright?"

Jiang Wenxing bent over, waved to Alena, and then gave a thumbs-up to both Alena and Arno.

Alena chuckled, feeling even happier than if the old guide had praised her. Arno pursed his lips slightly, coughed, crossed his arms, and turned away.

Jiang Wenxing felt a dull, burning pain in his lungs, and he couldn't stop coughing.

Alena gently patted his back, and Jiang Wenxing felt a tremendous force strike him, almost causing him to fall to the ground.

"Alena, cough cough... for the next military competition, cough cough... you can go to the Sentry Company."

Alena: "..."

Rustling.

The shadows of the trees swayed as the snow leopard gently leaped down from the tree, followed by Alena's Congolese lioness.

Alena sensed the spirit's agitation: "What's wrong?"

Arno sensed it too, and lowered his head to stroke the snow leopard's ears, sharing its feelings. He closed his eyes, then opened them again after a moment, and said solemnly, "There's something in the south."

Alena asked blankly, "What is that?" She grabbed the Congolese lioness by the scruff of her neck, but felt nothing. The lioness was also very agitated, pacing back and forth, urging her to leave.

The two looked at Jiang Wenxing at the same time. Jiang Wenxing's eyes had closed at some point, and sweat on his forehead dampened his hair. Under the moonlight, his face was as white as the snow on Baitou Peak, unusually cold and beautiful.

Alena tried to reach out and shake him, but Arno grabbed her arm.

Alena raised an eyebrow: "The situation is not right now. You two find a place to hide first, and I'll go out and scout ahead."

Arno's gaze was deep, his face a mixture of amazement and envy.

He couldn't understand it either. He originally thought that Jiang Wenxing could at most be a navigator, so if he worked hard, he could catch up.

But it seems that Jiang Wenxing has already gone far away.

Alena didn't even know what that was. Arno felt a sense of relief that he was still a normal person, but also a bitter and embarrassing feeling of being left behind.

Arno pulled her along, reminding her, "Look carefully."

Alena's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She stared at Jiang Wenxing and suddenly noticed a faint mental ripple in his eyes, but it was obscured by the darkness of the night.

Alena, a barely-graduated underachiever, didn't recognize it: "What is that?"

Arno gave the academically challenged student a look of disbelief. Alena, however, was indignant and impatient, and said impatiently, "Just tell me what it is."

Arno said softly, "He has established a mental bridge with his spiritual body and is sharing his vision."

A guide capable of this wouldn't need a recommendation from the White Tower; he could simply clean himself up and get in.

Alena: "Awesome!"

Jiang Wenxing suddenly opened his eyes, his brows furrowed.

He could hardly believe what he was seeing. He looked up at the sky and saw that the moon was hidden by clouds, and all around him was pitch black and silent.

Arno sensed seriousness in Jiang Wenxing's unusually serious expression, and unconsciously lowered his voice: "What exactly is it?"

Jiang Wenxing looked at the two inexperienced guides in front of him. They had never experienced war and had no combat experience.

Jiang Wenxing wouldn't let them get into danger: "Alena, you take Arno back to the outpost now."

Alena jumped up: "No way!"

What is this? Why do you suddenly want to go back? She sent a command to the lioness to go scout ahead, but Jiang Wenxing forcibly pulled her back. The expression on Jiang Wenxing's face made her a little scared: "Don't be silly, listen to me!"

Arno, who had been silent all along, suddenly asked, "Is it the ant race?"

Jiang Wenxing was somewhat surprised by Arno's keen insight. He didn't refute it. Seeing Jiang Wenxing's silent expression, Alena said incredulously, "There's something like this here! Run! What are you doing staying here?!"

Jiang Wenxing's small face was serious. He and his spiritual body were not as tall as Arno and Alena, but at this moment his aura seemed to be that of someone who had been through many battles and was not to be refuted: "That is just a very small ant. My spiritual body and I can share vision. It can't find me. I can avoid it, but the two of you can't."

Jiang Wenxing said coldly, "You two need to go back to the stronghold to report. I will leave markers along the way."

Alena: "No, you have to come with us!"

Jiang Wenxing frowned: "Arno, Alena, its presence here means it crossed the snow-capped mountains via another route."

Alena froze, wondering if another path would be taken... to cross the snow-capped mountains?

She looked up abruptly, then fell into a deeper silence. Through the heavy shadows of the trees in the moonlight, the towering, massive snow-capped peak stood silently, a natural barrier between Thanijama and Kush.

Alena realized the seriousness of the situation, and Arno also understood Jiang Wenxing's concerns. One of the three guides had to stay behind to find out where the ant tribe had crawled in from, whether it had any companions, and where it would go.

The only person with this ability is Jiang Wenxing.

Alena's mind raced, and she realized this was the best decision. She was a soldier, and soldiers have no shortage of courage and decisiveness. She looked deeply at Jiang Wenxing, knowing that one day she would fight alongside him!

The atmosphere in the dark woods was heavy.

The three young guides, filled with unease and fear, yet deeply aware of the responsibility they bore, touched hands and reached a decision.

Alena glanced back and said, "Be careful, I'll be back as soon as possible."

Jiang Wenxing nodded and gently tapped the two young guides on the shoulders: "Arno, Alena, be careful on the road."

The three parted ways.

Arno took a few steps, his eyes filled with struggle.

He looked back and saw the young guide, whom he had always looked down upon, with a firm and youthful back, seemingly unaware of the darkness ahead.

He recalled the first time he met Jiang Wenxing. Jiang was coming down the stairs from the train station, wearing a black turtleneck sweater, and he was with them on their way to a training session for border guides.

At that time, he could sense Jiang Wenxing's stubbornness, selfishness, and vanity.

It was always that person named Zhu Ning who tolerated him, coaxed him, and protected his self-esteem. He had hardly done anything for Zhu Ning, at least in Arno's opinion.

Can a person change this much?

Or was Arno mistaken? Was the person he learned about from snippets of conversation really like that?

Arno felt a sudden pang in his heart at the thought that he might see Jiang Wenxing's corpse, dressed in a green military uniform, devoured beyond recognition by the ant tribe. Arno suddenly turned around and said, "Wait a minute!"

Jiang Wenxing and Alena stopped at the same time. Arno said, "I'm not as fast as Alena, nor do I have as good control over my spiritual body as you, but my spiritual body is a snow leopard, which at least guarantees my safety."

The snow leopard's calm gaze swept over Alena and Jiang Wenxing before it gently walked to Jiang Wenxing's side.

Alena's eyes lit up: "Yes! Yes! Jiang, you and Arno together, wait for me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he disappeared.

Jiang Wenxing was at a loss when facing Yano. He was angry that the other party disregarded his safety, and he was also slightly shaken.

Because in his previous life, Arno received a spot to go to the White Tower after serving for half a year, and left Kush with Junin.

Jiang Wenxing got nothing, but he chose to stay out of spite, because he didn't want to be worse off than the other two.

Something seemed to have gone wrong in his life. Jiang Wenxing opened his mouth, not knowing what to say. He looked at Alena's disappearing figure, his brows furrowed, and finally said, "Stay close to me and don't make a sound."

...

The moon climbed over the hillside.

A rustling sound came from the dark woods, and a little mouse with a pink tail hid in the bushes.

Not far in front of him was a humanoid creature with a body structure similar to that of an ant, but with a completely different appearance.

This ant has long, curved claws, a reddish-black head, a swollen abdomen, and six pairs of legs. Its mouthparts wriggle, and crunching bone fragments fall down with a clattering sound.

Judging from its broken tentacles, it seems to have gotten lost.

Jiang Wenxing looked away and lay down with Yano in the bushes, their bodies covered in wet mud to prevent the smelly ants from catching their scent.

Arno stared at the strange humanoid creature, his heart filled with a mixture of horror and disgust. Seeing it in a textbook was one thing, but witnessing with his own eyes a bipedal creature with an insect's abdomen feeding in the forest was quite another.

Jiang Wenxing: "If it's the only one, we'll take it down."

Arno's hands trembled with nervousness: "Kill him? I can't."

Jiang Wenxing: "Learn, I'll teach you."

Arno licked his lips, touched some mud, but didn't dare spit it out: "What if it's a group?"

Jiang Wenxing gave Arno a deep look: "..."

Author's Note: