Chapter 226 Heading to the Eastern Sea
The next morning, the group gathered at the entrance of Xiaochong Cave.
"Cough cough."
"Listen up, everyone," Yan shouted. "This trip to the Eastern Sea is quite dangerous. If anyone wants to back out, I, Yan, will absolutely not say a word against them."
After the nightmare was told, silence fell over the room...
"Ahem... I wonder what Xiao Chong is doing; he doesn't seem ready yet."
Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Yan changed the subject.
"Ningning." Jin Tong, who had been watching Xiao Chong's cave entrance, called out when he saw Shu Ning come out. He then walked to her side and took her package.
"What's in here?" he asked.
"Clothing and food," Shu Ning replied.
When Shu Ning came out, everyone else got up and came over.
"Ningning's preparations are really thoughtful," Mo Li praised.
"Ha...it's alright." Shu Ning looked at Mo Li and replied.
"Are you all going?" Yan asked, looking at them as they all prepared their packages.
"Mm," Yi Yuan replied.
"Doesn't any of you have anything going on in your own tribe?" Yan asked, looking at each of them.
“Nightmare, if the Crimson Flame Tiger Clan is busy, you can stay and wait for us to return,” Jin Tong said, seeing through his little scheme.
“That won’t do. I wouldn’t feel comfortable letting Ningning go to such a dangerous place. There are people in the tribe who will take care of the work,” Yan refused.
Then she took Shu Ning's hand and said, "Ning Ning, this trip is a little dangerous, so let me protect you. With my protection, you will definitely not be in any danger, okay?"
Shu Ning looked up into his sincere and enthusiastic eyes, and thinking of the Dongcanghai she had discussed with Xiao Chong last night, she nodded.
Having received Shu Ning's permission, Yan was so excited that he couldn't express it in words and immediately picked her up.
"Let's go," Yan called out after carrying Shu Ning on his back.
Then a whooshing sound came out, and the little birds, squirrels and rabbits around were so frightened by the sound that they immediately ran away from all directions.
"Hey, hey, wait for me!"
Yan Ling had just finished eating a fruit when he saw their departing figures. He immediately took another bite and then threw it away.
It quickly transformed into a dragon and flew to catch up with them.
"Why are you going so early!" After catching up with them, worried about being discovered, he crawled on land with them.
"It's still early in the morning, not so hot," Mo Li said.
"You still have to wait for me!" Yan Ling said. "Without me, do you know how to get to the East Sea?"
"I know," Han She said calmly.
"Oh my, not bad." Yan Ling looked at Han She and praised, "That place is so dangerous, I didn't expect that you, the tribal chief of Youhuangze, had actually been there."
“I remember that the Youhuang Marsh and the Dongcang Sea are quite far apart,” Yan Ling said thoughtfully.
"When I was a child, I was a homeless person and stayed there for a while," Han She said simply.
“But we shouldn’t have gone to such a far place!” Yan Ling said.
Yan Ling's words reminded him of his childhood, and a complex emotion flashed in his eyes—
After his mother died in front of him, his father, overwhelmed with grief, chose to commit suicide to follow his mother in death.
His original tribe called him a cursed beast, an ominous orc.
If any of them fell ill or was injured, they would insist that it was because they were cursed by the Beast God.
As long as he lived, they would not have peace and would all want to sacrifice him to the beast god.
He initially stayed in the Abandoned Beast Domain for a period of time, but after being discovered by his clansmen, he had to flee overnight.
With nowhere else to go, he could only choose to go to Dongcanghai.
After his tribesmen saw that he had gone to that place, they gave up their pursuit of him...
He didn't answer Yan Ling's question, but simply continued walking.
“I know that too,” Mo Li said.
"Oh ho ho, if I'm not mistaken, you must be the third prince of the Jiaolong clan, right? You're so precious, would your family allow you to go to a place like that?" Yan Ling turned to look at Mo Li and said.
“I haven’t been there, but…” Mo Li’s golden eyes darkened, and her voice was low, “My father told me about it.”
"Your father is quite impressive. How old is he this year?"
Mo Li looked down at the ground, her eyes lowered, and did not reply to him.
"If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute," Jin Tong snapped.
"What? I was just asking casually, what's wrong with that? I just wanted to know if I would recognize his father if he had been to Dongcanghai," Yan Ling retorted.
“You look younger than me, how could we possibly know each other? That’s impossible,” Jin Tong said.
"That's fine too..."
“My father… passed away some time ago,” Mo Li said.
Upon hearing this, Yan Ling was first surprised, then filled with remorse. This reminded him of his own background and circumstances, and a look of shame appeared in his eyes.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know that," Yan Ling said apologetically.
Then he stopped talking and just kept walking.
Compared to previous trips, the group was much quieter this time.
After crossing countless rivers and forests, the terrain becomes increasingly lower as you go east.
After taking several breaks, they still hadn't reached their destination by nightfall.
"Let's rest here for today," Nightmare, who was running ahead, said, finally stopping under a large tree.
After they stopped, they transformed into human form.
It was already evening, and the crimson sunset illuminated the entire sky, making the green forest seem as if it had been filtered through an orange-red lens.
Birds in the sky return to their nests, and fish in the river return to the bottom to rest.
Xuan Lin handed the beast meat he had brought to Shu Ning.
"No need, you keep it for yourself, I have some."
As Shu Ning spoke, she looked at them, searching for a person with bright red hair among them.
Xuan Lin frowned slightly upon hearing Shu Ning's words, and the force with which he was holding the food lessened.
Then, ignoring everything else, he simply took her hand and placed the meat in it.
"Ningning, I'm here, I'm here," Jin Tong said as she ran over.
Shu Ning held the meat that Xuan Lin had handed her, and seeing that Xuan Lin had already left, she sat down under another big tree and ate fruit alone.
Looking at the package containing the meat in her hand, a complex feeling welled up in her heart, which she couldn't quite describe.
"Don't worry about him, Ningning." Jintong opened the package and showed it to Shu Ning.
"These are dried animal meats I made, with salt and honey. Oh, and some marinated with scallions and Sichuan peppercorns too. Ningning, try them!" Jin Tong said expectantly to Shu Ning.
Seeing the happiness on Jin Tong's face, Shu Ning couldn't bear to refuse and picked up a piece to try.
"How is it?" Jin Tong was even happier to see Shu Ning eating his food.
"Mmm..." Shu Ning said between chews, "Delicious!"
"Really?" Jin Tong said, "This is something I figured out myself, and of course, it's also thanks to Ning Ning for finding these seasonings beforehand."
"I found it?" Shu Ning asked curiously.
“Yes, you found a lot of the seasonings here,” Jin Tong said, pulling her hand to sit under the tree.
"I never knew I was so amazing before."
"Of course, not only these, you've also looked for..."
Hearing Jin Tong and Shu Ning chatting happily, Xuan Lin's silver eyes darkened, and a complex feeling welled up in his heart.
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