Chapter 45 Together - 3 When dawn broke, Lu Qinghe...
As dawn broke, Lu Qing and Luo Sen gritted their teeth and struggled to their feet. Their bodies ached all over; the pain from their injuries was unbearable, and their limbs felt like they didn't belong to them. This was the first time either of them had ever experienced such suffering.
Seeing Luo Yuan and Qi Wu's gloating smiles, Lu Qing said fiercely, "So what if they're demonic beasts? If one comes, I'll take it on; if two come, I'll take them on both."
"No, Auntie." Lawson was almost in tears.
He thought to himself: "You should look at my parents' faces. They might not care how much you talk, but they're not afraid of how deep their trap is." "Take it easy," he said. "This Western Wilderness is vast. They say it's teeming with demons. We only have two people and four hands. Let's wait until our injuries heal before we exert ourselves, okay?"
Lu Qing raised her chin, about to say something, but then the conversation turned to her new injury from last night. The bold words she was about to utter turned into a cry, "Ouch, it hurts so much." She touched the wound on her neck, her eyes brimming with tears, and said, "Fine."
The aunt and nephew, being particularly shrewd, followed behind Luo Yuan and his wife, dejected and quiet, continuing their journey.
Luo Yuan and his wife started chatting casually, "Have you ever seen such a big food stall before?"
"No." Luo Yuan shook his head. "Perhaps many of those who came in earlier have already perished here."
Qi Wu chuckled, his meaning unclear.
Lu Qing couldn't help but interject, "Brother-in-law, we haven't encountered any powerful demons on our journey. How come such a powerful one suddenly appears?"
Luo Yuan patiently explained, "It's not that we haven't encountered them, but rather that we haven't. There must be a reason for this. Perhaps the snowfield is too cold, and even demons are unwilling to go there; or perhaps they have been attracted elsewhere by something. Don't be careless, though. In the Western Wilderness, the Food Pool isn't even considered a powerful demon."
Of course, such a large food stall is quite rare. But he kept that to himself.
Lu Qing and Luo Sen exchanged a glance, both seeing in each other the remnants of their shattered ambitions. Forget about chivalry and making a name for themselves; survival was the priority.
“However,” Lu Qing’s eyes darted around, “what were the self-protection methods you mentioned last night? Teach us quickly.”
Luo Yuan was speechless when asked the question.
Qi Wu mocked her, "How come your brain works so fast? You're always thinking of ways to take shortcuts. Wouldn't it be better to just focus on your cultivation?"
Lu Qing shook his head. "Cultivation is not something that can be accomplished overnight. So many demons are right in front of us. Even if we have to be clever, we must prioritize our survival."
Qi Wu was both annoyed and amused. He thought to himself that the Spirit Clan, generation after generation, had always been simple-minded. Those who managed to live peacefully had accumulated experience through countless hardships. But how did such a freak like Lu Qing emerge? Could it be that one truly is influenced by one's company?
Wu Chen, hundreds of miles away, suddenly sneezed, drawing Yu Jitang's attention.
Yu Jitang asked in surprise, "Are you feeling unwell?"
Wu Chen shook his head. "It's nothing."
Yu Jitang looked around; the ground was littered with the corpses of demons. The deeper they went into the wasteland, the more numerous and powerful the demons they encountered. Their pace slowed. "Do you think we've gone in the wrong direction? How come we haven't seen a single living person in all these days?"
Wu Chen wiped the Taiyi Sword clean and returned it to its sheath. "Perhaps we've gotten ahead of them. Anyway, since we're all in the Western Wilderness, we'll definitely meet in the end."
His calm tone made it seem as if these people were all fish in the same pond, and it was only a matter of time before they took the bait. Yu Jitang rolled his eyes. "Fine, you decide where to go? I'll listen to you. However, we seem to have passed a hot spring just now. How about we go wash up? I really can't stand being covered in blood and smelling so bad."
In fact, Wu Chen couldn't stand it either, so the two of them went back and came to a hot spring they passed by.
Yu Jitang looked around and, finding no trace of demons, took off his blood-stained and dirty clothes and jumped into the hot spring.
The two men, naturally, had no inhibitions, and Wu Chen also took off his shirt and entered the hot spring. The two divine servants, unusually unconcerned with their appearance, casually leaned against the rocks, closing their eyes to rest.
Wu Chen was never one to talk much. Yu Jitang, on the other hand, was talkative, both in words and in his heart.
He stole glances at Wu Chen for a while, clicking his tongue in amazement. Wu Chen's bearing was renowned throughout the Divine Palace, but he hadn't expected him to be so masculine and handsome even without clothes on—a well-defined chest and arms. Even he envied his physique. If the women who coveted Wu Chen saw this… He imagined Wu Chen being overwhelmed by a succession of women in the hot spring, and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Wu Chen opened his eyes and glanced at him, only to see Yu Jitang looking down at his own arm, smiling with satisfaction. The longer he spent with this guy, the more he realized he was a simpleton.
After taking a bath, Wu Chen got up and went behind the stone to change his clothes.
When Yu Jitang had soaked enough and remembered what was going on, he realized that he had been so happy taking off his clothes that he couldn't reach any clean ones. He didn't care if he was seen naked, but it would be embarrassing if he couldn't compete in that area. "Wu Chen, lend me some clothes first."
Wu Chen had prepared many spare clothes in his spirit pouch, so he casually picked up a brand new robe from the bottom and tossed it to Yu Jitang.
Yu Jitang reached out and grabbed it, touching it curiously and carefully. "How come you, a dignified divine servant, are dressed so simply?"
The robe was plain, without any embroidery or patterns, but the fabric was quite comfortable. It was the first time Yu Jitang had worn someone else's clothes, especially Wu Chen's, so he found it rather novel. He held the robe in his hands, examining it from all angles. "Huh, what's this?"
Wu Chen had already changed his clothes. "What?"
Yu Jitang pinched a seam of the outer robe. "What's inside? Why is it slightly thicker than the rest? What's its special purpose?"
Wu Chen frowned slightly and took the outer robe.
The place Yu Jitang was referring to was roughly below the knee, a spot he wouldn't normally touch when his hands were down or when adjusting his clothes. Given his usual quick and efficient dressing habits, he would almost never touch that area. Wu Chen pinched it with his hand and indeed felt something unusual. He sliced it open with his sword, revealing a piece of silk cloth through the tear in his robe.
It turned out to be a tracking talisman made of silk cloth.
Wu Chen took out the silk talisman and examined it carefully before tossing his outer robe to Yu Jitang.
Wu Chen was very familiar with the patterns on this talisman; it was a secret technique of the Divine Palace, which some outstanding disciples had the opportunity to learn after achieving merit. The person who made this silk talisman had ingeniously used silk imbued with spiritual energy to embroider it. Although laborious and time-consuming, it was impervious to water and stains. As long as he wore or carried this garment, he would definitely be found by his pursuers.
While Yu Jitang was dressing, Wu Chen thoroughly searched all the clothes in his spirit pouch and surprisingly found three tracking talismans. His clothes had all been prepared by the disciples of Nukun Peak. Who was so audacious as to dare use such methods on him!
After the initial surprise, Wu Chen felt mostly disappointed.
Yu Jitang was both surprised and amused, never expecting that Wu Chen would fall for someone else's scheme. Although their friendship wasn't what it used to be, seeing Wu Chen humiliated instantly soothed some of his pent-up frustrations from the past. It was strangely satisfying. This feeling of being in the same boat, of mutual understanding, of finally being evenly matched, made him want to laugh. "Who prepared these clothes for you? Could it be one of your disciples from Nukun Peak?"
Wu Chen gave a wry smile, clutching the few pieces of silk talisman, and sighed.
Seeing that he seemed genuinely hurt, Yu Jitang felt it would be hard to laugh at him again. "Don't overthink it. Perhaps one of those two was the one who did it."
Wu Chen put the talisman away. "We'll know once we see who's chasing after us."
Yu Jitang looked around and said, "Are we just going to wait here? There's a hot spring here, which is much better than the snow cave."
Wu Chen put the talismans together. "No, let's go back and find a crowded place to wait for them to come to us."
Yu Jitang preferred this suggestion; more people meant more excitement. Without hesitation, the two changed direction. Sure enough, they encountered people within two days.
There are not only people, but also demons.
The two sides clashed, blood and flesh flying everywhere, a scene of carnage.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 11:57:53 on June 29, 2020 and 11:18:48 on June 30, 2020!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Someone passed by with 8 bottles;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
