Chapter 129: The Fragrance of the Handsome Guy

Traveling in the desert is a very boring thing. The only scenery along the way is sand, silent sand, sand blown by the wind, sand that drills into people's eyes...sand, sand, all sand.

Oh, and there's also the scorching sun above your head that seems to want to dry out your brains.

Just looking at the yellow sand makes your throat dry. If you open your mouth under the scorching sun, you're afraid that smoke will come out of it. But the most precious thing in the desert is water. Even if your mouth is so dry that you can lick the skin, you can't drink the water hanging on the camel's back as you wish.

This is a desert, and the water in the desert is worth a ton of money.

The only ones who could be leisurely here, apart from the camel that kept moving its mouth to chew the cud, were Tarona, who was wearing a cloak and chatting with Seth.

[Dead Sea Mermaids] are no longer pure mermaids. The desert can dry out mermaids, but it cannot pose any threat to the modified body.

If it wasn't for dealing with the extremely sensitive Chu Liuxiang, she wouldn't even have to pretend to breathe.

Shi Tuo, who was leading the way in front, had only drunk one sip of water since the start in the morning. Hu Tiehua, who was following behind Ji Bingyan, had already drunk half a water bag. Chu Liuxiang, who was at the end, drank less than the other two and his lower lip was so dry that it was about to peel.

The three martial arts masters were so angry at the desert that they lost all their temper. The hot sun made their brains dizzy. If you ask them what they want most, they will answer in unison: "Water! The more the better!"

It would be best if they could jump in and take a bath!

Unfortunately, there is not even a bit of water nearby, but there are a few dry logs that can make sounds when knocked.

Shi Tuo also did not react at all and just led the way, which showed that he did not smell the scent of water.

Tarona looked ahead and realized that at the rate they were moving, the nearest water source would still be at least three or four days away.

Ji Bingyan prepared a lot of water. This time they would not encounter people who were chasing the Peng Family Escort Agency. The water was enough for them to reach the nearest water source.

However...

Tarona turned around to look at Chu Liuxiang, who had been quiet for a while. He was taking off his water bag and preparing to take a sip to quench his thirst. When he saw him looking at him, he was stunned for a moment, then smiled and looked at him. His eyes, which were still calm and warm after being exposed to the sun for so long, seemed to be asking: What's wrong?

The witch shook her head at him, took out a water bag that she had not touched, and stretched out her arm to pass it to him: "Drink it, don't hold on to it. Lack of water in the desert is a terrible thing."

As the saying goes, no matter how good your martial arts skills are, you are still afraid of a kitchen knife. Even a strong man like Ye Di cannot survive a day of sunbathing in the desert with only a few sips of water.

Nature is the fairest existence. Under the scorching sun, all living beings are equal and will all be dried up by the sun.

Chu Liuxiang obviously did not expect that Miss Doris would give him her own water, and she also noticed that he had not drunk much water along the way. This caused ripples in Xiang Shuai's heart, which was deeply affected.

He originally wanted to say no, because the amount of water to bring and the amount of water each person would get were all discussed and determined before setting out. If he took the bag of water now, it would mean that Miss Doris would have one less bag of water. How could he do that?

But his eyes were quicker than his mouth—

It was a bit rude, but his eyes still uncontrollably fell on the black-haired beauty's moist red lips.

The red of her lips was not intense, but gentle like the sunset glow, and like the brocade silk of the ancient Shu Kingdom that never went out, low-key exuding a warm glow.

Chu Liuxiang's face suddenly became hot, and he looked away evasively. He swallowed back the refusal that was on the tip of his tongue. He reached out and took the bag of water: "...Thank you."

Chu Xiangshuai, who was usually eloquent, seemed to have his tongue wrapped by some invisible force at this moment. He could only say thank you dryly, then lowered his eyes, not daring to look at anyone.

Tarona cast a layer of purification magic on herself to dispel negative effects. She looked at him for a while, and after making sure that the obsession in his eyes that was about to solidify into substance was fading away at a very slow speed, the great witch nodded with satisfaction, said you're welcome, and then turned around as if nothing had happened.

Do you feel embarrassed and ashamed to look into the eyes of the person you like?

Maybe, but it is more of a hidden rejection.

The charm of the mermaid made Chu Liuxiang less aware of this rejection, so he only felt ashamed or embarrassed to be protected by the girl who was supposed to be protected in the team.

Capable people will have this feeling. To put it bluntly, it is because their sense of morality is too high. People without conscience or with low moral sense will not have this feeling. They will only feel that the whole world owes them and that they should pay for it.

Who wouldn't like to be around someone with high moral standards? At least you don't have to worry about that person turning against you faster than turning the pages of a book.

Tarona observed and tested all the way, and finally strengthened the purification magic to the fourth level. Probably on the day they reach the nearest water source, the charm buff on Chu Liuxiang will be eliminated.

The witch curled her lips and said, "When that day comes, our bet will come to fruition."

Seth still insisted on his opinion: "You underestimated your charm, Miss Ta, you will know that I am right."

Rather than being enchanted, he believes in pure love.

Tarona: ...

Her charm?

The great witch tilted her head and thought for a moment, what kind of charm could she have? How could she not know?

Was it the charm that made her noticeable to superheroes within ten seconds of landing in the crowd? Or was it the charm that made her fake cooperation with super villains and she would be backstabbed within a few days? Or was it the charm that made her become the typical loser again and again in a different world?

Seth is still too naive. There is no such pure love here. This is not a sweet anime.

This is Chu Liuxiang, and this is a world of martial arts. The heroes of the world are not fussy about details. If they like someone, they get together. If they don't like someone, they break up. There are not many simple murders of love.

That's the reality.

But since Seth is so insistent, let him insist. There are only a few days left.

Tarona stroked his head lovingly with her eyes from a distance, looking forward to seeing him turn into a cat.

Her Theseus was not as easy to fool as Seth. Sometimes he was even smarter than her and would not be fooled at all.

He thinks his own mimicry is great, extremely good, and very much in line with his aesthetic, so he looks down on the fluffy cat mimicry and refuses to fulfill his partner's tiny wish.

Humans are very good at self-comfort.

Theseus can't see it, and the same goes for Seth. Absolutely love this meal replacement!

Chu Liuxiang, who was made the subject of a bet between one person and one system, began to daydream after receiving the water bag. Camel led him away, and his eyes were focused on the water bag in his hand. His mind was empty and his attention was not focused.

He could hear the voices of Hu Tiehua and Ji Bingyan in front of him, but he couldn't hear clearly what they were saying. He could only vaguely make out that they were discussing whether there was an oasis ahead.

Oasis...?

Chu Liuxiang felt a little dizzy.

He slowly closed his eyes, still holding the water bag tightly in his hand, and his body swayed slightly back and forth as the camel moved forward.

…He actually fell asleep on the camel.

On the camel, under the scorching sun, fell asleep.

Invisible pink threads entwined themselves around his fingers, arms, waist and thighs; one or two crept slowly into his eyes.

If this was the sea, he could no longer control his yearning for the sea and would just dive into it.

His deeper consciousness will whisper in his ear, telling him that his lover is waiting for him at the bottom of the sea.

So, there's nothing wrong with the big desert, right?

Pop.

The pink threads that penetrated into Chu Liuxiang's eyes broke silently and quickly shattered in the air. Then, the threads wrapped around his arms gradually took on the shape of being slowly straightened.

Just wait a little longer and they will—

Bang!

Break, shatter.

When he opened his eyes again, Chu Liuxiang felt that his head, which was almost tanned by the sun, had become much clearer. The bag of water was still firmly in his hand. It was full, and its original owner had not even drunk a sip.

Chu Liuxiang raised his eyes and looked forward again. The infatuation hidden in his eyes had faded a little. The impulse in his heart to live with Miss Doris for the rest of his life and retire from the world to live a free and easy life had once again lurked in the lake of his heart.

Chu Xiangshuai was not only confused, but he was no longer a teenage boy. How could he suddenly come up with such a reckless idea?

Even though he was moved, he shouldn't... shouldn't...

What shouldn't you do?

Chu Liuxiang had forgotten the very natural and possessive approach he had taken not long ago. He blinked and felt a little dizzy again.

Pop.

One of the pink threads wrapped around his little finger broke.

He swallowed the question that was about to reach his throat, closed his eyes so as not to disturb Doris who seemed to be taking a nap, and at the same time saved his own energy.

There are many different forces in the desert. It is still unknown whether Black Pearl is a friend or an enemy. The Stone Guanyin is known to the world for her fierceness. The various tribes in the desert are not united, and the open and covert struggles are exciting. They are alone, so they must be careful.

Ji Bingyan also thought so, so he only brought two people into the desert. With fewer people, they could best conceal their whereabouts.

Suddenly, a faint sweet and fishy smell blew in the wind. Camel didn't notice it. Ji Bingyan and Hu Tiehua, who were discussing whether there would be an oasis ahead, didn't notice it. Chu Liuxiang, who closed his eyes and felt dizzy, didn't notice it. Xiao Pan, who was the last one to come back, didn't notice it either.

Only Shi Tuo noticed it.

He paused for a moment, and before the camel's retracted hooves had time to touch the sand, the reins that were tied to it were pulled.

The leading camel took a small step to the right, and the entire route veered to the right.

The transformed mermaid, who had closed his eyes and prepared to wait for a while, opened his silver-gray eyes and looked at Shi Tuo who was leading the way in the front, with curiosity and confusion in his eyes.

Following this route, they would encounter another oasis, but the time to get there would be twice as long.

Going straight takes less than four days, but going right takes eight days.

Did Shi Tuo make a mistake?

No, he knew the desert very well, and this understanding had rooted fear and hatred in his mind.

He lost his sight and hearing, but his other senses were heightened, and his intuition was comparable to that of the most sensitive animals.

But after walking for a day, he suddenly took the people behind him and took another longer road.

Why is this?

Why should we seek something far away instead of something near?

Is the nearest oasis poisonous?

Tarona took another look at the oasis. It looked normal, with small animals drinking water and eating grass in the grass.

Look at another oasis, which is smaller than the previous one and has even poorer resources.

So why?

What happened just now that caused Shituo to suddenly change direction?

The transformed mermaid who didn't need to breathe and couldn't breathe was puzzled, so she decided -

Look, wait.

Let’s see if Shituo will continue to turn.

When he turns, immediately capture the surrounding data and analyze the differences.

At this moment, Tarona inexplicably thought of those people who were hunting down the Five Tigers of Pengmen. Could Shituo's sudden departure be related to them?

Or, could it be related to [Deadly Coral]?

If you have...

The witch laughed.

It's really interesting, who is behind this?