The flickering firelight illuminated the ever-changing expressions on the faces of the three figures.
“Let us pass. There are demons in the mountains that are hunting humans. We are all human and should stick together.”
One of the figures spoke, intending to reason with the people.
"Demon?"
Lin Ce extended his massive iron cudgel, blocking the other party's path.
"Is it right behind you? What kind of demon is it?"
The figure whose path was blocked looked ferocious.
"Let us pass, or don't mess with us if you don't want to die!"
As they spoke, three figures charged forward forcefully.
Lin Ce smiled.
"You're afraid of demons, but not me?"
The next moment, he swung his massive iron cudgel, and with a whooshing sound, he struck three figures.
"Phew~"
The giant iron rod passed through the three figures but did not hit any of them.
The three figures appeared somewhat distorted after being struck by the giant iron club.
This bizarre situation immediately startled everyone in the caravan.
Except for a few people, the rest couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts.
"They are not human."
Yu Jiu, who was standing not far behind Lin Ce, suddenly spoke up.
"It is related to demons, and is nothing but filthy things."
Li Qingshan, who came from a prominent sect, also spoke coldly, and was about to take out his xiao (vertical bamboo flute) to play another tune, "The Wind and Sand Are Tight".
He always liked to use this when dealing with unconventional entities.
But there's no need for him at all.
Lin Ce suddenly puffed out his cheeks and blew forward with a "whoosh".
"Splash!"
Suddenly, as if a gust of wind had suddenly risen, a scorching current swept away.
A faint scream rang out, and the three figures in front of them were instantly pulverized by the current of air and ceased to exist.
Li Qingshan stared wide-eyed at the scene in shock.
The three ghostly figures were extinguished by Lin Ce's breath.
Although the opponent was indeed slightly better than me in the recent sparring match, when did they become so strong?
Lin Ce didn't take it seriously.
In this world, it is only natural that martial artists can stand on equal footing with demons and monsters.
His breath just now aroused the intense energy within his body, which a mere Yin spirit naturally could not withstand.
"Who are they?"
Lin Ce asked Yu Jiu.
He knew the other party was a half-demon, and perhaps the other party's senses in this regard were indeed stronger than those of humans.
"It is a human spirit controlled by a demon, and it clearly carries the aura of a demon."
"Clearly carrying the aura of a demon?"
Li Qingshan was displeased. "How come I can't feel anything at all?"
Neither of them paid him any attention.
"Can you sense anything unusual over there?"
Lin Ce continued to ask Yu Jiu questions.
The "over there" he was referring to was naturally the direction from which the three figures were coming.
Apart from the initial screams and the arrival of three figures running over, the area remained calm.
Nothing changed until the three figures met with misfortune.
"Cannot be sensed."
Yu Jiu shook his head. "There was indeed a strong demonic aura at the beginning, but it has long since dissipated. It's probably gone."
Lin Ce nodded and gave instructions to the caravan members.
"Everyone, continue to rest where you are, and we'll continue tomorrow."
The manager of Baicao Sect was very worried and came to Lin Ce's side.
"Chief镖师 Lin, if there are demons over there, why are you still staying here instead of leaving elsewhere?"
"Where do we go? It's dark and the forest is deep in the night. Can the manager guarantee that we won't encounter any monsters in the direction we leave?"
Seeing that everyone was feeling down and uneasy, Lin Ce smiled and reassured them.
"Don't worry, no matter what kind of monster it is, if it were strong enough, it would have already attacked. What does it mean that it doesn't dare to come?"
"This means that the monster is not strong at all and has no confidence in dealing with us. Just as we are wary of it, it must also be wary of us."
The bodyguard Shang Shaofeng understood Lin Ce's meaning and was the first to step forward and respond.
Lin Ce nodded in satisfaction. Having a bodyguard like Shang Shaofeng in the escort agency was absolutely necessary.
As for Li Qingshan?
As long as he's happy.
The group felt somewhat relieved and spent the night in a state of unease, half asleep and half awake.
As soon as it was light, the manager of Baicao Sect urged the caravan to change their course.
Lin Ce secretly shook his head, but still granted his request.
On the surface, the caravan had moved away from the direction where the monster had appeared the night before, but whether this action was effective or not, only heaven knows.
Honestly, as long as we're still in this black mountain area, what difference does it make which direction we go?
Unless they stop collecting herbs and immediately go down the mountain.
But that's obviously impossible.
If the slightest potential danger forces us to turn back, then there's no point in the Hundred Herbs Sect Master spending money to hire a caravan of guards.
It must be said that Montenegro is now a treasure trove.
After changing direction, the herbalists collected many rare and precious medicinal plants, and their harvest was very gratifying.
"Chief镖师 Lin, we'd appreciate it if you could continue your duties and provide escort for two more days before we head back."
After roughly estimating the progress of the collection, the manager of Baicao Sect said this to Lin Ce.
Although one fears the monsters in the mountains, it is certainly unacceptable to enter a treasure mountain and return empty-handed.
"no problem."
Lin Ce nodded, without saying anything about the strange monsters in the mountains or the difficulty of protecting them.
He had roughly anticipated the situation he was facing when he set out to make the shipment.
Taking on escort duties is a matter of course; there's no need for excessive complaints.
"Hmm, something seems off here."
Things started to go wrong, not as smoothly as before.
During the herb gathering process, some herb gatherers discovered something unusual.
Soon, the mud layer was dug away, revealing what was underneath.
"It's a dead person."
Although surprised, the medicine apprentices did not panic; they simply reported the news to the caravan members.
"He died no more than two days ago."
Li Qingshan made his judgment.
Lin Ce nodded, indicating his agreement with this assessment.
Could it be the work of a demon?
The manager of Baicao Sect felt a tremor in his heart.
"No."
Lin Ce shook his head and turned the corpse over. "It's a knife wound. Demons generally rely more on themselves and rarely use human weapons."
As he spoke, he glanced almost imperceptibly at Yu Jiu beside him.
This one is an exception; she not only uses human weapons, but also, like human martial artists, practices martial arts.
Of course, whether half-demons can be considered demons is a topic worth exploring for both humans and demons.
"Were there others here before us?"
The manager of Baicao Sect panicked and subconsciously looked around.
Lin Ce knew what he was worried about and shook his head.
"They may not have come for the medicinal plants in the mountains. Unless you are professional herb gatherers, it would be difficult for the average person to accurately identify which rare medicinal plants need to be collected, right?"
"That's true."
The manager of Baicao Sect nodded, feeling somewhat relieved.
"There may be outsiders in these mountains and forests, so we will need to ask you all to take extra care in protecting them."
By nature, the manager of the Hundred Herbs Sect was less worried once he heard that it wasn't a demon.
They're just human martial artists; we have plenty of them on our side.
An entire caravan is guarding this place; any sensible martial artist would take a detour beforehand.
Lin Ce, however, was not as optimistic as the manager of the Hundred Herbs Sect.
He summoned several bodyguards and said:
"Did you notice anything about that corpse just now?"
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