Chapter 362 (1/2)

In One's Hand

As altitude increased, the number of cracks on the ground increased and fewer plants grew. Most places only had bare stone and dry soil.

As the breeze weakened and the sun was scorching, most of the wild rats that were waiting here had all begun to be thirsty. They didn’t leave though, all they did was push against each other. They stared at the grains on top of the mountain that was slowly changing its color. They craned their necks trying their best to get a better view of the grains on top of the mountain.

The grains were changing color, it was now slightly lighter than before. The dull surface started to become shiny and it looked like it was coated with gold on it from a distance.

“Squeak ——”

One of the wild rats called out.

It was like a signal for them to take action. The squirming wild rats started to rush forward instantly.

When the first few large wild rats were about to jump and eat the grains, they suddenly heard a whistle as if something was shot from behind.

.

A crackling sound was heard immediately, the air filled with a pungent odor. Those wild rats that inhaled the fumes started to wobble.

That was just the beginning. After that, consecutive cracks were heard in succession, objects hurled into the crowd of rats.

Shao Xuan held his breath and kept throwing the “artifact”. He quickly ran to the top of the mountain and waited there, smashing fruits while dealing with the wild rats running at him.

The medicine prepared by the old man had already rendered most of the rats unconscious. Although the medicine couldn’t deal with all of the rats, it did greatly relieve Shao Xuan’s burden. To Shao Xuan, the remaining wild rats were quite easy to deal with. After all, these were just rats and not ferocious beasts. Shao Xuan smashed the “artifacts” with one hand, the other hand held a broom-like thing made by tying branches together and swept vigorously when he saw any wild rats rushing at him.

Initially, Shao Xuan would’ve preferred to use some other weapon that was more powerful. But the old man had made this broom himself and said it would be useful against the wild rats. And so Shao Xuan decided to use it.

As expected, after being swept by the “broom”, the wild rats seemed to have something sticking on their body that greatly irritated them. They then hesitated and stopped immediately.

Some of the few big wild rats that jumped managed to bite the grains. Mid-leap, they collapsed on the ground after inhaling the powder as their legs weren’t able to support them.

However, they were physically stronger compared to other wild rats. They knew they were in danger so they quickly bit the grains and broke into a run. Unfortunately, the old man was waiting for them.

Sadly, the drug was not as strong as its powder form and wasn’t able to knock the rats out. But for now, the residues were strong enough to deal with these big wild rats.

The old man was relieved when he saw Shao Xuan standing on top of the mountain, fighting fiercely against the crowd of wild rats. At least the old man was able to concentrate on those rats that managed to bite the grains. Snatching food from the wild rats was what the old man needed to do now.

After Shao Xuan had finished using all of the “artifacts”, all of the wild rats had fainted and it looked like the mountain top was covered in a carpet of rat skin.

The other rats that managed to escape from the medicine were all swept away and knocked out by Shao Xuan’s broom.

After the old man had dealt with the big wild rats, he immediately ran up to the mountain top and carefully touched the bunch of grains. He was unsure if these plants grew annually and therefore did not dare to chop all of them off. Otherwise, he would have instructed Shao Xuan to chop the grains off and take all of them away to avoid fighting against the wild rats all the time.

The old man lifted his hands, then put light pressure on the grains and managed to pick them.

After the grains were all collected into a bag, the old man called out to Shao Xuan, “Let’s go, don’t bother the remaining rats.”