Chapter 757 - This Must Be It! (2/2)

“So, does that mean that our tribe can continue to exist?” A light of hope flashed across Gan Qie’s eyes, but the next moment, Shao Xuan poured cold water on this hopeful thought.

“I’m afraid you don’t understand the current situation in the desert. Do you know how you got there?” Shao Xuan asked.

Gan Qie looked expectantly at Shao Xuan, waiting for him to elaborate. Ever since he woke up, he trusted Shao Xuan for no apparent reason. He just found him trustworthy, and he couldn’t understand why he felt this way. He just did. Perhaps it was because Shao Xuan’s energy influenced him to wake up in the first place.

Shao Xuan told him briefly about their trip to the desert.

The Rain and Han tribe were mortal enemies. The battle back then left them both damaged. A once powerful tribe became an unknown tribe and barely managed to survive. The other seemed to have won, but actually suffered greater losses. It was as if their entire tribe had to pay for the consequences.  Now, Shao Xuan didn’t want to see them fighting anymore, so he could only direct their hatred towards the desert.

“I’m guessing the other nine are not in a very good condition.” This was not an unfounded guess either.

“The people from Rock Hill City could enslave the dead and use them as puppets. Now, it seems like they already dug out the Han tribesmen’s bodies and distributed them to every slave master. The only problem they’re facing is that the Han tribesmen’s bodies are not easy to control due to their special physique, and I’m not sure how many of these people from the Han tribe have been made into reanimated corpses.”

Every word Shao Xuan said seemed to infuriate Gan Qie, and the more he told him, the stronger his murderous energy grew. Now, the air seemed to be tainted with viscous blood, which made Zheng Luo shiver outside the secret room. This kept him on his guard, ready to take action if the person inside launched a sudden attack.

“If you don’t believe me, I can prove it to you. I just don’t know how high the success rate is, and I don’t know for sure if it will really happen.”

“How long will it take?” Gan Qie asked. If it needed too long, he would immediately leave to investigate in the desert.

“Very soon, it might happen these few days,”Shao Xuan said.

Gan Qie decided to wait. He stayed in this secret room and followed Shao Xuan’s instructions. He would wait here until what Shao Xuan said happened.

Seeing Shao Xuan come out of the secret room, Zheng Luo hurriedly walked up to him and asked, “So he actually remembers?”

“It seems like it.”

“Could it be that his head hadn’t recovered when he first woke up, and now he’s recovering after his nap?” Zheng Luo guessed. He thought about the event Shao Xuan warned about, and asked, “How should we make arrangements? Do we need to strengthen our security?”

“No, just do what we did before. If we make it seem too deliberate, it might not be good.”

“That’s true. Then what’s he going to eat?” Zheng Luo asked.

“Tell someone to send in a bottle of blood. He has regained his senses and rationality. Before understanding his current situation, he won’t attack us. But just in case, if I have time, I’ll personally come and bring him the blood.”

“Don’t worry, keep your focus over there,” Zheng Luo pointed in the direction of their headquarters. He also wanted to get a crystal metal weapon as soon as possible. “I’m here, just leave it up to me. If something strange happens, I’ll go look for you.”

Shao Xuan talked with Zheng Luo and Duo Kang about the arrangements before heading to headquarters. They had already begun casting the crystal metal. Gongjia Ren and the others were still unfamiliar with the procedure, so Shao Xuan had to check on them.

Two days later.

At night, a dark shadow ran past the side of the empty trading point, like a ghost in the night. He was skilled in hiding his presence. When he ran, his motions were synced with the sound of the wind. He was so skilled in hiding himself that no one noticed in every room he passed by.

This black shadow approached the Flaming River Castle, and as soon as a guard left his post, he climbed up the stone wall like a gecko.

“Hey, what are you doing there?” several Flaming Horn warriors held the water moon stone up and asked the person who was squatting on the ground beside the wall of the fortress.

“My stomach hurts, so I didn’t follow them out to patrol,” the person stood up and answered. He had a similar outfit and ornaments as the other guards on patrol, and he was indeed a guard who was stationed there, or at least he looked like him.

“Is it serious?” someone asked caringly.

“It’s not serious. I just need to rest for a while.”

Not far away, a few Flaming Horn warriors laughed, “You stole something to eat, didn’t you. Or is that just an excuse to be lazy? Don’t get caught by Elder Zheng Luo.”

“Alright, I know, I know!” the person standing by the wall waved at them. “You guys should get back to patrolling too. Don’t be lazy.”

“You’re telling us to not be lazy now?” Ha!” Those Flaming Horn warriors laughed as they left.

After those few Flaming Horn warriors left, the person who was leaning against the wall laughed and his face twitched. He started to laugh derisively.

Flaming Horn guards? What a joke!

He sneaked into the Flaming River Castle and hid in a dark corner. No one patrolling outside could spot him now since no one would pass by at this time.

He took out a round wooden box and turned the lid. Inside, there was a brown-yellow worm as long as a fingernail.

The man observed the worm as it wriggled against one corner of the round box. The worm stopped at one point and bumped its head against the side of the box.

After seeing this, the man closed the lid and sneaked towards the direction the worm pointed to. In the middle of the night, he had to avoid the Flaming Horns, so he took careful steps towards that direction, until he found the entrance that led him to the secret underground room.

There were people around, and that person waited for a while until they passed. His hands reached behind his back and gently shook, and a thin object similar to a cicada wing fell to his palms. It was similar to crushed claws of a beast.

He was about to kill the two Flaming Horn soldiers who guarded there, but when he heard footsteps approach, he decided to wait a little longer.

“Hey, you two! The leader called for you,” the person who came to the aisle called out to the two soldiers at the entrance.

“What’s wrong?” The two soldiers were puzzled.

“I don’t know. The leader has something to tell you. It should be about that monster, so hurry and come back quickly.”

The three soldiers left the scene. After the sound of footsteps slowly faded, the person finally came out of the shadows. With his experience, he easily found the location of the entrance.

He carefully pulled open the stone slab that was keeping the door shut. In his heart, he cursed the Flaming Horns for placing such a heavy stone slab there.

After sneaking into the underground room, there were no water moon stones and no light source at all. He didn’t take out any incandescent gemstones and kept advancing into the room.

After making sure that no one else was in the room, he took out a small bead and brought out the same wooden box with the worm inside to check which secret room it was.

He finally walked up to a door and forcefully pulled the stone door open. Again, he cursed the Flaming Horns for using such heavy stones for their doors.

The door opened, but there was no one in the room. He tried his best to sense every movement and sound in the room. There was no breath, no heartbeat, not even a pulse, but his target was here.

Looking inside the room, he found a long large wooden box on the ground. The lid of the box was covered and it was exactly as his employer had described.

This must be it!