Chapter 802 - Blood (1/2)

Shao Xuan ignored Yi Qi and Yi Cong, who both did not look good. Yi Qi seemed severely injured, forcing out only one word before fainting. Their slaves were frantically trying to treat them.

Shao Xuan looked away. He was starving and already seeing stars from walking a few steps. He steadied himself to make a trap. With his current strength, he had no way of hunting another animal.

While waiting, Shao Xuan ate some prey that Chacha brought him. Since Chacha only ate raw meat and Shao Xuan had no strength to cook it, he ate all of it raw. At the tribe and during hunts, they often encountered situations when they could not start a fire so eating raw meat was not uncommon.

While waiting for prey, Shao Xuan noticed that something was wrong. Now that he had some food in him and caught his breath, he made an unusual observation.

When he came here, it was winter. Although the climate around the mountain range did not change much throughout the year, the trees would still change. These trees bore fruit when he arrived but right now, there were no signs of fruits on the trees, nor were there rotten, fallen fruits on the ground.

He had an even stranger feeling when he walked higher up to look far across the horizon.

“Hm?” Shao Xuan sensed a familiar aura approaching soundlessly.

Soon, a figure emerged from the trees.

“Gan Qie?” Shao Xuan gawked at the person.

Gan Qie was clad in a grey linen cloak. It was daytime but he still had his hood on as usual.

Shao Xuan did not expect to see him here. “Why are you here?”

“For you.” Gan Qie looked around, his eyes lingering in Yi Cong and Yi Qi’s direction for a few seconds, then turned to Shao Xuan. “You were gone for too long and the Flaming Horn Tribe became worried.”

“Was I gone for long?” Shao Xuan knew that time passed differently in that strange dark realm but he estimated himself to be gone for about ten days.

“It will be full moon in a few days.” Gan Qie did not specify but Shao Xuan understood that he had been gone for half a year.

It was no wonder that the Flaming Horns were worried. He said he wanted to check on King City’s people in the forest but then disappeared for half a year. Winter was long gone, even the monsoon had ended.

Shao Xuan knew Gan Qie would not lie about this and he could prove this at night by looking at the moon. He believed Gan Qie.

So he was gone for more than half a year! So that was why he had a strange feeling about the forest.

Shao Xuan remembered that winter had just ended when he entered the dark realm. How could half a year pass in the blink of an eye?

To Shao Xuan, that battle was just half a day but so much time had passed in the real world!

It was difficult to imagine fighting for half a year.

“We didn’t receive news about you so I came to check,” explained Gan Qie briefly. “Other people could not sense your location but I think your shaman can. She could not leave the tribe so she pointed us in an approximate location.”

Gan Qie briefly explained the reason he was here.

The Flaming Horn Tribe had discussed internally about searching for Shao Xuan but in the end, Gan Qie volunteered to look for him in the forest, being able to sense his location.

Gan Qie did not like travelling with others. He did not take his previous hunt with the few tribes seriously either- everyone feared him and he was impatient to travel with them. That was why he rejected the tribe’s proposal to send a team together with Gan Qie.

In truth, it was more convenient and easier for him to travel solo.

Shao Xuan studied him carefully and nodded. “Not bad, your face is redder. Looks like the forest is treating you well.”

The pale green in his face had gradually improved to a more human colour, though still paler than regular people. Right now, he looked very healthy and strong. How much blood did he drink for this?

How did Gan Qie find Shao Xuan? When Shao Xuan revived Gan Qie, the special powers he used brought Gan Qie back from the brink of death could not be used to track Shao Xuan too.

With an ‘undead’ body, Gan Qie moved easily in the forest compared to others.

“Was your journey smooth? Is the tribe doing well?” asked Shao Xuan.

Gan Qie thought for a moment and gave one word– “Fine.” This told Shao Xuan that his journey was smooth and the tribe was alright.

He did not plan to get much information out of him either. Gan Qie was not a talker and did not show much interest in many things.

However, when Shao Xuan thought Gan Qie would remain silent, Gan Qie continued.

“I saw a bat. A very large bat, almost entering the king beast realm. Should be the one you encountered before.” Gan Qie gestured to show the bat’s size.

“The one from bat mountain?” Shao Xuan knitted his brows. That bat was a tricky one. “It hurt you?”

Gan Qie shook his head with an odd expression. “No.”

Gan Qie had encountered the bat while searching for food. They both loved hunting at night, both sucked blood and had natural instincts about which beasts had the best blood. Since they had similar diets, it was not strange that they met each other. But how did Gan Qie escape from its claws unscathed?

He continued to elaborate.

Not only did the bat not hurt him, but they both also became allies of a sort. The bat did not attack Gan Qie, then Gan Qie gifted it some prey, which was accepted. Afterwards, it even helped Gan Qie fend off two difficult fearsome beasts.

Shao Xuan was shocked to hear such a thing.

“Based on your capabilities, what would happen if you had to fight the bat?” asked Shao Xuan.

“I’d lose,” confirmed Gan Qie. While he was called ‘undead’, it did not mean he could not die. He too had limitations and in face of that giant bat, he knew he could not win if they ever fought.

“But it has a familiar aura, similar to mine.” Gan Qie looked at Shao Xuan. “How did you meet the bat?”

Meet? Shao Xuan thought for a moment, briefly describing the time he first met the giant bat, omitting the part with the fire crystals. The fire crystals were a Flaming Horn secret, few people knew of the ore within the tribe. Since Gan Qie was no Flaming Horn, Shao Xuan did not need to tell him about them.

Shao Xuan described how the giant bat fought the other ‘candidates’ for the position of the bat leader in more detail. That was an unexpected encounter too. Shao Xuan remembered he was only holding fire crystals but did not realise that the morphing bat had already absorbed its powers. This giant bat was the first to complete its transformation, then it killed all the other candidates and finally became the only leader of the bats.