This grassland is too big and empty, and the colors are exactly the same everywhere. There was not a single tree, just an occasional bush or two. It was very eye-catching in the vast flat land, but it was not enough to be recognized as a sign. The few people could only identify the direction through the position of the sun.
Now, on to their first night here.
Since they didn't have horses, they didn't go very far today. There was no shelter around, and they only found a small patch of bushes that barely blocked the wind, but the effect was almost negligible. Because the terrain is wide, the wind is always strong, but fortunately it does not happen often. They built a fire for warmth and stood very close to each other, using their bodies to block the wind. They were all awake and couldn't fall asleep. At night, it was still very cold here, but the blankets and other luggage were all in Qinglize, so there was nothing we could do. Aluan was small and the coldest. He wished he could stuff himself into the bonfire in front of him.
"This area is the Blue Glass Plains." Shi Wuqi lit up the fire. "I heard from Mr. Gao Yue that the Green Glass Plains are expanding unknowingly because the mud at the junction has absorbed enough water, the soil is cold, and the flowers and plants grow slowly. You guys Looking at the area where we fought with those monsters when we left, the soil is blue-gray. There are also many aura-rich green colored glazes in Qinglize, which were also bred in the process of swamp transformation."
"Is Lord Gaoyue expanding his territory?" Shanhai asked.
"I also think she did it intentionally and tried to speed up the process. The little animals and monsters in Biliyuan had to adapt to the climate of Qinglize. Even if there were thousands of dissatisfactions, they couldn't do anything."
"It's so cold." Dai Luan rubbed her hands and moved her butt closer to the fire. "How long do we have to walk to the nearest city?"
Mu Wan thought about it: "The nearest city may be Mr. Ye's hometown... I think it's not too far away. By then, we can write to Qing Lize's shop and ask them to give us the things."
"Friendly reminder" Shi Wuqi interrupted, "We may not have enough money."
"..."
Which pot is not opened and lifted? This empty and lonely night is even colder.
"We can think of a way to deal with money. The most important thing in the world is money." Shan Hai's tone was light.
"Your apprentice must have suffered a lot from you." Shi Wuqi suppressed a smile.
"Don't get used to the disease of wealth."
Aluan rolled his eyes: "Although I really don't have it, you can't say that!"
"Okay, okay, go to sleep now...we have to go on the road tomorrow."
Mu Wan reconciled and sighed again. He didn't know whether he felt helpless because of this dispute, or because he was lamenting about the past or the future. Miss Qi reached out and rubbed Aluan's head, and Shi Wuqi said to her:
"If you can't sleep, can I tell you some ghost stories about Biliyuan?"
"Don't listen to the bastard chanting sutras."
"Who do you think is the bastard? And you girl, don't you think you are very brave?"
"No, I'm scared after what happened with Kuang Gu. Don't you accept it?"
"...I'm convinced. But I still have to say that we have to be awake and take turns on duty - I once received the little monsters near Biliyuan in the Weeping Corpse House. This place is weird despite the fact that there are no animal bunkers. The monsters are pretty good."
Due to occupational disease and some normal curiosity, Shanhai asked him what kind of monsters he was. The answer he got was within his prediction - it was nothing more than the animals trying to survive here cultivating themselves into monsters one after another. It is not an easy task to make a difference on this land. Here is the vast sea, the vast desert, and the vast snowfield; there is nothing, starting from scratch, with a beginning and no end.
Late at night. Every half hour, they would change someone to keep watch. The next person in Shanhai is Shi Wuqi. After a while, it was time for Wu Qi to take a break. He lay down on his side, and Miss Qi patted Mu Wan awake. She opened her eyes drowsily, sat up straight, and neither of them spoke.
In fact, she didn't get a good rest. Aluan and Shanhai have slept in the open many times before, so they are used to this. This is indeed the first time for Mu Wan. Sometimes the Xue Yan Sect had some commissions or trainings, and during the vigil everyone would urge her to sleep so as not to let her worry. In other words, at that time, she was Aluan in the sect.
Want to go back? If asked, she would probably say, forget it.
Fortunately, her parents and brother are both upright people, and they taught her to be an upright person. She never takes advantage of her special status or other people's concerns to do whatever she wants, and she also knows clearly that every kindness is hard-won. Life in the past was wonderful, but no one can live in the past, and no one should live in the past.
People should grow up.
Looking up at the starry sky, Mu Wan felt a little familiar. Biliyuan is sparsely populated, the air is clean, and there are a few particularly bright stars that are very eye-catching. The sky here was very similar to that of Xueyan Valley. She knew that at night, the ink-colored sky of Xueyan Valley was dotted with stars one after another, forming a continuous layer on top of each other. It should be the same here, but the moon's light is too bright tonight, eclipsing the stars.
The moon is only a little bit short of perfection.
It will be the Mid-Autumn Festival in a few days, and no one mentioned it on the road. I wonder if they will remember it. The last time she noticed such a beautiful moon was when she was writing a letter to the sect during the Qixi Festival in Jiangyuan Town. I don’t know if the letter has been received. How much she wanted to receive a reply - she saw people from the master's school signing different names in different words, crowded with concerned greetings. Senior sister's handwriting is the most delicate, and the words between the lines are also the gentlest. She was a stern person, but when she wrote, she seemed like a different person.
Whatever happened in the past years, she would always be like this when she traveled far away. But it won't happen this time, because no one knows where she is, and no one knows how to get the reply to her.
She took a deep breath of the fresh cold air of the grassland and was about to spit it out when she suddenly heard a rustling sound nearby. She instinctively grabbed her umbrella and listened. But there is no evil spirit here - there is, but it is very light, probably brought by the wind from a distance. Ah...so, it turned out to be the wind.
Mu Wan felt that she had become too sensitive, and she didn't know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing. Master once said to her in a casual chat that when you truly grow up, you understand life, but people become dull and it is rare to be confused. She didn't know what dullness was or how to become dull. She only knew that the master might... really not be able to come back.
Want to go back? The poisonous oath she swore became a joke, not to mention that she was not willing to end it hastily like this. Wandering around the world was not bad, but life without a goal was really boring, and there was a stone in her heart. All this is like a shadow, and I can't get rid of it. Mu Wan thought that she always had to see Yingyue Jun first. Even if some words were unpleasant or heartless, she wouldn't believe them unless she heard them with her own ears. If it were true, she would also kill Yingyue Jun.
If the master dies...why? Is it because Lord Yingyue didn't ask about the whereabouts of Lord Shuangyue and the Demon-Sealing Blade, so he became so angry that he killed and silenced them? Not necessarily, the sect leader is so strong, it should be more than enough to deal with a child. But if so, why was he kidnapped? There were too many questions to answer, and she wanted to know the answers.
The sun rose high the next day, the air became warm, and the fragrance of the green grass was evaporated, which was much better than the burning sensation of the scorching sun. I don’t know since when, the weather has become less hot. Several people were walking on the road, feeling a little sleepy due to the sun. After all, no one except Aluan had a complete sleep last night.
Suddenly, Shi Wuqi took two steps forward.
He noticed that among the scent of grass, there was a strong smell of blood approaching. Shi Wuqi turned around and stopped them. Shanhai also noticed something strange and stopped. The smell was getting closer and closer, accompanied by the powerful demonic aura. Shi Wuqi turned his head and carefully observed the direction of the smell.
Suddenly, a huge blue-gray animal broke through the grass and came towards them. Shi Wuqi was startled for a moment, and instinctively wanted to fight, but the figure quickly avoided them. Even so, the strong fishy smell on it is still very pungent, but the blood does not necessarily belong to it. Everyone was stunned. It came and ran so fast that almost none of them could see it clearly. Dai Luan was not nervous, just a little confused.
"Then, what is that?"
"A wolf monster." Shi Wuqi frowned and looked at the direction in which it ran away. "It's not just the blood on the body... it's also injured, but not deeply."
"This is too big..."
Mu Wan sighed. It's not that she has never seen such a big monster before, but this is the first time she has seen such a big wolf monster. She had seen and dealt with monsters that were much bigger than it, but although this wolf was not that huge, it was far larger than the size of an ordinary prairie wolf, and the fangs she saw in an instant were also very scary. This kind of body shape makes people feel more real and dangerous.
Shanhai picked up his chin and pondered on the spot. After a while, he knelt down and looked carefully at the grass where the wolf demon passed. Some of the grass was corroded, whether it was caused by its saliva or blood.
"Being injured and running away means..." Shan Hai straightened up, "Someone is chasing it."
Shi Wuqi rolled his eyes: "Seventeen people, all riding horses. There are more behind, I can't hear clearly."
As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of horse hooves gradually became clearer, from far to near.
A young man riding a white horse appeared in front of them. The horse's coat is very bright and glows golden in the sun. It can be seen that it is well maintained. Its muscle lines are also very clear, just like its owner, the rider, is wearing a very special hat and not many clothes, but the fabric looks very strong. He has a dark complexion, a tough face, and a strong body. He holds a bloody spear in his hand. After he dismounted, he looked them up and down, his eyes especially lingering on the two men for a while. His companions on the horse behind him also had a straight face, holding the reins, and looking at them as if judging prisoners.
"Where did it come from? Did you see a big wolf scurrying past?"
His voice is loud and can be heard far even in the vast grasslands. Without waiting for any of them to answer first, the rider said something else:
"That beast bit our princess!"
"Princess?" Dai Luan pricked up her ears.
