Chapter 14

After walking for nearly half an hour, there was still no sign of anyone, and the white fog did not seem to thin out. The further they went, the more strange and bizarre things jumped out, all with attack power.

Even though it was not difficult to deal with them, Shen Yao Xing was annoyed. It required some physical strength to deal with them endlessly, not to mention that she also had to find someone.

Seeing another wild boar charging towards her in a frenzy, Shen Yao Xing clicked her tongue impatiently and waved her dagger to kill it with one strike.

She never knew there were so many animals in the nearby mountains before. Moreover, these animals seemed to have agreed to charge at her. The rustling sound beside her ears sounded again. Shen Yao Xing skillfully swung her dagger to cut off the vines attacking from the side.

She sighed and held onto a tree trunk beside her, but instead of the unique roughness of wood, she felt the slimy touch like a fish’s body.

“Huh?” Shen Yao Xing flicked her hand in disgust and frowned at the big tree in front of her. Unlike other trees that were white or brown, it was like being covered with a layer of green moss, with green viscous liquid constantly dripping down.

Shen Yao Xing quickly backed away a few steps. She hadn’t noticed it earlier when the fog was thick. Now that she saw it clearly, it was so ugly that it was a bit nauseating, and the tree trunk kept oozing green viscous liquid.

How disgusting!

Shen Yao Xing kept backing away and bumped into the tree trunk behind her. Her body stiffened, and she slowly turned her head. Sure enough, the green unknown liquid had stuck to her clothes. She quickly stepped back and took out a handkerchief to frantically wipe the unknown substance on her shoulders.

At this time, the fog thinned at a visible speed. Looking around, she was surrounded by trees oozing green viscous liquid, as if she was enclosed in the middle.

Shen Yao Xing frowned slightly, picked up a wooden stick and poked at the dripping viscous liquid. She hesitated for a moment, then carefully placed the stick with the viscous liquid under her nose. Although it looked disgusting, there was no pungent smell, but instead a faint fragrance.

She repeatedly sniffed it, unable to tell what kind of fragrance it was. After removing the stick, her head felt dizzy for a moment. Shen Yao Xing pressed the corner of her eye, and only then did she feel better.

Now was not the time to deal with this.

Shen Yao Xing threw away the stick in her hand and continued walking forward. Strangely, the entire forest seemed to have quieted down, and no more strange things jumped out.

After walking leisurely for a while, Shen Yao Xing suddenly felt something was wrong. She felt the ground under her feet getting softer and softer, like walking on quicksand. Before she could react, her feet had already sunk in.

Damn it! She had actually stepped into a swamp!

Shen Yao Xing instinctively struggled, wanting to pull her feet out, but the faster she struggled, the quicker she sank. She stiffened her body. At this point, even her knees had sunk in.

The sinking speed slowed down. Shen Yao Xing swallowed and frantically thought of ways to save herself. She tried to bend down and grab the weeds not far away, but before she could use the force to get out of danger, the fragile weed had already snapped in half at the waist.

She could clearly feel the devouring force on her feet. She froze her body, and a drop of cold sweat slid down her forehead.

She was really unlucky! Shen Yao Xing almost wanted to let out a long howl.

Returning to the capital was like Tang Sanzang’s journey to the West, having to go through eighty-one difficulties!

“What is Miss Shen doing?”

A voice with a hint of coldness came from above her head. Shen Yao Xing looked up joyfully, only to see the man still wearing a snow-white robe, holding a long sword in his right hand, standing tall on a tree branch. The blood jade at his waist was very eye-catching.

Shen Yao Xing had never felt that this person was so pleasing to the eye. She immediately forgot about the grudges between them and shamelessly reached out to him, “Big brother, big boss, pretty girl, hurry up! Hurry up and pull me up!”

Shen Yao Xing blurted out a string of flattering titles, but who knew the person on the tree remained unmoved.

Jiang Ming Yue looked at the hand indifferently. The fingers were pink and slender, much like those of the pampered young masters. The corner of his lips curled up with a trace of faint mockery, “Miss Shen’s skills are so excellent, how would you need Ming Yue’s assistance?”

By the time he finished sighing leisurely, her legs were almost completely sunk in. If he didn’t want to save her, he should just say so directly, instead of putting on an act!

In the end, it was better to rely on oneself than on others. Shen Yao Xing gave up seeking help, gritted her teeth and slowly crawled forward. She vaguely remembered those self-rescue methods and didn’t care about getting her clothes and face dirty. She slowly pulled out one of her feet. She was overjoyed and used the same method to rescue her other foot.

Jiang Ming Yue stood on the tree from beginning to end, neither lending a helping hand nor turning to leave. His indifferent eyes seemed to be watching ants struggling in the mud, without a trace of warmth in his eyes.

Shen Yao Xing, who had finally crawled out of the swamp, stood up unsteadily, almost unable to resist giving the middle finger to the person on the tree. However, she was more concerned about the dirt all over her body, which made her feel very uncomfortable.

Shen Yao Xing wanted to raise her sleeve to wipe her face, but then remembered that her sleeves were also very dirty, so she had to give up.

The man in the tree lightly jumped down and stood five steps away from her, saying softly, “Miss Shen had already rushed ahead, so how could you appear here?”

Heh, none of your damn business.

Shen Yao Xing didn’t want to pay attention to him at all, but then she thought that she was also lost now, and maybe this person could lead her out. She reluctantly adjusted her mentality and forced a smile, “Well… are you also lost in here?”

If he said yes, she would immediately turn around and leave.

The man curled his lips slightly, “Of course not.”

“That’s great, let’s get out of here quickly!”

Jiang Ming Yue didn’t say anything, his eyes slightly shifting to scan the mud on her lower body, “So it turns out that Miss Shen was lost here?”

“……” Why did she feel so annoyed when he said these words? Shen Yao Xing nodded stiffly under the man’s gaze, her smile dry.

The curve at the corner of Jiang Ming Yue’s lips rose slightly. He didn’t say anything else and turned to walk slowly in a direction.

The moment the man turned around, Shen Yao Xing changed her face, the corners of her mouth drooping, full of displeasure. She lowered her head and disgustedly flicked off a large chunk of mud on her sleeve. Seeing that the man’s figure was about to disappear in the fog, she quickly followed.

Along the way, neither of them spoke. It wasn’t until the man’s figure stopped that Shen Yao Xing hesitated for a moment and lingered behind him, not far away, “Um… didn’t you say you could find a way out?”

Jiang Ming Yue slightly turned his eyes, indifferent and distant, “Ming Yue never said that.”

Shen Yao Xing gritted her teeth, “You tricked me?”

The man appeared slightly surprised, “Wasn’t it Miss Shen’s wishful thinking?”

This sentence was obviously mocking her for being conceited. Shen Yao Xing, who was already in a gloomy mood because of the dirt on her body, almost wished she could grab her dagger and rush up. Did this person have to say a few sarcastic words to be happy instead of speaking clearly?

Sure enough, abnormal people cannot be understood with the thinking of normal people.

Shen Yao Xing took a deep breath and was about to leave in another direction. Before she could take two steps, the sound of horse hooves came from the fog, getting closer and closer to them. She was overjoyed, thinking that Hei Sha and Bai Sha had found them.

When she saw the carriage clearly, Shen Yao Xing completely deflated.

The carriage stopped beside Jiang Ming Yue. His slender jade-like fingers lightly brushed away the ink-black hair falling in front of him. With the assistance of the man in black, he gracefully stepped onto the carriage, completely ignoring the person behind him.

Would it be too embarrassing to ask him for a ride at this time? Shen Yao Xing struggled in her heart, frantically wavering between dignity and leaving this place. At this moment, the curtain at the carriage window was lifted, revealing the man’s handsome features.

“Miss Shen, Ming Yue will go ahead first.” With that, he was about to order the carriage to start moving.

“Wait!” Shen Yao Xing didn’t care about that much anymore and shamelessly called for it to stop.

The man’s narrow eyes flashed slightly and moved indifferently towards the girl, as if puzzled, “I don’t know what else Miss Shen has to say?”

Shen Yao Xing was so tangled up that her entire face was almost scrunched together. Her face was slightly flushed, and after a long time, she finally put together a relatively euphemistic line for her, “I… I can’t find the way out now, and I’m also separated from the other two… friends……”

She almost wrote the words on her face. Anyone who wasn’t a fool would know what she meant, but this person still pretended not to understand.

“In that case…” The man’s voice was as light as a sigh, his eyes fixed on the girl who was in a mess, “Since that’s the case, Miss Shen can wait a little longer. Perhaps your two friends will find you soon.”

The way this person spoke, it sounded a bit like gloating. If they could find her, would she need to shamelessly beg here? She didn’t even know where she was right now.

It was obviously intentional, just wanting her to personally beg out loud. Look at what kind of person he was. He must remember her refusing to go together at the inn. A grown man holding a grudge even more than her!

Damn it, if she had to say it, she would say it!

Shen Yao Xing gritted her teeth, raised her chin, and said the pleading words with a proud expression, “I wonder if Mister Ming Yue could give me a ride?”

In any case, they were on the same road. Maybe after getting out of here, following that road, she could find Hei Sha and Bai Sha.

The man didn’t speak for a long time, so long that Shen Yao Xing thought he was going to refuse. Only then did he say faintly, “But Ming Yue doesn’t like to share a carriage with others.”

“You can rest assured, I’ll just sit outside and definitely won’t go inside the carriage.”

Jiang Ming Yue’s fingers on his knee gently rubbed. His dark eyes glanced at the black box inside the carriage, and he slightly curled his lips, “Since that’s the case, Miss Shen can come up.”

Shen Yao Xing didn’t expect him to really agree. She immediately forgot about the embarrassing matter just now and said happily, “Thank you.” She quickly sat next to the man in black. The position in front was much more spacious than the front of her carriage.

As soon as she sat down, the carriage departed. The man in black beside her had an expressionless face. Thinking of what he was, Shen Yao Xing felt a bit uneasy in her heart. She quietly shifted her bottom, trying her best to keep a distance.

Along the way, Shen Yao Xing kept her eyes wide open, on high alert, afraid of missing Hei Sha and Bai Sha waiting for her by the roadside.

Unfortunately, she was bound to be disappointed. Not to mention a carriage, she didn’t even see a single person.

The girl leaned against the carriage frame beside her in a somewhat dejected manner, her legs hanging below the carriage, swinging slightly with the vibration of the carriage.

It wasn’t until the sun was about to set that they finally reached the town Bai Sha had mentioned. Probably because it was getting dark, only one or two people were seen walking on the street.

The carriage stopped in front of an inn. Shen Yao Xing quickly jumped off and rushed in, wanting to get a room to take a bath first. When she saw the innkeeper’s somewhat waxy face, she remembered one thing.

She didn’t have a single copper coin on her…

The silver and other things were all with Hei Sha and Bai Sha. She had never worried about this aspect at all.

For a moment, the girl and the innkeeper stared at each other, neither speaking first.

“Open two rooms.” An extremely hoarse and stiff voice sounded in her ears, as unpleasant as nails scraping across a blackboard.

Shen Yao Xing’s fingers scratched the chest-high counter in front of her. Her gaze secretly glanced over and then glanced at the snow-robed man not far behind him. She started calculating in her heart.

If she borrowed from him…

He should agree, right? After all, a carriage was already a mobile vault. A few silver taels should be the kind he wouldn’t even pick up if they fell to the ground.

Jiang Ming Yue’s dark eyes were deep and cold as he looked at the girl moving towards him. Her face was slightly flushed, her already fair and tender face looking even more delicate and moist. Her hand unconsciously rubbed her lower back, seeming embarrassed to speak about what was to come.

“That… ahem, could you… lend me a silver tael?”

The girl asked like this.

The curve at the corner of the man’s lips was very shallow, “Of course.”

Night fell.

There were no more figures walking in the small town, so quiet that not even the sound of crickets could be heard.

In the head room of the inn, the man, dressed in a white inner garment, sat in front of a tea table. His collar was open, revealing his exquisite and distinct collarbones. His fingers lightly pinched the jade disc in his hand as he lazily observed, his chin resting on his hand.

As if thinking of something interesting, his thin lips curled up slightly.

“If I could place you inside her body, she would definitely be my most perfect corpse puppet.”

The man’s voice was extremely light, like the whispers between lovers.

On the other side, Shen Yao Xing was completely unaware of the man’s schemes. She was lying on the bed in a spread-eagle position, snoring and sleeping soundly.

……