"Say, Zian, you really know a lot," Wei Shuxuan propped her chin up, the deep firelight dancing in her dark eyes. "But no matter where these death - warriors are transported, they're all going to be used against the Kingdom of Yulong, right?"
The bonfire surrounded by them grew higher as more dry firewood was added. Ge Zian thought Wei Shuxuan was absolutely right. He picked at the fire with a thick wooden stick, pushing all the branches he'd thrown in towards the center of the flames. The fire flared up with a whoosh. "Anyway, as a general of the Kingdom of Yulong, I shoulder the responsibility of defending my country. I'll protect Yulong no matter what!"
Immediately after, the wooden stick in Ge Zian's hand was tossed into the fire, and the flames roared to life.
".... Zian, could you not scare people like that out of the blue?" Wei Shuxuan gave Ge Zian a sidelong glance. The sudden flare of the fire almost made her fall to the ground.
Seeing the rising flames, Ge Zian smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Xuan'er. I didn't control it well..."
"I'm not going to worry about you. I'm going to sleep first. I'm really exhausted today!" Wei Shuxuan couldn't help but complain. She took the coat Ge Zian had given her and covered herself with it. The forest at night in summer was free from the daytime heat and was a bit cooler.
"Then you go to sleep first. I'll keep watch here."
Someone had to keep watch between the two of them. Otherwise, they wouldn't know when Lan Huaze had left. However, he really wanted to take another look at the face of the man in the sack. He wanted to know if it was the person he was looking for. But... Ge Zian looked back at Wei Shuxuan, who was sleeping soundly. He really couldn't leave.
Early in the morning, before it was fully light, Lan Huaze's group had already set off. Ge Zian called Wei Shuxuan a few times, but she was still sound asleep. Seeing Lan Huaze's group getting farther and farther away, there was nothing he could do. He had to be sorry to Xuan'er. He gave up trying to wake her and chased after them alone. Along the way, he left marks so that Wei Shuxuan could find him when she woke up.
Ge Zian followed closely behind Lan Huaze's group. The forest in the early morning was still shrouded in a thin layer of mist. This wispy mist coiled around, blurring the eyes of those walking in the forest. Because of the mist, Lan Huaze's group didn't move very fast, and Ge Zian didn't dare to get too close.
The sun rose slowly. The sunlight filtered through the layers of trees, casting dappled light on the ground. Wei Shuxuan woke up slowly. She was still a bit dazed just after waking up. She looked around and found that there was no one there. She sat up abruptly, and the big coat that had been covering her slipped off as she moved. ".... Where's Ge Zian? Where did he go!"
There was still a pile of burnt wood ash on the ground. Wei Shuxuan picked up the coat Ge Zian had left behind and was about to go look for him. By chance, she saw the arrow marks on the ground. She immediately realized that they were the marks Ge Zian had left for her. She followed these marks, but still couldn't find Ge Zian.
"What the hell? They've gone so far in just such a short time?" Wei Shuxuan's tone was rather resentful. Forget it, forget it. She'd better go find Zian quickly. She wasn't familiar with this area, and she was alone. She had no phone, no compass, and no Big Dipper. All she had was the sun moving westward. She didn't know if she could get out of this forest.
Thankfully, Ge Zian's marks didn't stop. Wei Shuxuan followed them and walked out of the forest. However, just a few steps out, she saw a fork in the road. She didn't know which way to choose.
Suddenly, a strong wind blew, kicking up the sand on the ground. Wei Shuxuan seemed to sense something and turned her head sharply, but saw nothing. She felt a bit melancholy. At this fork in the road, Ge Zian didn't seem to have left any marks. Wei Shuxuan thought for a while and used her intuition to make a reverse deduction. Finally, she chose the right - hand path.
Ge Zian was standing on a tree. He saw that after the sun came out, Lan Huaze's group found a shady place to sit and rest. Just then, Lan Huaze told the servant beside him to open the sack on the top, saying that they should give the man in the sack some water to drink.
Although the death - warriors were heartless and senseless, they were still flesh and blood. If they didn't eat or drink, they would quickly become useless.
Suddenly, the branches of the tree shook. Lan Huaze immediately stood up warily and observed his surroundings. Ge Zian, who was hiding in the tree, quickly jumped up to a higher branch to avoid being discovered by Lan Huaze. At the same time, he saw Wei Shuxuan, who was also hiding in a high - up place. Although they were both surprised, they tacitly didn't say a word.
Lan Huaze didn't find anyone. Maybe he was just being paranoid. For now, he should feed the man some water first. "Open the sack."
"Yes."
Wei Shuxuan and Ge Zian, who were hiding aside, held their breaths and watched as the servant propped up the sack. The opening of the sack was pulled lower and lower, and slowly the face of the man inside was revealed. When Ge Zian saw the man's appearance, he was completely stunned. Wei Shuxuan looked at Ge Zian, paying attention to his expression. Then she turned her head to look at the death - warrior. Why did he look a bit like her?
"Give him some water to drink."
"Yes."
The man was expressionless and his face was completely bloodless. He didn't open his mouth when they tried to give him water. The servant had to force the water into his mouth. Most of the bowl of water was wasted, and even the sack was soaked.
"This man is very precious. Be careful."
"Deputy Lan, what's this man's background? Why do you and General Sima value him so much?" The servant saw that although this man was a death - warrior like the others, his treatment was completely different.
"This man was captured by our general from the Kingdom of Yulong. He alone can be worth a thousand troops. Of course he's precious. Stop talking nonsense. Let's go quickly."
From their conversation, Wei Shuxuan could probably guess who this man was. When Ge Zian saw Lan Huaze's group leaving and was about to follow them, Wei Shuxuan grabbed him. She shook her head and silently said, "No. If you can't calm down, don't follow anymore."
Ge Zian understood what Wei Shuxuan meant and stopped. It was only when the sound of Lan Huaze's footsteps really faded away that he spoke. "Xuan'er, did you see?"
"I know, but for now, we have to focus on the overall situation. We can't try to save someone and end up losing our own lives. Zian, impulse is the devil. Do you understand?"