"I’ll go find some branches to start a fire, this damned weather is freezing us to death."
"I’ll come with you."
"I’ll go too." Since those from MD country didn’t dare to come in, what concerns should they have?
"Everyone, don’t get separated. Just pick up some branches nearby," Mo Shaoze instructed the group. He always felt there was something odd about this forest, as if countless eyes were staring at them.
The group casually gathered some branches and tried to light them with matches, but for some reason, they couldn’t get a flame going.
"What’s going on here?"
"Strange! Why won’t it light? The matches aren’t wet." They stubbornly tried several times but eventually had to give up on the idea. After all, it wasn’t their first time spending the night in the wilderness. Although it was cold, it was still much better than the cold and damp experience of hiding in ditches during the winter.
Sitting on the ground once more, everyone took out their dry rations and water bottles, eating and chatting together.
"I really dis MD country, I can’t wait to finish this mission."
"Yeah, I’ve already told my wife that I’ll come back and take her here once this mission’s over."
"I envy you guys who have wives, it makes me want to take leave and go back to look for a wife myself."
"When I left, my wife was already over eight months pregnant. I don’t know if I can make it back before the birth. I really want to see my child being born, sigh!" Being in a foreign land always evokes a sense of homesickness.
"What is that?!" Suddenly one of them pointed uncertainly at something not far away.
Everyone turned their heads and their faces changed at once.
They saw a group of figures, some walking, some floating, some ghostly, some solid, slowly surrounding them. Some wore white with long hair, some had long tongues sticking out, some had faces covered in blood, some had a dagger still lodged in their stomach...
"They couldn’t be ghosts, could they?"
"Could it be a hallucination of ours?"
"No wonder those people from MD country wouldn’t dare come in. This forest is truly sinister." This was the first time they had seen such a terrifying scene. Even though they were used to life and death, this scared them.
"Bang!" Someone fired their gun.
To everyone’s surprise, the bullets had no effect on those things, which they couldn’t tell were human or ghost, making them even more panicked.
"Right! I have a talisman that Instructor Mo gave me; talismans can exorcise evil." A young man with an honest face pulled out the talisman Lu Hanmo had given him.
He held up the talisman, facing the approaching group of indiscernible beings, and shouted, "By the order of this talisman, I command you to leave swiftly!" That’s what Taoist Priest Wang from their village would always say when helping people expel evil. He wondered if it would work?
To his dismay, the talisman in his hand was useless, and the other side showed no sign of stopping at all.
"Why isn’t it working?"
"Li Niuwa, this isn’t how you use it. The instructor said all you have to do is shout ’Activate!’ and throw it out, ." While speaking, he also took out his own Talisman.
He shouted "Activate!" and threw the Talisman out. However, he held little hope in his heart.
Suddenly, a brilliant white light burst forth, illuminating the entire world, and then everyone heard a series of piercing screams.
As the white light faded, the surroundings became clear and even the air seemed fresher than before, as if everything they had seen was merely an illusion. People exchanged looks of shock and disbelief on their faces! Could it really have worked?
"This... this is too awesome!" Li Niuwa snapped back to reality, looking at where just moments ago there had been a swarm of monsters, then back at the Talisman in his hand, and quickly pocketed it with great care. This was a treasure indeed!
"Oh my goodness! Why do I feel like I’m dreaming?"
"Pinch me to see if it’s true, ouch! Can’t you be a bit gentler?" With the crisis gone, the atmosphere on the scene relaxed.
Mo Shaoze took out the Talisman Card that Lu Hanmo had given him and hung it around his neck. He knew it! That guy, Lu Hanmo, when did he start believing in this stuff? It turned out to be such a treasure! But how did Lu Hanmo come to possess such a treasure?
Luo Shu noticed movement ahead and quickly ran towards it, soon spotting Mo Shaoze and the others sitting and chatting.
"Who’s there?!" Hearing the footsteps, everyone turned their heads.
When they saw Luo Shu emerging from the forest, everyone’s eyes widened in surprise.
"Is it really you, Sister-in-Law?" How could she be here? She wouldn’t be one of those things that transformed, would she?
Luo Shu scanned the crowd, not seeing Lu Hanmo, and felt slightly puzzled, "Why isn’t Lu Hanmo with you?" After arriving in the MD country, Hanmo should have contacted them, right?
"When he learned that you were taken to the MD country, he immediately followed you. We can’t get in touch with him now, but I’ve left him a sign. How did you get here?" asked Mo Shaoze. He and Li Niuwa had just reunited and to their knowledge, they had already been marked. They had no choice but to flee into this forest.
"I overheard those people talking when I was sneaking away. For the next two days, you all should find a safe place to hide, and I’ll go look for Hanmo. We can decide on the specific plan once Hanmo arrives," Luo Shu said. Having many people would only make them more likely to be exposed. Now that she knew the location of the secret base, entering it shouldn’t be a problem, unless the opposition also had True Cultivators.
"No! I’ll be the one to find Lu Hanmo. If anything happens to you, Lu Hanmo will definitely lose his mind," Mo Shaoze objected. He could see just how important Luo Shu was in Lu Hanmo’s heart.
"I’ll be fine, see? I managed to escape, didn’t I? And since I’m a woman, I won’t attract as much attention," Luo Shu said with a smile. If Mo Shaoze got into trouble, Hanmo would be equally heartbroken.
"That still won’t do. It’s too risky," Mo Shaoze still disagreed.
"Indeed, Sister-in-Law, how could we possibly let you take such a risk?" Taoist Priest Wang, who had sparred with Luo Shu last time, also chimed in.
"If you can beat me, then I won’t go," Luo Shu said with a smirk, looking at everyone.
Everyone was speechless. They had all witnessed Luo Shu’s fighting skills, not even Instructor Mo could best her, how could they possibly win?
"Alright, it’s decided then! Follow me, I’ll lead you out of here. This forest is full of maze-like barriers, and one can easily get lost if not careful," Luo Shu instructed. Moreover, once daylight broke, those from the MD country would surely enter, and if they discovered Mo Shaoze and the others, an unavoidable fierce battle would ensue. This time, she was determined not to let things turn out like they had in her previous life.