It was clear that these stones had been washed by water for many years to become so pure and white.
Not far in front of him was a river. It was currently the dry season of winter, but if it were summer, the river would probably have flooded this place.
There were two paths to Wenshui. One path followed the river, while the other took a detour to the north, making it more difficult to travel.
Chen Changsheng chose the northern path. This was not the same as the itinerary he had planned out, but it was also planned out.
To the northwest of Hanqiu City was a large and lifeless mountain range. After passing through this mountain range and around a large swamp, one would arrive at the Cong Province Army headquarters.
The Cong Province Army headquarters was the most remote of the ten-some army headquarters in the north of the Great Zhou, already extremely close to the territory of the demi-humans.
As they walked through this desolate mountain range, Chen Changsheng very naturally recalled that Xue Xingchuan had made his fortune in the Cong Province Army headquarters. Then he recalled Madam Xue and that young master of the Xue clan who had apparently entered the Orthodox Academy last year. Then he recalled Luoluo, whom he had not seen for many years.
The sun hung in the western sky, much of its light filtered out by the dust it kicked up. It seemed to be in a rather bad mood.
Just when they were about to cross over a mountain, an extremely wary expression suddenly appeared on Nanke's small face, her pupils constricting.
Although she was currently a fool and had completely forgotten the matters of the past, she still possessed the strength of a cultivation, and she was extremely sensitive to the dangers hidden in the world.
Chen Changsheng glanced at her.
Nanke raised her small face and sniffed the air, just like a puppy.
"What's that smell?" Chen Changsheng asked.
"The smell of blood, a very strong smell of blood."
Nanke's voice was flat and her emotions very indifferent. It was like she was talking about the smell of food.
Chen Changsheng asked, "Do you smell the stench of that monster?"
After leaving Hanqiu City, that monster had not appeared again, but he remained vigilant. If that monster really was of the Yellow Springs lineage as he had judged, it would be very troublesome.
Nanke shook her head. After lowering her head and thinking for a while, she continued to walk up the mountain ridge.
On their journey from Hanqiu City, the gravel on the ground was the same color as the sky, gray and hazy.
But when they crossed over this mountain, the color of the world instantly changed.
The other side of the mountain was red, not because the landscape had changed, but because it had been dyed red by blood.
There was blood everywhere. There were dead bodies everywhere.
Some of the corpses were like small mountains. From the coarse hair and the unique helmet shape, they should be warriors of the Brown Bear Tribe.
There were also many corpses of human soldiers.
The stones on the ground were dyed red by the blood, and there was sticky blood everywhere, giving off a fishy smell.
It was as if a small-scale war had just taken place here.
Amongst the corpses that littered the ground, only one person was still alive. He slowly stood up and turned to look at Chen Chang Sheng.
In such cold weather, he only wore an unlined shirt, and his sleeves were rolled up, exposing his forearms. At the same time, his trousers were shorter than the average person's, which made him look a little comical. However, if one thought that he was running and wielding his sword, they would feel a chill down their spines.
He was still the same as before.
Chen Chang Sheng seemed to see the youngster standing under the morning light outside of Li Palace during the Grand Examination.
The morning light flickered, and five years had passed.
Chen Chang Sheng walked towards him.
Zhexiu came to greet Chen Changsheng.
Chen Changsheng opened his arms, preparing to give Zhexiu a passionate embrace like Tang Thirty-Six.
But Zhexiu gripped his sword, a smear of red faintly visible in the depths of his eyes. He was actually preparing to undergo berserk transformation.
Chen Changsheng followed his gaze and realized that he was staring at Nanke. Only then did he understand and say, "I'm fine."
Zhexiu did not relax his guard. He stared at Nanke and asked, "What's going on here?"
Back in the Garden of Zhou, he had not truly met Nanke, but given his personality, he had naturally done a great deal of research and was prepared to meet her again in the future. He had not expected that the next time he saw this Demon Princess, she would be at Chen Changsheng's side, and she was clearly his follower.
Chen Changsheng lowered his arm and used his eyes to indicate that it was not convenient to talk about it in detail. He said, "I'll explain it to you later."
He then turned to the ground littered with corpses and asked, "And what's going on here?"
"Someone was worried that you would leave from the north and sent people to kill you."
Zhexiu's tone was still as flat as before, or perhaps apathetic, as if nothing could cause his mood to change too intensely.
Like these bloody scenes and the scheme hidden behind them — assassinating the Pope was no small matter.
Nanke's voice suddenly rang out, filled with wariness and distrust. "You killed all these people?"
She did not recognize Zhexiu, but she could sense how dangerous he was. Wariness was natural, and distrust was also natural.
To be sent to kill Chen Changsheng, these bear warriors and human soldiers were assuredly extremely powerful, and there were assuredly many experts among them.
No matter how skilled Zhexiu was in battle, he could not have killed so many enemies by himself, and not a single one of them had escaped.
Chen Changsheng also found it very strange. Even if Zhexiu had advanced by leaps and bounds in the snowy plains in the last three years, he should not have been able to reach this level.
"I have companions," Zhexiu said.
As if to prove his words were true, many mournful wolf howls suddenly came from the distant mountain ridge.
"A few little fellows from the tribe sneaked out and are now following me. In addition, there are also a few acquaintances in Cong Province."
Zhexiu said to Chen Changsheng, "The Brown Bear tribe has always been crafty. We laid in ambush here for three days, and then …"
Chen Changsheng was suddenly in a very good mood and paid no attention to the rest of Zhexiu's story.
The Wolf tribe's attitude toward Zhexiu seemed to be undergoing some sort of change, and he even now had acquaintances.
In the past, this would have been a very difficult matter to imagine.
Zhexiu, who was destined to be a lone star of heavenly evil, actually had companions?
It seemed like the days spent in the Orthodox Academy had brought about some unforgettable changes to every person who had lived there.
… …
… …
On the same night, the three of them spent the night in a desert on the other side of the valley. Up in the wind, they could not smell the scent of blood. In the blink of an eye, Zhexiu had dug out a cave about three zhang deep in the hard and cold ground. The bottom of the cave was very dry and somewhat warm, so there was no need to worry about being harassed by wild beasts.
This was how Zhexiu had lived since he was very young.
Nanke laid out a blanket at the bottom of the cave and lay down. Chen Changsheng took out his needles and began to treat her.
By the time he finished, Nanke was already asleep. He pulled the blanket up to her neck and then left the cave.
Zhexiu squatted on the ground outside the cave, looking in some direction.
He was still habitually squatting, not sitting. He was like a lone wolf, ready to attack or flee at any moment.
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