Chapter 434: Are we all family?

He slowly turned his head, and instantly didn't dare to move.

Not a person!

But instead, they were densely packed, layered upon layered, black scorpions!

Everywhere the eye could see on the sand, they were all there!

Not ten thousand, but several thousand!

Each scorpion was palm-sized, with its tail hook raised high, gleaming with a dim light in the morning light.

They surrounded the rock where the three were resting, forming a perfect encirclement.

The nearest few were less than a foot from the edge of their felt blanket.

Lu Qi's muscles were tensed all over, his right hand silently moving to the hilt of his waist sword.

He lowered his voice and softly called: "Brother Xiao, Tuan Tuan, wake up."

Xiao Er instantly opened his eyes; after seeing the situation clearly, his pupils suddenly contracted.

Lu Qi continued in a low voice: "These are Devil Scorpions unique to the great desert, their bodies full of poison."

"I've never seen so many scorpions! They're far too big."

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing fear in the other's eyes.

With so many poisonous scorpions, if they all attacked at once…

Just then, Xiao Tuanzi, wrapped in the felt blanket, sat up.

"Hmm…" Tuan Tuan blinked open her eyes sleepily, raising her little hand to rub her eyes.

She looked at Lu Qi, then turned her head to look at Xiao Er, and then, following their gaze, looked out at the surrounding sand.

"Wow!" she blinked her eyes, "So many little bugs!"

Then she leaned back, tucked her little head into the blanket, closed her eyes, and murmured: "I must still be dreaming…"

"Missy," Xiao Er lowered his voice, his Adam's apple rolling, "it's not a dream."

"It's true." Lu Qi said, his voice dry, "there really are… many… scorpions."

Tuan Tuan sat up again upon hearing that, and looked seriously.

The morning light grew brighter, shining on those black carapaces, revealing the fine hairs on them.

The sun was already a bit hot; Tuan Tuan was still wrapped in the thick blanket, and a fine layer of sweat quickly appeared on her face.

Tuan Tuan muttered, "It's so hot…" and threw off the blanket.

"Miss, don't move!" Xiao Er and Lu Qi both reached out to pull her.

But Tuan Tuan had already crawled out of the blanket using her hands and feet, lying on the edge of the blanket nearest the scorpions.

The two adults sprang to their feet, swords drawn, their hearts leaping to their throats.

Tuan Tuan tilted her head, looking at the few scorpions almost touching her face, and asked: "Why are there so many of you? Are you all one family?"

Xiao Er and Lu Qi simultaneously slapped their foreheads, "Miss!"

"They're scorpions! What's there to talk about one family or not!"

But the next moment, an astonishing scene occurred.

The dozens of scorpions in the front row simultaneously raised their pincers!

Is this… them raising their claws to show agreement?

Xiao Er and Lu Qi glanced at each other; although they had seen Tuan Tuan get close to animals before, this time it was especially chilling.

Seeing the response, Tuan Tuan instantly became interested.

She swung her little legs, propped her chin, thought for a moment, and seriously asked: "I'm Tuan Tuan! I'm looking for Gui Tong—do you know where he is?"

The scorpion swarm fell silent for a moment, then neatly lowered their pincers.

"I don't know…" Tuan Tuan said, a bit dejected, puffing out her lips.

She looked at her sandy little hands, then lifted her gaze to the gradually heating sun: "Is there anywhere nearby to wash my face?"

"I'm covered in sand, I want to wash my face!"

The two adults simultaneously raised their hands to their foreheads.

"Wash your face? Miss, this is a desert where water is worth its weight in gold!"

But this time, astonishingly, nearly a third of the scorpions raised their pincers together.

"Huh?" Tuan Tuan's eyes curved into a smile, "You do know!"

She stood up, brushed the sand from her little hands, turned to the two adults still frozen in place, and said: "Uncle Two, Uncle Seven, hurry and pack up— they're going to take me to wash my face!"

Xiao Er and Lu Qi glanced at each other, seeing the same thought in each other's eyes:

"This desert… is something off?"

But Tuan Tuan had already hopped over to fetch her camel, and wherever she passed, the scorpion swarm parted to make way.

The two didn't dare delay, quickly packing up the blanket and following after.

Xiao Er lifted Tuan Tuan onto the camel's back.

"All right!" Tuan Tuan sat steady, waved at the scorpions raising their pincers, and said: "Let's go, take me!"

Those scorpions actually started moving.

They turned together, tracing fine lines in the sand, and swiftly crawled toward the desert's depths.

The camels followed behind the scorpion swarm, and after no more than the time it takes to burn an incense stick, a patch of low, thorny shrubs appeared ahead.

The scorpion swarm stopped at the edge of the shrubbery.

Tuan Tuan blinked her eyes for a while, then sighed disappointedly: "I want water, little bugs, not these prickly little trees."

The scorpion swarm surged to the base of a shrub, using their pincers to dig down into the roots.

"What they mean…" Lu Qi narrowed his eyes, "It seems they're saying there's water down there?"

Two people jumped off the camels, walked to another shrub and squatted down.

Xiao Er reached out and brushed away the surface sand: "Miss, the sand underneath really is more moist than elsewhere."

Tuan Tuan pulled out the Water-Probing Rod that Xuan Fu Weng had given from the bundle: "Uncle Xiao, try using this!"

Xiao Er took it, returned to the shrub, gripped the rod with both hands, and forcefully drove the tip into the ground.

After a moment, the originally murky glass bead at the rod's top gradually turned transparent; inside, water light seemed to flow, and in the sunlight it showed a faint blue halo.

Tuan Tuan shouted happily: "The bead changed! There really is water here!"

The two no longer hesitated, drew their short knives they carried, and dug down along the shrub's roots.

The deeper they dug, the wetter it became, and the sand turned into dark mud.

When they dug to about forearm depth, the knife tip hit a hard rootstalk.

They cleared away the surrounding soil, revealing a large clump of tangled roots, resembling countless small balls strung together.

Lu Qi lightly poked open a small ball with the knife tip.

Clear water immediately gushed out, bringing a cool, moist scent.

"Wow!" Tuan Tuan spread her little arms, "Uncle Xiao, hold me down!"

Xiao Er walked over and held her down.

Tuan Tuan walked to the root clump, dipped her little finger in the water, brought it to her mouth and tasted: "It's sweet!"

Xiao Er and Lu Qi also took a sip.

The water was pure; upon tasting, it actually had a faint, clean sweetness; in this dry desert, it was practically life-saving nectar.

The water source was ample; the three happily washed up, and also filled a waterskin.

The camels also came over, lowered their heads and drank heartily.

Tuan Tuan looked back at the scorpions that had led the way.

They were still waiting quietly at the side, their pincers trembling slightly.

"Are they thirsty too? Uncle Xiao, shall we dig another one for them?"

Xiao Er nodded, then dug out another string of ball-shaped rootstalks and placed them on the flat sand.

The scorpion swarm immediately surged forward.

They used their pincers to crack the outer skin of the root clump, then gathered at the breach and began to suck.

Tuan Tuan squatted nearby, watching with relish, and murmured regretfully: "I don't even know where that oasis called Gui Tong is..."

As her words fell, the scorpion swarm that had been sucking the juice suddenly all stopped.

Then, all the scorpions raised their pincers in unison!