Chapter 285: On the Road West - The Six-Legged Fawn and the Hunter's Campfire Clearing

The next day, after Jier had packed everything he needed for his trip, he pushed his handcart out the door.

He first bought a batch of freshly baked bread at a bakery on the street, then went to the Table Corner Tavern to order a batch of frozen meat to take with him. Now that the temperature outside had dropped below freezing, Jier no longer had to worry about whether the food he carried would spoil while he was out.

Meat and bread alone were not enough; he went to the grocery store in the city gate plaza and bought a small pot and a jar of dried mushrooms.

He greeted a few city gate guards at the gate, and everyone chatted for a few moments.

Upon learning that Jier was also heading west of Kendall City to find the culprit behind the mysterious incidents that had been stirring up trouble lately, the guards all advised Jier to be careful. If he encountered anything unusual, he must run away first; staying alive was the most important thing.

After thanking the guards for their reminder, Jier tightened his wolf-fur Cloak and set off, pushing his cart.

He first went down the gentle slope outside the city gate, then followed the road outside the city wall, heading straight north.

On the Baron's fields not far away, some old sheds could already be seen set up in the distance, and the various Villager Militias arriving from far away in the county had begun to gather recently.

Those who hadn't arrived yet were likely already on their way. It was said that these village Militias would undergo routine training here for over ten days, and then they would head south to clear out the various Bandit groups haunting the mountains and forests near Bingxun Pass.

Of course, the main force of the Militia would not enter the depths of the mountains, but would only patrol and clear the areas to the east, west, and south of Bingxun Pass.

Experienced Bandit groups had long since braved the risk of being attacked by various Monsters in the depths of the mountains to hide from the Militia; after all, compared to the numerous and well-organized Militia, mindless Monsters were still easier to deal with.

Jier walked along the road outside the city wall, and after circling to the north side of Kendall City, he saw a strange mechanical lift on the northern city wall.

In the open space outside the city beneath this lift, a large number of tree trunks were piled up.

Jier immediately guessed that this was the source of the firewood and fuel that everyone in the city used for cooking and heating. After walking a bit further, Jier indeed saw a man-made canal on the road.

This canal split the road and the fields to the north in two, extending all the way to the Kendall River where it connected. At this moment, he saw a thick tree trunk floating on the canal, gradually approaching Kendall City under the guidance of a person standing on the trunk.

Because the temperature was below freezing, the surface of this canal, which branched off from the Kendall River, had some scattered ice. A young child, dressed warmly, was squatting at the front of the tree trunk moving along the canal, using a Long Wooden Pole in their hand to knock at the thin, shattered ice ahead of them.

The two people on the tree trunk saw Jier passing by on the road, and they gave a friendly greeting; Jier also returned a friendly greeting. It was likely that they rarely saw people while doing this job, especially in winter, so after seeing Jier's friendly response, they shouted from afar: "Hey! Where are you going?"

Jier also playfully shouted back: "Heading west."

Hearing Jier's answer, the two were silent for a moment, then shouted back loudly: "Don't go! A lot of people have died on the road to the west!"

The child sitting at the front of the thick tree trunk countered their companion: "They didn't die! They went missing! They went missing!"

The two began to argue: "Missing for so many days, isn't that just dead?"

"No, if you're missing you can still come back, if you're dead you can't come back."

"Heh heh, the longer you're missing, how can you know if the person who comes back is still the same person?"

"Why are you like this, don't say such scary things."

Jier found it amusing and responded loudly to them: "Look! I have this in my hand, I'm not afraid of things in the wilderness." As Jier said this, he drew the Long Sword at his waist, signaled to the two of them, and then sheathed it.

Then he took out the Two-handed Axe placed on the handcart, lifted it with one hand, and let the two people not far away see the strange color of his axe blade clearly.

It seemed Jier's actions gave the two transporting the thick tree trunks along the canal some confidence: "Can you do it?" they shouted to Jier.

Jier laughed heartily and shouted back to them: "No problem! Leave it to me!"

Jier pushed the handcart across the Wooden Bridge where the road and canal intersected, waved his hand, and said goodbye to the Shop Assistant from the Merchant Guild he had happened to meet, who supplied firewood for the whole city.

The village to the west of Kendall City was not very far from Kendall City; after all, Kendall County was a region that was long from north to south and narrow from east to west, and Kendall City itself was situated on a large alluvial plain of rivers in the south-southwest of the county.

Therefore, after leaving Kendall City, it only took about two days of walking to reach the westernmost village in the county—Yinyulin Cunzi.

He had once curiously asked Todd why this village had such a name, but Todd didn't know much about it. So he asked Jamula; Jamula had been to every village in the county and knew why this village had such an unsettling name.

The reason was quite simple: to the north and south of Yinyulin Cunzi were large stretches of Forest and mountains, and their entire village was situated right in this small plain sandwiched between the two forests to the west of Kendall City.

Zhao Ji continued heading west along the road. There were no Chalu on this road, because after walking west from Kendall City for half a day, the originally open view was eroded by the large forests on the north and south sides.

The cultivated farmland and idle land that could be seen everywhere originally gradually turned into shrubs that had shed their leaves and withered, tall wild grass.

The further he went, the more Zhao Ji felt that walking on this road, it would be perfectly normal for something to jump out of the forests on both sides. That no one had been attacked for so long before now seemed like a rather strange thing.

Unlike the forest south of Doraerlin Cunzi, where there was a transition, there was absolutely no transition on both sides of the road here; it went directly from the not-so-open wasteland into the gloomy Forest filled with tall trees.

No wonder this village was called Yinyulin Cunzi.

Looking at the Forest that had shed its leaves and still appeared pitch-black, Zhao Ji felt that if people who looked at these forests all year round only felt they were gloomy, that was the most optimistic feeling one could have.

Unlike outside Kendall City, walking on this road to the west, Jier didn't feel any wind blowing around him. On the plains near Kendall City, the wind there was quite strong; he had to tie his Cloak tightly back then so it wouldn't be blown away.

But here, everything was quiet; the birds had already flown south for the winter, and the insects had hidden themselves deep underground, quietly waiting for the heavy rains of the coming spring.

Some large wild beasts were likely already hidden in the caves they had dug themselves to hibernate, preparing to rely on a long sleep to get through another cold winter.

At this time, the only things left making noise in the Forest were those small, herbivorous animals.

Zhao Ji heard the movement keenly; he stopped the creaking handcart and carefully took out the bow and arrow tied to the outside of the cart's supplies without making a sound.

Hanging the quiver on his belt, Zhao Ji put the sturdy Bowstring on one end of the Short Bow, then stood the bow body on the ground. He used his arm strength to bend the bow body with the weight of his body, then quickly looped the other end of the Bowstring onto the bow body.

Pulling the Bowstring twice, Zhao Ji felt that the low-temperature weather hadn't affected the bow body of this simple bow. He drew an arrow, nocked it on the Bowstring, and fixed his gaze on the nearby shrubbery that kept making noise.

"Judging by the sound, it's not a big guy. I shouldn't have encountered the culprit behind the disappearance incidents just after arriving on this road, right?" Zhao Ji thought to himself.

Experience told him it was impossible. But Zhao Ji still prepared for battle.

There seemed to be something walking in the distant shrubbery; the other party's body hit the shrubbery that was as tall as a person, causing the tops of the shrubs to rustle.

Zhao Ji aimed at the general location, raised his hand to pull the string to full draw, and then released his fingers.

With a swish, the feathered arrow drew an arc and plunged into the spot Zhao Ji was aiming at. This simple bow was still quite easy for him to use, it was just that the power was a bit too small.

"Mo!" A small animal's miserable howl came.

Immediately after, a grayish-white-yellow figure darted out from behind the shrubbery, stumbling as it jumped away.

But before this thing could run two steps, Zhao Ji fired another arrow, which hit the animal's hind leg perfectly. The animal couldn't jump anymore, fell headlong to the ground, and began to wail.

Zhao Ji didn't carelessly approach; he continued to push his handcart along the road, guarding against anything lying in ambush in the shrubs and grass.

The small animal that had fallen in the distance struggled to stand up and wanted to run again, but Zhao Ji let go of the cart, raised the bow, drew an arrow, nocked it, pulled the bow, and released it all in one go.

Because the distance had closed, this arrow of Zhao Ji's hit the animal's belly perfectly.

Perhaps because it had no strength left, after being hit by another arrow, the small animal huddled quietly on the ground, only letting out bursts of wailing, but no longer running away.

Seeing that the animal wasn't running, Zhao Ji slowly pushed the cart closer. When he reached the point on the road closest to the small animal, Zhao Ji put down his bow and arrow, pulled a bundle of sturdy, thin Rope from his waist, tied a slipknot, and without going over, stood on the road and looped the noose around the small animal's neck.

Pulling it a few times, the slipknot tightened, and the small animal had no choice but to stand up and be pulled toward Zhao Ji.

It turned out to be a small deer.

However, unlike what Zhao Ji had imagined, this deer actually had six legs, making its body appear somewhat longer as a result. Its mouth was wide, filled with molars for chewing plants. There was only a single horn on its head, covered in mud, and its mouth was also smeared with dirt.

It seemed this fellow had been digging at the roots of a shrub earlier; perhaps it wanted to eat the roots, and in doing so, it shook the shrub, allowing Zhao Ji to discover it.

The little deer was filthy. The arrows Zhao Ji had shot at it appeared to have hit three times, but after pulling them out, Zhao Ji discovered that the creature hadn't actually suffered any real injuries. It was likely just so frightened by his attack that it couldn't run, and could only huddle on the ground to be captured.

Zhao Ji tied the six-legged deer and placed it on the Handcart, intending to find a way to eat this captured little animal when night fell.

In this freezing weather, eating a wild deer that was said to be nourishing for the body sounded quite nice.

It was just a matter of whether anything would come to attack him during the night.

The arrow wounds on the six-legged deer stopped bleeding quickly. Although it was tied up by Zhao Ji, it kept trying to break free. Unfortunately, it had no hands to untie the Rope, and soon it quieted down, no longer attempting to struggle against the Rope.

Zhao Ji pushed the cart forward happily, considering how to process this six-legged deer before dark—whether to roast it for meat or cut the meat into small pieces to boil.

Pitter-patter.

The six-legged deer actually took a leak on Zhao Ji's Handcart, and it even deliberately watched to see how Zhao Ji would react.

"Damn it!" Zhao Ji hurriedly picked up the deer and threw it onto the ground, checking to see if any of the supplies on his Handcart had been soaked. Fortunately, he had covered the supplies with a piece of Linen Cloth for waterproofing, so the little thing's urine had only wet the Linen Cloth.

This deer could no longer be kept on the cart. Zhao Ji untied the Rope from the deer's legs but tethered the Rope around its neck to the Handcart, forcing the six-legged deer to follow his Handcart as he moved forward.

The six-legged deer was somewhat reluctant and kept trying to run away, but it was always pulled back by the Rope tied around its neck. After a while, it had no choice but to obediently follow the Handcart, moving forward alongside Zhao Ji.

The road was completely silent; if not for the faint position of the sun visible through the overcast clouds in the sky, Zhao Ji wouldn't even have been able to determine what time it was.

As he walked, he discovered a small clearing by the side of the road used for camping.

Upon approaching, Zhao Ji found a few scattered bloodstains on the ground, and in the center of the clearing were the remnants of a long-extinguished campfire.

Judging by the traces, the last time a fire was lit here was at least many days ago.

Zhao Ji's expression turned solemn as he carefully observed the camping clearing. He discovered traces of three sleeping mats. Could this be the place Todd mentioned, where the merchants found only three pairs of feet left behind?

Zhao Ji squatted down and picked up a small stone from the ground. On top of this small stone was a tiny, dark stain.

Rubbing a bit off with his finger to smell it, Zhao Ji immediately recognized the scent of long-dried blood.

It seemed this was indeed the place where the three Hunters who came to investigate the disappearance incident had camped before they died.

Zhao Ji looked up at the sun, thinking that if these three Hunters didn't travel as fast as he did, they would have had to camp here just as it was getting dark.

Zhao Ji looked left and right; the area around this campsite was relatively open, not touching the distant Forest, and there were no particularly tall shrubs around to block his line of sight.

It was a good place to camp.

Then the question arose: how did these three people, three Hunters, three cautious Hunters, lose their ability to resist without leaving behind large pools of blood, leaving only three pairs of feet and shoes on the spot while their bodies simply vanished?

Moreover, Zhao Ji looked at the sparse bloodstains left on the clearing and discovered that the three of them had basically been standing in place when they were attacked and lost the ability to resist.

How was this done?

Zhao Ji couldn't figure it out. Just then, his gaze swept over the six-legged deer he had captured, and he thought of a plan.

He picked up his axe, went to the nearby Forest, cut down just one small tree, and immediately returned to the clearing.

He removed the excess branches and then used the sharp, sturdy Two-handed Axe to chop the small tree into sections convenient for burning. Then, Zhao Ji broke the tree branches into a pile and lit them with Flint over the campfire site.

After the fire started, Zhao Ji added firewood to the campfire, letting it burn slowly.

Next, Zhao Ji went to the opposite side of the road facing the clearing and dug into the ground with an Iron Shovel near the road. He scattered the dry, hard dirt he dug out onto the clearing. Once he had dug a space large enough to hold his Handcart and himself, Jier used the large piece of Linen Cloth from the supplies on the Handcart—intended for setting up a Tent in the wild—to cover the Handcart, securing it to the ground with Wooden Nails.

Then, Zhao Ji tied the captured six-legged deer firmly near the campfire opposite him.

The little deer seemed to fear the flames, so it huddled down directly, refusing to look at the roaring campfire, keeping its head low and curling up.

As for Zhao Ji, he put on his armor, placed his Long Spear on the ground in front of the pit he had dug, and covered it with grass. He himself was fully armed; his Long Sword and Dagger were hung on his belt, his Backpack and Shield were secured on his back, and his axe was hung on the Backpack.

Inside the Backpack, he had prepared some items needed for combat.

Once everything was set, Zhao Ji put on his wolf-fur Cloak and hid sideways into the dug-out pit. Outside the pit, he used shrub branches and a layer of dry grass to conceal both the pit and the Linen Cloth above it. Even if one looked closely, it was not easy to tell where he was hiding.

Just like that, Zhao Ji hid inside, and by just poking his head out slightly, he could see what was happening in the camping clearing across the road very clearly.

Taking advantage of the fact that it wasn't dark yet, Zhao Ji hurriedly ate some Bread to pad his stomach and drank half a belly of water that had been kept from freezing by his body heat.

He didn't make a sound, just lay along the edge of the pit, squinting his eyes as he watched everything opposite. His breathing was very light, and a large bundle of dry grass was tied to the Helmet poking out of the pit; even if someone stood right next to Zhao Ji, they wouldn't notice a person was hidden there unless told.

After eating and drinking his fill, Zhao Ji lowered the Faceplate on his Helmet and waited bit by bit for darkness.

In the wild, in places that aren't open, darkness falls in an instant during the evening. Especially when there are overcast clouds in the sky blocking the sunlight, it is even more so.

In just a blink of an eye, everything around turned black.

The overcast clouds in the sky blocked the starlight and moonlight; even though it was a full moon for the Three Moon Goddesses today, there wasn't a shred of light from the sky to be seen on this road surrounded by vast Forest.

All illumination in the surroundings came from the campfire not far away.

Presumably because Zhao Ji had added a lot of firewood to the campfire, it shone even brighter after dark.

The six-legged deer was trapped in place by the Rope, and the Rope was nailed tightly to the ground by Zhao Ji using a Wooden Nail. The deer could not exert enough force to break free with its thin legs alone.

It seemed that since it had slept well before dark, the little deer was quite energetic after nightfall. Although it didn't dare approach the campfire for fear of igniting its fur, the warm firelight still made it feel warm, so the little deer kept turning its body left and right, letting both sides of its body receive the warmth of the campfire.

He didn't know how long he had waited, long enough for Zhao Ji's feet to go a bit numb.

The little deer opposite was still very active—no, it seemed a bit strange.

The little deer should have been obediently accepting the warmth of the campfire, but at this moment, the six-legged deer seemed to have gone mad, constantly jumping and leaping in place.

But because of the sturdy Rope around its neck and the Wooden Nail driven into the ground, the little deer could only jump repeatedly in a small area, as if trying to escape something.

"What exactly is it?" Zhao Ji swallowed a mouthful of saliva gently.

Then he suddenly discovered that the large area around the campfire, which should have been illuminated, had turned into a vast, white blur within seconds, and nothing could be seen clearly.

Even though Zhao Ji was no more than eight or nine meters away from the campfire opposite, he could only see a vague, bright mass and the faint silhouette of the terrified little deer.

"It's coming!" Zhao Ji held his breath, not daring to make a single sound.

He opened his eyes wide, watching the blurry scene opposite, and then, what happened suddenly took him by complete surprise!