Chapter 779: Escaping the Dreamy Forest, Reuniting with Mao Mao, and Explanations of Truth and Falsehood

Jier fulfilled his promise and let the little Spirit dance and play recklessly on top of his head for a while.

Without little companions to play with, the little Spirit soon felt bored, flew up in a huff, spun in mid-air before Jier, and then disappeared with a "pop."

Jier sat on the ground without moving, appearing calm in the face, but his tightly clenched hands and gradually quickening breathing betrayed his mood at this moment.

He had already stayed in the dream for several dozen days, and this long period of time had been spent entirely by himself talking to himself. Although the friendly little Spirit had been keeping him company, this little fellow could not speak human language, and could only make simple, giggling interjections, making it impossible to communicate smoothly with a Human.

Humans are social animals after all; staying alone for a short time is quite peaceful and comfortable, but being without anyone to communicate with for a long time instead made Jier anxious and restless all day long.

Now that such days were about to end, Jier could not hide his excitement.

"No fire, no fire, no fire, no fire..."

Jier muttered in a low voice, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the spot where the little Spirit had disappeared.

Following his repeated expectations, with a "pop," the little Spirit that had gone out to scout returned to the dream.

Jier's gaze swept quickly over the little Spirit's entire body, discovering that the little Spirit that returned this time was not covered in vicious Demon Flame, nor was there burning fire spraying out from its clothing pockets.

Most importantly, this little Spirit looked relaxed and at ease.

It seemed the Demon Flame outside had already extinguished, right?

Jier dared not guess the answer himself, so he immediately asked the little Spirit: "Has the fire outside gone out?"

Seeing Jier's anxious appearance, the little Spirit nodded happily, confirming that there was no more fire outside. But then it gestured back and forth with its hands, indicating that although there was no Demon Flame outside, the temperature was still very high and one could not stay for long.

"That's no problem; as soon as I get out, I'll run to the area outside where the fire burned."

Jier waved his hand vigorously, stood up excitedly, and without a second thought, prepared to go straight out.

But just as he lifted his foot, he realized that the clothes he was wearing at this moment were not the same as the outfit he had worn when he entered the dream dozens of days ago. Moreover, he hadn't cleaned himself properly for many days; the beard on his face was quite long, and his hair was sticky and messy.

Not only that, because he hadn't eaten properly for a long time, Jier's body had thinned by a circle, and his cheeks were much gaunter.

He patted his face, realizing that if he went out looking like this, he wouldn't be able to explain himself at all when he ran into his subordinates and people he knew.

Stamping his feet, Jier had to suppress the urge to immediately escape the dream and returned to the place in the Yingdi where tools were stored. He took off the stinking clothes that reeked of sweat and sourness—he couldn't even bother to wash up, as there was no clean water available in the dream—and used a sharp curved Dagger to carefully shave off the beard on his chin, while using his Hunting Sword to trim the excess hair.

To hide the changes in his gaunt physique and face, Jier also lit a small pile of fire, barely managing to produce some charcoal ash, and rubbed a lot of it onto his face and neck so that it would be harder to see his truly disheveled state when it was dark.

Finally, Jier put on the set of clothes and equipment he had worn when he entered the dream dozens of days ago.

Only then was he considered properly prepared.

"Well then, I'm heading out now!"

Jier said his final farewells to the little Spirit and the clever Mushroom Boys who were standing in a row to see him off. The little Spirit waved its hands with regret, while the Mushroom Boys were in high spirits; this time, they were happy enough to dance the mushroom dance.

Smiling, Jier took a deep breath of the cold air in the Dreamy Forest, held it tightly, and then gave a slight jump.

When he landed again, he had already appeared in the ruins of a forest that had just been burned.

The surrounding air was quite scorching and hot, making Jier, who had reappeared here, quite uncomfortable. The sky was pitch black; he didn't know if it was the smoke from the burning Shulin obscuring the sky in this area, or if a night cloud had drifted over during the unknown amount of time Jier had been away.

Seeing this, Jier slightly closed his stinging eyes and, without distinguishing east from west, lifted his legs and started running in one direction.

The ground was full of tree remains turned into charcoal. Some tree trunks that had stubbornly refused to collapse were still emitting firelight and smoke, like vengeful spirits demanding lives, sending out desperate questions to the fast-running Jier.

Crack!

A large tree in front of Jier that had burned into charcoal collapsed, but the next moment it was kicked away by Jier, who kicked it hard on the spot, turning it into a river of scattered sparks and fragments.

But the soles of Jier's Hard Cowhide Armor Boots also emitted a burnt smell and almost caught fire.

Holding his breath, Jier dared not stay here long. Life Energy gathered in his legs, supporting him as he began to run and leap with long strides. Each step covered several meters, and after a few steps, his right foot crushed something hard and brittle as he landed.

He lowered his head to barely identify it, discovering that it was a gray-white Human skull he had crushed the head of.

"Sorry, unlucky guy."

Jier thought this in his heart, but his feet showed no mercy, exerting force again to leap forward with all his might.

Finally, after rushing out more than twenty meters, he safely left the 'Shulin' that had burned into ruins. When his feet finally stepped onto the wild grass that had been baked yellow by the high temperature, Jier almost cried with excitement.

Turning his head to look behind him, Jier finally saw what consequences the adventure and confrontation from 'dozens of days' ago had caused. Almost an entire stretch of wild Shulin had been burned into ruins by the evil and powerful Demon Flame. Each once-sturdy and tall tree had now become an ugly, pitch-black, charred 'corpse' with only the remaining trunks emitting ominous residual firelight, not to mention the shrubs and flowers in and around the Shulin, as well as various small animals turned into pale, withered bones.

Even the burrowing animals in the burrows had been steamed to death alive in their own caves beneath the ground by the high temperature of the surface. Squirrels and wild snakes that couldn't escape in time had now become lumps of charred charcoal.

The large amount of toxic smoke produced by the burning even caused large flocks of birds in the sky to plummet while flying in panic. If one were to check these corpses, they would find that they were either poor birds choked to death by the smoke, or birds that didn't want to leave their nests too far and had their lungs scorched by the high-temperature air.

Jier's eyes were wide open, deeply engraving this scene in his mind. He pursed his lips tightly, whispering to himself that none of this was his fault.

At least, most of the fault was not caused by him.

Who knew that going out at night to drive away peepers would lead to encountering such a difficult pair of Hunter brothers, and that the other party would have Zibao Moha Arrow of such power.

Who could have foreseen it? Right?

"If you want to blame someone, go find those two Hunters whose souls were burned away."

Muttering a word, Jier turned around to look for his team in the pitch-black night.

Although he had lived in the dream for dozens of days, it was indeed still the same night outside.

This sense of discrepancy in time flow made Jier sigh with awe at the terror of these mysterious powers.

When Jier was walking and looking for the Refugee Team, several Mao Mao not far away widened their eyes.

These fluffy little fellows hadn't returned to the Yingdi early because they really didn't know how to explain that the powerful Human who had recruited them had died. Fearing being attacked, they had no choice but to wander desperately not far outside the Shulin before dawn.

But fate was not unkind to them; this painful worry didn't plague them for long. After the violent firestorm in the Shulin dissipated and extinguished, the powerful Human they thought was surely dead had actually appeared again?

"Woo woo, meow meow!"

The several Mao Mao who discovered Jier shouted anxiously; half went to notify the Captain, Yongqi Maomao, while the other half ran quickly toward Jier.

They still remembered Jier's previous attire, so they jumped up and down excitedly as soon as they came over. However, when they got closer to Jier, the sour, stinking smell of Jier's body, which hadn't been washed in a long time, directly knocked them over with their sensitive noses.

"Woo~"

They were strange; how could this powerful Human have this smell after running out of the fire?

Jier raised his arm and smelled his own arm; there was indeed a bit of a smell, but he couldn't smell exactly what kind of intense odor it was himself.

"Alright, it was so hot in the Shulin, this is just sweat! Don't be surprised."

Jier explained, then said to the Mao Mao: "Call your Captain, let's go back to the Yingdi. Seriously, to, tonight, was really unlucky."

Once Yongqi Maomao rushed over and confirmed Jier's safety and the scent on his body, it finally let out a sigh of relief; fortunately, this generous and trustworthy powerful Human had not actually died in the earlier firestorm.

Although they also did not understand how this powerful Human had survived within such a terrifying, massive fire.

It looked like, aside from the foul smell and his face and head being covered in charcoal black, he did not have a single injury.

Not wanting to overthink it, Yongqi Maomao offered the spoils it had picked up earlier to Jier, and Jier accepted them calmly, saying: "These things don't have much metal content, and their origins are mysterious; you little ones can't handle them. Let me handle them. As for your battle rewards for tonight, how about I reward each of you with a set of small clothes made of Fayu Bu when we get back? The fur on your bodies doesn't look waterproof, and that won't do. With the small clothes modified by the clever girls in the team, I guarantee you can come out to play and move around freely even on rainy days!"

Upon hearing that the reward was not metal, the Maomaos were initially a bit discouraged; after all, tonight's battle was truly dangerous. However, Yongqi Maomao was smart and knowledgeable enough to know that once they had the rain gear that only Humans wore, they Maomaos could also come out to hunt and fight on rainy days!

"Okay, okay, want, clothes."

It said this eagerly, though it was unnecessary; the other Maomaos could not speak the Human common tongue clearly, and no Maomao was competing with it.

Thus, Jier, exhausted yet excited, led the seven Maomaos toward the Refugee Team.

From a distance, Jier saw that the people in the Yingdi had all gathered together, and the Armed Civilian holding weapons were protecting the people as if facing a formidable enemy, everyone huddled in the center of the Temporary Camp for the night.

When they vaguely saw someone walking over from outside the camp, they shouted excitedly: "Is it Knight Jier? Is it Knight Jier?"

Jier waved his hand, though he did not know if they could see him: "Yes, it's me."

He barely mustered the energy to reply.

Upon hearing it was Jier, the people visibly relaxed. Xueya Site even jumped down from Jier's carriage at the very center of the camp, pushed through the crowded people, and quickly led men to the outside of the Temporary Camp to welcome Jier.

However, as soon as he came over, he pinched his nose: "What is this smell? Where did you go? The Shulin not far away caught fire just now, and it burned extremely fiercely. Jier, does this have anything to do with you?"

The Armed Civilian who followed over all looked at Jier with burning gazes, fearing that Jier might say it had nothing to do with him.

Jier touched his freshly shaved chin and said ambiguously: "You could say that."

That Shulin burning did indeed have to do with him, although he was not the one who set the fire.

Xueya Site endured the smell and approached Jier, asking in a low voice: "What exactly happened? Green flames shot into the sky there, and the entire Shulin burned up. If the Priest hadn't judged that the fire wouldn't spread along the grass outside the Shulin, everyone's order would have collapsed earlier."

Jier looked left and right and found that the several Armed Civilian who had followed Xueya Site were all Captains of various squads, so he could not explain in detail; mainly, the conflict and grudges between the Hunting God Church hunters and the great bird deity had nothing to do with the people.

Letting them know the situation would actually be bad.

"We'll talk when we get back. Let everyone relax and sleep; disperse, disperse! Also, bring a few basins of clear water; I need to wash up, my body is covered in charcoal ash."

Xueya Site rolled his eyes at Jier: "Is this charcoal ash? I'm afraid you rolled around in a pigsty, didn't you?"

Jier gave a bitter smile: "A pigsty? I'm afraid it was a Mushroom circle."

He shook his head and led the people toward the camp.

The Captains of the several Armed Squad who received Jier's order shouted all the way for everyone to disperse and rest. Not only did the return of Knight Jier give everyone a backbone and a sense of security, but it was also because Jier had said that the mysterious and strange matter of the green flames in the Shulin earlier had to do with him.

Regarding Knights, especially Knights with some peculiar abilities, the general public had many unrealistic fantasies about them. Although the Shulin not far from the Temporary Camp had been destroyed by fierce green flames earlier, which was very terrifying and horrific, as long as it was something caused by the Knight protecting the team—regardless of whether this young Knight Jier had the ability to create such terrifying and horrific flames—then everyone could accept it.

No matter how absurd, there was an explanation, and what now seemed to be the only reasonable explanation. The people changed from their previous fear and worry, and instead, on the way back to their respective Tent, they gradually began to excitedly discuss how many more magical abilities this young Knight Jier had.

Some people who had fought at close range with Jier during the previous Bandit attack claimed with certainty that Knight Jier possessed a Magic Fire sword that was not often used, even though Jier usually hung another equally impressive-looking Luminous Longsword at his waist.

Tonight's incident must have been caused by Knight Jier going out in the middle of the night to test his sword; most likely, when he used the Magic sword, he accidentally set the Shulin on fire.

The person speaking looked certain, and the people listening also looked earnest.

If Jier didn't know the truth of the matter, he might have believed it too; the story they made up was much more reasonable and credible than the facts.

Splash, splash, Jier was currently sitting in a Wooden Basin by the fire at the entrance of his tent, and two of his guard subordinates were pouring warm, clear water over Jier's head.

Jier scrubbed his body vigorously with a washing tool he had bought in Dorn Town. This thing was just a piece of wood smaller than a palm, wrapped in a kind of animal skin with rough texture, used to assist people in scrubbing their bodies.

The water in the Wooden Basin at his feet had turned black, but it looked like the dirt on Jier's body would need to be washed for a while longer.

"How long has it been since you had a proper bath?"

Xueya Site sat on the ground to the side, looking in surprise at how Jier had turned a basin of clear water black and murky. It was too absurd; he remembered that Jier bathed quite diligently in the team. As long as the team was along a river, they would always stop to fetch water and let the people in the team wash their bodies.

It was generally divided into two groups, men and women; as long as they were not injured, everyone would go into the river to wash and scrub.

Jier should not have been this dirty.

Jier noticed Xueya Site's surprise, and just then, Bata'er Jiaoshi was nearby, waiting for Jier to explain everything that happened tonight.

"Hey, I've been practicing my martial arts, haven't I? I sweated, and then rolled around on the ground a few times, so my body got this dirty."

Xueya Site knew Jier was lying; after all, Jier had previously taken the alien to go out and retaliate for the injured scouting alien. Most likely, a battle had occurred, and Jier had used some kind of fire-setting Magic weapon to eliminate the enemy.

"Ah, yes, yes, yes. You are a Knight; practicing martial arts is very important, it's how you make a living."

Xueya Site said this carelessly, then came to the side of the bewildered Priest and whispered to him about what had happened earlier.

Only then did Bata'er Jiaoshi realize that tonight's events were not as he had heard when he arrived; it was not some fire caused by Knight Jier practicing with his weapons. That green flame was so evil that the Priest understood the moment he saw it that it was not a power that an ordinary person or an ordinary Knight could master.

Such evil flame power, he had to figure it out, otherwise how could he sleep.

Regarding Jier's lie at this moment, the Priest also understood that this was for the surrounding people to hear. Regardless of the truth of the matter, they needed to know a reason and cause that they could accept.

After washing up, Jier wrapped a clean Linen Cloth around his waist and came to the fire with his upper body bare, rubbing his wet hair.

After fiddling for a while, Jier then invited the two companions into his tent to talk.

Confirming that the guards outside the tent could not hear their whispered conversation, the Priest sat cross-legged on the sleeping bag on the ground and asked.

"What exactly happened? Tell me. Don't try to fool me. When I was clearly watching that fierce green flame, I felt undisguised hostility and malice within the flames."

While putting on his clothes, Jier explained: "It really wasn't any practice or any other reason. Simply put, I encountered an enemy, and then a battle occurred."

Xueya Site also sat cross-legged on the sleeping bag and asked the key question: "That greenish flame, who set it? It better be you."

But Jier was silent for a moment, which made Xueya Site stop breathing for a moment, and the Priest also sighed heavily.

Then Jier said: "It wasn't me; it was a flame created by the enemy."

"Who is the enemy?" the Priest asked seriously.