Chapter 774: Too Difficult

Zhu Yiwen grew impatient watching his subordinates stumbling along with uneven steps.

They were all useless things; they couldn't do anything right, and they never had enough to eat.

If not for the fact that they were still somewhat loyal, he would have stopped keeping this bunch of trash long ago.

In truth, he himself was not much better; he slipped after walking a few steps—falling into a puddle, covered from head to toe in mud.

"Head of the Family, are you alright?"

A subordinate kindly wanted to come over to help him up, but Zhu Yiwen was so angry his lungs felt like they were about to explode; he shook them off and cursed: "Get lost! Walk at the normal pace; if you fall behind by even one step, I'll kill you."

Consequently, no one dared to help him again, and everyone continued walking forward with uneven steps.

At the beginning, Zhu Yiwen hadn't noticed, but now he felt as if Shi Youxuan was playing with him.

They had made ample preparations to come here, wearing professional boots, yet even so, it was very difficult to walk in the Swamp.

Could someone like Shi Youxuan, who only knew how to sit around and play tricks, walk this fast?

But it was better to believe it existed than to believe it didn't; if he discovered that Shi Youxuan was playing him, he would make her death look particularly ugly!

Before long, another person fell down.

Everyone had gone through great hardships, and in the end, their pace still became chaotic.

Someone questioned: "Boss, is it possible for there to be a Treasure in this godforsaken place? Even if there is, where would it be hidden? It couldn't possibly be hidden underground, could it..."

This person had hit the truth; the Treasure was indeed hidden underground.

It was just that Zhu Yiwen hadn't told these few people, and of course, he didn't intend to let these people return alive!

As soon as the Ji Family Treasure was discovered, everyone who came with him would be killed; not a single living soul could be left.

Before this person finished speaking, a few birds suddenly flew over their heads—a few unidentified flying objects fell from above, landing right on the speaker's head!

He touched it with his hand—and was so disgusted he nearly vomited.

He hurriedly reached out to pull some reed leaves to wipe his hand, but this slowed his speed down.

Zhu Yiwen urged: "Keep moving, what are you dawdling for? You are not allowed to slow down."

The few of them were in utter misery.

The road became increasingly difficult to walk; by the end, they were practically rolling and crawling just to keep up with the required speed.

They finally arrived.

The few of them sprawled on the ground, too tired to even speak.

Their heads and faces were covered in mud and water, and their clothes went without saying—the original color was no longer visible.

Zhu Yiwen gasped for air, his heart beating "thump-thump" rapidly, as if it could jump out of his chest at any moment.

He had never been this disheveled before.

Not even when he was fleeing for his life; now he was in such a sorry state, his clothes filthy to the extreme, wet and sticky against his body, which was very uncomfortable.

But he was happy in his heart, especially happy.

The main reason for his happiness was that there really was a small mound in front of him, just as Shi Youxuan had described!

Her aunt was in his hands; no matter how smart that woman was, she wouldn't dare play any tricks.

He had warned Shi Youxuan, telling her that if she wasn't honest, she should just wait to collect Ji Yingjie's corpse.

Now it seemed he was indeed correct, and then he waited for it to rain.

The weather in the Swamp was fickle and it rained often.

But today it seemed to be deliberately working against them; before they reached this point, the light rain had been falling incessantly, making the road very difficult to walk.

And once they arrived, the sun came out!

The scorching sun hung brightly in the sky, like a large furnace roasting the Swamp and the few people lying scattered on the ground.

At first, everyone felt quite pleasant, the warm sunlight shining on their bodies felt comfortable.

But soon they discovered that too much sunlight was not a good thing either.

The clothes on their bodies were baked dry, as if they were wearing a suit of armor, stiff and very uncomfortable.

Not only uncomfortable, but the clothes also emitted a very foul odor.

These things could be endured, but the sun was too intense, and they soon broke into a sweat.

Furthermore, the ultraviolet rays were particularly strong.

Shi Youxuan said they had to wait for rain to find the entrance, so Zhu Yiwen wouldn't let them leave, making them stay right where they were, not allowing them to move a single step away.

There were no landmarks here, and he was afraid that if he left, he wouldn't be able to find his way back.

And with no shade or cover, standing in the sun and being exposed to the heat, he began to feel dizzy and lightheaded.

"Ugh, ugh—"

Zhu Yiwen began to retch.

He had heatstroke.

For many years, Zhu Yiwen had always lived in luxury and comfort, never having suffered any physical hardship.

Having walked for so long just now, and then being exposed to the scorching sun, his body couldn't take it and he suffered heatstroke.

"Head of the Family, please drink some water."

A subordinate used their clothes to prop up a shade to block the sun for Zhu Yiwen.

Someone brought water for him to drink, and someone rummaged through a backpack to find wind oil essence to apply to his temples.

Zhu Yiwen was saved by his subordinates and recovered.

It was just that the sun was still hanging brightly in the sky, with no sign of preparing to rest.

From dawn to dusk, from the sun to the stars, it did not rain again.

The temperature difference between day and night in the Swamp was huge; they were roasted to the point of heatstroke during the day, but shivered from the cold at night.

Blankets, windbreakers, towels... despite having everything they could wear or cover themselves with on their bodies, the few of them were still shivering from the cold.

"Head, Head of the Family, sh-should we light a fire?"

The subordinate's lips were purple from the cold; how wonderful it would be to have a bonfire right now.

But Zhu Yiwen would not allow it; he feared the firelight would attract the attention of others.

"We cannot light a fire. You all know how formidable the Jiangzhou police are. If we attract them here, not one of us will be able to escape."

Zhu Yiwen was not trying to scare them; everyone truly knew it.

But it was simply too cold.

They had all grown up in the tropics and had never known that the temperature difference could be this extreme; they felt as if they were about to freeze to death, a cold that reached deep into their bones.

"No, I can't take it anymore, Head of the Family. I'm dying, I'm going to die. We must light a fire. I, I cannot freeze to death here."

The subordinate did not listen to his orders; under normal circumstances, Zhu Yiwen would have finished him off.

But these were not normal circumstances, and he was also very cold.

He was so cold it felt as if he had been stuffed into an ice hole, so he nodded, tacitly agreeing.

A few of them used knives to cut some reeds that had been drying all day; they were very dry and easy to ignite.

"Clear the surrounding area thoroughly," Zhu Yiwen instructed.

The few of them were also very careful, clearing a radius of one meter completely clean before lighting the fire, fearing it would ignite other areas.

The flames rose, and the few of them huddled around to warm themselves; finally, there was warmth in their bodies.

Suddenly, the wind picked up.

A whirlwind rose abruptly, and sparks flew into the reed marsh, instantly igniting a dragon of fire through the reeds.

The few of them hurriedly took off their clothes to beat at the flames, but the more they beat it, the fiercer the fire grew; it could not be extinguished, so they gave up.

"It's on fire, run!"

The few of them took to their heels and ran.

The great fire chased behind them...

No matter how fast a person runs, they cannot outrun the fire; Zhu Yiwen could feel the flames licking at his back, and he thought to himself that it was over, his life was going to end in this wretched place.

Suddenly, the wind direction shifted, and the flames followed suit.

Without knowing when it started, the sky had become covered in dark clouds, and soon, bean-sized raindrops came crashing down!

The fire in the reed marsh had ignited quickly, and it was extinguished just as quickly; the rain put it out in no time, and although there was a bit of smoke at first, it soon vanished as well.

The rain grew heavier and heavier, visibility was very low, and because the few of them had been fleeing for their lives in all directions, they were now all scattered.

There was not a single person by Zhu Yiwen's side.

All there was, was the "whoosh" of the rain and the mud beneath his feet.