Chapter 2514: Strange Things

While waiting, the sun set in the west. Smoke curled from chimneys in Bamboo Village, and the aroma of steamed grains drifted over.

Su Xiao opened his eyes. Just a moment ago, Amu arrived outside the nearby bamboo forest. Benny didn't come to rendezvous; that cat-star person went treasure hunting again.

Su Xiao let Amu wait in the nearby bamboo forest. It was unlikely Amu would encounter danger; Amu had an elemental constitution. If it sat in the bamboo forest, birds would land on its head.

Just as Su Xiao was pondering, the door was knocked. It was Liu, who came to call Su Xiao for dinner.

A few minutes later, in the room inside the courtyard, various foods were laid out on the low table. The chief sat in the head seat, with his back to the 'Ba' character on the wall inside. A new bamboo incense stick was lit; this bamboo incense seemed to have never been extinguished.

Liu and little Qingshi were on the right side of the low table, while Su Xiao, Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang, and Baja were on the left. The chief was at the head. Six dinners, each with its own characteristics.

Liu and little Qingshi's dinner consisted of several large pieces of venison, a cup of deer milk, and several types of fruits Su Xiao didn't recognize.

In front of Su Xiao was half a bamboo tube filled with plump rice, and on a small plate beside it was sliced and stir-fried venison.

Don't think this was shabby; Bamboo Village didn't produce spices. In their daily lives, there were only a few types of seasonings. Only when guests arrived would they use spices to cook food. It was a place that looked cold but was actually hospitable.

Chief Qingzhang's dinner was the shabbiest: a plate of bamboo shoots, a few pieces of sweet potato, and a small cup of cloudy wine.

"Eat."

The chief spoke. Little Qingshi and Liu immediately began to feast. Seeing the two of them eating happily, a hint of a smile seemed to appear on the chief's serious face.

After dinner, the chief sat cross-legged in front of the altar, and Liu lay on the floor, looking like he had a terminal case of laziness. Little Qingshi, the youngest, cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks, very diligently; it seemed this had become the norm.

In this home with few people and no female family members, there was more relative silence, but in some trivial matters, warmth was revealed.

Returning to the guest room, Su Xiao locked the door, blew out the oil lamp, and sat in the darkness waiting. Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang sat vigilantly beside his leg.

The sky grew darker. There was no moon tonight. At about 11:00 PM, Su Xiao heard footsteps outside the door.

Checking Zhan Long Shan appeared in Su Xiao's hand. He stepped toward the door.

"Person inside."

A female voice came. Judging by the voice, she wasn't very old.

"Leave tomorrow morning. You are not welcome here. Regardless of your purpose, this is not a place you should come to."

After the person outside the door left this sentence, she walked away quickly. One could faintly hear the sound of wind breaking as she leaped away.

Click, click~

Two crisp sounds came, as if something was gnawing on wood. Hearing this sound, Su Xiao and Baja looked at Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang at the same time.

"Awoo woof."

Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang was so anxious it almost spoke human language. It opened its mouth, meaning it hadn't dismantled the house, and there were no wood chips in its mouth.

Click, click~

The sound of gnawing wood appeared again. Su Xiao moved silently, simultaneously drawing the long blade from his waist.

With a swish, the long blade pierced through the wooden door and into flesh. From the hilt, Su Xiao could feel the sensation of the enemy's muscles twitching.

"Roar."

After a very low roar, the thing pierced by the long blade outside the door fled. Su Xiao withdrew the long blade from the hand-thick wooden door. Blood stained the blade, gathering into drops and dripping down. Even if Checking Zhan Long Shan was stained with blood, the blood wouldn't remain on it for long.

Su Xiao flicked the long blade, and a few blood beads were flung onto the ground in front of Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang. It lowered its head to sniff, and scent tracking began.

Su Xiao's first mission ring was to obtain the Water of Origin. The strange things happening in Bamboo Village would likely involve the Water of Origin.

Pushing open the wooden door, Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang rushed out first, followed by Baja, who soared into the high sky, becoming the overlord of the night sky.

Following Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang's tracking, Su Xiao leaped onto the human-shaped roof, running silently on the straw on the front slope of the roof.

The buildings in Bamboo Village were quite dense. Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang leaped across the roofs of the houses one by one. Su Xiao followed behind, and before long, he reached the edge of Bamboo Village and entered the bamboo forest.

Everything around was pitch black, and the moon in the sky was blocked by dark clouds. With Su Xiao's eyesight, this darkness didn't have much impact on him. As long as it wasn't an environment of absolute darkness, he could see things. There were many advantages to human physique, but there were also disadvantages. Nothing was perfect; if there was, it was just a lie.

Stepping on the bamboo leaves on the ground, he tracked all the way. Ten minutes later, Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang stopped in front of a low hill. The target it was tracking had disappeared, and the scent ended abruptly here.

Su Xiao picked up a blood-stained bamboo leaf from the ground and looked around. Finally, his gaze locked onto a giant rock. This giant rock was connected to the low hill in the bamboo forest.

A crystal layer clung to Su Xiao's left hand. He raised his hand and pressed it against the giant rock in front. When he touched the giant rock, there was no real tactile sensation; his hand went straight into it.

With Su Xiao's perception, he couldn't penetrate this 'fake rock' to perceive. One had to know that Su Xiao's perception was much stronger than Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang's, but his perception range was small—much smaller than Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang's range. This was the perception of a combat-type: strong and extremely sharp, but small in range.

Zzz~

Jie Duan Xian popped out, wrapping around Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang's waist. Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang merged into the environment and walked into the giant rock. In an unknown environment, Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang was responsible for scouting. With the 【Blessing Badge】 as a guarantee, even if Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang was severely injured, Su Xiao could pull it back in the shortest possible time.

Conversely, if Su Xiao were severely injured while scouting, the team's combat power would drop significantly.

As Jie Duan Xian was released, Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang went more than ten meters deep into the fake rock, and Jie Duan Xian tightened slightly. This was a signal that there was no danger. Su Xiao walked toward the fake rock.

Everything around turned gray. After walking a few steps, the front suddenly opened up. This was a stone cave leading into the low hill, a full four meters wide, pitch black inside, without a single source of light.

Su Xiao took out a military-grade glow stick, snapped it, and threw it forward.

As the glow stick flew, it illuminated blue light as it moved forward. Through this blue light, Su Xiao saw that there were many fluorescent spots on the inner walls of the cave.

Su Xiao walked quickly. After walking for dozens of meters, he discovered that the ground began to slope downward. He had begun to go deep underground.

Sure enough, after traveling for about half a kilometer, the rocks around the passage turned into mud, and round bamboo poles were neatly arranged on the walls to ensure the passage wouldn't collapse.

Just as Su Xiao was about to take out a second military-grade glow stick, Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang sent a message. Upon receiving this message, Su Xiao covered his mouth and nose with one hand, and a crystal layer spread, forming a crystal mask on the lower half of his face.

Su Xiao suddenly quickened his pace, the long blade in his right hand pointing diagonally at the ground. Before he had rushed out far, the sound of wind breaking came from the darkness ahead.

Clang, clang.

Two blade rays slashed over, crossing each other.

Su Xiao stopped. With two consecutive slashes, the sound of metal clashing rang out. The incoming blade rays were shattered. The next moment, a long blade slashed diagonally from the front, catching the gap where Su Xiao had shattered the two blade rays.

Clang!

Sparks erupted in the darkness, the faint light illuminating half an inch of the two blades.

While Su Xiao blocked this strike, his entire body's gravity leaned forward, using his right arm as the fulcrum to perform a perfect parry and counter-strike. As long as he pushed the enemy back, the enemy would suffer from muscle exhaustion, reducing their Strength attribute by 5 points for a period of time.

The person seemed to sense this and immediately lowered their center of gravity. Not knowing what method they used, they actually transferred the power from both blades.

Boom!

A burst of air exploded, and the person retreated a few steps. In the darkness, the person flicked their long blade. The blade momentum was like the wind—steady and seasoned. There were no flashy moves, but there were no flaws either.

The person's aura retracted. Clearly, they had judged that the enemy they were facing this time was no weaker than them in blade technique. Although the blood aura was restrained, this was a blade technique forged in slaughter. ===== CHAPTER 2515 =====