Chapter 55: The Competition Has Arrived

Wen Gu and his group could not sense the movements of the giants.

Beidi is too vast; even though there are many groups migrating from the South to the North during this period, they have only encountered a very small number.

They continue to move closer to the Zhao Clan.

They collect some burnable branches and dead wood along the way so they can use them directly when resting, without having to run far to chop firewood.

The most dangerous times have passed; nowadays, many areas in Beidi have sparse forests, and after the Cold Wave sweeps through, the temperature is low, so as long as they keep warm, there is nothing else to worry about too much.

Or perhaps not; the threat from evil things has decreased, but there are still people.

But all in all, the group is filled with positive emotions.

Take Xiao Liu, for example. Having seen the power of Jinwu City, he is even more full of hope for the future, and with the heavy responsibility of being the "hope of the whole Village" on his shoulders, he now feels full of energy!

The others are much the same.

They have finally arrived in Beidi alive; as long as they keep moving forward, they will reach the Zhao Clan, and a new life is about to begin!

Before that, they all want to perform well in front of Wen Gu.

Once they reach the Zhao Clan's territory, they will have to rely on the care of Wen Gu's relatives.

Qingyi Daozhang's mood has been fluctuating recently.

It is still because of those monks, which has added more uncertainty to his heart, but he quickly adjusts his mindset.

He cannot control other places, but in the group he is currently with, there cannot be any other "Master"!

Qingyi Daozhang's professional ability is not weak.

Consequently, while the group initially discussed those monks from Jinwu City and discussed Buddhism, after a few days passed, they no longer talked about those things; by comparison, this Qingyi Immortal by their side is more worthy of awe.

Wen Gu pays no attention to this small ripple in the group.

He ponders that if the identities of his aunt and uncle are truly as he suspects, then these relatives will not be people who act on emotion.

If Wen Gu wants to achieve his goal, he must make these relatives value him, and he must prove his own ability.

But proving one's own talent takes time.

In this day and age, distant relatives do not understand each other.

Upon first arriving here, the most intuitive way to increase one's own value immediately is to see how many people you have brought with you!

There are more survivors here in Beidi than in the South; the Six Great Clans now only occupy six provinces in the North, and there are still large areas they cannot manage, so there should still be quite a few survivors hidden away.

Wen Gu considers, before arriving at the Zhao Clan, where else can he fish some people out from?

Before nightfall, the group finds a small courtyard to serve as their place to stay for the night.

The Cold Wave has swept through these past few days, causing a sharp drop in temperature, but tonight's night sky is quite clear.

It is nearly a full moon, so the night is not pitch black; if one has good eyesight and no night blindness, one can see things at night and can even see some of the Jing outside.

With all things withering in autumn and winter, this area is already sparsely forested, making it look even more desolate.

"This courtyard is usually taken care of by someone; the perimeter wall was clearly repaired recently, and there are burnt residues in the courtyard," says Head Lin Biao.

"That means there are survivors nearby," says Wen Gu, "but they should only come by every few days; it doesn't look like they live here frequently."

The courtyard wall is built of stones and earth. There is no roof to shelter from the wind and rain; judging by the remaining traces, it was dismantled by someone, perhaps to be used as firewood. Inside, there is nothing but broken stones, tiles, and dirt.

Fortunately, there has been no rain for the past two days; the courtyard walls and carts block some of the wind, and with thick clothing wrapped tightly and a fire lit, they can make it through the night.

The nearby trees have all been chopped down, so if they want to chop firewood, they have to go a little further out.

They leave some people with good eyesight to take turns keeping watch, while the others rest.

Wen Gu rests in the carriage without lighting a candle; everything must be saved now. Early to bed, early to rise.

He closes his eyes and leans against the carriage, pondering the plan ahead.

He does indeed want to fish out more people to take to the Zhao Clan, but he does not need to do it deliberately; the most important thing now is to lead this group by his side to their destination as quickly as possible.

As for the rest, if he encounters them, he will fish them out. If he doesn't, so be it; he will not force it.

There are survivors nearby, but they are in a hurry to get on their way now and will not go out of their way to search.

Unless the other party bumps into them on their own.

But his group is only staying here for one night, and they will set off as soon as the sky brightens tomorrow morning.

In the middle of the night, with the weather so cold, who would be so foolish as to bump into them?

As he thinks, he is about to fall asleep, and some people outside have already been snoring for a long time.

Suddenly.

Ding-ling—

A faint sound of bells comes from afar.

Wen Gu opens his eyes and quietly distinguishes the sound in the darkness.

Ding-ling—ding-ling—

Sound after sound, it seems to be approaching from a distance.

The people keeping watch outside hear it too, and those who had fallen asleep are startled awake by the movement around them.

"What's wrong?!" The startled people pick up their weapons, thinking an evil thing is attacking.

"There's a sound! Listen..."

As they quiet down, they indeed hear the sound of a bell very quickly.

This does not sound like the movement made by an evil thing.

Wen Gu gets down from the carriage, and the others rise one after another.

After their eyes adjust, and without night blindness, they can still vaguely see the situation outside on such a night with a big moon.

Under the silvery moonlight, hazy and indistinct, there seems to be a line of figures, rising and falling rhythmically with the ghostly sound of bells in the night.

The bare branches in the distance look even more ferocious.

The night wind bites.

The swaying tree shadows were cast upon those figures moving forward with a specific gait.

At the very front, incense seemed to be burning, its flame flickering on and off with the undulating footsteps and the gentle evening breeze.

Ding-ling—

Ding-ling—

Sound after sound, drawing closer step by step.

Those with poor eyesight were like the blind at night, unable to see anything, but they could sense the hair-raising atmosphere and asked nervously.

But no one answered him.

Wrapping their clothes tighter, they became even more afraid.

Those with good eyesight had their hair standing on end, their knees turning weak.

When Xiao Liu first sensed the disturbance, he had been poised to draw his bow to defend against the enemy, guarding Wen Gu's side.

However, at this moment...

The fingers resting on the bowstring were trembling.

The basic qualities of a hunter's household disintegrated at this moment.

The others who could see were chattering their teeth even more, a constant clatter-clatter-clatter.

County Lieutenant Zhou, who also believed in ghosts and gods, was relying entirely on his own valor to grip his blade, his muscles tense all over, cold sweat beginning to break out on his face.

Ding-ling—

The sound of the Copper Bell grew closer, and they could see more and more clearly.

In that line of figures, apart from the person ringing the bell at the very front, the figures behind were almost synchronized.

With arms raised, each resting on the other, they hopped forward mechanically in the eerie stiffness of the bell's ringing.

Dim like ghost shadows, not resembling living people.

Under the moonlight, it appeared even more sinister.

Even that swaying Copper Bell seemed to be stealing people's souls step by step.

It made one feel only a tightening of the spirit and a dizziness in the eyes.

The number of figures over there was not large, but the Ghost Qi rushing toward them was enough to scare a group of tough men who had been slaying evil things for so long, nearly causing them to lose the courage to fight.

Xiao Liu's knees went weak, and he nearly knelt, but Wen Gu grabbed him by the back of his collar and pulled him to the side.

Turning back around, he continued to watch the line of figures approaching from the front.

Not only was he not afraid, he even felt that the way those people were coming over carried a kind of retro netherworld aesthetic.

Wen Gu said to the Daoist Priest beside him:

"Another competitor has arrived."

(End of this chapter)