Chapter 28: Journey and the Soul

Luge sat crookedly, touching the rock wall, staring blankly into space.

In this pitch-black world, everything seemed still; gradually only the sound of his breathing remained. He subconsciously slowed his breath, and then he could hear his own heartbeat.

A drop of water fell from the cave ceiling.

It landed right on his face.

He raised his hand to wipe away the water, and while at it scratched the patchy, thinning hard hair on his head. The movement tugged at the wound on his left side, and his lifeless eyes gained a little more spark.

Surviving all day in the cave, passing his days in a daze without seeing the sky, he didn't know how many days had passed, as if time had nothing to do with him anymore. He only knew he had been hungry many times, and eaten many times, and sometimes had to keep going hungry.

A burst of footsteps sounded.

Only to see a figure slightly shorter than him by a head, groping its way over in the darkness.

That person came before him, spitting out a large string of chatter, the words carrying obvious concern.

Luge put away his long sighs.

He sized up the newcomer.

During this period of time, the only lucky thing was that he had coincidentally saved the kobold before him named Aijin, a kobold girl slightly shorter than him.

Aijin was one of the few kobolds he had contacted who could communicate.

"Brother Luge, I knew you'd be here. Is your injury okay?" The kobold girl Aijin drew near, raised her head to look at him, picked at her teeth with her fingernail, and said softly, "The master is already gathering people, possibly to lead the tribespeople out hunting."

Luge was stunned for a moment, propped one hand against the cave wall, and swayed as he stood up.

"Black Claw Saint Lord's appetite has grown again," he sighed.

"Not Black Claw Zhuren. Black Claw Zhuren... has already become food, swallowed in one bite by the new master! Now we follow the more powerful Hui Chang Jing Sheng Zhu Ren. It certainly won't be eaten so easily." Her speech had improved greatly compared to before, almost fluent.

He leaned his shoulder against the cave wall and rolled his eyes at the words.

Usually he liked being alone.

First, he could take fewer beatings. Kobolds were never stingy with their fists when punching their own kind.

Second, he liked enjoying the feeling of hunger by himself. Hunger could be said to be an important part of every kobold's life.

This time alone wasn't very long.

His stomach had only been hungry once, and unexpectedly the regime had changed. Listening to it, the new object of following might have a somewhat long neck.

Aijin continued picking at her teeth with one hand, and with the other hand spread open, held it out before him.

"For you."

Luge raised an eyebrow at the words, already guessing in his heart.

He lowered his head and drew near.

Only to see a palm-sized piece of charred meat. Nearby he could still smell the stench hidden beneath the burnt smell.

The kobold girl knew he liked cooked food.

He raised his head to look at Aijin's other hand. The fingernail she used to pick her teeth was emitting a soft, faint glow.

"You ate those glowing mushrooms again?"

"Not much. I listened to you. I didn't eat too many mushrooms. Nothing will happen. I'm very strong."

Aijin patted her own belly, and once again pushed that hand forward.

He scratched the long hair near his ears. A kobold's ears were almost growing to the back of his head, and he had never quite gotten used to it. Moreover, he discovered that he seemed to have grown some worms recently.

A few stray hairs, scratched again and again.

The kobold girl quietly held up her hand.

"Half each."

He picked up the burnt but uncooked piece of meat, gathered his strength, and tore it apart. Half he placed back into the kobold girl's palm.

Aijin smiled and shoved the meat into her mouth in one handful.

Luge watched her cheeks move, and also raised his hand to bite off a piece, chewing hard. But his balding dog face did not have the happy, satisfied smile Aijin had.

The charred roast meat entered his mouth. Before he could chew it properly, he swallowed it down, and his stomach felt much more comfortable at once.

He could live another two days, he sighed in his heart.

Scrounging the kobold girl's already meager food, meal by irregular meal, naturally felt bad. But he didn't want to starve to death.

He let out a long breath, exhaling a sour, stinking breath.

Suddenly he frowned again.

An inexplicable feeling of déjà vu surged in his heart.

He seemed to have once scolded Aijin for eating those glowing things.

"Brother Luge, why haven't you swallowed yet?" Aijin said with a smile.

"I..."

He suddenly discovered the piece of meat was still in his mouth.

He spread his hand before him, opened his mouth and spat it out. Indeed, it was that piece of meat.

He heard that many old kobolds, when on their deathbeds, would experience this kind of brain not working properly, and might even lose control and die directly in the midst of shouting and screaming.

Was he about to die too? He began to think wildly.

But I'm not old! Even if I die, I'll starve to death! Did starvation ruin my brain? And I haven't even become a Wizard yet!

He wailed in his heart, and suddenly shivered.

He looked down again.

What he held in his hand was no longer that piece of meat, but a round bead emitting a dim light.

As the dim light flickered, it was truly beautiful.

The surroundings gradually began to shake, slowly turning into an earth-shaking tremor.

He subconsciously reached out to protect Aijin, but the movement only got halfway before everything vanished with a boom.

He opened his eyes.

A flash of anger crossed the bottom of his eyes.

The world returned to peace, the distant dripping sound still continuing.

Luge lowered his head, looking at the Jing Zhu held between his fingertips, and the Cultivation Bag at his waist that had been shaking violently without stop.

"Thank you, little one, you can rest now." He patted the bag.

"Your Spiritual Power is so weak, are you also a low-rank Wizard Apprentice?"

He looked at the round and smooth bead in his hand, beginning to mutter to himself like a fool.

"For such a low-rank Apprentice to come out wandering about, it's very Dangerous, surely you didn't grow up in a big city since childhood? Are those Underground Cities? The dangers of Di Ku Shi Jie will exceed your Imagination..."

"You really don't plan to say anything?"

"A few days ago I Encountered a snake, that snake could even use Spiritual Power to speak."

Luge said while speaking, having already completed the Empowerment of two Spell Models, one being Spiritual Boiling to guard against the unforeseen, which could make him more spirited and also slightly resist mental confusion, and then what he was doing right now, he was Quietly leaving a Secret Technique Mark on this bead to use as a marker.

"Rude fellow!"

The Jing Zhu surged with a spiritual fluctuation carrying strong emotions, the Secret Technique Mark imprinting Failed.

Suddenly a gloomy light arose, the Jing Zhu began to run up and down chaotically. Luge grabbed it with his hand, following it as it ran and rushed chaotically up, down, left, and right. He had long felt this fellow wanted to run, so he wanted to leave a Secret Technique Mark, seeing a momentary stalemate, Bull Strength was Quietly added to his body.

"I am a Jingjie Wizard Apprentice, yet actually being by you... you actually are a Kobold! If I had known this earlier I wouldn't have gone to induce dreams! Wasting my Spiritual Power!"

The Jing Zhu's voice suddenly rose an octave mid-sentence, piercing Luge's heart.

Luge was about to curse back, but suddenly paused, the Jing Zhu also stopped moving.

"Friend, you seem to be cracked."

(Chapter End)