Chapter 146: The Real Wilderness (9/10, Autumn Subscription)

Fang Yue felt around for a bit, then finally tore off a strip of cloth from his sleeve cuff.

"Will this do?"

"It's enough."

The Blood Hunter took the cloth, held it out for the 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】 to sniff for a while, and then watched as the 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】 ate the cloth right up.

"It, this…"

"It's fine, that means it's memorized the scent."

"Alright then…"

After all, it was a Ghost Hunter, not an ordinary dog—Fang Yue didn't really have a say in the matter. Whatever the Blood Hunter said it was, that's what it was.

At this point, Luo Xin had already finished taking attendance and called Fang Yue over.

"Deputy Captain Ye, the personnel roster has been confirmed, no errors, verified correct. Please say a few words of motivational speech, and then we can set off."

As she spoke, Luo Xin also led a horse over for Fang Yue.

Unlike last time, this time Fang Yue mounted the horse very smoothly—because after that day-shift patrol, Fang Yue had properly practiced his horsemanship. Though he wasn't that great at it, mounting and riding normally was fine, as long as the speed wasn't too fast.

Looking down at the dense crowd of people below, Fang Yue felt a little nervous.

Every one of them was looking at Fang Yue with hopeful eyes.

Every one of them trusted Fang Yue, hoping Fang Yue would lead them safely to their destination and bring them back safely.

This was equivalent to entrusting their lives—the lives they trusted him with—into Fang Yue's hands.

Only now, looking into the clear eyes of so many people, did Fang Yue finally realize this.

Before this, what Fang Yue had thought about was simply the matter of safety; he had never considered that on his shoulders, in reality, rested so many lives!

That burden suddenly grew several times heavier.

Clearing his throat lightly, Fang Yue made his voice as calm as possible.

"Um, I'm the Deputy Captain of the Gu Yue Cun Guard Team, Yese Liming."

"For this escort team, I'll be serving as Captain."

"I'm not much of a talker. In short, you'll need to follow orders on the road, and I'll do my best to protect your safety."

"That's it, let's go!"

Fang Yue really didn't have much talent for speeches, but those plain few words still drew an enthusiastic response. The Guard Team members and villagers all applauded, and finally, with a great wave of Fang Yue's hand, the large contingent set off in grand fashion.

"They're finally gone."

Lin Ling stood on a rooftop in Lin Ling Cun, looking down below.

"Yeah, hopefully after Hua Qiuqiu receives that letter, she can hold up under this devastating news…"

Hua Wuye said beside him, his expression dim.

"Thinking of Hua Daniang and the others again? Don't be sad, I'll be here for you from now on."

Lin Ling grasped Hua Wuye's hand; the latter's face flushed slightly, revealing a faint, happy smile.

And below them, Ma Tiejiang withdrew his gaze, a faint cold smile on his face.

"Show off your love, and you'll die fast! Gu Yue Cun is about to be done for, so enjoy these last moments while you can."

……

Only when he was truly walking on the village road did Fang Yue realize that the so-called village road was actually a small path paved with goose-white stones.

And he had actually seen this kind of goose-white stone before.

That's right, he had seen it.

This goose-white color was exactly the same as the goose-white stones that made up the downhill path connecting Guyue Miao to Gu Yue Cun when he had first entered the game.

"This kind of stone is called Porcelain-White Stone. Because it's loathed by the Eerie, there's a folk saying that as long as a road is paved with Porcelain-White Stone, it won't be attacked by the Eerie."

"Actually, this is a misconception. Porcelain-White Stone simply emits a faint, grass-like strange stench that humans can barely smell, and it's this smell that the Eerie dislike."

"But as time goes on, the grassy stench of the Porcelain-White Stone on the village roads has gradually faded, so the safety of the village roads has been greatly reduced. The road markers are now more symbolic than effective at repelling the Eerie."

"Of course, compared to wandering aimlessly in the wild, walking on the village roads is definitely much safer."

Listening to Luo Xin's explanation, Fang Yue nodded.

He looked at the village road beneath his feet, only half a meter wide, and had already lost most of his confidence in this so-called safety.

Lin Ling tricked me!

Saying the village roads were safe—what a scam! Luckily Luo Xin explained it clearly, otherwise he'd have been tricked into a ditch.

Just as Fang Yue thought of this, Luo Xin added another sentence.

"However, because of the accumulated effect of this grassy stench on the village roads over the years, many native-born Eerie have come to accept the existence of the village roads and will instinctively avoid them with disgust. So in a sense, the village roads' effect of repelling the Eerie hasn't disappeared."

Alright, so a fixed impression had formed among the Eerie, causing them to take detours around the village roads.

That seemed pretty good too, but as time went on, plenty of Eerie must have already noticed that the stench on the village roads had faded a lot. Once they spread the word, the safety of the village roads would eventually become a problem.

It had been one shichen since Fang Yue and the others left Gu Yue Cun.

The sunlight was fierce, scorching the earth.

Fang Yue sat on the horse, letting it walk slowly.

And behind him, after the initial nervousness and curiosity, the villagers all felt weary and the sweltering heat.

Actually, when they had just left the village, Fang Yue had been more nervous than any of them.

This feeling became especially intense after leaving the day-shift patrol area near Gu Yue Cun, his heart pounding away.

But as time passed, Fang Yue also gradually calmed down.

The dangers of the wild had been spoken of in almost mythical terms, but judging by the current situation, it didn't seem that dangerous—at least not as frequent as imagined.

Fang Yue glanced at Luo Xin riding beside him, vigilantly scanning the surroundings.

Then he looked at An Shenyi, who was lying directly on the cargo cart pulled by two fine horses behind them, snoring away, with no sense of crisis whatsoever.

That's right—rumor has it that this guy would even treat the Bizarre for money; his guts are enormous. A mere stretch of wilderness, he must visit it as often as going home.

Continuing to swivel his head, he saw Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu still chatting with the tail. The two girls seemed to have endless topics, giggling from time to time, as if they were off on a picnic, leaving Fang Yue staring blankly.

Aren't they afraid of running into the Bizarre? This is the wilderness! Their hearts are way too big.

Shaking his head slightly, Fang Yue looked toward the Blood Hunter. That fellow walked toward the rear of the group, occasionally letting the 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】 drink water and relieve itself to leave scent markers.

Only then did Fang Yue recall that a Guard Team member had once said the urine of the 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】 had a certain effect of driving away the Bizarre.

Fang Yue couldn't help but nod in satisfaction. He had to admit that in this massive group, only the Blood Hunter was a true veteran, making outstanding contributions to the team's safety.

With the 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】's urine covering the rear, if any Bizarre happened to approach from behind, it would surely be driven off by the smell and change direction, greatly boosting the group's safety.

What a veteran—so strong!

Continuing to observe the group, Fang Yue's gaze suddenly fell on a person.

"Ma Ling'er?"

His eyelids could barely stay open…

(End of chapter)