Chapter 216
Chapter 216
Ji Si immediately picked up Jiang Yunsui and watched the elephant warily.
It gave them a soft trumpet, then curled its trunk around an apple and offered it to Jiang Yunsui.
The fruit was unripe, but the gesture expressed goodwill.
Jiang Yunsui’s eyes lit up.
“Si Si, look! The elephant is so smart.”
Ji Si was surprised too, though its friendly attitude was clearly good for them.
Jiang Yunsui took the apple and stuffed it into his hand.
“You eat it, Si Si. It isn’t ripe yet.”
Ji Si stared at the unripe apple in silence.
She asked him to put her down, then gave the elephant a cucumber.
It ate the cucumber and picked another apple for her.
Tiny Jiang Yunsui stood beside the elephant. Her entire body was only slightly thicker than one of its legs.
She took a tentative bite. Sure enough, the fruit was unripe and unpleasant.
“You eat it. I don’t want it.”
When the elephant offered another, she politely refused and stroked its trunk.
The mother’s trunk was much thicker than the calf’s, extraordinarily flexible, and rough beneath her fingers.
Ji Si stood with folded arms and watched without relaxing. At the first threatening movement, he would rush in and pull her away.
“All right, no more playing. We have to finish digging the slope so your baby can get out.”
Jiang Yunsui pushed away the trunk rubbing against her face and resumed digging with her hoe.
The elephant watched, then picked up a branch and imitated them.
Her movements lacked dexterity. Rather than digging, she merely stabbed the mud.
Jiang Yunsui and Ji Si ignored her attempts.
After a long struggle, the slope was finally complete.
To prevent slipping, Ji Si scattered branches over it.
The elephant understood that. She tossed branches onto the slope as well.
“That’s enough,” Ji Si said.
Jiang Yunsui’s eyes shone. “Come here! You can get out this way!”
The mother trumpeted, hooked her trunk around her calf’s, and guided it toward the slope.
The calf still slipped slightly, but the branches provided friction and footholds.
At last, it emerged.
The instant all four feet reached level ground, it trumpeted joyfully like a little horn and circled Jiang Yunsui, Ji Si, and its mother.
The mother was equally delighted and trumpeted several times, far louder than her calf.
Jiang Yunsui watched happily until the elephant’s trunk suddenly wrapped around her.
Then she rose into the air.
“Wow!”
Ji Si’s body tensed instinctively.
Jiang Yunsui burst into laughter.
“Si Si, look how high I am!”
The elephant gently swung her in the air to express gratitude and joy.
Jiang Yunsui climbed along the trunk onto the elephant’s head, then settled on her neck.
This was far more exciting than riding a buffalo.
“Si Si, come up too.”
Ji Si lightly touched the ground and landed behind her.
It truly was somewhat thrilling.
As if venting her frustration, the elephant threw branches and debris into the muddy pit.
Then she carried the two riders away with her calf beside her.
Zuozuo, Youyou, Qianqian, and Houhou followed at a distance.
Jiang Yunsui originally intended to play with the elephants briefly and return.
But after they walked for a while, the elephant, the mastiffs, and Ji Si all looked alertly in one direction.
Jiang Yunsui followed their gazes. The bushes trembled as if something were about to emerge.
“Raaagh!”
A blood-red figure charged out. Much of his skin and hair had fallen away. Torn clothes hung from his body as he lunged like a rabid dog.
“Woof! Woof!”
Ji Si flew forward and kicked the creature away.
It smashed into a tree, body twisting horribly, yet immediately climbed up. Bones cracked as they shifted back into place, and it lunged again.
The sight was terrifying.
Ji Si drew his sword and engaged the Human Gu.
Human Gu did not tire or feel pain. As long as the head remained, any wound could be ignored.
It was agile too. Despite its ruined appearance, its bones were extremely hard.
The Human Gu caught Ji Si’s blade in its bare hands.
Fearlessness of pain truly was horrifying.
It clung to the sword and stretched its neck to bite him.
Ji Si kicked it away again.
“Hrrgh!”
More agile than a monkey, the Human Gu climbed a tree and hung there, then began leaping among the branches.
Jiang Yunsui worried for Ji Si.
“Si Si, be careful!”
The Human Gu’s gaze instantly landed on her. After several leaps, it reached to seize her.
It had chosen the weakest target.
Ji Si swept back. The elephant trumpeted angrily too.
Ji Si slammed the Human Gu into the ground and landed beside Jiang Yunsui to shield her.
The elephant thundered forward and planted one foot on the creature.
Jiang Yunsui and Ji Si both seemed to hear bones snap.
The Human Gu clawed and bit at the elephant’s leg, trying to rise.
Jiang Yunsui tensed.
“Don’t worry,” Ji Si said.
With the elephant pinning the Human Gu, he landed beside it and cleanly severed its head.
Jiang Yunsui asked anxiously, “Si Si, what do we do? The elephant was scratched.”
The wound had barely broken the elephant’s skin. She likely felt no pain at all.
But Jiang Yunsui feared infection.
“It’s fine. Human Gu only infect humans.”
Otherwise, why were they called Human Gu? If animals could be infected, the refiners would have experimented on them too.
If this poison spread through animals, the entire world would truly descend into chaos.
Jiang Yunsui relaxed and happily hugged the elephant’s head.
“You’re so powerful!”
In her delight, she fed the mother several Imperial Flowing Essence Balls. The calf received some too, along with a Verdant Jade Mushroom for the wound on its knee.
“We should go back,” Ji Si said.
He tied the Human Gu’s corpse and head with vines and dragged them away.
Jiang Yunsui stroked both elephants.
“We’re leaving. See you next time!”
If they returned to their herd, however, there might not be a next time.
After saying goodbye, Jiang Yunsui and Ji Si left the forest. The mastiffs and roosters remained alert in case another Human Gu attacked.
As she walked, Jiang Yunsui kept glancing at the corpse. Every look seemed to offend her eyes anew.
They were pitiful, but… truly ugly and frightening.
Near the stockade, they encountered a patrol.
Patrols had already been organized.
Almost every mountain tribesman knew how to hunt, so they were hardly weak. Once the chief explained the danger, the patrol formed quickly.
Its members stared at Ji Si and Jiang Yunsui.
“What is that…?”