Chapter 64
Chapter 64
Dark clouds piled high and thunder echoed through the valley in an instant.
Qin Ying saw a mass of clouds that looked like black cotton suddenly occupy her entire field of vision. Within these ‘black cotton’ clouds, the crackling sound of electric arcs could be heard.
Accompanied by a cry like a thunderclap, the tips of purple-blue wings shimmering with dark light sliced through the cloud layer. The cry was incredibly powerful and piercing; even Qin Ying, watching from outside the box, felt a layer of goosebumps rise on her skin.
Inside the Fish Tank, the Fuzhu’s back hair stood on end as it paced uneasily.
Han Lie gripped the reins tightly, controlling his horse. Faced with a high-level creature like the Thunderbird, the fact that the horse didn’t immediately collapse or bolt in a frenzy was a testament to its disciplined training.
“Second Brother, what is that in the sky?”
The playful smirk vanished from Wang Chang’s face as he looked up at the thunderclouds and whispered to Wu Er.
Wu Er squinted, trying to discern some detail from the massive shadow darting through the clouds. However, the thing in the sky was moving extremely fast, only occasionally revealing a single feather shimmering with dark light outside the thunderclouds.
As Wu Er tried to get a better look, the thunder above grew louder, the rumbling so intense it made the valley shake. A fierce wind kicked up sand and gravel, whipping directly into their faces.
“Dismount and take cover!”
The rough skin on Wang Chang’s face, weathered by sun and rain, was sliced with bloody streaks by the grit in the wind. Hearing Han Lie’s command, he rolled off his horse.
A series of crackles brushed past his ear. Wang Chang felt a wave of numbness wash over him and smelled the scent of his own singed hair.
He cursed under his breath, clutching the reins tightly and trying his best to hide behind his horse. He kept flexing his numb fingers, and just as he was about to shout something-
Suddenly, a flash of silver light shot out from the village below the hill, piercing through the clouds. It was a crossbow bolt about the height of a man, trailing a thin iron chain behind it. Its momentum was terrifying as it tore through the air.
The rust-red bolt plunged straight into the thunderclouds. The countless crackling electric arcs were all drawn away by the chain at the end of the arrow.
A low whistle echoed from within the dark clouds. It was unclear if the Giant Bird had been wounded by the bolt, but after the black clouds churned for a moment, they suddenly dispersed.
Han Lie looked up at the sky. He saw the iron-chained bolt falling back down and the Giant Bird flying away, its wings still tangled with sparks of electricity.
“A Thunderbird?”
Before he could think further, a shout rang out from the valley in the distance: “Are you reinforcements from Great Xia?”
The voice was so raspy it sounded as if the speaker’s throat was filled with rust, making anyone who heard it feel parched.
Han Lie withdrew his gaze from the distance and looked toward the source of the sound. On a watchtower in front of the Sand People village, a figure had appeared at some point.
The person was draped in tattered hemp clothes, with their face and hands wrapped in filthy strips of cloth. It was this strangely dressed individual who had fired the bolt from the watchtower.
Seeing Han Lie and the others, the person became extremely excited, waving incessantly from the tower.
“Move out!”
Han Lie glanced in the direction the Giant Bird had vanished, feeling an inexplicable sense of unease. However, he showed no outward sign of it and simply ordered the group into the village.
The person on the watchtower was exceptionally tall. They scrambled down like a monkey and ran toward Han Lie’s group. With their face covered in dirty rags, only a pair of eyes full of hope were visible. “Has the main force of the Jade Balance Army arrived?”
Han Lie didn’t answer directly. Instead, he unhooked a waterskin from his saddle and tossed it to him.
The man wrapped in filthy rags smelled like salted fish rotting with maggots in the June heat; the stench was appalling. As he moved to catch the waterskin, a gust of foul odor wafted over.
Wang Chang closed his eyes and swayed. Although he hadn’t been harmed during the brush with the Auspicious Beast in the clouds, his messy hair and beard were now standing straight up due to the static from the electric arcs.
Looking like a prickly chestnut, Han Lie couldn’t help but raise a hand and fan the air in front of his face. “Brother, your stench is more pungent than my third uncle’s feet.”
The man, whose body was covered in strips of cloth, ignored him. He tilted his head back and drank greedily from the waterskin.
The waterskin Han Lie had provided was filled with an electrolyte drink from Qin Ying, designed to rapidly replenish fluids and minerals.
As the man drank frantically, a drop or two escaped from the corner of his mouth. The cloth strips shifted slightly, revealing skin beneath the bandages that was covered in burn scars.
The burns had not been properly treated and were oozing yellow pus, which was the source of the foul odor clinging to him.
Despite his horrific appearance, none of Han Lie’s group showed any signs of disgust.
Han Lie cupped his hands in a respectful salute. “Thank you for your help.”
The man was about the same height as Han Lie, though he was much thinner.
After several deep, desperate gulps, he reluctantly lowered the waterskin and wiped his mouth. “I am Village Chief Aman. Tell me, is the main army behind you? Do you have food and water?”
His eyes lit up at the mention of food and water.
However, his hopes were unlikely to be fulfilled.
“We have come from Yunwu County City. We need to understand what happened here first.”
Han Lie’s words caused the light in Aman’s eyes to vanish.
They weren’t the Jade Balance Army from Luoyang? They were from Yunwu County?
Aman’s grip on the waterskin tightened. He let out a cold snort. “What, is the County Governor assigning more tasks?”
“But nothing matters anymore,” Aman said, pointing to the village behind him.
“To harvest the Immortal Grass, the villagers have all died.”
At his gesture, Han Lie and the others walked toward a window that had been boarded up with wooden slats.
Aman reached out and snapped a brittle, rotting board with his bare hands.
A cloud of powdery dust exploded from the break. Han Lie held his breath and stepped back for a moment before seeing the scene inside the house.
In the small room, stiff mummies were stacked layer upon layer.
Aman tossed the broken wood aside. “Because of the Immortal Grass, they are all dead!”
“And those who are still alive won’t last much longer!”
He tore the cloth strips from his own face, revealing skin that had been burned away. “In the words of the Central Plains People, this is retribution!”
“It is retribution for our violation of the pact.”
His voice was tragic and desolate. The clarity brought by the water was gone, replaced by a raspy hoarseness.
“Our Sand People Tribe once forged an alliance with Great Xia, but our loyalty was rewarded only with slavery.”
“Only with your broken promises.”
Just as Han Lie was about to speak, Qin Ying’s voice reached his ears: “Don’t stop him. Let him vent.”
As the thunderclouds dispersed, Han Lie and his companions entered the village. From her vantage point, Qin Ying could see the devastation more clearly.
The entire village was deathly silent; it looked as though few were left alive.
Yet, Aman had asked for water and food. And there was that corpse that had died just to send the Guide Ladybug out. There must still be people in this village who needed saving.
In such a situation, it was better to let the man vent the resentment in his heart.
As Qin Ying spoke, she opened two bottles of mineral water and poured them into a watering can, adding two packets of Rehydration Salts.
Aman continued to vent his fury after his disappointment.
However, his raised voice disturbed something. From deep within the village, a faint crying sound drifted toward them.
Aman immediately fell silent and looked back. There, sitting on the sand and weeping, was a Big-Bellied Infant.