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墨書 Inktalez
The two soldiers under Leixu discovered Xin Yi and his companions and fired their guns as a warning. At that time, they were not far from the edge of the jungle. Topology, curious about Yanming Shop Elder's Kung Fu for crossing the river, asked a question. Little did they know that their words were overheard by the two soldiers hiding under a nearby pineapple tree. Upon hearing their accents, which were not local, the soldiers immediately became interested, thinking they had struck gold by encountering smugglers while picking pineapples in the middle of the night. They quickly fired their guns to alert the smugglers to surrender, but unexpectedly, the smugglers reacted swiftly and took off running before the soldiers could react.
As soon as the gunfire erupted, Xin Yi wanted to draw his weapon and fight back, but Yanming Shop Elder stopped him, urging everyone to run towards the jungle. Xin Yi didn’t understand why but decided it was best to listen to the old Guide in this unfamiliar place. So they all ran as fast as they could toward the jungle. They were already close to it, and after running for about ten minutes, they finally entered the jungle. This area could hardly be called a jungle yet; although the vegetation was dense, it was still relatively easy to navigate since it was near the village and frequently traveled by people. They didn’t need machetes to clear a path; with a little caution, they could move through it.
As they ventured deeper, the vegetation became thicker. Just when they reached a point where they might need machetes to clear a path, Yanming Shop Elder stopped and said, “Alright, let’s rest here.” He then found a dry spot and sat down on the ground. The others had no choice but to gather around him.
Topology asked, “Shouldn’t we start a fire to dry our clothes? We got soaked in the creek, and after that run, we’re all sweaty and uncomfortable!”
“No! If you don’t want to be caught by the Border Guard, it’s best not to start a fire! Just bear with it until dawn before we move further in,” Yanming Shop Elder replied.
“Are you saying those two Border Guards will come after us?” Xin Yi asked. “Why didn’t you let me take them out earlier to eliminate future trouble?”
“Eliminate future trouble? If you had killed them earlier, it would have brought trouble upon us. If you kill a Border Guard, they will definitely report it up the chain, and who knows—they might send troops to search for us,” Yanming Shop Elder explained.
“But if we don’t kill them, won’t they still come after us? It’s essentially the same outcome; at least we could buy ourselves more time,” Xin Yi argued.
“No, it’s not the same,” Yanming Shop Elder said. “If you kill a Border Guard, their motive will be revenge; they might send out a large number of soldiers. If we don’t kill them and they come after us for money—to capture us for ransom—they won’t alert more people. Even if they do catch us, they won’t kill us unless absolutely necessary. Do you think these two situations are equivalent?”
“Oh, I see now,” Topology said with realization. “Since they’re after money, why don’t we just give them some cash so they won’t chase us? Let’s start a fire quickly; being wet is really uncomfortable anyway. Starting a fire might even attract them so we can negotiate.”
“Haha, you’re quite naive. If wolves could be satisfied with food, then they wouldn’t be wolves but dogs,” Yanming Shop Elder replied.
“What wolves? What dogs? What do you mean?” Topology asked in confusion.
“What he means is that those Border Guards will never be satisfied,” Xu Maogong explained to Topology. “If you give them money, they'll want more. Even if you give them all your money, they'll still capture you and demand your family pay for your ransom. In short, they won’t stop until they've drained you dry. Understand?”
Since they couldn't start a fire to dry their clothes, everyone had to endure the situation. After tossing and turning for half the night, their stomachs began to growl. They all took out compressed biscuits and drinking water from their backpacks to eat. Xin Yi handed a portion to Yanming Shop Elder, who received it and said, "Be careful when eating this kind of food; don't let the crumbs fall on the ground, or it will attract ants."
"Hahaha... Isn't it great if the ants come? They can have a feast too; it's not a waste," Topology thought he finally understood Yanming Shop Elder's words after feeling frustrated earlier. He couldn't believe how stingy the old man was; what did it matter if the ants ate a few fallen crumbs? So he quickly expressed his generosity as a man.
"If you insist on that, I won't oppose you, but please stay away from us. We don't want to be eaten by ants," Yanming Shop Elder replied leisurely while drinking water.
"Ah? Are they army ants? I only know there are army ants in the desert; are there some in this jungle too? It's better to be cautious then; those things can even eat camels! Everyone, be careful! Be careful!" Topology realized that they might be dealing with army ants. He had witnessed their power in the desert, where they often appeared in massive numbers, leaving nothing but bones in their wake. If they encountered tough-skinned animals like water buffaloes, they would invade through the eyes, mouth, nostrils, ears, or any weak spot. Soon enough, Kung Fu would be left with nothing but bones, guaranteed without a shred of flesh remaining. Therefore, animals had no choice but to flee when faced with army ants. There were many types of army ants in the world, and in the jungle, two species stood at the top of the food chain: soldier ants and driver ants. Even large animals could only avoid them.
After finishing their compressed biscuits and water, dawn began to break. Everyone felt a bit tired after such a night of turmoil, but considering that there might still be pursuers behind them, no one dared to linger any longer. Once they could see their feet clearly, Yanming Shop Elder led everyone deeper into the jungle. The sky should have been getting brighter, but as they moved forward, it felt increasingly darker. Looking up, they realized that layers of vegetation covered the sky above them, blocking most of the sunlight from coming through.
From below looking up, the entire jungle could be divided into four or five layers. On the ground were fallen leaves and small plants like moss and lichen. A little higher were various shrubs growing densely together; one needed a machete to clear a path through them. Among these shrubs were many intertwined vines that made passage nearly impossible. Above that were some young trees; their trunks were thin due to insufficient sunlight under the canopy of larger trees. They had to strive hard to grow taller to receive more sunlight. Above them was the canopy layer—the robbers of sunlight and rain in the jungle—absorbing about seventy to eighty percent of it. This made them exceptionally lush and green. The highest layer consisted of towering giant trees with trunks generally over thirty meters tall; some could even reach seventy or eighty meters high. Only in such places could trees grow so tall. Many trees also had aerial roots growing from their trunks or branches that hung down to absorb moisture and nutrients from the air; some roots were so thick they resembled stalactites hanging upside down.
Now everyone's progress was very slow as they took turns swinging machetes to cut through obstructing shrubs, vines, and aerial roots. It didn't take long before they were sweating profusely; at this rate, advancing five kilometers in a day would be considered fast. However, there was no choice—there were no paths in the jungle; they had to forge their own way. Even if someone cleared a path, it would likely be completely overgrown again within days.
At this moment, Topology was leading the way through countless shrubs and vines. The first swordsman of Arab Nation found it difficult to swing his machete effectively and could only chop away with brute force. Fortunately, Xin Yi's custom-made machetes seemed well-made; otherwise, after all this chopping, they would have likely broken by now.
At this time, Roxy was walking ahead of Xin Yi while Yanming Shop Elder brought up the rear when suddenly Roxy let out a sharp scream. She turned around and jumped onto Xin Yi's body, wrapping her arms around his neck and tightly clamping her legs around his waist. Xin Yi was caught off guard and instinctively supported Roxy's bottom with his hands; it felt full and rounded against him while Roxy's impressive chest pressed against him as well. Her legs clung tightly around his waist; for a moment, Xin Yi forgot to question why Roxy acted this way and simply enjoyed her fragrance.
"Snake! There's a snake!" Roxy cried out in terror while hanging onto Xin Yi. It was then that he regained his senses and looked closely; indeed, there was a brightly colored venomous snake hanging from a nearby branch. The snake had a triangular head with three colors forming its pattern—just its appearance indicated it was definitely a highly venomous species. No wonder Roxy was so frightened.
When Xin Yi looked at the snake, it seemed to be staring back at him. Although he knew it couldn't see him visually, he still felt a chill run down his spine at its terrifying appearance. Its tail coiled around a branch while its head and part of its body stood upright as if ready to strike at any moment. However, Xin Yi's hands were occupied supporting Roxy's bottom; he couldn't free himself to deal with it. Trying to retreat only led him into dense shrubs behind him—there was nowhere to go back. Xin Yi hurriedly told Roxy hanging on him, "You need to get down quickly! It's about to attack!"
"I won't! I won't get down! I'm not coming down!" Roxy replied fearfully; Xin Yi could tell her fear was genuine because her voice trembled slightly.
At that moment, the snake hanging from the branch suddenly shot forward with a "whoosh." Its previously upright body became taut and straight, and the triangular head of the snake darted towards Xin Yi's left cheek...
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