Stranger Danger

“You were dancing just now.”

Shangguan Hongjin crossed her arms and teased Pedant Earth.

“Excuse me? That’s impossible!” Pedant Earth glanced at her in confusion. I don’t even know how to dance in the first place!

“Nothing’s impossible. It’s why you’re covered in wounds right now.”

Shangguan Hongjin told him everything Ye Qing told her before concluding, “Long story short, you might have danced yourself to death if it wasn’t for warrior Ye.”

“Heavens…”

Pedant Earth was as pale as a ghost when he heard everything. Death would have claimed him, and he wouldn’t even know until after the fact. He hurriedly saluted Ye Qing and said, “Thank you for saving my life, warrior. Just say the word if you ever need my help. I promise a thousand deaths to repay the favor you’ve done unto me.”

“You’re welcome. We are cooperating right now. It’s only natural that we help each other in times of need,” Ye Qing said gently before adding, “Now, go catch some rest and recover your wounds. We’ll resume our journey after you’re better.”

“As you command, warrior.”

Pedant Earth immediately sat down on the ground and began healing his injuries. With the aid of Ye Qing’s pill, it only took him an incense stick or so to recover most of his injuries. After that, the trio continued to trek toward the Sage’s place of death.

Not long after they resumed their journey, the trio saw a man dancing his heart out.

He was a huge, muscular, thick-bearded man with a face that only a mother could love. It should not need to be said how weird it was for someone like him to dance to the moon.

That wasn’t the weirdest part though. No, the weirdest part was the fact that the man was already dead.

That’s right. The man was as dead as a dodo. His limbs, his spine, his neck, and every other part of his body were completely broken by his own doing, and his flesh and blood had long been deprived of all of their vitality. Despite this, he was still dancing to the moon as if it was his life’s purpose.

It was a horrifying sight to say the least.

Is this what happened to us just now?!

Shangguan Hongjin and Pedant Earth felt their scalps numbing as they exchanged a glance with each other. Having heard Ye Qing’s description, they were mentally prepared for this scene to a certain extent. However, seeing was believing, and what they had imagined in their heads wasn’t even a hundredth as spine-chilling as the real thing.

They were plenty grateful toward Ye Qing to begin with, but now? They were well and truly in his favor. If it wasn’t for the young man, they could very well have followed in the footsteps of this unfortunate warrior.

Ye Qing observed the big man for a moment. Then, he walked over to him.

“Warrior Ye?”

Both Shangguan Hongjin and Pedant Earth were surprised by his action. None of them knew what Ye Qing was planning to do.

Ye Qing ignored them and stopped about two steps away from the big man. Then, he reached out and sucked his Nature’s Shell into his palm. Once done, Ye Qing nodded in satisfaction and went back to his companions.

“What are you doing, Warrior Ye?” Pedant Earth asked.

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m looting.” Ye Qing put away the Nature’s Shell and said matter-of-factly, “He’s already dead, so he won’t be needing his possessions any longer. There’s no reason to leave them to rot in this hellhole, is there?”

“I get it, but aren’t you worried that it might trigger some sort of danger?” Pedant Earth asked. He understood Ye Qing’s sentiment perfectly, but he wasn’t willing to risk his life over some loot.

It’s not paranoia if they’re really out to get you, and this place was crazier than most.

“Relax. Nothing happened even when I snapped you out of your trance and saved you two. Therefore, looting a body should be perfectly safe,” Ye Qing declared.

Pedant Earth mulled over his explanation for a moment. Huh, it makes sense.

“Come on.”

Ye Qing circled around the big man and continued forward. Shangguan Hongjin shrugged and followed right behind him.

The big man was the first dancer they encountered, but he would not be the last. The trio would encounter many more people who were dancing to the moon, and without exception, every single one of them was dead.

At first, Shangguan Hongjin and Pedant Earth were still afraid of the dancing corpses. However, they soon grew desensitized to it.

Their adaptation process was hastened by the fact that Ye Qing had claimed every single Nature’s Shell for himself. In the end, the two warriors finally couldn’t withstand the temptation any longer and joined in on the looting as well.

……

Thud thud…

Thud thud…

Right now, Ye Qing, Shangguan Hongjin and Pedant Earth were trekking swiftly through a forest. Ye Qing was the strongest, so he took the lead. Pedant Earth was the weakest, so he stayed in the middle, Shangguan Hongjin the rear.

The world illuminated by the blood moon was so silent that one could hear the drop of a pin. Even the sound of a tree branch cracking underneath their feet could probably be heard from a hundred meters away.

As they walked, Shangguan Hongjin suddenly stopped in her tracks and looked behind her with a furrowed brow. However, she found nothing.

Frowning, Shangguan Hongjin shook her head and resumed her trek. However, she had only taken a few steps before she stopped and looked behind her a second time.

Still, she couldn’t find anything.

“What’s wrong, Miss Shangguan?”

Pedant Earth noticed Shangguan Hongjin’s odd movements and voiced his puzzlement.

“I keep feeling like something is following us!” Shangguan Hongjin spoke up.

In fact, she had been feeling that something was off since a short while ago. At first, she dismissed it as paranoia caused by the forest’s oppressive silence, but she soon came to the realization that it wasn’t paranoia. When they walked, the unknown creature would follow behind them. When they stopped, it came to a stop as well.

It wasn’t just one creature either. As they trekked through the forest, the number of creatures continuously grew in numbers.

Worst of all, she could not spot their stalkers no matter how many times she checked behind her. It was eerie and strange to say the least.

“Really? Are you sure it’s not just your paranoia talking? I don’t see anything besides a floor of stones. It could just be your eyes playing tricks on you.”

Pedant Earth followed Shangguan Hongjin’s gaze while adding, “It’s perfectly normal to see things in a strange place like this. Just now, I saw a human face on a tree!”

It was at this moment Ye Qing looked back and chimed in, “You weren’t seeing things.”

“Wh… What did you say, Warrior Ye?” Pedant Earth blanched.

“Stones?”

Shangguan Hongjin wasn’t paying attention to their conversation. She exclaimed loudly when realization struck her like a lightning bolt, “That’s it! It’s the stones that’s following us!”

At the beginning, there weren’t too many stones on the forest floor at all. But now, there was an entire floor behind them. Clearly, this wasn’t normal. It wasn’t until Pedant Earth brought it up that she noticed the oddity. After all, it was perfectly normal for there to be stones inside a forest.

Now that she recognized the anomaly, Shangguan Hongjin did not hesitate to unsheathe her saber and slash at the stones. However, a person appeared beside her and extended a finger.

Clang!

There was a soft clang, and her saber force dissipated into nothing. Her descending saber was stopped in its tracks as well.

“Why are you stopping me?”

Shangguan Hongjin shot Ye Qing a look of puzzlement. Yes, it was Ye Qing who stopped her attack.

“Look.”

Ye Qing pointed at the ground, and Shangguan Hongjin did as he asked. She immediately noticed the stones scattering in every direction on their tiny legs. It was almost as if frightened children. They were all gone in the blink of an eye.

“What… What the hell are these things?” Pedant Earth exclaimed in shock.

“They are exactly what they look like.”

Ye Qing said slowly, “They’re just a bunch of stones that grew legs and came to life.”

“Excuse me? Are you even listening to yourself?” Pedant Earth blurted incredulously.

Shangguan Hongjin realized something, however. “You’re saying… that they’re just stones?”

“Yeah. They’re just stones.”

Ye Qing nodded. “They just came alive because of the blood moon or some other power.”

“It’s not just the stones either. Look closely. You might notice that the surrounding plants have come to life as well.”

“What?”

Shocked, Shangguan Hongjin and Pedant Earth immediately examined their surroundings. Gradually, they realized that Ye Qing was right.

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