Chapter 6 (Part 1) of Volume 7: Crossing Five Passes and Slaying Six Generals Continues

  I once again stepped into the evolution of the demon, and at the same time brought about the greatest trouble.

  It takes nine days to transition from the state of reception to the state of numbers. This means that within these nine days, I am not allowed to engage in physical combat with others. If I encounter a Night Walker, I can only let them slaughter me at will.

  Gan Ning tied me up with a hemp rope and carried me ashore on his back. As I lay on her soft body, I felt as if I was floating in the clouds, my mind full of distant thoughts, and my nose filled with the fragrance of incense. I couldn't help but say: "Lotus flower beauty, in my hometown, men and women do not have close contact. Now that we've had skin-to-skin contact several times, my chastity has been tainted by you. You must take responsibility for me!"

  "Shut up!" Gan Ningzi scolded: "If you utter another reckless remark, I'll abandon you."

  I chuckled: "You won't do that, you'll protect me for the rest of my life. ||| For you, keeping promises is paramount, otherwise you wouldn't have come to rescue me. Tsk tsk, you're really a trustworthy person, comparable to Wei Sheng."

  Gan Ning asked curiously: "Who is Wei Sheng?"

  "A long time ago, there was a man named Weisheng who made an appointment with a woman at the bridgehead. As a result, the woman stood him up and didn't show up. This guy waited until midnight, when the flood came he didn't escape, and finally drowned while hugging the bridge pier."

  Gan Ning remained silent for a long time before saying, "He is indeed a devoted and faithful person."

  "I think he is a stubborn fool."

  Gan Ning turned his head, looking at me with some dissatisfaction: "Why say that?" His black sideburns scattered, revealing a white neck, which made me feel dizzy for a moment.

  I forced my gaze away from her jade-like neck: "The flood is coming and you still won't escape, isn't this being stubbornly unyielding?"

  Gan Ning thought for a moment and said in a low voice: "Because Wei Sheng is afraid that after he leaves, the woman will suddenly come and they will miss each other."

  "It's so stupid to wait like this. It's not worth risking one's life." I muttered to myself, thinking that if I were Tails and had a date with Haki-chan but she didn't show up, would I keep waiting? With my old man's magical powers, a little flood wouldn't be enough to drown me.

  "Even in death, I wouldn't want to miss the people I love." Kanata's eyes welled up with a hazy mist: "Oshio must have thought so too."

  I blinked: "Will you be like this too? Waiting forever for the one you love?"

  "Maybe it will, maybe it won't. Because I'm clear about this, waiting is more painful than missing out." Gan Ning said calmly: "I made a vow when I was young, to never easily fall into romantic love between men and women. What does it feel like to fall in love with someone? I don't know, and I don't want to know."

  A sudden sense of loss welled up in my heart. I stopped talking. Along the way, Gan Ning traveled by day and night, sometimes even stopping to rest. Now that I've become a burden, I need to avoid monsters and beasts as much as possible and get through these nine days first.

  Although we deliberately slowed down our journey, we also didn't dare stay in the same place for too long and started to venture deeper into the rainforest.

  As you walk further in, the trees become taller and more majestic. The branches and leaves are dense and layered like a pagoda, with roots stretching out of the mud for several meters, like a triangular plate supporting the trunk. Many trees and vines entwine each other, some even producing colorful flowers that resemble snakes slithering up. Underneath the trees, shrubs and grasses grow densely, no longer just green but speckled with various colors. The branches above are also covered in strange and exotic plants of all shapes and sizes, squeezing everything tightly together so that not even sunlight can get through.

  The river nearby was wider and denser, we sometimes chose to take the water route, and sometimes directly navigated through the dense vines. We encountered some ferocious beasts, all of which were easily dispatched by Gan Lingshen's Three Thousand Weak Water Sword.

  On the fourth night, at midnight. Suddenly it started raining. I woke up from my sleep and found that I didn't get wet. Several large banana leaves were torn down. They were cleverly set up as a tent on me, blocking the raindrops, with only a few water droplets splashing onto my hair. The sound of the night rain was clear and bright, the damp soil emitted a fishy smell, and wisps of fog rose from it.

  Gan Ning stood by the river, lost in thought. From a distance, gazing at her back, I suddenly realized that I didn't understand her at all. Apart from her school, weapon and identity as Dragon Butterfly Bodyguard, everything else was a complete blank.

  "What's on your mind?" I asked her.

  Gan Ning shook his head and didn't answer. On the dark river surface, a patch of white flowers bloomed. Occasionally, a fish jumped out of the water, its tail swishing back and forth, making a "plop" sound.

  "Are you thinking of your sweetheart?"

  "Don't talk nonsense." |||| Gan Ning fell silent for a moment, then said: "It's just that I suddenly remembered some past events with my master, and felt a bit melancholic. When I was young, my master would often go fishing by the river on rainy days. Although he was still a child, he would sit cross-legged in silence, looking very serious. I secretly released the fish he caught, but he didn't get angry. Instead, he picked some leaves and made a canopy to shelter me from the rain."

  I didn't like the sound of it, and sourly said: "You must have been spoiled by many seniors when you were young, right? Your parents must have treated you as their precious darling."

  Gan Ning's face turned cold, his eyes piercing as he stared at me: "My parents have long been gone."

  "I exclaimed in surprise: 'I never thought you were like me.'"

  Gan Ning's gaze gradually softened, and he suddenly asked: "Lin Fei, what is the world you live in like? How was your childhood?"

  I was stunned for a moment, it was the first time I heard Gan Ning speak to me in such a gentle tone. My spirits lifted, just as I was about to chatter on, Gan Ning's expression changed slightly, and he suddenly flashed to my side, picked me up, and pressed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

  The rustling sound came from all directions, the voice was fine and light, mixed in the dense rain, and it was hard to detect if you didn't listen carefully.

  Along the lush, interlocking tree branches, green, fuzzy caterpillar monsters crawled closer, slowly creeping, their front legs like giant pincers, rubbing against each other; from the thick layer of fallen leaves on the ground, countless ant monsters emerged, about one finger high, waving their large mandibles, secreting shiny ***, flooding the entire area. ||| Hundreds of blue frogs jumped out of the river, with dazzling golden patterns on their backs, croaking loudly, their cheeks occasionally puffing up two large air sacs.

  My scalp is numb, surrounded by at least several thousand demons. Apparently they had discovered our trail long ago and secretly mobilized their troops, taking advantage of tonight's heavy rain to launch a surprise attack.

  "No wonder I've been feeling off for the past few days," said Gan Ning with a thoughtful expression, "it turns out I was being followed."

  "I exclaimed in surprise: 'This tracking monster is quite something, it can actually deceive your lotus eyes.' Lowering my voice: 'Aren't you leaving yet?'"

  Kanata leapt up and rapidly flew towards the branch. The caterpillar demons stood up one after another, pulled out their hair-like needles from their bodies, and shot them at us in succession. Kanata displayed his "Drifting Body Technique", like a wisp of faint smoke, passing through the dense rain of needles.

  I had no choice but to shrink my neck and hide my head behind Gan Lingshen's back. Although my entire body was protected by the evolved eggshell, which made me immune to swords and guns, my face couldn't withstand the attack of the hairy worms. Gan Lingshen slapped the hilt of his sword, and a white misty sword energy suddenly shot out, cutting more than ten hairy worm demons into minced meat.

  "Take to the water!" I whispered, there were too many monsters lurking in the woods, it was almost impossible to break through. Gan Ning's toes pointed upwards, like a snowy goose swooping across the sky, landing on the water surface.

  The frog demons were calm and unhurried, the air sacs on their cheeks bulged out, spewing out colorful poisonous smoke and liquid, dispersing wildly in all directions.

  Gan Ning let out a loud shout, and a snow lotus burst forth from his fingertips, unfolding layer by layer in mid-air. The petals curled outward to trap the poisonous smoke and liquid, sticking close to the river's surface as it shot out over ten zhang. Just as it seemed about to escape, a massive fishing net suddenly emerged from the river's surface, swooping down to envelop everything. The net was woven from colorful fish bladders, with dozens of large-headed, sharp-toothed fish demons holding onto it, moving up and down, shouting and clamoring loudly.

  Gan Ning didn't hesitate, the Three Thousand Weak Water Sword flashed out of its scabbard and cut straight through the fishing net. I suddenly caught a glimpse of the fish demons' sinister smiles at the corners of their mouths, my heart skipped a beat, and I shouted: "Sheathe your sword, retreat quickly!"

  Gan Ning hesitated for a moment, but still followed my words and retreated with a backflip. A loud crash was heard, the earth shook, and the fish bubbles burst like thunder, exploding everywhere. The entire river surface seemed to be overturned, hundreds of snow-white water columns shot up into the sky, and the trees by the shore were tossed high into the air by the fierce gusts.

  I secretly called out in alarm, if not for seeing the opportunity quickly, I would have been blown to pieces by the fishing net earlier. My gaze looked towards the distant river, almost every section of the river had dozens of fish demons holding large nets, intercepting on the water's surface. This time they ambushed us, the other side had put in quite some thought.

  The frog demons took advantage of the situation and pounced, spewing out toxic fog in endless waves. Gan Ning was at a loss for what to do, so he retreated back to the shore. Suddenly, he realized that this wasn't going to work either - the ground was covered in sticky liquid secreted by the ant demons, which would turn any rainwater into the same sticky substance, gluing his feet firmly to the ground and rendering him immobile.

  I took a deep breath: "The ambush was truly watertight, with one ring closing in on another, completely sealing off both land and water routes. The mastermind behind the scenes was indeed an outstanding general."

  Gan Ning's expression was calm and serene, his eyes slowly scanning the surroundings: "Ye Liu Xing should know we're in Blood Massacre Forest."

  I nodded: "Otherwise, these monsters wouldn't have ambushed us on their own initiative. However, it will take Night Flowing Ice a few days to arrive here, and we still have a chance to escape." I felt a little guilty in my heart, if I hadn't deliberately provoked the Blood Slaughter Forest's monsters and caught their attention, we wouldn't be in this predicament now. The most unfortunate thing is that it happened at this critical moment when I was about to evolve. Thinking of Night Flowing Ice's abnormal hobby, I couldn't help but shudder, I must not be captured alive by this guy.

  A burst of laughter came from above, and the layered leaves were parted to reveal a hidden tree hole. A goblin-like creature with a black hat, wearing a large green robe, emerged from the tree hole, with its hands behind its back, looking at us with great satisfaction. Its nose was dark red, like a tall, upright chili pepper, and its face was covered in white pockmarks, with golden rings shining around its pupils.