Chapter 47: The Crimson Sedan Chair

The black fog behind them was drawing closer, faintly accompanied by heavy footsteps that made the earth itself seem to tremble.

Liu Hen’s expression was grim. He had never heard of any fiends or monsters inhabiting this region before; the original owner had traveled through these parts numerous times and had never once encountered danger.

"Could it be that they came from afar, just like those outsiders?"

Do fiends migrate as well?

He was filled with doubt and suspicion. The original owner's status had been too low, leaving him with far too little relevant information in his memory.

"What on earth is it that attracted those outsiders here?"

And these fiends... were they lured here by something, or were they drawn by those outsiders?

Liu Hen felt the latter was more likely.

This was because the path taken by the fiend behind them closely mirrored the route of the group of people they had encountered earlier.

Finally, after a desperate sprint of over three hundred meters, the black fog behind them stopped pursuing and rapidly retreated into the distance.

Liu Hen slowed down and looked back. Sure enough, he noticed that the black fog had blanketed a vast area; it hadn't been chasing them specifically after all, but was merely spreading naturally.

Even so, he figured that accidentally getting caught up in it would still be extremely perilous.

At worst, it could cost them their lives, with that fiend devouring them as a snack.

"Let's rest for a moment, then we'll continue our journey."

Liu Hen himself wasn't tired at all, but the Wu siblings had run flat out for hundreds of meters and were now completely out of breath.

"Thank you for your consideration, My Lord," Wu Yuanming said gratefully.

"Rest here and keep a sharp eye on your surroundings. I'll be right back."

Seeing a tree not far away, Liu Hen immediately took out the Omnipotent Pickaxe and walked toward it.

He soon reached the short, twisted tree and began harvesting it by swinging the pickaxe.

Just as he was harvesting, the sound of the Wu siblings conversing suddenly drifted into his ears. Their voices were extremely faint, but they could not escape his acute hearing.

"Big brother, that little girl really seems to have vanished. That meaty aroma earlier... could it be..."

"Will we be eaten too?"

"Shut up... As long as we have value, we won't be in danger..."

...

Liu Hen: "..."

What on earth?

What kind of wild imaginations had those fellows concocted?

'Do they think I ate the black stone?'

Liu Hen was utterly speechless. The four fellows hadn't reacted at all to the disappearance of the little black stone earlier; it turned out they had simply been too terrified to show it in his presence.

After a brief internal deliberation, he decided to let the little black stone make an appearance, otherwise it might breed hidden troubles.

'I'll just tell them the black stone is also an Awakened. Surely no one would believe I'm capable of subduing a spirit monster.'

He shared this plan with the little black stone.

Immediately, the little black stone’s delighted voice rang out in his mind: 'Thank you, My Lord! This way, Black Stone will be able to move around normally outside.'

The identity of an Awakened would not only allow her to walk openly among people, but it would also grant her a higher status and standing.

However... having witnessed the methods of her master and that Chang Xin earlier, she felt that she was somewhat unworthy of being called an Awakened.

Because both her master and the aforementioned Chang Xin were extraordinary.

As for herself, even after completely merging with the Wish Stone, apart from an immortal physical body and the art of transformation, she seemed to possess no useful abilities whatsoever.

'By the way, Black Stone, can you sense fiends?'

Liu Hen remembered that he would inevitably need to harvest trees along the way, and the tree-root fiend that had burst forth from underground earlier had left a lingering shadow in his heart.

If the little black stone could sense fiends, that would naturally be for the best.

The essence of a spirit monster was actually the same as that of a fiend. While the little black stone was called a spirit monster, she could also be regarded as a fiend.

It was just that spirit monsters possessed human-like nature, whereas fiends possessed none at all.

Much like how humans are divided into good people and bad people, they are still all human.

'I can sense them, but there is a distance limit.'

The little black stone's voice sounded in his mind once more: 'The tree-root fiend from earlier was hidden very well, and I only sensed it when we got within a hundred meters. I was just about to warn My Lord when it revealed itself. The black fog fiend from just now wasn't hidden as well, which is why I sensed it in advance. Unless other fiends actively release their auras, it is very difficult for me to sense them from afar.'

'A sensing range of a hundred meters, huh?'

Liu Hen understood. 'That should be enough.'

Soon, the tree was harvested, yielding two large logs.

He turned around and walked back to his spot.

The Wu siblings hurriedly stood up, wearing respectful expressions, showing no trace of anything amiss.

Liu Hen glanced at the good actors and spoke directly: "Black Stone, come out for a moment."

"Yes, My Lord."

A faint ray of light flew from Liu Hen's arm, transforming into the figure of the little black stone. However, she was only about a meter tall right now, and her height was constantly shifting.

<div>"Ah... this..."</div>

<div>"It's her..."</div>

<div>"She's still alive?!"</div>

The Wu siblings were utterly astonished, not only by the fact that the little black stone was still alive, but even more so by her current state.

"Alright, go back in."

Liu Hen once again instructed the little black stone to return and merge with the Wish Stone, then turned to the Wu siblings with a cold voice: "Black Stone is also an Awakened. I don't want any more unnecessary speculations from you. This is the first time, and it will be the last."

All four members of the Wu family changed color, realizing that their previous conversation had been overheard by Liu Hen, and cold sweat instantly beaded on their foreheads.

"Forgive us, My Lord!"

While feeling a lingering fear, Wu Yuanming was also deeply shocked. That little girl... was actually an Awakened as well?

The other three were equally shocked. That meant the four of them had hit the jackpot, suddenly pledging allegiance to two Awakened figures?

However... since Lady Black Stone herself was an Awakened and yet followed Lord Liu Hen, it was clear that Lord Liu Hen was even more powerful.

"We obtained some horse meat earlier; what you smelled was horse meat. Do not let your imaginations run wild in the future."

Liu Hen glanced at them. "Alright, let's continue our journey."

...

Back at the open-pit iron ore mine, Chang Xin had returned with Chen Ye and Zong Ni.

However, the place was completely deserted. Though the building was still standing, not a single soul remained inside.

"They actually left?"

Chang Xin approached the building, a look of wonder crossing her face. "Indeed, this house has become ordinary. I didn't sense wrong; earlier, this house was indeed blessed with special power. Such a wise talent is truly worth my spending extra effort to gain his trust!"

"Sister Chang, what should we do now?"

Chen Ye frowned and said, "Who knows if Lord Liu Hen left any information behind? If not, I'm afraid we won't be able to see him again anytime soon."

Zong Ni also chimed in, "He must have realized this area was no longer safe and left directly. In the Night Fog World, without a prior agreement, it's difficult to meet again."

"This is most likely another test he left behind. Only by finding him can we continue our cooperation!"

Chang Xin set down the horse meat, pushed open the stone door, and walked inside.

Zong Ni and Chen Ye quickly followed her in, looking around the clean interior with great curiosity, even feeling a slight urge to stay and live here.

Having lived this long, they had never seen such an immaculate place. Most importantly, it could ward off the wind, and it probably wouldn't attract Nightmares.

"This is... water that's about to freeze?"

Suddenly, Chang Xin spotted the black water on the verge of solidifying in the stone tub. Reaching out to touch it, her eyes lit up instantly: "He must have used this water to bathe; his aura is in it. I've got a way."

Silver light bloomed in her eyes as she extracted the aura from the tub.

"Huh? Why are there two people's auras?"

She felt a flicker of doubt, but determination quickly replaced it on her face: "A smokescreen to confuse pursuers? You can't outsmart me!"

Shortly after, she finished extracting the aura from the tub.

The next moment, two figures appeared within her field of vision. One of them was clearly a little girl, whom she directly ignored, focusing primarily on Liu Hen's figure.

In her vision, Liu Hen's figure vanished from inside the building and appeared outside.

"Found him. Follow me."

She hurriedly left the building. "Before his aura dissipates, let's give chase."

...

In the darkness, Liu Hen once again drew his two Tang sabers, gazing ahead with a solemn expression.

They had encountered fiends once more.

And this time, the fiends were somewhat unusual.

Though they had previously avoided them thanks to the little black stone's warning, the fiend hiding in the shadows had continued to follow them, showing no intention of giving up.

Suddenly, red circle-shaped paper money fluttered down from the surroundings, and burning red candles silently materialized on the ground.

Eerily, these red candles flickered silently, completely unaffected by the cold wind, as an ominous aura enveloped them.

The Wu siblings were already trembling with fear.

Right at that moment, even more red paper money cascaded from the sky, followed by a group of people dressed in red, carrying a red bridal sedan chair as they approached from ahead.

An extreme, bone-chilling cold swept over them, making everyone feel as though they were about to freeze solid.

"How... how can this be? There was never anything like this here before..."

Wu Yuanxia looked as though she was about to cry from fright.

Liu Hen let out a cold snort and unhesitatingly produced a campfire, igniting it.