novelScorpions!
| ← Ch.182 | Ch.184 → |
At noon, the sun is shining and heating the ground. There was no wind a moment ago. However, just as Lin Luoran figures out the strangeness of this place, the wind blows up the sand and there is sand everywhere.
This sudden wind is like the wind that blew before Baojia's disappearance.
Lin Luoran notices that Wen Guanjing's eyes become back to normal after he stays inside the square "base" surrounded by stones for a while. However, Barney and Yakee who are bound outside the "base", are still struggling like two insane beasts.
Indeed, Wen Guanjing was sane at first. His eyes became red after he got out to stop them... There is something wrong with the place outside the relic!
As Lin Luoran figures this out, she uses another two water ropes and drags Barney and Yakee in. Her guess is correct. The furious Bushmen calm down slowly after they get inside.
Wen Guanjing is still in shock, "Sister Lin, this place is so weird. Let's get out of here."
Lin Luoran shows a wry smile and she points at the sandstorm, which is becoming more and more severe,
"Do you think we can leave now?"
The sandstorm is severe. Sand is flying everywhere outside the relic. Lin Luoran and Wen Guanjing can leave safely through the sandstorm, but Barney and Yakee are likely to be torn apart by the wind.
"Sister Lin, look, the sand is blocked outside of the relic. Is it possible that this relic was built by someone as a shelter?" Wen Guanjing observes it and comes up with the idea.
Lin Luoran is not as optimistic as him. The story about the "curse" told by Yakee and the disappearance of Baojia make her feel that this trip may be very dangerous.
"It seems that the relic is protecting us from the sandstorm, but seeing from a different perspective, it is trapping us here..."
Lin Luoran says softly. She doesn't want her words to be true, or she is being the jinx.
Seeing that the red in Barney and Yakee's eyes is fading away, Lin Luoran unties them and asks about what happened.
Barney thinks for a while and recalls that he was playing music and heard Yakee complaining all the time. He felt angry and wanted to shut Yakee up. Later they came to blows and Barney hit Yakee with the stone.
Yakee is talking for a long time. Basically, he is saying that the Bushmen are always solidary and friendly and he will never complain about Barney and it must be the demon behind.
After hearing their words, Wen Guanjing starts to recall what happened to him. He felt impatient when he tried to stop them fighting. Later he felt furious and his eyes were covered with blood streaks...
Lin Luoran hesitates and says, "Something is messing with us. It is fortunate that we figure it out in time. If I become the victim as well..." She doesn't finish this line but Wen Guanjing knows what she is trying to say.
Indeed, if Lin Luoran becomes insane as well, she will hurt everyone and no one present can stay alive except herself. Maybe Wen Guanjing can stand a little longer, but his death will only be a matter of time. The later stage of Training Qi is the level of Training Qi after all. The gap between him and the level of Laying Foundation is huge. He cannot make it from a brutal Lin Luoran.
Lin Luoran can keep sane because she is in a higher cultivation level. Another reason is that she doesn't get angry very often. As long as she keeps the spiritual mind stable, she will be fine.
Barney helps Yakee dress the wound on his head. They are fine about the fight, but Lin Luoran cannot relax down.
With Baojia missed, Lin Luoran cannot stop worrying. Whether the sandstorm wants to bother them or to trap them in here is neither good.
Yakee is whispering their Bushman safety spells and Barney whispers with him. Lin Luoran doesn't top them.
They know more about this desert than her and Wen Guanjing.
Maybe the spell works. Gradually, the sandstorm stops.
Yakee smiles. He touches the lizard and feels that maybe they have gone through this hardship. Barney smiles with him, but Lin Luoran and Wen Guanjing look at each other, feeling worried.
Lin Luoran has a better sense of hearing than others. When the wind blew a moment ago, she cannot hear anything, but as the sandstorm stops gradually, she hears a slight sound that worries her — something is walking on the sand in large groups.
The sandstorm stops and Lin Luoran looks far into the distance. She is right. There are a lot of black dots moving on the dune... When she sees clearly what those black dots are, she feels uncomfortable.
Wen Guanjing casts a spell and holds fire in his hands. He frowns as well.
Sister Lin is correct. The sandstorm is trying to trap them inside!
Yakee and Barney see clearly the "troops" come closer and they are frightened.
Wen Guanjing, on the other side, is not worried. Two cultivators can resist these little things easily.
*******
Scorpions. The troop of scorpions are moving fast towards them on the desert, holding their pincers. Looking at them, Lin Luoran feels uncomfortable.
Some people may think that scorpions are delicious. But looking at the dune covered with black scorpions with countless "reinforcements", no one will have the mind of eating them.
"Are we leaving or we waiting here?" Wen Guanjing asks. He starts to ask for Lin Luoran's opinion.
A flash of blue light blinks in Lin Luoran's hand. The Sword of Bright appears. Lin Luoran says, "Let's wait and see!"
The Sword of Bright appears and it becomes larger in front of Barney and Yakee, who are greatly surprised. Lin Luoran jumps on the sword and flies above — however, there seems to be a force from the land that pulls her back to the ground before she flies up high.
"Sister!" Wen Guanjing thinks something is wrong with her.
Lin Luoran puts away the Sword of Bright and says, "There is an inhibition. We are probably trapped here."
Wen Guanjing is from a decent family. Maybe he is not as good as Lin Luoran in cultivation while he knows a lot about the cultivation world. People of the Wen family not only study about swords, but study about inhibitions —
However, Wen Guanjing, who has stayed here for a long time and knows a lot about inhibition, doesn't feel the presence of the inhibition until Lin Luoran is forced to come back.
"Sister, this is not good. If the scorpions can enter the relic easily like us..."
Lin Luoran is worried about the same problem. A moment later, the scorpions are only a few miles away. Lin Luoran tries the "Wind-riding Spell". Well, she can use Reiki, but there is something like a glass cover above them, forbidding them to leave.
Barney shouts. Wen Guanjing makes hand gestures with his right hand and throws a firewall burning in the desert. The fast scorpions are burnt as soon as they reach the firewall. The firewall keeps them out for now.
The burnt scorpions smell good and Barney cannot help but swallow saliva. He relaxes down for now — these two people from the East look mysterious and powerful. If they are here, their safety is guaranteed, isn't it?
Yankee continues with his safety spells again.
However, Lin Luoran feels that it will not end easily.
Wen Guanjing controls Reiki while sensing the inhibition. Unfortunately, he gets nothing.
The firewall blocks their view, so Lin Luoran jumps onto a broken pillar that is about one meter high. Looking at the scorpions that advance wave upon wave, she feels annoyed.
If they are trapped here by the troop of scorpions, a disaster is imminent. Wen Guanjing and she will eventually run out of Reiki — even though she can hide into the space, the other three will definitely die there.
"No!" Looking from the broken pillar, Lin Luoran finds that the scorpions burnt by fire have learned a lesson. They stop coming closer and spray venom from far away.
Many a mickle makes a muckle. Their venom is gradually putting out the firewall.
What is their species? The firewall of Wen Guanjing is set by Reiki and it is far from the ordinary fire. How come that the venom of these scorpions can put out the fire? It seems that they are not ordinary scorpions at all!
As the one who controls the firewall, Wen Guanjing naturally feels the abnormality of the firewall. He makes another hand gesture and narrows the wall down. Now the firewall is only protecting around them. Wen Guanjing shouts, "Sister Lin, can you break the inhibition?"
As he narrows down the firewall, the scorpions are being insatiable and surround them again. They are sparing no effort in spraying venom.
Barney and Yakee stay close to Wen Guanjing. They are afraid to be burnt by the fire or be stung by the scorpions.
Lin Luoran nods her head and summons the Sword of Bright again.
With blue light shining, the Sword of Bright appears. However, as it is a flying sword of water nature, it cannot fully function in the dry and hot desert. Its power is weakened.
Lin Luoran infuses Reiki into the sword. The Sword of Bright becomes larger and it is covered by crystal hoar frost.
They are now circled by a small fire circle. They all feel the heat from the fire on the left and the coldness from the Sword of Bright on the right. Barney and Yakee are just ordinary people and this feeling of mixing hot and cold makes them uncomfortable.
Lin Luoran will not let them die but she is not only being kind. They are the guides. With Baojia still missed and the mystery of the mural still unsolved, she needs them.
The light of the Sword of Bright is dazzling. Lin Luoran is about to chop the "cover" above them when she suddenly sees that the scorpions are getting excited and that something appears from the other side of the dune—
Wen Guanjing sees that clearly as well. The two Bushmen are regretting of seeing it. Lin Luoran cannot ignore it.
The troop of scorpions makes way for that "thing". It is moving towards them holding its pincers. Even the dune is shaking along with its movement. It has two red eyes and a black body with eight-meters long. Each of the pincers is thicker than Lin Luoran's waist... Is that a scorpion as well?
Lin Luoran clenches her sword tightly.
| ← Ch. 182 | Ch. 184 → |