.....
Over here, under the night sky.
The location of the Golden Toad Nesting on an Egg Formation lay toward the northwest.
The precise spot sat right up against the barren hills of the Gobi.
Flying straight ahead all the way,
midair, Lu Ding was gripping Bai Hen by the collar.
His eyes kept scanning the ground below. Originally, the two had flown separately—one soaring, one diving.
But later, Lu Ding found Bai Hen too slow.
So he dove down, grabbed him by the collar, and floored the gas.
Their speed shot up in an instant!
There was just one problem.
Bai Hen felt like he was being strangled.
He looked up: “How about... grabbing sowhere else?”
Lu Ding looked down and saw Bai Hen’s collar practically out for blood, trying to strangle him.
Lu Ding fought back a laugh.
For so reason, the image of a weather doll popped into his head...
He adjusted his grip slightly higher, and Bai Hen imdiately jerked upward.
Lu Ding placed his palm behind Bai Hen’s vest, applying force forward to cancel the downward pull.
It was like pushing him through the air directly.
Bai Hen let out a long breath.
“Whew.......”
Finally felt comfortable again.
No more death-by-collar, and his mood instantly improved.
He turned to see Lu Ding still scanning the mountains below.
“What are you looking at?”
“I’m seeing if I can hunt so mobs.”
This deep forested mountain region was perfect for mob-hunting. Maybe he’d run into so lost spirit beast.
Take it down in one go.
Profit.
But all this ti flying, maybe Lu Ding’s luck was just bad—this place didn’t even asure up to Daheshan.
Aside from the occasional drifting soul,
there was nothing.
Bai Hen didn’t quite get what “hunting mobs” ant—he’d never played gas before.
He rarely talked to people either, had no friends, so of course he didn’t know this stuff.
Secretly, he figured Lu Ding was probably hungry.
Maybe wanted to catch so wild ga.
He said, “There aren’t many wild animals in places like this. Grandma said it used to be all barren around here.”
“She told stories. Said that back in the old days, firewood could fetch a good price, because people didn’t care about the environnt. If there was grass, they cut grass. If there were trees, they chopped trees.”
“Whenever there was a famine, the whole place went bare—nothing left, not even roots.”
“So places still had trees and grass, but those belonged to the rich families. If ordinary folks sneaked in to cut wood or grass and got caught, they’d get their hands or feet chopped off.”
“Grandma said it was Grandpa’s generation who ca here and started planting trees. That’s why we have all this lush forest now.”
“I’ve never t Grandpa. Grandma said once he ca here, he never went back.”
Hearing that, Lu Ding realized he had a point—places like this probably couldn’t support much wildlife.
And it was all second-growth forest—so even if there were animals, they ca later.
With only a few decades, how could any of them beco spirits?
That pretty much cut off the root of all monsters and ghosts.
Then hearing Bai Hen ntion his grandfather,
Lu Ding had originally ant to say sothing comforting, like maybe the old man had his reasons and couldn’t return.
Try to spin it positively.
But Bai Hen imdiately said—
“Probably dead.”
Lu Ding: ......
Being honest is a good trait, but buddy, maybe tone it down.
Lu Ding considered it.
“Uh... have you ever thought...”
“Or maybe it’s like in the TV shows Grandma watches. He found another wife here, married into so rich family, left Grandma all alone in a rundown kiln, digging up wild herbs.”
Lu Ding: .......
“I an.....”
“No wonder Grandma always cries watching those shows. Turns out she’s thinking Grandpa might’ve done the sa thing.”
Lu Ding: “Hahaha okay that’s just—”
“He’s a fing piece of st!!”
Lu Ding: I’m fing done talking!!
Every ti Lu Ding tried to steer the mood a little toward the bright side,
Bai Hen would cut him off with so line
like a feral dog let loose, charging straight into the worst-case scenario.
Always choosing the darkest spin possible.
And he’d talk himself into a full-blown fury.
Eyes glowing green.
Like he was ready to tear soone apart.
Sigh.....
Lu Ding gave up. Let the kid think whatever he wanted. So many years had passed anyway.
To put it bluntly, the grandpa was probably long gone, so it wasn’t likely to beco so drama of:
“Grandson rips Grandpa apart for Grandma’s honor.”
Although it sounded... wrong.
But if it were Bai Hen, with how he didn’t think in curves, he might really do it.
You couldn’t stop soone like that.
Lu Ding had spent enough ti with him to know Bai Hen’s temper. Once he believed sothing, it was hard to steer him otherwise.
And “Grandma” was sacred in Bai Hen’s mind.
“What were you trying to say just now?”
Lu Ding: ......
Now you rember to ask?
The kid’s dead, now you want a revive.
The car hit the wall, now you think about steering.
The snot’s dripping into your mouth, now you wipe.
Lu Ding gave a little smile: “It’s nothing, as long as you’re happy.”
What else could he say?
If—by the one-in-a-million chance—he really did run into sothing like that, Lu Ding would just have to roll with it.
When he went toe-to-toe with a Si Ming, Bai Hen followed him without blinking.
If now Bai Hen was gonna star in “Devoted Grandson Shreds Grandpa,” Lu Ding would just close his eyes and follow suit.
What’s that saying again?
Flowers on the other shore aren’t real flowers.
Wild fists beat the old turtle dead.
A tiger won’t eat its cubs—
Old fker, just die.
Eight hundred miles, roast under the banner.
Corpse Ridge Mountain, reverse the constellations...
Lu Ding quickly shook his head,
clearing out all that chaotic nonsense.
Wind rushed in his ears as Bai Hen pointed ahead: “Soone’s over there.”
In the distance, points of light appeared, growing clearer.
A man ran through the forest and over the hills in the dark, fast as hell, slapping random talismans onto himself while running.
Behind him, a dozen or so people chased,
mimicking his movents—running while slapping stuff on themselves.
The view zood in.
Cao Ying, without even turning his head, shouted back—
“Fk you, Cripple Li! I gave you the Wind-Fixing Pearl—stop chasing !”
Back in the dense woods behind him,
a massive one-legged foot pounded the earth, each leap spanning a hundred ters, crashing down hard.
Cao Ying burst forward.
With a loud boom, the spot he’d just passed was crushed by the foot. The partially raised rocks on the ground turned to powder.
The one-legged giant leapt another hundred ters, leaving behind a cratered footprint more than ten ters deep.
Li the Cripple roared—
“Cao Ying, you f*er! F**k your Wind-Fixing Pearl—I want your damn life!!!”
“You stole my Zhima Beasts, wrecked my reputation! Originally I was gonna settle this later. You go play your role as big boss of Caojia Alley, living it up in the city.”
“I kept doing my Treasure Hunter thing, trudging through the mountains!”
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