The Invincible Bodyguard Starting by Escorting the Doomsday Imperial Princess Chapter 48 : Chapter 48

Chapter 48: The Howl Outside!

“We do!”

Xiao Lü replied in a bright little voice, then curiously looked down at the lake beneath their feet.

She reached out an arm covered in tender green leaves and lightly swished it through the water. The splashing droplets hit her “face,” making her giggle creakily with delight.

“And what do you usually eat?”

“We eat dirt!”

And so, one girl and one spirit sat at the bow of the boat, chattering away without pause.

...

In the blink of an eye, Xiao Cong had carried them a thousand li deeper into the Ten Directions Marsh, leaving that boundless reed lake behind.

Along the way, they had not encountered any major danger, only two little carp spirits.

The two carp spirits poked their heads out, saw that there was a little tree spirit sitting aboard the boat, and seed to decide they were all of one kind. After casting a curious glance at them, they swished their tails and departed.

Once Chen Guan brought the two little spirits and Luo Li ashore, a wave of heat hit them head-on.

The scene before them was no longer the lush, endless marshland of abundant water grass.

Instead, it was a charred forest stretching as far as the eye could see.

The black earth looked as though it had just been bombarded by countless shells. Pits and craters of every size lay everywhere, and the air was thick with the sharp sll of sulfur. Even the very atmosphere seed suffocatingly turbid and hot.

This was already far beyond the Shallow Reaches. They had now truly entered the real depths of the Ten Directions Marsh.

“Th-this looks like a battlefield...” Luo Li said, bewildered.

Chen Guan swept his gaze across the landscape, then withdrew it and answered flatly, “This isn’t the result of any war. The terrain here is unusual. Deep underground runs a river of magma that never stops flowing.”

“The terrifying heat scorches the earth year-round, evaporating all the moisture from the surface. The soil turns black and cracked, and even the trees that grow here are baked into charcoal. That’s how this apocalyptic scene was ford.”

“Oh.” Luo Li nodded.

After seeing this terrifying landscape, she was no longer as lively as before. Standing behind Chen Guan, her little hand unconsciously grasped the hem of his robe.

By contrast, the two little spirits, Xiao Cong and Xiao Lü—newly out in the world for the first ti—found everything fascinating and had no idea what fear even was.

Xiao Cong even curiously reached out a branch-hand and touched a blackened tree stump nearby.

After saring his own hand black, he imdiately wiped it across Xiao Lü’s face, and the two of them instantly broke into a playful scuffle.

“Let’s go.”

Chen Guan hoisted the Horse-Cleaving Saber onto his shoulder, cut off the two little spirits’ antics, and strode forward, taking the lead.

According to the Route Map, the scorched land beneath their feet was called Blackfla River. It stretched for a full two thousand li.

They would have to cross this dead zone first before they could truly reach the Mist-Shrouded Forest, and Peach Blossom Hollow was hidden deep within that forest.

Now that they no longer had Xiao Cong’s vine boat, which could travel a thousand li in a day, as transportation, and had only their own two legs to rely on, then not to ntion reaching Peach Blossom Hollow in seven days—even just crossing Blackfla River would likely take the better part of half a month.

At that thought, Chen Guan could not help glancing again at the little money pit beside him.

The more he looked, the more cheated he felt. The more he thought about it, the angrier he beca.

How had he ever gotten hotheaded enough to take on this escort?

Luo Li tilted her head and happened to catch that look of disgust in his eyes.

At once, sensing trouble, she darted over and wedged herself between Xiao Lü and Xiao Cong.

Then, lowering her voice, she began whispering to them.

“Xiao Lü, Xiao Cong, look at this black soil. It’s so glossy and rich-looking. It must be very nutritious. Do you want to... have a bite?”

“Thank you, Sister, but we’re not hungry right now!”

Xiao Lü replied and continued hopping forward.

Thus, the two humans and two spirits trod across the soft charcoal underfoot and advanced a full hundred li through that deathly silent land.

Along the way, aside from the suffocating heat and sulfurous sll, they encountered nothing unusual.

But Chen Guan knew full well that no abnormalities was the greatest abnormality of all.

With his many years of experience as an Escort Master wandering the jianghu, he could tell at a glance that this seemingly lifeless land must be ruled by a powerful “king.”

Only a true king could maintain its territory in such a “clean” state, leaving lesser creatures with no courage to set foot here lightly.

After traveling for most of the day, Xiao Cong and Xiao Lü were clearly in much worse condition.

They were, after all, plant-type little demon spirits. Once separated from the earth, they were like fish stranded on land. Without water, survival was difficult.

More importantly, the deeper they went, the higher the surrounding temperature rose.

Even so, the two little spirits were stubborn enough not to complain even once.

Chen Guan took the waterskin from his waist and handed it to the two dispirited little spirits.

The two of them were actually sowhat afraid of this big brother whose face had been dark the entire way. But when they saw that lifesaving waterskin, they suddenly felt that this big brother was actually far better than that bad sister who kept trying to talk them into eating dirt.

“Thank you, Big Brother.”

After thanking him, they took the waterskin and each gulped down a large mouthful without ceremony.

Luo Li herself had also grown much quieter now, because she had discovered that in this dry environnt, the more she spoke, the drier her throat beca.

The water she had brought with her was already down to less than half a skin.

Yet when she had tentatively asked Chen Guan for a drink just monts ago, that fellow had expressionlessly held up one finger and told her that one mouthful of water cost one tael of silver!

So angry had she been that she refused to drink a single sip and endured it all the way until now.

Seeing Chen Guan hand the waterskin over to the two little spirits without the slightest hesitation, Luo Li imdiately rolled her eyes in her heart and silently grumbled, “Favoritism!”

...

Night fell quickly.

Drawing on his rich experience surviving in the wild, Chen Guan found a pitch-black cave.

The cave was not large, but its entrance was high enough for him to walk into upright, and the interior was dry and well ventilated.

It looked like so demon spirit’s forr lair, though it had clearly been abandoned by now.

“We’ll rest here for the night!”

After carefully checking the surroundings and confirming that there was no imdiate danger, Chen Guan led them inside.

Once Luo Li and the others were settled, Chen Guan added, “You’re all staying here. No one goes out. Understood?”

Luo Li rely nodded obediently, indicating that she had heard.

At this point, if she wanted to avoid dying of thirst, she had no choice but to ration her words.

Thunk!

Chen Guan drove the huge Horse-Cleaving Saber into the hard ground at the cave mouth. The blade sank three inches into the earth and stood there steadily, like a silent guard.

Then his figure flickered, and after a few swift movents he vanished into the vast curtain of night.

The mont he left, Xiao Lü and Xiao Cong also made their move.

Imitating Chen Guan, they planted their legs into the relatively soft earth within the cave and stood there motionless.

“Hey, what are you two doing?”

Luo Li noticed their strange behavior and hurried over, whispering her question.

Xiao Lü looked up and answered as though it were only natural, “Eating and drinking, of course.”

Then she added in return, “Aren’t you thirsty?”

“Uh!”

Luo Li froze. Only then did she finally understand why they had kept saying earlier that they “ate dirt.” So this was how they did it.

“I’m not eating filthy stuff like that!”

Luo Li looked at the cracked, parched ground, then at Xiao Cong and Xiao Lü. Their leaves, once green and vibrant, had already turned yellow and curled, and their bark had dried until it was beginning to split.

Suddenly, she unfastened the waterskin at her waist and handed it over.

“Here. There’s no moisture in the ground below. Drink a little first.”

Xiao Lü lifted her dim eyes and weakly shook her head. “Thank you, Sister... b-but this is your water... you don’t have much left either...”

“Stop talking nonsense. If I’m telling you to drink, then drink!”

Luo Li glared at it fiercely and directly stuffed the waterskin into its shriveled branch-hand.

Xiao Lü and Xiao Cong exchanged a glance. Only then did they clasp the waterskin and begin taking small, careful sips. After every sip, they looked up at Luo Li, afraid of drinking too much.

Suddenly!

A shrill cry sounded from outside.