Chapter 59: 59, The pig hit the tree

Yang Xiaojin’s decision to follow Xu Xiance into the mountains caught everyone by surprise; no one had expected the first voice to come from a girl.

Yet Yang Xiaojin spoke with reason—danger lurked everywhere here, and having a transcendent being by one’s side was a comfort.

Without such protection, even reaching Refuge Barrier 112 might prove perilous.

After a brief silence, someone muttered, “I’ll go too.”

“I’ll go too.”

Suddenly, all had resolved to follow Xu Xiance to Jingshan, proving they weren’t fools.

At that moment, Luo Xinyu, beside Ren Xiaosu, whispered, “Are you going?”

Ren Xiaosu froze: “Why ask me?”

“If you go, I will,” Luo Xinyu replied.

Ren Xiaosu was baffled—surely they weren’t that close? Why act as if they were inseparable?

He ignored her, turning to Xu Xiance: “I’ll go with you.”

A flash of white light streaked across the distant sky. Xu Xiance glanced upward and said, “Rest quickly. Since we’re all set on this path, we’ll depart at dawn. Before we go, understand this: the team obeys my command. Should anyone defy me again, I won’t hold back.”

With that, he and his private soldiers gathered branches to fashion a stretcher. The soldier he’d kicked could still walk, but the one stabbed could not.

Xu Xiance intended to bring the wounded along. Here, in this sudden thicket of forest, all vehicles had to be abandoned. Carrying another person would be a burden.

Surely no one wished to bear the stretcher. A grown man was heavy enough—let alone a woman.

Now Ren Xiaosu wondered: was Xu Xiance naturally radiant, or was he deliberately winning hearts?

Wang Lei, the injured, was nearly in tears, thanking the officer repeatedly.

As those words echoed, Ren Xiaosu conceived a bold thought…

Once the stretcher was secured, Xu Xiance asked, “Who’ll help carry him?”

“I’ll carry him!” Ren Xiaosu volunteered.

All exchanged puzzled glances—Ren Xiaosu, being kind?

Xu Xiance considered: “You know the wilderness best. Lead the way. Besides, you’re young; lifting an adult man may prove too much.”

Ren Xiaosu panicked: “No way! Today, I must carry him! Whoever challenges me, I’ll kill!”

All: “…”

They were stunned. Was this kindness or threat?

Half an hour later, Ren Xiaosu and Xu Xiance bore the stretcher side by side. It wasn’t heavy—his strength had grown inexplicably.

After tending to Wang Lei’s wounds, the latter thanked him again, thank-you coin +1. When lifting him, Wang Lei thanked him once more, thank-you coin +1. Along the way, Ren Xiaosu tended to Wang Lei’s hunger and thirst, earning another thank-you coin +1.

Ren Xiaosu never imagined he’d found a “divine tool” for amassing gratitude!

In half an hour, he’d collected 82 coins!

Xu Xiance found it odd—Ren Xiaosu had always been aloof, indifferent to others’ affairs. Why the sudden change?

He didn’t believe it.

Yet as they journeyed, Xu Xiance pondered long—if Ren Xiaosu had ulterior motives, what could he possibly gain?

It eluded him.

This dense forest was treacherous. Trees stood so thickly that even Ren Xiaosu, who’d been here a year prior, felt as though decades had passed.

He chatted idly with Wang Lei, eyes scanning the surroundings. Passing the spot where he’d abandoned the rat, he glanced back—only hours had passed, yet the carcass had become bleached bones.

This meant scavenger insects lurked nearby, perhaps ants.

As they advanced, Luo Xinyu lingered by Xu Xiance’s side, as if fascinated.

Ren Xiaosu noticed her nearly pressing her body against Xu Xiance’s, only to be met with deliberate coldness.

In that moment, he glimpsed the shadow of a townswoman in her…

So certain women in the barrier instinctively sought reliance in peril.

He turned to Yang Xiaojin, who kept both barrels trained on others at all times.

Luo Xinyu and Yang Xiaojin were like two extremes.

At noon, Xu Xiance asked Ren Xiaosu, “Can you find food for everyone?”

Ren Xiaosu replied absently, “I’m no deity. If I say a wild boar crashes into a tree, does one truly appear?”

No sooner had he spoken than a thunderous crash echoed hundreds of meters ahead, followed by snapping branches.

All stared at Ren Xiaosu, aghast. Xu Xiance led them cautiously forward—and indeed, a wild boar had shattered a great tree, lying beside it, struggling to rise, its body mangled beyond standing.

The gray shadow detached from Xu Xiance’s form, leapt several meters into the air, and descended with a crushing blow to the boar’s skull. It collapsed with a thunderous fall!

Yet none heeded the shadow; all gaped at Ren Xiaosu.

Liu Bu laughed, “Now we’ve got wild game for lunch, Ren Xiaosu—you’re something else! Say it, and it’s done!”

They laughed, grateful for sustenance. But Ren Xiaosu remained silent, gazing toward the township, unease coiling in his chest.

Six Yuan…

Only Ren Xiaosu knew this was Yan Liuyuan’s doing again. Now, Yan Liuyuan must endure the backlash’s agony. May Xiao Yu and Zhang Jinglin care for him.

Ren Xiaosu fell quiet, resolving to avoid such conjectures. The more fortune he gained, the graver Yan Liuyuan’s peril.

He sighed inwardly, “Stubborn fool.”

For the first time, Ren Xiaosu longed to return to the township, to see if Yan Liuyuan was safe.