1619 Trap!
Xia Fan had departed from the third tribe that he had finished his investigations on about an hour ago, and was taking a break in the darkness.
Nikai took out food and water, located a fairly flat boulder, and then carefully laid out her handkerchief before setting the food on it. She then used a small knife to meticulously cut the apple and meat jerky until it could be eaten in one bite, then poured out a cup of tea from the water bottle.
Having an attentive woman in the team was not a bad thing at all. Had it just been Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, the two would definitely just grab the jerky and shove it down their throats without was.h.i.+ng their hands, just like savages.
Meanwhile, this woman was not only attentive, but also very strong in a fight. She was not going to be a burden to Xia Fan on the battlefield.
!!
Not only did that apply to teams, but even in life, people should have women in their lives. Warriors would fight for their lives outside, and return home to eat a warm meal and drink, then snuggle up beside a woman by a lit fireplace. There was no one who would not enjoy such a life!
It was just too bad that in all his twenty-odd years, Xia Fan was still single. Even Traveling Buddha had gotten himself a wife, and yet Xia Fan was still just the same bachelor as before.
The three crowded around and tucked in. With a woman like Nikai around, whether it was Light or Xia Fan, either man was a bit more refined while eating. Light rubbed his dirty hands on his clothes before carefully grabbing a piece of jerky.
“Look at this boy. Didn’t your mother teach you to wash your hands before eating?” Nikai chided him gently.
She took out a water bottle and a small bottle of hand sanitizer. Giving the little bottle a light squeeze, a scentless and colorless liquid poured into the palm of his hand. He rubbed his hands with it, turning his dirty black hands white from the foam, then rinsed them with water. He was all clean now, but it only seemed to have left his hands blacker!
“I don’t have a mother,” Light said in a small voice as he ate the food.
Xia Fan and Nikai exchanged glances, neither saying a word. Over the years, countless youth and adults of the s.h.i.+mmers were sent out on the scouting mission and died, leaving just the old and the young behind
According to their rules, after a couple had given birth to two children, they could partake in the most dangerous missions, because they had completed their duty to continue the bloodline. The younger couples would only be active in the region around the city, so as to avoid tragedy from striking before they had their own offspring.
In the view of the humans who lived up on the mainland, the s.h.i.+mmers led a life following the laws of survival, just like beasts. But it was a law that extended the lives of their people and the city. Some people had not even had such an option since birth.
Nikai took out some snacks and gave them to Light. Even a pretty girl would like to snack, and she enjoyed packing some sweet treats in her spatial ring.
These were delicacies that the chefs of the Nis.h.i.+ Clan had prepared, something that a child like Light who had lived in the buffer zone could never even dream of. He was rendered dumbfounded after tasting them, feeling like his entire person was floating. To think food could be made so exquisite, tasting so sweet and delicious!
“Why do I feel like there aren’t many men in the Riyad tribe?” Xia Fan asked. “When we were observing them from a distance, though there were plenty of patrolling guards around its perimeter, it was always the same few people going around.
“In the city of the Riyad tribe, 99% of the people there were women and children. There was no need for me to see it with my eyes, since my nose alone could smell them. Just where have the men of the tribe gone, and what are they up to?”
Light shrugged, “They of course have gone and looked for something to eat. They are not like us, and don’t have a holy spring on their land, which is what allows us to plant crops. The Riyads and other tribes can only depend on hunting the animals roaming the buffer zone. They are nomads, while we are farmers.
“The two tribes we visited previously are also the same. If they fail to hunt anything for a day, that means they will not have anything to eat. If they hunt and kill more than needed, they need to salt the meat to preserve it, to stave off future hunger.”
That was a logical explanation, Xia Fan nodded. He suddenly noticed Light wiping his forehead with his hand as he began to sweat.
Lowering his head, Light continued to eat the jerky. If Xia Fan and his eyes were to meet at this moment, he would have discovered that there was a hint of panic in the eyes of the child.
‘He’s just a kid, so he shouldn’t be lying…’, Xia Fan thought to himself.
Light let out a long sigh, and Xia Fan did not continue his line of questioning, which made Light feel more at ease.
Light recalled the words Mousse instructed him that night, “Their leader Xia Fan is not simple. He’s smart and observant. Even his judgment and a.n.a.lytical skills are all first rate. Not to mention he possesses the rare Scent special ability. It’ll be very hard to try to fool him.
“But from what I’ve seen, Xia Fan has a fatal flaw, and that is he absolutely has no guard up against children. He would give candy to every child in the city. Even if the child in question is all dirty, Xia Fan would not hesitate to give him a hug, not at all minding the odors the child would be giving off.
“If someone like him were ever to marry and have a child of his own, he would surely be a very good father, but in war, trusting and being fond of children too much would become his fatal weakness.
“That is why you’re the one that will be tasked with this mission. Use Xia Fan’s weakness and let him think you’re weak and small. That way, he will let down his guard against you, and will ultimately become our prey.”
Mousse’s a.s.sessment was truly accurate. Light could not help but sigh. It had been an entire day since they had departed from Holy Spring City, and sure enough, Xia Fan had been taking care of him the entire time. Xia Fei saw the scrawny Light as just a growing boy, and though Xia Fan would consider every word he said, he would ultimately choose to believe him in the end.
Of course, such a precondition was very reasonable, and Light’s lies had also been very intricately woven with the truth.
Take, for example, the hunting lifestyle the tribes engaged in. That was true, but what Light did not share with Xia Fan was the fact that the entire tribe did not have to be sent out hunting every time. What the tribes in the buffer zone truly excelled in were not fighting with the wild beasts head on, but by relying on traps set up by hunters!
“Where are we going next?” Xia Fan asked him.
He took out an odor remover and ensured that the smell of food lingering from their meal was cleared away, so as to avoid leaving behind any traces of their presence. At the same time, he also quickly collected all the food sc.r.a.ps and stored them in his spatial ring.
“We’ll be going to the largest tribe in this area, known as Blackrock. Recently, the Blackrock tribe has been acting very strange. They crafted many machines with metal that looked rather menacing. They might be prepared to do some things,” Light told him.
Xia Fan frowned. He reckoned the Blackrock tribe must have constructed some terrifying war machines, and in that case, they had to head over and take a look.
—
On their way there, Xia Fan could smell traces of the Demons’ White Bone Regiment, but it was a pity that the terrain here in the buffer zone was too complicated, no different from a maze. Even if there were traces of their scent, there was no way for Xia Fan to quickly find his targets.
Besides, there were plenty of Demi-dragons living around here, and a misstep would be all it took for someone to fall into a lair.Xia Fan was not in a hurry to flee from a lair.
In any case, the buffer zone was a place fraught with danger. They had to be careful with everything, and no matter how sharp his nose was, it was still better to have someone they could trust leading the way.
*Rumble*
*Rumble*
‘If we encounter the enemy in such narrow terrain, I’m afraid our only way out would be to run back the way we came from,’ Xia Fan came to a halt and thought to himself.
“In front is the Blackrock tribe. The sounds we’re hearing must be coming from those machines. Looks like they’ve made plenty during this time,” Light said.
Xia Fan nodded, “I see. Let’s continue on the way. This time, I’ll be in front, and both of you will follow behind me.”
Light clutched his stomach, a pained expression on his face. “Can you let me take a moment and relieve myself? I ate too much just now, and I’m getting more and more nervous the closer we get to the Blackrock tribe.
Nikai chuckled warmly, “Then what are you waiting for? Me and Xia Fan will wait for you here.”
“Yes,” Light answered, running off while holding his pants up.
“Wait a moment.” Nikai suddenly stopped him, and handed him some tissue and odor remover.
“You’re already a big boy, so you need to clean up after yourself, otherwise there won’t be any girls out there who would like you,” Nikai said.
Being so close that Light could smell the feminine scent of a young woman like Nikai, Light gazed blankly at her. A woman who was even prettier than a fairy was being so nice to him, that it made him think about his dead mother.
That red scar on his face made Light the ugliest person in all of Holy Spring City. Aside from his mother, there was no one who was willing to hold him, but Nikai seemed to not see the huge burn mark on his face, and was being very gentle and nice to him.
But everything was already set in place, and nothing could be changed at this point.
Light quietly took the tissue and odor remover, carefully stored them away in his bosom, like he was keeping something precious.
“Thank you,” Light whispered to her
He turned around and went running toward the darkness, tears falling from the corner of his eyes. That mother’s warmth, and a fairy-like beauty. She was going to die, and the person causing her death was none other than himself!
Light ran out of Xia Fan’s sight, darted along in the darkness. He climbed into a small cave that only a child could fit in. Using both his hands and feet, he scrambled away with all his might, and only then did he escape from danger.
Those things were coming. The caverns in the darkness were their killing fields, and both Xia Fan and the pretty girl were going to die today!