Mutated Tao

Chapter 154: Dunes

Chapter 154: Dunes

Li Huowang may look relaxed, but as he stared at Monk in front of him, he was completely alert. Even though Monk hadn’t done anything to harm him, Li Huowang refused to trust someone else with his life.

“Monk, can you tell me who you are?” Li Huowang said jokingly.

Does Monk have an ulterior motive? Or is he a spy acting on the behalf of the Righteous Monastery? Or maybe he’s someone from the Sitting Oblivion Dao that the Abbess warned me about? All of these could be true and it would be a problem no matter which of them he is connected to.

“Me? I’m a monk. Why do you ask me this?” said Monk frankly.

Li Huowang observed Monk’s expression closely but found nothing unusual. Still, even if there was no evidence, Li Huowang couldn’t bring himself to fully trust Monk that easily anymore.

Unable to confirm whether Monk was harmless or not, the best plan that Li Huowang could think of was to distance himself from him, “Fine, since we are done watching the show, let’s split up for now. You go do your good deeds while I continue with my travels. I hope that we will meet again.”

“Why are you in such a hurry? We haven’t seen each other for so long. We can just travel together like the good old days,” said Monk happily as he reached for Li Huowang's sleeve. However, his hand was stopped by the scabbard of a sword.

After a moment, Monk retracted his hand. “What are you doing? Aren’t we friends?”

“If you are a friend, then tell me who you are! Don’t make me guess your identity here! Who are you?!” shouted Li Huowang as he walked back to the inn without waiting for a reply.

Sensing the hostility in Li Huowang’s tone, Monk decided not to follow him. At the same time, he looked a little dejected.

Meanwhile, Li Huowang walked back to the inn without any incident. When he turned around and confirmed that Monk hadn’t followed him, he sighed in relief.

“Senior Li, what’s wrong? Why are you so nervous? Did a ghost chase you?” asked Puppy as he chewed on sunflower seeds while walking down the stairs.

“Where is everyone?” Li Huowang hurriedly asked him.

“They are all outside, following your orders and gathering information about Hou Shu. They are also trying to find a map of the kingdom,” explained Puppy, feeling confused as to why Li Huowang would ask him that.

“There’s no need to do all that now! Call everyone back. We need to leave as soon as possible!”

“Why… Alright, Senior Li, let me go and find them immediately,” Puppy threw away the sunflower seeds and ran out.

“Don’t forget to call for the Lu family!” shouted Li Huowang as he ran to the stables.

Li Huowang’s order was so sudden that none of them had any time to prepare. They all rushed back as soon as they could before hastily preparing for their journey.

Even so, Li Huowang’s orders were absolute. No one dared to fight back.

Thankfully they were able to finish preparations before nightfall. Soon, the horse carriage was well on its way out of town.

“Senior Li, what’s wrong?” Chun Xiaoman clutched her sword, confused by their sudden predicament.

“Someone in the town is targeting us. But don’t worry; this time it’s not the same as last time. If they choose to fight us, they won’t have the advantage,” said Li Huowang as he felt the sword on his back.

After having rested for an entire day, everyone’s stamina was in good condition. They only stopped to rest when the moon was high in the sky.

At that moment, Li Huowang roughly calculated and determined that they were at least ten kilometers away from the town, and so he told all of them to stop and rest.

If they wanted to continue their journey tomorrow, then they needed to sleep for now.

At the same time, Li Huowang personally took the job of night watch in order to prevent any people from suddenly attacking them on the first night of their journey.

Li Huowang gently patted Bun’s head while recalling everything that happened today. He was trying to see if he had missed any details.

He had a feeling that something was indeed strange; however, he couldn't figure out why. He felt as though he was being led around by the nose, causing him to feel irritated.

But since they were already out of town, he decided not to think anymore and instead figure out his next steps.

The Nuo Opera performers and the monks from the righteous monastery. Regardless of their origin, none of them wanted to fight me in a town. It means that they are afraid of something.

Li Huowang patted the Profound Records and the sword on his back as he pondered about it.

Everyone I encountered immediately knew that I was a Strayed One. Based on the actions of the Righteous Monastery, it seems that Strayed Ones are indeed valuable. Regardless, since they did not act immediately, it must mean that I have the power threshold to protect myself in this world. At least we should be able to peacefully navigate through the dangers.

At that moment, Dan Yangzi, who had been squatting directly in front of him, suddenly spoke. “Hmph! And to think that I call you my disciple. They are all bullying you and yet you only think about self defense. Instead of running, you should be thinking about how to kill them all!”

Hearing this, Li Huowang smiled coldly and clapped his hands slowly. “Amazing! My Master is such a good teacher! However, I wonder who it was that left his disciples behind to run away from the Righteous Monastery last time.”

“You damned brat!” shouted Dan Yangzi as he stood up, his grotesque muscles and flesh pulsating. Just as he was about to open his three mouths to say something, he turned, staring in the same direction as Li Huowang.

At that moment, a single black dot was slowly approaching them.

“They are chasing us!” Li Huowang's face turned serious. Just as he was about to stand up and inform the rest of the group,he realized that there was another black dot approaching them from the front.

Seeing this, Li Huowang scanned his surroundings and saw black dots approaching them from every direction. They were being surrounded!

“Li Huowang! You’ve been surrounded! This time, you are dead for sure, hahaha!” said Jiang Yingzi as she laughed maniacally while hugging her belly with her remaining arm.

“Wake up! Someone’s here!” Li Huowang’s angry roar broke the silence of the dunes.

Hearing his shout, the sleepy members instantly broke out into cold sweat and brandished their blades.

Regardless of who they were, their enemies wanted them dead. Instantly, the atmosphere became tense.

“Don’t wait for them to complete their encirclement! We need to break through now!” Li Huowang led them, charging toward one of the black dots.

As they got closer, Li Huowang saw who they were.

One of them was wearing the same bronze coin veil. It was the same assailant from last night! At the same time, just like yesterday, the man had several shadow monsters in his hand.

Seeing this, there was no need for any words. Li Huowang just unsheathed his sword and charged forward.

On the other hand, the veiled man threw out the shadow monsters in his hand. With the aid of the moonlight, the shadow monsters quickly gained form and stood up like paper dolls as they floated toward Li Huowang.