Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 395 Encounter on the road
The mountain roads are exceptionally difficult to traverse.

Especially after several blizzards.

This snow may seem ordinary, but it is actually much more dangerous than flat ground. Normally, it's enough to barely walk forward with one step in the deep snow, but in many places the snow is as deep as two meters. Although it may not look like anything on the surface, if you accidentally step on it, you will immediately sink into it like quicksand.

The arduous journey, coupled with a day's exhaustion, eventually broke the roe deer. It knelt on its two front legs and refused to move again.

Zhou You tried a few more times, even using blood as bait, and found that this person was truly exhausted. Looking at Feng Qianlin, although he was also holding on, his face was as pale as paper.

Zhou You sighed and then continued.

"Brother Feng, let's take a break for now."

"No, not now."

"We're now more than ten miles away from that village. Not to mention that those people were just scouts, and we've already killed them all. Under these circumstances, even if the enemy has strong divination abilities, it's impossible for them to find us from deep in the mountains so quickly."

Zhou You paused for a moment, then continued to explain.

“Everyone is pretty much exhausted now, pushing yourselves further will only backfire—besides, you also need to consider Master Chen’s condition.”

Seeing this, Feng Qianlin thought for a moment and finally nodded.

So Zhou You put down his luggage and quickly started getting ready.

Clear a flat area, set up a few blankets to block the wind, and finally light a campfire—this is an extremely simple campsite.

Feng Qianlin also rolled up his sleeves and lent a hand—to Zhou You's surprise, unlike his status as a young master, this person was very skilled at the job, and was even slightly faster than him.

When Zhou You asked him out of curiosity, his explanation was quite simple.

"—Brother Zhou, you haven't forgotten what the first time we met was like, have you? Do you think this is my first time doing business?"

After saying that, Feng Qianlin looked up and began to count.

“I’ve done all sorts of jobs since I came back from abroad: pulling carts, selling goods, carrying heavy loads, farming. And I’m pretty good at them all.”

".Why?"

Feng Qianlin smiled slightly.

“I’ve always felt that if you want to save people, you have to know what they are suffering from. I’ve seen far too much empty talk and grandstanding over the years, so I want to personally experience what these people have gone through before talking about saving them.”

A very pragmatic revolutionary, he is very similar to the people Zhou You remembered.

It's a pity I was born in such an era.

Zhou You silently exhaled a breath of stale air, and didn't ask any more questions. Instead, he simply set up a stove, and instead of using snow, he knocked a few pieces of ice from the frozen stream next to him, put them in the pot to wait for them to melt, and then threw in some food.

The supplies were very basic. Because they jumped off the train in such a hurry, they didn't have much food with them. They bought some food in a few villages along the way. All they could cook now were a few pieces of dried meat and some brown rice.

But Feng Qianlin didn't care at all—after serving a bowl of thin porridge, he didn't rush to eat it himself. Instead, he waited until it cooled down a little before taking it to Chen Xun's side and carefully feeding him half a bowl. After feeling that the other person had eaten something, he turned around and walked back to the campfire, where he slurped down the other half of the bowl.

Zhou You didn't know what to say for a moment, so he could only silently eat his own portion of food. But after a while, unexpectedly, it was Feng Qianlin who spoke first.

"I'm telling you, Brother Zhou."

".What's wrong?"

"You've been asking me this a lot lately, and I've actually been wanting to ask you the same thing—what are your plans for the future?"

"Didn't I say before that I would escort Brother Feng to the Ghost Market, and then I would go find my master?"

Feng Qianlin suddenly interrupted with a smile.

"That's not what I'm talking about. I'm asking you, what is the ultimate purpose of all the things you've done?"

Zhou You suddenly raised his head and stared into Feng Qianlin's eyes.

—Did this person notice something?
However, all he could see was honesty.

Zhou You then fell into deep thought.

For treatment of a terminal illness?

That's how it started, but now that my chronic illness has been completely cured, it's hardly a reason anymore.

To prolong life?

Perhaps, but that's definitely not the most crucial point.

Just because of the script's forced entry?

Although I have vehemently criticized the black book for this, I am not inherently resistant to scripts.

So what is it that I spend day after day fighting for my life, and even amidst all sorts of strange and terrifying things?
After a long while, Zhou You finally spoke, albeit with some hesitation.

"I"

But before he could speak, a sharp scream suddenly rang out.

—It's a silly roe deer.

Since setting up camp and putting Chen Xun down, it had been running off to the side and pawing at the snow with its hooves—seemingly looking for some tender, unfrozen grass—but then, for some unknown reason, it suddenly raised its head and stared at the distance with hostility.

—Those pursuers?
No way, are these guys some kind of super-fast runners? They caught up with us so quickly?

Zhou You gripped the hilt of his sword, while Feng Qianlin reached for his pistol.

But after a while, all that emerged from the bushes was a disheveled head.

He shook off the snow and then complained.

"Damn it, I finally found some people. Why are you all looking at me like that? I just wanted to borrow a light."

Zhou You did not lower his guard, but calmly observed the person.

He wore a dog-skin hat, a tattered coat, and a beard that hadn't been groomed in ages. He carried a crudely made hunting bow on his back and held a rabbit that looked like it had just died in his hand.

From any perspective, this man was just an ordinary hunter.

Zhou You used the incantation to sense Qi again and confirmed that Qi had no magic power. He breathed a slight sigh of relief. But before he could say anything to drive him away, the hunter had already come over as if he knew him well, and then grinned with a mouthful of yellow teeth and started warming himself by the fire.

"Hey, you two! This weather's getting colder every day. I was planning to go up the mountain to hunt some wild game, but after all that work, I only caught a rabbit, and then I got lost in the middle of the night!"

Zhou You and Feng Qianlin remained silent, only looking at the guy with indifferent eyes. Unexpectedly, this guy was not ashamed at all, but instead took a liking to the porridge that was still left behind. Suddenly, they swallowed hard.

"Well, it's fate that we met. I'm really starving after running around for so long. If you two don't mind, could you join me?"

Having said that, without waiting for Zhou You and the others to react, he reached out to scoop some water into the pot—

But immediately, Zhou You swung a tree branch and knocked his hand away.

"What are you doing!" Zhou You said calmly, looking at the guy who was complaining instead.

"I'm sorry, we don't have any extra food on hand. We need to save this pot of porridge for tomorrow morning. As for the fireside, there's not much room left. Brother, you've warmed up now, so I won't offer you any more food."

"Fine, don't give it to me then. You're acting all high and mighty, like you're some kind of big shot. Pah! Even if you wanted to give it to me, I don't want to eat it."

Perhaps because it was too dark, he didn't see the sword at Zhou You's feet, so relying on his hunting bow, he spat in dissatisfaction, then patted his behind and prepared to leave.

However, just as he took a step, he suddenly remembered something and turned around with a grin.

"Wait a minute, that's not right. If I remember correctly, this road has been abandoned for many years. Why are you coming here in the middle of the night instead of taking the official road?"

Where I go is none of your business.
Zhou You rolled his eyes and was about to retort, but Feng Qianlin had already answered calmly.

"We're just traveling merchants passing through, heading to Baishigang to buy some goods. But wherever we go is none of your business, friend, is it?"

The hunter chuckled twice, then turned to the roe deer and Chen Xun lying on the ground.

Zhou You's eyes were cold, and he was already secretly preparing to draw his sword.

But the hunter didn't say anything; instead, he suddenly brought up an unrelated topic.

"Gentlemen, the porridge you've made looks rather bland. It's mostly just dried meat and brown rice. Would you like to add some fresh meat?"

".What do you mean?"

The hunter smiled and waved his hand.

"Hey, don't be so wary. I just caught a rabbit. There wasn't much meat to begin with, and it's inconvenient for me to take it back, so I thought I'd sell it to you."

Feng Qianlin maintained his indifferent tone.

"Then, friend, what is your price?"

The hunter suddenly broke into a bright smile.

"It's not much. You see, it's the dead of winter, so the price will definitely be higher. It's only three taels of silver."

Zhou You's eyes suddenly turned cold.

He finally understood. Although this guy wasn't one of the pursuers, he could tell that since they were traveling through the deep mountains and forests in the middle of the night, they must have some unspeakable reason, so he was just thinking of taking advantage of the situation to extort money from them.

Even if you sold that skinny rabbit in the county town, it would only fetch a dozen or so copper coins—and that's with the premium for a year of great famine.

He asked for three taels of silver.
Ha, are you desperate for money?
Zhou You shook his head, about to raise his sword to teach this guy a lesson, but Feng Qianlin stopped him again.

No one knows what this guy was thinking, but after looking at the hunter with a sly grin on his face, who seemed to have them cornered, he actually threw over a silver ingot.

"There are about four ounces here, consider it payment for your rabbit, but I have one condition."

The hunter grabbed the silver, gleefully gnawed on it a few times, and then said...

"you say!"

"No matter who you meet, don't say you've met us, okay?"

"Of course, of course! No matter what you do, I promise I won't say a word, or I'll die a horrible death—and hey buddy, I still have some here."

Seemingly not satisfied with just one ingot of silver, the hunter's eyes darted around, and he wanted to push his luck and take a little more.

But then he saw Zhou You's eyes.

A pair of ordinary eyes, but for some reason, they always send chills down your spine.

The hunter shuddered, then said with a forced smile.

"Then I won't disturb you any longer. You two can enjoy your time by the fire!"

Seeing the guy carrying the silver run away and eventually disappear into the shadows, Zhou You picked up the rabbit and snorted.

"This kid doesn't even seem to be an adult. Where did he come from? He's not even big enough to fill a tooth gap, is he?"

Feng Qianlin didn't answer, but kicked out the campfire and then said.

"Alright, stop worrying about the size. Since someone's coming, it means this place is no longer safe. We'd better get out of here as soon as possible."

Zhou You casually tossed the rabbit to the roe deer—eating this thing probably wouldn't even be as strenuous as skinning it—and the deer sniffed it before turning its head away with a bored expression.

After re-tying Chen Xun to their backs, the two set off again, trudging through the thick snow.

—From beginning to end, Zhou You never asked Feng Qianlin why he let the hunter go.

The night is getting darker.

Today is a rare good day. The sky is cloudless, and a bright moon hangs high in the sky. Although no torches are lit, the swaying shadows of the trees, illuminated by the moonlight and starlight, make it possible to see the road ahead clearly.

However, Zhou You couldn't help but frown.

Not long after leaving the camp, he suddenly had a feeling of being watched again, as if something was following him, but when he turned around, he could only see nothing.

It was extremely creepy.

Feng Qianlin wasn't doing much better either. Although he had rested for a while, he wasn't a cultivator after all, and the exertion of the past few days had exhausted him. He even had to give his only mount to the seriously injured Chen Xun, which made him stagger as he walked.

But no matter how uncomfortable he was, he gritted his teeth and kept up with Zhou You's pace, without ever complaining.

And so, an unknown amount of time passed.

Suddenly, Zhou You stopped in his tracks.

—It was a clearing in the mountains and forests. All around was quiet, with only the moonlight quietly falling on the ground. It looked no different from the path we had walked before.

However, Zhou You suddenly raised his head, remained silent for a long time, and then suddenly laughed.

"Hey friends, you've been waiting here for ages, stop hiding and come out to meet me, okay?"

No one answered; only deathly silence filled the woods.

Zhou You gave Feng Qianlin a wink, signaling him to step back, and then casually flicked out a yellow talisman.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning burst forth from the flat ground, but before it could strike deeper, it was caught by a hand with bulging veins and then extinguished.

After a long pause, someone finally sighed.

"As expected of the rising star of the White Gate, he really has some of the look of Old Ghost Li back then. Well, since we've been exposed, there's no point in hiding anymore. Everyone, come out."

In the deserted snowfield, a foot suddenly appeared, followed by a second, and a third.
Zhou You looked at those guys and then grinned.

All three of them were cultivators, and their levels seemed quite high.
Another fierce battle is about to begin.

(End of this chapter)