Nightfall was gradually approaching.
The black rocks were sturdy. With the aid of the rubble and by alternating between passively guarding and actively rebuffing the attack of the wild beasts, the situation was finally under control.
“Huanghun, I will take over for you. You should have a good rest.” Teacher Xu’s voice was filled with concern.
Apart from Teacher Xu and Cui Xianzi, Duanmu Huanghun was the third in importance. The amount of time he spent guarding was the same as the two teachers. The rest of the students looked at Duanmu Huanghun with admiring and respectful gazes. Furthermore, Duanmu Huanghun was one of the youngest here, yet he held such great responsibility. How could they not respect him?
“Yes, Teacher,” Duanmu Huanghun replied courteously. Even at this point in time, he did not forget his manners.
Jumping down from the rocks, he was exhausted. He found a clean spot among the stones and sat down. Duanmu Huanghun realized that the person resting next to him was Ai Hui only after sitting down.
Had the fellow already made his move? It was a pity he had not seen it.
The intensity of the battle had been at another level. The wild beasts seemed to have gone crazy and came one after another. Guarding was a serious affair as he was holding down the fort, so he had no time to bother with other stuff.
“What do you think of the situation now?” Duanmu Huanghun suddenly asked.
Ai Hui was somewhat surprised and shot a glance at Duanmu Huanghun. He did not expect Duanmu Huanghun to suddenly talk to him.
However, at this point in time, it was not worth it to bring up the previous grievances. Regardless of whether he was willing or not, all of them were in the same boat now. Also, Duanmu Huanghun performed significant deeds and had not proved to be an obstruction. If they were able to make it out alive, Duanmu Huanghun would have played a huge part in making it happen.
The malice Ai Hui felt toward him lessened.
He shook his head. “Disastrous.”
Duanmu Huanghun frowned ever so slightly. “Why is that? Hasn’t the situation stabilized?”
Looking at the situation before his eyes, Duanmu Huanghun felt that the situation had improved. They had a favorable defensive position and also figured out the pattern of alternating defenders. The available rations and water was also sufficient to last for a period of time.
Where was the danger?
Duanmu Huanghun believed that Ai Hui would not have spoken without thinking.
Just as Duanmu Huanghun’s capability had obtained the stamp of approval from everyone, Ai Hui’s acute judgement has also obtained the same stamp of approval. Although this result made Duanmu Huanghun uncomfortable, he had to admit that while he was confident of winning in a personal battle, he was indeed lacking in other aspects.
Many times, Ai Hui’s experience and skills reminded him of Instructor Zhou.
“Didn’t you notice? Those wild beasts that attacked us were herbivores.”
While Ai Hui’s tone was calm, it was still a shock for Duanmu Huanghun when he heard it.
Recalling the previous battles, the animals that he met with were mostly small animals that fed on plants. He pondered for awhile. “Are you implying that there are even more ferocious wild beasts that were poisoned? Or only those that fed on plants would be poisoned?”
“The red water underground has a very weak delicate fragrance. If you pull a blade of grass, the fragrance of the grass is more intense than the red water. Do you still remember the red-haired rabbit? The blood of the red-haired rabbit was even more fragrant than the grass. I killed a mosquito previously and the blood from the mosquito was even sweeter and more fragrant than the red-haired rabbit’s blood. What do you think this means?”
“You are implying…” Duanmu Huanghun’s expression became very worried.
“The concentration of the blood poison is increasing progressively,” Ai Hui said straightforwardly. He continued, “Look at those wild beasts that were killed by us. Their corpses were gobbled up cleanly, right? Have you seen a drop of blood on the ground yet?”
“This proves that those wild beasts that were poisoned were very bloodthirsty.” Duanmu Huanghun thought of the most plausible reason.
“No.” Ai Hui shook his head. “They were attracted by the blood poison. I suspect they are transforming.”
“What do you think of the battle ability of these small animals that feed on plants? Did it increase substantially?” Ai Hui continued to ask.
“Very much so.” Duanmu Huanghun nodded his head.
“What has changed them? The blood poison. It enabled them to become stronger. Do you still remember the progressive trend? For the carnivorous wild beasts, the blood poison is more concentrated, so their change would be even greater and more dangerous,” Ai Hui said gravely.
Duanmu Huanghun had actually missed that small detail. A chill that was hard to put in words ascended from his spine, and he shivered.
“For the time being, we still do not know what change it will bring. However, the mosquito i killed previously was also very weak. As such, I suspect that it is possible for the carnivorous wild beasts to have to undergo a transformation period. Thus, the reason why we have yet to meet with these carnivorous wild beasts might be because they have not completed the transformation.”
Duanmu Huanghun’s face turned as white as sheet. “This… This is just your conjecture…”
“If I am not wrong, the wild beasts we are going to encounter subsequently will be harder to deal with.” Ai Hui was as cool as a cucumber, like he was narrating an incident that had nothing to do with him. “I hope my guess is wrong. Otherwise, we can only wish for the early arrival of the support team.”
Duanmu Huanghun stared blankly at Ai Hui. He could not imagine how Ai Hui could be so indifferent to their dire state.
Ai Hui did not take note of Duanmu Huanghun’s gaze. He continued to mutter, “Also, why would the wild beasts attack us? And why didn’t they attack us previously? Did you notice that the wild beasts would gobble up the corpses of their own kind but would not attack those that were alive. Why was that the case?”
Duanmu Huanghun felt dumbstruck.
He had always thought that he was truly a genius and felt that he had a nimble mind. He was able to think of a reason whenever there was a problem. But now, listening to Ai Hui’s consecutive “why’s”, he felt that his brain was not substantial enough.
Had everyone not walked the same route? Why did the things they saw differ so much?
The expression Duanmu Huanghun had while looking at Ai Hui was like he had seen a ghost.
Every detail that Ai Hui mentioned was something that Duanmu Huanghun had not noticed. Thinking about it closely, every problem seemed to have a profound theory behind it.
At that moment, Duanmu Huanghun saw Ai Hui in a new light. He finally understood why Ai Hui always managed to gain the trust of other people. This fellow’s insight was simply too scary. Furthermore, his calm and cool-headed thinking always managed to point directly to the crux of the problem.
Moreover, no matter how bad the situation, Ai Hui seemed to never panic.
For example, if Ai Hui’s conjecture was true, then they were going to be in a dire situation. When Ai Hui used his exclusively strange tone, yes that’s right, that sort of strange tone that had nothing to do with him. To Duanmu Huanghun, the tone was weird to an extreme degree.
Seems like he was not very worried now…
What sort of weird mindset was this? Duanmu Huanghun, himself, was also rather speechless.
“Ah Hui, it is our turn now.”
Fatty’s shout broke Ai Hui’s train of thoughts.
Ai Hui gathered his senses, grabbed his grass sword, and, together with Fatty, took over Cui Xianzi’s post.
Duanmu Huanghun’s eyes brightened. He was filled with curiosity toward Ai Hui’s battle ability since he had never witnessed it before. Now he would be able to observe it.
At that moment, a long beast howl sounded out from a distant place.
In unison, Ai Hui and Duanmu Huanghun changed their expressions.