Chapter 696: The Voice from the Swamp
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Zhou Hui had mixed feelings as he clenched his fist. In the past, it was because of his playful nature that he had been caught and captured by the slave trade. He had his own willfulness to blame.
Zhou Hui imagined that his father must have been severely heartbroken when he learned of his disappearance. At the thought of that, Zhou Hui couldn’t help but close his eyes, his body quivering with regret.
“By the way, that familiar was poisoned and needs to be detoxified as soon as possible,” Ma He said hastily. Previously, Ma He had thought they were enemies so he had sent a fatal attack. He hadn’t expected them to be friends or even someone from the same tribe. Ma He was ashamed. “I’m really sorry for what I did before, but I also ask for your understanding. If you want to enter the tribal territory, I must inform the tribe in advance, and somebody else will come later.”
“Understand.” Gao Peng was amiable and nodded to agree.
Ma He nodded gratefully. His right hand opened up, and a silver-colored Dragon Crystal Dragonfly appeared suspended on his palm. The size of the Dragon Crystal Dragonfly wasn’t huge, yet its wings were even and smooth, and there were silvery lightning patterns on its transparent wings.
After giving out his instructions in a low voice, the body of the Dragon Crystal Dragonfly shook slightly. It pressed down its tail, transformed into a shadow, and disappeared from its original spot. It left a trace of silvery broken lightning fragments in the air.
Goldie yawned, swayed forward, and walked for a long distance. It yanked a stiff dog out from the mud. “Dead?” Goldie was uncertain and it shook Sahara several times.
Two mouthfuls of foam came out the edges of the dog’s mouth. and there were some blue bloodstains. Goldie’s face was gloomy; its dog had been poisoned to death! It strode back and threw Sahara in front of Ma He. “The dog is dead.”
“Ah.” A trace of guilt rose from Ma He’s heart. He looked sadly at the Three-Headed Dog on the ground with all six eyes tightly closed.
This must be Hell’s Three-Headed Dog. It was said that Hell’s Three-Headed Dog was a rare familiar in the Ten Mahayana’s Cultivation Stages, and its monster grade was generally not low. Ma He felt even guiltier for poisoning such a high-grade familiar.
“Compensate me for it.” Goldie stretched out its left hand.
Ma He nodded out of habit. “I shouldn’t have poisoned your familiar. I should compensate you, but I don’t have any money with me now. Can I give it to you once we’re back at the tribe?”
Goldie squinted and sized up Ma He. Why is he so honest? He agreed to compensate when I asked for it? Goldie shook its head in a serious manner. “All right, we can put it on credit it first. Eleven percent monthly compound interest, and the principal is $600 for now.”
“Eleven percent monthly compound interest?” Ma He had never heard of such a thing. He scratched his head in doubt, then lowered his head and instantly saw the Three-Headed Dog lying on the ground. On the heads of the Three-Headed Dog, there were several wet mud marks of a duck’s feet.
Ma He looked at those footprints and became lost in his thoughts. Did I really poison it to death?
…
The sound of wings fluttering from afar could be heard. Gao Peng raised his head and saw a pair of red wings in the distance that was covering the sun’s brightness and setting off fierce gusts of wind.
The creature had a dark red body and a dinosaur-like head, but the gigantic dragon had three tails that were close to the swamp. It was approaching them at a very fast speed.
[Monster Name]: Red-Winged Evil Dragon
[Monster Grade]: Epic/Legendary
[Monster Level]: Level 86 (Saint-tier)
The familiar was hovering, then landed steadily on the ground. The Red-Winged Evil Dragon sized up Gao Peng and the rest with a tinge of human quality. Then it nodded. “Follow me.”
Immediately after, its dragon’s mouth lowered and grabbed Zhou He. It drew in its wings and flew at a lower altitude.
Gao Peng looked up at the gloomy gray clouds over his head. He nodded to signal for everyone to ride on Da Zi’s back, while Da Zi followed the Red-Winged Evil Dragon. Gao Peng rode on top of Da Zi’s head, holding onto the dragon’s horn on the top of Da Zi’s head with both hands. While he was in a daze, Gao Peng seemed to have heard something.
Gao Peng squinted and scrutinized his surroundings. The voice was still lingering faintly in Gao Peng’s ear. “Don’t go…
“Newcomer, don’t follow them… danger.”
Gao Peng frowned, secretly notifying Da Zi. “Pay attention to your surroundings. See if there’s anything hidden in the dark.” Da Zi nodded, and the little eyes that were deeply embedded within its heart were activated. A small hole that seemed like an air tunnel, on its heart seeped out several wisps of strange energy.
A more powerful penetrating force than infrasound penetrated the muddy ground underfoot. It went deeper and deeper, though the mud seemed to be boundless. The depth of the Cloud Dream Swamp under their feet was terribly dreadful.
It continued through the rumbling mud when Da Zi suddenly saw a purple eye. The eye was massive, and Da Zi could feel the grief, pain, and despair within. Da Zi’s speed slowed down unconsciously. While Da Zi collected itself, the eye suddenly disappeared in its spot. All that was left was the bubbling dark and rotten mud.
Gao Peng followed Ma He and the rest and kept flying forward. After flying about 300 miles, Gao Peng finally flew out of the Cloud Dream Swamp. Behind them, the Cloud Dream Swamp was deathly still, and gray fog shrouded it in despair. It was like a desperate beast that creeped in the shadows, peeping at them.
Zhou Hui crawled onto Da Zi’s back, afraid of being blown away by the wind. He grabbed tightly onto Da Zi’s mane with his face blown out of shape by the wind.
After a very long ride, several buildings, hundreds of feet high, appeared in front of them. They resembled a white-colored mausoleum that was slender, like the tail of a bone dragon.
Gao Peng squinted and size up the mausoleum. This is the Li Tribe?
From time to time, people from the tribe rushed to and fro, busily shuttling through various buildings. Gao Peng felt that the place was a little odd, but he couldn’t pin-point what was weird about it. Suddenly, after seeing so many people with yellow skin and black hair from the same tribe, Gao Peng became happy.
“Please wait outside the tribe for a moment while I report to those inside.” There was a shadow that jumped off of the Red-Winged Evil Dragon. He was wearing a green robe and purple eye shadow with his red hair. He nodded at Gao Peng and strode through the main entrance of the tribe, then disappeared under the cover of the buildings.
That’s pretty non-mainstream. Gao Peng’s good eyesight allowed him to see that the man’s new hair at his roots was black; his red hair was obviously dyed.
Zhou Hui stood behind Gao Peng. He stamped his feet with elation, his body trembling all over with excitement. There was both hope and fear on his face. From time to time, he stretched his neck and popped his head out from behind Gao Peng to look into the tribe.
After a while, three figures emerged. The foremost one was the monster trainer at the Saint tier who had hopped off of the Red-Winged Evil Dragon’s brows. Behind him were two elders with stiff faces, rickety backs, and cloudy eyes.
“Father, Mother,” Zhou Hui shouted excitedly. His appearance was similar to the two elders, though it seemed a bit strange to address them that way.
When they heard Zhou Hui shouting at them, the two elders raised their heads and showed gray faces wearing gentle smiles. Their expressions were incredibly stiff.
“He’s our baby boy. He’s back!”
“Your mother has cooked delicious food as she waited for your return. Go home and have a meal. Ask your benefactor to come with us too.”
Zhou Hui ran over excitedly. Gao Peng was ready to follow, too, when Fatty Big Sea’s voice suddenly said, “Gao Peng, wait, this tribe… is suspicious.”