Deep inside Devil City, Wu Xie, A-Ning, and their party pushed further and further in. Zhaxi couldn't talk them out of it and had no choice but to leave markers all along the way.
Until they discovered a wrecked ship.
The increasingly loud static crackling from the walkie-talkie proved their direction was correct—the signal was close by—and A-Ning decided to go inside and take a look.
Zhaxi firmly objected, calling it a ghost ship and an omen of bad luck.
A-Ning ignored what Zhaxi said; to her, Zhaxi was merely a guide, not worth spending too much mental effort on.
This time Wu Xie didn't try to dissuade her. He also wanted to know what was inside, and since their missing teammates were very likely in there, giving up on going in was even less of an option.
A-Ning left a few people outside as backup, then led Wu Xie and the others inside.
The entire ship was visibly filled with sand, a testament to how long it had existed.
The sound from the walkie-talkie was coming from beneath the sand. A-Ning called a few people over to dig with her, and they confirmed the people belonged to their team. But how had they survived the sandstorm and made it to Devil City?
She frowned in puzzlement, feeling as though something had slipped out of her control—a sensation A-Ning found deeply unpleasant.
Wu Xie knew nothing of A-Ning's thoughts. He was observing the only coffin inside the shipwreck—a rare whistle-coffin.
He remembered that the Zhang family members were experts at opening this kind of coffin.
What a pity Xiaoge wasn't here; otherwise, he could have seen what was inside this coffin.
Wu Xie pouted, feeling a little aggrieved as he indulged in another brief moment of missing Xiaoge.
"What are you doing? Aren't you going to come over and help?"
Seeing his own men working so hard to dig through the sand while Wu Xie stood there daydreaming, A-Ning instantly grew annoyed at his leisure.
"I was just—" Before Wu Xie could voice his discovery, the shipwreck began to shake.
A-Ning snatched Wu Xie by the arm and pulled him toward a hiding spot, but someone was still injured, trapped beneath the coffin.
The trapped person had half their body pinned under the coffin. Wu Xie hurried over to inspect it and said, "We can only move the coffin aside to save him."
This coffin was unusually heavy, far beyond ordinary strength to move; combined, their few people didn't even weigh as much as the coffin lid.
This was the moment to apply the power of science. Wu Xie looked around, searching for suitable materials to help.
Eventually, he found a large, hard stone and a thick wooden pole. Though they couldn't lift the coffin away, buying just a few seconds to pull the person out would be enough.
With great effort, the group pried the coffin up by a fraction, and A-Ning seized the opportunity to pull the man out.
Inside the shipwreck, the structure was unsteady from the recent collapse; they had to get out immediately, or everyone would be buried here.
Outside the wreck, Old Wu Tou and his men were carrying out vase-like jars one by one.
Wu Xie didn't know what these jars contained, but they gave him an ominous premonition.
Just as Wu Xie wanted to step forward and ask about the purpose of the jars, he saw someone accidentally smash one of them.
From inside the pitch-black jar, a small insect flew out. It was entirely red, and perhaps because it hadn't emerged in a long time, the whole bug looked shaky and appeared completely harmless.
Yet Wu Xie didn't think so at all. He had been tormented enough by these things back at the Seven-Star Lu Wang Palace, and the psychological shadow still lingered.
Wu Xie forced himself to maintain his composure as he walked over to A-Ning to warn her, only to see that Corpse Beetle King fly right onto someone's shoulder.
Wu Xie slowed his breathing and whispered, "Don't move. Absolutely don't move," as he took off his jacket to try and shoo it away.
Before the man could dodge, the Corpse Beetle King bit him dead in an instant. The scene instantly descended into chaos, and many people, running in panic, knocked over even more jars, releasing a greater number of Corpse Beetle Kings.
Wu Xie's eyes widened in horror, and he yelled, "Run!"
Waving his jacket to fend off the lethal bugs, he grabbed A-Ning and ran all the way. He had no idea where they had ended up, but the Corpse Beetle Kings were still doggedly pursuing them from behind.
Fortunately, A-Ning had sharp eyes and spotted a cave entrance. She yanked Wu Xie and dove inside with him. As they hid, Wu Xie's brain was still thinking that it was a good thing Fatty hadn't come; with Fatty's physique, let alone squeezing in here, he would have been eaten by the Corpse Beetle Kings on the spot.
A-Ning swiftly took off her jacket, slashed her palm fiercely with a dagger, smeared the fresh blood all over the garment, and then threw the jacket as far away as she could.
Very soon, catching sight of the blood, the bugs excitedly swarmed toward it, changing direction with a speed that left people gaping.
The heavy smell of blood permeated the small, confined space. Wu Xie said with some concern:
"You cut the wound too deep. It's very likely to get infected."
"It's fine. Just a small injury." A-Ning didn't care about such minor wounds; which of the injuries she had suffered in the past hadn't been worse than this?
Late at night, outside Devil City.
Taking advantage of the dark night, Zhang Qiling walked out of the camp holding a signal flare.
The starry sky in the desert was exceptionally beautiful, and someone had already climbed up to a high vantage point to admire the moon early on—that person was Hei Xiazi.
Tipped off by 003, he naturally knew about Zhang Qiling's little move.
After the signal flare burned out, Zhang Qiling maintained his posture, head tilted up. He sensed an aura up above, but it carried no malice and felt somewhat familiar.
The next moment, a sound came suddenly from behind. Zhang Qiling frowned and swiftly, decisively subdued the newcomer.
It was Xie Yuchen.
Just as the Black Gold Ancient Saber was pressed against his neck, a pebble from above struck Zhang Qiling's blade, knocking it off course and allowing Xie Yuchen to break free from Zhang Qiling's restraint.
Both of them looked up at that spot simultaneously.
Seeing that he had been discovered, Hei Xiazi stood up, stretched his limbs, and said with a beaming smile, "What a coincidence, are you two out moon-gazing as well?"
Zhang Qiling said nothing. He raised the Black Gold Ancient Saber and struck at Hei Xiazi. Through that rock just thrown, Zhang Qiling knew that Hei Xiazi's strength had grown a bit more, and right now he really wanted to have a fight to test each other's capabilities.
Having known Zhang Qiling for so many years, how could Hei Xiazi not know what he was thinking? Naturally, he obliged.
And so, the two of them began to fight in the open space, treating Xie Yuchen to a clean and fierce battle to watch.
Xie Yuchen had to admit that Hei Xiazi, who could be ranked alongside Zhang Qiling as the Southern Blind and Northern Mute, possessed strength that could not be underestimated.
The two were merely sparring and didn't fight for long, but that was plenty.
"You've gotten stronger," Zhang Qiling said faintly as he withdrew his blade.
"I ran into some good fortune on my last trip out. I'll tell you all about it when we get back." Hei Xiazi did not deny it; acquiring 003 was indeed his stroke of luck.
Zhang Qiling nodded. He still trusted Hei Xiazi.
Seeing the easy familiarity between the two of them, Xie Yuchen felt a tiny pang of displeasure in his heart, as if his friend had found another good friend and he was no longer the most important one.
Xie Yuchen shook his head to throw off all those messy thoughts. He wouldn't be envious—he was Household Head Xie, after all.
"What's wrong? Feeling unwell?"
Seeing Xie Yuchen shaking his head for no apparent reason, Hei Xiazi asked with some concern, and even reached out to touch his forehead.
The texture felt nice.
"No—" Hei Xiazi was standing too close, close enough for Xie Yuchen to catch the scent of tobacco on the blind man.
Because he had to protect his voice, Xie Yuchen didn't usually smoke and wasn't particularly fond of the smell of tobacco. Yet the tobacco scent on Hei Xiazi was blended with a hint of cool fragrance, which inexplicably began to smell rather pleasant.