"Hey, your eyeballs are about to pop out. I'm telling you, don't even think about this treasure, or I'll fight you to the death."
Yi Die pocketed the badge. After a satisfying meal, she mounted the swift-blooded horse with Ren Yuanhao, and the two, astride one horse, ambled aimlessly through the desert until dusk fell.
At that moment, weary and parched, they looked around. Only the vast desert, as ancient as time itself, stretched out before them, vast and boundless.
"Hey, how much longer can our water last?"
Yi Die's voice no longer sounded so neutral. Perhaps she had let down her guard around Ren Yuanhao, believing he wouldn't harm her.
Ren Yuanhao shook the water pouch and checked its contents.
"Two and a half bags."
"Two and a half bags? That means we have to find a water source before noon tomorrow, or we'll die of thirst eventually."
Ren Yuanhao suddenly felt curious. "Yi Die, how long have you been in the desert?"
"I decided to set out yesterday." Yi Die knew what Ren Yuanhao wanted to ask, and added, "So don't have too high expectations of me. Whether we get out of the desert depends on fate."
Ren Yuanhao then said, "I'm not trying to get out of the desert. If we wanted to get out, wouldn't our direction have been wrong from the start?"
"Then why are you following me?" Yi Die mumbled.
"Of course, it's because your horse died, and you have water. I happen to have a horse, so the three of us, two bags of water, will go and return together."
Ren Yuanhao lay in the poplar forest, a cold wind sweeping in from all sides, accompanied by desolate and distant wolf howls.
"I didn't expect you to be so ugly, yet so reliable." Yi Die ate the rations Ren Yuanhao had brought, looking envious. "Hey, ugly guy, do you have good food like this everywhere in your big city?"
She swayed the rose-flavored compressed biscuit in her hand and devoured it with her back to Ren Yuanhao.
Ren Yuanhao merely grunted, but his mind was constantly churning with the location described in the bamboo slip, still with no clue.
"Beep, beep, bamboo slip repair progress seventy percent. I'm sure this little sprint is in the right direction."
The system voice sounded at the opportune moment.
"Who knows? Bamboo slips are old things. In this world, mountains and terrains are constantly changing. Even rivers and dragon脉s can shift. Who can say for sure what's true and false in these ancient texts?"
"The person who wrote these bamboo slips, I believe, was a man of extraordinary talent. To not even be able to calculate the changes in mountains and terrain, you underestimate these ancient scholars too much."
"It's not that I don't believe, it's just that the desert is inherently complex. Perhaps a continuous sandstorm could completely swallow a city that once existed. What if the place we're looking for has already been consumed by the sand? Then wouldn't that mean..."
Ren Yuanhao recalled his past archaeological studies and knew that the sand buried many things: gold, silver, treasures, elixirs, ten-mile city walls, even great metropolises that once existed!
"Since the bamboo slips can guide us, I naturally believe they have a way to let us find the existence of the异能核. Don't worry about that. However, what worries me now is that woman, or rather, the item in her hand. If you have the chance, you must get that badge of hers."
Ren Yuanhao exclaimed frantically, "I want to, but please understand the situation. That woman hides it securely even when she's resting. To steal it..."
"A man with the 'Flying Dragon Seeking Clouds Hand' is worried about not being able to steal things?"
The system lady immediately interrupted him with disdain.
"Also, since the pattern on that badge appears in the last part of the bamboo slips, it must mean it has a crucial purpose. Although the interpretation of the bamboo slips is not yet complete, I think you can trust my intuition."
"Right now, all I want is to return to my big city and sleep soundly on a two or three-meter-wide bed, even if I lose consciousness."
As soon as he said this, the system lady clearly exclaimed, "Eh."
"What? Is there a great discovery?"
"Yes, perhaps your dream of sleeping soundly will come true soon."
Ren Yuanhao's spirits immediately lifted. "What's going on?"
"Now that you mention it, I immediately checked the map and found that about twenty miles to the southeast, there are clear traces of human civilization. And that route is exactly the direction indicated by the recently calculated bamboo slips!"
"You mean, that 异能核 is likely there?"
The system hummed and then said:
"Think about it, is it safer to hide the 异能核 in the depths of mountains and forests, or to have layers of human traces mask its aura?"
Ren Yuanhao pondered for a moment and immediately understood the system lady's meaning. "Does that mean the 异能核 also understands the principle of 'the greatest concealment is in plain sight'?"
"It doesn't understand it; its former owner does."
"Then what are we waiting for? For my two or three-meter-wide bed, for hot mare's milk, for big chunks of beef, I, Ren Yuanhao, will risk my life to reach that place tonight!"
With that thought, Ren Yuanhao felt as if he had been injected with adrenaline. He stood up from the frozen sand.
This action startled Yi Die.
"What? Are you possessed?"
Yi Die said irritably.
"No, no, no, let's go, let's move!"
Ren Yuanhao, without further explanation, fed the last bit of fodder and a bag of water to the swift-blooded horse. Yi Die, however, was confused and scolded him, "What's going on! You let the horse drink a whole bag of water and eat all the fodder. Are you planning a desperate gamble, breaking your cauldrons and sinking your ships? Or do you just not want to live?"
"Of course, I want to live. Only by feeding the horse and letting it drink its fill can we safely enter the big city tonight."
Ren Yuanhao didn't offer much explanation. Instead, he wrapped up his clothes, leaving only his eyes exposed, then leaped up and immediately mounted the swift-blooded horse.
"Get on, I know where the supply point is."
Ren Yuanhao extended his hand.
Yi Die's mind was full of fog, but this guy didn't seem possessed. There was even a spark of excitement in his eyes~
Never mind, let's give it a try. After all, they were almost out of supplies. Sometimes, choosing to trust a teammate isn't a bad thing.
With mutual agreement, the swift-blooded horse galloped towards the highlighted spot in Ren Yuanhao's mind with unparalleled speed.
At that moment, the sky was still covered in bleak, sorrowful clouds, and the cold sandstorms continuously hit Ren Yuanhao. Fortunately, Ren Yuanhao was tall and sturdy. Yi Die could only feel the heartbeat within his solid body and nothing else.