Chapter 882: 75. Temptation
“Maybe it’s not that coincidental…” Katerina gradually lost her confidence.
The “route” is protected and maintained, making it very unlikely for strange creatures, especially powerful ones, to intrude.
“I feel it getting closer,” Lu Li calmly stated.
They made a mistake.
The mark that the Model Mother placed on Lu Li did not disappear, and he didn’t remove it in Midnight City.
Sporadic sounds outside the carriage about the description of the strange leader confirmed their speculation.
The pursuer was indeed the Model Mother.
“You and Puxiu stay.” Lu Li pushed open the carriage door.
A breeze swept into the carriage, ruffling Katerina’s hair and unsettling the others.
“Where are you going?” Katerina frowned and shouted.
“It’s coming for me,” Lu Li slipped out of the carriage.
Unease bred within the convoy, with many heads popping out of carriages, looking to the rear—
Lu Li moved towards the front of the long convoy, where faint noises emanated from the leading carriages.
“It ignored our bait.”
“Use the Meat Pig.”
“It’s no use! The slave’s blood was almost drained, and it didn’t lure it away.”
“Check the cargo and passengers to find out what’s attracting it here!”
Outside the carriage, Lu Li approached a Knight guarding the caravan: “I know the strange leader’s information.”
“Wait here.” The startled Knight regained composure, jumped onto the carriage, and went inside.
“Bring him in!”
The rough voice audible from outside invited Lu Li into the carriage: “The boss wants you up there.”
Lu Li boarded the carriage.
The leader of the Prissy Caravan, Bastus, sat in a chair, his left arm trunk-like, leaning on the armrest, and looked at Lu Li, clad in a black robe, with an ominous gaze: “Are you a Heretic? You know the leader’s information, don’t you?”
“It came from the old sewers, and it’s coming for me.”
Bastus’ servant approached Lu Li with an oil lamp, the light dispelling the shadow under the hood, revealing the lower half of his face.
“Coming for you?” Bastus whispered; Lu Li’s calmness angered him, but he couldn’t act on it: “Listen, whoever you are, you handle the trouble you caused, or I’ll throw you out!”
The Lean Monkey-like servant rubbed his hands, and eerie shadows appeared on the carriage wall.
“Master, maybe he’s hiding treasures stolen from the strange leader.” The servant sneered, deeply inhaling the enchanting scent coming from Lu Li.
“Treasures…” Bastus squinted, scrutinizing Lu Li.
“The reason it’s chasing me is that I killed its child.” Lu Li spoke before the situation worsened.
Bastus seemed unwilling to see Lu Li any longer, waving his normal left arm: “Take your trouble and get out of my convoy.”
He dismissed the notion. Lu Li’s calm presence and attire made him cautious, and who knew if killing him would lead to the leader attacking the convoy instead.
“Prepare a horse and map for me.”
The atmosphere in the carriage congealed with Lu Li’s words. Bastus silently glared at Lu Li.
“It’s faster than the convoy.” Lu Li simply responded.
“…Do as he says, lead a fast horse for him.” After a few seconds of pause, Bastus ordered his servant, still eyeing Lu Li.
Bastus’ normally sized, strong arm clutched the Parchment map, walked up to Lu Li, and patted it on his chest.
“Kid, if you survive, you can come find me, Bastus.”
Lu Li didn’t answer, tucked the Parchment map away, and exited the carriage to mount the prepared horse, pulling the reins away from the convoy.
Bastus quietly watched for a moment, then turned to scold his subordinate standing by: “What are you standing there for? Go to the back and see if the strange creature is still following!”
…
The Mycelium Horse trotted through the brown wilderness.
Rather than a parasitic relationship, infecting a horse with mycelium is more like symbiosis. The mold stiffens and numbs the Mycelium Horse’s nerves and muscles, hindering its ability to run, but grants it endurance and persistence.
And intelligence.
The Mycelium-infected horses are smarter than regular horses, even understanding some words.
This fungus can also parasitize humans, and people usually avoid touching Mycelium with wounds, but even if they do, it won’t be a problem—as long as the skin with the growing Mycelium is scraped away.
The saddle kept Lu Li apart from the horse’s rotting, foul hide.
The direction Lu Li led the strange creature to was not random; there was a village fifty miles away, similar to Shelter Village, with its main parts located in the old sewers.
The premise was that Lu Li could reach there before the Model Mother caught up.
The convoy slowly merged into part of the horizon behind.
“Help me…”
A faint voice suddenly rang from behind a rock, almost vanishing amid the sounds of hooves and wind.
Lu Li looked towards the source of the voice, seeing a ragged man leaning against a rock, a blood trail extending from afar to him.
The bizarre creatures wandering the wilderness wouldn’t spare a human. And a slave-like man shouldn’t be gravely injured, lying in the wilderness.
Lu Li thought of the bait “Meat Pig” mentioned by the Prissy Caravan.
Pulling the reins, Lu Li jumped off the Mycelium Horse and approached the slave.
The slave had lost too much blood. His pale face, muddied, couldn’t hide the exhaustion, feebly covering the bleeding cut on his arm.
Lu Li lifted his cloak, tore a piece of cloth, used it as a bandage to bind the slave’s wound, who winced with pain, becoming more alert.
“Can you still walk?” Lu Li asked him.
“I’ve lost too much blood…” The slave quietly pleaded, “Take me away, I don’t want to die here… I’m not an Alien, I’m human…”
“That strange leader is chasing me, I can’t take you away.”
Lu Li stood up, gazing into the distance behind.
A plume of dust rose far away, too small in scale to be a sandstorm.
It was the approaching Model Mother.
“I’m going to die… I don’t want to… I don’t want…” The slave babbled incoherently, his initially numb heart, due to excessive blood loss, fell into near-death, rekindling desperate hope.
Lu Li hesitated for a few seconds, suddenly helping up the slave, pushing him onto the Mycelium Horse, and placed the memorized Parchment map into the slave’s pocket.
“Take him to a place you think is safe.” Lu Li told the Mycelium Horse.
The Mycelium Horse seemed to understand, whisking its tail, and trotted away.
Lu Li once again gazed at the dust in the distance, turned, and ran into the depths of the wilderness.
“You’re an idiot!”
The Boss appeared on Lu Li’s shoulder.
“I’m faster than the Mycelium Horse.” Lu Li knew what it was referring to and replied concisely. “Do you have a way to deal with the Model Mother?”
Lu Li couldn’t run fifty miles continuously; the previous plan was no longer viable.
“I won’t help you!” The Boss leaped off his shoulder, dropping into the hood, seemingly no longer hiding.
“My journey will end if I’m killed too,” Lu Li said.
“…I can’t beat it!” The Boss paused.
“Think of another way, like shaking it off or luring it away.”
“No way!”
“What about removing the mark?”
“…It will take time!” The Boss finally loosened, hesitantly shouting, “And it can see you, removing the mark will also alert it!”
“Then we need to find a place that can obstruct its view.”
Lu Li thought of a forest nearly thirty miles away.
On the Parchment map, that area was marked as a region to treat with caution: [Plant Habitat]