OFTLHFRO C176

Chapter 176: On Playing Favorites

“It’s alright now.”

Luo Mingchen let out a long breath of relief. “They’re afraid of water.”

Huo Yuhui’s tightly wound nerves eased considerably upon hearing those words.

“I’ll go take a look.”

Huo Yan picked up his weapon and headed outside.

Hearing that, Luo Mingchen hurriedly warned, “Be careful not to let them injure you! Otherwise, you’ll turn into one of those dried corpses too!”

“Understood.”

Huo Yan secured the tent flaps before grabbing a wooden bucket and cautiously patrolling the area.

The water had thoroughly soaked the surrounding ground. One could only imagine how much of Luo Mingchen’s ability he had expended to condense such an enormous amount of water in the middle of the desert.

Before long, illuminated by the moonlight, Huo Yan noticed piles upon piles of damp black sand scattered across the ground.

For safety’s sake, he took a piece of cloth and carefully used chopsticks to pick up a small sample, wrapped it securely, and planned to examine it later.

Several others had also emerged to investigate. Once they barely recognized one another in the dim light, they all breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.

Xiao Chen asked, “Master Huo, how are things on your side?”

“All is well.”

Everyone on their side had obeyed orders. No matter what had happened outside, not a single person had left the tents.

Something had apparently happened to Wu Song’s caravan, while the other merchant caravan had suffered even heavier losses.

In circumstances like these, having fewer people was ironically much safer.

After waiting for quite some time, Wu Song heard cursing coming from the nearby merchant caravan. Since those voices had yet to be attacked, everyone relaxed somewhat and cautiously sent several men out of the tents to investigate.

When they discovered that every one of the monsters had turned into lifeless sand after the rainfall, several of the more timid men nearly burst into tears.

The sand left behind by the monsters was a noticeably different color.

No one dared touch it.

They feared becoming monsters themselves.

Even though those fools had already tested it for them, none of them was willing to gamble with their own lives.

Those creatures were simply too unnatural.

If one died because of them, there would be nowhere to seek justice.

Huo Yan went to check on Wu Song’s group, bringing medicinal supplies with him, mainly to see whether they had discovered anything new.

“Thank you, Brother Huo. You and your people saved my life. If you ever need my help in the future, don’t hesitate to ask.”

Wu Song was sincerely grateful that they had warned him.

In that kind of situation, everyone could barely protect themselves. Even if they heard cries for help, they would have been powerless to intervene.

Had no one warned them, it likely wouldn’t have been just a handful of deaths.

Their entire caravan would have been buried beneath the endless sands.

He knew perfectly well who deserved gratitude.

“There’s no need for thanks, Brother Wu,” Huo Yan replied. “These monsters are drawn to light. If possible, don’t light any torches tonight.”

He deliberately reminded them.

Otherwise, bright flames might attract the creatures again, forcing Luo Mingchen to expend another enormous amount of energy creating rain.

Wu Song nodded.

“Understood. We were fortunate. Without that rainfall… I don’t know whether we’d have survived the night.”

Huo Yan merely inclined his head in silent agreement.

After confirming that Wu Song’s group also knew nothing of the monsters’ origins, he returned the way he had come.

As for the survivors from the other caravan who insisted on lighting torches—

That was their own business.

They were farther away, while Wu Song’s caravan was nearby and would naturally pass the warning along. There was no need for Huo Yan to waste more words.

After Huo Yan left, one of Wu Song’s subordinates quietly remarked,

“Master, that rainstorm was truly strange. It was incredibly heavy, yet stopped as suddenly as it began… Could it have been some heavenly omen?”

Wu Song pursed his lips before sighing.

“Isn’t surviving enough? Why think about so much? Can you manage Heaven’s affairs?”

The subordinate wisely dropped the subject.

The facts soon proved their suspicions correct.

The instant even the faintest light appeared, waves upon waves of dried corpses surged forward like a black tide, surrounding the other merchant caravan.

The survivors were terrified at first.

But once they realized the monsters feared the wet sand, some fools actually began deliberately provoking them with burning torches.

The sheer stupidity of that act left even Wu Song’s caravan speechless.

Without hesitation, they packed up their tents and moved closer to Huo Yan’s encampment.

Not long after they relocated, one of the men taunting the monsters was knocked to the ground by a dried corpse.

The creature itself quickly lost the ability to move once it reached the damp earth.

However…

More dried corpses immediately rushed forward one after another.

The wet ground soon dried beneath their numbers.

The man roared,

“Bring water! Hurry— AAH!”

The people behind him were so horrified that none of them dared move.

Only after the man himself was transformed into one of the monsters did they finally react.

Throwing away their torches, they scrambled back toward their tents in blind panic.

Others, completely overwhelmed by terror, fled beyond the dampened ground.

They were instantly torn apart by the horde of dried corpsses.

Watching their suicidal behavior through his perception, Luo Mingchen was utterly speechless.

He made no effort to waste his energy saving them.

If they were determined to die, why should he fuss over them like an overprotective mother?

Anyone with even modest internal energy could vaguely sense an invisible gaze lingering over them—as though someone were secretly watching.

Yet in such circumstances, even knowing that accomplished nothing.

All they could do was grip their weapons tighter and pray to survive until dawn.

Luo Mingchen glanced at Huo Yan, intending to say something. Catching sight of the peacefully sleeping Huo Xiang and Huo Xinyue, he deliberately lowered his voice.

“So the legends about the Sand Wraiths are actually true. Do you think whoever first wrote the legends of Wolf King Fortress had really seen them?”

“We’ll ask after entering Wolf King Fortress tomorrow.”

No sooner had Huo Yan finished speaking than Huo Xinyue mumbled in her sleep,

“Big black wolf…”

The couple fell silent.

Luo Mingchen said sourly,

“Our Yueyue even dreams about wolves…”

Before he could finish speaking, wolf howls suddenly echoed outside.

“Awooooo—!”

Luo Mingchen’s eyes widened.

“They really are wolves?”

The howls drew steadily nearer.

After extending his perception, Luo Mingchen quickly said to Huo Yan,

“It’s Lan Fei. I don’t know why, but those dried corpses are terrified of him… Come on, let’s go outside. The monsters are all running away.”

“Alright.”

The couple called over Zi Yuan and Xiao Chen to watch over the three children before heading toward the direction from which Lan Fei was approaching.

Lan Fei held a bow nearly as tall as he was.

With a single arrow, every dried corpse touched by its tip instantly disintegrated into fine dust.

Witnessing the scene, Luo Mingchen exclaimed in amazement,

“That kid is incredibly strong.”

For Lan Fei, this wasn’t a battle.

It was nothing less than a one-sided massacre.

The wolves weren’t protecting him.

Their purpose was to surround and trap the horde of dried corpses.

After slaughtering the entire group, Lan Fei noticed the cluster of tents ahead and approached with the wolf pack.

The moment he stepped onto the damp sand, he paused slightly.

A flicker of confusion crossed his eyes.

Those who had emerged after hearing the wolves stared in astonishment.

“You’re… from Wolf King Fortress?”

Lan Fei came back to himself and swept his gaze over the crowd.

“I recall informing everyone that no one was to approach Wolf King Fortress for the next seven days.”

The merchants looked thoroughly embarrassed.

“Young City Lord, since you’re already here… couldn’t you simply let us enter? If we stay out here any longer, we’ll surely die!”

Lan Fei remained unmoved.

“After sunrise, travel fifty li back the way you came. The Sand Wraiths will not appear there.”

“But… it’s only ten li to Wolf King Fortress if you lead us there.”

“During the lockdown, outsiders are forbidden to enter or leave Wolf King Fortress.”

Having said that, Lan Fei turned to leave.

The moment he looked back, he spotted Luo Mingchen and Huo Yan.

Luo Mingchen, who had been about to greet him, suddenly felt rather awkward.

Seeing Lan Fei looking over, he smiled apologetically.

“Sorry. We didn’t know Wolf King Fortress would be sealed off for seven days.”

“Uncle Luo. Uncle Huo.”

Lan Fei maintained his solemn little face as he bowed respectfully.

“You may return with me.”

The merchants: “……”

Was the favoritism really this blatant?