Chapter 248: A peace of mind as long as one does what he can Translator: ChibiGeneral Editor: ChibiGeneral Zhang Zhu cursed but was eventually dragged into the mess. It was a dangerous game of cat and mouse, while barely surviving, the two managed to shrug off the flying elephant but eventually got into a dead end at the cliff, their paths blocked by two flying elephants. The earth rumbled as a flying elephant came crashing. "Lad, split up!" Zhang Zhu shouted, sprinting towards the left. "God damn it!" Chen Xin shouted, before he could react, a flying elephant came crashing, and made a huge hole in the cliff behind him, as the tusks stabbed deeply into the mountain rocks. Both flying elephants were restricted in a way for now. "The heavens blessed me, my life is not fated to end yet!" Zhang Zhu breathed roughly, as he sprawled on the ground... The mountain wall was vibrating, as the two flying elephants growled loudly. They continued to shrug their heads, and caused shrapnels to fly all over the place as the holes that their tusks stabbed into enlarged. Zhang Zhu was shocked when he saw this, knowing the two elephants would quickly get loose, he propped himself and tried desperately to get up. He had just stood up, when he heard the wind blow towards him, and he shuddered! Pew! A white bone spear, with a spiral design, stabbed him from his back, penetrating his chest and stabbing firmly on the ground. Blood flowed along the bone spear, dripping on the ground. Zhang Zhu’s movements halted, opening his mouth slightly as blood oozed out of the corner of his lips. He gradually lowered his head, looking at this fatal spiral bone spear. Initially he had thought it was the white feather flying elephants’ tusks, but soon, he realized this was the attack of a Gu Master. "Who is it?" He wanted to turn his head, to see who had backstabbed him. But the next second. Pew , another bone spear was fired! This spear, flew directly into his brain, and came out of his mouth, as the tip stabbed on the ground. Zhang Zhu was firmly kept in place, his eyes widening in futile, while his pupils shrunk. He was dead. Dying with grievance. At a hidden corner, Fang Yuan observed from afar. These few days, he had obtained Zhang Zhu’s information, this person was an obstacle that had to be removed. The two white bone spears gradually dissipated into white light, dispersing into the air. Zhang Zhu lost his support, and crashed onto the ground. A white feather flying elephant pulled out its tusks, and charged towards Zhang Zhu’s corpse, stomping on it, easily turning it into meat paste, and crushing all his bones. The white feathers scattered and the flying elephant took off, flying into mid air again. Seeing this, Fang Yuan retracted his gaze, Zhang Zhu was confirmed to be dead. After the flying elephant stomped on the corpse, Fang Yuan did not even need to clear up the crime scene. He left stealthily. After he left, the other flying elephant took off as well. Its tusks penetrated the mountain walls, and left two bowl-sized holes. The wall caved in as it was surrounded by debris. Suddenly under the pile of rocks, a head emerged. "My god, I was scared to death! Thankfully I had the bury Gu and avoided this crisis..." Chen Xin dug his way out, breathing raggedly as cold sweat poured down his spine, experiencing after fear. This bury Gu allowed Gu Masters to dig into the ground and hide. The weakness was, once used, the Gu Master can only be buried at one spot, and cannot move. After activating, the Gu Master also has to consume a lot of primeval essence to sustain it. Chen Xin was chased as he ran, only at the final moment, did he have the opportunity to use it. "The situation is getting more chaotic, there is actually a Gu Master assassinating Zhang Zhu." Seeing Zhang Zhu corpse, turned into meat paste, completely unrecognisable, Chen Xin gulped and escaped frantically. The elephant group continued rampaging for two hours before leaving. Shang Xin Ci and Xiao Die supported each other as the walked out of the rainforest. Their bodies were full of mud and soil, looking battered and exhausted, and Xiao Die’s face was even blue-black. Evidently, when escaping, she had knocked into something and gotten a bruise. "Missy..." She was scared out of her wits, death was so close to her, even trembling as she walked. Shang Xin Ci patted her hand, trying to give her assurance. However, she herself was pale. Along the way, corpses lined the road as blood flowed into the wilderness. Broken carriage wheels, dead ostriches, and the corpses of black skin fat beetles and winged snakes laid on the pavements. As the survivors gathered together, anguished cries, sniffing and painful growls mixed into one. As the leader of the caravan, Jia Long’s face was as black as charcoal. The fatalities were too severe this time, the entire caravan lost majority of its members, less than a-tenth remained, most were crippled. After gathering the people, only a hundred were left. Majority were Gu Masters, and few were mortals. The strongest Jia clan and Chen clan were deep in losses, not to mention the others. Lin clan had only three Gu Masters left, and some unfortunate clans’ groups were completely wiped out. The rainforest also had its danger, many people did not die from the white feather flying elephants’ rampage, but were attacked by the wild beasts and poisonous worms in the rainforest. "Bai Yun, it is great to see you. Earlier in the rainforest, thanks for drawing a white feather flying elephant away from us." Among the people, Shang Xin Ci found Bai Ning Bing and thanked her. Fang Yuan did not trust Bai Ning Bing, afraid she would collude with Zhang Zhu, thus he went to kill Zhang Zhu personally. As a result, Bai Ning Bing followed Shang Xin Ci in secret to protect her life. "This is nothing, I always return kindness. Zhang clan lady, what saved you is not me, but your kind actions in the past." Bai Ning Bing said. She was always quiet and solemn, almost never speaking. Even if she spoke, she suppressed and changed her voice intentionally. But now she no longer concealed it, using her normal voice to speak, her tone was cold and indifferent, but clear and evidently female, causing Shang Xin Ci and Xiao Die’s face to turn slightly shocked. "That’s right, Bai Yun, did you see Uncle Zhang Zhu?" Shang Xin Ci asked anxiously: "I’ve looked around but did not manage to find him." Bai Ning Bing sighed, since Fang Yuan returned, she knew Zhang Zhu was definitely dead. "No worries lady, Zhang Zhu is a Gu Master, having the ability to protect himself. He might be on the way back." She consoled. "Hopefully so." Shang Xin Ci’s eyebrows were tightly knit, as the uneasiness in her heart intensified. At the other side, Leader Jia Long stood at a high ground, shouting: "Everyone, listen up. The smell here will soon attract other beast groups. We have to leave quickly. Everyone move quickly, bring along all the goods that you can salvage. Those that are too heavy, we will have to discard them. In thirty minutes, we must leave this area." The danger was not over yet, everyone could only force themselves to work under the intense grief. "Save me, someone please save me! I am still bleeding..." "Bring me along, I am only crippled in one leg, I can still walk." "I’m begging you, I’ll pay with primeval stones. Two, three? Even four will do!" Those family servants who were severely injured and could not move all begged earnestly. Very few people received help, those who were injured or crippled could not help out in manual labor and were a burden. Many were heartlessly left behind. Seeing everyone leave, many went into a frenzy and started to curse. Many crawled on the ground and tried to catch up to the caravan. "Save me, Lady Zhang, you are the kindest person!" "Lady Zhang, please show mercy..." Shang Xin Ci’s footsteps halted, her lips trembling, her face was pale without any blood circulation as her eyes darted around frantically. The mountain winds blew on her green blouse, and her messy hair made her appear like a small grass in the middle of a storm. "Lady Zhang, quickly leave. Now is not the time to be kind." Fang Yuan got to her side, and held her arm, forcing her to move ahead. Xiao Die who could not stop talking normally kept her mouth shut, moving along silently, her legs trembling. "Trust me, everything will get better." Fang Yuan said in a gentle tone. Shang Xin Ci grabbed her chest, breathing in deeply. It was as if oxygen was thin and she could not breathe properly. At the start, she used her nose to breathe, but soon she opened her mouth and swallowed mouthfuls of air. Her footsteps became more unsteady, as her limbs grew weak, if not for Fang Yuan supporting her, she might have collapsed on the ground already. The smell of blood assaulted her nose as her entire body was drenched from sweat. When the mountain winds blew, she shuddered from the cold. But after this shiver, her breathing gradually calmed down. After a few more steps, she no longer needed to breathe heavily. After thirty steps, she closed her mouth and her nasal breathing slowed. After fifty steps, her footsteps gradually gained strength, and she no longer needed Fang Yuan’s support. The mountain path extended up the cliff, she walked to the top of a slope and the mountain winds blew her hair all over the place. She stretched out her arm, and began to comb them. When she had finally finished arranging her hair, the confusion, fear, and worry in her expression vanished, only a sturdy determined gaze remained. "Thank you." She said to Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan nodded, letting go of her arm. On the slope, she gradually stopped her steps, looking back. "Do you know? This is the most difficult road I’ve walked on since my birth." She sighed in agony, her face still pale but her voice was extremely gentle and soft. Fang Yuan’s lips curled into a smile, so this is Shang Xin Ci? As expected of the person that impacted the southern borders. Even Bai Ning Bing looked twice, seeing Shang Xin Ci in a different light. To a mortal young girl, after encountering such a disaster, being able to reorganise herself so quickly was an amazing feat. On this road, voices of crying and pleas were constantly heard, this was nothing to Fang and Bai, but to Shang Xin Ci, it was a great torture and interrogation! Especially after Zhang Zhu’s disappearance, after losing her greatest reliance, Shang Xin Ci could still bravely face this situation head on, it was truly outstanding. On this road, although it was an ordinary mountain path, it was a difficult trial of the heart. Shang Xin Xi gritted her teeth, and did not collapse, walking past with determination. At this instant, she matured. Fang Yuan suddenly laughed lightly, staring at Shang Xin Ci deeply: "Lady Zhang, since you are so kind, why did you not save those who were abandoned?" This attracted Xiao Die’s furious stare. Shang Xin Ci laughed bitterly: "If I could save them, I would definitely do it, but unfortunately, no matter what I try, I cannot save these people." "Hehehe." Fang Yuan laughed heartily: "This is the part where I admire you the most. Irrational kindness is a crime. Although you are a mortal, you have my respect. Lady Zhang, in life, there are many obstacles, sometimes the road might be very dirty and difficult, but as long as you do all that you can, you will have a peace of mind." Shang Xin Ci looked at Fang Yuan, light shining in her beautiful eyes. She had guessed long ago, that Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing were not mortals. From his tone earlier, she finally confirmed this. In her perspective, she had unknowingly given Fang and Bai some help, these were small acts of kindness, but it won their recognition and admiration. Afterwards, Fang and Bai helped her many times, first during Fei Hou mountain, and later earning money for her. And a moment ago, they saved her life. She was a weak girl, chased from her clan, and even lost half of her goods, what did she have that they could exploit? Nothing! Under such circumstances, they still stood by her side. Just this action, she could tell that although they were mysterious, their nature were pure and righteous, as true beauty and kindness hid in their hearts. Meeting them, was her fortune. Thinking so, Shang Xin Ci’s heart was palpitating with gratitude, as she stared at Fang Yuan deeply, saying sincerely. "Thank you." Just two words, expressed the immense gratitude in her heart. Bai Ning Bing could not help but roll her eyes. If Shang Xin Ci found out that the entire misfortune was caused by Fang Yuan singlehandedly, who knows how she would react to that? Translator’s Thoughts ChibiGeneral ChibiGeneral “The heavens blessed me, my life is not fated to end yet!” This is why you don’t raise flags...