The old man said, “That’s how the legend of Hudà goes.”
Liu Dashao inhaled sharply, thinking to himself that Khlama was truly a hardcore fan of Hudà. This legend had no basis whatsoever, yet he actually dared to rescue everyone by lifting his ass and spilling water. Thinking this, Liu Dashao smiled and shook his head.
Reflecting further, Liu Dashao suddenly had an idea. The creature called Chu did exist, and Khlama had said that Chu originated from Hudà. Could it be that Zhang Jiao, the leader of the Taiping, was actually their revered true god? Even if not exactly, there must be some connection between Zhang Jiao and Hudà. Could the reason these insects feared his blood be because he had cultivated Zhang Jiao’s “Taiping Qingling Shu”?
“Where did Hudà originate?” Liu Dashao asked Khlama eagerly.
Khlama replied, “Since Hudà is a god, of course he comes from Kunlun Mountain. But the earliest origin should be deep within the Taklamakan Desert.”
Upon hearing this, Liu Dashao felt like he suddenly understood a lot. In their local legends, Chu was created by their revered deity Hudà, while in the inland regions, it’s Zhang Jiao. There must be some connection between the two. Since Hudà originated from deep within the desert, perhaps the Golden Ancient City was a descendant of Hudà, or maybe Zhang Jiao himself came from the Golden Ancient City. It was possible that the clue lost five years ago at the Boddhisattva Mountain might be found in the Golden Ancient City.
Could it all be fate’s arrangement? From the beginning, was Liu Dashao destined to come to the Golden Ancient City? Thinking of this, Liu Dashao felt both shocked and delighted. Did fate really exist in this world?
After this round of reasoning, Liu Dashao began to long for the ancient city, wishing he could rush there immediately. Looking back, he saw that everyone else was still asleep in their sleeping bags, so he gave up on the idea.
Later, Liu Dashao asked Khlama a bit about the ancient city. Khlama said he had never been there and didn’t know much, but he did know that the Golden Ancient City was the earliest ancient city discovered so far in Xinjiang, dating back to the Han Dynasty.
Before entering the desert, Liu Dashao had briefly looked up some information about the ancient city but hadn’t studied its exact historical period in depth. Neither Wang Zhicai nor Wang Feifei had mentioned it either. Now, from Khlama, he learned that the Golden Ancient City was built in the Han Dynasty.
“The Han Dynasty?!” Liu Dashao was startled. The Yellow Turban Rebellion led by Zhang Jiao happened at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Could it be…? But then again, that seemed unlikely. Who in their right mind would leave the beautiful landscapes of the inland regions to come to a place like the desert?
However, both Hudà and Zhang Jiao were connected to Chu. Since Hudà couldn’t possibly be real, Chu must have been the creation of some individual or tribe in the desert. Perhaps these people lived during the Eastern Han Dynasty, meaning the Zhang brothers must have visited the desert, or perhaps they themselves originated from that tribe or individual, and the “Taiping Jing” also came from this desert.
Thinking this through, Liu Dashao smiled and shook his head. At certain moments, people liked to fixate an event in a certain place and couldn’t wrap their heads around other possibilities—just like how Khlama, no matter what Liu Dashao said, insisted on linking him to Hudà.
Seeing Liu Dashao silent for a long time, Khlama said to him, “Are you recalling your past life?”
Liu Dashao immediately got angry and wanted to lash out. After all, Khlama was just a guide, while Liu Dashao himself was merely an ordinary team member. In fact, Fan Debiao was much more important than Liu Dashao, so he didn’t dare to curse Khlama or even had the mood for it. Liu Dashao shrugged and told him to go back and rest.
Just as he turned around, a scream pierced the air. The sound came from the sleeping bag area. Liu Dashao immediately recognized it as coming from Wu Bai. The kid was too cowardly—maybe he just saw a lizard and got scared out of his wits. Liu Dashao didn’t pay much attention and strolled slowly back down with Khlama.
Suddenly, there was commotion from the sleeping bag area, and people started jumping out one after another, followed quickly by a chaotic burst of gunfire.
Fan Debiao was frantically rummaging through the sleeping bags and camel gear, stomping his feet in frustration. He couldn’t find whatever he was looking for and shouted loudly, “Damn it! No one brought a bottle of insect repellent into the desert!”
Since Liu Dashao was a bit far from the sleeping bags, he couldn’t see clearly what had caused such panic. But hearing Fan Debiao looking for insect repellent, it was probably some strange insect they encountered. It couldn’t be Chu—otherwise, they would have already jumped into the pond by now, not bothering with shooting guns.
Knowing the desert well, Liu Dashao asked Khlama if there were any man-eating insects in the desert.
Khlama shook his head and said that the animals commonly seen in the desert weren’t dangerous, let alone insects.
If even Khlama didn’t know what it was, then they must have encountered something dangerous. Liu Dashao steeled himself, inhaled deeply, and moved forward with Khlama.
When they got within a few meters, Liu Dashao was stunned. In the air, several red glowing spots were circling around—about six or seven of them. Liu Dashao recognized them immediately. “Damn it! Aren’t these the Red Hern Kings?” he almost shouted out loud.
The Red Hern Kings immediately attacked upon seeing people, burning large holes in the sleeping bags. Wang Feifei was firing her pistol with precise shots, but the Hern Kings were too fast for her to hit directly.
Liu Dashao and Old Man Khlama rushed over to Fan Debiao and the others. Wang Feifei was holding a sports pistol and, upon seeing Khlama, immediately asked what was flying in the sky.
Old Man Khlama stared at the Red Hern Kings, his mouth open but unable to utter a word.
Liu Dashao approached Wang Feifei and whispered, “Feifei, these are the same creatures we encountered five years ago at Boddhisattva Mountain. Jackson must have told you about them.” She nodded after hearing this, her face showing even more fear.
Fan Debiao was fending off two of them, and after a great struggle, finally made his way to Liu Dashao and said, “Brother, we must have done something really bad in our past lives. Why do these damn things keep chasing us wherever we go?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Jackson somehow showed up too.
Then came Wang Feifei, Wang Zhicai… soon everyone gathered together. Liu Dashao secretly cursed. Why were they all coming toward him? Did they know his blood could repel insects and were planning to draw some from him? Even Fan Debiao was thinking along those lines.
Liu Dashao looked up and realized it wasn’t their fault. Unknowingly, several more Red Hern Kings had joined the group, making at least ten or more. The people were cornered and had no choice but to gather around Liu Dashao.
Later, Master Diao mentioned that a group of ten or so Red Hern Kings could burn down an entire forest. Right now, everyone was in extreme danger.
About ten Red Hern Kings circled in the sky, their wings vibrating at an extremely high frequency. However, they only circled and didn’t attack. Did these insects have thoughts? Were they trying to torment them to death? Damn it, why were all these things related to Zhang Jiao so twisted?
Liu Dashao looked back and saw the pond behind everyone. A sudden idea struck him, and he called everyone to jump into the water. Fan Debiao was reluctant, saying that only special water could subdue the Hern Kings. The water in the pond was too ordinary.
Liu Dashao got anxious, “What do you mean it’s ordinary? In the desert, no one dares to call water ordinary. Jump!”
After Liu Dashao spoke, everyone plunged headfirst into the water. Fan Debiao didn’t hesitate either, taking a deep breath with Liu Dashao before jumping in. Actually, Liu Dashao wasn’t sure if this would work, but it was the only option.
Don’t underestimate this small pond—it was actually quite deep. Liu Dashao, standing at 1.8 meters tall, stretched his body fully underwater but still couldn’t touch the bottom.
Opening his eyes underwater, Liu Dashao looked up and saw the ten or so Red Hern Kings still circling in the sky. Occasionally, one would dive down like a dragonfly skimming the water. As soon as its body touched the surface, smoke rose. Liu Dashao’s plan had worked—the insects, like Chu, were afraid of water.
Liu Dashao was puzzled. Why had the Red Hern Kings appeared out of nowhere? Thinking back, Master Diao had mentioned that the Red Hern Kings were under the command of Queen Mother of Heaven. Since this place wasn’t far from Kunlun Mountain, these insects might have come down from the mountain for a leisurely stroll.
Liu Dashao and Fan Debiao were both good swimmers. Jackson and Wang Feifei didn’t seem too bad either. Lin Miaoke, being from the south, was familiar with water and could stay submerged for a while. However, Wang Zhicai and Wu Bai were struggling, especially Wu Bai, who had probably already swallowed a lot of water and was starting to turn his eyes white. Bringing this guy along was nothing but a burden. If they didn’t surface soon to breathe, he might die. But if they surfaced, they would be attacked by the Red Hern Kings again. Just having escaped a dangerous situation, they now faced another dilemma. This time, they were truly out of luck.
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