Chapter 690: Doubt
That got everyone’s attention.
Countless pairs of eyes turned to the direction that person was pointing in, and sure enough, they saw a tree with a thick trunk slowly moving on the right side of them. If one looked carefully, they would see that the ground was rippling underneath the thick piles of leaves. It was precisely because of this that caused the tree to s.h.i.+ft to the side.
Without any warning, an arm-sized tree root poked out from underneath the fallen leaves. It turned out that underneath these piles of leaves were the tree’s roots.
While everyone was dumbfounded by this bizarre sight, Mu Qinghe calmly took one look at it and explained, “That’s a rolling leaf fir. Its roots are buried near the ground surface, and it can move on its own under special circ.u.mstances.”
Everyone looked enlightened. “I see…”
“As expected of Dahuang Swamp. Even its trees are different…”
“I got a bad scare earlier! I thought something major was going to happen!”
“Wait, didn’t Lieutenant Mu say that it’d only move under special circ.u.mstances? So does that mean… It’s moving because the ninth-grade fiend is about to break through?”
Other than the Black Guards, all the disciples were talking about this matter.
Mu Hongyu was looking at the moving tree when she suddenly felt movement.
She looked down to see that the golden mane bear cub had come out of its own accord. It was hugging her arm and shaking its head uneasily as if it were warning her about something.
“What’s wrong, Congcong?”
The bear let out a soft whimper as it turned to look at the moving rolling leaf fir before squirming around in her embrace.
Nearly a year had pa.s.sed since she rescued the cub, so it had grown a lot. It was already quite tough for Mu Hongyu to carry it, so she could hardly manage it squirming around. While trying her best to calm it down, she whispered worriedly to Chu Liuyue, “Do you sense anything amiss, Liuyue? Congcong doesn’t behave like this for no rhyme or reason. I think it feels unsettled around here…”
Chu Liuyue glanced at the cub in her friend’s arms and knitted her eyebrows slightly. Having seen the rolling leaf fir moving before, she wasn’t surprised to see this scene. However, she indeed found the cub’s behavior a little strange. Could it be because of the ninth-grade fiend?
At the thought of that, she inwardly called, “Tuan Zi.”
A fluffy red shadow appeared in front of her in a flash. As Tuan Zi stared at the cub in Mu Hongyu’s arms with blinking eyes, it fell into deep thought for a second before jumping into Chu Liuyue’s embrace.
Unfortunately, Chu Liuyue caught its tail effortlessly and forced it to loosen its grip on her clothes with a light tug. “Of all habits to learn.”
When she shook her wrist, Tuan Zi—who was dangling upside down—shook as well. Wah… I’m also a fiend, but why am I treated so differently? I’m just longing for her hug! That fella over there is so big in size, but its owner doesn’t even mind it! I, on the other hand… can’t even touch my master’s hair! How infuriating!
Chu Liuyue was indifferent to Tuan Zi’s watery eyes. “Do you sense anything amiss?”
Tuan Zi froze for a second before hugging her wrist to do a backward flip. It then obediently sat on her arm and turned to look at the moving rolling leaf fir.
A dark gleam flashed across its eyes, but it scratched its head and looked back to shake its head at her. No?
“Look! The rolling leaf fir over there is moving too!” shouted someone.
“This one here too!”
“No! It seems like all the trees are moving!” shouted someone else.
Silence fell over them for a moment.
As Chu Liuyue surveyed her surroundings, her expression turned a little serious.
Sure enough, the surrounding rolling leaf firs had quietly begun moving. Most importantly, the directions in which they moved were all different, so it looked very chaotic at a glance.
I’ve encountered such a situation before, but only a small area was affected at that time. The rolling leaf firs were all moving in the same direction to flee from danger back then, but now…
Tuan Zi climbed onto her shoulder, where it obediently curled up into a ball and shot a glance in the golden mane bear cub’s direction.
Upon sensing something, the cub gradually calmed down as it lay in Mu Hongyu’s embrace.
Seeing that it had finally calmed down, Mu Hongyu’s heart settled down a little as well. After successfully coaxing the cub to go back into hiding, she said with uncertainty, “I guess it was frightened by that ninth-grade fiend.”
A frown formed on Chu Liuyue’s forehead. For some reason, I have a slightly ominous feeling about this.
…
“Lieutenant Mu, what’s going on with those rolling leaf firs?” Shangguan Wan was slightly fl.u.s.tered upon seeing this situation.
With a grave expression on his face, Mu Qinghe answered, “I’ve never encountered this situation before.”
Shangguan Wan sneered. “You’ve never seen anything like this in the decade you’ve been here, Lieutenant Mu? It seems that you don’t know this place that well, either.”
Mu Qinghe knitted his eyebrows as he replied in a harsh manner, “There are many other dangerous areas in Dahuang Swamp other than the Mystic Forest. I was here to lead the army to suppress the rebellion. We go wherever the enemies are, so it’s only natural that we didn’t stay in one particular area for long. I dare say that n.o.body in the Tianling Dynasty is more familiar with this place as I am! If I’ve never seen it before, then it’s even more unlikely that anyone else has seen it before.”
“It was just a pa.s.sing remark. Do you need to overreact to this extent?” Embarra.s.sment and anger crept up Shangguan Wan’s face when she felt everyone’s eyes on her. I only said one sentence, but he bombarded me with many more sentences—and right in front of everyone too! Does he even have any regard for me?!
Jiang Yucheng looked at Shangguan Wan with a disapproving frown. We have to depend on Mu Qinghe the entire trip, yet she chose to doubt his abilities at this critical juncture? Isn’t she just finding trouble for herself? Given the number of years he spent here risking his life in battle, what she said about him can be considered the greatest insult he could ever receive.
“That’s enough, Wan’er. Lieutenant Mu won’t lie to us. Since he’s never seen it before, then it means that there’s something strange about this matter. It’s most likely due to the ninth-grade fiend trying to break through. Don’t take it to heart. What’s most important now is that we find the ninth-grade fiend. All our efforts will go to waste if we get there too late.” Jiang Yucheng stepped forward to play the role of peacemaker.
The mention of the ninth-grade fiend made Shangguan Wan swallow down her anger and continue walking ahead. I shouldn’t be wasting time here when the force in my body is depleting by the second.
“Your Highness, things are very chaotic now. You shouldn’t—”
A furious growl coming from the distance cut Mu Qinghe’s words short all of a sudden. The next instant, the ground beneath their feet cracked.