Chapter Nineteen: The Thick Fog

“What is that thing?”

Jiang Li cautiously took two steps back, preparing to wake Su Yang and the others.

But before he could reach Su Yang’s side, a rustling sound came from the distant grass.

Under Jiang Li’s watchful eyes, a “person” slowly crawled out from the bushes.

This figure was on all fours, its entire body an unnatural pale white—not the natural pallor of skin, but more like someone long dead, devoid of any blood...

“What the hell is that?” Jiang Li’s voice trembled.

At this hour, even if a tiger or a bear appeared, Jiang Li wouldn’t be this terrified.

Fierce beasts could be handled easily—Chu Chunqiu and Su Yang were formidable fighters, and with Zhao Hua’s group, they could manage effortlessly.

But this creature before him—Jiang Li could no longer tell if it was even human.

Its body was as white as if coated in lime, its eyes blood-red. Its limbs, worn from crawling on the ground, had grown elongated...

No matter how he looked at it, it resembled a monster!

As the creature crawled closer again, Jiang Li finally couldn’t hold back.

“Su Yang! Chu Chunqiu!”

“Master! What’s wrong?” Chu Chunqiu leapt forward, drawing his long knife from his waist.

Su Yang, awakened, glanced around before fixing his gaze on the crawling figure—let’s just call it a person for now.

“Master, what is that thing?”

“I don’t fucking know.” Jiang Li gripped his spear tightly, his expression tense as he stared at the creature.

“What are you?” he asked.

“Can you not understand human speech?” he tried again.

“Hello? Sawasdee? Moses? Damn it! Baka!” After several attempts, Jiang Li gave up trying to communicate.

Chu Chunqiu, swinging his long knife casually, approached the monster and poked its shoulder with the blade, face full of curiosity.

“Hey, speak up! Our master’s asking you.”

“Be careful,” Jiang Li warned from a distance, a pang of fear gripping him. Chu Chunqiu truly lived up to his nickname—Big Fool Chun.

He didn’t even know what this thing was, yet dared to approach within a meter or two.

Chu Chunqiu grinned at Jiang Li. “Don’t worry, master. This guy doesn’t seem to move.”

“Roar!”

Suddenly, the creature lunged at Chu Chunqiu with a wide-open mouth.

“Ugly thing, get lost!” Chu Chunqiu sprang up instantly and kicked the creature away.

Bang!

The monster crashed heavily onto the ground. Surprisingly, it seemed unharmed, quickly getting back up and charging at Chu Chunqiu again.

Without hesitation, Chu Chunqiu swung his long knife with force.

Crack!

With a crisp sound, the blade slashed diagonally from the monster’s shoulder toward its heart but was stopped by the sternum.

“Roar!” The creature struggled, reaching out toward Chu Chunqiu, seemingly unaffected by the wound.

Jiang Li gaped in disbelief. “How is this possible?!”

Regardless of what this thing was, if it was a carbon-based lifeform, a cut from shoulder to heart should have been either fatal or at least agonizing.

Yet this monster seemed utterly unmoved, still wildly attacking Chu Chunqiu.

Could a carbon-based creature really endure this?

“Get away from me!” Su Yang shouted fiercely, slashing at the monster’s neck without hesitation.

Slash!

The head flew off, rolling on the ground.

To Jiang Li’s shock, no blood spilled from the severed neck.

This was absurd—no creature should lack blood entirely.

Even plants have sap, but this monster showed not a drop of blood.

After Su Yang’s strike, the headless monster twitched a few times before falling still.

“What the hell is this thing?” Jiang Li approached curiously, but when his eyes inadvertently glanced at Chu Chunqiu and Su Yang, he recoiled in terror.

“Master, what’s wrong?” Su Yang hurriedly asked.

Chu Chunqiu nodded repeatedly. “Master, don’t be afraid. The monster’s dead. It’s fine.”

“Why are your eyes so red?” Jiang Li asked shakily.

If their eyes were merely bloodshot from being awakened abruptly, that would be normal.

But their eyes were entirely red, as if stained with blood—an eerie, terrifying crimson.

Their eyes were identical to the monster’s just defeated: a full blood-red, unnerving and frightening...

“What are you talking about, master?” Su Yang looked at Jiang Li in disbelief, then suddenly stepped forward.

“Master, what’s wrong with your eyes?”

“Hmm?” Jiang Li frowned, then turned to look at Qiuyue.

Under the moonlight, Jiang Li’s face went pale. Not only Su Yang and Chu Chunqiu, but Qiuyue and Su Yan also had the same blood-red eyes.

As for himself, it was even more certain—he too had those eyes.

“This is bad! We have to leave now!” Jiang Li hastily untied the grass ropes binding Zhao Hua and the others.

“You three, get on the cart and head straight for the shore!”

“Everyone, listen up—run immediately!”

Grabbing Qiuyue and Su Yan by the hands, Jiang Li sprinted madly toward the sea.

“Master, what’s happening?” Qiuyue asked anxiously.

They had gone to sleep peacefully, only to wake up to a monster. Now, everyone, including themselves, looked exactly like that monster. Were they going to transform into those creatures?

“Don’t think about it! Just run first!” Jiang Li shouted.

For some unknown reason, Jiang Li’s vision was engulfed in a red haze.

What should have been green foliage and yellow sand was now tinged with a pale red.

Even the air carried a faint scent of blood.

Was he losing control?

Was he turning into a monster?

His heart thudded wildly, but he kept running.

“Roar!”

A roar from behind snapped Jiang Li’s chaotic mind back to focus.

He had to escape!

He had just arrived in this world and hadn’t even seen it properly—he couldn’t die here.

Gradually, Jiang Li could no longer make out the path ahead; everything he saw was blood red.

Yet his sense of smell sharpened—the blood odor grew stronger.

It was as if a voice behind him urged him to turn around, to run back...

“Get the hell away from me!”

“Ahhhh!”

Jiang Li let out a painful roar just as his clarity was about to vanish.

Suddenly, the ground beneath him turned biting cold.

Without hesitation, Jiang Li dove forward, carrying Su Yan and Qiuyue with him.

Splash!

After a loud splash, Jiang Li wiped seawater from his face—they had reached the shore.

At the same time, Chu Chunqiu and Su Yang also quickly emerged.

“You guys…” Jiang Li’s words faltered as dizziness struck him suddenly.

His head tilted, and he fainted...