Chapter 203 Damned!

"Damn it!"

In the Snowfield Holy Ruins, Jiang Xiao, hacking with his blade, suddenly squeezed out a sentence from between his teeth. His face was gloomy as he ferociously cleaved a White Ghoul in two.

This action surprised Er Wei. Jiang Xiao was not defending the corner of the Holy Ruins, but had instead rushed out with his blade.

He sent out five streams of Reverse Current Light once more, and four White Ghouls and a White Ghoul Witch were immediately stunned in place.

The bodies of the five creatures from another dimension trembled violently, clearly entering an upgrade state.

And Jiang Xiao plunged into them, his giant blade waving continuously, Qing Mang (Emerald Radiance) at full power. In an instant, swarms of White Ghouls were overturned.

Not just overturned, Jiang Xiao's blade struck vital points. With the damage bonus of Qing Mang's powerful strikes, a group of thick-skinned White Ghouls died instantly.

Er Wei keenly sensed Jiang Xiao's abnormality and called out, "Jiang Xiao."

She saw that the young man was frantically harvesting Star Beads, with no intention of retreating.

Without Jiang Xiao's protection, Er Wei in the corner also began to suffer the attacks of White Ghouls, and had to join the battle.

These bronze-level creatures were not a problem for her, but Jiang Xiao's actions made her somewhat worried.

"Roar!" A White Ghoul crashed over, its claws tearing fiercely at Er Wei.

Er Wei's body abruptly turned into mist, which the White Ghoul tore through directly. The thick mist dissipated and re-appeared directly behind Jiang Xiao.

"Jiang Xiao," Er Wei's hoarse voice came again, the mist instantly forming into a human shape and patting Jiang Xiao's shoulder.

Jiang Xiao's subconscious action was to turn and elbow the person behind him.

The elbow strike, small in movement but extremely fast, carried with it specks of Qing Mang.

Er Wei's eyes narrowed, her body turning into mist again, escaping the fate of being elbowed away.

The mist passed through Jiang Xiao's body and re-formed in front of him.

And at that very moment, a giant blade stopped abruptly on her forehead.

Jiang Xiao's face was gloomy, his hands gripping the hilt of the blade tightly, staring intently at the person in front of him.

Shock after shock, danger after danger.

Er Wei stared into Jiang Xiao's eyes and said, "Let's talk."

Jiang Xiao hesitated, then with a wave of his hand, the Gate of Calamity Shadow Ruins opened instantly, and he stepped back into it.

Er Wei stepped forward and followed him in.

Just before the Gate of Calamity Shadow Ruins closed, another group of White Ghouls poured in.

They bared their fangs and brandished their claws, their eyes filled with ferocity.

But Er Wei flicked her silver spear, and a gust of wind mixed with frost blew them away.

In a distant corner, Xiao Xiao, who had been lying down, quickly stood up, chirped happily, and ran over, only to find that something was wrong.

Her good friend didn't seem to be in the mood to play with her today.

Jiang Xiao loosened his grip, and the blade fell to the ground. He sat down heavily on the ground.

Er Wei looked around. With a sweep of her spear, the nearby groups of Lava Ghoul Witches and Savage Witches were blown to the other side.

"Haa..." Jiang Xiao sighed deeply, supporting his forehead with one hand and rubbing his face hard, as if trying to wake himself up.

"Dead," Er Wei came to Jiang Xiao, looked down at him, and her hoarse voice carried over.

"Yeah," Jiang Xiao grinned, sat cross-legged on the ground, elbows resting on his knees, one hand propping up his cheek, tilting his head and closing his eyes.

Er Wei said flatly, "Seven days is a long time."

Yes,

Seven days is a long time.

If you knew what I'd been through in these seven days, you'd think it was even longer.

Ever since Jiang Xiao Wu encountered the group led by the White Ghoul Witch, a great escape had begun.

Fortunately, when the White Ghoul Witch discovered Jiang Xiao Wu, he was at the bottom of a cliff, which gave Jiang Xiao Wu some time to escape.

But as natural hunters, the White Ghoul Witch and his White Ghoul minions had a keen intuition and an extreme desire for prey.

Jiang Xiao Wu avoided the enemy's pursuit again and again, only to be discovered again and again.

The absolute gap in physical fitness made Jiang Xiao Wu suffer in silence. During the seven days of dealing with the "hunters", Jiang Xiao Wu longed more than once to have Star Techniques, even just one. Maybe his situation wouldn't be so bad.

Yeah, it's no big deal to die.

Easier said than done. If anyone were to experience it firsthand, they probably wouldn't be so glib.

What made Jiang Xiao Wu even more frustrated was that the "Night" he had inscribed along the way was all in vain.

Next time he went to the upper dimension, he didn't know where he would be teleported to. The snowfield of the upper dimension was so vast that it was despairing.

Er Wei's gaze was indifferent as she looked down at Jiang Xiao and said, "You've done very well. You don't have to be like this."

Jiang Xiao, sitting cross-legged, lowered his elbows and hung his head, humming softly.

Er Wei frowned slightly. In that hum, she heard a hint of perfunctoriness, even... dissatisfaction.

Er Wei: "What is it?"

Jiang Xiao said: "What's the point?"

Er Wei raised her eyebrows: "What?"

Jiang Xiao, head bowed, said softly, "What's the point of me doing this?"

Er Wei looked at Jiang Xiao quietly, without responding.

Jiang Xiao shook his head: "My plan is reckless. I don't have the ability to draw a map, I don't even have the ability to protect myself. I'm running away every moment.

What if I find someone? I still can't find my way home. Am I just supposed to say hello to them? Listen to their stories? Ask them what unfinished wishes they have? What people need to be taken care of?"

Er Wei suddenly squatted down, put a hand on Jiang Xiao's cheek, and lifted his face: "Maybe seeing them is the point."

She knew he wasn't angry with her, but blaming himself, even a kind of self-denial.

Looking at Jiang Xiao's silent appearance, Er Wei sighed softly, "The Star Warrior education system has turned us into people who focus on results. But in this world, not everything has a result.

Have you ever thought that the process of finding them is the process of you realizing your life's value?"

Jiang Xiao shook his head, broke free of her palm, and lowered his head again: "Including the last time, I've died a total of 29 times. Except for once when I saw a wooden house, the other 28 times I only saw snow, only snow."

Looking at Jiang Xiao's lonely appearance, Er Wei was surprised to find that she felt a little sorry for him.

In the past 26 years of her life, she rarely had such emotions. The last time she had this feeling, she was still an innocent child, before she began this cold career.

Er Wei said softly, "Let's go back. The special nature of the upper dimension means you can only fight alone. When your strength is strong enough, we'll come back here."

Jiang Xiao shook his head and said, "There are still a few days. You can rest here. I'll go out and get some more Star Beads. I feel that Qing Mang and Endurance are showing signs of improving in quality."

Hearing this, Er Wei gently rubbed Jiang Xiao's head.

Jiang Xiao's response gave her a lot of information. Not just the improvement in strength, but it was telling her that he had no dissatisfaction with the special training and had not lost himself in the endless slaughter. He was just a little frustrated with the mission in the upper dimension.

He was just defeated, not crushed.

Er Wei stood up, looked around, and felt that the numbers were a bit off. She said, "Let's go, same as before. I'll accompany you."

"Lulu..." Xiao Xiao finally found a chance and came over, looking at Jiang Xiao sitting on the ground. She couldn't help but lower her head and rub her huge head against Jiang Xiao's cheek.

While Jiang Xiao stroked its head, he opened his Inner Vision Star Chart. The data on it was very clear:

Qing Mang (Emerald Radiance), Platinum Quality Lv.8 ().

Endurance, Platinum Quality Lv.8 ().

Based on the Silver White Ghoul Star Beads after the irrigation upgrade, he still needed to slaughter nearly 200 White Ghouls.

200?

Two days would be enough. If he didn't need to rest, he could finish it in one day.

Er Wei's voice came again: "Three Savage Witches have been lost."

After a word, Xiao Xiao, who was rubbing Jiang Xiao's cheek with her big head, actually buried it in Jiang Xiao's arms, acting like an ostrich even though she was a horse...

If the first death of two Savage Witches could be considered Xiao Xiao not adapting to controlling the battlefield, then the death of another Savage Witch in the following days was Xiao Xiao's dereliction of duty.

Jiang Xiao was also awakened by Xiao Xiao's movements. He withdrew from his Inner Vision Star Chart and felt her big head constantly rubbing against his chest, while still whining and acting coquettishly...

Jiang Xiao raised his head, and the first thing he saw was not the chaotic battlefield, but Er Wei's sharp eyes.

Jiang Xiao protected Xiao Xiao's head in his arms and said, "It's so small here, and there are so many monsters. Casualties are inevitable."

Er Wei was about to say something, but Jiang Xiao suddenly changed the subject: "Maybe we should bring a hot air balloon in."

Er Wei: "A hot air balloon?"

"Yeah," Jiang Xiao smoothed Xiao Xiao's mane, "White Ghouls and White Ghoul Witches can't fly."

Er Wei was really distracted. She said softly, "You want to reduce the difficulty of your training."

Jiang Xiao was stunned.

In an instant, he discovered the essential difference between him and Er Wei.

Jiang Xiao went in with the mindset of finding people.

But Er Wei wasn't so single-minded. Besides finding people, did she also hope that Jiang Xiao would accept the training? Endure these hardships and tribulations?

Jiang Xiao asked, word by word, "Luan Hongying, do you want me to die?"

Er Wei curled her lip. She, who always had a stiff facial expression, rarely made such small movements.

Then she said, "You have advantages that ordinary people don't have. Death will turn you into a powerful warrior."

Jiang Xiao's tone rose: "You haven't died. You don't know the specific effects."

Er Wei: "No, I have died. You saved me. Right here in this snowfield, under this starry sky."

Jiang Xiao frowned deeply: "So you think death is a rare experience!?"

Er Wei: "It will make you work harder to live, like you said, live with all your might."

"Heh," Jiang Xiao snorted, "That's you, just once. You and I can't be compared. What if I get used to it?"

Er Wei shook her head, her eyes very firm: "Judging from your performance so far, I don't think so. You'll never get used to it. On the contrary, you'll find that the price of each time will be higher than the last."

Jiang Xiao opened his mouth, not knowing how to respond.

Er Wei said, "One day, you'll go from the training ground to the battlefield, and you're destined to encounter difficulties, dangers, and desperate situations."

Er Wei looked at Jiang Xiao quietly: "You'll cherish everything you have even more."

Jiang Xiao asked, "Do you think dying on the battlefield is our destiny?"

Er Wei pondered for a long time and said softly, "It's a kind of glory."

Jiang Xiao: "Since it's not our destiny, why are you so pessimistic?"

Er Wei's face returned to its stiff appearance, without any expression or response.

She just looked at Jiang Xiao quietly, one hand behind her head, her fingertips twirling the dark red hair tie.

Looking at this child who gave her warmth again and again, she silently uttered a sentence in her heart:

Because, if that day really comes,

I hope,

I am the one who is glorified, and you are the one who returns home.