Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
In the rotten swamp, several lotuses’ leaves grew on emerald ground, and between the gaps of the lotuses’ leaves were pink and white lotus flowers. At a closer look, one would realize that the emerald “ground” was actually made up of numerous dense small green particles, like the green rubber on the running track of a stadium.
Several silent silhouettes brushed the bushes aside and wandered slowly through the swamp. There were four identical familiars. They each had a flat head like a frog and two humongous eyes. Their heads were exposed out of the water, while the rest of their bodies were submerged and hidden underneath it. They moved agilely and flexibly as if they were four ghosts in the swamp.
The familiar at the very front stopped, its palms stretched out of the water, three pale blue transparent claws spreading out and translucent webbed membranes connecting its fingers. It opened its mouth, and its croak vibrated at incredibly low frequencies. “There’s someone in front.”
The other three familiars at the back, who were slightly smaller in size, revealed a hint of vigilance in their gazes. With tacit understanding, they scattered in a fan-shape.
At the same time, on the other side, Gao Peng, whose palm was spread out, was rubbing and playing with the shell. He stopped in his tracks. On his palm, the small palm-sized shell opened up, and glittering droplets condensed on the surface of the White Clam. The White Clam was glossy and shiny from all the rubbing.
Fatty Big Sea opened its eyes and, too lazy to even lift a finger, casually said, “Give it to Goldie.”
Goldie, who was sitting on the back of the Three-Headed Dog, rubbed its own shiny bald head. It looked at Gao Peng and then stole a glance at Fatty Big Sea. It jumped off of the Three-Headed Dog’s back and kicked it its butt. “That’s your job now.”
The first and third head were in pain from the kick and they couldn’t help but murmur.
“Woof—”
“Woof—”
“Woof—”
The second head not only didn’t feel the pain, but grew increasingly excited. It wagged its tongue, its eyes glistening, and it loosened up its limbs and darted forward. It wasn’t aware of how much mud it splashed.
Da Zi followed slowly behind them and took in a deep breath from time to time—it was swallowing the electric element in the air. The excessive electric element moved at high speeds in a short time, forming a faint electric current near Da Zi’s mouth.
Da Zi squinted while it sucked in all the electric element. Such a method of absorbing it was too slow, but it was better than nothing. “It’s coming, be careful!”
In the swamp in front of them, they could hear a series of rapid footsteps. The eyes of the four familiars revealed vigilance. Whoever dared to walk swaggering into the Cloud Dream Swamp had to be either brainless or a pro.
The looming barking of wolves or dogs was approaching, making it extremely noisy. It sounded like a large group of beasts roaring, but only one figure could clearly be felt on their Perception Radar. The creature’s shadow appeared at the edge of the horizon. It was splashing mud on both sides, like a mad bull with its tail set on fire.
In their front on the left, a familiar’s eyes squinted into two lines. Its dark purple tongue slowly unfurled. At the tip of its tongue, there was a tiny hole like a pin. The tip of the tongue was emitting something.
A subtle unfathomable air current set off a storm. Sahara, the galloping dog, was hit by an arrow all of a sudden and fell into the mud with a loud crash. It landed with its head on the ground and all fours facing the sky. Then it spun 720 degrees, and at last, fell into the mud and lost consciousness on the spot.
“Gotcha.” In the sky, the Dragon Ant that had stealthily and secretly followed lowered its head and spread out its left and right hands. Switch properties, Power King Kong Ant! Smoke Dragon Ant!
“Change!” The body of the Hundred Faces Dragon Ant manifested in the air.
Bam! Hands formed by two clouds of smog condensed and appeared in the space from scratch. Two transparent ripples burst out and bolted down in the next moment. It was like an eagle catching a chicken. The huge claws set off a torrent of air currents, and the mud beneath their feet turned into concave pits because of the tension and pressure.
Most of the familiars that were hiding in the swamp revealed their entire bodies. They were familiars similar to frogmen. They had sharp spines on their backs, slender tails, and smooth and greasy surfaces; they looked like they would be very flexible in water.
One of the familiars was reluctant to be captured. With its right hand on its waist, it suddenly pulled out a long thorn. Its soft boneless muscles tightened inward, and the long thorn shot out like a spring. “Thorn Piercing Air Slash.”
The long thorn was made from an unknown monster’s bone. It was extremely tough and sharp after being polished. There were several layers of hemp rope wound around the handle. The long thorn split into seventy-nine thorns in an instant. Because its speed was too fast, it gave off a bitter and forlorn shriek. The huge hands of smog were pierced and completely smashed.
“Fancy.” The Hundred Faces Dragon Ant flashed a scornful smile. The big palms of smog that had been completely demolished were instantly restored to their original state. One divided into two, then the two palms transformed into four palms in the sky.
As if it was picking up four chickens, it picked up four familiars just like that. It felt as though it was walking on clouds as it left that place, leaving four gigantic mud pits in its wake.
Bam, bam, bam, bam. The four figures were thrown on the ground one after another.
Goldie’s tough duck webs stepped on the ground. It looked down and sized up the four familiars. “Are all of you ducks too?” Without waiting for their answers, Goldie answered itself, “Although all of you are hairless, your eyes are pretty big too. But you don’t have any wings, so you’re… wingless ducks.”
“All right.” Gao Peng walked over from behind and grabbed the nonsensical, nagging Goldie in one attempt. “All of you are pretty smart. Let me ask you; do you know the location of the nearby tribe?” Gao Peng only knew that they were getting closer and closer to the tribe. According to the old man, as long as they crossed the Cloud Dream Swamp, they could reach the Li Tribe. They had been walking for pretty long, but they didn’t know when they would cross over the Cloud Dream Swamp.
The four familiars moved in an orderly manner, and they knew how to surround their enemies. Their Spiritual Awareness shouldn’t have been too low that they couldn’t answer some questions.
The four familiars looked at Gao Peng, who had yellow skin with black hair, and the group of people following Gao Peng. One familiar’s gaze revealed a tinge of surprise that was pretty human-like.
Suddenly, one of the familiars took a step forward and a figure inside its body shed its skin. Inside was a young man wearing a red and yellow top and long brown pants. “Senior, please tell me where you’re from.”
“Huaxia Tribe, Gao Peng.” Gao Peng calmly replied.
“Are you Ma He?” Someone who was standing behind Gao Peng suddenly spoke. He was surprised and couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
Ma He, a rough-skinned man with wrinkles and folds on his yellow-black cheeks, was stunned for a second and looked behind Gao Peng. The man who had spoken looked familiar… Suddenly, an unfamiliar name appeared in his memory. “Zhou Hui! Didn’t you-didn’t you go missing?! Where have you been for more than ten years?” Ma He cried out.
Zhou Hui had been his childhood playmate. They had often played together on the same street when they were young. But he heard that Zhou Hui had disappeared when he was out more than ten years ago. Later, he heard from the elders in his tribe that Zhou Hui might have been caught and eaten by monsters near the tribe. He’d even had a hard time for almost two days.
“I’m not dead.” Zhou Hui, who was old enough to be Ma He’s uncle, shook his head. “I was captured by the mutated and rescued by this man.”
Ma He nodded and looked at Gao Peng. He loosened the hesitation in his eyes. “Mister, wait a minute. I’ll inform the elders of the tribe to come over. Senior, we welcome you to visit our Li Tribe. Zhou Hui, your father would be very happy if he knew you hadn’t died.”
