Translator: Legge Editor: Legge
Looking at the women bringing the firewood back to their location, Ren Xiaosu lamented that it truly was quite difficult for women to survive in this sort of environment.
At this moment, he heard someone snoring beside him. When Ren Xiaosu turned around to look, he saw that Chen Wudi had fallen asleep while eating.
Chen Wudi was probably exhausted from having to protect dozens of people all by himself en route.
Ren Xiaosu felt this world was a little ironic. Of the several thousand people here, only the crazy Chen Wudi and one woman named Jiang Wu were willing to be good people. As for those who felt they were smart and capable, they only had the thought of saving themselves. Even Ren Xiaosu was no exception. But Ren Xiaosu was not ashamed of that. He had never thought of being a good person.
“Bro, why don’t you sleep for a while?” Yan Liuyuan looked at Ren Xiaosu as he added more firewood to the campfire. “Uncle Fugui and I will keep watch for the first half of the night.”
“Yeah, I also have a gun now.” Wang Fugui smiled. He kept the gun close to him as though it gave him a sense of security while holding it.
Ren Xiaosu gave it some thought and said, “Alright then, I’ll get some sleep first. Liuyuan, teach Old Wang how to use the gun.”
Wang Yiheng, who had been struck in the waist by Chen Wudi, had died. Not only was his spine broken, his vital organs had also sustained various degrees of damage. With such injuries, no one could survive.
When Ren Xiaosu woke up in the middle of the night, he saw Chen Wudi staring at him with a piercing gaze. No one knew when he had woken up.
Yan Liuyuan and Wang Fugui had not slept yet as they were responsible for keeping watch during the night. Wang Fugui was holding his gun and guarding against outside threats while Yan Liuyuan guarded against Chen Wudi.
Although everyone knew that firearms would not be effective against Chen Wudi, they still had to keep their guards up around him.
To Ren Xiaosu and the others, no matter how much sincerity Chen Wudi had shown them, everyone had just gotten to know him. Who knew if he was just good at acting?
Of course, even if they felt that Chen Wudi had other reasons for approaching Ren Xiaosu, it did not seem like he had any motive for doing so either.
Right now, the Qing Consortium was probably the most interested in Ren Xiaosu. No, strictly speaking, the Qing Consortium was more interested in Xu Xianchu. So Chen Wudi was probably not sent by the Qing Consortium.
“Master, you’re finally awake!” Chen Wudi said.
Ren Xiaosu asked, “You’ve only slept for a while. Aren’t you sleepy?”
“Not at all.” Chen Wudi shook his head and said, “Ever since I realized that I’m the reincarnation of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, I’m fine with just three to four hours of sleep per night. It’s as good as sleeping for an entire night like I used to.”
“Alright then.” Ren Xiaosu nodded. It was about the same for him. Now, he could just sleep three to four hours every day and it would be sufficient rest for him. “Liuyuan, Old Wang, both of you can go and sleep now. I’ll take over.”
“Master, why don’t you sleep for a little while more?” Chen Wudi said, “I’ll keep watch for you!”
“You don’t have to.” Ren Xiaosu shook his head. “How old are you?”
“Several thousand years old?” Chen Wudi wasn’t too sure of it himself. “After all, I don’t know how long I lived in the past.”
“I’m talking about this current life!” Ren Xiaosu snapped. He realized he actually had to phrase his words carefully when communicating with Chen Wudi.
“Oh, I’m 22,” Chen Wudi said.
As Ren Xiaosu felt it was rather strange that someone who was five years older than him had suddenly become his disciple, he asked, “Were you arrested and brought to the asylum by the private army?”
When Zhang Baogen got arrested, Wang Fugui received news that three arrested supernatural beings had been sent to the newly established psychiatric hospital by the private army on that same night. They even transported a lot of medical devices to the hospital at the time.
“No.” Chen Wudi shook his head and said, “I was already in an asylum a few years ago. I told them that I was the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, but they didn’t believe me. Some time ago, they transferred me to a new hospital for some reason. They even drew my blood and did some tests on me.”
“Then do you know Zhang Baogen?” Ren Xiaosu was curious.
“The one who blows bubbles?” Chen Wudi’s eyes lit up. “Yes, he was in the ward next to mine. There was also another patient, but I don’t know where he went.”
From those words, Ren Xiaosu confirmed that Chen Wudi was really from the psychiatric hospital and had been in there with Zhang Baogen at the same time.
He had thought Zhang Baogen and the others who had been arrested would get dissected after they got sent into the stronghold. However, they only had their blood drawn? No, according to Chen Wudi, there were originally three supernatural beings locked together, but one of them went missing.
The one who went missing… probably died, right?!
“What plans do you have?” Ren Xiaosu asked.
“I’ll accompany Master to obtain the Buddhist scriptures from the Western Paradise,” Chen Wudi answered matter-of-factly.
Ren Xiaosu felt uncomfortable and upset whenever he heard this. He thought for a while and said, “What if I’m not seeking the scriptures?”
Chen Wudi was stumped. If they were not going to the Western Paradise on a pilgrimage to obtain the Buddhist scriptures, what else could he do? For the past few years, he had been thinking every day about looking for his master so they could go to the Western Paradise on a pilgrimage to obtain the Buddhist scriptures. Along the way, he would subdue demons and monsters and bring justice to the innocent. However, his master was saying he didn’t want to go to the Western Paradise?!
Chen Wudi considered it for a long time before saying, “No, you have to go!”
Ren Xiaosu was speechless. ‘What do you mean by I have to go? I first have to know where the Western Paradise is, right? It’s not like Zhang Jinglin talked about this before!’
Ren Xiaosu suddenly asked, “Do you know where the Western Paradise is?”
Chen Wudi was stunned once again. “Nope.”
Well, this would be easy to handle.
In reality, Ren Xiaosu had realized Chen Wudi had not read the original text of Journey to the West. He only knew about it from hearsay, so it led to him having a heroic dream like this. Those who had read the original text knew that Sun Wukong’s image was not that great.
Hence, Chen Wudi would not know where the Western Paradise was and probably did not even know what could be found there. He could only remember that the Great Sage Equal to Heaven was a very powerful hero and that he must escort his master to obtain the Buddhist scriptures in the Western Paradise. Even if his master did not wish to do so, he had to escort him.
Ren Xiaosu thought that it was better that Chen Wudi did not know what Sun Wukong was like in the novel. Sometimes the world needed a hero like him.
Even Ren Xiaosu preferred the storyteller’s version more. In that version, Sun Wukong treaded on rainbow clouds, wore golden armor, and was an unrivaled god.
Ren Xiaosu looked around and saw several thousand people sleeping on the ground with only a few campfires burning. The sky was shrouded in darkness, and the early winter wind got even colder.
After the escapees experienced massive setbacks and went on a distant and arduous journey for two days, they still had to endure their hunger. They were feeble to the point of collapsing. When the cold wind blew tonight, a lot of these people were likely not going to get up again the next morning.
Fever, diarrhea, the flu, and heart and lung failure were all common symptoms for those who suffered from the winter weather.
In this wilderness, humans not only faced the hardships of wild animals. There were also prevalent diseases all around them.
With so many people fleeing for their lives, it would be impressive if half of them could reach Stronghold 109.
The numbers would be fewer if they encountered the Experimentals and wolves along the way. In fact, they could be wiped out if that happened!
