CH 113

Xu RenDong pondered for a while but couldn’t keep up with Lian Qiao’s train of thought. Although he felt like a rookie, he still asked honestly, “So there is wind, what does that mean? Is this a forest?”

Lian Qiao said: “Actually I didn’t notice the wind at first, I just smelled a weird smell.”

“What?”

“Um.. it was smelly, like something rotten…but not like a junkyard. There seems to be a little earthy fragrance mixed in it, just like the earth after the rain…”

Xu RenDong suddenly understood. The smell he was talking about was probably the swamp stench from the pile of rustling vines when they were tortured and killed in the last reincarnation.

Xu RenDong couldn’t help but feel tight in his chest and took a deep breath inwards.

Lian Qiao said: “But not anymore. Because we are going downwind.”

Downwind?

Xu RenDong suddenly realized. If the swamp stench came from the killing vines, then as they kept walking and the stench got weaker and lighter, it meant that they were getting further and further away from the vines. No wonder they only heard screams in the distance and the vines never caught up with them.

In fact, the difficulty of this instance was that it took away everyone’s eyesight and made everyone run around in the dark forest. The vines obviously do not need vision, so chasing down players is like an eagle catching a chicken.

Fortunately, the forest was vast and the players were scattered. The vines were rushing to and fro, and it was inevitable that one would lose sight of the other. It seems that this is the breakthrough of this instance.

RenDong clarified his thoughts and couldn’t help but marvel at Lian Qiao’s calmness and agility of mind. He reached out to the darkness and stroked Lian Qiao’s hair rewardingly.

Lian Qiao smiled, grabbed his hand and pecked his palm again.

“Don’t make trouble.” Ren Dong smiled and pulled back his hand, “Let’s hurry up and clear the instance, so we can go to eat hot pot earlier.”

Lian Qiao replied with a smile. Even though he couldn’t see anything in the dark, Xu RenDong could still imagine how his eyebrows were curved and his heart suddenly burst with sweetness.

He calmed down, clenched the guide stick and faced the ground a little forward. Suddenly, an ominous premonition caught in his heart.

Was there something on the ground ahead? It didn’t feel right to the touch. Not as soft as earth, nor as hard as tree roots.

With a flash of inspiration, Xu RenDong suddenly woke up.

– That was a leather shoe!

In front of him, stood a silent man!

Xu RenDong retracted his hand like an electric shock but it was too late. Something caught him. He heard a mocking chuckle, followed by a chill on his wrist and a dull thud from the darkness.

-It hurts!

When he moved, the grasp finally retracted. Xu RenDong endured the severe pain and dragged Lian Qiao back, his painful arm curled up in front of his chest and his clothes soon became wet.

What happened? Why is it so wet? Why is there so much blood –

“RenDong?!” Lian Qiao exclaimed, subconsciously protecting him in front of him, but accidentally touched the wound on his wrist.

“Hmm!” Xu RenDong trembled in pain and could hardly stay upright.

A strong smell of blood quickly evaporated in the air. The bloody smell was so heavy that Xu RenDong choked and coughed. He lost feeling in his entire left hand and instinctively tried to  touch it with his right hand but couldn’t feel anything.

My—hand—

Xu RenDong felt like he was falling into an ice cave and his entire body started to tremble.

My…my left hand…disappeared…

He felt the blood vessels that were spewing blood, the wet and sticky muscles, the sharp broken bones…but he couldn’t touch his own hand.

My hand was cut off…

Xu RenDong wanted to tell Lian Qiao about this but when he opened his mouth, he couldn’t say a word anyway.

Tremble. The only reaction he could muster was trembling. 

It hurts…

“Be careful!” He didn’t know what happened but Lian Qiao suddenly pushed him back. Xu RenDong fell heavily to the ground and then Lian Qiao fell on top of him.

His broken wrist accidentally touched the dead branches of the soil, causing a sharp pain. Xu RenDong pulled back his wrist with a scream and covered his chest, trembling.

Lian Qiao suddenly pushed him: “Come on!”

At this time, Xu RenDong had lost the ability to think under the double blow of body and spirit. He was pushed by Lian Qiao and rolled to the side. He finally stood up, clutching his wrists, only then did he notice the sound of fighting near him.

“Lian Qiao!” Xu RenDong trembled and screamed, “Be careful! He has a knife!”

Lian Qiao obviously had no time to care about RenDong. In the darkness, the sound of sharp objects breaking through the air was constantly heard, mixed with Lian Qiao’s groaning and the sound of fabric tearing. Even if you can’t see anything, you can imagine how much Lian Qiao suffered, being empty-handed in this fight.

Xu RenDong was furious. The initial fiery pain in the broken wrist was gone, replaced by a biting numbness. The body temperature seemed to be lost along with the blood and a large amount of blood poured out like a fountain, splashing into the soil like rain. Xu RenDong quickly became dizzy. He bit his lip hard, forcing himself to be alert, and then rushed towards the fight.

There was only one other person!

If the other party is also a player, he should have lost his sight like them! Even if the other party had weapons, if they had lost their eyesight then it may be difficult to subdue the two of them together! What’s more, RenDong would put his life on the line to fight and even if he couldn’t defeat him, he could at least block his attack with his body!

Just as RenDong rushed forward like a broken vessel, a strange sound suddenly caught in his ears.

Shasha, the sound of rustling… 

Before he could tell what the sound was, there was a sudden piercing pain from the broken wrist of his left hand!

“Ow!” This severe pain was unusual. Even with an endurance as strong as Xu RenDong’s, all his strength was taken away by the pain and his entire body fell onto the ground without any strength!

He instinctively touched the broken wrist but at the broken place that should have been empty, he felt something soft and cold.

It was the vines!

This was not good! The vines were catching up! Once entangled, he would be dismembered!

The terrifying memory of the last reincarnation grabbed him instantly. Xu RenDong hurriedly pulled the vines and the vines were indeed pulled loose by him. However, at the same time, a more severe stinging pain came from the depths of his arm!

“Ohhhh…” Xu RenDong was in so much pain that his whole body curled up and he didn’t even have the strength to make a sound.

It hurts! This arm hurt! It was as if the bones and veins had been torn out alive…

The association made him shiver. Xu RenDong was covered in cold sweat, trembling to touch the vines and suddenly realized that the vines had indeed drilled into his broken wrist again.

It – burrowed into my body –

It bulged through his arms so quickly that it could feel the twisted branches through the skin. Xu RenDong was afraid and hurt and shouted desperately: “Lian Qiao! Lian Qiao! Help me! Come and save me!”

He called several times but Lian Qiao never responded.

The vines were still digging in. It was past the elbow. It’s almost over his shoulder.

Xu RenDong held his shoulders in fear and pinched the flesh on his arms, afraid that the vines would continue to drill up. His arm was so swollen that it almost exploded. He had no time to care about the outcome of the fight on the side. He could only cry like a lost child, crying in despair, “Lian Qiao! Help me!”

Lian Qiao never responded…

A pair of leather shoes, stepping on the wet soil, came towards him.

Xu RenDong raised his face and looked at the darkness above his head with blood and tears on his face. He has completely lost the ability to think. He was like a white rabbit that had been stripped of its fur, his pink muscles trembling in the icy air, so pitiful that he was powerless to resist.

He already knew that Lian Qiao was not standing in front of him. Lian Qiao would not listen to his screams and remain indifferent.

Therefore, he almost looked up at the man in the dark with anticipation and joy.

Kill me. Quickly kill me and set me free.

The corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably and raised slightly. He stretched out his hand to the man in the dark, begging death as if he were praying to a god.

However, that person just chuckled and said, “What a coincidence, so you are here too.”

Xu RenDong was stunned.

The outstretched hand fluttered. The leather shoes clicked on the dead branches and leaves. The man left quickly.

However, the surrounding rustling did not stop, but kept approaching and gathering.

“No…don’t go!” Xu RenDong screamed desperately, trying to chase the man but, just as he was about to get up, a huge force on his waist pulled him back to the spot. Immediately afterwards, a cold and rough rattan got into his mouth.

“Oh!” Xu RenDong’s voice was blocked and he couldn’t make a sound for a moment.

Countless vines gathered along the smell of blood. Climb up on his body, looking for a hole in which to root.

Then, burrow in, suck the flesh and grow like crazy.

After a while, there was a “crack”.

Xu RenDong’s body was split from the middle.

……

“Ahhhhhhhh—!”

Xu RenDong woke up in the elevator. At practically the same time he gave an uncontrollable scream.

Lian Qiao was taken aback by him and said in a panic, “What’s wrong with you, RenDong? RenDong?”

Xu RenDong didn’t seem to hear his voice at all, just covered his face and curled up, screaming and hiding in the corner. Lian Qiao hurriedly looked around. The elevator door hadn’t opened yet and the metal case was running smoothly. Apart from the scary words “Temple of the Five Internal Organs” floating in the air, there was really nothing to be afraid of.

But Xu RenDong’s fear is real. At this moment, he was like a child awakened from a nightmare. He forgot to even cry when he was too frightened and only instinctively escaped and screamed out of control.

Lian Qiao was very anxious: “Brother RenDong? What’s wrong with you? What did you see?”

Before Xu RenDong could answer him, a “ding” sounded suddenly behind him. It was the elevator door that opened. Lian Qiao turned back subconsciously and saw the bottomless darkness outside the elevator door and his heart sank. At the same time, Xu RenDong screamed again.

“Ahhhhhhhhh!” He screamed as though his heart was broken. Lian Qiao hurriedly took him into his arms and coaxed: “Okay, okay, we won’t go out if you don’t want to. We will stay here and not go anywhere. You are safe. RenDong, you are safe, I am here. I’m here, did you hear me? You are safe!”

Xu RenDong held his arm tightly and the force of his fingers was enough to squash meat into pulp. Although Lian Qiao didn’t know why he was like this but, seeing how frightened he was, he subconsciously repeated the words “you are safe”.

Xu RenDong listened and it really worked. The fingers that were holding him loosened a little, but they still held him tightly and tremblingly.

Lian Qiao stroked his back, kissed his hair, and coaxed softly, “It’s alright, you’re safe. Don’t be afraid, I’m by your side, I’ll protect you…” 

It was unknown which sentence stimulated Xu RenDong but he raised his head suddenly. His eyes were red and he looked at Lian Qiao with tears. Lian Qiao felt a pain in his heart from the pain in Xu RenDong’s eyes, so he could not help hugging him tightly again and said to him in a calm and powerful voice: “No matter what you’ve been through, everything is over. RenDong, it’s all right.”

Xu RenDong leaned in his arms dumbly and finally stopped screaming. After a while, he burst into tears.

This is the first time that Lian Qiao has seen him cry.

No, it should be said that before this, he never thought that there would be a time when RenDong would collapse and cry.

RenDong was like a flower on a snowy mountain or a tree on a clifftop. Growing alone and tenaciously, no matter how hard the blow is, he can always survive.

But at this moment, the string in his heart suddenly broke.

Like an overwhelmed camel who suddenly found itself carrying a thousand tons of straw on its back. Like a crumbling wooden bridge when suddenly 10,000 tanks drove up.

He collapsed completely. Screaming, crying, like a runaway mental patient.

And Lian Qiao didn’t even know why he collapsed.

He was fine a minute ago. Why did it suddenly break out like he was waking up from a dream?

…Speaking of which, this situation has actually happened more than once.

Lian Qiao had already noticed that every time he entered the elevator, Xu RenDong’s mood would undergo a subtle change. Sometimes it suddenly becomes indifferent and paranoid, and people could not get close, or sometimes he would show a vulnerable side inexplicably and act cute as a kitten towards him.

It was very strange.

RenDong must have experienced something alone whilst he was unaware of it.

Could it be that…

A strange thought flashed through Lian Qiao’s mind. However, the person in his arms was still crying and, at this moment, he really couldn’t ask.

RenDong sat on the ground and refused to get up, Lian Qiao hugged him until his legs became numb. But RenDong’s mood has not yet calmed down and so Lian Qiao can only endure it. After a long time, until the numbness spread to the waist, Lian Qiao finally couldn’t help but ask, “Are you feeling better?”

Xu RenDong didn’t speak, just buried his head in his chest again.

Lian Qiao’s heart melted.

Hug! Keep hugging! What leg numbness! I can chop off the legs if you like!

He really has no way to endure this kind of coquettish Xu RenDong. He felt full of pity and love, as though he couldn’t help but want to hold him in his mouth and heart.

The elevator door behind him had been open for ten minutes and the cold wind kept pouring in, making Lian Qiao’s back feel cold. Lian Qiao was afraid that RenDong would feel cold so he changed his posture and wrapped the person tightly in his coat.

Xu RenDong leaned against Lian Qiao’s warm chest and his breathing finally became steady.

He didn’t know how long it took but Lian Qiao was shivering from the cold wind, and only felt that the whole person had kidney deficiency.

“RenDong?” Lian Qiao called softly.

Xu RenDong didn’t respond.

Lian Qiao called out again in a low voice but Xu RenDong still didn’t speak. What answered him was the soft, soft purr of a kitten.

Xu RenDong had fallen asleep. In his sleep, he did not forget to grab his sleeve and rub his neck affectionately with the tip of his nose.

Lian Qiao: “…” Damn, why is he so cute!

Sleep! Keep sleeping!

What kidney deficiency? If you like, both kidneys will be cut off for you!