Chapter 126

126 THE BLACK DEATH

A flock of crow-like creatures suddenly flew frantically from the trees not too far from them, and the creatures rose into the black sky while flapping their black wings vigorously.

The creatures even let out sounds that resembled ordinary crows that lived outside the Forbidden Forest, and the sound managed to penetrate Bai Chen’s hearing. He still had his hand wrapped by Wu Jinhai’s, but he suddenly stopped walking and caused the taller man to stop walking as well.

His blue eyes were directed at the swarm of unknown creatures, and when Bai Chen thought of the location where those creatures had suddenly appeared, his heart suddenly skipped a beat.

“What kind of creatures are they? They’re also beasts, right? They look like crows, but I believe an ordinary crow wouldn’t be able to live in this dangerous forest,” Bai Chen asked without looking at the masked man.

Bai Chen’s blue eyes managed to see the creatures, and even if he knew that Wu Jinhai’s eyes would not be able to see them, he still asked the man about it.

‘But wait. Wu Jinhai was even able to find me when I observed the battle between Bai Renshu and Shao Meihui with the snake beast earlier, and he could also observe the battle even if there was no torch in his hand. So, Wu Jinhai could see in the dark? He’s just acting as if he doesn’t have that ability?’ Bai Chen had panicked too much earlier that he failed to notice the strangeness, but now he realized that there was something odd about the black-haired man.

Wu Jinhai was the Imperial Prince of the Wu Li Empire, and he was a human, but that man was far from ordinary. If that wasn’t the right way to describe the man, then Bai Chen would describe Wu Jinhai as an extraordinary human being.

Bai Chen knew about that fact, but he continued to pretend like he didn’t notice the oddity. ‘He’s wearing a mask for sure to hide his secret from others, and the way he pretends to be a normal human must also be a way to hide his true abilities,’ he thought to himself without voicing his theory in front of the taller man.

Wu Jinhai also stopped walking because his hand was still holding Bai Chen’s hand, and it seemed that he had no plans to let go of the hand as if he was afraid that its owner would run away from him.

.....

“Yes, they are beasts, and they are called the Black Death,” Wu Jinhai replied, and Bai Chen’s face stiffened after hearing it.

Turning his gaze from the flying beasts towards the man standing in front of him, he once again asked, “That name sounds really scary. Are they dangerous? Do they have the power to kill humans easily? Are they also high-level beasts like the giant snake? Did they also come out of the forest core?”

Bai Chen didn’t expect that the crow-like beast was dangerous, and he immediately asked Wu Jinhai a question without filtering out anything that was bothering his mind after hearing the man’s answer.

They were not gigantic beasts like the Three-Headed Snake, and their size was only like the normal crows he had occasionally seen in his previous life. However, upon hearing the beast’s name, Bai Chen started to feel nervous as he thought that it might be a deadly beast.

“You are wrong,” Wu Jinhai replied gently. “The name may sound dangerous, but the Black Death is like a normal crow with no special abilities. They are like birds, and they cannot kill people. They are only low-level beasts, and they are even weaker than the Housekeeper Spider.”

Best

Hearing Wu Jinhai’s explanation, Bai Chen was able to heave a sigh of relief. He almost begged Wu Jinhai to return to the cave so they could help Bai Renshu and Shao Meihui, but after learning that Black Death was harmless, his mind could rest.

“You said we should go somewhere else, right? Let’s go,” Bai Chen didn’t know Wu Jinhai’s destination, but he could see that the man looked serious when he dragged him off earlier, and that was why he took the initiative to keep walking.

Their hands were still intertwined with each other, and when Bai Chen started walking, he automatically pulled Wu Jinhai with him. However, instead of starting to carry his feet to keep walking, Wu Jinhai remained where he was while staring at the black sky where the Black Death had suddenly arisen from the trees.

Bai Chen finally realized that something wasn’t quite right with the taller man, and he frowned as he asked, “What’s wrong? You said that the Black Death was harmless, so why do you look so tense after seeing them?”

Bai Chen indeed couldn’t see the expression of the man behind the mask, but he could see that the man’s body had stiffened ever since they started talking about the Black Death. Even the hand that was wrapped around his arm felt a little cold, and Bai Chen couldn’t help but feel that something was wrong with Wu Jinhai.

“I did say that the beast is harmless, but do you know the reason why the beasts that looked like ordinary crows suddenly rose into the sky before dancing in a circle and making such a sound?” Instead of answering Bai Chen’s question, Wu Jinhai asked back.

This time, Bai Chen furrowed his brows as he thought of the answer to Wu Jinhai’s question. The masked man purposely said ‘the beasts that looked like ordinary crows,’ so his mind immediately thought of the normal crow that lived outside the Forbidden Forest.

Crows were not rare animals even when he was in his previous life, and he would occasionally see them flying across the sky. And then he suddenly remembered the conversation he had with his mother the first time he saw the crow in his previous life.

[“Mom! I saw black birds flying in the sky! What kind of birds are they, Mom? They look scary, and their voices sound scary too!” The eight-year-old Bai Chen suddenly exclaimed while pointing his finger at the sky not far from his house.

He and his mother were in their backyard. He was playing with some marbles, while his mother was drying the clothes she had just washed.

Hearing her son’s voice, the woman stopped her activity before following her son’s finger. Indeed, she could see how a flock of crows was flying in circles in the blue sky, and her face suddenly became tense.

“Someone died, ChenChen,” he whispers.]

That was the first time Bai Chen had seen crows flying in circles while singing their death song, and a few hours after he heard his mother’s words in the backyard, he heard the news of someone being killed not far from their house.

Now Bai Chen’s body froze as he could finally understand Wu Jinhai’s reaction. He once again looked up at the sky where the Black Death was still flying enthusiastically, and he could feel his heart pounding.

“The Black Death is similar to a crow. They will appear when one dies,” Wu Jinhai suddenly spoke again after sensing that Bai Chen could finally understand the situation.

Bai Chen didn’t answer immediately, and instead, he continued to stare at the sky with his blank eyes. Wu Jinhai noticed that Bai Chen was taken aback, and when he caught a glimpse of the shorter man, he couldn’t read what was on the man’s mind.

“Why?” Bai Chen suddenly whispered, but Wu Jinhai only furrowed his brows because he didn’t understand the man’s question. Getting no response from the taller man, Bai Chen continued, “Why didn’t you help them earlier, Wu Jinhai? Why did you insist on leaving them? Now they’re killed, and it’s because of you!”

Wu Jinhai was stunned, and he was speechless when Bai Chen suddenly turned his head towards him and glared at him with his pair of blue eyes. Bai Chen was furious right now, and he even forcibly removed his hand from his grip due to his anger.

The shorter man was indeed angry, and even if Wu Jinhai had opened and closed his lips several times, he was still unable to make a sound.

His eyes could see that Bai Chen looked hurt now. He still remembered when Bai Chen wanted him to help Bai Renshu and Shao Meihui, but instead of going along with his wishes, he told the man that they had to go somewhere. Now Bai Chen blamed him, and Wu Jinhai didn’t even know how to defend himself.

“You said Bai Renshu wouldn’t like it if you spoiled his plans to become a hero in front of his lover, right? Is that really your reason why you decided to leave them instead of helping them?” Bai Chen asked again when he didn’t get an answer from Wu Jinhai. “Or... do you have a personal grudge against Bai Renshu, Wu Jinhai? Do you want him killed?”