Chapter 262: 262、A Strange Forest (Part 1)
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
“Lu Shu, what’s happening up there?” Wei Qianyi hollered from below, his voice piercing through the thick cover of leaves to reach Lu Shu. However, Lu Shu’s first response was not to reply, but see if Wei’s shouting can frighten any birds or other animals hiding amongst the leaves…
Surprisingly, not even one bird flew from the forest.
This is a little strange. How can such a huge forest not contain even small bird, but only that huge raptor just now?
This feeling was akin to having all the fishes in the Yangtze River disappearing: something just seems missing.
However, most regrettable was the fact that had a flock of birds flew out from the trees, his distress points would most likely be stable. Sadly, there seemed to be not many live animals in this forest.
Lu Shu shouted down loudly from the treetop, “Nothing, just a big bird. It flew away after we greeted each other.”
The bunch of cla.s.smates were all taken aback. So fantastical?
What greetings!
“Why did you see from on top?” Wei Qianwei looked at Lushu. He was not so much as concerned with what happened up there than which direction should they take.
Lu Shu suddenly shouted, “Wah! All of you should come up quick and take a look too!”
Wei Qianyi’s heart skipped a beat. Something out of the ordinary? Now that Lu Shu is up there, it shouldn’t be dangerous. So he too clambered up the tree… to find nothing out of the ordinary whatsoever upon taking a 360 degrees look.
He questioned, “Why ask me up here?”
“To see this beautiful scenery…”
What the heck is your problem!
“From Wei Qianyi’s distress, +333!”
The two climbed down the tree. Lu Shu tapped the trunk. Wei Qianyi and the other cla.s.smates went on to discuss things. Lu Shu, perplexed, gave the tree a punch. The tree wobbled. Lu Shu looked up at the thick crown of leaves and a chill ran down his spine.
To tell the truth, Lu Shu suspected that there was something wrong with this tree. If not, why was there not a single insect to be seen on the ground? He was worried that it had already turned into an aggressive tree demon!
However, the punch that he dealt did not produce any distress points. Lu Shu relaxed a little, yet still felt a sense of foreboding. He turned his ahead around, “Let’s find a more open area. The sky is darkening, night may come anytime. I have a weird feeling about the trees here. Shall we first pick a spot to camp?”
Wei Qianyi looked at the tree trunk beside him and laughed. “How can we still be safe if there’s a problem, with the trees? The remains may be dangerous, but we shouldn’t be overly suspicious too. I was also worried about these trees initially, but now that they have been proven to be safe, we should stop worrying so much. In fact, I think the snake you threw down just now may be dangerous.”
Wei Qianyi was actually unhappy that Lu Shu threw a snake down at them so casually. He did not know that Lu Shu already took out the snake’s poisonous fangs. At that very moment, the little snake was still providing him with distress points. Seems like the distress points would keep coming in as long as the fangs are not grown out…
Lu Shu chuckled but made no comment. Who else would scream in fright at the sight of a mere snake when entering the remains?
While the others were discussing among themselves, Lu Shu took the chance to squat beside a big tree. He uncovered a thick layer of rotting leaves to reveal the roots of the tree. Suddenly, Lu Shu gave a start. White objects were buried amongst the soil around the roots: the remains of unidentified animals.
This deepened Lu Shu’s suspicion. He was even seventy percent sure that there were something wrong with these giant trees.
“Come take a look!” Lu Shu hollered.
Wei Qianyi turned his head around, “To look at the scenery over at your side?”
Lu Shu chuckled. So be it.
The boys did not display anything, but some of the girls rolled their eyes hard at Lu Shu…
Nevertheless, Lu Shu was not concerned. As long as he could be clear the situation, he could leave and travel alone any time. In fact, he would not mind leaving the group right now.
As the sky gradually darkened, the group finally started on its way. The direction was not up, but down the mountain. In Wei Qianyi’s words, it is to see if they can find any water source in the valley. After all, they would be spending quite some time in the remains and having a source of water is of the utmost importance for survival.
They were carrying more food than water. They had only prepared three days’ worth of water due to their body size. It could last for seven days if properly rationed.
The most crucial point was that everybody was now in an unfamiliar and dangerous place and would instinctively want to make their way to be together with the other Dauyuan Cla.s.s students as soon as possible.
Everyone started discussing. The other cla.s.smates may want to find a water source too after entering the remains. After all, the various form teachers had reminded all of the importance of water. Who knows? They might be able to find the rest once they located the water source.
In the course of their hike, a large open plain about fifty meters wide suddenly appeared before them. Lu Shu suddenly said, “I suggest we camp here.”
Wei Qianyi, who was at the front of the group, suddenly turned his head and replied impatiently, “Lu Shu, have we not talked about this before? Don’t be overly suspicious.”
“Oh, then all of you can go ahead first. I will set up camp here.” With that, Lu Shu tossed his little green backpack onto the ground. He looked around, hoping to find some wood to make fire. It was not easy to find, the firewood. In abundance were the fallen leaves. Lu Shu thought that making fire with fallen leaves would be good too, there must at least be some semblance of an outfield camp…
Wei Qianyi and the others looked at one another in unison. They had not imagined that anyone would be bold enough to leave the group and camp alone. Wei Qianyi was therefore thinking to himself while they were talking,As long as we walk on, would you dare to still stay here alone?
As it turned out, Lu Shu decided to stay…
“Lu Shu, my friend,” Wei Qianyi’s said, crestfallen. “You must think through properly what could happen if you decide to go alone. If anything happens, n.o.body can come to your rescue. Moreover, there’s so many of us here, we can’t possibly be accomodating you.”
Lu Shu gave a wave as he continued his search for dried leaves, back facing them. “It’s alright, you all can go ahead.”
Wei Qianyi felt a tightness in his chest. After saying so much, there was nothing they could do anymore if Lu Shu still refused to budge.
Suddenly, Lu Shu turned his head around. Just as Wei Qianyi thought he finally got cold feet, Lu Shu said, “Let me reiterate this. I saw the bones of animals at the roots of the trees just now. Also, the trunks of the trees here are totally unlike the ones we have seen. All of you can go ahead if you wish to, but I will not take another step.”
Lu Shu would never joke about matters of life and death with these students. He had therefore, in all seriousness, told them again of his a.n.a.lysis.