Chapter 108

108 WEAK PHYSIQUE, STRONG HEART

They had been walking for almost two hours, and their surroundings were getting darker, but there was no sign that they would stop anytime soon.

Bai Chen could feel that night was about to take place in the forest, and he felt like he was sitting on a carpet of needles[1].n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Are you sure you know the place where we can stay?” Bai Chen felt like his leg would break from continuing to walk non-stop, and that was why he decided to question the taller man.

Hearing the question, the man in red rubbed the back of his neck as he replied, “Actually, I don’t remember the way to that place because the forest looks very different from when I came here a year ago. I mean, the trees are different, and even the path is different. Give me some time. I’m sure we’ll find that place.”

Bai Chen facepalmed. No wonder he assumed that they had only been walking in circles for the past two hours. Fortunately, they didn’t accidentally bump into some of the beasts, and that was why they didn’t have to fight the beasts.

“Instead of looking for that place, how about, we find a new hiding place? This forest is huge, and I’m sure there will be more than one safe place in this forest, right?” Bai Chen asked when he thought that one should have an alternative if they were unable to use their first option.

Unfortunately, Wu Jinhai did not share the same opinion as him as he firmly replied, “There is only one place that can guarantee our safety in this forest, and we cannot carelessly seek new places. What if we end up choosing a beast den instead?”

Hearing Wu Jinhai mentioned the beast den, Bai Chen became even more anxious. Maybe the man was right. Even Wu Jinhai who came to this forest last year couldn’t be sure that the new place would be safe for them, so Bai Chen knew that they couldn’t just pick a place randomly.

For now, he could only rely on Wu Jinhai even though that man actually had a strange personality. Yes, Bai Chen thought that a man like Wu Jinhai would be perfect, but after they had another conversation after killing the giant spider earlier, he knew that even a perfect man like Wu Jinhai could have strange ways of thinking too.

.....

[“So, you noticed that I was the one who froze the giant spider?” Wu Jinhai asked after Bai Chen finished voicing his statement, and he once again looked amused by the man’s question.

“Mhm,” Bai Chen replied. “You said I froze the giant spider, but I’m sure I don’t have that kind of power. Someone even said that I’m just a weak and useless werewolf, so there’s no way I can have that kind of power.”

Bai Chen remembered how Zhu Ge offended him by saying that he was just a useless werewolf when they were on their way from the Red Pavilion to his palace.

Back then, he had indeed been offended by the man’s statement, but he had to admit that he really was just a weak werewolf. Even after he trained with Feng Qingshan, he still couldn’t get any stronger, so he thought that he was indeed a useless werewolf.

“Who said you were just a weak and useless werewolf?” Wu Jinhai asked a question, but unfortunately, Bai Chen still couldn’t see the man’s expression.

Did the man look surprised after hearing his story? Or maybe the man seemed entertained by it? Bai Chen could only guess, but without being able to see the man’s face, he wouldn’t be able to find the right answer to his questions.

“It’s just someone,” the brown-haired Prince finally answered without looking at the taller man.

He didn’t get a direct answer from Wu Jinhai, nor did he know what the man was thinking at the moment, but not long after, the man’s deep voice greeted his senses of hearing once again.

“In my eyes, you have a pure heart, and you are also quite brave. You also care about other people, and I think that’s your strength. Your physique may not be the strongest, but as long as you have a strong heart, it won’t be a problem even if you have a weak body. And if you were just a useless werewolf, then you wouldn’t have been able to save the disciples from the Sacred Leaf Sect earlier.”

Bai Chen was dumbfounded, and he looked at the man again. They were facing each other, and even if he couldn’t see Wu Jinhai’s expression, he could feel the sincerity of the man’s words.

In this world, he did have Ma Qiao and Bai Lang who occasionally gave him moral support, but for some reason, Wu Jinhai’s words managed to ignite a fire in his heart. Now he really wanted to become stronger so that he could become the Dong Lang Emperor.

“So, I’m strong enough in your eyes?” Bai Chen asked the taller man.

“You can say that,” Wu Jinhai replied, and even if he didn’t say yes right away, Bai Chen still felt happy when he heard the answer.

“I’m not weak in your eyes, so the reason you’re looking after me isn’t out of pity, is it?” Bai Chen asked once again.

He knew that he wasn’t the strongest person in this world, but he still had his pride, and he wouldn’t like it if someone pitied him. Thus, he frowned as he waited for Wu Jinhai to answer his question.

And Wu Jinhai burst into laughter as he replied, “I looked after you not because you were weak, but because I thought it would be fun if we played together in this forest. You still remember when I said that I wanted to have fun so I decided to participate in this event, right?”]

And yes, Bai Chen knew that Wu Jinhai wasn’t normal. He thought the man would have different reasons for always looking after him when they were in the Forbidden Forest, but the only reason was that the man saw him as a clown who would cheer him up during the event.

Wu Jinhai was not serious when he joined the event, and all he wanted to get out of the event was fun.

However, Bai Chen knew that he could not look down on the man. Even if Wu Jinhai wasn’t serious, he managed to freeze the giant spider without even needing to touch it, and Bai Chen knew that the man wasn’t just an ordinary human.

Bai Chen knew that Wu Jinhai was very strong, and that was why he didn’t want to offend the man. Even if Wu Jinhai ended up taking him to wander around the forest, he couldn’t directly voice his protest because he didn’t want to disturb the man.

In the end, Bai Chen just followed Wu Jinhai without protesting anymore, but then his stomach suddenly rumbled, causing the man in red to stop walking, and Bai Chen also stopped walking.

Turning to the shorter man, Wu Jinhai asked, “Are you hungry?”

Bai Chen was embarrassed that his stomach was shamelessly crying in front of the Prince of Wu Li, but he couldn’t hide it because he was indeed hungry this time.

“I threw up earlier, so it’s only natural that I feel hungry now, right?” Bai Chen asked back lazily as he took his eyes off the taller man.

Talking about vomiting made him even more embarrassed. He vomited everything that was previously in his stomach onto the ground just because the black blood belonged to the giant spider, and Wu Jinhai probably thought that he was just a burden.

He had expected the man to laugh at him, but he was surprised when he saw a bun suddenly appear in front of his face. Someone was holding it in their hand, and when Bai Chen looked at the person holding it, he could see Wu Jinhai was staring at him.

“Eat this now, and we’ll find more food to eat later,” said the man in red when Bai Chen didn’t immediately accept the bun.

Despite his hesitation, Bai Chen finally took the bun from Wu Jinhai’s hand before looking at it. “What food are you talking about? I heard that no animals can live in this forest, so we can’t hunt rabbits for food, right?”

Bai Chen got the information from Zhu Ge, and now he was wondering what kind of food Wu Jinhai was talking about.

“That’s true that no animals can live in this forest,” replied Wu Jinhai. “But there are edible beasts that we can eat, so we’ll hunt them later so we don’t starve here.”

Bai Chen looked at the taller man with disdain. He remembered how the giant spider had disgusting blood, and he assumed that other beasts would have the same blood. Now Bai Chen wanted to throw up once again.

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Footnote:

[1] Like sitting on a carpet of needles: from Chinese proverb “Rú zuò zhenzhan” means “to feel tense and uneasy.”