Chapter 139: You Come Here

Zu An quickly surveyed his surroundings. This valley wasn't much different from others, except for the unnaturally cool air. But this wasn't a major issue; some summer resorts were just as cool.

"A'Zu, what should we do next?" Ji Xiaoxi couldn't help but ask.

"Let's just stay here for now. Don't go deeper into the valley yet; these strange rats are behaving unusually." Although he couldn't discern anything abnormal about the valley, Zu An still believed it was better to be cautious.

Ji Xiaoxi hummed in acknowledgment. She took a water bottle from her small satchel and took a sip. Clearly, an hour of running had left her quite exhausted.

After taking a sip, she suddenly realized something. She handed the water bottle to him. "Do you want some?"

Zu An shook his head. "Your water bottle is so small; a few sips from me and it'll be empty. You drink it yourself."

Ji Xiaoxi smiled, pursing her lips. "You don't need to worry. My father had a Talisman Master specially make this. Although it looks small, it can hold a lot of water—enough for both of us."

"A spatial device!" Zu An was taken aback. He took it and examined it, unable to see any difference. He tried drinking a few sips and found that the water inside was endless; he truly couldn't finish it.

Noticing that he was drinking directly from the spout, Ji Xiaoxi's face flushed. She had thought he would drink without touching it, which would have been indirect...

Nevertheless, she replied, "This isn't really a spatial device. It can only store water; it can't hold anything else."

Zu An immediately felt relieved. It seemed like a limited version of a spatial ring. "Are these kinds of spatial devices very rare, only existing in legends?"

"Only existing in legends is an exaggeration," she replied, "but they are indeed very rare. Only the most skilled Talisman Grandmasters can create a small number of spatial artifacts, and their internal space isn't very large. Small ones might only hold a tiny bit of stuff; the largest ones can only hold about this much." Ji Xiaoxi gestured vaguely with her hand.

Approximately 1 cubic meter, Zu An estimated based on her gesture.

"Do you want something to eat? My father prepared a lot for me." As Ji Xiaoxi spoke, she pulled out various pastries, dried food, and even fruits from her small satchel.

"Doraemon!" Zu An was stunned. He couldn't help but pick up her bag and examine it from all angles. "How could this thing, so small, hold so much?"

"My father had someone make this for me. This should be the kind of spatial device you just mentioned." Whenever Ji Xiaoxi spoke, a faint blush always colored her cheeks, making her white skin appear pink and extremely adorable.

Zu An was speechless.

Just now, she said spatial devices were rare, but it turned out she had two on her. What was with this subtly humble-bragging attitude?

"This Osmanthus Pine Nut Cake is from Xu Ji in the south of the city; it's really delicious. This Peach Blossom Cake is a specialty from the neighboring county. If you don't like sweets, there are plenty of nuts here..." Ji Xiaoxi instantly laid out a large pile of snacks. As she introduced them, her large eyes seemed to sparkle.

Zu An was utterly flustered. "Are you here for a secret realm adventure or a picnic?"

Ji Xiaoxi gave an embarrassed smile. "Actually, I didn't want to bring so much, but I couldn't stop my father from worrying that I'd have nothing to eat during my days in the secret realm, so he stuffed all this into my bag."

Zu An was speechless.

He hadn't realized that scoundrel Ji was actually such a doting father.

Speaking of which, why didn't the Chu clan prepare anything for me? This disparity was truly disheartening. However, it seemed Chu Chuyan didn't bring much either. He figured the Chu clan might be strict with their disciples, intending for them to gain experience here.

Thinking this way, he gradually felt relieved.

Seeing Ji Xiaoxi's expectant gaze as she offered him the pastries, Zu An naturally couldn't refuse. After eating a few pieces, his eyes lit up. "This is delicious!"

The rat swarm outside the valley was instantly enraged. *What was going on? Our throats are dry from running; we've chased you for so long, we haven't even had a sip of water, and now you're having a picnic right in front of us?*

Rage value from Golden-furred Strange Rats: 6666.

Zu An's eyes instantly lit up. Although each Golden-furred Strange Rat contributed little rage value, their sheer numbers made the total extremely substantial.

Thinking of this, he couldn't sit still. He immediately ran to the valley entrance and stared intently at the rat swarm not far away. Then, he collected his energy, slowly extended a finger, and beckoned to them:

"Come here!"

Behind him, Ji Xiaoxi blinked her large eyes. She didn't understand why he was provoking the rats. And his current demeanor and tone made even her want to hit him.

Although they didn't understand his words, the mockery evident in his tone and actions still made the Golden-furred Rat swarm restless.

Rage value from Golden-furred Strange Rats: 6666.

Many of them couldn't hold back and tried to charge over, but after a few steps, they seemed to have some apprehension and retreated.

Seeing the rapidly increasing rage value in the system, Zu An was greatly amused, so he repeatedly continued his actions.

Rage value from Golden-furred Strange Rats: 6666.

Finally, one rat in the swarm couldn't take it anymore. It charged directly at him, its bald back of the head extremely conspicuous.

With a leader, the others could no longer restrain themselves. They all charged forward as well, many strange rats already preparing to launch their hard quills as they ran.

"Oh no, I've overdone it."

Zu An's expression changed, and he turned and ran. Seeing Ji Xiaoxi still foolishly eating there, he hurried over, grabbed her, and ran.

"Oh, my preserved fruits!" She had just taken them out and hadn't even had a chance to eat them. Ji Xiaoxi couldn't help but look back, clearly feeling quite distressed.

"I'll buy them for you after we leave the secret realm," Zu An said quickly.

"You said the same thing last time when you borrowed my handkerchief, and you still haven't returned it to me," Ji Xiaoxi couldn't help but grumble.

Zu An gave an awkward laugh. He had truly forgotten about that. "I'll compensate you for both next time, both together."

The Golden-furred Strange Rats chased them into the valley. Seeing that nothing happened, they grew a bit bolder. Squeaking, they pursued Zu An. *This human is too annoying! We must gnaw him clean, even shatter his bones, to appease our hatred!*

Utilizing the complex terrain of the valley, it was much easier for the two of them to evade the rats than it had been on the plains. However, there were simply too many Golden-furred Strange Rats, and each had an excellent sense of smell. No matter how discreetly they hid, they would be discovered before long, and then more companions would be summoned to surround and attack them.

The two could only continuously fight a guerilla war, pursued relentlessly and in a sorry state. Finally, the two were forced into a corner and climbed up a large tree.

But it wasn't long before they were discovered again. Soon, more and more Golden-furred Strange Rats gathered.

They first tried to climb up the tree trunk, but Zu An was in a commanding position, and the space on the trunk was limited. The Golden-furred Strange Rats found it difficult to leverage their numerical advantage; he essentially killed one with each swing of his sword.

The leading Golden-furred Rat King stood on a rock and squeaked for a while. Its companions then changed their strategy, no longer climbing upwards. Instead, they began gnawing at the roots of the large tree. As soon as the tree fell, the rat swarm would swarm them and tear them to shreds.

Hearing the sound of wood being gnawed below, Zu An also grew a bit angry. "Xiaoxi, do you have any poison or something to knock them all out?"

He recalled that medicine and poison often went hand-in-hand in traditional practices, so with her excellent medical skills, her proficiency with poison surely wouldn't be bad. "I do have some," Ji Xiaoxi said, hesitating slightly.

Zu An was bewildered.

It was just a casual question, but who knew she actually had some. If they could all be poisoned, then what exactly had they been running like stray dogs for just now?

As if sensing his unspoken question, Ji Xiaoxi whispered, "It's just that I don't think they've done anything terribly wrong. They were living happily here, and we disturbed them. If I poison and kill them, it would be too unfair to them."

Zu An was speechless.

This girl was truly too kind—so kind that he wondered how she had managed to survive this long in such a dangerous world.

"Then what happens if the tree falls and they eat us?" Zu An asked.

Ji Xiaoxi hesitated. "Maybe they'll retreat in a while. If the situation becomes unavoidable, then I'll use the poison."

Knowing her nature, Zu An found it difficult to force her further. Instead, he pondered that if things went wrong later, the moment the tree fell, he would summon a strong wind to teleport a distance. This should temporarily allow them to escape the rat swarm's encirclement. As for whether they could evade them afterward, that would be up to fate.

Neither of them noticed that the corpses of the Golden-furred Strange Rats they had just killed had fallen to the ground, their blood seeping into the earth at an extraordinary speed, with not a single drop splattering.

After a while longer, a Golden-furred Strange Rat, gnawing at the tree roots, suddenly let out a piercing shriek.

Zu An froze, then quickly looked down. He saw a skeletal hand piercing through its back, blood flowing over the white bone, creating an unsettling and bizarre sight.

Just then, a series of shrieks erupted as many Golden-furred Strange Rats suffered the same fate, their entire bodies pierced by skeletal hands.

"Where did these things come from?!" Zu An was dumbfounded. The scene before him was like something out of a horror movie.

"Brother A'Zu, I'm scared," Ji Xiaoxi said, subconsciously hiding behind Zu An and tightly clutching his sleeve.

"Don't be afraid, Xiaoxi, I'll protect you," Zu An comforted her. In truth, this scene also made him feel somewhat uneasy, but women naturally brought men an inexplicable courage. How could he show fear in front of a young girl?

He looked carefully and finally understood what was happening.

It turned out that those skeletal hands didn't appear out of thin air; they were reaching out from underground.

Not just near the large tree, but everywhere visible to the naked eye, the soil on the ground began to loosen, and hands began to emerge one by one.

"How many of these things are there?!" Zu An couldn't help but swallow.

The Golden-furred Strange Rats instantly erupted into chaos. They no longer cared about gnawing at the tree roots and all desperately fled. But they hadn't run far before they were grabbed by the skeletal hands emerging from the ground. The strange rats shrieked, but unfortunately, those seemingly fragile skeletons possessed immense strength, making it impossible for the rats to break free.

Soon, figures emerged from underground one by one. But calling them 'skeletons' wasn't entirely accurate, because they weren't entirely skeletal. Nearly half of their flesh remained on their bodies, and traces of clothing could even be faintly seen. However, these clothes appeared quite tattered, as if they had been buried underground for too long.

"Zombies" or "desiccated corpses" would be more accurate descriptions for them.

Just then, those zombies grabbed the Golden-furred Strange Rats they held and directly brought them to their mouths, beginning to gnaw. In an instant, blood splattered everywhere. The shrieks of the Golden-furred Strange Rats and the sound of flesh being chewed immediately turned the entire valley into a hellish scene.