Chapter 477: Chapter 341: Burden (Part 2)
The moment I saw the skeleton, I thought to myself that it was over. Not to mention the brain tissue and blood, even the bones weren’t much left.
But then I thought, maybe its bones are poisonous too, or perhaps it has bone marrow. Thinking of the bone marrow, I pulled out a dagger, intending to pry open its joints. However, as soon as I lightly pried, the entire skeleton collapsed with a crash. I was quick enough to avoid being hit.
When the bones finished collapsing, I moved closer, intending to pick one to start with.
Miss Tang was placed on a piece of rock by me. I wasn’t sure if she was tired or hungry, or maybe both.
Just as my hand was about to touch the worm-like bones, the ’tooth marks’ on them made me pause.
Upon close inspection, there were many bite marks on the bones. If they were from some other creature, I wouldn’t have cared, after all, a worm’s corpse couldn’t have turned out this way by itself; you don’t lose weight like this.
There are many scavengers. Such a large insect corpse couldn’t have gone unnoticed by ’rot’.
But the bite marks on the bones weren’t left by creatures like rats or bugs. They were human bite marks.
I warily looked around. Originally, I intended to pick a slightly larger bone to take back, but now I changed my mind. Larger ones are inconvenient to carry, so I picked a smaller one and tucked it into my pocket.
All around, there was only the faint sound of the wind sweeping over the sand, no sounds of animals or insects.
I slowly retreated to where Miss Tang was placed on the rock, but she suddenly woke up. I quickly covered her mouth with my hand.
Because of her brief humming sound just now, I already heard unusual noises around us.
I made a gesture, threatening her that if she made another sound, I’d knock her out, then pointed to the top of the cave. She understood and nodded with her red, wide eyes.
Not all creatures will ignore me. Some attack for reasons other than food, possibly for territorial defense.
I couldn’t drag her any further, so I searched her for anything that could be used as a weapon, then carried her on my back and retreated along the way we came.
This area had acquired a new owner so quickly, and from the looks of it, they’re not easy to deal with.
Miss Tang wasn’t making any trouble at this moment, obediently clinging to my back without moving or making any sound.
Having walked back about a mile, Miss Tang thought we were safe and softly asked, "What did you discover?"
Her voice sounded a bit awkward. I wasn’t sure why she felt awkward, but indeed, human psychology is strange.
"I don’t know what mutated, but it seems human. It chewed up the insect corpse." "Human?"
"Yeah, the bite marks are very human-like. It’s either human or a monkey."
"There are no monkeys in this desert."
"Then it’s human."
"Impossible. That insect is highly poisonous. No creature would survive eating its corpse."
"The world is vast and full of wonders, Missy. Even the most effective cold medicine sometimes doesn’t work. You’re a scholar, can’t you be a bit more rigorous? Don’t generalize."
"What, what do you know?"
"I don’t know, but I know that in a vast area, the odds can be surprising."
"Absolutely not."
"Shh!"
I made a hush gesture and carefully listened to the surroundings, still hearing nothing.
"Damn it, we’re in trouble..."
"What’s wrong?" Miss Tang asked nervously.
"We’re being followed." I no longer lowered my voice and spoke at a normal volume.
"Then, then what do we do?" Miss Tang, for some reason, first appeared at a loss for words, then became visibly worried.
"Fight them! If we can’t win, I’ll throw you to them so that they’re occupied long enough for me to escape."
"Why didn’t you just leave me there earlier? Why bring a burden?"
"Can you casually throw away a trump card? You have to save it for the most crucial moment."
Miss Tang punched me, but not in a vital spot. Is she deciding not to kill me now? Women are truly unpredictable creatures.
I muttered to myself, my eyes scanning the surrounding darkness. Tonight, the moon was neither full nor bright. I drew the Hook Stick strapped to my leg, gripping it with both hands, and instructed Miss Tang to hold onto me tightly, just in case I performed Kung Fu and she got thrown off.
She grunted and used the rope I had earlier tied her with to bind the two of us together this time.
"Hey, clever move. If I can’t hold them off, you won’t escape either."
"If you can’t hold them off, could I escape? The outcome would be the same."
This was when her cleverness and wit became apparent. I smirked, gripping the handle of the Hook Stick, and continued walking at a steady pace.
I wanted to see when exactly they would make a move. Another mile and they still hadn’t shown themselves. I wasn’t sure how large their ’territory’ was. There were sounds of other creatures when we came, but now it seemed as if they had all disappeared.
