Chapter 401 - 397: That Guy’s a Lost Cause

Chapter 401: Chapter 397: That Guy’s a Lost Cause

"Hey, I was wrong, alright? Can’t I just admit it? Why does everyone have to bring my wife into this? Did my wife do something to you guys?" Liang Changsheng blurted out anxiously.

"You should probably get a wife first before you say anything," Zhang Huai said with a smile, stepping past him and adding, "With a mouth like yours, it’s hard to say if you’ll ever find one. I reckon you’re destined to be a bachelor for life."

Those words?

So vicious.

Even Luo Hongyi almost broke into a smile. The grim, tense atmosphere that had surrounded them immediately dissipated.

Liang Changsheng gritted his teeth. "Third, don’t get so smug. We’re two sides of the same coin. Hmph, even if I stay a bachelor, I won’t be without company. I’d like to see who would willingly marry you with that nasty mouth of yours."

’I’ve decided. As long as I haven’t found a wife, I absolutely can’t let this guy find one before me. How dare he use my future wife to make fun of me, hmph hmph—’

Liang Changsheng rubbed his hands together and let out a few cold, sinister chuckles. "Heh heh heh..."

"It was just a joke. What’s with the creepy laugh?" Zhang Huai’s skin crawled at the sound. He rubbed the goosebumps on his arms and looked back.

"Heh heh heh—" Liang Changsheng continued to chuckle, intending to say nothing and let Zhang Huai stew in suspense. But in the end, he couldn’t resist laying down a threat. "If you ever find a wife, don’t bring her around me. Otherwise, for the sake of our so-called ’friendship,’ I might just have to go against my conscience and expose your true colors. I can’t let an innocent girl be tricked, can I?"

’This moron.’

"Are you sure we’re even friends?" Zhang Huai was so angry he looked like he wanted to slap Liang Changsheng into next week. He shot him a glare, took a large stride toward Luo Hongyi, pointed at his own head, and shook it helplessly. "Captain, that one’s a completely lost cause."

"Ha~" Luo Hongyi finally let out a laugh. The moment he laughed, Zhang Huai joined in. Liang Changsheng muttered, "Boss, you’re playing favorites," before he too broke into a laugh.

The three of them moved quickly, reaching the end of the trail of markers left by Qi Guoqing and Jiang Wenhao in just seven or eight minutes.

"A stream! It must be nearby. This is great, we can finally get a good wash. The last few days have been... I absolutely reek." Elated at the sight of water, Liang Changsheng immediately bolted toward the stream. As he ran, he sniffed himself, wrinkled his nose in disgust, and then froze, completely dumbfounded when he looked up.

Then Luo Hongyi and Zhang Huai, who were just a few steps away, could only watch as he started walking endlessly in circles within a tiny area, as if he couldn’t see them at all.

"Interesting." Watching Liang Changsheng walk in circles, Luo Hongyi tensed up at first. Then, he remembered the Array Gu Nuan Nuan had mentioned. Recalling how Nuannuan had said she would come out to get them once they entered, an intrigued smile touched his lips. "Let’s go," he said to Zhang Huai. "Let’s check it out, too."

With that, he took the lead and stepped into the Array. The moment he entered, he found himself on what seemed to be an infinitely long, winding path with no end in sight. Liang Changsheng, who had entered just before, and Zhang Huai, who had been right behind him, were both gone...

Inside the Array, Qi Guoqing had been keeping an eye on the perimeter. Seeing Luo Hongyi and the other two wandering lost within the illusion, he immediately put down his meat skewer, stood up, and stepped into the Array, easily guiding them all through to the other side.

"This Array is incredible," Zhang Huai and Liang Changsheng said, their faces still flushed with excitement even after being led through.

"How are you feeling? Where is everyone else?" Luo Hongyi asked.

"I’m great. I can’t feel any pain at all. If our sister-in-law hadn’t said the medicine has a powerful analgesic effect and that the bandages can’t come off for seven days, I’d almost think I was completely healed," Qi Guoqing said with a constant smile. "They’re all out gathering branches for the fire. Earlier, our sister-in-law hunted two wild boars by herself and said she wants to roast them into jerky for our rations, so they went to gather more firewood, worried we’d run out. I stayed behind to grill the meat. I’ve already cooked a good bit. Want some?"

"Show us how to get in and out. If you’re feeling up to it, walk us through it. Then we’ll go find the others. It’s fine if we can’t find them; we can just gather firewood and bring it back ourselves." Luo Hongyi had complete faith in Gu Nuan Nuan’s medicine pills, so he simply nodded hearing Qi Guoqing felt better. "Even if you feel fine, you need to rest up properly for the next few days. Don’t push yourself now, so you’ll have plenty of chances to push yourself when it really matters."

"Yeah, don’t worry, Captain. I get it. I won’t push myself needlessly," Qi Guoqing nodded. Luo Hongyi clapped him on the shoulder.

「Meanwhile.」

Gu Nuan Nuan, who was gathering firewood nearby, suddenly looked up at Jiang Wenhao, who was high up in a large tree energetically snapping off branches. "Fifth Brother," she called out, "I think your boss and the others are here."

"They’re here? Great. I’ll go get them." Jiang Wenhao tilted his head to listen but heard nothing. Not that it made him doubt Gu Nuan Nuan’s words. He tossed the branches in his hand to the ground, jumped down from the tree, and took off at a run, muttering, "That was fast. It’s been less than an hour and a half. I wonder if they had any luck?"

It wasn’t his fault he didn’t know. Though he had seen Gu Nuan Nuan hand the Jade Bottle to Luo Hongyi, his mind hadn’t gone there at all; he’d simply assumed it was another batch of life-saving medicine pills.

Gu Nuan Nuan, of course, heard his muttering.

She hadn’t let Cao Cao eavesdrop when Luo Hongyi was interrogating those two men, and Cao Cao hadn’t dared to disobey. Afterward, however, Cao Cao had given her a crystal-clear, play-by-play of the three men’s conversation on the road. She frowned. Cao Cao’s description of Luo Hongyi’s every shift in expression and tone had been so detailed that she couldn’t help but suspect the next phase of their mission was still incredibly dangerous.

’It made sense, come to think of it. In my last life, I never saw these men again, which probably meant they all died. In this life, Luo Hongyi isn’t the type to fight a battle unprepared; he must have made arrangements in advance. Yet he and his team were still pushed this far... Should I get involved?’

’If Luo Hongyi hadn’t seen through me before, I probably wouldn’t be agonizing over this. I would have just lent a hand when the time came, and that would be that. But now?’ Gu Nuan Nuan hesitated. She was still wavering when Luo Hongyi and the others arrived with Jiang Wenhao.

"What’s on your mind?" Sensing something was off with Gu Nuan Nuan, Luo Hongyi pulled her aside from the others before asking.

"How confident are you that you can get through this mission in one piece?" Gu Nuan Nuan didn’t bother beating around the bush and asked him straight out.

"You’re worried about me." Luo Hongyi smiled. He fought the urge to pull her into his embrace, but after reaching out a hand, he sighed and took two steps back instead.