Chapter 172 - The Scum Is A Disaster

Contrary to Cheng Sheng's group who welcomed the fifth day of the third stage of the competition with a relaxed attitude, the other groups were laden with a problem.

Jing Cheng, Jing Hei, Jing Kang and Qian Lin looking at Zheng Yi with a blank face after they sealed their sense of smell. "..." 

Jing Bai who wears a stiff expression while walking alongside Zheng Yi. "…" 

Zheng Yi whose plan has failed. "…" fck. "Why the hell?! Why the hell are you still pestering me?!" he asked as he glared at Jing Bai.

Jing Bai, who doesn't want to open his mouth since he'll just breathe the foul smell but was forced to in order to not lose to Zheng Yi. "…" he hates me that much? "I want to." He answered, his voice restrained.

Zheng Yi's face darkened but he just pressed his lips tight in anger. 

Jing Cheng saw the two and spoke. "Anyway, this is better. We can be assured we won't be attacked by the monsters since the smell will keep them away…" he said.

"What is that?" Jing Kang asked, cutting off Jing Cheng's words.

Jing Cheng, Jing Kang, Jing Hei and Qian Lin who turned and saw hundreds of shadow rushing at them at a fast speed. "…" 

"Run." Jing Cheng said after he recognized what are they.

Jing Kang, Jing Hei and Qian Lin ran without a word, leaving Jing Bai and Zheng Yi who were in a stalemate.

"HEY!" Jing Bai called when he and Zheng Yi noticed the ground shaking and finally saw the monster. "How dare you leave us! I thought we were all brothers?!" he asked as he carried Zheng Yi. "Da ge! Ah Hei!" he named them as he ran towards them.

"AAAAHH!!! Jing Bai, you bastard! Don't bring Zheng Yi closer!!!" Jing Hei screamed as he pulled Qian Lin with him.

"Jing Hei, you useless twin of mine! How dare you diss Zheng Yi!" Jing Bai glared at Jing Hei and, with his other hand, draw his sword and attacked Jing Hei.

Jing Hei was forced to let go of Qian Lin or both of them will be hit. "Jing Bai, you bastard!" he said as he struck back.

"Here they start." Qian Lin said while Jing Cheng looked at the twins speechlessly.

"Hey…" Jing Kang called as he expressionlessly watched them. "Zheng Yi is emitting a foul smell that agitated the monsters. He's been with us since this morning. So…" he said, his voice low as he looked at the monsters with their eyes gleaming red. "… shouldn't we all smell the same?" he asked, but didn't dare unseal his sense of smell to confirm his words.

Everyone who realized it. "..." fck! "Cheng Sheng, you bastard!!!" they yelled as they altogether escaped.

On the Huakai Sect's side, Kang Ce's face is as dark as the bottom of the pot. "Hey… you infected me with your bad luck, right?" he asked as he glared at them while he carried Xin Xin on his back.

"It's that Alliance's disciple's fault, not ours!" Guo Cheng retorted. "This time." He added.

A vein popped in Kang Ce's face as they climbed up the trees. "Bastards! So you really infect people with your bad luck!" he told them.

"Yesterday is Cheng Sheng's fault. Today is that disciple's!" Tang Yun said as he reached the top of the tree.

"It's not her fault to be a girl!" Kang Ce said. "How can she just take a bath with all of us men are around?!" he looked at them like they're an idiot.

The Huakai Sect who realized Kang Ce is surprisingly a gentleman. "…" They can't rebut him since they are gentlemen, too – except Guo Cheng who has a sharp tongue and Tang Yun who is aggressive.

"Can't she take a bath after we took a bath?!" Guo Cheng yelled.

"How can she use the water we already used?! Are you that insensible?!" Kang Ce yelled back.

"Sensibility or whatnot is unnecessary!" Tang Yun said.

Tang Zhe and his fellow disciples who watched them bicker. "... don't you think this is Cheng Sheng's fault?" he asked, his voice sounds tired.

Just as his voice fell and they heard Cheng Sheng's voice from the Cleansing Stone hanging on Xin Xin's neck.

"I'd rather you not think of me like that." Cheng Sheng said, his breathing labored. "We're in the same predicament, you know?" he said.

The Huakai Sect, the Zunjingde Sect and the Shanliangde Sect who heard the sound of fighting in the background. "…" 

"I didn't think this'd happen. Well, who would expect the Fallen Pollens to fall on the magic herbs last time and be mixed with my magic pills?" Cheng Sheng asked and sighed. "Then, now, who would think the Stinky Pills would attract monsters?" he said. "To top of it all, the high temperature today increased the potency of the Stinky Pill!" he added.

Everyone who were chased by the monsters after the smell of the Stinky Pill stuck on them. "…" 

"You see, ne, even I can be mindless. I'm not omnipotent to foresee this all happening! We're being chased, too, y'know, even if Wu Xi already diverted the attention of the monsters to run after him." Cheng Sheng sighed. "Ah! Li-shixiong, look out! Brother, save Li-shixiong!" they heard Cheng Sheng said before the line was cut.

"…" he's not just pulling our leg, right? They thought as they suspiciously looked at the Cleansing Stone before they started to deal with the monsters on their side, too.

The Shanliangde Sect's team is clever to hide under the stream to minimize the odor of the Stinky Pill. They only had to deal with the water monsters in case there will be.

"Ah Xing ah… I am mindless, too." Xi Ming said and sighed as he looked at Xi Xing. He forgot that Xi Xing is very curious towards everything and so, when he saw Wu Xi – a silent type like him, was holding a bottle of Stinky Pills, he asked for one for him to inspect it.

Then, while they were walking, he accidentally tripped because his eyes are on the Stinky Pill. Then, he crushed the Stinky Pill. The Stinky Pill doesn't smell until it was crushed.

"Contact Cheng Sheng on how to remove the odor of the Stinky Pill." Gong Xian said.

"… okay." Xi Ming said and turned to Ruo He who was floating in the stream. "Ruo He?!" he called when he saw Ruo He was being drifted away by the water, only to discover a large fish was pulling him by his back collar. His head was bleeding.

They didn't notice he hit his head on the tree's trunk blocking the stream where they hid underneath earlier. "RUO HE!" they called as they chased after him.

On Cheng Sheng's side, Li Tian and Xiao Le are panting thus Chen Han and Shu Mu carried them, respectively, over their shoulder.

"Cheng Sheng. Should we bathe in a river or perspire to remove the Stinky Pill's odor?" Shu Mu asked as they ran.

BOOM! Another Exploding Pill was thrown and Cheng Sheng looked at it with regret. They started the day filled with positivity only to end up being chased like the other teams. "…" how the hell can we hunt the walking corpses now?! He thought and bit his lip. No. What we should do first – He thought and grabbed the Cleansing Stone from Shu Mu's neck. "Ehem. Everyone, can you hear me?" he asked them.

"Cheng Sheng!" it was Tang Yun's voice. "How do we get out of this predicament?!" he asked. His voice mixed with frustration and anxiety. 

"Don't make it sound as if I'm the one in the wrong. The Fallen Pollen is an accident, but your teammates taking my Stinky Pills is out of my hands." Cheng Sheng said before he returned to the topic at hand. "If this goes on, we'll all be killed." He said.

"Why do you say that?" Tang Zhe asked. "You sound like…" he said.

"Yeah. This is really a grave situation." Cheng Sheng said.

Chen Han and the others who heard Cheng Sheng's tone. "…" not good. Every time he says things like that… it's really a dire situation! They thought.

"What do you mean?" Jing Cheng asked. His voice sounded nervous.

"You see, the Stinky Pill has an ingredient called Lotus Dew." Cheng Sheng said. "It is fragrant, but once exposed in the air, it stinks. It stinks because of the water vapor present in the air." He explained. "Lotus flowers are hydrophobic. Thus, if its smell touches any form of water – " he said as he cast a Silent Spell on the monster that flew beside him. " – for example, our sweat… or if we'd take a bath…" he said and immediately evaporated his sweat with his qi. "The smell will become stronger." He told them.

The Shanliangde Sect who are on the stream and is wet from head to feet. "…" 

The Zunjingde Sect who were heavily sweating after Jing Hei and Jing Bai fought and they stopped them. "…" 

The Huakai Sect who poured themselves with water to try removing the smell. "…" 

As if adding salt to the injury, they heard a loud thunder before the raindrops fell.