Book 1: Chapter 169

Book 1: Chapter 169

It was getting colder and colder, but the gas in the air finally started to rise up. In the sunlight, those strange masses of air almost seemed invisible. The shade from the trees canopies was very thick, so the people shooting mortars shouldnt be able to see us. Today was our last chance. If this happened again tonight, we would definitely die.

After gasping for breath for a while, I couldn't help but sigh at the fact that the human body really was exquisite. I felt as if my lungs had been burned from the inside out, but I could still recover. With Kan Jian supporting me, we walked on.

It wasnt long after that when we heard screams in the distance. The poisonous gas had risen to the place where they had been shooting mortars at us. Many things in the world were like this. If that guy had been magnanimous last night, then I wouldve definitely warned him of the danger. But now we were barely hanging on. I figured that they would be in an even more miserable state than us, so that meant that neither side had won.

At this time, Liu Sang said, "I heard that based on your previous temperament, you would inform those on the mountainside to watch out for the poisonous gas, even if they were trying to kill us."

"Thats pure fiction. In real life, no matter what stage Im at, I only care about my friends," I said quietly. "Nave doesn't mean stupid."

After walking for more than half an hour, the sky was bright and the sunlight penetrated through the canopies. It was exactly how I pictured a forest in Grimms Fairy Tales to look. Nature really was the best liar.

What was even more amazing was that in the gap between the rocks and roots where these umbrella-like fungi grew, Liu Sang pushed aside the moss to reveal countless broken bones. I didnt know if they were human or animal.

"Last night's wind carried the spores of these fungi out from the depths of this forest." Liu Sang and I said at the same time. We both looked at each other.

"How do we get in?" Kan Jian asked. "There are mushrooms all over the place."

I shook my head. These colorful fungi were only a small part of the fungi in this forest. I could see countless umbrella-like fungi that looked similar to ear-shaped lingzhi (1) almost everywhere on the chapped bark of these trees. They were covered by a large number of ferns, which seemed to indicate that this part of the forest was very suitable for fungal growth. Liu Sang listened to the area around us and then pointed in a direction, "Theres a stream there."

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TN Notes:

(1) Lingzhi (aka Ganoderma lingzhi) is also known as reishi. Its a polypore fungus thats red-varnished and has a kidney-shaped cap. The peripherally inserted stem gives it a distinct fan-like (or ear-like) appearance. Here are a few pics: