Chapter 411 - 139: It’s All Fate!
The marks of artificial forest clearing are evident—the stumps left behind after the trees were cut down.
These stumps are distributed around the edges of the forest, roughly numbering at least dozens upon a quick glance.
This is evidence of habitation nearby!
This made Chen Yan increasingly suspicious.
A secret realm created by a magical treasure space, and yet there are people living inside?
·
At the forest edge, not only did the vegetation become sparse, but the plants also appeared much smaller in size.
Chen Yan was shivering from the cold, his breath coming out in white puffs, indicating that the temperature here was perceptibly cold.
As he stepped out of the forest, the first thing Chen Yan saw was a long strip reflecting light on the ground ahead.
As he approached, he could see it clearly.
It was a small river, roughly four to five meters wide—perhaps it could be considered a creek.
The creek lay before him, its ends disappearing into the darkness—maybe it was because the night was too dark.
The entire creek reflected light because...
It was completely frozen! Like a long strip of ice lying before him!
The temperature was indeed cold, capable of freezing a creek, it must be below zero!
However, what made Chen Yan slightly excited was that he saw a small light far ahead in the darkness.
It was... a lamp!
·
This must be a... village?
Chen Yan wasn’t too sure.
But the scene before him forced him to accept the reality his eyes were seeing.
Rows of wooden houses, with peculiar designs—growing up in the countryside, Chen Yan was not unfamiliar with villages.
But even the rural buildings in Dragon Country were all neatly shaped.
Yet these wooden houses seemed oddly shaped, as if accommodating the natural shape of the materials, saving the effort to cut them, just patched together.
For instance, the wooden house closest to Chen Yan had a noticeably higher wall on the left side, while the right wall was shorter, making the roof uneven.
Indeed, the wooden house’s roof was patched together from several pieces of wood, making it look like it might collapse at any moment. Some tree branches were interspersed among them.
Chen Yan roughly judged that the material of this wooden house was probably from those strange trees in the forest.
Looking around the village, there were quite a few wooden houses, Chen Yan could see seven or eight, while more remained hidden in the darkness, indistinct.
The light he saw was hanging under the eaves of the wooden house not far in front of him.
It looked somewhat like a kerosene lantern, but he couldn’t see it clearly from a distance.
The lamp hung there, gently swaying in the wind.
Chen Yan didn’t want to act rashly, but he was too cold.
His thin home clothes couldn’t block the pervasive chill.
Chen Yan could clearly feel the omnipresent cold penetrating his home clothes, ruthlessly drilling into his every pore.
If not for his physique being enhanced beyond ordinary people by Essence Nourishing, having walked out of the forest half an hour ago, he might have already been frozen stiff on the ground!
He might even have died from the cold!
At this moment, stealthily noting the situation was out of the question...
Chen Yan could feel the small bit of warmth remaining in his chest and stomach being gradually gnawed away, growing weaker and weaker.
No more delay was possible.
He could only brace himself and walked towards the wooden house with the hanging lantern.
However, just as he got close to the wooden house’s door with some distance remaining, a whistle suddenly sounded from the darkness.
A voice then seemed to shout something sternly.
Chen Yan’s ears were not working well due to the cold—he heard the shout carrying a tone of vigilance and warning—but couldn’t discern what was actually said.
He immediately raised both hands and shouted loudly, "I’m just lost and seeking help! I..."
Buzz!
Before Chen Yan could finish speaking, a figure suddenly jumped down from the wooden house!
This dark figure landed right in front of Chen Yan, causing his breath to halt!
A stench assaulted his nostrils... the odor of fur rotting for too long.
A fierce gust of wind followed, rushing forward!
Though Chen Yan’s body was numb from the cold, he still had a bit of reaction left; in a hurry, he could only exert all his strength to retreat to the left.
With a boom, something massive slammed into the spot he was just standing.
It was a hammerhead as thick as a barrel!
The figure before him loomed nearly two meters tall, wielding a long handle at the end of which was the hammerhead.
Chen Yan’s muddled brain cleared instantly, and without hesitation, he turned and ran into the forest!
Standing there explaining things now would be foolish!
If not for dodging quickly just then, this blow from the hammer would have been enough to kill!
Without saying a word, resorting to such aggression, the opponent was certainly no good guy!
To stay put and reason at this moment? That would be idiotic!
Chen Yan was quick to react, turning and running into the forest, but before he had run more than a dozen steps, he heard the force of the wind approaching from behind.
He felt a massive force collide with his back!
Then his whole body was propelled through the air, soaring about three or four meters, and when he hit the ground, he was dizzy from the impact, lying flat and losing all sensation in his body.