Early the next morning, they set foot on that small path.
“I’ve never actually been to this side before.” Xie Ji touched a tree trunk with some surprise. There were claw marks from wild beasts on it, but judging by the look of them, they were very old.
Ning Bingque gave a “tsk.” “There are plenty of places you haven’t been,” he said irritably.
“You…”
“Alright, alright, the lake’s right at the end up ahead. Did we guess wrong?” Afraid they’d start fighting again and leave feathers all over the ground, Yan Yu’an hurriedly changed the subject.
Ning Bingque and Xie Ji looked where he was pointing. A large lake blocked their way. Shen Yuanzhou glanced at Ning Bingque. “Fly up and take a look.”
“I know without you telling me.” Ning Bingque flapped his wings unhappily and flew high up.
What met his eyes was a lake with no end in sight.
How was this lake so big? Ning Bingque was a little puzzled. He flew toward the middle of the lake and actually saw a small island. He frowned and slowly landed on the island.
He looked around. Apart from the lush, dense trees, there wasn’t the slightest scent of any living thing. Instinctively he sensed something was wrong and hurriedly flew up into the sky—and the next second, a giant net fell onto the spot where he’d just been standing.
“Overestimating yourself.” He gave a light scoff, narrowed his eyes, and looked around, spotting a figure hiding in the trees.
Standing high in the air, he saw that thing flee swiftly toward the depths of the forest, then quietly watch him. He didn’t bother with it anymore, but flew down and carefully examined this giant net. After pondering for a moment, he took the net and flew back.
Seeing Ning Bingque fly off, that thing immediately ran out with a “yi-ya” sound and stood where Ning Bingque had disappeared.
If Ning Bingque had looked carefully, he would have noticed that this thing actually bore a three-tenths resemblance to Xie Ji.
“What’s this?” After returning to Yan Yu’an’s side, Ning Bingque tossed the giant net onto the ground. “There’s a small island over there. There seems to be only one person on the island, and he wanted to use this to catch me.”
Yan Yu’an’s brows immediately tensed. He crouched down at once and carefully examined this thing, and dense sweat actually broke out on his forehead.
This thing—only humans could make it.
Yan Yu’an was very familiar with this giant net. Back in the apocalypse, they’d relied on these things to capture humans who had lost their minds.
He shifted his gaze to the four corners of the net, and sure enough, he saw hook-like things on them. Because of the material, they’d already rusted somewhat.
Yan Yu’an slowly let out a breath of relief. At least he could be sure these hooks definitely weren’t from the year 3050—they looked more like iron used a thousand years ago.
“What’s wrong?” Shen Yuanzhou noticed something off about Yan Yu’an. He pulled him up from the ground, and seeing his pale face, his heart tightened at once. “Do you feel unwell?” As he spoke, he raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from the corner of Yan Yu’an’s forehead.
Yan Yu’an slowly shook his head. “No.”
Xie Ji also noticed something off about Yan Yu’an. He examined the giant net on the ground. “This thing—you recognize it?”
Seeing him nod, Shen Yuanzhou said: “Do you want to go take a look at that island?”
Yan Yu’an’s eyes brightened. He knew there was a very good chance there were humans on the other side of that island—perhaps even someone who, like him, came from that place. But… he seemed to think of something, and his snow-white teeth bit hard into his lower lip, his body trembling slightly.
“Are you afraid?” Xie Ji stood up and pulled the trembling Yan Yu’an into his embrace, his voice very soft.
Shen Yuanzhou glanced at him and, for once, didn’t go up to separate them, while Ning Bingque looked at Xie Ji discontentedly, then raised his foot and kicked the giant net a couple of times.
Yan Yu’an trembled. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t afraid—but he still gently shook his head. He said quietly: “I think we should go take a look at that island.”
The moment the words left his mouth, Xie Ji’s and Shen Yuanzhou’s gazes landed on Ning Bingque.
Ning Bingque paused, then said unhappily: “I’m not carrying you two.” Yan Yu’an can… he silently added in his heart.
Shen Yuanzhou gave a cold snort, sparing him no face at all. “If we don’t go, you can’t protect him well either, can you?”
“You!” Ning Bingque was furious. He’d never been much of a fighter to begin with—but if it came to things other than fighting Shen Yuanzhou and the others, he could still easily handle the little stuff, couldn’t he?
Shen Yuanzhou paid no mind to the furious Ning Bingque. Instead, he shifted his gaze onto Xie Ji.
Xie Ji gave Shen Yuanzhou a bland glance, then looked away again.
Undercurrents surged between the two of them—it seemed they’d reached some unspoken agreement.
“Let’s go.”
Ning Bingque gave a “tsk,” then grabbed Yan Yu’an’s arm. He looked back at the other two. “What are you standing around for?”
“Holy shit…” Yan Yu’an clutched Ning Bingque’s neck tightly, not letting go for dear life.
The other two, meanwhile, didn’t care in the least that they were high in the air. Shen Yuanzhou closed his eyes for a nap, while Xie Ji fiddled with the net.
“Aren’t you… afraid?” Yan Yu’an’s voice trembled a little. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut, holding Ning Bingque for dear life and not letting go.
Xie Ji seemed never to have seen him like this and looked at him with interest.
Ning Bingque, beneath him, frowned and suddenly sped up.
Yan Yu’an, who was holding on tight, was fine, but Shen Yuanzhou and Xie Ji, who were sitting, couldn’t help falling backward from the momentum.
Xie Ji was startled and hurriedly grabbed Shen Yuanzhou’s feathers.
His voice was a little stiff: “N-no, not afraid.”
“Pfft…” His forced bravado earned a laugh from Shen Yuanzhou, who looked at Xie Ji’s ashen face and gave him a look of contempt.
Yan Yu’an wasn’t concerned with their bickering at this moment. His voice trembling, he didn’t dare look down.
Though this was a lake, it was inevitably a bit too big. Ning Bingque flew for a while before reaching the small island he’d mentioned.
“Be careful when we get down.” Ning Bingque warned. He didn’t care about those two, but if Yan Yu’an got hurt, that would be trouble.
The easternmost part of this small island was also lake, though a bit further past that you could see a stretch of forest.
After getting down from Ning Bingque’s back without mishap, Yan Yu’an’s legs went weak and he nearly fell to the ground.
“Careful.” Shen Yuanzhou was the first to step forward and steady him. His voice was gentle, and it put Yan Yu’an slightly at ease.
But the next second, an uncomfortable feeling rushed up his throat. Yan Yu’an hurriedly pushed Shen Yuanzhou away, ran to the side of the path, and threw up.
Ning Bingque was startled—clearly he’d never seen anyone get this sick after only a short flight in the sky.
Fortunately, Yan Yu’an had wisely made a water flask out of a pouch when they came here. Xie Ji handed him the flask, and after seeing him take a sip, rubbed his back.
“I’m better now.” After quite a while, Yan Yu’an finally said slowly. He shook his head at the three men, signaling that he was fine.
Ning Bingque let out a soft sigh. As if thinking of something, he walked over and rubbed his soft hair. “If you feel unwell, tell me—tell us. Don’t keep it to yourself.”
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