Translator: mianbao Editor: Aelryinth
Edited by RED
Although he was really coveting the exotic beast bathing in lightning, Zhang Che understood that obtaining such a beast as his subdued beast was surely part of the ‘in this lifetime’ series.
That was a thunderstorm, and yet that exotic beast was flying in it in pleasure. How horrifyingly powerful must its strength be? -In Xianxia novels, those powerful immortal cultivators experiencing a lightning tribulation is probably something like that, right?-
“But I believe that I will be able to have such a powerful subdued beast in the future!” With the mysterious seven-colored crystal in his possession, Zhang Che had such confidence.
However, that was something for consideration in the future. At present, it was better to leave this place as soon as possible, to avoid being caught up in that expanding thunderstorm. Otherwise, he’d really be turned into ash, and all his sky-high ambitions would be for nothing…
Exerting its strength, the impatient Hanxue immediately let out a long neigh and ran along the path in the narrow ravine, borrowing the light from the thunderstorm.
The path was full of twists and turns. On the way, Zhang Che could feel his field of vision growing increasingly narrow, surrounded by mountain cliffs on all sides.
Who knew how Hanxue ran to this secluded corner in the past? As a horse king with incredible speed as its forte, shouldn’t it favor the vast grasslands?
Zhang Che didn’t have the mood to care about this, either. There shouldn’t be any danger in here, from the looks of it; that was enough for now!
Even though Hanxue had been running for quite a long while and they were deep into the mountain range, the thunder still showed no signs of stopping. Zhang Che even heard the sound of rain; it was now raining the heaven’s tears out there!
From the looks of it, it seemed like this area would be engulfed in a torrential rain soon. Zhang Che only hoped that a flash flood wouldn’t occur. Otherwise, this place Hanxue found wasn’t going to be safe, either!
Zhang Che couldn’t help but furrow his brow, worrying about their safety.
Alas, things had already developed into such a situation. He could only trust that Hanxue would find a safe place to hide from the storm and get through this natural disaster.
The lightning flash behind him grew increasingly brighter, and the rumbling of the thunder seemed to be chasing Hanxue. Zhang Che even felt the fine rain approaching his way.
“Hurry, how much further is the place you’re going to? We’ll be in danger if we don’t get there soon!” Zhang Che urged impatiently. Hanxue seemed to know that danger was approaching as well and increased his speed, as if moving to a dangerous dance on this rugged mountain terrain.
Finally, a dark cave appeared under the face of the mountain. Hanxue jumped into the cave without any hesitation.
“Hey, are you sure it’s safe here?” Zhang Che was scared. He subconsciously felt that this dark cave gave off an unsettling vibe. However, the thunderstorm was approaching from behind them, and he had no choice but to let Hanxue go ahead.
The result greatly exceeded Zhang Che’s expectations, however.
The cave seemed really dark on the outside, but it wasn’t deep. It extended less than twenty meters in before opening up to a wider area.
Dismounting the horse, Zhang Che took a short, stealthy walk and went around the whole cave.
There weren’t any powerful exotic beasts in here as he imagined, nor were there any treasures to be found. Zhang Che felt a burden lift from his chest, while feeling slightly disappointed at the same time.
Aside from feeling confused, Zhang Che couldn’t resist looking at Hanxue and asked, “There’s nothing special about this place. How did you find it?”
After hearing Zhang Che’s question, it neighed excitedly and walked to the wall. It stuck out its long tongue and licked at the coarse wall of the cave, revealing a satisfied look.
-The heck, this beast still has such a hobby!- Zhang Che felt his scalp going numb. Could this fellow actually enjoys licking rock? -Hmm? Something seems amiss!-
Making use of the light from the thunderstorm outside, Zhang Che discovered that there seemed to be some greyish white crystal particles on the face of the wall.
-Could this be a natural salt mine?- Zhang Che immediately thought of this possibility. He walked over with wide strides and used this finger to swipe at the powdery particles, tasting them. As expected, a salty taste accompanied with slight bitterness assaulted the tip of his tongue. -It truly is a salt mine!-
Seeing its master taking a taste at the good stuff it found, Hanxue couldn’t help but grew excited and let out a neigh, asking to be rewarded.
“You fool!” Zhang Che didn’t know whether to be angry or amused. He couldn’t resist patting his palm on Hanxue’s long face, saying, “This has a bitter taste to it. What’s so delicious about it? Wait till I leave the beast world; I’ll let you have a good taste of what fine salt is like!”
Alright, after wasting so much time, this place actually turned out to be where the elephorse herd replenished their salt levels.
-But, do exotic beasts have to consume salt?- Zhang Che couldn’t help but wonder. Alas, Hanxue couldn’t speak. Even if there was some special component in the salt here that was beneficial to the growth of exotic beasts, he wouldn’t learn of it.
The sound of rain and thunder outside grew even more violent. This cave Hanxue found was situated at a higher elevation; Zhang Che didn’t have to worry about flash floods. Thus, he decided to set up his tent and went to sleep.
When he woke up, the sky was already bright. Although the sound of the storm was a little lower now, it was still raging on violently.
Zhang Che walked to the entrance of the cave to take a look outside. The whole world seemed to be covered in a layer of rain, and the areas at a lower altitude were flooded with muddy water, flowing at high speed.
“It seems like I can’t go back anytime soon.” Zhang Che shook his head and returned to the cave. He took out a piece of compressed biscuit and sat at the entrance, taking small bites of it uninterestedly.
After eating a piece of the biscuit, Zhang Che only drank a few mouthfuls of water.
Only the heavens knew how many days this flood would continue on for. If he didn’t ration his supplies properly, it would be hard to find a clean water source…
——
Zhang Che was right. This storm lasted for almost a whole week’s time. Although the final two days of rain gradually subsided, looking into the distance, the flood was even worse than before.
“If I still can’t leave in a few days, I really have no choice but to drink that muddy water below…” Looking at the mostly depleted water bag in his hand, Zhang Che licked his dry lips, feeling deeply worried.
In the few days he was stuck in this cave, although there were enough compressed biscuits to sustain him, the same couldn’t be said for portable water.
Moreover, with the extended rain, the cave became unusually humid. Zhang Che even felt like he could squeeze water out of his undergarments. All of his clothes had been cycled through, but they were still in usable condition.
Hanxue was better off. It had been hiding in Zhang Che’s spiritual sea for the past few days, devouring the seven-colored fog non-stop. It didn’t have to eat nor drink; there wasn’t much difference from a subdued beast.
While thinking about the carefree Hanxue in his spiritual sea, Zhang Che suddenly trembled; there were sudden changes occuring in his spiritual sea!