For a time, the sand bandits of the Great Wasteland were in a state of panic. No one knew what man and woman intended to do, but it seemed the two were deliberately targeting bandit camps.
Once the bandits understood the pair’s terrifying strength, they abandoned all plans to provoke them further, choosing instead to hole up in their camps, praying the calamity wouldn’t come knocking at their door.
The panicked bandits spent much time speculating about the duo’s purpose. Some said they were here for revenge, while others suggested they might be official agents sent by either the Ruen Dynasty or the Northern Qiang to eliminate the bandits.
A camp leader rewarded the bandit who proposed the last theory with a slap across the face.
"Impossible! The two nations are locked in war. How could they bother with a bunch of bandits?"
Despite their confusion, the bandits managed to deduce one thing. The pair’s route was a straight line from the southwest to the northeast, with no apparent deviations.
"Northeast?" The camp leader scratched his head. "What’s in the northeast?"
"Could they be looking for... the Grand Succession City?" one bandit suggested with some uncertainty.
The camp leader’s eyes lit up. "That’s possible! Grand Succession City is right at the foot of the Grand Succession Sword Sect’s mountain. That man uses a sword, so he must be headed there!"
"Then..." The same bandit hesitated timidly. "Then why is he causing us trouble?"
The camp leader thought for a long time but couldn’t come up with an answer. Seeing the crowd of bandits around him waiting for a response, he got up and slapped the timid bandit across the face. "How the hell should I know!?"
In stark contrast to the bandits’ unease, Baili Gucheng was completely oblivious of the commotion he was causing. It had no effect on him whatsoever, but his mood was sour.
Yang Lu had fallen ill.
Neither he nor Yang Lu had anticipated something . Although Yang Lu recovered after waking up, the medicinal effects of the Transcendence Stone had completely stripped her of her martial prowess. Her body was healthy, but she was now nothing more than an ordinary person.
After traversing the Great Wasteland for nearly a month, problems finally began to emerge.
The first was their dwindling water supply.
Even with the bandit camps serving as resupply points, clean water was still hard to come by. Although Yang Lu tried to push through the dehydration, her increasingly pale complexion and cracked lips did not escape Baili Gucheng’s notice. Nevertheless, Yang Lu would only respond with a reassuring smile, repeatedly insisting she was fine.
It wasn’t until Yang Lu fainted for the first time that Baili Gucheng realized the gravity of the situation.
While traveling, Yang Lu had developed a fever that refused to subside. Baili Gucheng was at a loss for what to do. All he could do was desperately give her water to drink, hoping it would help reduce her body’s temperature.
Unfortunately, the situation did not improve. At first, when Yang Lu could weakly eat a little whenever she regained consciousness. Eventually, her condition deteriorated to the point where she could no longer eat at all.
Seeing Yang Lu's much thinner face, Baili Gucheng panicked like a squirrel that had lost its winter stockpile.
The vast expanse of the desert stretched endlessly before him. Baili Gucheng raised his head and gazed blankly ahead, then turned back to look at the path they had traveled. He didn’t even know how far they had come.
He desperately debated with himself, Should I press on, or turn back?
Neither path seemed likely to save Yang Lu’s life.
Turn back or press on? Baili Gucheng’s hands trembled as he gripped the reins. He realized that his entire life had been a series of choices, as if he were always standing at a crossroads. It had been the same before. Leave or stay? Go to the capital or hold his ground? Draw his sword or sheath it? Save one person or save a city?
Some choices had been the right ones, while others were mistakes. And some, which he had thought were right in the moment, turned out to be wrong after all.
Now, he was at a crossroads once more.
Turn back or press on?
Baili Gucheng couldn’t make the choice. He didn’t even dare take another step forward.
His horse let out a heavy snort, spitting out flecks of white foam. He had taken a new horse from the sand bandits, but the relentless travel had left it utterly exhausted.
Baili Gucheng gently stroked the horse’s mane to calm it, while his other arm held Yang Lu tightly, his cheek pressed against hers, feeling her faint warmth.
His hand froze mid-stroke, and a glimmer of hope flashed in his eyes.
"I have an idea..." he murmured.
Wasting no time, Baili Gucheng tugged sharply on the reins and galloped off with Yang Lu in his arms, kicking up clouds of yellow sand in their wake.
The White Camel Camp was one of the more notable camps in the Great Wasteland, yet its leader, Gapal, remained deeply troubled.
According to their calculations from a few days ago, their camp was directly in the path of the man and woman who had recently stirred up a deadly storm in the desert.
"Boss, maybe we should leave and hide for a while?" suggested one of the bandits.
"Hide, hide, hide! All you ever want to do is hide!" Gapal waved his hand impatiently. "Where can we hide? You can’t outrun your problems forever! If the camp is gone, you might as well wait for the desert wolves to pick your bones clean!"
"Then... then..." the bandit mumbled quietly, "that’s still better than losing our lives—"
"Stop mumbling!" Gapal slammed his palm on the table. "If you’ve got something to say, say it loud!"
The bandit shivered all over in fear. "I’m saying... he's unstoppable!"
A flash of ruthlessness appeared in Gapal’s eyes. "Not necessarily! He’s not some mythical demon. We’ve got over two hundred men here! We’ll bury him under sheer numbers if we have to!"
The door was suddenly thrown open, and a bandit stumbled inside, speaking incoherently.
"He’s here, he’s here... that man is really here!"
Gapal hadn’t expected his words to come true so quickly. His lips trembled briefly before he leapt to his feet and shouted, "Brothers, grab your blades and mount your horses! Fight with me!"
The White Camel Camp’s gate, made of clay and wood, didn’t last even a moment. It shattered into countless fragments as the man strode in, carrying a frail woman in his arms, enveloped by overwhelming sword qi.
Gapal leapt down from the second floor, landing ten zhang away from Baili Gucheng. With the wind whipping at his eyes, he could barely keep them open as he pointed his blade and bellowed, "My blade doesn't kill nameless ghosts! State your name!"
Baili Gucheng ignored him and looked around at the camp’s simple houses. It was evident that the White Camel Camp fared better than the other nameless camps he had encountered so far. At least the dwellings weren’t entirely made of packed dirt. Baili Gucheng nodded slightly, feeling somewhat reassured.
Gapal waited for a long time without getting an answer. Seeing that Baili Gucheng didn’t seem intent on attacking, his unease lessened, and his tone softened. "We have no grievance with you, no prior acquaintance. Why are you causing trouble for us? Leave quickly, and—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Gapal felt a cold wind sweep across his neck. The next moment, he felt himself flying, his vision spinning. First, he saw the sky, then the ground, and finally the headless corpse standing there on the ground. Darkness engulfed his sight.
"I’ll only say this once..." Baili Gucheng’s gaze swept over the surrounding bandits. "Bring me your doctor."