Chapter 139: You Come Here!

Zu An quickly scanned his surroundings. This valley was not much different from others, except for an unusually cool breeze. However, this was not a major concern, as some summer resorts were just as cool.

"Zu An, what should we do next?" Ji Xiaoxi couldn't help but ask.

"Let's stay here for now. Don't go deeper into the valley. These strange rats are acting unusually." Even though he couldn't see anything abnormal about the valley, Zu An still thought it best to be cautious.

Ji Xiaoxi hummed in agreement, took out a water bottle from her small satchel, and took a sip. Clearly, an hour of running had left her quite exhausted.

After taking a drink, she suddenly realized something and offered him the bottle: "Do you want some?"

Zu An shook his head, "Your flask is so small; a few sips from me and it'll be empty. You should drink it yourself."

Ji Xiaoxi smiled, pursing her lips. "Don't worry, my father specifically commissioned a runemaster to create this. Although it looks small, it can hold a lot of water, enough for both of us."

"A spatial item!" Zu An was surprised. He took it and examined it, unable to discern anything unusual. He tried drinking a few sips and found the water supply inexhaustible; he truly couldn't finish it.

Noticing that he was drinking directly from the mouth of the bottle, Ji Xiaoxi's face flushed. She had expected him to drink without touching it, implying an indirect shared moment...

However, she replied, "This isn't considered a true spatial item. It can only store water; nothing else can be put inside."

Zu An immediately felt relieved. It seemed like a limited version of a spatial ring. "Are such spatial items very rare, only existing in legends?"

"Saying they only exist in legends is an exaggeration, but they are indeed very rare. Only the most skilled runemasters can create a small number of spatial items, and their internal spaces aren't large. Small ones might only hold a tiny amount, while larger ones can at most hold this much..." Ji Xiaoxi gestured with her hand to indicate the size.

Zu An estimated it to be about 1 cubic meter based on her gesture.

"Do you want something to eat? My father prepared a lot for me," Ji Xiaoxi said, pulling out various pastries, dried rations, and even fruits from her satchel.

"Doraemon!" Zu An was dumbfounded, unable to resist picking up her bag and examining it thoroughly. How could someone so young carry so many things?

"My father had someone make this for me. This one should be the kind of spatial item you just mentioned." Whenever Ji Xiaoxi spoke, a faint blush always colored her cheeks, making her look incredibly charming with her fair, rosy complexion.

Zu An was speechless.

She had just said that spatial items were rare, yet she had two on her. What was this subtly boastful feeling that came so naturally to her?

"This osmanthus pine nut cake is from Xu Ji in the south of the city; it's delicious! This peach blossom cake is a specialty from the neighboring county. If you don't like sweets, there are also plenty of nuts here..." Ji Xiaoxi instantly laid out a large assortment, her big eyes seemingly glowing as she introduced the snacks.

Zu An was utterly bewildered. "Are you here for an adventure in a secret realm, or for a picnic?"

Ji Xiaoxi chuckled awkwardly. "Actually, I didn't want to bring so much, but my father was worried I wouldn't have enough to eat during my days in the secret realm, so he stuffed all this into my bag."

Zu An was speechless.

He hadn't realized that Ji Dengtu was such an overprotective father.

Speaking of which, why didn't the Chu clan prepare anything for him? The disparity was truly disheartening. But then, Chu Chuyan didn't seem to have brought much either, so perhaps the Chu clan had strict requirements for its disciples, intending for them to gain experience here.

Thinking this way, he gradually felt relieved.

Seeing Ji Xiaoxi's expectant gaze as she offered him the pastry, Zu An naturally couldn't refuse. After eating a few pieces, his eyes lit up. "This is delicious!"

Outside the valley, the rat pack instantly grew furious. *What's going on? We've been running until our throats are dry, chasing you for so long, and haven't even had a drop of water, yet you're having a picnic right in front of us?*

Rage points from the Golden-Furred Abominable Rats +6, +6, +6, +6...

Zu An's eyes immediately brightened. Although each Golden-Furred Abominable Rat contributed only a small amount of rage points, their sheer numbers made the total quite substantial.

Realizing this, he couldn't sit still. He ran directly to the valley entrance, staring wide-eyed at the rat pack nearby. Then, he gathered his energy in his dantian, slowly extended a finger, and beckoned them:

"You... come here!"

Behind him, Ji Xiaoxi blinked her large eyes. She didn't understand why he was provoking the rat pack, and his current demeanor and tone made even her want to hit him.

Although they couldn't understand his words, the mockery conveyed by his tone and actions agitated the Golden-Furred Rat pack.

Rage points from the Golden-Furred Abominable Rats +6, +6, +6, +6...

Many of them couldn't resist attempting to charge forward, but after a few steps, they seemed to have second thoughts and retreated.

Seeing the rapidly increasing rage points in the background, Zu An was delighted and continuously repeated his previous action.

Rage points from the Golden-Furred Abominable Rats +6, +6, +6, +6...

Finally, one of the rats in the pack couldn't take it anymore and charged directly at him. Its bald head looked extremely conspicuous.

With one taking the lead, the others could no longer restrain themselves and charged forward as well. Many of the strange rats were already preparing to launch their hard quills as they ran.

"Oh no, I overdid it."

Zu An's expression changed, and he turned to flee. Seeing Ji Xiaoxi still foolishly eating, he quickly grabbed her and pulled her along.

"Oh, my candied fruit!" Ji Xiaoxi couldn't help but glance back, clearly heartbroken, as she had just taken it out and hadn't even had a chance to eat it.

"I'll buy you some to replace it after we leave the secret realm," Zu An said quickly.

"You said that last time when you borrowed my handkerchief too, and you still haven't returned it," Ji Xiaoxi grumbled.

Zu An gave an awkward smile, having truly forgotten about it. "I'll make it up to you both next time, I promise."

The pack of Golden-Furred Abominable Rats pursued them into the valley. Seeing that nothing happened, they grew bolder, squeaking as they chased Zu An. This human was too annoying; they must chew him clean, even gnawing his bones to bits, to satisfy their hatred!

Using the valley's complex terrain, it was much easier for the two to evade their pursuers this time than on the open plains. However, the Golden-Furred Abominable Rats were simply too numerous and had excellent senses of smell. No matter how stealthily the two hid, they would soon be discovered, bringing even more companions to join the encirclement.

They were forced to constantly employ guerrilla tactics, getting relentlessly chased. Finally, with no other options, they climbed up a large tree.

However, it wasn't long before they were discovered again, and soon more and more Golden-Furred Abominable Rats gathered around.

They initially tried to climb the tree trunk. However, Zu An had the advantage of height, and with the limited space on the trunk, the Golden-Furred Abominable Rats found it hard to use their numerical superiority. He could basically take them down one by one with his sword.

The leading Golden-Furred Rat King squeaked for a while from atop a rock, and its companions changed their strategy. Instead of climbing, they began gnawing at the tree's roots. Once the tree fell, the rat pack could swarm them and tear them to shreds.

Hearing the sound of wood being gnawed below, Zu An grew annoyed. "Xiaoxi, do you have any poison or anything to take them all down?"

In his memory, medicine and poison were often intertwined; given her excellent medical skills, she surely wouldn't be bad at using poison.

"I do have some," Ji Xiaoxi said, a little hesitantly.

Zu An was bewildered.

He had only asked casually, never expecting her to actually possess it. If they could simply poison them all, then why had they been chased like stray dogs earlier?

As if sensing his question, Ji Xiaoxi whispered, "It's just that I don't think they've done anything terribly wrong. They're living peacefully here; we're the ones disturbing them. If I poisoned and killed them, it would feel too wrong."

Zu An was speechless.

This girl was simply too kind; so kind that he wondered how she had managed to survive this long in such a dangerous world.

"Then what happens if the tree falls and they eat us?" Zu An asked.

Ji Xiaoxi hesitated for a moment. "Maybe they'll just retreat later. If it becomes absolutely unavoidable, then I'll... use the poison."

Knowing her personality, Zu An didn't press her further. Instead, he considered that if things went wrong later, he could summon a gust of wind to instantly teleport a certain distance the moment the tree fell. This should allow them to temporarily escape the rat pack's encirclement. As for whether they could evade them afterward, that would be left to fate.

Neither of them noticed that when the corpses of the recently killed Golden-Furred Abominable Rats fell to the ground, their blood seeped into the earth at an extraordinary rate, with not a single drop scattering.

A moment later, a Golden-Furred Abominable Rat, gnawing at the tree roots, suddenly let out a piercing shriek.

Zu An was startled and quickly looked down. He saw a skeletal hand piercing through the rat's back, blood flowing over the white bones, creating an unsettling and bizarre sight.

Just then, screams erupted as many Golden-Furred Abominable Rats suffered the same fate, their entire bodies pierced by skeletal hands.

"Where did these things come from?" Zu An stared dumbfounded. The scene before him was like something out of a horror movie.

"Brother Zu An, I'm a little scared," Ji Xiaoxi instinctively hid behind Zu An, gripping his sleeve tightly with both hands.

"Don't be scared, Xiaoxi, I'll protect you," Zu An comforted her. In truth, the scene before him made him a little uneasy too, but women naturally brought an inexplicable courage to men, so how could he show fear in front of the young girl?

He looked closely and finally understood what was happening.

It turned out that the skeletal hands hadn't appeared out of thin air but were reaching out from beneath the ground.

Not only near the large tree, but everywhere within sight, the soil on the ground began to loosen, and hands started to emerge.

"Just how many of these are there?!" Zu An couldn't help but swallow.

The Golden-Furred Abominable Rats instantly erupted into chaos. Forgetting all about gnawing on tree roots, they scattered in a desperate attempt to flee. However, they hadn't run far before skeletal hands emerged from underground and grabbed them. The strange rats squeaked and squealed, but unfortunately, despite the seemingly fragile bone structures, the hands possessed immense strength, making it impossible for them to break free.

Soon, skeletons began to emerge from the ground. However, calling them mere skeletons wasn't entirely accurate, as they weren't completely bone; nearly half of their flesh remained, and faint traces of clothing could even be seen on their bodies, though these garments appeared quite dilapidated, as if from being buried underground for too long.

"Zombies" or "ghouls" would be more accurate descriptions for them.

Just then, the zombies seized the Golden-Furred Abominable Rats they held, brought them directly to their mouths, and began to gnaw. In an instant, blood splattered everywhere, accompanied by the shrieks of the Golden-Furred Abominable Rats and the sounds of flesh being chewed. The entire valley immediately transformed into a hellish scene.