TM CH22

Chapter 22 Strange Marks

“I know what you’re thinking,” Rong Qi said languidly, “In any case, this venerable one can’t beat you, so no matter how disheveled I get, I won’t be afraid of your mockery.”

Gu Yunxing: “…This humble Gu doesn’t like fighting.”

Rong Qi rolled his eyes.

Gu Yunxing: “Lord Right Protector, this place is desolate. When the clothes get worn out from washing, there will be none left to change into.”

Rong Qi paused, then saw Gu Yunxing raise a corner of his robe and point to an inconspicuous spot.

“Look, there’s a hole.”

Rong Qi followed his finger and noticed a small, barely visible tear in his sleeve. He swatted Gu Yunxing’s hand away and grabbed the tear, his expression darkening.

Gu Yunxing smiled. “Forget about fighting. Even just pulling a bit here and there, this robe might not last.”

Rong Qi: “……” He was slightly particular about cleanliness, but not severely so. Gu Yunxing’s reminder instantly made him feel a sense of crisis. What would he do if his clothes were ruined? He couldn’t possibly end up living like a wild man in the mountains, wrapped in animal skins, could he?

The more he thought about it, the tighter his brow furrowed.

Gu Yunxing: “But there’s no need to worry too much. Things will work out when the time comes.”

“More of that self-deceiving nonsense,” Rong Qi muttered as he carefully adjusted his clothes, not forgetting to sneer. “You mention a ship, but where would such a ship come from?”

Gu Yunxing seemed to understand then. No wonder Rong Qi had been so downcast and dejected. He had been worrying about how to leave the island.

“Gu Yunxing, tomorrow we’ll go hunting together.” Afraid that Gu Yunxing would become suspicious, Rong Qi added, “This cursed island is terribly boring. I need to find something to pass the time.”

Gu Yunxing had no objections.

For the past few days, Rong Qi had been following him around the forest. Gu Yunxing had briefly wondered if the demon had some hidden agenda, but after a few days, he realized that Rong Qi was merely tagging along, occasionally suggesting they spar. It seemed like nothing more than boredom, and he was simply looking for a way to kill time.

The next morning, Gu Yunxing woke Rong Qi and asked if they should set off. Rong Qi, of course, couldn’t let Gu Yunxing go alone, so he forced himself to wake up and join him.

The two of them walked side by side through the forest. The woods were vast, but the vegetation was sparse, and most of the trees were bare. The island was home to many birds, and occasionally a wild animal would dart out, though none of them were dangerous.

It was a mystery how these creatures managed to thrive and reproduce on this barren island, or how long they had been silently doing so.

However, today, their luck wasn’t great.

Perhaps their continuous hunting since arriving on the island had alerted the wild animals. Every time they got close, the creatures scattered and vanished. In the end, they could not catch anything.

They arrived at a hidden tree hollow. Rong Qi frowned. “A fortnight ago, there was a nest of young rabbits here. I was planning to wait until they grew bigger before coming back to catch them, but now… they’re all gone?”

Gu Yunxing: “…Maybe they moved away.”

Rong Qi, unconvinced, searched the area again, but found nothing.

“This is strange, what terrible luck today,” he muttered. He looked up at the sky, then turned to Gu Yunxing. “Not even a single bird.”

Gu Yunxing was staring intently at the roots of a tree. Rong Qi walked over, following his gaze, and noticed a brownish mark on the tree roots.

He crouched down to take a closer look. “Blood?”

It was a patch of blood, neither too large nor too small, blending in with the dark soil and tree roots, making it difficult to spot.

Could it have been caused by a fight between wild animals on the island?

But there were no signs of a struggle nearby, not even a few tufts of rabbit fur. Besides… he didn’t think a few rabbits could create such a bloody scene. As for wild beasts hunting… without witnessing it firsthand, it remained only a guess.

Rong Qi’s mind churned for a moment before he asked, “Gu Yunxing, do you remember the roars of a wild beasts we heard earlier?”

Gu Yunxing’s eyes darkened slightly, and he nodded.

That night, as they traveled, they had clearly heard a roar carried by the wind. But during the day, they found no trace of any dangerous beasts. Just as they were starting to forget, the bloodstain now reminded them that the forest was home to more than just harmless creatures. There might be a dangerous carnivore lurking, unknown to them.

The most unbelievable thing was that, despite having been on the island for months, they had never encountered such a wild beast.

“Whether it’s real or not, it certainly knows how to hide,” Rong Qi said with a sigh.

Gu Yunxing glanced at the sky and saw that it was still early. “Let’s go a bit further.”

After this incident, both of them paid extra attention to their surroundings. The forest was unnervingly quiet, with only the sound of the wind and their footsteps breaking the silence.

Before long, they came across several patches of darkened soil. The dark marks stretched westward, with the plants along the way showing signs of being trampled, as if a giant beast had dragged its prey through the area.

Their expressions grew more serious.

Rong Qi suddenly furrowed his brow. “Something’s not right.”

Gu Yunxing stopped. “Look at the grass. The trampled marks are wide. The animal that knocked them down must be quite large.”

“Let’s search the area thoroughly,” Rong Qi suggested, a sense of unease settling in his heart. While he didn’t think a fierce beast could harm them, the fact that one had been hiding so close for so long was deeply unsettling.

Gu Yunxing had no objections.

They usually stayed close to their shelter, occasionally going to the shore to check for any passing ships. The forest was vast, and there were many places they had not thoroughly explored. Rong Qi had come here once before, but he had only taken a cursory look. Now that they had discovered something unusual, they naturally had to investigate it thoroughly. After all, the unknown was the greatest danger.

They retraced the bloodstain and searched the area several more times.

Rong Qi eventually returned to the tree hollow and used it as a center point to search the surrounding area. Finally, beside a large rock, he spotted something unusual—

It was a simple wooden rack.

It was as ordinary as could be, just like many others they had built in the past to roast meat or dry clothes.

But now, in the depths of the forest, there was one that they had not made.

Rong Qi’s heartbeat quickened. Without thinking, he lightened his steps and walked toward it, crouching down to gently trace the soil beneath the frame with his fingertips.

Soon, his fingertips were covered in a layer of black ash.

It was the ash left behind from burned wood.

He suddenly looked up, anxiously scanning the surroundings, trying to spot any other traces. His gaze swept over the dead branches and underbrush, over the fire pit and wooden frame, until it abruptly stopped at a spot not far from the rack. He saw a fragment of a rabbit’s leg bone.

The wooden rack, the ashes, the rabbit bone.

These three things kept swirling and echoing in his mind, finally pointing to a startling conclusion.

This was…

The trail of a human activity.

Not long ago, someone caught a rabbit and stopped here to make a fire.