Chapter 1299: No-Sheath Sword

Chapter 1299: The Unsheathed Sword

"Achoo—!!"

Sun Buming sneezed violently.

Rubbing his inexplicably itchy nose, he murmured suspiciously, "I've sneezed several times in such a short period... Could something significant be happening?"

"Crunch—crunch—crunch..." "Before I left, the Fusion Faction had already found the train tracks leading to the South Sea Realm. By my calculations, they should be entering the South Sea Realm about now."

"Crunch—crunch—crunch..." "Could something have gone wrong on their end? Logically, with Red Heart personally involved, there shouldn't be any problems..."

"Crunch—crunch—crunch..." The violent chewing sounds repeatedly interrupted Sun Buming's thoughts. Veins popped out on his forehead as he turned and cursed at the two figures behind him, who were frantically gnawing on candied hawthorns like starving ghosts. "Eat, eat, eat!! Is that all you know how to do?! Didn't you used to dislike my candied hawthorns? Now you're never going to stop, are you?!"

Under a large rock, two figures, resembling tramps, squatted.

One was completely wrapped in bandages, looking as if they had rolled in mud countless times. The once pristine white bandages were now almost black with grime, and their soft white long hair was matted with messy knots, resembling a black mummy just pulled from a stinking ditch. The other was disheveled and dirty. Their clothes looked as if they had endured countless animal bites, with most of the fabric long gone. They had used dry grass twisted into ropes to mend and tie the remaining scraps to their body, yet large areas of skin were still exposed, covered with scars of varying depths.

At that moment, both of them, like starving ghosts, each clutched a dozen or so candied hawthorns, frantically devouring them string by string, as if they hadn't eaten in half a lifetime.

As Sun Buming finished speaking, Jiang Xiaohua quietly looked up. "Diamonds... more please."

Sun Buming was speechless. Jiang Xiaohua had spoken not out of politeness, but because he had simply run out of food.

Sun Buming opened his mouth, about to retort, but seeing Jiang Xiaohua's pure and eager eyes, he silently conjured another handful of candied hawthorns and tucked them into his arms.

"Don't you usually not need to eat? How are you still this hungry?"

"Oh, he probably just wants to taste something... He's been soaking under the swamp for three days, and his mouth tastes bitter," said Jian Changsheng, who, after devouring twenty candied hawthorns, finally patted his belly contentedly and let out a loud burp.

Sun Buming looked at the blackened Jiang Xiaohua, silently taking half a step back, seemingly somewhat disgusted.

"He was soaking in the swamp for three days, but what about you? Weren't you with him?"

"I didn't have time; I was being chased by an Eighth-tier Calamity from the Sighing Wilderness."

Sun Buming scrutinized the two for a long time, finally unable to resist asking, "What exactly have you two been through this past half-year?"

"Nothing much," Jian Changsheng said calmly, counting on his fingers. "I've swum with turtles in the Forbidden Sea, fought with pumpkins in the Bitter Flesh Mire, dug earth with scorpions in the Ghost Mocking Abyss, and sworn brotherhood with the weasels in the Vain Mountains... Oh, and then I ran with the lions in the Sighing Wilderness."

Sun Buming's eyes widened in astonishment. "You... really?"

Jiang Xiaohua mercilessly exposed Jian Changsheng. "It's true, but he never won; he was being hunted the entire time."

Sun Buming was speechless. "I admit I underestimated you, Spades," he sighed deeply. "When you said you were going to the Gray Realm for training, I thought you'd at most find a couple of Calamities to fight and come back quickly... I never imagined you'd push yourself this far."

Jian Changsheng was about to say something when Jiang Xiaohua, standing nearby, spoke first again. "He wanted to go back on the fifth day he was out, but he got lost while being chased and couldn't find his way back to the Fusion Faction."

"Clubs!! I've tolerated you for too long!!" Jian Changsheng suddenly stood up, muttering curses. "Would it kill you to say less?! I've suffered for half a year out there; what's wrong with letting me show off a bit!"

"So for the past half-year, it wasn't that you didn't want to return to the Fusion Faction... but that you were lost?" Sun Buming's expression was odd. "No wonder you left distress signals on the tracks around the South Sea Realm... Were you hoping we'd find them and come rescue you?"

Jian Changsheng's mouth twitched. He silently looked into the distance, as if admiring the scenery of the Gray Realm.

Sun Buming then asked, "But how did you know we would come to the South Sea Realm?"

"We didn't know, so we left them on the tracks of all three realms: South Sea, Heavenly Pivot, and Hidden Cloud," Jiang Xiaohua answered seriously.

"Oh, I see."

Jian Changsheng really didn't want to continue the conversation. He stood up, patted the dust from his clothes, and asked casually, "After being away for so long, I'm starting to miss everyone in the Fusion Faction... So, hey, Diamonds, how do we get there?"

Sun Buming shook his head. "The Fusion Faction... is no longer in the Gray Realm."

At these words, Jian Changsheng and Jiang Xiaohua froze simultaneously. "What?"

Sun Buming recounted everything that had happened during this period in detail, including how he led the Fusion Faction members through the Gray Realm and arrived near the South Sea Realm. After listening, Jian Changsheng looked thoughtful. "Are you saying the Fusion Faction has been forced to relocate to the South Sea Realm?"

"Yes, by my calculations, they should have entered already."

"The South Sea Realm is good too!" Jian Changsheng looked at him eagerly. "With food, drinks, and baths, it's practically a life lived by immortals."

Jiang Xiaohua, standing nearby, nodded repeatedly.

Sun Buming found it both amusing and admirable to see the longing for civilized society in these two "savages" before him...

Regardless, Jian Changsheng and Jiang Xiaohua had truly undergone significant tempering in the Gray Realm for over half a year, having encountered almost all Calamity territories. It's important to remember that Jian Changsheng was someone blessed with bad luck; if he claimed he had just casually fought a couple of Calamities in their territories and walked away unscathed, Sun Buming would never believe it.

And yet, after provoking one Calamity territory and suffering for it, Jian Changsheng still dared to provoke the next one. This kind of abnormal psychological fortitude truly cannot be explained away by simply saying he "got lost."

Jiang Xiaohua seemed to be undermining Jian Changsheng, but wasn't this also their self-deprecating humor about their experiences over the past half-year?

What they had experienced was definitely far more than he could imagine.

Most importantly, Sun Buming could vaguely sense that Jian Changsheng's gaze was different from before.

Sun Buming had the most experience and the most sensitive perception of human nature. If the previous Jian Changsheng was an upstart with a treasure trove of killing intent but no idea how to use it, a university student fresh out of school with only determination and and passion... then now, the killing intent seemed to have permeated his very bones.

He was like an unsheathed sword, emitting a sharpness in this barren and desolate world that even Sun Buming found threatening.

"Why are you looking at me like that??" Jian Changsheng was utterly craving food, pleading with clasped hands. "Big brother, Brother Diamonds, please, can we go? Please take us to the South Sea Realm soon... I want to eat something good!"

Sun Buming waved his hand, speechless. "Come with me."