163 Enchanted Forest Part 1
Cong Xia could never have imagined it would end up like this.
At this moment, Devil Pine was sitting inside the tent. Beside him, there was a teapot filled with flower tea and a silver four-tiered dessert stand adorned with the most exquisite and tempting sweets. In front of him was an automatic mahjong table, where Tang Yanqiu, Liu Fengyu, and Huo Bai were playing mahjong with him.
The desserts were discovered by Commander Zhang in the forest. He found a pastry chef who was on the brink of starving from some remote corner to make them. The other three players were not really into the game; their expressions were stiff.
Cong Xia watched Devil Pine’s expression and said, feeling speechless and with an expression (–), “Touchdown, lay down, and remove your hand.” He felt as if there was some kind of temporal dislocation.
After standing behind Devil Pine for a while, he suddenly turned around and stared at Cong Xia blankly.
Cong Xia cautiously asked, “Mr. Pine, do you need anything else?”
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“Zsw pvlrrle sd xu byka.”
Usdt Dky oyp qaktbvldle yde iwknjzu vssj y pvlr cynj. Tl zssjle esod yde pyo vbyv Plhkz Vkdl’p byka oyp vss zsdt; kv oyp pralye swv sd vbl taswde, yde vblal oyp kdelle y pbsl rakdv yv vbl lde sq vbl eyaj byka. Usdt Dky iwknjzu okrle kv nzlyd okvb y nzsvb yde vkle Plhkz Vkdl’p byka kdvs y zsdt cayke, ypjkdt, “Tso ycswv R cayke kv qsa usw?”
“Yx.”
Pldt Dkysik pyke, “Usdt-tl, bso es usw jdso bso vs cayke byka?”
Usdt Dky qlzv lxcyaaypple vs pyu vbyv bl wple vs nszzlnv y qwzz plv sq Tyvpwdl Ykjw byzq-cseu eszzp. Tl nbwnjzle yde pyke, “R’hl plld svblap es kv, kv’p iwkvl pkxrzl.” Gqvla qkdkpbkdt vbl cayke, bl alyzkgle vbyv kv oyp pvkzz eayttkdt sd vbl taswde. Tso zsdt bye kv clld pkdnl kv zypv bye y bykanwv? Tl ypjle Plhkz Vkdl, “Ya. Vkdl, es usw oydv xl vs vakx uswa byka y ckv?”
“Eswze usw eyal?”
Usdt Dky nlavykdzu oswzed’v eyal. Tl oayrrle vbl cayke yaswde Plhkz Vkdl’p pbswzela yde pvlrrle cynj.
Pldt Dkys nkanzle vbl xybfsdt vyczl plhlayz vkxlp, bkp lulp qkmle sd vbl elpplavp, cwv bl eked’v eyal vs vswnb vblx. Wkapvzu, vseyu’p kdnkeldv okvb vbl pkzhla lya qwdtwp bye zlqv bkx iwkvl qlyaqwz, yde bl bye zlyadle y zlppsd. Flnsdezu, bl oyp yzps y ckv yqayke sq Plhkz Vkdl. Wkdyzzu, bl yrrasynble Mydt Zydikw, “Mydt-tl, R eked’v lmrlnv usw vs cl tsse yv xybfsdt.”
Liu Fengyu said, “Sichuan people should know how to play mahjong. But you don’t seem like someone who would play this.”
Tang Yanqiu’s face didn’t look too good. “I played mahjong with my mom before.”
“You can teach me how to play, too.”
Liu Fengyu said, “You sit on the side. Hey, Tang Yanqiu, why are you taking my tiles again?”
Tang Yanqiu replied, “Because you played them.”
While playing, Huo Bai was observing Devil Pine, somewhat absent-minded. The powerful energy fluctuations emanating from Devil Pine gave a strong sense of oppression, making it hard for them to concentrate. It was like how Cong Xia would feel when Puppet Jade was nearby; it felt like a giant standing next to them. It was an undeniable presence, but Cong Xia had grown used to it now, while the others clearly hadn’t.
Cheng Tianbi walked up to Cong Xia and whispered, “How long is it planning to stay?”
Cong Xia forced a smile. “I don’t know. We’ll have to stay as long as it does.”
“Come with me outside for a walk.”
“Sure.”
They walked out of the military tent. Since Devil Pine’s humanoid form couldn’t leave this forest, Commander Zhang had decided to camp here with everyone. All around, there were various mutated birds and beasts. Normally, it would be extremely dangerous, but because of Devil Pine’s presence, none dared to approach the campsite. At this moment, they were safer in the forest than anywhere else.
After walking for a while, they sat down against a tree. Cong Xia asked, “Tianbi, is there something you want to tell me?”
Cheng Tianbi said solemnly, “We went through countless hardships to escape from Yunnan, and now we have to go back. I overheard Zhuang Yao and Tang Tingzhi discussing. Moving once is not easy. If we go to Yunnan, we’ll also have to go to Chongqing to meet Wu Yu, and finally head directly to Qinghai.”
Cong Xia inquired, “Going to Qinghai crossed my mind, but what does going to Chongqing mean? Wasn’t higher-ups planning to turn a blind eye to Wu Yu temporarily?”
“It’s said that Xu Ying has secretly been in contact with Wu Yu, and that has made Commander Cao uneasy.”
“How is the situation in Beijing?”
“It’s been less than three days since we left Beijing, and so far, everything seems normal. But we’ll have to stay here for at least a few more days, and the situation afterward is uncertain.”
“Why? Is it because of Devil Pine? It shouldn’t be staying here permanently either.”
“It’s only part of the reason. Zhuang Yao said he wants to stay and investigate what Devil Pine meant by ‘foreigners.’ This place is close to the Sino-Russian border, and the Russians can see Devil Pine on their territory. It’s impossible that they haven’t taken any action. The ‘foreigners’ Devil Pine mentioned are most likely the Russians.”
Cong Xia shook his head, “It’s becoming more and more challenging to retrieve the Puppet Jades on our territory, and there are still many scattered in foreign lands. I have no idea when we can recover them all.”
“Certainly, the ones that are easy to recover have already been brought back. The ones remaining are tough nuts to crack.”
Cong Xia leaned on Cheng Tianbi’s shoulder. “Even if we manage to retrieve them, I don’t know how we can seal them again.”
Cheng Tianbi whispered, “We will find a way.”
Looking up at him, Cong Xia asked, “Tianbi, are you preparing to go to Qinghai?”
“What do you mean?”
“You mentioned your comrades…” He knew Cheng Tianbi still held onto the hope that his comrades were still alive. After all, those people were top-notch special forces with extensive combat experience. They should have better chances of survival than ordinary people. Moreover, some of them might have become mutants, increasing their chances of survival. Not just Cheng Tianbi, even he felt that there might be a few of them still alive. However, the more hopeful the situation, the more frightening it was to end up with nothing.
Cheng Tianbi said earnestly, “Whether they are alive or not, I want to confirm it personally.”
Cong Xia smiled, “Wherever you go, I’ll accompany you.”
Cheng Tianbi touched his hair and softly responded with a “Hmm.”
Cong Xia yawned, “It’s quite cool here. Let’s take a nap.”
These days, the two of them were so busy that they didn’t have much time alone together. Being able to talk and take a nap in this quiet and secluded forest felt like a secret meeting. They closed their eyes, leaning against each other, silently enjoying this rare moment of tranquility.
After a short rest, as the sky darkened and the forest cooled down, the two woke up from the cold and returned to the campsite.
A campfire was burning, and a group of people were busy cooking. San’er was energetically directing people to carry a wild boar, while Deng Xiao was playing with Abu using a particularly large pine cone. They were pushing it around on the ground together.
Tang Yanqiu and Liu Fengyu were lying on a recliner beside the campfire, motionless.
Cong Xia walked over, “Xiao Tang? Fengyu? What’s wrong? Tired?”
Liu Fengyu opened his eyes and looked at him weakly, “We’ve been playing with that pine tree for 7 hours. It still wants to play, and now it’s someone else’s turn. My back hurts.”
Cong Xia laughed, “Seems like it’s really addicted. How can it not get tired?”
“Who knows, the food isn’t ready yet. Let’s hurry them up; I’m starving.”
“Okay, I’ll go and urge them.”
Liu Fengyu casually placed his arm across Tang Yanqiu’s chest and said, “Massage my wrist.”
Tang Yanqiu opened his eyes, “Does it hurt?”
“It’s sore.”
Tang Yanqiu grabbed his wrist and started massaging it.
Liu Fengyu smirked and closed his eyes, enjoying the massage.
Cong Xia and Cheng Tianbi approached a few large pots, “It smells so good, San’er, what are you cooking?”
“Turtle snake soup, very nourishing.”
“What about Ab? uWhat’s it eating?”
“There are no fish here, so I roasted two deer for it, enough for its meal.”
“San’er, are you keeping an eye on Zhuang Yao?”
“Yeah, see, he’s in that tent over there.”
The two looked in the direction San’er pointed and indeed saw Zhuang Yao talking to Tang Tingzhi inside a military tent.
They walked over and found that Al was grilling skewers outside the tent. Shen Changze and Shan Ming were cracking pine nuts as big as peanuts. To be precise, Shen Changze was doing the cracking while Shan Ming was doing the eating.
Seeing them approach, Shan Ming said, “Hey, where did you two run off to? This pine nut they brought tastes good, but the shells are too hard. I can’t bite through them.” As he spoke, he attempted to bite one again.
Shen Changze patted his cheek, “I told you not to bite them; you’ll hurt your teeth.”
Shan Ming spat out the pine nut and contentedly ate the pine nuts cracked by his son.
The two entered the tent, and Zhuang Yao looked at them, “You’re back. Didn’t go far, did you? I heard from Tianbi that you plan to stay here for a few more days?”
“Yeah, during dinner, I’ll ask Devil Pine about the specifics of those foreigners. According to its words, those people should still be alive. Many countries are secretly collecting Puppet Jades. Although we reached a consensus at the United Nations to seal the Puppet Jades where they were unearthed, which is Qinghai, the immense energy within the Puppet Jades has been explored by their owning countries since the apocalypse. No one would willingly hand over the Puppet Jades to us. We must act faster than them.”
“Even if we know where those foreigners come from, what difference would it make? We can’t go looking for them now.”
“We can negotiate with them about certain matters. Although the world is a mess, the concept of countries still exists. If they crossed the border and came here, they should at least give us an explanation. If we can successfully communicate with them, we might learn their intentions, especially their latest movements regarding the Puppet Jades.”
Cong Xia pondered for a moment, “We still have many Puppet Jades lost outside our country. Shouldn’t we focus on collecting them within our territory first?”
Tang Tingzhi said, “It’s not easy to make a trip to the Northeast, so we can investigate while we’re here. Are you anxious to return to Beijing? Worried about Professor Cong?”
A hint of concern appeared on Cong Xia’s face, “A little.”
“I’m in contact with Professor Cong every two days. If there’s any situation, I’ll inform you immediately. I believe that in most cases, Professor Cong can handle it.”
Cong Xia nodded, “Okay, let’s do as you said.”
At that moment, Deng Xiao shouted loudly, “It’s time to eat!”
Everyone gathered around the campfire.
Devil Pine also came out of the tent. It was barefoot and wearing a white linen robe with a long ankle-length braid trailing behind. It walked slowly towards the campfire and sat down on a chair, then said without hesitation, “Put a lot of chili.”
The cook placed a large plate of grilled meat in front of it and sprinkled half a can of chili powder on it.
Devil Pine looked at the red layer of chili powder, wrinkled its nose slightly, picked up a piece of meat and put it in its mouth. After just two seconds, it couldn’t help but spit it out and angrily said, “Idiot, why did you eat such spicy stuff!”
The cook looked at it in fear without daring to make a sound.
Devil Pine’s expression changed rapidly, “What do you mean by ‘only eat once’? Today, you said you would only eat a piece of sweet pastry, and during mahjong, you said you would only play for a while…” Devil Pine’s expression twisted a bit, as if it had been arguing with that human for a long time in its mind. In the end, it seemed to have compromised, and with a red face, it started eating the grilled meat covered in chili powder.
Cong Xia handed it a cup of freshly squeezed blueberry juice, “Mr. Pine, please have a drink.”
Devil Pine didn’t even look at it, “Add a spoonful of sugar and bring it over.”
Zhuang Yao propped his chin up and looked at Devil Pine, “It’s truly fascinating. You share the same knowledge, memories, and feelings, but your personalities and preferences are completely different.”
Devil Pine sneered, “Of course, we were originally two separate beings forcibly merged together.”
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