Chapter 190: The Caravan

In the night on the wasteland, the dry heat had quietly dissipated, and various animals quietly left the caves where they hid, beginning to forage here and there.

Eerie howls rose and fell in succession. Some sounded like screams of agony, others like wild roars, and some were just like someone yawning right in your ear.

If your psychological quality was a bit weaker, you would have been scared to death in this place. The exotic charm of this alien world was simply too much to bear.

Lin Lei and the other three found a wind-sheltered open space next to the trade route, cut some weeds and spread them on the ground, and used that as a place to rest.

For the past few days, they had been disturbed by various insects while resting, but today, there was no such problem.

Lin Lei squeezed out the venomous blood from the meat crown of the long worm he had killed in the evening, mixed it with normal blood, and sprinkled it in a circle around their resting area. This patch of land became a no-go zone for small animals.

The meat of that long worm lived up to its reputation for being delicious. Even without seasoning, it melted in the mouth and was exceptionally fresh and tasty when roasted to about eighty percent doneness.

Moreover, after eating it, the body felt warm and very comfortable, which made Lin Xin, who had been pouting all along, show a smile on her face.

After everyone had rested, Lin Lei, as usual, kept watch at night leaning on his sword.

Fuweili, as usual, rested leaning against Lin Lei’s chest. Lin Xin, after falling asleep, habitually held onto Lenna’s body, leaving Lenna neither laughing nor crying.

However, something was destined to happen tonight. Both Lin Lei and Lenna had a premonition of this, so they did not speak but instead conserved their energy, waiting for some good or bad news to arrive.

Amidst the clamor of animals, a slight bell sound came from the distance on the trade route. The speed at which this sound approached was not fast, but it was very steady.

In the dark night, Lin Lei and Lenna exchanged a glance and silently communicated information.

Lenna woke up Lin Xin, and Lin Lei helped up Fuweili, who was groggy and about to fall asleep.

“What’s wrong, Lei?” Fuweili asked sleepily.

“Some people are coming. Follow Lenna and go hide for a while. I’ll go scout ahead,” Lin Lei said. He sheathed his long sword, placed his hand on it, and then stood by the trade route, waiting quietly.

The sound of the bell became clearer, accompanied by heavy and messy footsteps. Hearing this, Lin Lei felt somewhat relieved. This should be a caravan.

Soon, this caravan appeared in Lin Lei’s field of vision. The caravan was large. The black shadow at the very front was very bulky. It was likely the famous Loha Pack Beast in this region. With good endurance, great strength, and decent night vision, it was an indispensable beast of burden for traveling across this wasteland.

From a long distance away, Lin Lei began to shout loudly. In this primitive land, encountering a caravan from the civilized world meant clean water and clean clothes. Lin Lei was about to smell bad after these few days.

“Light the torches!” A voice came from the caravan. Then, the large caravan slowly came to a halt, and more than a dozen torches lit up at the same time.

Only when it reached Lin Lei did the caravan come to a complete stop. The strongest Loha Pack Beast at the front of the caravan seemed dissatisfied, puffing hot air from its mouth.

This caravan had fifteen Loha Pack Beasts, which was considered medium-sized in this world.

A person walked out of the wooden carriage at the very front of the caravan. He was the leader of the caravan, Qing Li, a citizen of the Tang Kingdom who had been traveling between the Tang Kingdom and Royce for many years.

The reason they traveled at night was that Loha Pack Beasts could not withstand the high temperatures of the wasteland. Therefore, they placed their travel time between dusk and early morning and reserved daytime for rest.

Qing Li looked at Lin Lei standing by the trade route. Under the flickering light of the torches, with a long sword hanging at his waist and wearing a tight-fitting robe, he seemed to blend into the night. At a glance, one could feel an unshakable and steady aura.

The appearance of such a person in the wasteland made Qing Li’s heart skip a beat. He did not jump off the carriage but instead shrank his body back a bit before asking, “Young man, is there anything you need help with?”

While Qing Li was speaking, a few strong figures had jumped off the carriage and stood in front of him, forming a vague encirclement around Lin Lei.

Indeed, a lone traveler appearing in the deep night, especially one carrying a long sword at his waist, was quite suspicious.

However, in just this short while, Lin Lei had gathered a lot of information. The most important points had been verified: this was indeed a caravan, and its martial strength was within the range that Lin Lei could intimidate.

That was enough. Lin Lei smiled slightly. “Excuse me for disturbing you. My skills are quite good, and I am also heading to Royce. Could I hitch a ride?”

Qing Li was still suspicious. “Looking at your skills, it seems you don’t need to travel with others. Going to Royce should be very simple for you.”

Lin Lei laughed heartily. “I would be fine alone, but we have four people!”

…

When Qing Li saw Lenna and the others, his eyes went wide.

These few people all had perfect bodies allowed by the rules of this world, meaning they were all stunningly beautiful. It was not easy to find one such person, let alone three all at once in this rarely visited wasteland!

Qing Li was a merchant. The reason he could travel the wasteland for decades without incident was his caution. Seeing such a bizarre situation with his own eyes, his first reaction was shock, followed by regret!

He regretted stopping the caravan to let these people board. These four people did not look like ordinary folks at all. Qing Li had seen princes, nobles, and other high-status individuals, but none compared to even a fraction of these four.

Qing Li was afraid. Very unusual people caused very unusual events. His small caravan probably could not bear the burden of such great gods!

However, the event had already happened. Regret was useless. Moreover, they were just waiting by the road. Unless the caravan turned around, there was no way to avoid them.

Qing Li dared not be negligent. He immediately cleared the best carriage in the caravan for Lin Lei and moved to the rear seats himself. He did not know the identities of Lin Lei and the others, but his instincts made him remain respectful towards Lin Lei.

During the commotion of the entire caravan, except for Lin Lei and Lenna, no one noticed that at the rear of the caravan, a very ordinary helper secretly released a small black bird into the night sky.

This helper was likely an insider for the bandits on the wasteland, a person whose job was specifically to scout whether there were valuable goods in the caravan.

Although Qing Li’s caravan would certainly have paid bribes before setting off, bandits were always greedy. They would always confirm the true value of the caravan’s goods before deciding whether to let it pass for sure.

Qing Li’s caravan should not have encountered any trouble originally, but the sudden appearance of Lin Lei and his four companions made this sensitive insider sniff out something.

People could sometimes be used as goods, especially beautiful women and important fugitives!

These four individuals who had hitched a ride halfway met all the elements that could fetch a high price.

Since they had been targeted in this situation, leaving the caravan now was unlikely and useless. On foot, they could not outrun the bandits who had mounts.

Lin Lei, of course, also knew about the bandits here. Their mounts were a very fast type of Krama. When running, they were elusive and swift. They were also the standard mounts for the regular armies of Royce and the Tang Kingdom.

Besides, once Lin Xin and Fuweili boarded the caravan, they immediately fell into a deep sleep. Although it was a bit noisier here than in the wild, and the sound of bells never ceased, what a sleeping place required was not absolute silence, but a sense of security.

Lin Lei had to prepare for a rainy day. As for himself, one long sword was enough. However, he still asked Qing Li for several sets of bows and arrows and a large amount of arrowheads, basically for Lenna to use.

Of course, there were bows and arrows in this world. This simple principle but sharply damaging weapon was an essential item for caravans traveling across the wasteland.

Qing Li did not know what kind of psychology drove him, but he was responsive to every request from Lin Lei. After giving the bows and arrows, he eagerly asked if he needed other weapons.

Lin Lei saw through the merchant’s intentions at a glance. It was simply because he realized there was no way out, so he placed his heavy bet on Lin Lei, who appeared to be very powerful.

This citizen of the Tang Kingdom had also sensitively sensed something…