Rest Stop

Yue Zhenqiao naturally agreed wholeheartedly with Li Nian's suggestion.

Too many unexpected situations have arisen along the way, severely slowing down the team's progress and itinerary.

Although these escorts have been escorting in the Hell all year round and have rich experience in repelling the heat. They all wear relatively insulating special animal skin clothing produced in the Hell, and they also carry a lot of cooling water bags, ice stones and other gadgets. They seem to be in better condition than "throwing knives".

But they were, after all, just a group of bodyguards, and were also affected by the high temperature.

Moreover, precisely because of their extensive experience and frequent outdoor activities, they are acutely aware of the consequences of spending a long time outdoors at Noon in Fire Hell and hold such matters in even greater awe.

Walking along the winding valley path, the group's pace was noticeably faster than before.

After a while, they repelled several more waves of Yaomo attacks that were still abnormal but fortunately small in scale, and were now almost out of the territory of Fu Yuan Mountain.

But...

Judging from Yue Zhenqiao's increasingly anxious and frequent glances at the sky, Map, and hourglass, their progress was still not fast enough!

Lin Yu walked in the group, already feeling his lips getting a little dry.

He even had to temporarily take Hannah back—as an aquatic animal, even with a high status, the Little Octopus still had its own natural weaknesses before reaching that state of "doing whatever it wants."

Hannah is really afraid of heat and dryness. With the baby constantly exposed to the sun in this kind of weather, Lin Yu is worried that the Little Octopus might turn into dried Octopus.

"What about me, Boss? Aren't I afraid of getting sunburned?"

Old Zheng, hidden in Lin Yu's sleeve, said resentfully, "I'm just a lump of delicate and fragile connective tissue. Without the protection of a skull to be exposed to the sun directly, I'll turn into roasted brains."

Lin Yu said helplessly, "You seem quite energetic."

"It was actually a last gasp before death," Old Zheng said, his eyes flashing. "Please take me back too, I beg you."

"No, Hannah is going back because it really can't hold on any longer, and I don't need it for the time being," Lin Yu cruelly refused Old Zheng. "And you... right now we're operating with a 'broken body' whose situation we don't even know, which could attract new Yaomo attacks at any time, so..."

You have to stay outside.

Hearing Lin Yu's words, Old Zheng sighed deeply, "Alright, boss... is there a high-temperature allowance?"

"Did you already have a salary and subsidies before?"

"How heartless...!"

Even Lin Yu, whose physique is considered above average in the Black Marsh World, felt thirsty and burning. Old Zheng, a former "Tier 3" cultivator, even started trying to get Lin Yu to put it back into the [Item Space]...

The other ordinary bodyguards in the group were naturally even more dizzy from the heat, with their lips cracked.

Several of those who were previously injured fell into a coma and groaned incessantly; just listening to them was enough to convey their extreme pain.

The employer, "Fei Dao," was lying motionless on the horse's back, on the verge of fainting from heatstroke.

Aside from Lin Yu, the only others in the team who were in slightly better condition were Yue Zhenqiao and his two deputies, the head and Deputy Caravan Leader).

Of course, there are also Three Suns and Li Nian. Three Suns goes without saying. As a native Yaomo of the Fire Hell and a leader-level Yaomo, Three Suns doesn't like being exposed to the sun, but it obviously has an outstanding ability to withstand high temperatures.

Even as Noon approached, the Three Suns only occasionally flicked its tongue to dissipate heat, showing no signs of weakening.

As for Li Nian, she had the mildest symptoms among the humans.

She wore sunglasses, hummed a song, and even had the leisure to look around and chat with Lin Yu.

"On such a hot day, I wish I had a big watermelon—preferably the kind that's chilled, not from the refrigerator but from well water. I could just snap it open, cut off a big slice, and eat it straight away. The juice would be so cold it would hurt my gums, that would be so refreshing!"

"Hey, Sister Zhu Ming, do you prefer crunchy or sandy watermelons? I like crunchy, juicy ones. Sandy watermelons are sweet, but I always feel a tickle in my throat after eating them..."

Lin Yu asked helplessly, "Aren't you hot at all?"

"Fortunately, this outfit was stolen from a reputable source; it's useful for both keeping warm and avoiding the heat," Li Nian said, her fingertips trembling slightly. Only then did Lin Yu notice that she was wearing a layer of transparent Soft Clothing. "However, although Biaotou Yue is getting increasingly anxious, we should be able to find a place to rest soon."

Li Nian spoke, Lin Yu seemed somewhat surprised.

How did you know?

He was too hot to even observe Yue Zhenqiao.

"Because he's starting to struggle with something," Li Nian said calmly, "Especially when he's looking at the Map ... This means that Yue Biaotou is struggling with something..."

Lin Yu's thinking hadn't been affected by the high temperature, so he reacted after hearing what Li Nian said.

"Biaotou Yue planning to take a shortcut, or perhaps skip the originally planned resting village and spend the Noon somewhere else?"

I guess so.

Li Nian nodded.

Before long, the caravan finally left the territory of Fu Yuan Mountain —as they walked out of the valley, two downhill forks appeared before them.

The path on the left leads to a mountain with complex and treacherous terrain, while the path on the right leads to another mountain with complex and treacherous terrain.

The escort leader Yue Zhenqiao took out the map and hourglass for the last time here - and he even stopped to look at it.

Finally, Yue Zhenqiao made up his mind.

"Gentlemen, it's probably too late for us to go to 'Five Springs Village' now, as it's almost Noon... So this time, we'll take another route, a closer one, and go to Chen Family Fortress on the other side of 'Double Saw Mountain' to rest and recuperate."

"We'll replenish the water bags at the well and give the wounded a chance to rest. Then we'll head to Five Springs Village to rest as planned tonight."

Yue Zhenqiao tried to sound cheerful as he spoke.

Upon hearing this, the bodyguards in the group seemed somewhat shocked by the decision and were all conflicted.

"Double Saw Mountain? Chen Family Fortress?"

"This..."

But soon, the Deputy Caravan Leader bodyguard/escort) spoke again, dispelling the doubts in the group.

"Chen Family Fortress is much shorter than Five Springs Village; it only takes less than fifteen minutes to get Chen Family Fortress now, and setting off tomorrow isn't too far a detour... What Lao Yue suggested is the best solution right now!"

"If we grit our teeth and make our way to Five Springs Village, we'll be fine if we arrive safely and manage to find a place to rest just as Noon begins. But if we're blocked by monsters even for a moment, that would be a huge problem!"

After the Deputy Caravan Leader) spoke, everyone was finally convinced.

"Alright, I'll follow Biaotou Yue's orders."

The bodyguards turned their horses around and followed Yue Zhenqiao onto the mountain path on the left.

Lin Yu, who was mixed in with the group, frowned again.

"It seems there's something strange about Chen Family Fortress..."

Based on what the Deputy Caravan Leader) said, Chen Family Fortress is much closer than Five Springs Village.

What was Yue Zhenqiao struggling with before?

After Yue Zhenqiao presented this plan, what were these ordinary bodyguards hesitating about?

There must be something strange about Chen Family Fortress that's causing them such distress!