Within the thicket, densely packed thorns grew wild as a forest. Their branches were sharp as blades, their edges gleaming coldly, like living creatures born with a murderous aura. As the two pushed through, the thorns kept snagging, scraping, and stabbing, viciously lashing at their bodies.
After only a short distance, Ying Ming Hao was already a complete wreck.
Thorns had shredded his clothes beyond recognition, leaving scraps fluttering from the branches. Countless tiny cuts covered his exposed neck, arms, and ankles. Crimson blood trickled down his skin and soaked the tattered fabric, a shocking sight.
Even Little Chicken Kun, who had been sleeping curled up against his chest, failed to escape this undeserved calamity and suffered several nasty jabs from the thorns.
The little fellow angrily wriggled out of his embrace, his round body trembling. Rubbing the sore spots with his little claws, he looked around with glossy black eyes, both curious and aggrieved.
Ye Hua, following behind, fared somewhat better, but she had not escaped the ravages of the thorns either.
Several tears marred her skirt, branches had snagged her hair into disarray, and loose strands clung to the fine sweat beside her cheeks. The sharp thorns had nearly scratched her face, leaving her looking flustered and bedraggled.
The white horse accompanying them was in such a miserable state that it hurt to look at.
Bloody scratches crisscrossed its large body, the deeper ones exposing flesh and the shallower ones seeping blood. Its once-sleek coat was now mottled with crimson.
Its left foreleg was especially bad. A wild boar had already broken the bone in a collision, and although Ying Ming Hao had done his utmost to set it and fed the horse several precious Healing Pills, their headlong flight had allowed it no time to rest