Chapter 278: Chapter 247 Swarm of Insects_1

“Miss, someone is approaching!”

Zhao Yan had just alighted the carriage and sat down to rest by the bonfire for a moment when Zhao Yunlong, her head of guards, hurriedly came to report.

“Who is it?”

Zhao Yan’s brow furrowed slightly, her cherry lips gently parted, her voice soft and calming.

“It’s an old man, around seventy or eighty years old, riding a donkey!” warned Zhao Yunlong.

Now, with the late evening shrouding everything in darkness, and being in this desolate and remote area, anyone would find the sudden appearance of an aged man suspicious.

This world was full of monsters, demons, and all types of eerie creatures.

“Everyone, be on your guard and act accordingly!” Zhao Yan commanded sternly.

Normally, she might not be this vigilant, but this time she had found something particularly precious, so she couldn’t help but be extra careful.

“Yes!”

Zhao Yunlong acknowledged before swiftly going off to relay the orders.

Before long, an old man dressed in green clothes and riding a donkey appeared in their line of sight.

At the sight of the old man, Zhao Yan’s gaze slightly hardened.

The weather hadn’t yet reached midsummer but already, the wilderness was bone-chilling cold at night. The old man was sparsely clothed, so he probably wasn’t ordinary.

He might even be a cultivator!

However, Zhao Yan found the man’s choice of transportation – the donkey – rather odd.

At first sight, the donkey seemed to be a typical one owned by rural farmers. Not a mount a cultivator would prefer since even walking seemed to be faster.

This strange pair was confusing her.

The donkey appeared weak and had presumably been on its feet for quite a while. Despite not carrying its owner, it was huffing and puffing as if it was ready to drop.

“You lazy beast! If you keep this up, I’ll turn you into donkey meat buns once we reach the city!”

The old man grumbled and grunted, pushing the donkey to a side of grassland then, he himself sat down under a tree to rest.

The old man was apparently not interested in interacting with them, and kept a distance of several hundred steps. If Zhao Yan wasn’t a cultivator herself, she probably wouldn’t have been able to hear the old man’s mumbling.

Given his actions, he was likely just passing by and not intentionally seeking them out.

“It seems he merely happened to be passing by.”

With that thought, Zhao Yan somewhat relaxed and signaled her fellows to ease their scrutiny.

Shortly after, a prepared meal was delivered to her.

Zhao Yan was about to take a bite when she stopped and instructed, “Send a portion to that old man.”

“Um, Miss, isn’t that inappropriate? We don’t know him at all!” Zhao Yunlong questioned with confusion.

“Meeting by chance is itself a kind of fate. We are not short of this small portion of food. Think of it as earning a favor.” Zhao Yan said with a smile.

If the old man bore them no ill will, then there was potential for friendship.

When traveling, it’s always better to have more friends and connections. Even if he turned out to be indifferent, there wouldn’t be any loss on her part.

“I understand now!”

Zhao Yunlong, who was familiar with the second miss’s character, said nothing more. He took a full platter of food and personally delivered it to the old man.

As the food was brought over, a flash of surprise flickered across the old man’s eyes.

Zhao Yan distantly made a gesture of goodwill towards the old man, indicating her sincerity.

The old man took the food and a subtle smile flickered across his face. Without a word of thank you, he snatched up a perfectly roasted rabbit leg and started eating. However, after just one bite, he spat it out and threw the food onto the ground.

“Sure enough, you can’t carelessly eat food given by strangers. You’ll get worms in your stomach!”

The old man muttered and trampled the discarded food a few times.

Zhao Yunlong, who had just delivered the food and hadn’t yet returned, watched the old man’s rude behavior and was so furious he was about to draw his sword.

“You little beast, do you want to keep eating? Do you want to get worms in your belly too!”

The old man kicked the donkey, who was happily munching on the food on the ground, then drew on the donkey’s reins, preparing to leave.

Zhao Yan, watching everything from afar, felt a surge of anger.

She had kindly offered him food, and it would have been one thing if he simply refused, but he threw it away and indirectly berated her in return.

How could such an ungrateful person ever reach his ripe old age?

Zhao Yan scolded in her heart.

At this time, another prepared meal was brought before her.

Zhao Yan was about to reach for it when she suddenly stopped.

A series of the old man’s reactions flashed through her mind. She had an odd sensation.

If the old man really had no intention of accepting her goodwill, why would he take the food and even eat a mouthful?

He took a bite?

Worms?

Her father had mentioned a group nearby, Divine Gu Valley, who were adept at breeding insects.

She abruptly stood up and shouted, “Everyone, don’t eat!”

The surrounding guards and workers were taken aback, oblivious of why their mistress suddenly seemed insane.

“Miss, you… Ah!”

The steward, Zhao Tai, who was about to ask what was wrong, suddenly let out a scream and fell to the ground in pain, writhing about.

Not only was it him, but almost half of their group fell down almost simultaneously.

At the same moment, a buzzing sound like that of mosquitoes came from all directions. It was so dense it felt like a thick darkness was about to completely engulf them.

“Light up all the torches! Everyone gather in the central carriage! Scatter the insect repellent!”

While shouting orders, Zhao Yan quickly took out several talismans from her pocket and launched them into the air.

Ice spikes, Wind Blades, Fire Trees, and Water Arrows swept out in all directions in an instant.

Large clusters of black clouds were shattered, revealing numerous small black bugs that had fallen to the ground.

“It’s indeed people from the Divine Gu Valley!”

Zhao Yan’s face darkened. She quickly slapped an amulet onto herself for protection.

She looked at the three other cultivators in her group, and found that only one was barely able to fight. The others had fallen down.

A sinking feeling overcame Zhao Yan.

This was enemy territory, they were at a disadvantage from the start, and now they had been caught off guard. Their strongest defenses were greatly diminished.

The guards, essentially devoid of combat strength, were brought along merely as a diversion. At the mercy of the swarm’s onslaught, they were falling quickly.

Despite the low individual strength of these insects, there seemed to be an endless number of them. Zhao Yan soon found it hard to hold them off.

The true disciples of the enemy had not even shown themselves yet.

“Can you all stop already? I already said, I’m only passing through!”

A disgruntled voice came from the old man in the distance.

Suddenly, the old man let out a cry of alarm.

“My donkey!”

The next moment, a streak of golden light shot out, darting rapidly through the forest like a golden shooting star. Then the sound of something soft being pierced echoed through the woods.

Buzz! Buzz!

The swarm of insects that were fiercely attacking everything in sight scattered and retreated in an instant, subsequently vanishing without a trace.

Zhao Yan ignored her fallen comrades for a moment and swiftly raced towards the old man’s location.

The old man was standing beside his fallen donkey, mumbling something under his breath.

“I had wanted to find you a good home, but it seems now that you’ll end up as donkey meat buns after all! Sigh! Tsk, tsk!”