Chapter 90: Chapter 90: The White Mist Dumpling
 

The sudden bellow of a cow instantly invigorated the group, and the limitless fear of the white fog was momentarily alleviated as they found a target.

Qi Yue glanced at Zhang Fang but didn’t respond to his question, instead, the group quickly headed southeast.

“Moo…”

Another urgent call sounded.

Qi Yue’s face changed, “Not good, someone got there before us.”

Zhang Fang immediately ordered the first team to hasten their steps, with the rest tightly following behind.

As the path was already invisible, people from the leading team kept stumbling and falling as they sped up.

With Zhang Fang’s reminders in mind, Qi Yue walked quite steadily.

Gradually, the sounds around them became more and more chaotic.

There were the roars of cows, the clanging of gongs, and a faint scent of blood lingered in the air.

“Someone is trying to enrage the White Rhino,” Zhang Fang suddenly said.

Cows, due to their violent temper, can easily be agitated by sudden loud noises. The sharp sound of gongs, in particular, is like a charge horn to their ears. They would keep charging and crashing in the direction of the gong sounds until they’re beaten to death.

Qi Yue pursed her lips and spoke faintly, “We can’t be sure it’s the White Rhino yet.”

Hearing this, Zhang Fang was startled for a moment, then quickly added, “Right, we should confirm it first.”

Just then, someone from the team ahead suddenly screamed, followed by a thud.

The white fog swirled and flowed around them, as if they were in a giant pot, and the “thud, thud” sounds were like giant dumplings being dropped into it.

In an instant, the team ahead seemed to be swallowed by something, and immediately fell silent.

Zhang Fang quickly called out a few names, but there was no response.

With no one knowing what had happened, an even greater fear enveloped them, and nobody dared to move forward anymore.

“The fog can kill!”

“Ah, there’s something in the fog…”

A few screams later, two more people were gone.

Zhang Fang hurriedly ordered everyone to stay close together and remain still.

But the people in the team were obviously terrified.

“I’m not going any further, I don’t want to die!”

Suddenly someone yelled, cut the rope, and ran back in the direction they came from.

Seeing this, others also became restless. The immense fear made them forget about the punishment they would face for defying military orders.

The situation was critical, and Qi Yue immediately calmed the crowd.

“Don’t panic, everyone. It’s hard to distinguish the direction now, and running around will leave us with even less chance of survival.”

Zhang Fang also sternly warned about the severe punishment for those who attempted to flee, eventually managing to quell the unrest.

But the problem now was that the first team in front had gone silent, and no one dared to go forward to check what had happened.

“Doctor Qi, what should we do now?”

Zhang Fang asked her, helpless.

Truth be told, even Qi Yue was getting anxious.

The white fog was too eerie. If it were just as written in the books—if the fog could kill people, turning anyone who approached it into part of the fog, or if there were mysterious creatures within the fog devouring humans—then she truly dared not take the risk.

Preserving her life was critical, after all, she wasn’t omnipotent!

The noise from the southeast grew louder, the roaring of cows seemed to tear the dense white fog apart, and the ground also trembled faintly.

“Take a detour.”

If there was something wrong with the fog ahead, then they should change directions. There was no reason why others could enter and find the White Rhino, while she could only be trapped here.

After a moment of contemplation, Zhang Fang saw no other choice and reluctantly redirected the team, continuing forward.

No one dared to speed up now; it was a gradual, cautious shuffle forward.

Fortunately, after changing directions, they did not encounter any more bizarre incidents.

But the fog was getting thicker, and it seemed to carry some kind of flying dust within.

Qi Yue secretly put on her night vision goggles, only to realize they were utterly useless in the white fog; she had to put them away again.

Now she felt somewhat relieved that someone had arrived before them and had found the White Rhino, though she was unsure if the one being encircled was the White Rhino. At least there was a target; otherwise, they wouldn’t know which direction to go.

People stumbled as they walked, often tripping over their own comrades due to the close quarters. Zhang Fang had no choice but to let people cut the ropes, maintaining groups of three to avoid any disasters that might wipe them all out.

Thankfully, after the detour, the chaotic sounds became clearer.

It was then that Qi Yue started to understand.

“Guard Zhang, do you feel like the sounds are coming from the opposite direction?”

Zhang Fang’s expression tensed as he listened closely.

“Indeed, it sounds like it’s coming from the southeast, but it’s actually coming from the west. After we changed our direction, we inadvertently got closer.”

This unexpected discovery once again filled everyone with confidence, and they quickened their pace.

In fact, there was a mountain here called Mirror Mountain, which could misplace sounds and, thereby, mislead people.

In such a fog, the slightest misdirection could lead to death. Those who had figured this out usually did so just before meeting their demise, so it was never recorded and known to others.

The sound of the cow’s roar grew louder, it sounded like nearly a hundred people were attacking a cow.

As they drew closer, everyone was dizzy from the thunderous gong that rang out to the sky.

Zhang Fang ordered everyone to stop and discuss their strategy.

Having followed Hu Chengxuan on military campaigns for many years, he naturally had his own set of strategies.

“Since we can’t see anything now, let’s spread out and blend in with them, waiting for the right moment to take control of the cow, and then Qi Yue can extract the horn.”

Qi Yue agreed with this proposal for the most part.

Zhang Fang then agreed on a signal, and teams of three spread out, groping their way closer to the encirclement in the fog.

Qi Yue naturally teamed up with Zhang Fang, accompanied by another person tasked with protecting her.

The three quickly melded in with the hundreds of people, closely monitoring the situation within the encirclement through the fog.

For Qi Yue, her first priority was to confirm whether the one under attack possessed the horn of the White Rhino or not.

She had already confirmed with Huang Zai’an that the White Rhino Horn in the fog indeed had the ability to regenerate muscles and bones and to reconstruct broken bones.

But Huang Zai’an also said that there were actually two types of White Rhinos in the fog: one with a horn and one without.

If they were unlucky enough to encounter one without a horn, their efforts would be in vain.

Everything was proceeding tensely; Qi Yue noticed that the two people close to her were dressed like people from Western Chu, all in black clothes with faces covered by black veils. Apparently, the other side also had a doctor who was skilled in breaking fog poison.

Besides, they came well-prepared.

She noticed that they seemed to be carrying something heavy, constantly moving towards the center.

Occasionally, when the cow charged at them and “bang,” struck against those objects, a mournful cry would echo out.

The two people in front of her were holding a gigantic bronze gong, striking it continuously. The sound was almost enough to rupture eardrums. Fortunately, she wore earplugs.

Eventually, the enclosure grew tighter, while the sound of the gongs became louder and more frantic.

“Moo, moo…”

The short cries of the White Rhino indicated its weakening strength.

Qi Yue knew they were about to make their move.

She quietly tugged at Zhang Fang beside her to get ready, then quietly spread her hands, releasing the scent of the Spiritual Spring Water.

She was not very confident in this method of attracting the White Rhino; after all, it was too far away, and previously, attracting strange cows and tigers was always done at a close distance.

Suddenly, a sharp roar erupted from the blinding white fog, “Moooo….”

Accompanying the piercing roar, a fog ball tinged with gold burst through the mist and charged directly at them….