Dust of History

Wyverns whizzed past the tree tops, and the swept air could be felt in the tree holes. These gigantic flying animals dominate the swampy night, adding to their diet all animals that emit body heat, even savages of their size.

    There was a smell similar to that of lizards in the air, which made the hunters feel very disgusted. He didn’t care if there was a connection between the two types of creatures, he just hated it. If it weren’t for these nightly haunts, he didn’t have to wait for dawn in the tree hole, he only needed one night to make the prey despair. If it weren’t for those unbearable odours that made his sense of smell suffer, he would not have been delayed by the trick that almost fooled him, and he would not have been glaring at the firelight in the distance right now.

    Why are you lighting up a bonfire? To eat and replenish your energy? Did he notice his trap failed? Or is this another trap?

    Are you provoking me? The Hunter thought furiously. Are you implying that: you’re just right there, come here quickly and let me rip your heart out?

    But the hunter immediately warned himself not to lose his cool. To lose your cool in the face of such cunning prey is fated to fall into a trap. There is no doubt that this is definitely a trap or an extension of the previous trap.

    The river is not far away, tomorrow morning, I will run with all my strength to hunt you, and then employ a fantastically pleasurable method to end the hunt. The hunter snorted excitedly and shook the powerful weapon in his hands. The brains and blood on it formed a thin casing that became a part of the weapon.

    Don’t get too excited, don’t get too excited, stay calm, stay calm. The hunter warned himself again. All traces seen tomorrow must be carefully observed, and meticulously considered, I will not get deceived again. Remember to watch out for illusions, watch out for illusions.

    Do you think I’m so gullible? Are you still proud of that brain of yours I’m about to dig out and savour slowly?

    The Hunter rejoiced at his calm thought and snorted again.

    The sword sliced open the skin, ripped the muscle, tore the throat, burst the arteries, then tore the muscles again, passed through the skin, and exits from the other side of the neck. This feeling is vividly realistic, he can feel it from his fingers to his wrist, to his elbow and finally his arm, and it quaked powerfully in his heart, The profound feeling was akin to exquisite poetry. Then the bright red blood flowed out of the woman’s body enthusiastically and merrily, allowing Aza to absorb it fully.

    A few strands of black hair were clinging to the thin lips, the lips pursed into a slightly cramped arc, the hanging eyes were squinted, and the long eyelashes contained a hazy smile. When I got closer, I realized that this was a spectacularly attractive woman.

    Aza suddenly felt terrified. Afraid of the gentleness held in the squinted eyes, the determination in the thin lips. The woman still had the same expression, but Aza was completely engulfed in the terror of this sudden discovery of tenderness and beauty.

    Then he realized that it wasn’t just the woman’s throat that had been cut, but also his own. Caressing the wound in his neck, the clear and distinct feeling when the incision was cut echoed in his chest. He wanted to use this feeling to fill the wound back, but there was nothing he could do. Aza groaned in incomparable pain.

    Looking at the woman’s beautiful and gentle face and the piercing wound on her neck, he felt his own wound with his hand. Sorrow, fear, and pain, embraced Aza tightly like the surrounding darkness, and Aza woke up instantly.

    The early morning dawnlight has emerged in the east, and the roar of the two-footed dragon is gradually disappearing. The creatures circled from the edge of the swamp and flew back to their lair in the depths of the swamp. The Hunter’s location is closer to the depths of the swamp, so this gives Aza the advantage of starting earlier.

    But Aza didn’t show much interest in this precious time but squatted beside the bonfire that was about to extinguish, watching blankly as the woman crushed water mint and pyrethrum with stones and smeared it on her clothes and skin. Until now, the feeling left by the nightmare is still reverberating in his mind, as if he can’t shake off the sticky snot, his mind is still disorganised. Fortunately, he could also really feel that his physical strength had almost completely recovered.

    The woman seemed to have slept well. After smearing, she began to pack things swiftly, and at the same time, she did not forget to chat with him: “You had such intense nightmare last night that it woke me up. I originally wanted to wake you up.”

    Aza stared blankly at the woman’s radiant face. Those beautiful hazy eyes, the straight bridge of the nose, the thin lips, and the thin white neck are looming in the clothes. Aza suddenly had the illusion of blood bleeding miserably on it, and shivered suddenly.

    The woman had already packed her bags and said her farewell to him: “Bye, if you have a chance in the future, you can come to Duke Murak’s mansion to find me in the royal capital.” She unfurled a smile that made the morning mist fill with tenderness like water. “My name is Xiaoyi.”

    There is no hope anymore. It’s either you die or I die. Aza didn’t dare to face this smile at all and stared at the ground and nodded.

    After watching the woman’s back disappear into the morning mist, Aza ran in the direction of the river.

    He didn’t jump into the river to hide his scent, and he didn’t mind leaving footprints on the soft mud that even the worst-sighted mice could see. He also doesn’t run fast, and this speed is the most efficient use of physical strength. He knew very well the hunter would see through any type of cover-up, so such a clear track might instead confuse him.

    Of course, it’s still possible for the hunter to follow this real footprint, but after passing the last trap, he will definitely have concerns, and this possibility should be relatively small. Aza suddenly found that he was expecting the footsteps of the hunter to sound behind him.

    But any illusion was indeed useless. This is the most efficient method. Once the hunter wastes his physical strength and time on the way to chase the woman, the possibility of escaping by himself is very high. Even after he killed the woman and then tracked him again, his physical strength will be better, and the possibility of winning against the hunter will improve. Aza shook his head, trying his best to focus on running step by step.

    But after running for less than half an hour, he saw a wide river in front of his eyes. He suddenly didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. Everyone’s assumptions, even the hunter’s, were wrong. Probably because of the rainy season, the river water was diverted from the low-lying swamp and passed directly through the swamp.

    At this moment, a faint scream sounded from the depths of the swamp.

    After such a long distance, the sound was already very weak, but it was like hitting a huge hammer on Aza’s heart. Immediately before his eyes, the dream of last night appeared, and the mournful wound on the woman’s throat was extremely clear. He froze in place, unable to move.