Chapter 176 - Camp Continued.
The party traveled for over fifteen hours and covered tens of thousands of miles before reaching the end of the sandy ocean.
They had been in this world for over seventeen hours, and the sun had yet to come up. It seemed to be eternally twilight in this world, or perhaps the sun only came out for a limited time every year.
But whatever the case, the world was cold and extremely dry. They had to stop several times to let the mounts rest and rehydrate, even Bai was having a tough time.
The cold winds started picking up soon after they left the desert. Thankfully the new area was full of massive gullies that allowed them to travel with relative ease.
They finally choose an open space where three different gullies met. The middle of the intersection was about two kilometers wide and was more than big enough to accommodate everyone.
After scrutinizing every single part, Hao Xuan finally gave them permission to settle down for the night.
There was one main camp, with three smaller clusters of tents inside. The Shi Clan and Ma Clan each had one, whereas everyone else was banded together.
The boundaries of the camps were made by reinforced wooden planks that they brought, and were to be patrolled by people from all three sides, taking turns. They set up several formations including some light defensive ones and many warning formations. All of them had to be set up individually and took more than an hour to set everything up.
Hao Xuan was sitting on the side of one of the gulleys, staring down at everyone working together. He couldn't help but praise himself for coming up with the idea of the portable camp. How much time and more importantly, effort, it would take if he did all this alone every single time he wanted to rest?
*Crunch*
There was a movement from his right. He turned towards the sound and saw Ma Yu cleaning her hands on her pants. She had just climbed up and was smiling at him, "From what I heard from older sister, I thought you would be down there helping them," she looked at the camp below.
"From what you heard?" he raised an eyebrow, "You probably heard wrong then. Unless I feel like it, I don't go out of my way to help random people. Not to mention those guys need to do this a lot more, so its better if they get used to it now," he shook his head.
Ma Yu let out a giggle, "You really are just like sister said," she said cheekily.
Hao Xuan stared at her and couldn't help but compare her to Sin. She really was too different. He remembered the last time he saw her, she looked quite sad going back to the Ma clan.
"Is she okay?" he looked back at the camp and asked gently.
Ma Yu was taken aback for a few seconds by the sudden change in Hao Xuan's tone but then the smile on her face got even wider.
"Mhm. Older sister is older sister. She never tells me anything."
She looked at Shi Chun who was feeding his already fat Imperial Rhino while having a full-on conversation with it and continued, "When she found out about my marriage with Prince Chun, she said she would kill all the descendants of the Shi clan if they forced me to marry him. That's why they set this up, to appease her. Even great grandfather had to give in to her demands."
"Great grandfather? The Old King Ma?!" Hao Xuan's eyes widened from shock. This person who was thousands of years old, the one everyone feared, had to give in to Sin? A girl barely as old as him?
"Yes. Outsiders may call him ruthless, but he does it for a good reason. "It's better they die free than be toyed with by other people," he says. Older sister always fights with him about everything and he usually gives in, unless it affects the entire clan."
"Wow..." Hao Xuan couldn't help but re-evaluate his image of the man. In his mind, it was a wretched old man that desired blood and sacrifices from his own kin, but to others, he was the exact opposite.
Shi Chun felt their gaze and waved at them for afar.
"He doesn't look like a bad kid," Hao Xuan mumbled.
"Mhm. He is a good person. Sister used the full power of the clan to find out everything about him. She even kidnapped and tortured a few people close to him, but they all said the same thing. "He is a kind person". But she didn't believe them and said I had to meet him myself," she waved back.
"Is that right..." he looked at Shi Chun, surprised. If even the first daughter of an assassin clan couldn't dig up any dirt on the kid, maybe he really was clean.
They talked for a few more minutes until the older couple called for Ma Yu.
Zeng Yu was standing in front of the main camp door, waiting for Hao Xuan.
"Captain," he saluted, "Your tent has been set up," he gestured towards the largest tent in the area.
"A-Actually, I'm good. I don't need it," Hao Xuan shook his head. He forgot to tell them not to make one for him.
"Sorry?" Zeng Yu looked at him confused.
Hao Xuan walked towards the side where there was an open spot. Hyson and company had taken this area and were setting up.
"Hello, do you mind trading with me? You can have that one," he pointed at the tent Zeng Yu had set up. It was much better than what even the princess had.
"?!!" Hyson just looked at him with a blank face. Was this a joke? Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked on with interest. Was the great captain bullying someone?
"Um, sure?" Hyson hesitatingly replied.
"Great!" Hao Xuan smiled and took out his portable camp. He threw it down and it unpacked instantly.
In the previously empty space now stood a small wood cabin, a burning campfire, a stove on the side and even a separate bathroom.
"Wha-" Rong Li's mouth was open wide. He kept rubbing his eyes but the scene in front of him didn't change.
Even Ma Yu and Shi Chun who were staring from afar were surprised.
"Ah, finally, home sweet home," Jin Wang's voice came from a corner of the camp and he appeared out of nowhere, walking into the portable camp like it was his own personal property.
Hao Xuan's smile turned into a scowl and he quickly followed after while shouting, "Oi oi, what the hell did I tell you about personal boundaries?!"
As soon as Hao Xuan entered, the camp's illusion formation activated and it vanished from sight.
"......"
"......."
"W-Wow. Rich people really do live different lives....." Kramson couldn't help but murmur, breaking the silence.
Time passed and most of them went to sleep, while some stood watch, including Zeng Yu.
The perpetual night got colder and colder in silence as the hours trickled by, the wind got louder and started sounding like the whine of an old car.
Zeng Yu who was standing on the wall with closed eyes opened them abruptly, alerted by movement a few hundred meters away.