Just as Tianqian City was preparing to open a path to Dingzhou, Jiang Wen and Hongluan were also slowly penetrating the heart of Cangzhou.
The closer they got to the prosperous areas of Cangzhou, the more tragic sights they encountered. Deranged monsters would often roar and charge at them, only to be cut down by Hongluan before they could get close.
Jiang Wen looked at those skeletal figures with skin like charred wood. They wandered aimlessly across the land, moving mechanically like zombies. Although they still retained some vitality, they were beyond saving. Hongluan called them the living dead, feeling both sympathy and disgust for these corrupted people.
Hongluan cleared away any living dead that blocked their path with her blade.
They once encountered a village where every household was filled with living dead corrupted by the scarlet energy. There were even children and infants, all withered like rotten wood, who shrieked and lunged at them when they saw them. In the end, Jiang Wen set the entire village ablaze, and the more he looked at these living dead, the more they reminded him of something.
Reminded him of what? Jiang Wen couldn't quite recall.
He only remembered that he should have encountered something similar before, even quite a few times.
"Strange, why can't I remember?" Jiang Wen rubbed his head in confusion, his recent memory seemed to be having some issues.
"What's wrong?" Hongluan asked Jiang Wen curiously.
"It's nothing, just a bit of a problem," Jiang Wen said, stopping as his hand reached for his storage pouch. He pinched the sachet beside the storage pouch, holding it up for a closer look.
"Is this sachet mine?" he asked Hongluan.
"Yes, it's yours. You even said it was something very important, worth taking out to look at every day," Hongluan replied casually while grilling meat.
"Take out to look at every day?" Jiang Wen frowned, opening the sachet. Inside was a folded talisman. After hesitating for a moment, he unfolded it.
"I understand," Hongluan nodded, although she didn't understand why Jiang Wen had to check that sachet every day, she wasn't a particularly curious person. Everyone had their own secrets, especially since Jiang Wen was her savior.
It was just a small favor, and she naturally kept it in mind.
Jiang Wen withdrew his thoughts, fed the Heavenly Fox some food, and then looked at the distant light tree, his expression revealing a hint of seriousness.
He knew what those living dead resembled; they were like people affected by the Great Mist, having lost their reason and nature. Jiang Wen had seen too many people corrupted by the Great Mist.
Their symptoms and appearance were exactly the same as these living dead, blindly attacking all living creatures.
It was just that the Great Mist had not appeared in the Great Qian Land for hundreds of years, and people had gradually forgotten this terrifying disaster.
The remains of that Sage were still burning at the Edge of the World, and how long they could continue to protect the Great Qian was unknown. Perhaps he should go there to take a look when he had the chance, to see the Sage who sacrificed himself to save the world.
However, Jiang Wen now had a question in his mind: was there any connection between the scarlet substance and the Great Mist? And who exactly was behind all of this?
Moreover, he was now experiencing some problems, not the influence of the power of corruption, but his memory seemed to be deteriorating daily. The longer he stayed on this scarlet land, the more severe the memory loss became. Sometimes, even his personality would change, presenting a different mindset.
Jiang Wen searched for the cause, but could not find any answers. He tried to use merit points to dispel this negative factor, but the stone tablet did not give any response.
He knew that this situation was very wrong, because in his experience, he had never encountered a problem that could not be solved with merit points. He had asked Hongluan about this memory loss situation, but Hongluan had not been affected in any way.
For this kind of thing to happen, there must be a cause and effect at play. Perhaps this matter was related to that light tree, related to the 'himself' he had encountered before.
But no matter what, he needed to take some precautions. The talisman in the sachet was the preparation he had made for this matter.
By storing his daily memories within it, he could recall everything when he unfolded the talisman. This would minimize memory loss and prevent any accidents.
However, Jiang Wen knew that a cunning rabbit has three burrows, and a person should also make multiple plans. Therefore, he had also prepared another backup plan, just in case.
"Here," Hongluan handed over the grilled meat. Jiang Wen took it, took a bite, and the taste was not bad.
"Your skills have improved," Jiang Wen smiled.
"Of course, if I hadn't made some progress after learning for so long, wouldn't I be letting down all the things you've given me?" Hongluan said with a grin, using her curved blade to cut off the grilled meat and savor it carefully.
As the two were eating, they heard a rustling sound.
Hongluan vigilantly grabbed her curved blade, glaring at the source of the sound. Jiang Wen, however, sat calmly by the campfire, unhurriedly picking up another piece of grilled meat and stuffing it into his mouth.
"Who!" Hongluan scolded, the curved blade in her hand already emitting a faint lightning glow. Ready to unleash a thousand lightning bolts at any moment.
"Please, Your Excellency, do not be alarmed," a deep voice came, and a person wearing a hood slowly walked into view.
His body was covered by a black cloak, and his face was obscured by the hood.
His feet were bare, and he slowly approached the campfire. Then, he squatted down by the fire, reaching out to take in the warmth.
"I am not a bad person, and I have no malice," the black-robed man said slowly.
"Who knows if you're good or bad, how can we trust you when you're so secretive? If you don't explain your intentions, don't blame my magic weapon for being ruthless," Hongluan rebuked without any politeness, the lightning glow in her hand making a buzzing sound like a thousand birds chirping.
The black-robed man sighed helplessly, looking down at the campfire and saying, "It's not that I'm unwilling to show my true face, it's just that I'm afraid of startling you two."
"Hmph, what's there to be surprised about? Even if you're one of the living dead, we wouldn't be surprised!" Hongluan replied unhappily.
The black-robed man was silent for a moment, he seemed to be persuaded by Hongluan. He reached out and placed his hand on the hood, slowly taking it off.
A decaying skull appeared before their eyes. Hongluan looked somewhat surprised, but she didn't show any fear. She retracted her dual blades, looking him up and down: "Who exactly are you?"
"I don't even remember my name anymore, but I know that I have never harmed anyone," the skeleton man said with a bitter voice, his emotions somewhat low. "I woke up in this place, and only encountered you after walking for a long time."
"I also want to ask if you know who I am?"
"Where did you come from?" Jiang Wen's voice came. The skeleton man was stunned for a moment, then raised his hand and pointed to a place.
"There."
"Mingzhou?" Jiang Wen nodded, not asking anything else.
