Faraway Wanderers Novel (English Translation)

A Treacherous Situation

Chapter 48.

T/N: Certain representations of characters with physical disability in this chapter might be uncomfortable to some readers.

On the ground, that female puppet was still extending her leg; at first, Wen Kexing did not notice it and nearly stepped onto it, only leaping away when the flute sticking close to the floor swept at him. Behind him, the male puppet had already extracted its arm from the doorway and was turning in this direction. Wen Kexing picked Zhang Chengling up, flung him into the hole in the wall with a whirl of his arm, then bent to pick up Zhou Zishu in a bridal carry and jumped in close behind.

The male puppet ran over to where they were. Wen Kexing turned, eying that puppet guardedly, but that puppet seemed to be capable of moving in only two directions: it could only either advance or retreat, and did not have the ability to turn left or right. Unable to locate the humans, it kept turning in circles on the spot. The long flute in the female puppet’s hand landed a blow on his leg, and like the sharpest spear turned onto the most durable shield, they instantly came into conflict. With a loud crash, the two puppets toppled onto their fronts. On the receiving end of an attack, the male puppet jabbed at the female puppet’s head with his elbow, and then they started massacring each other in internal strife.

Wen Kexing finally heaved a sigh of relief, and instructed Zhou Zishu in a low voice, “Don’t talk.” He sealed a few of Zhou Zishu’s acupoints and set him down, frowning when he saw the bloodstains on his front. He told Zhang Chengling, “Little tyke, go over to that opening and take a look, if there’s some kind of…”

He paused, not knowing how to describe it. Gesturing with his hands, he said, "Round, ball-like thing about a foot tall rolling towards you, run. Come back and tell me about it.”

Zhang Chengling made a noise of understanding, and asked, “Senior, my shifu, he…”

For once, Wen Kexing was annoyed, and cut him off abruptly, “He’s fine, he won’t die.”

Zhang Chengling asked, “Senior, that thing you described, what is it?”

“I don’t know either,” Wen Kexing sighed, and pointed at the segment of wall that had been blasted open. “That’s the result of that thing exploding.”

Zhang Chengling looked in the direction his finger was pointing in, and was instantly troubled. Realising that this senior, who appeared very capable, had also been pursued to this location, he immediately ran to the other end without a single word and nervously stood guard there.

Wen Kexing reached out to open Zhou Zishu’s robes, but his wrist was pinned by the latter. In a hoarse voice, Zhou Zishu laughed, “What are you doing? Taking advantage of me when it’s opportune?”

Wen Kexing slapped his hand away. Poking him lightly in the chest, he said coolly, “Talk a couple of lines less. You’re about to kick the bucket, and you’re still so talkative.”

Zhou Zishu felt like he had come full circle in his life: he had just been called a rice bin by a glutton, and now, a chatterbox was claiming that he was talkative.

Wen Kexing gingerly unfastened his robe. When his gaze lighted upon the nails in Zhou Zishu’s chest, the light in his eyes unconsciously flickered. On the other hand, Zhou Zishu did not care at all. In between breaths, his chest and back felt like they were on fire. At once, he knew that the damage he had suffered was not superficial; he had most likely broken a bone and hurt his lungs. Forcing himself to hold back his coughing, he made himself take extremely shallow breaths, in case he aggravated his injury.

Wen Kexing flipped him over, saw the injury on his back, and could not help but suck in a breath. Frostily, he said, “An inch more to the side, and that thing could have broken your spine, do you believe it?”