Nine Star Burden - Chapter 37

Chapter 37: White Ghouls’ Journey at Night
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

“Yours.” Han Jiangxue walked towards Jiang Xiao and took out the White Ghoul Witch’s corpse from the coffin before throwing it to Jiang Xiao.
“Thank you.” Jiang Xiao thanked her gratefully and could not help but sigh when he looked at the corpse beneath his feet.
The shape of the White Ghoul Witch’s body was different from that of the White Ghouls—it was much thinner and was as skinny as a bamboo. He had no idea how it managed to survive in this harsh environment with such a weak body.
Its cheeks were pale and devoid of blood. It looked all wrinkly and shriveled up like an actual corpse.
“In 7 days, we met two White Ghoul Witches. That’s considered extremely lucky. After absorbing this Star Bead, are you confident of upgrading your Blessing Star Technique to Silver Quality?” Han Jiangxue asked.
Jiang Xiao bore with the pain and crushed 200,000 yuan worth of Star Beads. He then gently shook his head. In the second tab of the map, slight changes happened in the first and second Star Techniques.
–
1. Blessing, Brass Quality Level 4
2. Decoy, Brass Quality Level 4
–
Jiang Xiao still had four Skill Points that could be used to upgrade his Star Technique to Level 8. However, he was still a few small levels behind.
“What’s that?” Jiang Xiao looked up at Han Jiangxue and suddenly saw a red fume of smoke rising from the sky near them.
In such a dim environment, a normal-colored red smoke was not easily noticed.
However, the smoke was rather bright and resembled a firework.
“Someone asked for help.” Han Jiangxue turned around and frowned.
“Shall we go and see?” Jiang Xiao asked.
Xia Yan explained, “This signal flare isn’t for us. It’s meant for the team of guardians here. As an Awakened, you shouldn’t be thinking of the signal flare as a cry for help, but a warning of dangers ahead.”
“They’re approaching us.” Han Jiangxue frowned and saw the second signal flare. It seemed to be coming from where they were at in the snow forest!
She reckoned that the enemy should be running at the fastest speed possible in the Northwest direction towards the city.
The other team had obviously delved deeper into the Southeast Route than Jiang Xiao’s team. She thought, Why did they have the confidence to could go so deep? Which creatures of other dimensions did they encounter? 1
What else is there here, apart from White Ghouls and White Ghoul Witches? 2
Xia Yan urged anxiously. “Let’s go. If we delay any longer, they might catch us.”
Han Jiangxue suddenly said, “It’s the most powerful team of creatures of other dimensions in the snowfield, the White Ghouls led by the White Ghoul Witch. This means that the White Ghoul Witch could be hunting and killing that team.”
Slightly stunned, Xia Yan asked, “What do you mean?”
“He needs this.” Han Jiangxue gestured to Jiang Xiao beside her.
“Jiangxue, are you really planning to do such a thrilling thing?” Xia Yan asked solemnly.
Han Jiangxue ignored Xia Yan and instead opened the coffin in the space, reached a hand in and pulled the two White Ghoul corpses out to empty the coffin.
“Eh, Xiaopi, I usually treat you well, don’t I? Hurry and help me persuade your sister.” Xia Yan stomped her feet anxiously. They could already hear the sounds of the White Ghouls roaring and yelling from the forests a significant distance away.
“Han Jiangxue, let’s go.” Jiang Xiao urged.
“You guys don’t seem to be able to see the situation clearly. Given the current situation, we won’t be able to flee even if we try our best to escape.” Han Jiangxue strode away quickly and left the path of snow that was covered in corpses. The two of them had no choice but to chase and catch up with her.
After walking for more than 100 meters, Han Jiangxue stopped when she was not too far away from the battlefield. She then hid behind a tree.
Slowly, the snow forest seemed to vibrate as if a huge army and horses were galloping towards them.
As the three of them hid cautiously behind the tree, they could see a dark figure running and crawling towards them. When he crossed the mountains and tried to search for the hopes of living, he was suddenly greeted with the sight of blood flowing like water.
Yes, in the forest, the Awakened who were running for their lives saw the bloodied corpses left behind by Jiang Xiao’s team.
It was a middle-aged male Awakened with fear written all over his face. When he passed by the battlefield, his experienced self picked up a corpse from the ground.
As he touched it, he noticed it was still a little warmth. His hopeless eyes were filled with a strong desire to survive, and he yelled, “Is there anyone? Is anyone nearby?”
The Awakened who cried for help continued running, for he dared not stop in his tracks at all. Groups of White Ghouls charged at him from behind, full of murderous and malicious intent.
“It’s the White Ghoul Witch’s offspring! It can be kept as a Star Pet! Save me, I will give you everything. Everything that I have now will become yours!” the Awakened yelled, his voice turning hoarse and muffled. His heart-wrenching voice was shaky and full of despair. 1
Jiang Xiao looked at Han Jiangxue beside him. He managed to see a different side to her.
To Jiang Xiao’s surprise, the 18-year-old Han Jiangxue was not at all touched by the scene in front of her, nor did she give in and grow soft-hearted because of the man’s cries and pleas.
There was no expression on her face and she seemed emotionless.
How cold were those eyes hidden behind the goggles at this moment?
At the next moment, a group of White Ghouls finally rushed out of the quaking snow forest.
When describing a large troop of enemies, people tended to use words like “a black patch”.
At this moment, Jiang Xiao saw “a white patch”…
A hundred ghouls are out on a journey at night!
No, the White Ghouls are out on a journey at night!
Hundreds of White Ghouls swarmed towards them while yelling and roaring in exasperation. In the snow forest, they did not move forward in an orderly manner like conventional troops. Instead, they bulldozed through the trees like human apes and Tarzan, shuttling on top of the trees and leaping in the air. The numerous black faces looked extremely daunting.
In an instant, the sky, ground, and trees seemed to fill with White Ghouls.
“Don’t panic, they will ignore us,” Han Jiangxue said abruptly.
Even though the trio had done their best to move away by more than 100 meters, they still underestimated the number of White Ghouls and did not move out of the range of the White Ghouls’ attacks.
Jiang Xiao was still feeling puzzled, but the next thing he knew, a group of White Ghouls rushed towards him.
“Guys, lie on the ground and do not move. Bear with it even if you get stepped on!” Han Jiangxue ordered sternly as she crouched and laid down on the snow.
Her cold voice filled Jiang Xiao’s and Xia Yan’s ears, though it was soon drowned out by the roaring that seemed loud enough to cause a landslide.
When a large troop passes, all beings are to retreat!
Jiang Xiao immediately got the goosebumps and hid behind the tree before lying down on the ground obediently.
At this moment, he was no longer Voldemort or a sly and cunning attacker. 1
He was just a small fry pretending to be dead, praying that the Great Sage would gain magical power and make the wild apes disappear quickly. 1
Huff…
A White Ghoul clearly landed on the tree above Jiang Xiao’s head and leaped up again quickly, causing a significant amount of snow to fall on Jiang Xiao’s body.
Thanks to the trees, Jiang Xiao did not get trampled by the oncoming apes, but he could often hear the heavy footsteps on both sides of his body.
The heavy footsteps caused snow to splash up onto Jiang Xiao’s body, though bringing him immense joy and bliss.
He thought, More, more, bury me well.
Han Jiangxue and Xia Yan were not silly either and adjusted their angles while hiding behind the tree.
Xia Yan also understood Han Jiangxue’s order. Although the three of them hid well while the troops passed by rapidly, they could not guarantee that the White Ghouls wouldn’t be able to find them.
What made Han Jiangxue truly terrified was what the man said about the White Ghoul Witch’s offspring.
In other words, the hatred of the White Ghouls had already vanished and wouldn’t care about the three of them.
The male Awakened might have a chance of surviving if he were to put the baby White Ghoul Witch down.
However, he still refused to let go at this juncture. How greedy. 1