Early the next morning, the attendant gently shook him awake from his sleep. Qi Rusong staggered into the pre-dawn morning while still sleepy. He found that his mount was already saddled and bridleed, and the second prince himself was already on the horse.

.

"Get up and pull like a pine. Wake up soon, today's game will start soon."

"Competition?" he asked in confusion.

"Yes, a competition to hunt monsters!" Guyang's breath steamed in the air-conditioning.

Only then did Qi Rusong see Zheng Yuanfeng, He Xiao, and the Crown Prince of the West leading a dozen guards following the prince. It seemed that he had no other choice but to rub his sleepy eyes, change clothes, and mount his horse.

The second prince rode his black horse and galloped all the way, with everyone following closely.

In about a stick of incense, they arrived at their destination: the edge of a wild and deep forest that was comparable to a ghost forest.

The ministers and spectators of Daxia Kingdom have been waiting at the temporary campsite for a long time.

Before Qi Rusong could ask questions, the Crown Prince of the Western Realm shouted loudly:

"Today is the highlight of the martial arts tournament." As he said this, he cleared his throat, "As we all know, thousands of years ago, the demon clan treated us as slaves that were worse than dogs.

They massacre our people at will, torture our women, and burn down our houses. And what is even more terrifying, they will even eat us as food during war.

Fortunately, there are ancient gods who led our ancestors to defeat these man-eating evil spirits and restore peace to us.

Today, there are still monsters who have escaped from the seal and are doing evil in the five realms of our Great Xia Kingdom. Now here, we have captured this group of bastards. What should we do?"

"Kill them. Kill them." the crowd began to chant.

"No, we are noble people, unlike them, who are a group of evil ghosts who eat people without blinking an eye. Therefore, we will give them a chance to regain their freedom.

Next, they will be released into the forest, and as long as they can get out of the forest on their own, they will be free to leave."

Can you really leave? Qi Rushong secretly said.

"Rusong, are you ready? We are going to go on a killing spree!" Guyang said with excitement.

A killing spree? Let us hunt the monsters released into the forest! He reacted immediately.

"Let us talk beforehand. We are not allowed to use spiritual energy or fly with our swords. Otherwise, who can win against strong men like you!" the second prince added again.

"It's natural."

At this time, about sixty demon clansmen were brought out. They were shackled, sallow and thin, and covered with injuries.

Soldiers armed with sharp swords drove them into the forest and unshackled them.

"Is this a demon tribe?" Qi Rushong sighed.

"Is it different from the demon trouble you saw in the Southern Realm last time?" the Crown Prince of the Western Realm asked.

Of course it's different, he wanted to say.

But Gu Yang answered first, "Most of them are [travelling demons]!"

"Shouldn't time-traveling demons be tried by the Demon Hunting Sect?" He Xiao asked. "Rusong and I have been at the Demon Hunting Sect headquarters recently, and we have never heard of any incidents involving time-traveling demons!"

"I personally witnessed the trial!" Guyang said.

Qi Rushong naturally didn't believe it.

Seeing his expression, Zheng Yuanfeng said dissatisfied, "Why, do you two sympathize with these [travel demons]?"

"What are you talking about?" He Xiao retorted. "You have to ask questions clearly."

"Don't argue. If you continue to argue, these monsters will really run away." Guyang interrupted them, "The winner this time will get ten thousand taels of gold. Warriors of the Great Xia Kingdom, the hunting and crossing begins!"

After saying that, the second prince rode away. Zheng Yuanfeng, the crown prince of the Western Region and all the generals of Zhongzhou City immediately rode up to follow.

"Stop looking and let's go. Maybe it's really a time-travelling demon!" He Xiao advised him.

"is it possible?"

"With so many big names testifying together, what else can we say? Why don't we have a competition and make some money to give to the poor people in [the rat's nest]."

"You go ahead, I'm not interested!"

He Xiao sighed, then clamped the horse's belly and entered the forest.

After a long time, he found countless pairs of eyes behind him looking at him, so he had to ride slowly into the forest.

The woods here are not very dense, and the ground is covered with fallen leaves. There are roads one after another in the middle of the woods, with both sides of the road blocked by dense bushes.

While riding along, I saw corpses on the ground from time to time.

He examined several of the corpses and found that they were all covered with scars. They had no shoes on, their feet were bare, and their heads had been cut off.

He doesn't know how long he has been riding, and time has no concept for him now.

Suddenly, he found that he had reached a dead end, and there was a cliff beyond.

So he had to turn his horse's head and planned to ride back, but then he heard movement in the direction from which he came.

"Who?" He took a closer look and saw a figure hiding in the bushes. "Are they the hunted [travel demons]?"

He slowly walked towards the bushes, and when he got closer, the figure suddenly rushed out and ran towards a big tree nearby.

He saw it, it was a thin girl.

The girl's foot seemed to be injured and she limped behind a tree.

"Come out. I won't hurt you." Qi Rusong said in a soft voice.

The girl didn't answer, she just stretched out her head in fear and glanced at him secretly.

"Look, I don't have any weapons, I won't hurt you." Qi Rusong continued to explain.

After a long time, the girl finally plucked up the courage and slowly leaned out, "Sir, don't kill me. I'm not a demon!"

~~~Separating line~~~

When she heard the movement in the forest, she was hiding in a bush full of thorns. Her naked body was stabbed to pieces by barbs. She endured the severe pain and remained motionless as a stone.

Is it the people who hunt him? Or is it the wild beast in this forest?

She was shaking with fear and breathing rapidly.

Don't make any noise! ​​She told herself.

She could still remember the scene not long ago in her mind, where the villains rode on tall horses and chopped down their companions with sharp knives. Then they dismounted and cut off their heads with a smile, as if to show off their trophies.

It's just...why does the person in front of me look like he is outing in the forest? His eyes are full of helplessness and pity? Who is he?

The sound of horse hooves gradually faded away...

There's a cliff over there... she was thinking.

Not long ago, she and Pearl, who was one year younger than her, were chased to the edge of a cliff.

Pearl lost the courage to live and chose to jump off the cliff. The people who hunted them kept cursing. Some of them planned to give up Pearl's head, while others chose to take a detour to get the trophies they picked up for free.

She hid behind a pile of rocks on the edge of the cliff, and Pearl attracted their attention, allowing her to narrowly escape.

Should I keep running away or hide here...

That person will turn back soon, will he find me...

Time passed little by little, but she never had the courage to walk out of the grass.

If you don't decide, it will be too late... As you hesitate, the sound of horse hooves is heard again.

Suddenly, a wild rat bit her injured ankle. She was so anxious that she pinched the animal and bit it to death.

But such movement also attracted the man's attention.

The man stared at the bushes and walked slowly.

Her heart was about to drop into her throat, and her body could not stop shaking.

Seeing that the man was about to walk to the bushes, she couldn't help it anymore and rushed out screaming.

The injury on her foot made it difficult for her to walk. When she ran to a big tree, she could no longer hold on and had no choice but to hide behind the tree.

"Come out. I won't hurt you." The man's voice was extremely gentle.

She couldn't help but stretched out her head and looked at the man.

Their eyes met each other, filled with emotion.

Qi Rusong got off his horse and saw the girl in front of him with a frightened face.

She was thin and thin, her hair was of different lengths and messy, and she wore almost no clothes. The only thing that could be called clothes were a few tattered pieces of coarse cloth.

The naked body was covered with scars, there were no shoes on the feet, and the blood-soaked feet turned purple from the cold.

For a moment, he felt infinite pity.

"Are you a demon?" he asked.

The girl shook her head subconsciously.

"Then come here, I won't hurt you." Qi Rusong emphasized again.

The girl was doubtful, "Are you really not going to kill me?" she asked tremblingly.
To be continued...