Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely-Chapter 1296 - 424: Suffering the Consequences, Hezang’s Orphan, Upheaval and Hatred_5
Ji Hong’s body suddenly shook violently. He turned to look at Chen Yiqing, his blood-soaked pupils revealing no emotion, and said in a deep voice, "Senior Chen is right. Going back now means certain death. I was confused..."
He paused, then continued to ask, "I remember Senior Chen is from Beishuo Town. Could you point Ji Hong to a clear path?"
Chen Yiqing’s expression brightened slightly. He nodded and said, "Ji Hong, my young brother, I’ve known you for some time, so let’s not talk about vague things. Given the current power of Great Xia, coupled with the Zhao Family’s influence, you staying around the Nine Towns will sooner or later lead them to you. It’s better to leave this place, find somewhere safe to focus on cultivation, wait until the day when you’re stronger, then come back to seek revenge against the Zhao Family for your sister. It’s not too late, is it?"
Ji Hong immediately nodded at Chen Yiqing, clearly moved.
"Since you trust me, Ji Hong, then come with me. I will ensure your safety."
"Alright, trouble Senior Chen then. However..."
Ji Hong paused again, holding his sister’s corpse in his arms, and continued, "I can’t let Ah Jiang’s body just lie exposed in the wilderness. Senior Chen, please give me some time; I want to properly bury Ah Jiang, hold a ceremony, then leave."
Chen Yiqing immediately nodded and said, "That’s the way it should be. But Zhao Bao could send people here anytime, it’s best to hurry, Ji Hong!"
Ji Hong nodded, then ceased to dally. He stood, surveyed his surroundings, found a relatively secluded spot, and carried his sister’s corpse over. He then cleared the area of snow and began digging a pit, using both his hands and a knife.
Although the ground of Ice Abyss was hard, he nonetheless possessed Nine Manes strength, quickly digging out a deep two-meter elliptical pit. After comparing its size, he jumped out and carefully placed his sister’s body into the pit.
Looking at Ji Jiang’s corpse in the pit, his expression was one of extreme anguish, unwilling to begin the burial process, even repeatedly glancing at the big saber in his hand, clearly contemplating something extreme.
He suddenly raised his head, speaking to Chen Yiqing not far behind him, "Senior Chen, I need to say some words to my sister alone, would you mind..."
"Alright, I’ll keep watch to the south; if someone comes, I’ll notify you immediately!"
Chen Yiqing had no objections and nodded before walking towards the south, stopping over a hundred meters away, seemingly really keeping watch for Ji Hong.
Ji Hong took a deep breath, finally starting to fill the pit with soil.
"Ah Jiang, rest assured, brother will definitely avenge you!"
"Zhao Bao, Zhao Hu, Zhao Long, and the entire Zhao Family, I won’t spare a single one. They’ll all accompany you in death."
"I’m not strong enough now, but when I am, when I’m strong, no one will be able to stop me, I will kill them, kill them..."
......
Inside the pit, Ji Hong kept repeating these words, clearly firming his resolve to avenge his sister.
Chen Yiqing, over a hundred meters away, twitched his ears slightly, a cold smile appearing on his face.
Yet, he didn’t see Ji Hong silently pull out a yellow candle while speaking.
He lifted Ji Jiang’s body and quietly lit the yellow candle on her back.
At the moment the yellow candle lit, two black dots abruptly appeared in Ji Hong’s pupils. As they emerged, a painful expression crossed his face. Then, the two black dots were slowly evaporated into black mist by the candlelight, wisps rising from his pupils.
The moment the black mist was completely extracted, Ji Hong’s body shook violently.
"Zhao Bao, Zhao Hu, Zhao Long, and Zhao Yuanxiu must all die!"
"Not just them, I won’t spare a single one of the Zhao Family!"
"Ah Jiang, rest easy, I will slaughter the Zhao Family so they all accompany you in death..."
Inside the pit, Ji Hong tightly clenched his fists, continuing to speak, but his gaze had quietly shifted toward where Chen Yiqing stood to the south, the towering hatred in his pupils nearly becoming tangible, soon accompanied by blood tears overflowing from his eyes.
Ji Hong quickly finished burying his sister’s body, then cut down a large tree nearby, shortly crafting a wooden board. After carving the words "Ji Jiang’s Grave" with his saber, he placed it at the front of the small mound.
"Senior Chen, let’s go!"
Chen Yiqing turned his head, seeing Ji Hong had regained vitality, immediately revealing a satisfied smile, nodded, and led him eastward.
"We can’t go back to Hongmen Realm any longer. Heading eastwards through Beining Mountain, we’ll reach Jiangyan Realm of Chui Mountain Town. Once there, continue north, and we’ll generally be safe."
"I’ll follow the senior’s lead!"
......
In the ninth year of Great Xia, on March 5th, early in the morning
"Ah Jiang, Brother Ji, are you home?"
At the entrance of Ji Jiang’s residence in Hongmen North District.
Zeng Rou, staring at the still tightly shut door, was full of confusion.
"This is the fourth day already, did I miss them again? They should have returned at this hour, right? Could it be they’re hunting during the day?"
On March 1st, the night Ji Hong returned, Zeng Rou had already known, and Ji Hong took Ji Jiang to the Treasure Tower to see her. Unfortunately, she had to work at the Treasure Tower at night and couldn’t leave. When she finally made time to get back to her North City residence, she found the Ji Hong siblings had already gone hunting.
It was a bit unfortunate. In the early days of the month, she was quite busy and only had four hours to rest each day, starting from the last hour of the night.
Zeng Rou was aware of Ji Jiang’s recent worry about the supply source. Ji Hong finally had seven days of free time, so he would surely help Ji Jiang stock up on Beast Skin. Hunting eagerly is understandable.
Yet, four consecutive days, and she missed them all?
This was too coincidental!
Zeng Rou’s brows furrowed slightly as she suddenly knocked on a neighbor’s door nearby.
Quickly, a young woman came out, smiling as she saw Zeng Rou, "Miss Zeng, is it really you?"
"Sister Zhu, have you seen Ah Jiang and her brother go out or come back in the past four days?"
In North City, the residents are all from Great Xia, and with Zeng Rou frequently visiting Ji Jiang’s house previously, they all knew each other in the neighborhood.
Upon hearing this, Zhu frowned and said, "I thought Ah Jiang went back to Xia City with her brother. No, I haven’t seen them at all! Their house has been empty these four days; no one has gone in or out."
Upon hearing this, Zeng Rou’s expression froze.
Seeing her expression, the Zhu woman immediately understood something and exclaimed, "They didn’t go back to Xia City..."
The woman’s expression stilled, then she hurriedly said, "Out for four days without returning or notifying anyone, they must have encountered something. Miss Zhu, you should quickly report this to the Prison Department, let them investigate what happened."
Great Xia’s administration is now quite mature. Aside from a small number of people, others need a travel permit for movement within the realm, and there are resource areas near each base point. Cases of disappearing overnight are rare. Even if something takes several days, they would inform someone beforehand. Situations like the Ji siblings, either they ran into trouble or...
"Thanks, Sister Zhu, I’ll go to the Prison Department to report!"
Zeng Rou’s expression instantly became tense, without thinking further, she turned and ran towards the direction of the Ministry Building.
The Zhu woman watched Zeng Rou run off, then turned to look at the locked door next to her, sighing softly.
"Ah, this pair of siblings are also cursed by fate!"
