Chapter 102 Wilderness Mummy (2) Di Shensi Calls for His Mother…

Chapter 102 The Wilderness Mummy (Part 2) Di Shensi Calls for His Mother...

Only one can leave? Yu Xing found it utterly baffling. Was it because Di Shensi’s legs had been bitten by three little monsters and he couldn’t walk, so he said that?

At a time like this, he still had the mood for morbid jokes?

Di Shensi sat on the ground, his face deathly pale. He didn’t seem to be joking.

“Get out of here!” Di Shensi urged anxiously.

But how could Yu Xing leave? How could she abandon Di Shensi here to die alone? She wouldn’t stand by and watch someone who deeply cared for her die.

“Enough!” Yu Xing suddenly shouted. “Shut up already!”

Even the frantic Di Shensi was startled by her outburst. Yu Xing accused, “Do I look like someone who would abandon a partner? We leave together or not at all!”

With that, she bent down, picked up several small stones from the ground, and hurled them at the mummy.

Witnessing this, Di Shensi nearly ground his teeth to powder. Clutching his chest, he yelled at Yu Xing, “This isn’t about being heroic! If you don’t leave now, it’ll be too late!”

Was Yu Xing the type to be easily persuaded? If she were, she wouldn’t have spent so many years in a psych ward.

The stones struck the mummy, causing it to pause mid-step before turning stiffly around.

This made Di Shensi nearly frantic. “I’m your superior! You must obey my orders—run now!”

She would run, but Yu Xing thought as she threw more stones at the mummy. The mummy’s attention shifted to Yu Xing, and it began advancing toward her.

Seeing that the mummy was now locked onto her, Yu Xing turned and ran.

With Di Shensi here, she couldn’t act freely. She needed to lure the mummy somewhere out of Di Shensi’s sight before dealing with it using other means.

She weaved for a while, certain that Di Shensi wouldn’t see her actions here, then whipped out her magic staff and whirled around. “Mummy, prepare to meet your end—”

Behind her was empty. Where was the mummy?

Yu Xing froze. She looked at the moon, then around her. Where had the mummy gone? It had been right behind her!

Reluctantly, Yu Xing put away her staff and ran back. Where did the mummy go?

Only when she reached the large boulder did she find the mummy again. Di Shensi sat weakly against the rock, and the mummy stood beside him, whispering to him.

“I want to go home…”

“Do you know where my home is…?”

Why'd it come back?

Yu Xing didn’t understand. Did the mummy really like Di Shensi that much?

“Why did you come back?” Di Shensi’s weak face contorted in anger upon seeing Yu Xing again.

Yu Xing observed the scene and realized the mummy wasn’t doing anything—just standing beside Di Shensi, babbling nonstop.

“Why are you so scared?” Yu Xing walked toward Di Shensi. “This creature doesn’t seem aggressive. You hit it with lightning, and it didn’t even react.”

“Don’t come any closer!” Di Shensi stopped her.

Yu Xing was genuinely curious. “I tried to lure it away earlier. Why did it come back?”

Perhaps due to being bitten by three of the Five Toxins, Di Shensi was growing weaker. He took a few deep breaths before answering, “After you led it away, it suddenly tripped several times and couldn’t keep up with you, so it came back.”

Yu Xing: “…”

She could guess why it had tripped.

She pressed, “Then why did you insist I run? This thing doesn’t seem dangerous at all.”

Di Shensi took a deep breath. He knew convincing Yu Xing to flee was hopeless, so he could only give a bitter smile. “If you find yourself unable to leave, it’s your own fault.”

Then, Di Shensi began explaining about the mummy. “You must have noticed—this creature is wearing a military uniform. It had been a soldier.”

Yu Xing was surprised. So, this thing had once been human?

“This is the second time I’ve encountered something like this. My first time was over ten years back, when I’d just joined the Exploration Corps.” Di Shensi closed his eyes as memories surfaced in his mind.

“Back then, I was a rookie and didn’t know much. The commander was a Second-Rank Beloved of the God of Fire. I’d only been on wall expeditions for a few months. Though I’d faced some dangers, the veterans told me that the greatest threats outside weren’t the bizarre contaminants that could appear anytime, but the pilgrims.”

“Pilgrims?” Yu Xing glanced at the mummy. Was that the name for this type of pollutant?

“Pilgrims are a special kind of pollutant—those who got lost outside the walls, failed to find their way back, and eventually died out there, becoming pollutants after corruption.” Di Shensi looked at the mummy still babbling beside him. “The veterans said if you see a pilgrim, run immediately. If one latches onto you, it’s over. Because pilgrims are unique—they’re all but impossible to kill, don’t attack people, but will relentlessly follow whoever they encounter.”

They only cling but don’t attack? Yu Xing said, “That doesn’t sound very dangerous.”

Di Shensi let out a mocking laugh. “Those haunted by pilgrims lose their bearings completely and can never find their way back. Eventually, they die outside the walls and turn into the same damned abominations, condemned to wander endlessly.”

So that was it! Yu Xing had never encountered such a bizarre pollutant before.

“I want to go home…”

The pilgrim paced around, muttering endlessly.

“Now you know. Go.” Di Shensi said. “Maybe you haven’t been corrupted yet. You can still leave.”

Yu Xing scrutinized the pilgrim again—lightning-scorched yet still moving freely.

“This is your second time encountering a pilgrim?” Yu Xing asked. “How did you escape the first time?”

Di Shensi lifted his head weakly, his voice weak. “Back then, I met the pilgrim with the commander. He told me to run. After that, I never saw him again.”

“Do you know where my home is…?”

The pilgrim paced back and forth.

“I want to go home…”

Di Shensi closed his eyes and repeated, “Go. With me here, you can still leave.”

Yu Xing paused briefly, then turned and walked away.

The moment she turned, Di Shensi opened his eyes, watching her disappear into the night. A profound loneliness enveloped him. It was over. Just like that, he would die in this godforsaken wasteland.

He suddenly wondered—when he too became a pilgrim wandering outside the walls, perhaps one day he’d meet the commander, also wandering. Then, they could keep each other company, wandering together just as they had once explored side by side.

“Swish, swish…”

Suddenly, footsteps approached. Di Shensi opened his eyes and saw Yu Xing sprinting back to him.

"Commander!" Yu Xing raised the object in her hand. "Look what I found! I got a rope. If I tie this thing up, you'll be saved!"

With that, she cradled the rope and dashed toward the mummified corpse. She had lied to Di Shensi—the rope wasn’t something she had picked up; she had retrieved it from her storage ring.

Since Yu Xing’s return, Di Shensi had been staring at her in a daze, watching as she bound the mummified corpse. Then, like walking a dog, she tugged the corpse along as she walked.

Di Shensi struggled to stand, but one of his legs had gone completely numb. Not only that, but he was struggling to breathe. So he could only watch helplessly as Yu Xing led the corpse away, until both vanished from view.

To maintain the ruse, Yu Xing dragged the corpse a considerable distance. This thing had been struck by lightning multiple times without issue, so she wasn’t sure if *Shattering Darkness with Thunder* could completely destroy it. After some thought, she took out the Divine Fire Gourd.

Just as she was about to set the corpse ablaze, she felt a pang of sadness. She set the gourd aside and snapped a photo of the corpse with her offline terminal.

She didn’t know who this person was, but since it had so desperately wanted to go home, she hoped to find its family someday—at the very least, to let them know how much it had longed for home.

Then, Yu Xing unleashed the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire. The fire was incredibly potent—the corpse ignited instantly.

She turned and jogged back.

When Di Shensi saw Yu Xing return unharmed and alone, he was stunned. "How did you manage that?"

"Oh," Yu Xing replied without hesitation, "I tied the pilgrim to a tree."

"?" Di Shensi didn’t believe it. If pilgrims were that easy to handle, why would anyone fear them?

He suspected Yu Xing had sought help from that mysterious organization.

Lost in thought, Yu Xing had already approached, shining her flashlight at him. "Commander, can you still walk?"

Di Shensi struggled, but his right leg wouldn’t budge.

Yu Xing crouched down and rolled up his pant leg. His right leg had swollen to twice its usual size, the skin turned a sickly purplish-black.

Di Shensi glanced at it and said weakly, "Poisoned. And a bit of contamination. The contamination isn’t severe—it’s the toxin. Snake venom contains neurotoxins. My breathing will fail, and then I’ll suffocate."

"Don’t worry," Yu Xing said as she grabbed his arm and hauled him up, supporting most of his weight. "I won’t let you die."

With that, she supported Di Shensi as they made their way toward the convoy.

Di Shensi staggered along, knowing full well that in his condition, he’d never make it back to the convoy. But he didn’t tell Yu Xing to stop wasting her effort—maybe because he didn’t want to die, or maybe because he didn’t want to die alone.

As they walked, Di Shensi’s breathing grew increasingly strained. No matter how hard he tried to breathe, he couldn’t get enough air.

"Yu… Yu Xing," Di Shensi slurred, his full weight sagging against her. "My ashes… if you can… take them to the 25th City for me."

Yu Xing stayed silent, waiting for him to lose consciousness. Once he did, she could act.

"Mom…" Di Shensi’s mind was slipping now, his words incoherent. "Mom… you gave me that bracelet… I’ve always worn it. I miss…"

Yu Xing wanted to hear more—she never imagined the usually cold, sharp-tongued Commander Di could be like this. But before she could catch much, he passed out completely.

Di Shensi lay limp on the ground as Yu Xing knelt beside him, taking out a faintly glowing vial from her storage ring.

She poured out a sweet-smelling pill, hesitating for a moment before dissolving it in a bottle of water. Then, she fed him two sips.

Almost immediately, Di Shensi’s condition improved—the purplish-black hue on his leg began fading.

Pleased, Yu Xing took a sip from the bottle too.

Feeling energized, she hastily grabbed her broomstick. She needed to fly him back to the convoy before he woke up—otherwise, she’d have to walk with him again.