Chapter Twenty: The Flower of Hell

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At dawn, when the first rays of sunlight touched the beach, the mist in the dense forest visibly began to dissipate. Everything that had been shrouded in fog gradually became clear. On the beach, Jiang Li’s eyelids twitched several times before he suddenly opened his eyes wide.

“Ah! Get off me!”

“Young master, you’re awake?” Chu Chunqiu appeared in Jiang Li’s vision, grinning sheepishly.

“Oh, it’s you,” Jiang Li gasped heavily, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he sat up. Staying still was one thing, but moving now sent waves of soreness through every muscle.

“What happened to me? It feels like someone beat me up while I was asleep,” Jiang Li muttered through gritted teeth, shifting his body until he could lean against a rock and finally relax.

On the beach, Su Yang and Chu Chunqiu had also woken, while Qiu Yue and Su Yan were still sound asleep.

“Are you two alright?” Jiang Li asked, watching Su Yang and Chu Chunqiu busy lighting a fire to roast crabs.

Chu Chunqiu scratched his head. “Young master, we do have some issues, but nothing serious.”

Su Yang nodded in agreement. “That’s right, young master. When I first woke up, I felt just like you, but after circulating my internal energy a few times, I feel much better.”

“Internal energy?” Jiang Li couldn’t help but chuckle bitterly.

Indeed, in this world, martial arts existed, divided mainly into internal and external styles.

External martial arts were relatively easy to learn—anyone could practice them. Even common folk who never set foot on the battlefield would train these techniques to strengthen their bodies. Such people were called warriors.

Internal martial arts, however, were more complicated. One needed specific internal cultivation methods to develop internal energy, also known as true qi. Those who practiced this were called cultivators.

Internal cultivation techniques were rarely found on the market; they were mostly passed down through generations and were quite rare.

That said, internal martial arts were not necessarily superior to external ones. It was difficult to say who was stronger among the top experts of each discipline. In the early stages, warriors usually had the upper hand, but by the intermediate level, cultivators often outmatched warriors of the same rank. At the highest levels, it became impossible to determine which was stronger.

This continent once produced a Martial God who said that strength came not from the martial art itself but from the person.

But all this had little to do with Jiang Li.

The original owner had no interest in martial arts, fearing the hardship involved.

But now that he was here, he would have to learn at least some martial arts, no matter what.

“By the way, what about Zhao Hua and the other two?” Jiang Li’s expression stiffened.

Those three had taken all their food with them. If they had escaped, Su Yang and Chu Chunqiu wouldn’t need to rely on crabs here.

“Young master, before I passed out last night, I saw the three of them… they seemed to be crawling deeper into the forest,” Su Yang hesitated, uncertainty in his voice.

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Jiang Li waved his hand. “There’s nothing to hide—just say it.”

“Yes, young master. I saw them crawling toward the depths of the forest,” Su Yang said, pointing toward a direction.

Jiang Li looked along the direction but soon his view was blocked by dense vegetation.

“What about the cart? Did you see the cart?” Jiang Li asked again.

Su Yang shook his head blankly. “No, probably abandoned somewhere along the way by those three.”

Jiang Li felt a headache coming on. They had to retrieve their supplies; those provisions were crucial for whether they could continue searching for that small town.

But at this point, who dared venture into the forest?

If another thick fog appeared, they might all be trapped inside.

As for what exactly happened last night, Jiang Li thought it over and eventually traced the problem back to the fog.

“But what exactly is this fog? How does it turn people into those creatures?” The memory of the monster he saw yesterday made him uneasy.

“Young master, how about I go in and look for our food?” Chu Chunqiu stood up and offered.

Jiang Li shook his head decisively. “We need to find it, but not now.”

“The sun just came up; let’s wait until noon.”

“Alright then, young master, enjoy the crabs.”

By midday, Jiang Li stretched his limbs. Although his muscles still ached, it was much better than before and didn’t impede his movement.

He looked up at the sky; the sun was shining brightly today and should have already burned off yesterday’s fog.

“Let’s go and take a look,” Jiang Li said, waving his hand.

At first, he planned to leave Qiu Yue and Su Yan behind, but in this wild mountain area, they might encounter natives or wild beasts, so it was safer for all five to enter together.

Fully armed, they ventured back into the forest.

The jungle had returned to normal, as if the events of last night were nothing but a dream.

“Be careful,” Jiang Li whispered.

After a while, they found an overturned cart in the grass, with many scattered supplies. Several water bags had been crushed, as if trampled by a heavy force.

They quietly gathered all the supplies, dragged the cart, and returned to the beach.

Jiang Li stared at the dense forest before him, troubled.

On one side was a steep cliff by the sea—impossible to pass with so many supplies.

But the forest itself radiated an eerie presence.

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“Is it really impossible to get out?” Jiang Li furrowed his brows.

To cross the forest, they had to face the fog. Facing the fog meant turning into monsters...

It seemed like an unsolvable dilemma.

Suddenly, Jiang Li slapped his forehead and pulled out the Outdoor Survival Guidebook.

He had read the section on setting up camp yesterday; this time, he took out the chapter on the environment.

“Fog, fog, where is fog…” he muttered, scanning the entries.

After a while, his eyes brightened as he flipped through the pages rapidly.

“Fog, due to water molecules in the air…”

After reading for some time, Jiang Li sighed. This was proper scientific knowledge, with no mention of any strange phenomena.

“Could it be that there’s really no solution?” Jiang Li glanced at the remaining volumes.

Finally, one titled “Outdoor Survival Guide—Unverified Section” caught his eye.

“Unverified…” Jiang Li whispered to himself and opened it without hesitation.

After a moment, his expression grew complex. The contents bore no relation to the previous sections.

Most of the entries involved spirits and supernatural phenomena—ghost walls, immortal traps, and the like.

Every terrain type described was linked to ghosts or monsters, with bizarre examples.

But Jiang Li managed to find a few entries possibly related to fog or fragrances, listing three possibilities.

First, the Hellflower or Red Spider Lily, which emits a special scent that causes people to lose their sanity and fall into madness.

Second, a mass grave, a cursed place where anything could happen.

Third, a Mountain God’s Abode, where all who trespass risk having their minds taken away for angering the deity.

After much deliberation, Jiang Li leaned toward the first possibility—the Red Spider Lily.

“But I haven’t seen any flowers. What’s really going on?” he pondered.

After some thought, he finally clenched his teeth. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Whatever it is, he would find out by going in himself!