14: Chapter 14 Confusion

He reached out and steadily pulled off the token with a tiger head carved on its surface.

The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, revealing a slightly sly smile.

With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the token away casually; it traced an arc in the air before landing who knows where.

"Hehe! Not bad at all, I can even save fifty Spirit Stones."

He muttered to himself, his voice tinged with the relief of having survived a disaster.

He leaned in to sniff, and a pungent, foul, sour smell from his clothes drilled straight into his nose. He couldn't help but wrinkle his nose and hurried toward the Grass Hut.

He entered the Grass Hut, put away the night-luminescent pearl and the mining hoe, and rummaged through the simple wooden cabinet to find a set of clean clothes.

Afterward, he carried the clothes out of the Grass Hut and began searching nearby for a small river where he could wash off the grime.

After some searching, he indeed discovered a clear, winding river to the west of the Grass Hut.

The river water gurgled, shimmering like countless tiny silver flakes dancing on the surface; the stones and water plants at the bottom were clearly visible.

He carefully discerned the flow of the water; it seemed to be flowing down from The Mine in the distance.

He placed his clothes on a nearby stone, slowly stripped off his dirty garments, and stepped into the river.

The cool river water washed over his skin, making him shiver, and his exhaustion seemed to lighten a bit as well.

He crouched down, cupped the river water in his hands, and scrubbed his body vigorously, washing away the grime of many days bit by bit.

With his movements, the thick layer of grime on his body was gradually rubbed off, mixing into the water.

The originally clear river water was instantly dyed ink-black, carrying wisps of filth as it slowly flowed downstream.

He was enjoying the coolness and comfort brought by the river water, washing with great satisfaction.

However, in an instant, he keenly sensed something unusual about the water flow.

The water flowing down from upstream had originally been crystal clear, like flawless glaze.

But at this moment, a faint, elusive dark red color quietly appeared in the clear water.

At first, the red was extremely faint, like diluted ink spreading; if one didn't look closely, it was hard to notice.

But as time passed, this shade of red became increasingly obvious.

It was as if an invisible brush was gradually deepening the color, slowly spreading toward where he was.

His heart tightened abruptly, and he stared in the direction of the reddening current.

He saw a figure leaning against the edge of a pool upstream.

The Man in Bamboo Hat had his hat tilted to the side, and a few strands of wet hair clung to his cheeks.

Below his waist, he was soaked in the reddened water, and ripples of blood constantly spread across the surface of the pool.

"It is actually him..." Yun Song looked closely and whispered to himself.

This person was the Man in Bamboo Hat who had been viciously stabbed in the waist by his own brother earlier.

Yun Song was merely surprised as to why this person was here; there were no great ripples of emotion in his eyes.

Just two hours ago, the moment he witnessed the Buzz-cut Man brandishing a dagger and viciously stabbing his own boss, the Man in Bamboo Hat.

The trust he had in the world instantly collapsed like a crumbling building.

From that moment on, the world in his eyes changed completely.

Once, he saw mountains as mountains and water as water; he believed that human nature was inherently good and that there was warmth in the world.

But now, every mountain range seemed to hide murderous intent in his eyes; every stream seemed to flow not with clear springs, but with unknown malice.

He dared not easily trust anything or anyone anymore; behind every kind smile, he couldn't help but speculate whether there was a hidden scheme.

Every warm word that fell into his ears seemed to carry a hypocritical echo.

The things and affairs of this world were, in his heart, covered by a thick, impenetrable fog, full of unpredictable treachery.