The night was dark and half a night had passed since the sun had set.
Now, the cold wind at night was incessant and the moon was bright. In the Forest of the Dead, there were occasional howls of wild beasts or the movements of magical beasts.
The caravan led by Lulunaka headed east. Although it was slow and they often stopped because of Lulunaka's mood, they had already covered a lot of distance.
If they were to head west this time, they would probably be able to reach the mountains in the west and get closer to the Yared Sea in the west within a week.
But now that they were heading east, the situation was different.
Whether it was a caravan or a traveler, in the Forest of the Dead, even if this forest with an inauspicious name had calmed down in recent years, there were still many places that were inaccessible to ordinary people.
For the surrounding villagers, the southern part of the Forest of the Dead was the largest range of activity. And this southern part was actually only a small part of the Forest of the Dead. The roads used by travelers and caravans mostly covered the southern part.
In the east and north of the Forest of the Dead, the forest was denser and the area was larger than the southern part. The traces of human activity were also less.
In the north of the forest, there were mountains where wyverns lived and no one wanted to be their snack. In the east, facing the dark sea, there was a long coastline without any shelter. It was the paradise of amphibious magical beasts and also the golden route for merchant ships.
Compared to the low-level dragons that couldn't be communicated with, for merchants with armed merchant ships, these fishes were easier to deal with — whether it was in terms of money or in terms of bloodshed.
So Lulunaka and the other four hadn't reached the eastern seaside yet. They were still in the eastern forest.
Now, except for Lulunaka, the other four were sitting at the bonfire in front of the caravan.
Romuona and Olga sat on one side, Padding sat on the other side, and Julius sat opposite Padding.
The four of them sat around the bonfire. No one spoke, only the crackling sound of the firewood burning could be heard.
Padding shouldn't be sitting with them. Whether it was him, Olga, or Romuona, they hadn't recovered to the point where they could sit down and chat.
As for Julius, who was supposed to have no contact with the people here, he chose a side and sat down alone, looking like a lonely person.
He used to idolize Padding, but now, he only felt enmity towards the murderer, even though the murderer no longer had any intention to kill. As for Olga and Romuona, only Olga would occasionally chat with him. And thanks to Lulunaka, he seemed to have the opportunity to learn some martial arts from Olga. However, his relationship with Romuona was still a little strange.
Julius sat on the edge of the campfire and put his hands on the edge of the fire to warm them.
Compared to usual, his mood was a little low right now.
Earlier, before dinner was ready, when Olga taught him how to hold a sword, Lulunaka's words were a big blow to him.
The alchemist girl, who said unfriendly and vicious words with a smile, said that Julius was a rotten piece of wood. This wasn't a good comparison. A rotten piece of wood, other than being used to light a fire, what else could it be used for?
Along the way, Julius's excitement and longing for the future after obtaining the sword were mostly extinguished by Lulunaka's words.
Even if he wanted to refute Lulunaka, he didn't know what to say.
It was Lulunaka who gave him the sword. It was also Lulunaka who gave him the opportunity to come in contact with the guidance of a martial artist like Olga. It could be said that everything he had now was given to him by Lulunaka.
Lurunaka, on the other hand, didn't hurt the self-awareness of an ambitious young man at all. She was still the same as before.
Her attitude towards Julius didn't change at all. It was as if those words weren't intended to mock Julius.
During dinner, Julius's portion of soup and meat was very sufficient. When Julius held the bowl with trembling hands, he was a little worried that he would spill it on the ground and waste these delicacies that he couldn't eat in a year when he was in the village.
For Julius, being able to eat dried meat and drink meat soup was something he had never experienced before. And it just so happened that he could turn the grievance and unwillingness of being called rotten wood by Lulunaka into the strength to eat meat. So his dinner was very messy and his appetite was very big.
At that time, Lulunaka looked at Julius's starving appearance and didn't reprimand him for eating too much. She was still smiling. "Eat. As long as you don't eat too much and have a stomachache, then eat as much as you can … Otherwise, you won't even be able to protect yourself."
The caravan prepared food for dozens of people for a period of time. Now, no matter how much Julius ate, they wouldn't let the food run out. So no matter how much Julius ate, no one would have any objections.
Or it could be said that if Lulunaka didn't have any objections, then the others wouldn't have any objections either.
Dinner had been over for some time. Julius's stomach, which was almost full, had shrunk a little, making him feel less uncomfortable.
The feeling of being full from eating too much was not a comfortable experience. His mood was not good, and his stomach was not feeling well. This made Julius look very listless tonight.
"You can't become fat in one bite." Padding, who was sitting opposite him, said.
Padding held a small piece of firewood in his hand and threw it into the bonfire. The firewood was quickly ignited and turned red, increasing the temperature and brightness of the bonfire.
Julius just snorted a few times. He originally wanted to refute a few words, but after thinking about it, he didn't know what to say, so he shut his mouth and didn't say anything.
Padding's words were reasonable. Even if he was hostile to Padding, he couldn't say that there was anything wrong with Padding's words.
Olga and Romuona, who were sitting beside Padding and Julius, didn't intend to join the conversation.
Because many things had happened, the four of them didn't have the kind of atmosphere where they could gather and talk happily.
But for them, this kind of situation was normal. Originally, they were going to kill each other, but now, because of a certain someone, they could sit together.
And that certain someone was now sitting beside the second bonfire, happily fiddling with the things in his hands.
Lulunaka sat beside the bonfire in the middle of the caravan. She picked out the wet branches that Julius had collected during the day, and only kept a part of them to make another bonfire that couldn't be lit. She threw the rest of the branches into the forest.
She stood beside the burning bonfire and raised the white jade-like mortar in her hand above the rising flames. Then she turned it over, letting the powdery substance in the mortar fall into the flames.
"What will happen … I'm really looking forward to it."
Since the day until now, she had been holding the mortar and small mallet for almost half a day. No one knew what she was fiddling with, and no one could get anything out of her mouth. She said that she was making some mosquito-repellent powder, but no one believed her.
The mosquito-repellent powder that Lulunaka said was ground into fine powder. It was white with a hint of green. When it fell into the flames, the fine particles fell slowly, like sand falling into the flames, forming a thin veil in the air.
After the powdery substance in the mortar fell into the flames, a strange fragrance spread out and spread to the bonfire in front of them.
Julius sniffed and smelled a fresh fragrance. But for some reason, when the fragrance entered his nose, it made him sneeze and his whole body trembled.
It wasn't that he was allergic to the powdery substance, but when the fragrance entered his nose, a cold air made him sneeze.
He wasn't the only one who had such a reaction. Romuona frowned and covered her nose with her sleeve.
The fragrance wasn't unpleasant, but it could easily arouse a person's desire to sneeze. After inhaling the cold air, Romuona didn't feel very good.
Julius and Romuona only had such an intuitive feeling, but Olga and Padding could feel more.
"What's this smell?" Olga shouted to Lulunaka.
Lulunaka tilted the mortar in her hand, letting the powdery substance fall into the flames.
Hearing Olga's question, she looked at Olga, "Some insect corpses and dried fruit shells.
It's not dangerous, please don't worry. It just makes the insects unwilling to come here. "
"Is that all?" Olga didn't believe it.
Lulunaka wasn't dissatisfied with Olga's doubt, "There's nothing more. It's all harmless to the human body.
But if you inhale the smell, it's a little cold and refreshing, but if you inhale too much, you might catch a cold.
It's just a cold. "
It's just a cold, it's not a simple thing.
Olga sighed and didn't say anything more. He turned to Romuona and said, "Be careful, Onna. Don't catch a cold."
"My body is not that bad." Romuona said, "But I really don't like this smell … It's too cold."
"No one likes to smell the corpse, even if it's an insect." Padding suddenly said, "Is this the smell of insect meat?"
Julius didn't like this topic, "Can you stop talking about this? It sounds like burning a corpse …"
Padding looked at Julius, "What do you think of? Do you think of the smell of burning people?"
Julius had a disgusted look on his face.
Padding chuckled and shook his head, "I said something inappropriate. Sorry."
While the four people in front were having a short conversation, Lulunaka had already sat down. She rested her chin on her hand and faced the burning bonfire, humming a monosyllabic tune.
Ward jumped down from the carriage and shook his almost hairless skin. He walked to Lulunaka's side and squatted down. He faced the bonfire as if he, a man-made creature, also longed for warmth.
Lulunaka touched Ward's head, "Ward, what do you think this will attract?"