I Am Your Natural Enemy

Chapter 453: Chapter 187: Spoils of War, The First Night Parade of One Hundred Demons (5k)_2

”My good horse, go and see if those warhorses that ran off earlier are still around. If they are, gather them all for me,” Wen Yan commanded.

The warhorse curled its upper lip, its eyes holding an idiotic gaze as it cocked its head at Wen Yan, unmoving.

”Don’t understand?”

Wen Yan felt a bit disappointed. He reached out, patted the warhorse’s neck, and bestowed a bit of Yang Energy upon it.

The next moment, the warhorse NEIGHED, turned, and sprinted off into the distance.

Wen Yan stood still, hand raised. In just a few minutes, he saw the warhorse returning at a gallop, leading dozens of other warhorses.

”...”

Wen Yan’s eyelid twitched. What kind of creatures are these? he thought. As soon as food is involved, their intelligence skyrockets. They almost had me fooled.

The warhorse, having brought back the dozens of runaway horses, now approached Wen Yan unabashedly, its hooves making soft TAP-TAP-TAP sounds as it took tiny, mincing steps.

”Alright, alright, you did very well. Satisfied?”

Wen Yan bestowed a bit more Yang Energy, and the warhorse stayed by his side.

Wen Yan then went to remove the reins from the other warhorses and patted them.

”You’re all free now.”

Unfortunately, despite his words, the horses didn’t move; they just stood there.

Wen Yan took the reins he had removed from the warhorses, tied them together end-to-end, and used this long cord to bind the huge Big Fire Basin.

No one knew what material the Big Fire Basin was made of; it withstood scorching flames, endured crashes, and braved sandstorms without being destroyed.

In this godforsaken place, it was one of the few spoils of war Wen Yan could find.

If he didn’t take it, he wouldn’t be able to sleep. Moreover, there were more cities in the Demon Kingdom. What if remnants of Ghosts from the Demon Kingdom lingered? If they left the Big Fire Basin behind and happened to get lucky again, finding something else to serve as the Sacred Fire? Better take it with him.

Wen Yan slung the cord binding the Big Fire Basin onto his lead warhorse. The horse whinnied, and immediately, several tall horses stepped forward from the group.

”...”

Wen Yan was somewhat speechless.

”I can’t afford to keep so many horses.”

About fifteen minutes later, Wen Yan was riding his horse down the road, followed by dozens of ghost warhorses, ten of which were dragging the huge Big Fire Basin.

Wen Yan sighed. These are really not easy to provide for,

he thought. Well, I’d better head back for now.He glanced westward, the direction his aunt had said held moisture in the air—a possible way out.

He wasn’t in a hurry to go there yet; he wanted to rest and settle things first.

Last time, they dealt with the Sacred Fire Sect War Soul descending in reverse. This time, there might be other small Earth Cities behind this main city, possibly with more remnants. Since I’m here, I have to see the job through and deal with everything I can.

He led the horses back into the small Earth City, where Lin Jue and Grave Walker were waiting.

Seeing Wen Yan return safely, they both visibly relaxed.

”Sir...”

”There are no major issues for now. There might be a few stragglers left, but we’ll clean them up slowly later. Let’s go back and rest first.”

The shortcut was too narrow; the huge Big Fire Basin couldn’t pass through it, so they had to leave it there for the time being.

The dozens of warhorses also had to remain in this Earth City temporarily.

The Blue Mane Horse Wen Yan rode, however, shamelessly insisted on following him, squeezing its large frame into the shortcut.

「Back at the estate」

Wen Yan went to cook himself. To avoid wasting fire, he tossed Little Fire Seed into the stove.

This large, wood-fired stove had one side for cooking and another for adding wood and removing ash.

Wen Yan indulged a little, using the available ingredients to make a stew. The flames underneath roared, burning fiercer than a typical wood-fired stove.

On the other side of the stove, where wood was added, flames occasionally leaped out. From beneath these licking flames, Little Fire Seed cautiously extended a small hand. It snatched a smaller piece of firewood from beside the stove and quickly retracted its hand, stuffing the wood into its body.

When Wen Yan looked over, he only saw Little Fire Seed burning steadily inside the stove.

”Don’t make the fire too big, or the food will burn.”

Little Fire Seed didn’t understand the latter part of the sentence, but it understood the first.

It controlled the flames, absorbing the excess into its body, and waved its two small flame-hands joyfully inside the stove.

「After the food was ready」

Wen Yan sat down at a table in the courtyard.

He didn’t rush to eat. First, he lit a few sticks of incense with Yang Fire, then fanned out the flames with a wave of his hand.

He placed three incense sticks in the bowl of food before Grave Walker.

Then, Wen Yan prepared an Incense Burner for the Steward and the other paper figures, inserting three sticks of incense into it.

He took some Paper Money, which he had previously thought useless and had piled aside, and fed it to his warhorse.

Finally, he made a small pile of firewood in the courtyard and tossed Little Fire Seed onto it.

Wen Yan, chopsticks in hand, shouted, ”Mealtime!”

At his command, he began to wolf down his rice, eating with gusto, his mouth soon greasy.

The rest of them partook in their own fashion: Grave Walker inhaled the fragrance of incense, the warhorse chewed on Paper Money, and Little Fire Seed eagerly consumed the firewood. Each was thoroughly enjoying its meal.

Only Lin Jue watched from the side, practically drooling with envy. He didn’t dare to eat but, like a shameless freeloader, he just had to keep watching.

Wen Yan felt a pang of pity watching him.

”We’ll rest for two days, then go clean up any remaining Earth Cities. Once that’s done, we’ll continue looking for a way out. When we get back, you can eat whatever you want, however you want.”

”Brother, it’s alright,” Lin Jue reassured him. ”I’m just looking; feasting my eyes is fine too.”