Chapter 121: Poisoned
Zhou Xiaoxi felt that he had made the right choice by participating in this excursion. He could not shift his gaze from Cui Xianzi. Previously, he still thought that everyone was exaggerating about the benefits of coming to the Induction Ground. However, after today, he changed his mentality and rejoiced.
If he had not taken part in this excursion, how would he have met such a gentle girl like Cui Xianzi?
Women who were stationed at front line were usually more fearsome than the men. Like Li Wei had said, those who carried a sword usually did not engage in petty squabbles.
Only the Induction Ground would have such a gentle, elegant, and beautiful girl like Cui Xianzi.
A place like the Garden of Life would not have many dangers. For an elite like him, who had been to the depths of the Wilderness multiple times, the Garden of Life was like his backyard.
Even so, he did not lower his guard. At the moment when he sensed there was something nearby, he broke into laughter after realizing that it was merely a rabbit.
This rabbit was actually a rare red-haired breed.
Its fur was completely doused in red, and its ruby-like eyes mesmerized Zhou Xiaoxi. So beautiful.
If he encountered such a beautiful rabbit in the Wilderness, he would definitely not exclaim in admiration. Instead, he would run as far away as possible from it. For such a beautiful creature to exist in the Wilderness, where the survival of the fittest was the most cutthroat, it must be very powerful.
It must be a pet that was released by another teacher, Zhou Xiaoxi thought to himself.
At this point in time, the rest of the students had discovered the red-haired rabbit as well.
The female students started to shriek with excitement.
Some of the more daring students even gathered together to use a stalk of grass to tease the rabbit. Initially, Zhou Xiaoxi was prepared to stop them. However, he soon realized he was making a big deal over a small issue. This was the peaceful Garden of Life, not the perilous Wilderness.
It was customary for students to go on an excursion to the Garden of Life. When Zhou Xiaoxi was still a student, he was filled with curiosity just like these students. Every excursion left him with beautiful memories. All these years, he had never heard of any accidents in the Garden of Life. The injuries that students suffered were mostly accidental, such as sprains.
There was no restriction on catching the wild animals in the Garden of Life as pets.
Many students would capture wild animals as their pets while they were on excursions. Zhou Xiaoxi thought of the grey hedgehog that he caught in the Garden of Life. It accompanied him throughout his student life in the Induction Ground.
He sighed silently.
Perhaps that innocence could only exist in the Induction Ground. After he left the Induction Ground, all he thought about was how to survive and become stronger. The pets that everybody kept for their aesthetics eventually became beasts that aided them in battle.
Good old times.
Zhou Xiaoxi smiled as he looked at the innocent actions of the students.
"Be careful!"
Alarmed cries came from the rear of the main body of students. Zhou Xiaoxi was stunned. He knew one of the voices belonged to Ai Hui.
The other voice... must have belonged to that fatty.
Zhou Xiaoxi had noticed the dispute between the two students previously. However, he did not interfere as he could sense the deep friendship between them.
Because of Li Wei, Zhou Xiaoxi had a good impression of Ai Hui. Even though Zhou Xiaoxi was in a different division than Li Wei, he was impressed by Li Wei’s knowledge and character after spending some time with him. Hence, a youth that was highly favored by Li Wei was definitely an extraordinary individual.
The performance from Ai Hui a few days ago made Zhou Xiaoxi see him in a new light.
Could there be something wrong?
Everything seemed normal. The rabbit’s nose twitched, and it leaped toward the stem of grass in the student’s hand, seemingly interested in it.
At this moment, Zhou Xiaoxi’s eye pupils suddenly dilated.
The rabbit suddenly jumped forward and bit the hand of the student.
"Ah!"
The student, who was caught off guard, let out a blood-curdling screech as blood streamed down from her hand. The surrounding students shrieked and fell into chaos.
Zhou Xiaoxi’s reaction was extremely fast. He appeared icy faced beside the injured student like a phantom and flicked his finger.
Like an arrow, a stream of air shot out and pierced the red-haired rabbit.
Boom!
Blood splashed everywhere as the stream of air that punctured the red-haired rabbit suddenly exploded. Pieces of its body were launched here and there.
The students immediately screamed in horror as they had never seen such a gory sight.
Zhou Xiaoxi’s face turned ashen since he never expected an accident to actually happen. He held up that student’s bitten hand. The horrified student was still trembling non-stop. Chunks of the rabbit were strewn all over the place, but its head was still biting the student’s hand, refusing to let go.
Its ruby-like eyes were filled with an indescribable frenzy and bloodlust. Its previous docile and adorable look had vanished, making it now look extremely sinister.
Pop!
Zhou Xiaoxi crushed the rabbit’s head coldly. The injured student fainted straightaway.
Ai Hui and Fatty managed to catch sight of this just as they arrived. When they saw the situation, their hearts sank.
"What have you discovered?" Zhou Xiaoxi turned his head around and stared fixedly at Ai Hui.
Ai Hui felt as if he was being glared at by a ferocious beast. He was under such great pressure that he was unable to breathe.
He calmed himself and replied, "There’s something wrong with the blood, and there’s a problem with the vegetation and soil as well."
He knew what to do to convince the others. Without any hesitation, he started to hack a small tree nearby.
The grass sword in his hand shaved off the tree bark with great precision, revealing the core of the tree.
Zhou Xiaoxi’s eyes narrowed. The core of the tree looked as if it was soaked in blood.
Ai hui’s grass sword kept on digging the soil beneath the tree. The soil that was unearthed looked as red as cinnabar. After a while, the blood-like muddy water flowed out from the soil and a faint fragrance pervaded the air.
Everyone’s face drained to a pale-white. They had never seen anything like this. The students that were timid felt their legs go soft and sat on the ground while trembling in fear.
Zhou Xiaoxi’s face turned white as well. This was also the first time that he had seen something so bizarre.
"There’s something wrong with the rabbit’s blood. It might be blood poison." Ai Hui continued to maintain his composure.
Zhou Xiaoxi sniffed the rabbit blood on his hand and a refreshing fragrance filled his nose. He almost put his finger in his mouth.
"The blood is poisonous!"
Ai Hui’s reminder gave Zhou Xiaoxi a shiver and returned him to his senses. Zhou Xiaoxi felt a scorching feeling on his fingertips and quickly wiped away the blood on his hand. However, the rabbit blood had already seeped into the skin of his hands by then.
Such a scary blood poison!
At the moment, Zhou Xiaoxi was able to keep calm. He confirmed that he had been poisoned.
A red color had already pervaded throughout the body of the fainted student.
Zhou Xiaoxi knew that he was the main pillar of support for the students. Right now, his most important task was to bring these students back to safety.
Without hesitation, he took out a tiny bamboo tube and opened its lid. There were many pine needle leaves with a variety of colors inside.
He took out a red pine needle leaf, which was also known as the distress leaf.
He walked toward a tree and pinned the red leaf onto it like a needle.
The pine needle leaf started to emit a red glow, which brightened and dimmed rhythmically, as if it was breathing.
Suddenly, the red glow started to grow dimmer and dimmer. Eventually, the pine needle leaf fell from the tree.
Zhou Xiaoxi’s heart sank.