The area covered by the fern forest is dozens of meters in diameter.
In the center stands the thickest and tallest fern, with a trunk as thick as a person's waist and reaching a height of seven to eight meters.
The stones that were thrown flew with a piercing sound and viciously struck the fern forest. The large fern in the center was easily pierced by two rocks, causing a large amount of debris and shattered fragments to fly out, breaking several fern branches.
The stones hit the ground, and then flew up again like a swarm of mad wasps, viciously targeting the remaining large fern.
They fell and rose, fell and rose again.
A clump of ferns was completely destroyed, and broken branches and leaves littered an area of one hundred meters in diameter.
"This is my territory, no fighting allowed!" Wu Tiesong released his clenched fist and pointed forcefully at Luo Lin and his companions.
For some unknown reason, Wu Tiesong leaned towards sheltering Shi Lingqing's group. Perhaps it was because Shi Lingqing and her family had been exterminated with a single glance, or perhaps it was because Luo Lin and his companions' aggressiveness displeased Wu Tiesong, or perhaps there were other reasons...
Who knows?
Shi Lingqing smiled, and she lightly placed her dislocated foot on the ground as she smiled brilliantly at Wu Tiesong. When she saw dozens of rocks flying up and falling down, causing the thick branches of the ferns to scatter, her smile became even more brilliant, like spring flowers, captivating and enchanting.
Luo Lin's face changed suddenly, and he shouted loudly.
Beside him, a young man with a longbow shouted loudly, taking big strides towards Wu Tiesong, each step spanning seven to eight meters, and within a few breaths, he was hundreds of meters away from Wu Tiesong.
The longbow was drawn taut, and with a muffled sound, an arrow shot out, aimed directly at Wu Tiesong's heart.
Wu Tiesong took a deep breath and clenched his left fist. Within a radius of one hundred meters in front of him, an invisible force field violently surged, and wave after wave of invisible force rushed toward the arrow. The arrow's speed suddenly slowed down, visibly slowing down.
With a "shh" sound, a faint milky-white aura sprayed out from the arrow's tip. In the end, when the arrow was only three feet away from Wu Tiesong's chest, it slowed down and suspended in mid-air.
Wu Tiesong raised his head and glanced at the young man wielding the longbow.
The young man shouted loudly, and the longbow suddenly erupted in continuous thunderous roars. Seven or eight arrows shot out in succession, directly aimed at Wu Tiesong.
Wu Tiesong hurriedly activated his force field to intercept. He had never encountered such a fierce attack before, and in one unguarded moment, two arrows hidden behind two other arrows drew a small arc and heavily collided with the first arrow's tail.
The first arrow, only three feet away from Wu Tiesong, suddenly accelerated, emitting a sharp and explosive sound, tearing through the force field. It fiercely collided with Wu Tiesong's heart and lungs.
A spark burst from the white tight-fitting armor, and the arrowhead of pure steel exploded, leaving no trace on the armor that shone brightly.
Luo Lin and his two companions' pupils contracted, and they simultaneously let out a sharp whistle. Without uttering a word, they turned around and fled. They retreated at an extremely fast speed, and after a few ups and downs, they disappeared into a clump of tall mushroom forest, leaving no trace behind.
Wu Tiesong was scared, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat. He breathed rapidly and gritted his teeth as he turned and ran.
He already had a foreboding of his tragic destiny.
If he hadn't been wearing the armor, he would have been pierced through the heart.
This place is quite far from the ancient god army camp, and the metal spiders cannot approach here. If he were injured, he would be too weak to return to the ancient god army camp.
In other words, if it weren't for the armor, he would be dead!
Who knows how Old Iron will deal with him this time.
Chiseling an arrow in front of him, Wu Tiesong didn't hear Shi Lingqing's cry. He just ran forward with his head down, occasionally leaping high in the air, gliding forward. In a short while, he escaped back into the range of the metal spider's activities.
After looking back, the undulating small mounds and fern forest blocked his line of sight, and he couldn't see what was happening over there.
Wu Tiesong let out a sigh and walked towards the entrance of the ancient god army camp.
The entrance to the camp was still hundreds of meters away, and Wu Tiesong suddenly stopped.
On top of the original deep pit, a neatly erected wooden shed appeared.
Using the thick branches of the fern as the framework, a layer of thick mud was pasted onto the walls. The mud was even and smooth, and it was baked at a high temperature, making it exceptionally hard. The roof was covered with a thick layer of fern branches, giving it a stable appearance.
When did this wooden shed appear?
Wu Tiesong had only been gone for half a day, how did this wooden shed suddenly appear?
A dozen metal spiders dashed out from all directions and silently gathered around Wu Tiesong. Then, they flew into the wooden shed one after another. Wu Tiesong was dumbfounded and hurriedly followed the metal spiders into the shed. He found that the original deep pit was covered with a thick layer of fern branches and was also topped with a thick layer of mud. Additionally, a thick hippopotamus hide was spread on top, looking quite comfortable.
The metal spiders arrived at a corner of the wooden shed and deftly opened a one-meter-large lid.
The voice of Old Iron came from below the lid, "Some outsiders came in, and neither of them are easy to get along with. I can't be bothered with them... So, quickly set up a shed to cover this entrance. How about it? How is my skill in building houses?"
Wu Tiesong relaxed and approached the entrance to the ancient god army camp. He looked down at Old Iron, who was being supported by four metal spiders, and snorted, "Wasn't it you who did it? You don't even have any arms or legs. Can you build a house?"
Old Iron fell silent, and a glaring electric light flickered in his two rows of large teeth.
Wu Tiesong quickly raised his hands, "I was wrong. This house is really well-built. Old Iron, you are truly wise and mighty, exceptional!"
Without waiting for Old Iron to speak, Wu Tiesong proactively confessed his mistake, "I was wrong. I should have avoided those arrows instead of stubbornly blocking them... I didn't expect that the guy's arrows could actually bend?"
"Isn't it the same with swords? Don't people bend them? Have you never seen it before?" The electric light on Old Iron's large teeth gradually subsided, and he coldly said, "You've stockpiled many foundation-building elixirs these days. In these days, you don't need to come down. You should cultivate yourself..."
Old Iron's tone suddenly became strange, "Besides that, you should interact with them properly. Some things can only be understood through personal experience... Especially the matter between men and women. Haha, hahaha..."
A silver-white metallic cover flashed with electricity, and Old Iron and the four metal spiders descended into the tunnel underneath.
Wu Tiesong's face turned red, and he muttered to himself, "The matter between men and women... What's that about?"
Old Iron's words made Wu Tiesong feel uneasy, excited, longing...
He instinctively thought of the conversations that Wu Jin and Wu Yin had in secret in the Wu family stronghold at night. Although they had been whispering carefully on the side, Wu Tiesong still managed to overhear some of their conversations.
"Old Iron, what are you saying?" Wu Tiesong blushed and his heart raced inexplicably.
He thought of Shi Lingqing's beautiful face, especially her delicate lips dyed a light purple... Wu Tiesong felt his lips dry up.
Two agile figures quietly approached the wooden shed, and they stopped around two hundred meters away. They peeked from behind a small mound and secretly watched the wooden shed. The lone wooden shed was so abrupt, and the two guards subordinated to Shi Lingqing looked at it with surprise.
"Check the surroundings for any traces," one of them muttered softly, "There's only one person?"
"One person is enough. He seems to be able to withstand Luo Lin and his three brats," the other person sighed with relief, "Look at his young age, to have such strength alone... truly amazing."
The two figures quietly retreated.
They were extremely cautious, but they didn't notice that in the distant clump of mushrooms, two metal spiders with crimson eyes were staring at them, and countless invisible red lights swept over their bodies.
Wu Tiesong sat alone in the wooden shed, pondering for a while, not knowing what he should do now.
After being in a daze for a while, he shook his head and flipped out a hind leg of a gray rock lizard from the corner of the wooden shed, a plump section of the black ring snake, and a large piece of fat from a river hippopotamus belly, and then pulled out a long knife and busied himself outside the wooden shed.
After busying himself for a while, he cut the meat into strips and hung them on the outside of the wooden shed with wooden poles. Wu Tiesong took a section of the snake and ignited a fire with dry mushroom roots. He roasted the snake section until it turned golden brown and exuded a fragrant oil.
He took out a fist-sized rock salt and sprinkled a bit of salt on the meat section with his long knife. Wu Tiesong took a big bite of the snake meat, and a feeling of satisfaction swept through him. The delicious taste and the aroma of the snake meat filled his mouth, and his strong body quickly digested it. A hot flow called "satisfaction" spread out, causing Wu Tiesong to feel a comfortable shiver all over.
"This... gentleman!" Shi Lingqing's gentle voice came from afar.
Dressed in a black gown that seemed to have been washed clean by some means, her long hair, previously covered in mud, was also cleaned. The water made her hair shiny and smooth as it flowed behind her.
Her delicate face was also cleaned, and her faint purple lips regained their rosy color. Her lips were smooth and tender, without any lines, plump and tender like newly bloomed flower buds.
Compared to her purple lips, Shi Lingqing appeared elegant and simple at this moment, like a night-blooming cereus, exuding a beautiful charm that could captivate people.
She stood shyly under a clump of ferns several tens of meters away, her big watery eyes timidly looking at Wu Tiesong, her lips quivering slightly, as if she wanted to speak but didn't dare to.
"Gentleman, I am Shi Lingqing, I want to thank you for saving my life," Shi Lingqing's delicate body trembled slightly, as if a flower branch bent by the wind, suddenly knelt down in front of Wu Tiesong.
Wu Tiesong was stunned.
Old Iron had taught him how to hunt, how to sneak attack, how to disassemble prey, and how to survive. But Old Iron had never taught him how to handle interpersonal relationships, how to communicate and socialize, especially how to interact with an attractive member of the opposite sex.
Unfortunately...
Whether it was Wu Zhan, Wu Jin, Wu Yin, Wu Tong, or even Gray Fu who had been single all his life, none of them had taught Wu Tiesong these things.
Wu Zhan only knew how to expand the family's territory and how to use fists and knives to teach their unruly neighbors a lesson.
Wu Jin, Wu Yin, Wu Tong...they had never interacted with people of the opposite sex at their age.
As for Gray Fu, besides reciting "I Heard the Rain Pattering on the Little Pavilion Overnight"... when did he ever see real "rain"?
Wu Tiesong stared at Shi Lingqing in a daze, his mind filled with her delicate and beautiful face.
Then, a shrill and miserable howl rang out.
The Bloodstain Broken-Toothed Snake bit forcefully into Shi Lingqing's buttocks, and its mouthful of more than an inch long, densely packed fine thorns broke off, together with a large amount of nerve-paralyzing venom, remaining inside Shi Lingqing's body.
Shi Lingqing, like she had been burned, leaped up from the ground, twisting and screaming hysterically.
After only a few screams, the neurotoxic venom took effect, and Shi Lingqing convulsively fell to the ground, frothing at the mouth.
Dozens of figures dashed over like a gale from a distance. They picked up Shi Lingqing in a fluster and ran frantically into the distance.
They left behind a dumbfounded Wu Tiesong.
They also left behind the equally stunned Bloodstain Broken-Toothed Snake—who had just bitten its prey, but now couldn't find it?
Hmm, what a pitiful girl...the Little Pavilion listened to the spring rain all night, and today, a snake bites her buttocks!
Sure enough, good things don't last long...
(End of this chapter)