Chapter 278: Releasing the Camels

Lian Li hummed twice in response. He was, of course, a little skeptical. It wasn’t that he worried Yun Huizhou wouldn’t let him rest for the full three hours; rather, he feared Yun Huizhou would sacrifice Lian Li’s rest time to let himself sleep longer.

Although the two had been inseparable during this period, Yun Huizhou, who possessed the superior martial arts skills, always bore a heavier burden. When they took turns keeping watch, Yun Huizhou always took the second half of the night, which allowed him to control their departure time in the morning.

If he chose to set out a bit later, then Lian Li, who kept the first watch, would be able to sleep for a longer duration.

Consequently, when calculated, Yun Huizhou’s time on watch was longer than Lian Li’s.

Lian Li could manage at least six hours of sleep every day, while Yun Huizhou could basically only sleep for four to five hours.

Furthermore, due to the presence of assassins during the day, he had no way to properly make up for his lost sleep. He could only lean forward slightly on his camel or close his eyes to rest his mind.

Several times, just as he had leaned over his camel to catch some sleep, the assassins had appeared.

Anyone who has tried to nap during the day should understand: sometimes you just want to lean down and close your eyes for a moment, but the second your eyes shut, your thoughts begin to drift.

In such moments, one often falls into a very deep sleep. Even if you only sleep for twenty minutes, you wake up feeling completely refreshed.

When the assassins weren’t around, Lian Li certainly wouldn’t call out to Yun Huizhou if he saw him napping.

But once the assassins arrived, he had to alert Yun Huizhou immediately.

And the moment Yun Huizhou woke from his nap, he had to clear his head instantly. Otherwise, if he faced those assassins in a daze, a single slip-up could result in neither of them making it out of the desert.

By the time Yun Huizhou finished his rest, it was already two hours into the night. The two ate a little food but did not dare to eat until they were completely full.

After confirming they were in the best state they could currently achieve, the two walked over to the camels that had accompanied them throughout the journey.

“To be honest, we don’t even know if we can make it back safely ourselves this time. If these camels follow us, I’m afraid few of them will make it to the Border City alive,” Lian Li said, stroking the head of one of the camels.

Lian Li actually liked animals; in the modern world, he had been a compassionate person.

Because of his illness, he hadn’t been able to keep pets, so he would “virtually raise” them online.

His family background was actually quite decent; even though they were constantly paying for his medical treatments, they hadn’t reached the point of being destitute.

So, back when he was still alive in his previous life, he had virtually adopted a little penguin online.

Previously in the desert, they needed to rely on the camels to find a way out and survive. Therefore, even though he knew the camels would be in mortal danger by following them, he hadn’t let a “bleeding heart” impulse drive him to disband the caravan.

But now that they were out of the desert, they were no longer so dependent on the camels for survival. Moreover, a dozen or so camels made for a rather large target, which was not conducive to hiding their tracks. Thus, he inevitably felt a stir of pity.

If these camels could live, there was no need for them to follow them to their deaths, right?

He and Yun Huizhou might not necessarily die, but the same couldn’t be said for these camels. After all, blades and swords have no eyes.

Once they were released, it wouldn’t be a problem whether they chose to stay in the desert or if they knew the way back to their original owner.

Camels have nose pegs. Lian Li walked over and touched them gently, then began to remove the pegs from the camels they intended to release.

The process was certainly painful, and there was even some bleeding. Feeling the pain, the camels naturally wouldn’t just stand there and let him do it.

However, whether it was him or Yun Huizhou, suppressing a camel was quite easy.

Once the nose pegs were removed, the camels were naturally not as obedient as before. But perhaps because they had been raised by humans for a long time and it wasn’t currently mating season, these camels didn’t exhibit any other aggressive behaviors.

Nevertheless, these were stubborn animals. After the nose pegs were removed, if they didn’t return to their original owner, the ten or so of them could still survive together as a group.

Lian Li, of course, didn’t plan to release all of them. They still had a distance to cover to reach the Border City.

Since they needed to save their energy to deal with the assassins, they naturally needed to keep two camels for transport.

Camels run at a decent speed and have excellent endurance. Although the two intended to free the camels, they would still prioritize their own lives and safety.

Thus, they kept the two strongest camels to serve as their mounts.

After removing the nose pegs of the camels they intended to release, a bit of a commotion naturally broke out among the herd.

Animals as large as camels, whether wild or domestic, are always relatively intelligent. Once the nose pegs were removed, they realized that the things binding them were gone.

Yun Huizhou used his sword to drive them away, herding them back toward the desert.

Some camels lingered and refused to leave. Yun Huizhou showed no mercy, striking their rumps directly with his sheathed sword.

Yun Huizhou didn’t use his internal energy, but his strikes were by no means light. His goal was to make it hurt enough to force them to leave.

After nearly an hour of busy effort, there were still a few camels unwilling to depart.

Because these few refused to go, the others that were originally about to leave stopped as well, standing about a hundred meters away.

Seeing this situation, Lian Li was simply speechless, and Yun Huizhou’s lips twitched.

He admitted that a few of these camels were quite spirited and intelligent, but it was precisely because they were intelligent that he was unwilling to let them face the assassins and die unnecessarily.

However, he truly hadn’t expected these intelligent camels to be so loyal to their masters.

Yun Huizhou and Lian Li looked at each other in bewilderment. They had planned for everything, except for the possibility that these camels wouldn’t leave.

Especially since they had already removed the nose pegs and reins that bound them.

Lian Li estimated the time and said, “Let’s try driving them away one more time. If they really won’t go, we’ll just ignore them and ride off on the two we kept. I don’t believe they’ll keep following us forever.”

Yun Huizhou nodded and moved to drive the camels away again. This time, he drew his sword directly.

He figured that camels had thick skin and tough flesh; hitting them with a sheathed sword might not feel painful enough to them.

But if they bled, they would surely know to run. He would just cut a small nick on a camel’s body—a symbolic bit of blood—to let them know that if they didn’t leave, they would bleed. Surely they wouldn’t linger then?

Just as Yun Huizhou was about to act, he noticed another stir of commotion within the camel herd. His heart leaped with joy—had they suddenly become sensible?

Unless absolutely necessary, he didn’t really want to make these camels bleed. After all, fresh blood would attract predators.

The desert looked desolate, but it actually housed quite a few animals, including predators.

Although predators probably wouldn’t dare provoke such a large group of camels, the desert environment was harsh; for an animal, being injured was a very troublesome matter.