Chapter 81: Peeping

Not long afterward, the pumpkins finished roasting. Li Si used a wooden stick to rake the roasted pumpkins out of the bonfire. He discovered that their skins had been completely charred, and they were somewhat soft and crumbly when taken out.

Afterward, he used the stick to push several pumpkins in front of the others.

When the others saw the pumpkins, they all swallowed slightly. Especially the family of three, who had probably gone some time without food, their eyes were full of longing.

“Eat slowly and be careful not to burn yourselves,” Li Si reminded them.

The family of three might have injuries, and they might also have gone a long time without eating. If they ate too quickly all at once, their injuries could worsen.

The same was true for He Zhong. Chen Zhongyang had kicked him hard in the stomach, and he was probably seriously injured as well. He was not suited to eating too quickly either.

Hearing Li Si’s words, the others understood what he meant and began eating slowly.

The pumpkin did not taste very good. It was even somewhat unpleasant, but at this moment they could no longer afford to care about such things. Having food at all was already good enough.

Not long afterward, the pumpkins were finished, and everyone continued working.

By this time, the night had already grown very deep. Yet what felt eerie was that there were no bird calls, animal cries, or insect sounds anywhere nearby. It was almost completely silent. The only sounds were the crackling of burning wood and the noises of the group bundling thatch.

During the time that followed, there were several more disturbances from the roots. However, Xiaoduan cut all of them apart.

Although Xiaoduan could be a bit simple-minded at times, he was extremely gifted when it came to fighting. Every time the roots attacked, he could deal with them swiftly. This also made things much easier for everyone.

When they had worked until the middle of the night, they finally stopped. Stretching their bodies, they saw that all four bamboo baskets had been filled with small bundles of thatch.

“You all get some rest. I’ll keep watch,” Li Si said with a smile as he loosened his neck.

The adults looked at Li Si and revealed hesitant expressions, but in the end they could only nod helplessly.

The only person capable of standing watch now was Li Si. There was no point in the others doing it. They might as well use the extra time to rest.

Li Si glanced around, but his mood was far less relaxed than that of the other four.

Using fire to drive away the Peach Tree Demon might work, but that depended on the demon being afraid of pain. If the Peach Tree Demon went mad, then no one would be able to escape.

He could not afford to place any hopes on luck in a situation like this.

He only had four Low-Level Demon-Slaying Talismans. He could kill only four Peach Tree Demons. Once those four talismans were gone, only death would await him.

There was no lightning available to help him now. Even if there were, it would not strike this place.

On the contrary, he hoped it would not rain tomorrow. Otherwise, their breakout would have to be delayed even longer.

Humans may scheme a thousand times, but Heaven needs only one calculation. Many things do not succeed simply because they have been planned. Often, a little luck is also required.

Shaking his head slightly, Li Si cast these thoughts aside. There was no point thinking about such things now. As long as he handled the preparations properly, that would be enough.

After clearing his mind, he looked toward the others.

The four of them had already spread out the blankets they had recovered from the ruins earlier.

Seeing this, Li Si’s expression froze slightly. Then, as if he had thought of something, he immediately said, “Don’t sleep like that tonight.”

The others were stunned and looked at him in confusion.

Seeing their puzzled expressions, Li Si sighed inwardly.

These people felt that with him present, they could sleep however they wanted. Their guard had relaxed, and they simply were not thinking as far ahead as he was.

In truth, because of Yu Hu’s death, he had become even more wary of demons, evil spirits, and ghost creatures. He considered more possibilities than before. Otherwise, if something like Yu Hu’s death happened again, it would be too late for regrets.

“The Peach Tree Demon’s roots can come up from underground. Sleeping like that is very dangerous,” Li Si explained helplessly.

Hearing this, everyone’s expressions changed drastically, and they immediately got up from the ground. Only now did they understand the danger.

In fact, it was exactly as Li Si had expected.

Because the Peach Tree Demon had not attacked much recently, and because of Li Si’s mysterious and unfathomable methods, they were no longer as terrified as before. They simply felt that as long as Li Si was here, they were safe.

“You can sleep on that rock over there.”

Li Si pointed toward a rock not far away. It was only about one or two square metres in size, one of the common rocks found in the area.

The others nodded, carried their blankets over, and climbed onto the rock. Once there, they sat down and soon lay back-to-back as they slept.

A blanket was also placed between He Zhong and the women of Shu Rong’s family where their backs touched, so there was not much inconvenience. Even if there had been, no one could worry about that now.

Watching them quickly fall asleep, Li Si nodded slightly. He then placed the bamboo baskets filled with thatch onto several other rocks.

Fortunately, there were plenty of rocks here, and the area had never been specially cleared. Otherwise, there truly would have been nowhere to stay.

After placing the baskets on the rocks, Li Si walked back to the bonfire and sat down. Picking up a piece of scrap wood from nearby, he tossed it into the flames. The sound of the wood colliding echoed sharply through the silent night.

He had no intention of sleeping tonight.

After all, he truly did not trust Xiaoduan to stand watch alone.

Fortunately, his body was now much stronger than before. Staying awake for one night would not leave him overly exhausted.

Darkness covered the land while the moon hung high overhead. The peach grove had fallen into an eerie stillness. The only sounds were Li Si stirring the bonfire and the steady breathing of the four sleeping people.

Time slowly passed.

Yet to Li Si, it felt unbearably slow. Every moment was difficult to endure.

After all, more than a hundred human heads surrounded him, staring at him with eerie gazes, while he also had to remain constantly vigilant against the roots beneath the ground.

At this very moment, a Peach Tree Demon bearing two human heads silently wriggled into the midst of the other Peach Tree Demons. Four eyes stared viciously at the five people present.

In fact, after devouring Chen Zhongyang’s corpse, this Peach Tree Demon had already arrived nearby.

Originally, it had planned to wait until everyone fell into a deep sleep before strangling them with its roots.

However, it had never expected them to climb onto that rock.

Although the visible portion of the rock was not very large, the part buried beneath the ground was enormous. Its roots had no way of moving it.

The two heads stared at Li Si and the others, hesitation appearing in their eyes.

It wanted to send its split bodies forward and slaughter all of them. Yet whenever it recalled the soul-deep agony it had felt when one of its split bodies was killed earlier, it shuddered.

Although each additional split body increased the Peach Tree Demon’s strength, each one also intensified its ability to feel pain.

This was precisely why it had still not attacked the group.