C171 Sliver of Vitality

The desolate courtyard was in sharp contrast to the lively early spring season. It was like two sand wheels that fiercely tempered Zheng Lei's heart.

Zheng Lei suddenly remembered something he read somewhere: Heaven never bars one's path. No matter how difficult it is, it will always leave a chance at survival. But where is my chance of survival? Where was his parents' chance of survival?

Suddenly, a hoarse barking sound broke the tranquility of the world. Zheng Lei abruptly turned around and looked towards the outside of the door.

A dog, covered in skin and bones, stood dispiritedly in front of the door. Its four hooves were covered with dark red mud.

Where did this dog come from? Zheng Lei had some doubts, but when he looked at the dog, he felt a sense of familiarity.

"Ball!" This was the name of his dog. When he was eight years old, his father went to work in the fields, and when he came back at night, he found a dog. This dog wasn't as hungry as other stray dogs, but ate like a meatball.

The dog outside the door was stunned for more than ten seconds. Finally, it dashed towards Zheng Lei, ran to his side, and rubbed its head against Zheng Lei's body.

When he finally saw something that was alive, Zheng Lei couldn't help but feel a little excited. At least, he wasn't completely disappointed.

Zheng Lei squatted down and rubbed the ball on the head. "Where did you run off to? Did they take them away? How did you get back here? "

Unfortunately, this ball was just a dog, how could it understand Zheng Lei's words? No matter what he said, the ball was still just a dog, so it couldn't be of any help to him. Although when he saw the ball, Zheng Lei felt a little bit of excitement in his heart, but soon after, he became even more disappointed.

He sat on the ground and quietly held the ball, trying to guess where his parents would go. No matter where they would be taken to, Zheng Lei would never give up. Even if he had to spend his entire life looking for them, he would.

"Woof, woof …" The hoarse voice of the ball interrupted Zheng Lei's thoughts.

Zheng Lei lowered his head to look at the ball. He saw that the ball's eyes were filled with anxiety. A pair of claws covered in dark red mud was constantly grabbing onto his hand.

Could it be? Is the ball trying to tell me something? A thought flashed through Zheng Lei's mind. Before this, he had seen the story of the loyal dog repaying him for his kindness in many places.

Zheng Lei gathered up his courage and said to the ball, "Ball, do you know where Mom and Dad are?"

After saying that, Zheng Lei's heart began to thump loudly. Surprisingly, the ball nodded like a human and used its front paw to slowly rub Zheng Lei's hand.

Zheng Lei became excited and said, "Alright, ball, let's go quickly." As he spoke, he placed the ball on the ground.

The ball staggered and almost fell to the ground. It tried its best to take two steps forward, but it just stood there, trembling uncontrollably. Then, it turned its head to look at Zheng Lei, as if it received encouragement.

The more Zheng Lei saw, the more he felt something was wrong. He walked over and picked up the ball. He held onto its hooves and saw that they were all rotten. Blood kept flowing out, dyeing the dark red dirt on its paws even redder.

"Are you hurt?" Zheng Lei said worriedly. Then, he grabbed the ball's claws and gently lifted the dirt off the ball. The ball was trembling all over, but it didn't even emit a moan.

After removing the soil, Zheng Lei saw the ball of hooves. What should have been a thick layer of cuticle had now become a blur of flesh and blood.

Looking at the claws of the ball, Zheng Lei seemed to have thought of something. He said softly, "Ball, did you go to help me find my parents? Did you run for a long time? " Zheng Lei's words made Ball obediently rub its head against his chest. It looked like a child that had done a good deed and received praise.

Zheng Lei picked up the ball and walked towards the warm basin of water in the kitchen. He then carefully washed the ball over and over again. When he washed over the wound, the ball trembled violently, but it didn't make any sound. This scene caused Zheng Lei to cry. Just thinking about how a dog could understand human nature, but there were some people that were far worse off than this dog.

After washing up, the ball looked like it was before. It was just that compared to the ball in his memory, it had lost a lot of weight.

Zheng Lei found some gauze from home and wrapped it around the ball's hooves. He held the ball and said, "Ball, if you still understand my words, then use your claws to point me the way. We'll go rescue them together!"

Ball obediently nodded his head and stretched out his claw in the direction of the village entrance.

When Zheng Lei saw the movement of the ball, his heart warmed. Without saying anything, he picked up the ball and rushed out of his house.

Along the way, under the guidance of the ball, Zheng Lei constantly changed directions. In fact, there were some mistakes in the way they went, but the way animals found their way was completely different from the way people memorized their way. Although some mistakes happened, it was still better than not having any clues.

Zheng Lei was carrying the ball as he ran. His doubts were growing. The path pointed to by the ball did not look like a path that a dog could remember. Anxious, he put a Godspeed Glyph on his body as soon as he left his house. His speed was comparable to that of a car.

But no matter how fast Zheng Lei is, the ball will always point him in the right direction when the time comes.

He lowered his head to look at the docile ball in his arms, and couldn't help but to question whether this ball was actually a dog. What he said, the ball almost completely understood him, and the ball's brain reacted very quickly. If it didn't have a dog's body, it wouldn't have been able to speak human language.

The winding road slowly wound its way to Xi'an City. Zheng Lei became more and more frightened as he ran along the road. It was such a long road, and it wasn't a straight line. If he pulled these roads straight, he would be able to walk back and forth between Xi'an and Hua Shan.

If it was a car, it wouldn't take too long to cover such a long distance. However, if it was a dog that was walking, who knows how long it would take. Zheng Lei lowered his head to look at the ball, then gently rubbed it on its head a few times. From the look of the ball, Zheng Lei could guess that during the days his parents were kidnapped, the ball had been constantly searching for them day and night.

Although the straight line was not too far away, but to find a person and to hurry on was not the same. If it was just travelling, it would only take a few days for the ball to run, but it would be hard to find a person. Otherwise, the ball wouldn't have worn out all four hooves.

If he continued moving forward, he would enter Xi'an City.

Zheng Lei did not doubt his actions at all as he ran in the direction the ball was pointed to. Along the way, the ball had never cried out so excitedly, only one claw was pointing Zheng Lei in the direction he was coming from. If he were to cry out now, he would definitely not be far from his destination.

After running for a distance, Zheng Lei discovered that the surrounding buildings were getting more and more dilapidated. He stopped and looked around, only to see that the rusted steel objects were still exuding their former glory, as if an old man was talking to his juniors about the glory of his youth.

In the past, this factory had made an indelible contribution to the great development of the western part of the country. Now, with the changes of the times and the advancement of technology, this factory was slowly being forgotten, and no one in the younger generation could remember how much economic benefits this factory had brought to the rest of society. No one could remember how many people who had lived in the lowest class of society had once lived in this dilapidated factory.

The hustle and bustle of the past were already remembered by the people. All that was left in front of them was this ruin, like a devil's mouth, as if it wanted to swallow up those who were close to it.

Suddenly, Zheng Lei felt the ball biting down on his sleeve and immediately stopped. He looked around vigilantly but did not see anyone. The ball struggled a few times in his embrace before jumping down.

The ball stood on the ground and sniffed at the wind a few times. Then it bit the bottom of Zheng Lei's pants and walked to the side. Zheng Lei understood and followed the ball to hide behind a wall.

After a while, the two of them walked past each other, and they were actually holding guns in their hands, although they didn't know if it was true or false, but in this kind of environment, Jiang Long shouldn't be able to get a few fake guns to scare people right? One must know that there were several sects behind him, so wanting to get a few guns was an easy thing for these cultivators.

After the two of them went over, Zheng Lei lightly patted the ball's head and whispered, "Little guy, you're really smart. It's all thanks to your sensitive nose, otherwise I would have started working with them before I even saw my parents."

The ball used its head to rub Zheng Lei's body a few times to show its intimacy. Then, it raised its claws and pointed forward, indicating that it was time to go.

Zheng Lei rolled his eyes and thought: Are you a dog or not? Why did he act like a person? Could it be that you are not an ordinary person?

Along the way, thanks to the sharp nose of the ball, he always avoided the enemy's scouting before they arrived. Just like that, Zheng Lei came to the heart of the abandoned factory district.

Looking at it from the outside, these abandoned factories looked very dilapidated. However, upon walking in, one would discover that there were actually quite a few intact houses here. Only, they were abandoned along with this area.

After evading who knows how many enemies, Zheng Lei was led by the ball to a sewer cover.

The ball kept scratching the top of the well. Zheng Lei knew its actions were to remove the lid. He didn't waste time and easily removed the lid.

Good heavens! This was not the mouth of a sewer at all, but the entrance of a tunnel, perfectly disguised as a sewer cover. A flight of stairs that could only allow one person to pass through silently extended from the underground darkness all the way to Zheng Lei's feet.

Zheng Lei turned his head to look at the ball, then looked at the passage and asked, "Are my parents inside?"

The ball nodded its head. Zheng Lei patted its head and said, "You wait outside and find a place to hide. When I come out later, you will lead me there."

With that, he pulled the cover of the sewer and closed it again. Then, he walked along the dark, lightless tunnel by himself. Suddenly walking into the darkness, Zheng Lei could not see anything clearly. Carefully walking for a while, he was finally able to see something clearly.

He used all his strength to look at the walls of the tunnel, only to see that the walls of the tunnel were not made of reinforced concrete, but instead were filled with murals. Due to the light, Zheng Lei could only tell that these murals were murals, but he couldn't clearly see what the details were.

As he walked, Zheng Lei suddenly had a feeling. This passage was like a passage leading to a grave underground. From time to time, a chilly wind blew from the surroundings.

It was very possible that he was currently located in an ancient tomb. As for whose ancient tomb it was, Zheng Lei had no way to guess, after all, over the past several thousand years, countless people had died, and those who could rank among the best were able to form a super team to go to Old Master Yan's place to gather a copy.

After walking for a while, Zheng Lei became even more confused. He had already traveled for such a long distance, how come he didn't meet an enemy? This kind of situation usually wouldn't happen. Jiang Long couldn't possibly not have heavily guarded his parents. However, up until now, Zheng Lei was still quietly walking along the path by himself.

Could it be that something went wrong with the ball? Although the ball could find out roughly where his parents were, it was not certain that he would be able to see them. Just this manhole cover of the sewer made it impossible for the ball to do anything, much less find something more difficult.

Or was the ball wrong from the beginning? His parents were not locked up here? Zheng Lei's thoughts slid past here and he quickly turned to the side. He didn't dare to think whether his heart would be able to take it or not.

Suddenly, Zheng Lei heard a slight sound of friction. He stopped and listened attentively. The silence was so endless that it almost made one hallucinate. It was as if he could hear his own heartbeat.

After a long while, Zheng Lei did not even take a single step forward. He was waiting, waiting for that voice to appear again. After waiting for almost ten minutes, Zheng Lei finally took a step forward.

Just as he took his first step, Zheng Lei heard a slight sound of friction. Zheng Lei's heart tightened, the achievement ruler and the Thrusting Heart Nail instantly appeared in his hands.