Fight, Flight, or Freeze: The Healer's Story
Chapter 282: Too Much Of An Issue

Chapter 282: Too Much Of An Issue

The guys walked non-stop for two days, and by the end of the second day, we discovered a road off of the highway that seemed to lead to nowhere.

Massive trees were everywhere, and even if you came by the road, you wouldn’t really think anything about it. One tree was perched precariously on its side, preventing any vehicle from going down the roadway; part of its roots were still in the ground, making it appear as if a strong wind blew it over.

More trees were down in strategic locations to make a very strict path for anyone wanting to go down the route on foot. There was no way to deviate from what was laid out for you without getting lost and taking the chance that you never made it to your location.

I needed to do this when we got back to the cabin in City D.

It was ingenious.

"Let me down," I smiled at Rip, reveling in the energy around me. Knowing that the guys were getting tired, I connected to the energy highway underfoot and once again topped them up.

But oh god, the energy of this place was enough to send me into a euphoric state.

I almost wanted to give up all my plans just to stay here and never leave. And I hadn’t even made it to the ranch yet.

This was how I imagined it felt like to take drugs. My body felt lighter, and my brain was actually quiet. All my thoughts and my worries were gone, vanished the second my feet met the earth.

But... it was still muted. Like I was only getting a fraction of the connection that I could.

I walked over to one of the downed trees and sat down, taking off my combat boots and socks.

"Uh, Cuddles," started Si Dong, looking at me with a frantic look. "It’s not like I am the most... it’s not that I care that you are standing in the middle of the woods in nothing but your bare feet, but maybe let one of us carry you? I mean, you could step on a twig or be bitten by something... or—"

Letting out a fully body laugh, I grabbed Si Dong and brought him back into my body.

"Okay then," he said as soon as he realized where he was. "You know, words work, too."

"I honestly didn’t know if I would be able to form a sentence. Can you feel this place? The energy, the health of everything around here. It’s making me drunk on the feeling," I giggled, dancing around in a circle as I connected with the forest.

The trees and grass reached out toward me as if welcoming an old friend home, and I laughed in delight as flowers bloomed in my mind and saplings pushed up through the leaf litter on the floor.

I continued to funnel energy into the area, marking the whole thing with my signature, as trees grew taller and their roots dug deeper into the earth.

And that was when I saw them. The human men that were slowly creeping toward us. "What?" I asked, turning to look at Si Dong, the poor spirit power that I forced into my space.

"They want to know who is in their territory," shrugged Si Dong, a dark aura flowing through him. I might not have noticed it out in the real world, but this was my world.

"What should we do?" I tilted my head to the side. I didn’t want to leave this place, but I wouldn’t leave my men helpless if we were on enemy territory. I needed to protect them.

"You already know," he returned with a smile as a pout appeared on my face. Just because I knew what I should do doesn’t mean that I wanted to do it.

"Fine," I grumbled, feeling like a child. But the high was still going through my system as more and more trees fed into me, only for the power to be returned back to them better and stronger than before.

I chuckled at the idea that I was reduced to nothing more than plant fertilizer. But, if the shoe fit...

In a blink, we were back in the real world.

Huh.

I looked around, seeing my men milling about. Even Rip, and Bin An Sha didn’t seem to be too worried about the men surrounding us. Were they pretending that they didn’t know, or did they really not know?

Oh well, either way, we needed to warn the ranch, and this was probably the welcoming committee. And if they weren’t then the trees could enjoy more premium fertilizers.

"Hi!" I shouted out. "We’re here to visit. We won’t stay long, just have a dire warning and all that." My voice was a lot peppier than usual, and I knew I was acting drunk, but I couldn’t stop myself.

Holy fuck could I not stop myself.

But this was not the time to be drunk.

"Rip?" I called out, and the man strolled over to me and pulled me into his arms. The moment I was no longer touching the earth, the connection was broken, and I could no longer feel the energy of everything around me.

The good part was that my brain was functioning again. The bad part was that I was now feeling hungover.

My entire body ached, wanting to be connected to the world again, to feel that rush of power.

"Next time, no taking your boots off," chuckled Si Dong. He was back to normal, holding my socks and boots up in his hand before he walked over and started putting on my socks. "We will save that type of connection for an emergency, yeah?"

Pouting, I nodded my head. "Yeah," I whispered, my head pounding. "But what about the guys sneaking up on us?"

"I think it will be fine. After all, you did just out them, and no military man likes it when that happens," laughed Cheng Bo Jing. He put Wang Chang Ming on the ground but still held onto the toddler’s hand tightly, scared that he would run away.

I have to admit, as much as I was worried about bringing the child along, he has been almost invisible. He didn’t complain at all and was always grateful to eat whatever Fan Teng Fei took out for him.

Once my boots were on, I looked at Rip. "Let me down. I’ll take Chang Ming while you guys do what you need to do. But we were technically sent here by the one who owns the ranch, so there shouldn’t be too much of an issue."

Follow current novels on freewe(b)novel.c(o)m