The Dawn of the New World Chapter 1631

Instead of slowly and carefully chipping away at the crystals he ended up blowing a hole through them. The entire tunnel shook as a result forcing Hao Xuan to exit hastily.

He ran out of the tunnel as pieces fell around him one by one. Even if he got buried alive it wouldn't be too much of a problem for him but it was better to avoid any extra trouble.

Che Yun was already standing by the exit preparing. There was a rope tied around his waist and even a small helmet on his head.

Seeing Hao Xuan appear in front of him the boy let out a sigh of relief, "Sir! Are you okay?!"

Hao Xuan waved his hand while looking him up and down, "Yeah yeah, don't worry about it. What's with the getup?"

"Oh, this? I was getting ready to go in if you needed help," he said proudly.

Hao Xuan followed the rope with his eyes and found it loosely tied to a nearby boulder. It would be pulled loose with the lightest touch.

"Well, I appreciate the gesture," he ruffled the boy's hair while smiling, "But if something does happen, you should go get one of the guards instead of trying anything yourself."

"B-But if you need help urgently?? How can I run away when I am hearing screaming??"

"HAHAHA!"

Hao Xuan burst out laughing.

"Hear me screaming?? If I am ever screaming then run as fast and as far as possible! Hahaha, oh god that's funny-"

However, even though he found it quite humorous for obvious reasons, Che Yun was not privy to all the details and took it as an insult.

Head hung low and shoulders slouched, "I...am not that weak..." he mumbled unhappily.

Surprisingly Hao Xuan realized his mistake and tried to 'correct' himself.

"No no, it's not about you. I doubt even the guards could be of any real help to me in a pinch. It's not that YOU'RE weak- which you definitely are- but I am just THAT much stronger than everyone else..."

He only realized how arrogant his words sounded once it was too late to take them back.

'What the fuck am I saying?'

Che Yun walked over to the camp and hid in the corner while hugging his legs.

Hao Xuan let out a deep sigh.

He glanced at the tunnel that was halfway closed with debris but chose not to bother clearing it by hand. The spiritual threads could handle such menial work and he could easily control them from this far away so it was a moot point.

Making his way over to the camp he sat on the other side while the rocks and stones slowly rolled out by themselves without making a sound.

"Ahem," he tried to strike up a conversation again, "Did you eat something? You should-"

"I did."

"Oh...good good....that's...good..."

An awkward silence hung over the camp once Hao Xuan found himself at his wit's end. He wasn't a big talker anyway so making conversation was not his forte.

It had been a long time since he had to be mindful of someone's feelings.

'What do I even say now? It's not like I was wrong. Even if I apologize it won't be sincere- not that I have any reason to in the first place. I mean logically speaking...'

He went on and on his mind, doing all sorts of mental gymnastics to avoid saying "sorry" while glossing over the main point.

'Meh, whatever. He's just a kid anyway, there's no way he doesn't forget about it soon. I'll just change the topic to something that interests him.'

"So...tell me about your sister."

"She's fine now."

"Oh...right, you said that. It's a very good thing."

"Okay..."

"....."

While Hao Xuan was trying to make conversation and failing miserably, something out of the ordinary was transpiring just out of their line of sight on the northern side of the mine.

A dust devil had formed by the intense winds and was clashing against the Defensive Array, sending sand and pieces of debris all over.

**

Nearly half an hour passed in complete silence until even Hao Xuan couldn't take it anymore. The awkward silence was more unnerving for him than an actual threat to his life.

*sigh~*

"Did you have any questions you wanted to ask? You know I've traveled all over and know a LOT of things...you can ask me anything" he was throwing a dart in the dark but unexpectedly that got the boy's attention.

He finally looked over his shoulder, "Anything?"

"Yeah of course!" Hao Xuan immediately perked up, "What do you want to know?? Robots? Space ships? Giant monstrous beings from the-"

"Have you ever seen a forest?"

'....'

"A-A forest?" Hao Xuan thought he misheard, "What about the forest?"

"Have you ever seen one?"

"Like...where a bunch of trees are?"

"Un," he nodded innocently, "I dreamt about one last night. It was so big and green- SO much green! And there was a white scar in the sky where people lived!"