Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 59

Hordes of corpses rushed towards him, grasping at him. Dong Zhi yelled and ran away! The ghouls seemed to have never seen such fresh life. After waiting thousands of years, they finally got to taste sweet, fresh flesh and blood. The ghouls rushed up to Dong Zhi, forming what looked like an overwhelming sea of dead corpses flooding towards him. He was embattled and had nowhere to escape.

Suddenly, Dong Zhi saw a black vine hanging in front of him. He didn’t have time to think before leaping towards it. He grabbed the vine and swung on it. The vine was surprisingly strong and had become a veritable lifeline.

In the next second, in the spot where he originally stood, ghouls had completely swarmed it. If he was half a step too late, he would likely meet the same fate as Takashima Kawa. Dong Zhi looked back and was terrified to witness the scene.

The cliff in front of him was getting closer. He gripped the vine tightly as he tried to step onto the cliff, but because it was too narrow and his body was unsteady, his center of gravity was titled back, and he was about to fall back. Suddenly, a hand stretched out and grabbed his collar.

“Let go.”

Dong Zhi subconsciously let go of his hand holding the vine, and Long Shen pulled him in the direction of the mountain wall.

The shock from narrowly escaping death and his surprise at seeing Long Shen again staggered his heart. Dong Zhi heavily panted, unable to say a word. Long Shen didn’t speak either. He was still standing not far from Dong Zhi with his back against the mountain wall, stable as a rock.

“Boss Long?” Dong Zhi was cautious, but his heart told him that it couldn’t be fake.

“How did you get here?” Long Shen asked.

Dong Zhi took a deep breath and then relayed the events of how he and Liu Qingbo dived underwater to attack the giant python.

“I rescued Liu Qingbo and washed ashore but found that it wasn’t the river where we were but a pool of water. The pool led to four directions. We chose the cave to the north. After entering, we met Xing Qiaosheng…”

Long Shen said, “Xing Qiaosheng is dead.”

Dong Zhi’s heart jumped. “Really dead? Then what we saw…?”

“What you may have seen is a Xing Qiaosheng who existed in the past, including yourself.”

Dong Zhi was confused. “What do you mean?”

Long Shen said, “Have you ever thought that your own existence isn’t true?”

Dong Zhi looked at him blankly, as if he was listening to the Book from the Sky*.

*Title of a book produced by Chinese artist Xu Bing in the Song and Ming dynasties but filled with entirely meaningless glyphs designed to resemble traditional Chinese characters.

“Boss Long, what are you talking about?”

“The Special Administration Bureau brought you all here at my behest, but my purpose isn’t to refine you all into warriors.”

Dong Zhi suddenly felt that Long Shen was behaving strangely. The two of them were close right now, but he felt as if they were thousands of miles apart.

The “dandelions” flickered faintly, swaying uncertainly, like nether flowers on the banks of the Yellow Spring*, drawing a vague line between life and death.

*(黄泉) Refers to the place people go after death, the underworld.

Long Shen finished speaking, Dong Zhi asked indifferently, “Then what is your purpose?”

“To let you all die here,” Long Shen said.

The gloomy wind blew from all directions, chilling the back of his neck and penetrating into his collar, making Dong Zhi involuntarily shudder.

“Why?” He heard his voice asking.

“Because you are the future elites of the Special Administration Bureau and the future pillars of the cultivation world. Thus, I came up with this plan to eliminate everyone without arousing suspicion. In the name of allowing you to gain experience, you’ll all perish here and never leave.”

Dong Zhi shook his head. “I don’t believe you. You are not Long Shen. What I’m seeing must be an illusion again.”

Long Shen’s face was hidden in the shadows, and in the faint light, Dong Zhi saw only the slight outline of his right hand holding a sword. It was indistinguishable whether he was joyful or angry, and unpredictable if he was good or evil.

“Not only will you die, but He Yu and Kan Chaosheng will also die. They will be destroyed in Yunnan together with group three. None will be spared in the end.”

Long Shen’s cold voice echoed in the cave as silence was all around. The ghouls opened their teeth and waved their claws below, waiting for someone to fall down to them. They made no sounds because their voices had died out thousands of years ago.

Dong Zhi leaned against the cold stone wall and felt an uneven feeling, making his back tingle slightly. In the past, he would straighten his back to avoid the jagged stones behind him, but now he needed the pain to stay awake.

Liu Qingbo, Xing Qiaosheng, Takashima Kawa, Song Zhicun, situations that had existed before, truth or lies, passed before his eyes. Dong Zhi forced himself to calm down and face this man who was more special to him than any other.

“You mean you want to wipe us all out, but what good is that for you? Why are you doing this?”

For a moment, Long Shen remained silent before saying, “You should understand. In this matter, I’m on the side of whoever could get the most benefits.”

Dong Zhi shook his head. “You’re not Long Shen. Long Shen is not such a person. Who are you?”

“In your heart, do you really know what kind of person Long Shen is?”

Dong Zhi panted slightly, staring at Long Shen’s figure fiercely, as if Long Shen would transform into a monster or become a different person in the next moment.

“He’s very serious, stern, and unsmiling. Because he always pursues perfection, he doesn’t like others to make excuses for messing up, nor does he like others to intercede for his mistakes. However, he has a very soft heart. He will feed a pitiful stray cat and carefully observe the efforts of others. Although he said I was not qualified to enter the Special Administration Bureau, he would have praised me for my efforts, lent me his sword, and told me what I needed to do to get further ahead.”

Dong Zhi wiped his face, feeling that he was really worthless, and he choked up when he spoke. He raised his sword and pointed at the figure. “Who the hell are you?!”

The other party said, “I am Long Shen.”

Dong Zhi wasn’t even aware of how he lost his sword. He only felt a numbness in his wrist and involuntarily dropped the sword, which flew into the opponent’s hand in the blink of an eye. The opponent’s sword was pointed straight at him with its tip reaching his shoulder.

Only then did Dong Zhi realize how strong this person was. The words “Long Shen” not only meant that there was no need for his teammates to worry about him, but it also meant how much courage it took to fight against him.

“Do you want to kill me?” Dong Zhi asked.

“I’m going to kill you.” Long Shen replied.

Dong Zhi felt heartbroken. He reached out his hand to grab the sword’s blade, instantly feeling a sharp pain in his palm.

Long Shen frowned slightly. “Let go.”

Dong Zhi didn’t let go but held on to it even tighter. Long Shen directly withdrew his sword and retreated.

Dong Zhi felt overcome with joy. “You’re really Long Shen! If you were an enemy, you wouldn’t care if my hand was injured, let alone withdraw! Boss Long, I’m Dong Zhi. Do you still recognize me? Wake up!”

“…I recognize you. I don’t have amnesia,” Long Shen sighed softly. “How are your hands?”

“It hurts and it’s bleeding.”

“Let me see.”

Dong Zhi still had doubts. “Why did you say those things just now?”

Long Shen said, “You wanted to test me, and I was the same. I’m not sure if your existence is real, so I had to test it. Before you, I had met Liu Qingbo, Li Ying, and Lin Xuan in succession, but they were all fake.”

Dong Zhi frowned. “Fake? What do you mean?”

“As I said just now, the space and time here are chaotic, and the glowing grass everywhere has turned the entire underground cave into a huge illusion. It is impossible to distinguish between true and false, fact from fiction. I had to make this decision to test whether things were real or not. I’m sorry.”

Dong Zhi knew what he meant, because he had almost been deceived by the fake Song Zhicun before.

Long Shen had been in the dark for a long time, and his resilience was faster than most people, so he saw the tears on Dong Zhi’s face.

“My apprentice is not so weak that he’ll shed tears so easily.”

Dong Zhi subconsciously wiped his face with the back of his hand, but his hand suddenly stopped. He thought he had heard it wrong.

“Give me your hand,” Long Shen said.

Dong Zhi obediently stretched out his hand.

Long Shen knew how sharp his swords were. Even if he withdrew them quickly, the grip he just now most likely left a wound. Sure enough, when he looked, he saw there were two deep gashes in Dong Zhi’s hand. When he touched them, he felt the hands were sticky.

“Did you bring emergency medicine?” he asked.

“I brought it, it’s in my pocket.”

Long Shen opened his waist bag, took out a hemostatic spray and gauze from it, stopped the bleeding first, and then wrapped the gauze around the upper layer of his palm.

“Follow me.”

After walking through the steep cliff, there was a recessed place in the middle of the mountain wall that was big enough for them to sit down. After staying in this environment for so long, Dong Zhi had adapted to ignoring the external harshness and threw away his fastidious cleanliness. If not, he would’ve been sick to death lying on the python just now.

He leaned against the stone wall to rest, while leaving enough space for Long Shen.

“Why did you reach out and grab my sword just now?”

“Do you mean to accept me as your apprentice?”

The two spoke almost simultaneously.

Long Shen was silent, so Dong Zhi answered his first questions. “Because if it’s another illusion, I’ll just wake from it if it gets out of control. If it’s you, of course you’ll not sit back and watch me get hurt.”

The line of thought was correct, as it wasn’t easy for him to survive in this cave alone for so long and be safe.

Dong Zhi tentatively said, “So you just said—”

“You’re willing to worship me as your teacher and learn my teachings?”

Although Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo competed with each other for the position of Long Shen’s disciple, there was a rule in this field. It wasn’t the apprentice who looked for the master, but the master who chose the apprentice.

In other words, Long Shen had the right to decide for himself whom he liked and disliked. It wasn’t up to the apprentice to deliver themselves to their master’s door. As such, Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo could only try to brush up their presence more and establish a good impression in front of Long Shen. Even if Long Shen wanted to accept a third apprentice in the future, they were powerless to stop him.

Dong Zhi knew he had no chance of winning. In terms of talent, Liu Qingbo far outshines him. He had had a good foundation since he was a child, so his starting point was much higher and further than Dong Zhi’s. In terms of family background, Liu Qingbo has deep family roots, and his father is well-known and well-connected. Accepting such a disciple would be equivalent to indirectly getting a lot of benefits. While the master takes the apprentice, the apprentice brings him prosperity. It was like killing two birds with one stone.

What’s more, Long Shen had saved Liu Qingbo’s life before. With his arrogance, only Long Shen can subdue him. Presumably, his parents would be happy to see this relationship come to fruition.

To be fair and realistic, Dong Zhi had doubts about Long Shen’s choice, but the news came so fast and surprised him that it made him confused.

Long Shen couldn’t wait for his response, as he frowned and said, “You don’t want to?”

Then why did you keep saying you wanted to worship me as a teacher multiple times before?

“Of course I do!” Dong Zhi seemed to have pressed on a certain switch and finally had a reaction.

Long Shen snorted. “At such an extraordinary moment, in an extraordinary place, let’s start with simplicity. Just kowtow three times here, and we can make up the rest when we return.”

Dong Zhi stood up and straightened out his clothes. He knelt down and arched his hands, just like how Master Fang had asked him to when he swore in front of the memorial tablet of the ancestors of the Hezao Sect.

“Disciple Dong Zhi greets Master.”

His voice wasn’t loud, but it echoed between the caves, overlapping heavily. He slightly trembled, trying to hold back his excitement. He didn’t know if Long Shen could see it, but he kowtowed respectfully and seriously.

One knock for the form, two knocks for the heart, and three knocks for a thousand years.

From then on, the relationship between teacher and disciple has been bound eternally.

Tears filled his eyes unknowingly. Dong Zhi imagined that this scene should have been in an incense-filled hall among countless onlookers, just like all the rituals in those cultivating sects. He didn’t expect to pay homage to his master in a place like this. The only onlookers here, were those ghouls under the cliff.

Thinking about it like this, he felt both agitated and amused.

He heard Long Shen say, “There are no rules and regulations under my tutelage. The only thing to abide by is always have a trace of gratitude for all things under heaven and earth, and to guard the peace of the world with the sword in your hand.”

Dong Zhi solemnly said, “I’ll remember.”

Long Shen said, “If you become my disciple, it has nothing to do with whether you can pass the training exam. There’ll not be the slightest trace of favoritism. If you fail to pass at that time, you won’t be able to enter the Special Administration Bureau.”

Dong Zhi gave a soft hum with a thick nasal sound.

Long Shen frowned. “Why are you crying again?”

“This came so fast that it was too surprising. I felt it was a bit unreal and was afraid that I was trapped in another fantasy.”

He was afraid that this illusion was too beautiful to wake up from.

Long Shen stretched out his hand to pinch his wound. The pain was so agonizing that it made Dong Zhi scream and almost jump to his feet. Real pain had been transmitted to his brain, causing him to grab Long Shen and hug him while whimpering softly and crying.

Long Shen: …

Even if he was separated by a layer of clothing, Dong Zhi could feel the warm touch and finally believed that this feeling was real, and he wasn’t dreaming.

All his fears, doubts, and uneasiness in this moment were dispersed.

Long Shen wanted to push him away, but as soon as he made an effort, the other party’s crying became louder, causing him to let out a sigh.

Did he find himself an apprentice or a son?

However, compared with his own age, this one in front of him was still just a child. Long Shen thought about the scene where he did not hesitate to hold onto his sword empty handed just now. Long Shen decided to pat Dong Zhi’s back a few times, albeit clumsily.

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The author has something to say:

A memorable chapter. Congratulations to Dong Zhi (^_-)☆

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<<< || Table of Contents || Lore Glossary || >>>

Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 58

On the other end, Liu Qingbo was also going crazy! He clearly remembered that he walked into the cave, heading north with Dong Zhi, and ran into Xing Qiaosheng, who was already dead. Dong Zhi wanted to check on his breath, but he grabbed his collar and pulled him back and said angrily, “Be careful. What if he suddenly open his eyes and bites you?!”

After Liu Qingbo finished speaking, he took out a short dagger from his waist, cut off a piece of hair and threw it towards Xing Qiaosheng’s nose. If he was still alive, traces of his breath would blow the hair away.

The result was as expected. Xing Qiaosheng was indeed dead.

This fact made Liu Qingbo feel a little bit lost. He retracted his dagger, straightened himself up, sighed with a rare melancholy, and turned his head to say something when he found that Dong Zhi, who was standing right behind him, had suddenly disappeared!

Even if his opponent had wings, it was impossible for him to fly so fast. Liu Qingbo stood upright and shouted, “Surname Dong!”

It was not Dong Zhi that answered him, but Xing Qiaosheng, who suddenly opened his eyes and grabbed his calf. Liu Qingbo was dragged to the ground, but he reacted extremely quickly. Using the dagger in hand, he immediately slashed at his opponent.

The weapons he carried on his body were, naturally, all famous weapons. While the dagger was short, its sharpness was not inferior to that of his Feijing Sword. Xing Qiaosheng’s wrist was cut off immediately. With another quick slash that was fast and ruthless, Liu Qingbo’s opponent’s head landed on the ground. Taking advantage of the situation, he kicked his opponent away as he sat on the ground, still panting.

“Surname Dong? Dong Zhi?!”

In response to him, there were layers of oscillating echoes.

“Dong Zhi, you bastard!”

On the other side, just after killing the ghoul, Dong Zhi, who hadn’t calmed down, couldn’t hear Liu Qingbo’s scolding. He suddenly thought of something.

When they all came in, Ou-Yang Yin broke his ankle because he was grasped by a ghoul and was suffering from corpse poisoning. Song Zhicun said he would die if he didn’t treat it in time. Since everyone was in a hurry to find the Japanese and the bronze mirror, there was no time to delay and they couldn’t retreat, so he asked Ye Cheng to take him out to treat his injuries first. Now, he himself was strangled by the ghoul for a while. Could he have been poisoned too?

He involuntarily touched his neck and found that his skin wasn’t scratched. The pain was still there, but there was nothing strange about the touch, and he couldn’t see any traces that were left behind. Even if he was truly poisoned, in such a place, it would be impossible to turn around and seek help like Ou-Yang Yin did.

To make matters worse, he might not even be able to see Long Shen before he dies. What was even more tragic was he hadn’t paid homage to his master, and he hadn’t even let Long Shen know about his feelings.

Dong Zhi’s brain started going off on a tangent, imagining himself silently dying in a corner where no one could see. Thousands of years later, others would set foot here again and see “the tomb of the single dog Dong Zhi” that was carved into the stone wall by his sword and would sigh, “This person was still a single dog when he was dying!”

How miserable. Too miserable.

If he could at least maintain the corpse poison until he sees his male god again, he would act as he turn around poignantly and fall into Long Shen’s arms, looking at him affectionately, and say that he had one last wish before his death and that would be if Long Shen could satisfy him.

Since Long Shen loves the weak so much, he couldn’t possibly refuse. At this time, he would take the opportunity to confess his feelings and ask the male god to give him a French kiss.

No, no, no. What if Long Shen also gets infected with the corpse poison after this passionate kiss?

Forget it. Never mind the kiss. Rather, he would just confess passionately, and then close his eyes reluctantly after he had breathed his last breath. Long Shen’s tears would fall on his face as the camera did a close-up in slow motion.

Very good, perfect.

Dong Zhi squatted in place and fantasized for a long time. After a while, he assessed the situation and found that there were no side-effects from the corpse poison. Except being a little tired, when he touched his heart, he felt his heartbeat was normal and he seemed to be in good health. He patted the dust off his ass and stood up, continuing to walk forward.

About thirty meters away was the end of the cave. There was a bend, so he couldn’t see what was up ahead after the turn. He slowed down and clenched the hilt of his sword. The surroundings were extremely quiet. Even the sound of footsteps and breathing seemed to form layers of echoes, which inexplicably increased the pressure on his heart.

At this moment, he began to miss Liu Qingbo. Although that guy was a tsundere and awkward, at any rate, if there was someone he could bicker with, it’d provide a distraction, so he wouldn’t be too nervous. Now that there was no one talking, and his energy was fully concentrated, it seemed that even the wind in the air felt dangerous.

Nothing happened. Passing through the end of the passage, when he turned the corner, everything was quiet, as if the whole world seemed to be separated from where he came from.

Dong Zhi suddenly stopped. A weird feeling gradually permeated. With a thump, his little heart almost jumped out of his throat.

Something’s wrong. Isn’t this the place where they just left the tomb and came in?!

Just ahead was where Ou-Yang Yin was injured by a sneak attack from a ghoul’s hand and had to withdraw with Ye Cheng. Further ahead, they would see a hapless Japanese man.

Could it be that after walking around, he had gone in a circle and returned to the same place?!

Dong Zhi turned around and ran back, thinking that something was off. He found as he ran back to the cave that the ghoul whose head he had chopped off had disappeared. Let alone the corpse, there wasn’t the slightest trace of it left!

What the hell is going on? Could it be an illusion? But if so, when did it start? Has it been since he rescued Liu Qingbo in the water, or since he and Liu Qingbo entered the cave?

Or perhaps he never saved Liu Qingbo at all and the two were already buried at the bottom of the river, let alone what happened after.

He stood still as his mind became a mess. Time and space seemed to intertwine, and the scene was reversed, giving him a confusing vision, but he was even more afraid that this was all a hallucination that he had imagined.

What was even more terrifying was that he had no idea what was true and what was false. Where did the truth start and where did the falsity start?

Dong Zhi settled down and began to organize his thoughts. It should be fact that they encountered the giant python. Everyone who participated in the fight narrowly escaped death.

He and Liu Qingbo dived into the water to find the giant python’s weakness and finally came to the edge of that strange pool together. It should also be noted that what Liu Qingbo said was not something he could imagine out of thin air.

However, he was unsure of the events that happened after they walked into this cave. If it’s fake, while not beneficial, it would mean that Xing Qiaosheng is probably not dead. If it were true, then when did he get separated from Liu Qingbo? The two of them had stuck together and never separated.

Scratching his head, Dong Zhi decided not to worry about this difficult problem that even Archimedes* could not solve.

*Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, inventor, and philosopher.

He didn’t plan to go back to the pool, so he kept moving forward. When he reached the corner again, it was still the same place where they had just come in. The only difference along the way was that the faintly glowing “dandelions” could be seen everywhere.

Dong Zhi thought these things were weird at first, but now that he had watched them for a long time, he felt a bit soft towards them.

He still remembered that when they first came in, everyone made marks on the stones next to them. Recalling this, he turned on the flashlight on his phone and looked around to see if the marks were there. He didn’t know whether he was too careless or if this path was different than the previous one, as he couldn’t find any markings.

Passing by the place where Ou-Yang Yin was injured, Dong Zhi stopped deliberately, but did not find a crack in the ground nor the ghoul’s hand. Going forward, the Japanese guy was not there either.

As soon as this thought occurred, he saw a man leaning against the wall not far in front of him. Dong Zhi slowed down as he got closer. The other party seemed to hear his movements and moved, which startled Dong Zhi and made him want to jump a few steps away.

“…Dong Zhi?” A familiar voice came.

“Song-Boss Song?!” He could hardly believe his eyes as he hurriedly stepped forward to help Song Zhicun up.

Song Zhicun coughed as blood meandered down the corners of his mouth. His face was like gold paper and his voice was weak. He looked seriously injured.

Dong Zhi wanted to pat his back, but he felt it was sticky.

“What happened? What about the others?! Hold on, I also brought some emergency medicine in my bag!”

Song Zhicun pressed his hand and shook his head. “It’s useless, don’t waste it. I was injured by the giant python…”

Dong Zhi hurriedly said, “What about the others? I can help!”

Song Zhicun: “I’m separated from them. It’s very dangerous here. You immediately… Turn around and go back. You can still escape. Hurry up, go back. Once you do, don’t come back…”

In Dong Zhi’s impression, Deputy Director Song didn’t like to talk like Director Jiang, didn’t smile all day long like Director Wu, and wasn’t indifferent like Long Shen. He was down to earth and approachable. Compared with the other Deputy Directors, he was more like everyone’s political commissar and life coach, sentimental and meticulous.

But the Deputy Director Song in front of him was so weak that he was about to die, and he no longer had the same voice as before.

Dong Zhi felt a little sad, and his eyes couldn’t help but moisten.

Song Zhicun held his hand and tried his best to talk, with great difficulty. “Remember. Don’t go forward. Leave quickly!”

“I remember!” Dong Zhi can only respond. He still recalled what Song Zhicun had said, hoping everyone would be courageous but not make unnecessary sacrifices.

He also remembered what he said at the mobilization meeting before this mission. The other party said that most likely there would be deaths on this mission, but it was normal because this had been the tradition of the Special Administration Bureau over the years. The Special Administration Bureau never cultivates flowers in a greenhouse for the sake of good data, because the enemies they will face in the future will be fierce and cunning. Only a grueling and cruel exam can make everyone alert and grow.

But even if he turns back, where can he go? He couldn’t find a way out back there, so his only option was to move forward, but Song Zhicun didn’t know this.

Could it be that his temperament had changed drastically because he had lost his sanity before he died?

Thinking of Xing Qiaosheng before, Dong Zhi broke free from Song Zhicun’s hand and slowly retreated.

Song Zhicun seemed a little puzzled. “What are you doing…”

Dong Zhi: “Boss Song, do you remember what you said to Ye Cheng and Ou-Yang Yin when you asked Ye Cheng to accompany Ou-Yang Yin to leave first?”

Song Zhicun nodded with difficulty. “I said, let’s not make unnecessary sacrifices.”

Dong Zhi: “What about the first day? What did you say to us the first day we entered the Special Administration Bureau?”

He stared at Song Zhicun closely, not letting go of any changes in the opponent’s face. Under his relenting gaze, the other party’s face changed a little.

Dong Zhi slowly took a few steps back as Song Zhicun’s face gradually became more angular. His eyebrow structure was raised, his chin was more bearded, and his hairstyle unknowingly became a crew cut.

Dong Zhi pointed his sword. “Who are you?!”

Although he turned into another person, the other party was still panting and looked weak. He said a word in Japanese and stretched out his hand to grab onto Dong Zhi’s sword, but Dong Zhi avoided him and kicked his hand away.

In pain, the opponent titled aside and finally spoke stiff Chinese.

“D-Don’t kill me!”

Dong Zhi: “Who are you?”

The other party coughed a few times. “I-My name is Takashima Kawa, a bodyguard for Mr. Otowa!”

Sure enough, it was the Japanese!

Dong Zhi immediately asked, “Where are they now? Where’s the bronze mirror!”

Takashima Kawa panted weakly. “I don’t know… I got separated from them. The bronze mirror is with Mr. Yu!”

Why did a Mr. Yu emerge?

Dong Zhi frowned and continued to ask, “Then why are you plotting against me here!”

Takashima Kawa: “It’s not me. It’s not me… Help me! I don’t want to die!” He burst into tears, and blood spat out of his mouth constantly.

The stone wall behind him suddenly stretched out a few ghost hands and pressed him tightly against the wall. Takashima Kawa’s eyes widened as he struggled desperately.

“Help me! Help me!”

Dong Zhi couldn’t bear the sight, so he raised his sword to cut off a few of those ghost hands, but in the blink of an eye, more ghost hands emerged from the ground, some even trying to grab Dong Zhi. He drew out a Sunlight Talisman, recited a mantra, and then threw it to the ground.

Fire ignited, forming a ring of fire on the ground, burning several of the ghoulish hands. The hands bullied the soft but feared the hard. They retreated one after another, as if consciously turning to the “soft persimmon” Takashima Kawa.

Takashima Kawa was pressed tightly against the wall and was slowly being consumed by it. Dong Zhi was wide-eyed as he didn’t know what to do. If he threw a talisman over, it would not spare Takashima Kawa’s life.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Takashima Kawa’s body had mostly disappeared into the wall. His expression gradually became dull and desperate as blood continued to flow from the corners of his mouth.

Soon, his entire body was dragged in and disappeared without a trace, as if it had been swallowed by the mud. The ghoulish hands also shrank back, and everything returned to calmness, as if the existence of Takashima Kawa was just an illusion.

Dong Zhi shuddered. He didn’t believe that this was a hallucination, but he had no better explanation. After waiting for a while, the surroundings became quiet, and the appearance and disappearance of Takashima Kawa felt like a dream.

He didn’t want to stay in the same spot for too long, so he continued to walk forward. In front of him was the river where they encountered the giant python before. If he wanted to pass the river, he had to walk along the cliff.

Last time, they encountered a giant python as they moved along the cliff, but this time, Dong Zhi safely moved along the cliff sideways. The river was turbulent and spacious, just like the countless rivers he had seen before, but its calmness made him feel inexplicably weird.

What will happen when he re-walks the path that everyone has just walked through again?

A strange thought suddenly appeared. Since they came here through the tomb, have they entered an infinite loop, passing through the same place over and over again, never ending? Everyone was scattered and walked in different time and space, where they would occasionally meet or would never meet.

Suddenly, he felt lonely and terrified like never before.

If he was Long Shen, what would he do now? He would of course continue to move forward without hesitation, killing gods when he encounters gods, killing demons when he encounters demons.

Although he wasn’t as strong as Long Shen, he still possessed the same courage. Otherwise, how can he realize his desire to worship him as his master and continue pursuing him?

Dong Zhi clenched his fists and slowly let go. He was about to reach the end of the cliff, and there was another corner in front of him.

To go or not?

After hesitating for a while, Dong Zhi took a step forward. Suddenly, there was a sound of conversation in front of him. Although the movement was very small, he could hear that it was human language.

Dong Zhi was overcome with joy at first, but he suddenly stopped moving and jumped behind a rock around the corner. The sounds of footsteps and conversations were getting closer. The other party was speaking Chinese, but the tone of his voice was stiff, which was not the manner of Li Ying and the others.

He was grateful for his caution. Holding his breath, he waited for the person to approach.

“Why haven’t we seen the altar yet?” the person with the strange and stiff tone said.

“The terrain here is too complicated, and illusions and reality are constantly intertwined. Even for me, it’s inevitable that I will be led astray.” This tone was so weird that Dong Zhi couldn’t tell the difference if it was a man or a woman, and it sounded a bit hoarse.

“The news of the bronze mirror leaked out, and the people of the Special Administration Bureau will definitely catch up soon. I hope to kill Long Shen personally.” Another person spoke.

Hearing this man’s voice, Dong Zhi was slightly shocked. He recognized it as belonging to Fujikawa Aoi.

At that time, on Changbai Mountain, he didn’t know the immensity of heaven and earth, so he wasn’t aware of anything. He dared to help He Yu confront this master and his apprentice. Later, from He Yu’s own mouth, he learned that the Japanese clergy is separated from the Onmyouji, but the master and apprentice not only served as the priest and witch of the shrines but also as an Onmyouji. It can be seen that they were indeed capable, with extraordinary abilities in Japan. However, due to the events on Changbai Mountain, they returned to Japan and weren’t reconciled.

The Special Administration Bureau also knew this, but it was more important to let the tigers return home so they could find the real mastermind behind them. Now the truth seems to be surfacing little by little.

A younger voice responded to Fujikawa Aoi and said, “Yes, I want to avenge Eiko! “

Fujikawa Aoi scolded, “You don’t have the right to speak here!”

The other party that was reprimanded did not speak again.

The group of people continue to walk away from Dong Zhi’s sight, with their backs facing him. Dong Zhi suddenly opened his eyes wide.

The cloaked person!

It was the same figure he saw through his clairvoyance that sat face-to-face with Otowa Hatsuhiko! With that cloak on, there’s no mistake about his identity!

The other party’s Chinese was very fluent, without an accent.

Mr. Yu… Does it have anything to do with Xu Wan? Or is this cloaked person the Archfiend Xu Wan?

Dong Zhi’s breathing stagnated.

The other party’s footsteps seemed to notice as the figure immediately turned around. It was pitch black under the cloak, and the faint light from the “dandelions” in the corner was not enough for Dong Zhi to see his opponent’s face.

Suddenly, his opponent stretched out his hand and grabbed it towards Dong Zhi! There was no skin or flesh on his hands, just white bones!

Dong Zhi retreated subconsciously as he hugged his body against the stone wall. Taking advantage of the situation, he drew out his Changshou Sword and slashed at the hand.

Nothing!

It suddenly got dark before his eyes, and his feet were empty, and he felt dizzily. Whether it was the cloak figure or Fujikawa Aoi, they all disappeared.

Where is this? True or false? Real or fake? What is fact and what is fiction?

Holding his forehead, Dong Zhi felt tired and exasperated*.

*Tired and unloved (累觉不爱) Internet buzzword referring to feeling tired and having no strength to love anymore.

The faintly glowing “dandelions” were also gone, and he couldn’t even see his fingers anymore. He groped at the stone wall and stood up. The Changshou Sword was still in his hand all this time, giving him great comfort. He could still rely on this sword no matter what environment he was in, and it gave him a sense that he wasn’t alone.

Dong Zhi was about to calm down as he started to take out his phone to turn on the flashlight so he could survey his surroundings. Suddenly, at that moment, he saw a red light.

One, two, three… five in total.

The lightbulbs from afar were glowing red and flickering in the dark.

Dong Zhi was taken aback, thinking to himself. ‘Aren’t these the eyes of the giant python?!’

One eye was blinded by Lin Xuan before, so with three heads, there should only be five remaining.

The “lightbulbs” kept getting bigger, which showed that the python was approaching him at a fast speed. In the dark, all movements became clearer. Dong Zhi didn’t dare turn on his phone. He held his breath against the wall and waited for the opponent to approach.

He suddenly had an idea. Since he didn’t know where to go, instead of walking aimlessly, he might as well follow this giant python and see where it was going. Perhaps he can find a companion along the way.

The fishy smell wafted into his nose as the huge body slowly slid past him. When the tail passed by, Dong Zhi’s heart tightened as he touched the slimy scales and grabbed onto them. He used his strength to pull himself up and laid on the tail of the giant python as it carried him forward.

Perhaps due to the small space that it wasn’t used to, or maybe because of its injuries that paralyzed its senses, the python didn’t notice that a small human was lying on its tail as it kept slithering forward.

Dong Zhi found that its movement was pretty fast, but because of its huge size, it looked a little clumsy.

Although the scales of the giant python exuded a fishy smell that can make people vomit, and the mucus on its body also made his clothes slimy and uncomfortable, the feeling of lying on it without exerting any effort still felt pretty good. Compared to walking on his own two legs, he felt like he was riding shotgun on a land rover.

This “hitchhiking” was very comfortable. Ignoring the smell, Dong Zhi hardly wanted to move. Not far away, a faint light reappeared in sight. He lazily raised his neck but found his body suddenly becoming stiff.

The cave in front of it suddenly became taller and wider, and there were many ghouls on both sides. Some stretched out their hands from the stone wall, while others had half their bodies embedded in it. Others sat or leaned against the wall, while others raised their heads. Some of them opened their mouths to scream in horror, with different gestures, as if they were all reliving the moment right before they died.

Why are there so many corpses in this place?

Seeing the numbers, how could it be that so many people have died here yet there are no records in history for such a big event?

Could it be that this matter is related to Liang Weiqi that Zhou Yue talked about? Otherwise, how could one explain that such a place is connected to the back of his tomb? But what about the three-headed giant python? Could it be possible that Liang Weiqi brought the giant python here himself?

Thoughts flashed through his mind. There were too many mysteries. Dong Zhi shifted his sitting posture to firmly hold onto the tail of the giant python so as not to fall off accidentally.

The body of the giant python slid through the mass of corpses, which remained motionless, but Dong Zhi had seen their power. He didn’t know what would trigger them to attack, so he stiffened his body and didn’t dare move.

He looked up inadvertently and was taken aback. On the cliff ahead, a figure was walking slowly. In the looming reflection of the faint light, Dong Zhi saw that it was an extremely familiar figure.

Through innumerable twists and turns, his heart was moved.

The familiar name churned in his throat several times, but he still couldn’t help but blurt it out.

“Boss Long! Long Shen!”

His voice wasn’t loud, but it echoed clearly in the silent environment. At that moment, the ghouls that had been motionless slowly turned their heads and looked towards him.

The giant python seemed to be aware too. It suddenly became restless and accelerated forward. Dong Zhi was unprepared for this and lost his hold, falling off the python. The giant python had moved so fast that even if he wanted to, he couldn’t catch up.

Dong Zhi: …

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The author has something to say:

Through all the twists and turns, you’re the most moving in his heart.

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<<< || Table of Contents || Lore Glossary || >>>

Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 57

The two took a deep breath, dived back in, and moved forward with great difficulty in the muddy water. The python’s body loomed in the water. The size of it was almost the height of a train. It wouldn’t be easy to find the hole of such a behemoth.

Water constantly surged all over their bodies. The river was deep that their feet didn’t reach the bottom. Dong Zhi could barely control his body while he was on constant vigilance from being swept by the python’s body.

As soon as he saw a dark shadow looming above, he immediately dove into the water as the tail of the python swept across the top of his head. Dong Zhi kicked out and grabbed the body of the python with his hand. At this moment, he was suddenly grateful for his kung fu tona that he had learned. At least now he could hold his breath underwater for much longer, instead of constantly floating to the top to get air.

The python’s body was scaly and slippery to the touch. He bit on the flashlight and held it in his mouth as he groped upward according to his feelings. The impact of the water made his body float like seaweed. He faintly saw Liu Qingbo’s figure as the other party was doing the same thing as him.

While touching the scales all over with his hands, Liu Qingbo cursed Dong Zhi from the bottom of his heart for his stupidity. Why did he believe the other party’s words in a moment of confusion! It would have been better for him to follow Li Ying and the others to escape than to look for a chrysanthemum!

Still, he held his grievances in his heart, as he didn’t want to be a deserter. He hoped to be accepted as Long Shen’s apprentice and proved that he was the best candidate for him. The name Liu Qingbo would sooner or later be famous in the history of the Special Administration Bureau!

Although he kept his mouth closed, it was inevitable that a little water would enter. The rancid smell made him nauseous. Seeing as how Dong Zhi was next to him, he held his postulation, as he didn’t want to be seen as a joke in front of him. He continued groping around the python’s tail, trying to find his goal.

Perhaps it was because their actions were too insignificant, or perhaps it was because Long Shen and Song Zhicun were distracting it, but the three-headed giant python did not respond fiercely to their small movements, as its tail maintained a regular swinging motion. Gradually, Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo had figured out some of its patterns and become accustomed to them, so they weren’t thrown off at every turn.

Suddenly, Liu Qingbo almost screamed aloud! He had almost forgotten that he was still underwater and was holding his breath! His reaction was due to touching a scale that was clearly different from the one next to it. He opened it slightly, and there seemed to be a small hole under it. In fact, it can’t really be called a small hole, because he could insert his entire arm into it, but compared to the body of the giant python, it would be considered small.

As soon as he put his finger in, Liu Qingbo realized that this place was used by the giant python to excrete. He suddenly felt sick as he quickly pulled his hand back, took out his Feijing Sword, peeled the scales with one hand, and inserted the sword into it without hesitation!

In an instant, thick liquid gushed out of the hole, spreading rapidly in the water and spilling it all over his face. Almost at the same time, the three-headed python became enraged and churned violently. This pain was much more severe than when it had lost an eye to Long Shen just now. Its movements shook the entire cave so violently that even Li Ying and the others could feel the ground shaking!

The tail of the giant python tossed desperately in the water, provoking waves after waves. With a bang, its tail slammed against the stone wall, creating another violent shake. Large and small stones fell from the top, causing everyone to hurriedly avoid them.

It had lived here for hundreds of years and was the ruler here, yet now these small and weak creatures dared to challenge its authority!

Liu Qingbo had always had the mentality of either doing nothing or doing it perfectly. After the Feijing Sword was inserted into the chrysanthemum of the python, he clenched the hilt and stirred it with his body, using the sharp blade to wreak havoc on the inside of the python’s body. Although the python had scaly armor on the outside, making it invulnerable, on the inside it was soft and held fragile organs. The entire abdominal cavity was almost devastated by Liu Qingbo’s stirring. The pain immediately mapped to the python’s brain, causing the three heads to hiss and roar as they crazily twisted frantically. For a while, it felt like the sky was falling, and the mountains and rivers shook, almost turning the entire cave into a shura field*!

*(修罗场) Is used to describe a tragic battlefield. Later, the meaning was extended to a person’s desperate struggle in a difficult situation.

“What’s going on?!” Song Zhicun exclaimed. He and Long Shen didn’t hesitate much and flew forward to attack the python.

The giant python became even crazier. One head slammed into the stone wall, while another head bit at Long Shen and Song Zhicun, while the last head bent down and plunged into the water, trying to find the culprit who injured it.

The three heads spewed black mist at the same time, which was far stronger than previous, and it quickly spread.

Since he was in the water, there was no need to worry about being sprayed by the black mist, but the taste didn’t make him feel any better. As soon as Liu Qingbo was inattentive, his whole body was washed away by a huge undercurrent. Just now, when the python was struggling, a huge boulder fell into the water and hit his arm. He felt severe pain and could only paddle with one arm while the entire river was turned upside down by the python. It was impossible to swim with just one arm, especially in this situation. He wanted to surface in order to catch a breath, but found that the undercurrent was raging everywhere, wrapping him in all directions. The pressure was so powerful that it overwhelmed him.

With the loss of his strength and his body unable to exert anymore, Liu Qingbo tragically found that his breath was almost exhausted, and he would drown in a few more seconds. He didn’t know where the flashlight he had was thrown to, so there was only darkness all around him, and his ears only heard the sounds of gurgling water. He couldn’t even hear the movements of the water, let alone the voices of Long Shen and the others.

Could it be that he would die here before he could succeed in his studies? If he died here, would he be posthumously recognized as a martyr and granted special approval to enter the Special Administration Bureau?

He thought about how his own portrait would be hung in the Special Administration Bureau, and every year as new students would come in, they would be pulled over to visit it and listen to the narrator explain: “This person died heroically stabbing a giant python’s chrysanthemum with a sword during a practice exam…”

Fuck that! It was so embarrassing that he would rather not be recognized at all! He wanted to blame that fucker* Dong Zhi who came up with such an idea!

*Killing a thousand knives (杀千刀的) = In ancient times, this refers to death by a thousand cuts (from knives). Nowadays, it’s a cursed word referring to a bad person.

As he was lost in his thoughts, his neck was suddenly encircled, and his body started floating upwards involuntarily. He was taken aback and, slowly, his consciousness returned to him. He thought it was an enemy’s attack and subconsciously slammed his elbow against it.

Despite being in a state of half-consciousness, Liu Qingbo’s strength was not light. His attack almost made Dong Zhi let out the air he was holding in as a bunch of bubbles escaped from his mouth. Still, Dong Zhi kept holding onto Liu Qingbo, no matter how hard his opponent struggled, as he was dragged up to the upper reaches of the river.

Eventually, Liu Qingbo’s strength was exhausted, and his struggling became less intense, until it finally stopped completely, allowing Dong Zhi to drag him out.

Dong Zhi’s condition wasn’t much better than his opponent’s. His entire arm was almost out of strength, and the Changshou Sword that he was lugging behind him had become extremely heavy at this time. It seems as if it was dragging him down. All the while, Dong Zhi kept silent, thinking that he couldn’t die here. How could he be with his male god if he were to die here! Never mind that, if thousands of years later, others came here and saw two withered bones entangled together, wouldn’t they make some kind of wrong assumption?!

The projection was so terrible that it was enough to stimulate Dong Zhi. In the end, though his mind was muddled, he didn’t know how, but he was able to rescue Liu Qingbo and dragged him ashore.

After lifting the upper body of the person to the shore and ensuring that he would not slide back down, he completely lost his strength. He collapsed on the side and only had the strength to exhale and inhale.

Time passed, and Liu Qingbo was the first to wake up. He was surprised when he opened his eyes because the first thing he saw was a big, pale face with its eyes closed right in front of him.

“Hey!”

Liu Qingbo wanted to reach out and nudge the other but found that his arms was resting on his head, which had long gone numb. The other was still trembling slightly due to excessive exertion that he couldn’t move at all.

“Wake up!”

Dong Zhi’s eyelashes trembled a few times, and when Dong Zhi opened his eyes laboriously, he saw Liu Qingbo’s flustered expression looking around.

“Where’s my Feijing Sword?!”

Dong Zhi took a deep breath, turned over, and lay on his back on the shore. If it weren’t for his lower body still soaked in water, it would be as if he was sunbathing on the silver sand by the ocean.

“Did you forget to pull it out of the chrysanthemum?” he asked.

Liu Qingbo’s face turned instantly turned blue. He couldn’t imagine that his famous sword through the ages was now buried inside the chrysanthemum of a giant python!

“It’s all your fault. If it weren’t for your bad idea, my Feijing Sword wouldn’t be lost!” he said angrily.

“Yes, it’s all my fault.” Dong Zhi perfunctorily coaxed him like a child, but his tone was soft, as his breathing shortened.

Only then did Liu Qingbo see that Dong Zhi’s face was whiter than a sheet of paper. Dong Zhi closed his eyes and didn’t speak anymore, looking as if he was a dead man. This involuntarily made Liu Qingbo’s heart stir.

“Hey!”

Dong Zhi’s eyelids trembled, but he didn’t bother to open them.

“…Just now, thanks.” Liu Qingbo reluctantly said.

Dong Zhi opened his eyes and looked at him in surprise.

Liu Qingbo was not used to being soft with others since he was a child, especially when the other is the object of his contempt. Speaking this sentence was more uncomfortable than being cut with a knife. Still, he felt he needed to say it, because if it weren’t for Dong Zhi just now, his fate would most likely be buried at the bottom of the river. Dong Zhi could’ve abandoned him and then relayed his death to the others, or not even told them at all, and eventually the others would find out about his disappearance.

“I admit that you are now qualified to become my rival. However, I’ll never give up becoming an apprentice to Boss Long,” Liu Qingbo said awkwardly.

Dong Zhi said weakly, “Save your efforts from talking, big brother. Don’t you think it’s weird?”

“What?” Liu Qingbo didn’t have the strength to move, so he could only roll his eyes as he thought in his heart, he had just given him color, and now he was opening a dye workshop*.

Reminder: Metaphor for insatiable greed (AKA give an inch take a mile).

Dong Zhi: “This place doesn’t seem to be where we fell into the water just now.”

Liu Qingbo was taken aback, as he barely supported his body to look around. It was dark, but there was still some light. The light didn’t seem to be from a flashlight. They had lost their flashlights when they were struggling underwater.

The light was faint, and they didn’t know whether it was coming from plants or beasts. There was a cluster of them, like dandelions, and they swayed gently under the mountain’s breeze.

Like in <Avatar>*, the male protagonist, under the leadership of the female protagonist, walked through these plants that glowed at night, and appreciated the amazing beauty between their different worlds.

*I believe this is the scene he’s referring to. I would recommend watching it to get an idea of what the scene he’s describing looks like.

However, being underground, where did this mountain breeze come from? Liu Qingbo was shocked slightly, as his consciousness became clearer.

“Where are Boss Long and Boss Song?!”

Dong Zhi: “I don’t know. I think we might be separated.”

They were at the edge of the pool of water, and around it were gentle slopes. They need to climb up them to see the road ahead clearly. The glowing plants were close at hand. Liu Qingbo stretched out his palm to pick one up and examine it, but he was slapped on the hand by Dong Zhi.

“Curiosity killed the cat,” Dong Zhi said righteously.

Liu Qingbo glared at him, presumably from the pain of the slap, but he didn’t persist. The two of them sat for a while, using their kung fu tona to recuperate. They felt that their strength had recovered a bit and slowly got up from the ground.

Liu Qingbo’s gaze swept past the Changshou Sword that was behind Dong Zhi, and he said sourly, “You should have used your sword while we were underwater!”

Dong Zhi sighed. “This is just life!”

Liu Qingbo’s hands felt itchy. Their strength was exhausted, so they could only channel what energy they had left into bickering.

The gentle slope in front of them was not much higher than a person, so usually they could climb over it in two to three steps, but now it would take the strength of nine bulls and two tigers* to barely reach the top.

*(九牛二虎之力) Idiom referring to an immense amount of effort (AKA a Herculean effort).

When they finally managed to climb up, they were both stunned. They saw four entrances in front of them, leading in four different directions. There were faintly glowing “dandelions” in the corners along the way, which vaguely illuminated the distance, but the light was not enough to see what was beyond these caves. The distance remained dark and infinite as all four caves looked exactly the same.

“Which way to go?” Liu Qingbo was dumbfounded.

“Rock, paper, scissors to decide?”

Liu Qingbo said angrily, “How can you be so unorthodox?!”

Dong Zhi looked innocently. “Then what better suggestion do you have?”

“Where’s your compass? Take it out and measure it.”

“I don’t have one.”

“Don’t you use talismans? How do you determine the position without a compass?!”

“I use the compass app on my phone.”

Liu Qingbo: …

He really wanted to slap this person flat, but he couldn’t. Besides him, there was only this gasping person next to him, so he had to endure!

Dong Zhi lowered his head to check his equipment. When he came out this time, he specifically used waterproof bags to hold his items that contained talismans, talisman paper, cinnabar, brushes, and the likes. There was also a little dry food and water, which didn’t take up a lot of space, so he kept it for a rainy day*.

*Emergency use.

He took out his phone but saw that there was no signal, but it could still be used without the internet. The compass app still works just fine.

Looking back and forth, there seemed to be no abnormality between the caves.

“These four caves lead south, east, north, and west. Which way should we go?” He asked Liu Qingbo.

Liu Qingbo answered angrily, “Whatever you want! Just pick whichever you like!”

Dong Zhi said casually, “Purple clouds* come from the east, which makes the east particularly auspicious, so let’s go east!”

*(紫气) In ancient times, it was thought to be auspicious since it had the affiliation as the harbinger of the appearance of emperors, sages, etc..

Liu Qingbo was a little anxious. “We have to hurry up and rendezvous with the Boss Long!”

Dong Zhi comforted, “It’s useless to be anxious. I also want to see them soon, but we need to take it step by step.”

In terms of field survival experience, he wasn’t as experienced as Liu Qingbo, but Liu Qingbo found that the other party was far more at ease than himself, even calm maybe. Perhaps he had resigned to the status quo and accepted it helplessly.

Seeing that Liu Qingbo was still unhappy, Dong Zhi said, “Just think, if I wasn’t here, wouldn’t it be worse for you to be alone and not have someone to quarrel with? God has graced us so well.”

Liu Qingbo suddenly asked, “Did you bring incense and a lighter? I heard that you could invite Gods. Can you ask them which way we should go now to meet with Boss Long and the others?”

Dong Zhi smiled bitterly and said, “Brother, how can I have the strength to invite God now? And you’ve seen all the corpses and spirits around. So many have died here, the ancients, the Japanese. Who knows what I’ll invite if I try!”

Liu Qingbo also knew that what he was saying was true, so he had to give up. The two sat on the ground and rested for a while, and when they regained a little strength, they stood up and walked to the cave to the east.

In the dark environment, the faint light of one or two points became a comfort to their souls. People were destined to live in the light, especially at this time. A little light could also double their sense of security. If your eyes could see things, you wouldn’t be at a loss.

Dong Zhi said to Liu Qingbo, “You have lost your sword, so stay behind me.”

“When we encounter danger later, we’ll see who will save who!” Liu Qingbo curled his lips. He may not be able to understand the other party’s good intentions, but his mouth continued to involuntarily spew attacks.

“In front. There’s a black figure. Is it a stone or…?”

“It seems to be a person.”

The two of them stopped at the same time, glanced at each other, and slowed down. Dong Zhi took out his phone, turned it on airplane mode to save as much power as possible, then turned on the flashlight. Since they had lost their flashlight, this was their only remaining source of light, so they had to use it sparingly.

The bright light shone on the contours of most of the cave in front of him, faintly illuminating the situation ahead. There was a person leaning on the ground, motionless.

“It seems to be… Xing Qiaosheng?” Liu Qingbo said uncertainly. This was one of the 20 candidates that had passed through to the final training course. Dong Zhi wasn’t familiar with him because he usually followed after Zhang Song and wasn’t very talkative. He would only greet Dong Zhi superficially, not bothering to mention his interaction with Liu Qingbo. The two seemed to have never interacted at all!

“Qiaosheng?” Dong Zhi said, tentatively.

The two approached slowly. The light source on Dong Zhi’s phone illuminated the dropping face on the figure. Sure enough, it was Xing Qiaosheng!

Liu Qingbo and Dong Zhi took a step back.

Huh?!

They saw Xing Qiaosheng’s eyes tightly closed. His face was covered in dense purple meridians. His lips had completely turned purplish black, and the skin below his neck that was not covered in clothing had turned completely black!

“Qiaosheng! Qiaosheng!” Dong Zhi shouted, but the figure remained motionless.

Dong Zhi bent over and stretched out his hand, but Liu Qingbo held it down. Still, they must determine whether the other party was still alive or dead. Dong Zhi continued to move his hand and stopped right under Xing Qiaosheng’s nose.

“It seems… he’s dead.”

Liu Qingbo suddenly pulled out the Changshou Sword from behind Dong Zhi and gently cut Xing Qiaosheng’s shirt open. Wherever the sword went, the clothes would crack inch by inch. Xing Qiaosheng’s neck was also dyed purplish black.

The two were silent for a moment, mourning for their lost companion.

Before they set off, Song Zhicun mentioned that death was extremely possible and told them to take this trip seriously. However, relying on their own skills, they were still ignorant of the greatness of heaven and earth and felt that it wouldn’t be so easy for them to become “lucky” ones.

That was until Liu Qingbo almost died in the water and now witnessed firsthand the death of one of their companions.

Dong Zhi felt sad. Although he didn’t have much contact with Xing Qiaosheng, he was, after all, their companion. If he hadn’t died here, he might have been able to leave this area safely and become a member of the Special Administration Bureau.

After mourning for a bit, Dong Zhi investigated. “What’s the cause? Poisoning? Did he touch those glowing flowers?”

Liu Qingbo said, “He may have come from the direction we are going—that is to say, there may be fatal danger ahead.”

“What do you mean?”

“Change course! Take a different path!” Liu Qingbo spoke without hesitation.

“Which way?”

Liu Qingbo thought for a while. “The north faces south and is the position of the emperor. Let’s go north!”

The two of them had just entered the cave not long ago, so it wasn’t too late to withdraw. Before leaving, they bowed to Xing Qiaosheng’s body again, and Dong Zhi said softly, “We still have to find our way out and can’t take you with us. If we have a chance in the future, we’ll find your body and take it back for burial. Please rest in peace!”

They exited the cave and found the one to the north. This time it went much smoother. After walking for nearly half an hour, they encountered no danger.

Liu Qingbo couldn’t help but say triumphantly, “Look, just listen to me…”

Before he finished speaking the words, Dong Zhi suddenly stretched out his hand and dragged him behind him, and he took out his Changshou Sword and slashed in front of him. A pale wrist fell to the ground while the other was still buried in the earthen wall of the cave.

Liu Qingbo: …

Dong Zhi said deeply, “When you least want something to happen, bad things tend to happen. This is called Murphy’s Law*.”

*An adage that typically states “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” In some formulations, it is extended to “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time.”

Liu Qingbo said angrily, “Murphy’s Law my ass! Let’s hurry back!”

Dong Zhi: “I’m afraid it’s too late. Look behind you.”

Liu Qingbo suddenly turned his head and saw that on the road they had just come from, hands started to appear one after another, scratching their fingers in the void, as if waiting for their prey to fall into their net.

Recalling the five-finger mark on Ou-Yang Yin’s ankle, the two of them took a deep breath and galloped forward at the same time, walking faster, eventually simply sprinting with all their might.

More hands started breaking out from the ground, and occasionally they would burst from the top of the cave above their heads. The sides were even more difficult to avoid. It seemed as if this entire cave was like a demon’s bloody mouth that was swallowing them.

Along the way, they encountered more “dandelions”, allowing their vision to become clearer. Dong Zhi didn’t pay much attention as he still gripped Liu Qingbo as they both continued running forward. He didn’t know how long they had been running, but eventually they didn’t encounter any more hands, so they slowly slowed down. He let go of Liu Qingbo, bent down, and panted.

“We ran pretty far. Where are we going to find Boss Long and the others? Should we continue forward?” Dong Zhi said this while gasping for air, breaking up his sentence into fragments.

However, he didn’t hear a response from Liu Qingbo, who would normally yell and shout at him. The surrounding was completely quiet that he couldn’t even hear Liu Qingbo’s breathing.

Dong Zhi’s heart sank. He was tense all over and slowly turned his head back. While mentally prepared, his scalp couldn’t help but tingle!

Liu Qingbo, who had fled with him, had disappeared and was now replaced by Xing Qiaosheng, who should have been dead. His opponent’s face was covered with purple meridians, becoming weirder in the faint light, and his eyeballs were half convex as they looked at him faintly.

“Qiao-Qiaosheng?” Dong Zhi tentatively said, as he prepared his body to run for his life at any moment.

Xing Qiaosheng’s movements were faster than he thought. Almost before he finished speaking, his opponent had rushed up and overwhelmed him as he tried to strangle Dong Zhi’s neck tightly.

Dong Zhi grabbed his arm in response and broke it forcefully, then kicked him in his lower body, but Xing Qiaosheng remained motionless and extremely sturdy. The hand gripping his neck became tighter while Dong Zhi dug his nails into his opponent’s skin, but it felt as if he was holding onto an old tree that was shriveled and inelastic.

In desperation, he bit the tip of his tongue hard and soon smelled a fishy smell. He sprayed out a mouthful of blood foam mixed with his saliva.

In normal times, he wouldn’t be able to do this, as he was afraid of pain. At most, he would cut himself with the sword to draw blood, but facts had proven that in critical times, the glands secreted hormones that drew out human’s infinite potential. Anything that was usually unimaginable could happen.

The mouthful of blood foam splashed onto Xing Qiaosheng’s face, causing him to shake slightly and loosen his strength. Dong Zhi took the opportunity to kick him while he rolled away. He stood up, took out his Changshou Sword that had fallen nearby, and swung it.

Only then did he clearly see Xing Qiaosheng standing in front of him, clearly transformed into a ghoul. His facial features were so rotten that he could hardly recognize his original appearance.

The sword slashed open the ghoul’s chest, but no blood flowed out. Instead, his opponent continued to rush towards him. Dong Zhi gritted his teeth, using his arms to exert his strength while he held the sword with both hands, preparing to cut off someone’s head with it!

With a swing, he slashed again, but his strength was weak. Instead of cleanly cutting off the head, it made a deep gash that made the ghoul’s head tilt to the side. However, its mobility remained unabated.

Dong Zhi: …

If it weren’t for the battle with the python and having to swim for so long just now, he wouldn’t have believed that he couldn’t behead this ghoul! Still, if one swing wouldn’t do it, then just do it in two.

Fwap!

Two-thirds of the ghoul’s head fell off, while a third still clung to its shoulders.

Dong Zhi was going mad!

The ghoul seemed to become completely enraged as he whizzed its hands, which had long black nails, towards Dong Zhi like the wind.

Another swing!

Finally, the head flew completely off and hit the wall, bouncing on it before rolling down. Dong Zhi stepped back a few steps to breathe and waited until he was sure the ghoul would not be resurrected again.

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Kinky Thoughts:

Third time’s the charm.

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Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 56

At that moment, another hand came out of the ground and grabbed Xie Qingling’s calf. Liu Qingbo was quick-sighted and slashed it with a sword. The arm landed on the ground and instantly turned into bones.

“Demons!” He yelled as the blade of his sword struck the ground, directly drawing a deep mark. After a few seconds, black liquid gurgled out from under the deep marks.

Song Zhicun rolled up his sleeves and said to everyone, “Get out of the way.”

Ou-Yang Yin’s calf had already sunk in. It wasn’t because everyone’s strength wasn’t strong enough, but the strength that was dragging was far too great. Everyone didn’t dare exert too much strength for fear that they would hurt their legs.

Song Zhicun walked up to Ou-Yang Yin and looked at his painful and tearful expression. He knelt down, pressed one hand on the ground, and slowly extended his hand into the soil. Although the soil under his feet was a bit wet, the foundation was still solid. After Ou-Yang Yin’s body was pulled into it just now, it wasn’t like they didn’t think about digging around the area next to him, but it was impossible for them to do something that Song Zhicun had seemingly easily done. His hands had reached into the ground, going deeper until it was buried up to his elbows.

Suddenly, his hand sank down, as if he was being held by something! Everyone’s hearts pounded seeing Song Zhicun frown while moving his arms slightly, as if competing with something under the soil.

“Don’t get distracted. Pay attention to your feet.” Long Shen’s voice sounded.

Looking back, Dong Zhi didn’t know when he had returned.

“What’s the situation ahead?” He asked in a low voice.

“A Japanese is dead,” Long Shen’s answer lightly.

Reminded by Long Shen’s words, everyone became extra vigilant as they looked around from time to time.

“Above!” Chi Banxia exclaimed.

When everyone looked up, they saw a pale hand stretching out about halfway the length from the top of their heads.

Chi Banxia: “I been looking around, but there was nothing there at that time!”

Liu Qingbo’s reaction was the most direct. He raised his sword and cut off the hand. As soon as the white hand fell to the ground, the corruption in that area intensified at a speed visible to the naked eye. It quickly became white bones while the rest of its body was still submerged in the earthen soil, remaining motionless.

Song Zhicun’s face was sweating slightly, and his shoulders were very tight, presumably exerting his strength underground.

“Get up!” He yelled, holding onto the soles of Ou-Yang Yin’s feet and directly lifting him off the ground. The soil around him was dug out as Ou-Yang Yin was able to escape the grasp. Only then did everyone see that there was a hand in the soil that had been broken up by Song Zhicun. It quickly turned into bones just like the others.

Ou-Yang Yin rolled up his trousers legs and a set of five fingerprints around his ankles were clearly visible, showing a dark purple-blackish color.

Upon seeing this, Li Ying said solemnly, “This is corpse poison*! You must extract it quickly!”

*(尸毒) Poison from zombies/the undead. Those who are infected will have their skin fester and lose their senses. In severe cases, their muscles will become stiff, and they eventually become a living corpse.

He turned his head to look at Song Zhicun again. “Boss Song, you…?”

Song Zhicun waved his hand. “I’m fine. I have trained my hands deliberately to resist corpse poison.”

He opened his palm and showed that it was fine.

Li Ying took out the cloth bag containing glutinous rice and a talisman paper from the bag. He ignited the talisman, then put it into the cloth bag, stirring it in, and then pressed the entire cloth bag onto Ou-Yang Yin’s leg.

Ou-Yang Yin groaned in pain as he gritted his teeth.

Song Zhicun said, “Ou-Yang, we’re not too far from the exit. You don’t need to participate in this training. Go back to recuperate first.”

Ou-Yang Yin looked up. “Boss Song. I can still go on. I insist.”

After applying the hot compress for a while, Li Ying took off the cloth bag and saw that the black marks on it had not faded but were gradually spreading.

Song Zhicun made a decisive decision. “Xiao Ye, you should immediately take Ou-Yang back to find help. There’s a Taoist priest named Chen at the branch. Ask him to heal Ou-Yang’s injuries.”

Ye Cheng repeatedly nodded. “Okay, I know Taoist Master Chen!”

Ou-Yang Yin was unwilling, but he also knew that not only would he not be able to continue forward like this, but he would only drag his teammates down. He couldn’t even move without the help of Ye Cheng.

“Sorry, I delayed everyone’s time.”

Song Zhicun patted him on the shoulder. “While we ask that everyone not be afraid of death, we don’t want you to make fearless sacrifices. Let’s talk about recuperating your injuries first.”

Li Ying tied the glutinous rice bag to his calf and said, “This can temporarily relieve the corpse poison, but you must treat it as soon as possible. Otherwise, it’ll spread quickly.”

“Thank you!” Ou-Yang Yin’s gaze swept across his companions. He arched his hands, both as a farewell and an encouragement to them. Everyone also responded with the same gesture.

After the two left, everyone moved on. It didn’t take long for them to see a man leaning against the wall. He was bleeding from all his limbs and his eyes were wide open while his lower body was buried in the soil.

“When I saw him just now, he was still breathing, but he couldn’t speak anymore,” Long Shen said.

There was no doubt that this Japanese guy had been attacked by those corpses and suffered from corpse poison just like Ou-Yang Yin, however, he wasn’t as lucky, nor was there a Song Zhicun to help him, so he could only accept his miserable fate.

“So, those Japanese didn’t come much earlier than us. We can still catch up to them!” Liu Qingbo said.

Zhang Song curled his lips. “Isn’t it just fine? There’s danger up ahead, and they’re the first to encounter them, just as they deserve. These people didn’t have any good intentions to begin with!”

Long Shen didn’t speak. He still maintained a steady pace forward, but occasionally reminded everyone to be careful above their heads and under their feet.

After what happened to Ou-Yang Yin, everyone didn’t dare take things lightly anymore. They all held weapons in their hands vigilantly and were ready to take action at any time.

The sound of water flowing got louder as they progressed closer. Just a few dozen paces ahead, the passage suddenly took a sharp turn, opening to a large river.

Long Shen touched the earthen wall on the side of the passage and knocked on it.

“This should have been a passage originally, but it was sealed.”

Everyone took a closer look and found that there was a gap on the top of their heads, which looked like the original position of the stone gate.

“Then do we want to forcibly open the sealed door?” Liu Qingbo asked.

Long Shen shook his head. “Just follow the Japanese.”

He stepped forward first, and his figure quickly disappeared around the corner, and everyone hurriedly followed. The river was turbulent and wide. When they swept the flashlight over, they could only vaguely see the other side.

At the same time, the position of where they were standing suddenly narrowed. After turning the corner of the passage, they realized that they were walking along a cliff, as waves of water splashed up against it from time to time, wetting their feet.

There was wind blowing from seemingly nowhere that blew the water vapors towards their faces. It was so cold that many of them shuddered involuntarily.

The passage under their feet could only hold one person walking sideways. In some places, it could only accommodate half their feet, which was extremely perilous. Although everyone knew how to swim, no one wanted to tumble into the river. They didn’t know what was in there, so everyone walked cautiously at a slow and steady pace.

The position order changed after they entered the cliff. Dong Zhi still followed behind Long Shen, but Ba Sang was now behind him.

Despite his tough look, Ba Sang was actually afraid of heights. Although he hugged his body tightly against the wall, he seemed to have illusions that he would fall into the river within the next second but refused to show any sign of weakness, so he still followed closely behind Dong Zhi, though his footsteps were inevitably much slower.

Gu Meiren, who was behind him, did not rush him, but Dong Zhi noticed Ba Sang’s strangeness. He stretched out his hand and grabbed Ba Sang’s wrist. “I walk steadily, so just follow me.”

Ba Sang was moved and humbly accepted his offer, but suddenly at that moment, something happened! A huge black shadow jumped up from the river, flying towards everyone, exhuming a fishy smell that was blasted at them from the wind.

There was only half an inch of ground below their feet, and with companions left and right, no matter how capable they were, they couldn’t escape. Several people were swept into the water immediately.

However, Long Shen reacted faster. When someone was about to fall into the water, they were pushed back with a sudden force. A white light appeared in Long Shen’s hand before it suddenly pounced towards the dark shadow. Long Shen had drawn a sword out of nowhere.

Dong Zhi and Ba Sang were wide-eyed as they watched Gu Meiren fall off the cliff. They both subconsciously stretched out their hands to pull her, but as a result of the black shadow being hit by Long Shen’s attack, it landed in the river, causing a huge wave that rose several meters high and splashed everyone in the water at once.

“It’s a python. A giant python!” Someone exclaimed.

Someone shined their flashlight around the water, and occasionally they would see the reflection of something scaly on the monster’s body, confirming its identity. Dong Zhi had heard of the largest python in the world was the amazon anaconda, which could reach lengths up to 6 meters and could as thick as an adult man. They were able to swallow an entire alligator whole.

But the Amazon anaconda was nothing compared to this python in front of him. It wasn’t even significant enough in size to even slip through the crevices of its teeth.

Long Shen was fluttering in the water, holding onto Gu Meiren tightly while swimming towards the shore. Her head was knocked on by the tail of the giant python as she fell, rendering her unconscious and she was about to be washed away by the river.

On the other side, Long Shen was fighting fiercely with the giant python. His opponent was huge in size that its upper body hadn’t even been shown yet to reveal its face. It only just surfaced its tail, like a cat chasing a mouse, teasing the prey in front of it.

However, it quickly discovered that these prey were not as easy to bully as it thought, which reminded it of the unpleasant memories not so long ago. Several of its “prey” had also slipped away right under its nose.

When Long Shen slashed at the python’s tail with his sword, he left blood marks from a single cut. The pain and blood enraged the python, causing it to slowly stretch out its head from the river, trying to see clearly what its prey looked like.

“It has three heads! Be careful everyone!” Chen Xun shouted.

In the dark, six red “lightbulbs” wandered up and down. The brightness was faint yet luminous, but everyone felt terrified by its gaze.

Not to be outdone, Liu Qingbo tried to find the python’s tumbling torso in the water. Once he found it, he slashed it with his sword. Unfortunately, his sword was different from Long Shen’s as it simply bounced off the hard scale, leaving no cuts or blood behind.

Liu Qingbo was stunned. He had thought to himself that he was masterful in his swordsmanship and possessed enough strength. Even if the sword qi wasn’t as good as Long Shen’s, with the power of his Fejing Sword, shouldn’t he have been able to cut the scales? Could it be that Long Shen’s sword was even more powerful?

While he was puzzled over his predicament, everyone else had started to use their own weapons and magic. Even Chi Banxia started chanting a spell, though with such a huge body, it would take time before it could come into effect. Li Ying’s talismans were packed in a waterproof bag, so they wouldn’t get wet, but they didn’t have much effect on the python.

This three-headed python was too big. To a certain extent, when an object was this large, even if it had many injuries, it was equivalent to just a drop in the bucket for it. What was more, it was a behemoth that had survived in this kind of environment for many years!

The giant python seemed to be irritated by everyone’s “small movements”. One of its heads bent down and spouted out a mouthful of black mist at Chen Xun. Song Zhicun quickly grabbed his collar and dragged him back, but he couldn’t fully avoid inhaling some, and he started coughing.

In the confusion, Song Zhicun didn’t have time to pay any more attention to him. After putting Chen Xun aside, he jumped onto the python and lowered his body. The scales were too slimy, making them slippery, so it was difficult for him to stand still. After a few tries, he was thrown into the water by the python’s tail. 

He could see that the python itself was a bit injured. It might have been left there by the Japanese, or perhaps something even earlier. Normally it would sleep underwater, but due to this injury, it was enraged, so they had caught it in its worst moment.

Everyone looked pale and weak in front of this massive behemoth. It was as if it was invulnerable. Liu Qingbo’s sword couldn’t cut through it, and the attacks of Li Ying, and the others had no effect. Ba Sang wanted to summon an eagle, but they were now deep underground, where no birds would live.

For this mythical monster-like three-headed python, the only threat was Long Shen. It was extremely irate at the sword in Long Shen’s hand. Knives and spears had never left any cuts on it, yet this sword had pierced through its scale like nothing. Its three heads hissed and twisted, opening their mouths to spray black mist towards Long Shen. Long Shen avoided the attack and slid down the python. Taking advantage of the situation, he used his sword to cut a long, bloody grove on the python’s neck. Suffering from the pain, its body twisted more violently, stirring up the river and causing monstrous waves.

Under such circumstances, many people could barely maintain their stability, let alone attack with their hands.

At that moment, another figure jumped onto the python with lightning speed. It stood still and climbed up dexterously and quickly, attracting many people’s attention.

Lin Xuan!

Dong Zhi instantly recognized him. He saw Lin Xuan holding a hammer in his hand as he climbed on the python’s body, step by step. Every few steps, he would nail a nail onto the python’s body. The nail was as slender as a needle, which would feel like a mosquito bite to the python. Since it wasn’t painful, Lin Xuan took advantage of it and eventually reached the middle section of the python’s head. He then raised his hammer and slammed it into one of its eyes!

Originally, Lin Xuan had followed them, and no one took him seriously. They thought of him as an outsider and would secretly guard against him, but Lin Xuan didn’t take it to heart and just smiled all day long. Coupled with the fact of his identity as part of the Lin Family of Lingnan, it wasn’t easy for them to give him face, or even get close to him, as they didn’t have much to talk about.

However, Lin Xuan didn’t care either. Except for teasing Dong Zhi from time to time, he communicated more with Song Zhicun. As for Long Shen, he treated him equally like everyone else, and would speak very few words.

Bang!

A towering wave could be heard from the python’s movements. This showed just how much strength Lin Xuan used. The eye that was like a red lightbulb was smashed as blood splashed out from its eyeballs. It hissed and shook fiercely, throwing Lin Xuan off more than ten meters away. He fell into the river, and his fate was unknown.

Blinded in one eye caused the snake head in the middle to become confused, then retaliated more violently. Long Shen, who was in its sight, became the object of its revenge. The three heads bore their fangs at the same time and rushed towards him.

The black mist spewed out of the python’s mouth and was divided into three strands, almost covering Long Shen’s entire body.

“Be careful!” Someone shouted, but their voice was quickly drowned by the surging river.

Long Shen’s figure rose steeply, hoping on a cliff nearby, avoiding the black mist. He kicked his foot and used his strength to pounce on the python, hugging its neck as he pierced it with his sword.

“I’ll hold it off. Everyone, go first!” Long Shen shouted. His voice was slightly hoarse from the excessive exertion, but his strength was still there and indomitable.

Dong Zhi was floating in the water. He drew his sword and slashed at the python’s body. With a clank, the sword rebounded, proving to him that the python had cultivated an indestructible body. Even the Changshou Sword, which could cut iron like mud, couldn’t even scratch it.

He wasn’t sure who would win or lose if Kan Chaosheng fought against this three-headed giant python. Of course, it’s impossible for an ordinary python to match a Jiao, but the three-headed giant python in front of them was like a fierce mythological monster. Perhaps it’s even more powerful than Kan Chaosheng.

The giant python became impatient with all the tickling. Its huge body swayed and churned in the water, as if it was turning the river upside down. A huge wave rolled towards Dong Zhi, who had just narrowly avoided the python’s tail. However, the current slammed into his head, making him dizzy enough that he blacked out for a few seconds. In addition, he had drunk a few mouthfuls of the fishy river water and had even swallowed some of it.

Looking at the place where he fell just now, he saw a person leaning against the wall, waving her hands, as if she was doing some ritual. Taking a closer look, it turned out to be Xie Qingling. She seemed to be waving aimlessly with empty hands, but in fact there were two extremely thin silk threads tied to her hands.

Suddenly, two children fell on the python, walking steadily step-by-step. Their expressions were lifeless, but their movements were dexterous with an indescribable weirdness.

“What is that?!” Ba Sang was dumbfounded.

“Puppet master! She’s a puppet master!” Chi Banxia exclaimed, to relieve his confusion.

Ba Sang suddenly realized why Xie Qingling had been so secretive about her abilities. Most likely, she was worried her companions would look at her strangely if they had known.

At this time, two puppets in the form of children were holding daggers as they walked slowly on the python, as if looking for a weakness. Xie Qingling continued waving her hands with her eyes closed, as her brows twisted into several folds.

The python had lived here for many years, so while its scales were hard as iron, some had worn out over the years.

Suddenly, the child puppets stood still. The little boy raised his dagger and plunged into one of the scales! The dagger was halfway in, but it was popped out again in a blink of an eye. The python’s left head turned around and hissed at it, biting off the head of the boy puppet in a single bite, then swept towards the girl puppet.

With a cough, Xie Qingling spurted out a mouthful of blood.

Others were in no better condition than she was as they all struggled in the water. They had all kinds of abilities, but they usually dealt with zombies, evil spirits, and demons. In front of this fierce monster that exalted absolute power, they were completely helpless.

Hearing Long Shen’s words, Song Zhicun also shouted, “Hurry up and try to leave. Don’t try to fight recklessly. Bring up the rear!”

Reality has hit the spirit of the group of young people hard, almost completely wiping out their morale. Their single solution could only be this. Li Ying took Gu Meiren, and the others started to run in the opposite direction of the python, but it seemed to notice the intention of its “prey”. Having already lost an eye, it became more ferocious. It rolled up its tail and slapped the water fiercely, causing the river to suddenly rush to the narrow riverbank. As it continued slamming its tail into the water, it caused the river to continually rise so rapidly that eventually it swept Li Ying and the others into the river again, all while it was still fighting against Long Shen and Song Zhicun, sparing almost no effort to attack the others.

Liu Qingbo was frustrated by his failure, and his heart became angry. He looked at the figure of Long Shen still fighting fiercely with the giant python and gritted his teeth. He held onto his flashlight and plunged into the water with his sword.

Its common knowledge to hit the snake seven inches and three inches*. Everyone knew this, but the problem was that when facing such a behemoth, let alone finding its seven and three inches, they couldn’t even leave a dent on it.

*(打蛇打七寸，打蛇打三寸) Metaphor for one must grasp the main link when speaking or doing things (AKA hit them where it hurts). This, though, also has a literal meaning as they are fighting an actual snake. In terms of whether it’s 7 inches or 3 inches, it’s referring to the location, with 7 being the snake’s heart and 3 being the snake’s spine.

The python was churning in the water, muddying up the river, while the range of everyone’s flashlight was limited. Liu Qingbo could only rely on his intuition to judge the location of the python as he swam forward through the dark and muddy waves.

Suddenly, a huge undercurrent surged, and he subconsciously waved his sword to resist, but forgot that against the waves, his sword power and speed were halved. The undercurrent came towards him and pushed him back involuntarily. A hand suddenly stretched out from the side, grabbed his arm and dragged it to the side.

Liu Qingbo was taken aback, as he was about to stab the figure subconsciously, but the flashlight shone a vague face. He was furious and shook the other party off and made another gesture to keep the other party away from him.

The other party reluctantly refused to relent, and kept holding on to him, gesticulating, as if to tell him what he wanted to do.

While practitioners could hold their breath much longer underwater than ordinary people, they didn’t possess gills that would allow them to breath endlessly underwater. After being delayed by his opponent, Liu Qingbo’s breath was almost exhausted that he had to float to the surface. He shouted viciously, “Can you fuck off!”

Dong Zhi ignored his bad mouth. In front of this three-headed giant python, everyone had the same goal.

“Do you want to sneak attack underwater? Let me help you!”

Liu Qingbo sneered, “It would be nice if you didn’t drag down your own legs. What can you do for me?!”

Just now, Dong Zhi saw Long Shen and Song Zhicun dealing with the python to buy them some time to escape, but the python was quick, and though they wanted to run, it didn’t let them. He not only wanted to help Long Shen, but also wanted to help himself and his companions get to safety.

Dong Zhi wiped the water from his face and said quickly, “I heard that three inches and seven inches are the python’s weaknesses, but you’ve already seen it. It’s so huge that it’s impossible to find, but it should still have a weakness underwater. I have a Changshou Sword and you the Feijng. We can work together!”

Liu Qingbo: “What weakness?”

Dong Zhi: “The anus!”

“What?!” Liu Qingbo suspected that he had heard it wrong.

Dong Zhi thought he didn’t understand and said anxiously, “The chrysanthemum*!”

*Another way to refer to the anus.

Liu Qingbo: …

Dong Zhi: “Do you want to do it or not?”

Any kind of creature that was stabbed with a sharp weapon would not feel good, and this place was almost the same key points as the others*.

*Referring to the 7 inches/3inchs (heart/spine).

The corners of Liu Qingbo’s mouth twitched: “Do you know where its chrysanthemum is?”

Dong Zhi said, “I have seen a specimen of this type of snake. It should be near the tail. Its upper part is not easy to get close to, but its lower body is relatively easy. The structure of this python should be similar to that of an anaconda’s!”

The situation was urgent, and Liu Qingbo couldn’t bear to think about it further. He nodded casually and agreed to the plan.

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The author has something to say:

Liu Qingbo: One stumble and you’ll become eternally hated.

Dong Zhi: There is no smarter person than me.

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Kinky Thoughts:

WTF LMAO. An intense battle has now led to this.

BTW, just want to make a note that there are about 20+ people in this group, so the actions that the author is describing is all happening simultaneously. So when Long Shen shouts that he’ll hold it off while everyone runs away, it’s not that they’re not doing it, but the POV jumps to someone else that’s currently in mid-action before he said it. It’s a bit confusing, but this is the result when there are too many characters in a scene.

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