Chapter 234

Chapter 234

"Don't look at me; look at each other," Gan Hongchang, twirling his sword, said with evident disgust in his eyes. "Then tell me whose face looks unfamiliar, very strange."

The five fungal servants glanced at each other and then back at Gan Hongchang, murmuring, "All of our faces are injured, it's hard to recognize..."

The human face is quite vulnerable. With its thin skin and sparse muscle, any violent impact can cause swelling and bruising, leading to deformity. For instance, if both of your eyes were stung by bees, your appearance would be drastically altered to those who know you.

This was the current situation of the five fungal servants. Their faces were not just swollen and bruised but also bore open wounds. The servant from whom Gan Hongchang had torn the bandage even had a piece of skin missing. Who could recognize who? To whom would anyone look familiar?

They couldn't identify anyone by face, and all had human bodies.

Gan Hongchang quickly turned to Liu Buhua, clearly irritated as the current situation differed from Liu's account, "Damn it, you said the Shan Jia Army was hiding among them. Where are they?"

"What's the rush?"

Xie Yinxue spoke, her voice cold as frost, "You've asked your questions. Now it's my turn."

Chu Yiyang gave Gan Hongchang a subtle signal. Gan Hongchang clicked his tongue and sneered, "Fine, go ask him."

Xie Yinxue approached the fungal servant, who was free from the control of the sound manipulators. Unlike Gan Hongchang and Chu Yiyang, who kept a distance, she stepped very close, crouched down slightly, and said with an open palm, "Pardon me, I'd like to see your arm."

It was an imperative, devoid of any polite requests like "could you" or "may I," leaving the fungal servant no room for refusal.

Consequently, the obedient fungal servant lifted his right arm, placing it onto Xie Yinxue's palm.

In the blink of an eye, Xie Yinxue drew her sword across his arm. The cut was so deep it nearly exposed the bone beneath. Just as the servant's eyes widened in shock and he was about to cry out in pain, Xie Yinxue closed her hand around his arm, saying, "That will do, thank you."

The pain vanished under the young woman's fingertips. No blood spilled out. The cry that had risen to the servant's throat was stifled. He looked at Xie Yinxue in confusion, but she ignored him, moving on to another fungal servant.

The onlookers couldn't decipher Xie Yinxue's actions. All eyes followed her, neglecting the servant she'd just left behind. None noticed him repeatedly stroking the arm she'd cut, under the crimson of the wound lay smooth skin—the cut had healed, with only the lingering blood as evidence of its brief existence.

The next fungal servant Xie Yinxue approached had his bandages violently torn by Gan Hongchang. Like with the previous servant, she crouched before him, saying, "Pardon me, I'd like to see your arm."

Fearing another bout of abuse due to slow reflexes, and even knowing he would receive a deep cut, the servant hurriedly placed his arm on Xie Yinxue's palm. He trembled as he watched her swiftly slash his arm deep enough to see bone, blood gushing out. His shiver, however, was not from pain, but from the icy grip of the young woman.

Her hands were so cold that they felt as if submerged in snow. The bone-chilling cold seemed to suppress the pain, making the servant wonder if he'd truly felt the pain of the sword cut at all.

As he pondered, the young woman released his hand, telling the woman controlling him, Liu Fei, "He's fine too, let him go."

Liu Fei hesitated, "...Are you sure?"

Xie Yinxue gave a slight nod, "Yes."

Upon her confirmation, Liu Fei put away her musical instrument, the pipa, and released the fungal servant.

The servant shot a fleeting, covert glance at Xie Yinxue, then quickly lowered his head. He and the first servant helped each other to the side, re-bandaging their wounds.

Yu Jiayi, out of curiosity, asked Xie Yinxue, "May I ask what you're looking for?"

At that moment, Xie Yinxue was holding the arm of the third fungal servant, her eyes downcast as her sword touched the soft skin, murmuring, "Beneath the skin lies a perfect hiding place..."

"Clang—!"

The sound of the blade meeting something hard interrupted her words.

For beneath the skin she'd sliced, there was not flesh and bone but rough, dark fur. Seeing this, Xie Yinxue swiftly adjusted, holding her sword defensively in front of her. It was the right move, for otherwise the creature’s sharp claws would have torn her face, eyes included.

After failing to harm Xie Yinxue, the creature didn't linger. Shedding its facade of sorrow, it tried to retreat. However, it was unfortunately one of the fungal servants controlled by the participants, and under the influence of Baihezi, the most skilled among them. Compounded by its significant loss of magical power and Xie Yinxue's unpredictable tactics—turning defense into offense instead of retreating—this creature, despite only a few steps into its escape, was stabbed in the right leg by Xie Yinxue's sword.

The youth's silver sword stood firm in the ground, with Shan Xia's army being as powerless as dogs tied to a post, utterly pinned in place.

Shan Xia's army considered breaking its own leg to flee, but the other participants quickly reacted, swiftly surrounding and trapping it.

Realizing that escape was impossible, Shan Xia's army let out a mocking laugh. Instead of trying to flee, it recklessly swung its claws, hoping to take as many cultivators down with it, causing a gusty wind around. Wu Yu, of average cultivation, was caught off guard. Shan Xia's army slashed his abdomen, causing his organs and intestines to spill out. The fresh wounds emitted a white mist, as the bloodied entrails hung around his waist, terrifying Tan Fanyi standing next to him, who almost dropped his sword.

With a trembling voice, he exclaimed, "Damn, Wu Yu, where's your medicine? Take the healing potion quickly!"

"Aaahhhhh..."

Wu Yu seemed to have lost his senses, not heeding any words. He crawled on the ground, trying desperately to move away from Shan Xia's army. Concerned that Wu Yu might harm himself further, Tan Fanyi quickly fed him his healing pill.

After swallowing the pill, Wu Yu's wounds began to heal rapidly. However, he was mentally overwhelmed and soon passed out, just like Xin Tianhao.

To prevent himself from suffering the same fate as Wu Yu, Gan Hongchang swiftly severed two of Shan Xia army's claws, stating, "You hid quite well. You almost deceived even me."

Shan Xia's army let out a piercing scream of pain. But it had a peculiar habit of smiling whenever it saw humans, making its expression grotesquely twisted, neither a smile nor a cry.

Chu Yiyang, maintaining his distance, spoke, "Answer a few questions truthfully, and we might grant you a swift end."

Still smiling, Shan Xia's army responded, "Ha... what do you want to know?"

"How much do you know about the other beasts in the inn? Do you know what they are? Which ancient beast escaped? Is its human form male or female? Where is it hiding?"

Chu Yiyang threw a series of questions, hoping that even if Shan Xia's army answered one, they'd gain some information.

"I know a lot... hahaha..." Despite hearing everything, Shan Xia's army just laughed, "Come closer, and I'll tell you..."

Chu Yiyang, being seasoned, didn't believe such deceitful words. Especially given Shan Xia's army's recent behavior, why would it suddenly become cooperative?

"Where is the ancient beast hiding? Isn't it just like..."

Yet, Shan Xia's army began to speak about the ancient beast, but its voice grew fainter, becoming almost inaudible.

Chu Yiyang, despite suspecting a trick, couldn't resist the allure of the information and asked, "Like what?"

Shan Xia's army's lips moved as if it were answering, but no sound came out, prompting Chu Yiyang to listen intently.

Bai Hezi's breaths came fast, a nagging unease in her heart. Just as she was about to step back, Shan Xia's army's body suddenly exploded like a triggered bomb, emitting a blinding white light.

Everyone instinctively shielded their eyes. Only when they felt cool droplets on their faces did they slowly open their eyes.

Cai Lele looked up at the sky, murmuring to herself, "Is it raining again?"

Tan Fanyi removed his glasses, which tinted the world in a shade of crimson before him. He wiped the blood off with the corner of his sleeve and said, "No..."

What was falling on them was a mixture of blood and flesh.

Shan Zhajun's body had burst into a mist of blood, mingling with splintered bone and flesh. Carried by the wind of its malevolent intent, the remnants twirled in the air before plummeting, filling every inch of the inn's backyard with a pungent metallic stench.

"Did it self-destruct?" Xuan Ting wiped off the blood and gristle from his face, questioning, "Strange, it doesn't seem to have done much damage."

"Damn it, what did it say at the end?" Chu Yiyang, overwhelmed by the overpowering smell of iron, expressed his frustration, "Why do these beasts always die mid-sentence?"

"It... its last words were 'like me'..."

Chu Yiyang quickly looked up at Liu Fei, "You heard it?"

"...Yes." Liu Fei replied softly, "I didn't hear it, but I can read lips."

Realizing that the seemingly timid Liu Fei had this unexpectedly useful skill, Chu Yiyang smiled appreciatively, "Impressive, Miss Liu. Thanks to you, we didn't miss that clue."

Liu Fei blushed, flattered by his praise.

Bai Hua, wary of Xuan Ting and distrustful of anyone associated with him, including Chu Yiyang and Gan Hongchang, quickly shifted the conversation, "When Shan Zhajun said the ancient beast was 'like it', does that mean it's also hidden among the human fungi?"

"No idea... Ugh!" Yu Jiayi couldn't stand the smell any longer and began to vomit again.

"Whimper..."

Amidst her retching, a feeble whimper echoed. Yu Jiayi traced the sound to the little black dog, whose forelimb had been severed by Gan Hongchang. It was alive but seemed too weak to move, pitifully crying on the ground.

Seeing that she was already stained with blood, Yu Jiayi wiped her mouth with a cleaner part of her sleeve and approached the puppy, intending to bandage its wound and attempt to save it.

Sensing her goodwill, the dog wagged its tail and tenderly licked Yu Jiayi's fingers as she gently touched it.

"The dog's still alive?"

Interested, Gan Hongchang put away his sword and turned to face Yu Jiayi. With a sly grin, he seemed ready to utter some cruel words, "It..."

The little black dog shifted its gaze, its round eyes fixed intently on Gan Hongchang. As he began to speak, the dog opened its mouth and spat out a ball of blazing fire.

The scorching flames hit Gan Hongchang's head directly. The fire ignited upon contact, engulfing him within moments. First melting the skin, then consuming the fat, the flames crackled and popped, as if frying him from the inside out.

The last image Gan Hongchang saw as he regained consciousness was a pair of dog eyes illuminated by the firelight – a deep red, reminiscent of his own blood boiling and bubbling under intense heat.

Soon after, he was consumed by the excruciating pain of his burning flesh. Gan Hongchang couldn't even scream; his vocal cords and trachea had been carbonized. He tried to summon a potion from his storage ring, but his arm burned off from the elbow, bare and eerily reminiscent of that little black dog.

By the time the others snapped out of their shock, all that remained of Gan Hongchang, who had been incinerated on the spot, was a handful of charred ashes.

Xuan Ting stared at the ashes in disbelief, "…Boss?"

Chu Yiyang was even more shocked that his longtime partner had perished so cleanly on just the second day in the instance. Ironically, he met a fate shorter than the clueless and muscle-bound Xuan Ting. For a moment, Chu Yiyang was too stunned to speak.

Meanwhile, Yu Jiayi, who was closest to the culprit behind Gan Hongchang's death, was frozen in place. Her hand remained extended, mid-motion of petting the small black dog. The dog tilted its head and, seeing Yu Jiayi motionless, nudged her with its snout, seemingly asking for more pets.

Bai Lizi struggled to speak, "What... is this creature?"

But even before she asked, Bai Lizi realized the answer: a regular canine demon wouldn't spit out blazing flames, and even if it did, the flames wouldn't be as violently powerful as those spat out by this little black dog.

Thus, this little black dog must be the third beast they were seeking. What Bai Lizi really wanted to know was its name.

Among the present attendees, only one probably knew the true name of the little black dog, and he was the only one still calm and walking as if everything was normal.

"Yuan Ji."

The young man's voice remained consistently warm, gentle, and melodious, without a hint of emotion: "In the fresh mountains, there exists a creature. It resembles a great mole with a red beak, red eyes, and a white tail. When it appears, fires erupt in its vicinity. It is named Yuan Ji."

He walked over to where Shan Jianjun had died, pulled out the sword embedded deep in the stone, shook off the blood, sheathed the sword, and looked down at the ashes with a frown. "Its white tail fur has been burnt off, its eyes are too dark red, and the red around its mouth looks like exposed tender flesh due to incomplete fur. If not for Gan's noble sacrifice, it would indeed be hard to identify."

...Hard to identify?

The suddenly aflame kitchen, the servants yelling "that dog is aggressive, it's trying to bite them" as they fled... Remembering it now, Bai Lizi felt there were clues everywhere. But at that moment, everyone only knew of Shan Jianjun, whose presence brought great winds, but not of Yuan Ji, whose presence brought fire.

Moreover, everyone was deceived by how easily Yuan Ji's forelimb was severed by Gan Hongchang at first. Everyone thought it was just a young puppy, incapable of causing significant trouble.

"Yu Jiayi, stay calm," Bai Lizi took a deep breath and guided her, "Move slowly and back away... stay away from Yuan Ji."

Yu Jiayi wanted to cry, "Move away? I'm scared to move at all, fearing it might spit its fiery saliva on me."

"It's dying," Xie Yinxue said. "It's lost too much blood; it won't stop."

Yu Jiayi's eyes trembled. She glanced down at Yuan Ji and, although clearly understanding its hazardous nature, still felt pity for the creature in its dying state.

Tan Fanyi couldn't help but ask, "Are all these beasts so weak? Gan Hongchang just struck it once."

Liu Buhua pointed to the fallen Xin Tianhao and Wu Yu on the ground, and to the ashes left by Gan Hongchang. "Two knocked out, one dead. How is that considered weak?"

"It's... just different from when we faced the Scarlet-feathered Bird Demon," Tan Fanyi paused for a moment, hesitatingly said, "Don't you think these fierce beasts seem weaker in comparison?"

"The challenge of this replica is not battling these beasts but identifying them within the inn. Without me and Xie Yinxue as your living encyclopedias, you wouldn't even know their names, habits, or characteristics. How would you find them? You'd just be waiting to die."

Chu Yiyang, finally recovering from the shock of Gan Hongchang's death, pinched his brow and suggested, "While the Di Ji hasn't passed out, we should ask it about the other fierce creatures and the ancient ones."

Tan Fanyi looked shocked, "It doesn't speak our language, does it?"

Chu Yiyang turned and instructed Xuan Ting, "You, ask it."

From a distance, Xuan Ting yelled out the same questions Chu Yiyang had previously asked Shan Jujun.

The Di Ji responded with a feeble bark, "Woof! Woof!"

"Just like a dog. Shan Jujun barks and speaks, but Di Ji can only bark," Xuan Ting concluded, "Who understands dog barks?"

Bai Lizhi paced back and forth, "It doesn't make sense. If Di Ji can only bark and not speak, we can't obtain any clues from it. That's illogical."

Wait, a bark?

An idea flashed in Bai Lizhi's mind. She rushed to Xie Yinxue, asking, "Xie, among the four ancient beasts - Hun Dun, Tao Wu, Tao Tie, and Qiong Qi - which one barks like a dog?"

Xie Yinxue raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

Chu Yiyang quickly responded, "The Qiong Qi!"

"On Gui Mountain, there exists a beast, looking like a tiger, with wings and spiky fur. It's called Qiong Qi and its cry resembles a dog's howl," Chu Yiyang recited, "Only its sound is similar to that of a dog!"

Bai Lizhi clapped her hands in realization, "Exactly! The ancient creature that escaped from the seal of Changxue Zhou is Qiong Qi! Shan Jujun's last words, ‘Where is the ancient creature hidden? Isn't it just like me?’ make sense now. Both Qiong Qi and Shan Jujun are hidden beneath human skin, aren't they similar?"

"Impressive, Daoist Bai Lizhi," Cai Lele gave Bai Lizhi a thumbs-up, "You've won my admiration too."

Even Xie Yinxue couldn't help but look at Bai Lizhi with newfound appreciation.

Liu Buhua became restless. He laid Xin Tianhao on the ground and whispered to Xie Yinxue, "Shouldn't we say something? They're practically undressing her with their eyes."

"No need. They're far from figuring it out," Xie Yinxue smirked, "Until they kill all six ordinary beasts, they won't consider laying a finger on your stepmother."

Neither Bai Lizhi, Chu Yiyang, nor their group ever suspected Bu Jiuzhao. They believed the Qiong Qi was hidden beneath the skin of some demon guest. However, they couldn't confront the Qiong Qi like Xie Yinxue did with Shan Jujun, slicing directly. After all, Qin He had warned in advance: they were no match for the ancient beast. Directly confronting the Qiong Qi would be courting death.

Besides, there are still three of the six ordinary beasts left. Once they are found and all clues related to the ancient beast are unearthed, the identity of Qiongqi hiding in the inn might naturally be revealed. There's no need to painstakingly search for it at the moment.

But, are there really three left?

As this thought crossed their minds, Bai Lizi and Chu Yiyang's eyes darted around, and a flicker appeared in Xie Yinxue's gaze as it shifted seven meters to his left—where Yu Jiayi and Yixi stood, and the elusive Qinhe was also present.

Yu Jiayi caught a glimpse of the hem of his dark robe and murmured as she looked up at the newcomer, "... Yixi is dead."

"Indeed, he's dead," Qinhe casually poked at Yixi's body, commenting nonchalantly, "Ah, he's still warm, and his body remains limp."

Yu Jiayi opened her mouth, then closed it, seemingly at a loss for how to respond.

Qinhe, however, smiled at her, "Judging by your expression, you're saddened by its death? Pitying it, feeling sorry for it?"

Yu Jiayi replied, "The passing of a life is always a sorrowful event. It's human nature, and I can't control it."

"Ah, human nature," Qinhe gestured towards Gan Hongchang's ashes, "But Gan Hongchang also died. Why aren't you grieving for him?"

Yu Jiayi was taken aback, unable to find an answer.

"It's because you didn't like Gan Hongchang. His cruelty to the little fungi and Yixi made you feel he deserved it. But Yixi, appearing innocent and never harming you, grew attached to you. You favored it, and hence its death saddens you."

With a gentle voice, Qinhe continued, the smile lingering but his eyes reflecting indifference, "How do you know that just two hours ago, when Yixi was searching for food in the kitchen, it cooked and consumed three of my fungi? Such a cold-blooded beast managed to deceive you with its innocent appearance. It can't speak, and you can't understand it. You believed its affection when it brushed against your hand, but how do you know this gesture was its way of expressing satisfaction with its 'meal'? After all, my fungi were also caressed by it before being roasted."

Author's Note:

① Thirty miles to the east there's a mountain called Xian Mountain. Its trees are mostly oak, its grass is plentiful in summer and winter, its sunny side is rich in gold, and its shady side is full of iron. There resides a creature, looking like a large membrane, with a red beak, red eyes, and a white tail. When it appears, the village experiences fire. It's called Yixi—From "Shan Hai Jing".

② "Shan Hai Jing· Hai Nei Bei Jing": Qiongqi looks like a tiger and has wings. "Xi Shan Jing Second· West Next Four Jing": On Guishan, there is a creature that resembles a tiger, with wings and spiked fur. It's called Qiongqi and its cry resembles a dog's howl.