Chapter 223
Chapter 223
Bang!
With one hand above and the other below, I held open the gaping jaws of a wolf trying to bite me.
But the one coming from behind…
Its sharp claws were about to strike me.
At that critical instant, a white shadow dropped directly onto the wolf from above, covering its entire head.
It was Roundy!
In a flash, its talons, sharp as steel knives and daggers, plunged viciously into the wolf’s eyes.
Squelch!
Blood sprayed.
Awooo!
The wolf immediately let out an agonized howl.
With both eyes destroyed, it could no longer see where it was going. It thrashed and twisted madly in place.
“Not bad, fat bird! That was pretty good teamwork!”
I roared, using a Taijiquan method of directing force to yield backward.
Carried by its momentum, the wolf before me continued charging forward.
I repeated my earlier move, raising a foot in a roundhouse kick… Bang! Its ribs broke beneath the blow!
“Of course! Look who you’re working with, Wu boy. You can’t even imagine how powerful your big brother is.”
Praise went straight to Roundy’s head. One compliment immediately made it arrogant.
In any case,
within only a few exchanges and several breaths, Roundy and I had worked together to grievously injure three wolves and render them unable to fight.
Naturally, we dealt with the remaining two or three in the same way!
…
After clearing out the vicious wolf pack, Roundy and I had both used up some stamina.
It was not a great deal, but we still sprawled flat on our backs in the grass and panted. Lying like that always felt more comfortable after strenuous exercise.
“Damned fat bird, you’re actually a tiny bit more reliable than I expected.”
“Same goes for you, Wu boy.”
“Who knows how many beasts Master put in this forest? Were those all the wolves, or are there more?”
“Hmph! Of course there are plenty more. And I bet every one of them was strengthened with Soul-Burning Talisman water. Your master is the perfect example of a woman who’s as wicked as she is beautiful.”
“How is Master utterly wicked? Watch what you say, damned fat bird.”
“She hits your big brother on the head at every turn! She’s knocked out several of my feathers. If that isn’t utterly wicked, what is? I’ve figured it out. You learned your nasty habit of hitting your big brother’s head from her.”
Roundy indignantly pointed at its own head with one wing as though it were a hand.
I burst out laughing.
“She only knocked out a few feathers. Is that really worth getting so angry over?”
As we rested and chatted, rustling came from bushes some distance ahead.
I hurriedly rolled to my feet.
A venomous snake as thick as an arm slowly slithered out of the grass.
“A venomous snake that large?”
I was surprised.
Venomous snakes were generally not especially large. Most enormous, long snakes were nonvenomous–unless they had gained intelligence and become snake demons!
This one clearly had.
It had awakened intelligence, though it did not seem very clever, or at least had not reached a human level.
Otherwise, it would not have crawled out slowly. It would have launched an ambush in an instant!
Faint demonic energy emanated from the venomous snake demon as its cold eyes stared at Roundy and me.
Roundy immediately brightened.
Patting its round belly with its short, thick wings, it chuckled.
“This is good! Excellent! It’s practically delivering food to me. Apart from fish, snakes are my favorite food–especially venomous ones.”
The next moment, rustle, rustle…
A huge mass of venomous snakes poured out of the grass!
They twisted around one another in a riot of colors, releasing a rank stench and looking utterly disgusting.
Roundy’s eyes bulged.
“What the hell? There are so many!”
My scalp prickled too. Even someone who did not fear snakes might be fine seeing one alone, but a mass of them together was horrifying.
Without a word, I raised a hand and simultaneously launched two paper talismans. They transformed into two balls of talisman fire and flew toward the mass of snakes.
Before they could strike, several thicker snakes raised their necks and spat venom directly from their mouths!
The venom accurately struck my talisman flames and extinguished them.
Hiss, hiss…
The paper talismans hissed as the venom ate into them, then drifted to the ground.
I hurriedly retreated at top speed, putting more distance between myself and the venomous snakes.
At the same time, I shouted,
“Big fat bird, didn’t you say you liked eating venomous snakes and that these were all food? I’ll leave them to you. Kill them all!”
“You bastard, Wu boy! I do like eating them, but there are far too many! Eliminating them will be difficult. And when food is cornered, it’ll bite birds too!”
Roundy flapped into the air.
The instant it left the ground, all the venomous snakes spat black venom at once, splashing the spot where it had just stood.
Hiss, hiss…
Even the grass and soil rapidly corroded.
The sight made me uneasy.
One venomous snake as thick as an arm would already be troublesome, yet there was an entire mass of them! Master had clearly transformed them with Soul-Burning Talisman water, so they had all reached the level of snake demons, albeit the lowest kind.
“Roundy, you’ll have to take the lead against this group of venomous snake demons!”
“Why? Don’t think you can slack off, Wu boy.”
“I’m not slacking. Have you forgotten the purpose of our training? Besides teaching us to fight together, Master wants us to borrow each other’s power. Ordinary practitioners of the spirit-medium tradition in the Northeast borrow power from their household guardian spirits. Master’s method also lets me feed my power back to you.”
As I spoke, I willed the qi in my dantian to surge. Through the mysterious bond between Roundy and me, it connected with the bird.
How could I describe the sensation? It was profoundly mysterious!
It was as if a passage had opened between Roundy and me. As long as the other party consented, either of us could draw on the other’s power.
“Fine! Since you’re being so generous, Wu boy, I won’t stand on ceremony.”
Roundy chuckled.
I sensed about twenty percent of the qi in my body being drawn away. Then Roundy suddenly beat its wings toward the ground several times.
Clang, clang, clang!
The air rang as if metal were striking metal, or as though someone had drawn sharp swords and sabers.
Several extremely faint currents of air, barely visible to the naked eye, descended like blades and landed directly amid the mass of snakes.
Slice, slice…
The sounds of sharp weapons cutting flesh rang out.
The wind blades released by Roundy’s wings hacked the venomous snake demons into a scattered mess. Severed snake bodies lay everywhere, and several snakes died on the spot.
The surviving snake demons were clearly enraged. They all raised their heads and sprayed venom at Roundy.
But none could hit it.
“Ha ha ha! See that, Wu boy? Isn’t your big brother powerful?”
Roundy immediately grew smug and circled through the air.
I rolled my eyes and spread my hands.
“You could only use that by borrowing my qi. Would you dare squander your strength like that otherwise? Still, that technique is impressive. Its attacking power is tremendous.”
I was rather envious.
After all, this method of beating its wings to launch wind-blade-like attacks would probably work not only against supernatural creatures, but also against ordinary people and normal animals.
If I could learn it, I would have much greater confidence when facing wicked humans.
Roundy gave a sly laugh.
“Want to learn? Call me Big Brother a thousand times and I’ll teach you. Come on, hurry and call me Big Brother… Owww!”
The stupid bird had been preening arrogantly and failed to notice the largest venomous snake. Seizing the opportunity, it spat venom with all its strength and struck Roundy’s wing.
I was startled and hurriedly asked,
“Roundy, are you all right?”