Chapter 132

Chapter 132

As the Giant’s blows came faster and more vicious with each strike, Yu Lang and Yan Zhengchu found themselves dodging in increasingly desperate disarray.

Seeing this, Axia set the lamp in his hand aside and drew a short blade from his waist.

With a clean, swift roll, he tumbled to the Giant’s feet. Seizing the right moment, he thrust the blade hard toward its calf.

But that full-force stab was nothing more than a scratch to it.

The Giant merely let out a low growl, then kicked the man beside it flying with one foot.

Axia crashed to the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Yu Lang was just about to rush forward when the Giant gave him no chance at all. It reached down and lifted Axia straight off the ground.

With such a vast difference in size, it took no effort whatsoever. It was practically like picking up a chick.

Yu Lang was frantic. No longer caring whether he could be of any help, he charged forward and began punching and kicking the Giant.

But if even a sharp blade could do nothing to it, what use were fists and feet?

Not only was the Giant completely unharmed, it did not even bother to pay any attention to Yu Lang’s actions.

It held up the desperately struggling Axia, a bloodthirsty gleam flashing in its scarlet eyes.

Then, just as it opened its huge mouth, baring its fangs, ready to tear into its “prey”…

All at once, it froze from head to toe, as if every acupoint in its body had been sealed.

The instant Axia saw its mouth open, despair had already seized his heart.

But the pain he had imagined, of being bitten to death alive, never came.

The Giant actually loosened its grip and put him down.

Seeing this, Yu Lang immediately supported Axia and retreated. When he turned back, he discovered Yan Zhengchu hiding inside a small stone hollow nearby, waving at him.

He could not help feeling puzzled and hurriedly asked Yan Zhengchu, “Daoist Master, wasn’t that you just now?”

Yan Zhengchu helped support the injured Axia. Hearing this, he looked puzzled as well. “I’m good at dealing with ghosts and Evil Spirit. This is a ferocious beast!”

“Don’t expect my Jade Sword to be able to slice off its head!”

Together, Yu Lang and Yan Zhengchu carried Axia into the stone hollow.

Axia took a moment to recover before he had enough strength to speak, but he could not help asking, “Daoist Master… that monster’s shape is clearly like a man’s, so why is it so enormous, and so bloodthirsty and brutal?”

Yan Zhengchu thought for a moment. “I once heard my master mention that there is a kind of giant slave in the Northern Border, known as a ‘Di Slave.’ They were captured by the Marquis of Zhenbei, Jiang Ting, from deep in the mountains back when he was stationed at the Northern Border…”

“But supposedly, this kind of Di Slave is merely larger in stature. After being tamed, they gradually eat ordinary grains, can understand human speech, and will not harm people without reason.”

“This monster, however, is no different from a wild beast. It has no humanity at all…”

Yu Lang could not help glancing outside. The Giant was still standing motionless in place for the moment, but he had no idea what situation Ren Fengjue and Xia Ximo were in.

Worry crept into his voice. “Lord Ren and Miss Xia are still outside…”

But Yan Zhengchu said, “Don’t worry. The Young Marquis’s skills are better than ours. As for Miss Xia…”

Never mind that her fate was strange.

She had even come back from the dead again and again. It was bizarre beyond words.

It was almost as if… she had someone backing her in the Underworld.

There was no need for anyone else to worry about her at all.

Hearing him stop halfway, Yu Lang could not help asking, “What about Miss Xia?”

Yan Zhengchu said vaguely, “The Young Marquis said that fortune favors Miss Xia, and even the Underworld won’t take her.”

“…”

Listen to that. Was that something a person should say?

Yu Lang grumbled inwardly, then pricked up his ears and listened again and again.

At some point, the sound of the flute had stopped.

All was quiet around them, but then he suddenly heard a crack-a sound like bone breaking.
In the silence, the sound was especially horrifying.

After one crack came another, then a whole rapid succession of them.

Yu Lang’s expression changed drastically. “Daoist Master, listen carefully… There’s a strange sound!”

Yan Zhengchu had heard it too, of course.

He hardly dared to breathe. The sound made every hair on his body stand on end, carrying a heart-wrenching pressure that seemed to tighten around his chest.

A scene even surfaced in his mind unbidden…

Bones, all over the body, shattering inch by inch.

Just as that thought occurred to him, a tremendous boom rang out. The Giant had actually crashed to the ground.

Inside the stone cave, the three of them covered their mouths and noses in time, but they still could not avoid getting a face full of dust.

Yu Lang could not help coughing violently. Between coughs, he asked, “Daoist Master, that sound just now-did it come from that monster?”

Yan Zhengchu was already impatient to go out and see what had happened.

He carefully stepped out of the stone cave and moved a few steps closer to the “Giant” lying on the ground. Seeing that it remained motionless, he gathered his courage and edged a few steps nearer.

But at that moment, the “Giant” suddenly opened its blood-red eyes and glared at him.

Daoist Yan was so frightened that he fell flat onto his backside.

“What are you afraid of?”

A cool female voice suddenly sounded from beside him, startling him all over again.

“Miss Xia!”

Yan Zhengchu patted his chest. When he saw that the “Giant” was still only glaring with its eyes wide open, its terrifying face full of pain, he finally steadied himself a little.

Xia Ximo slowly walked over from beside it. When she stopped in front of him, there was something faintly condescending about her posture.

Yan Zhengchu was still at a loss. Then, remembering his own sorry state, he quickly scrambled up from the ground and asked her, “This monster…”

Before he could finish, a figure rushed over to the “Giant” and shouted, “Fourteen! What’s wrong with you? What did you do to Fourteen?”

It was Thirteen, who had been hiding in the shadows all along.

Seeing the “Giant” collapsed on the ground and unable to move, he was seized by panic and grief-stricken fury all at once.

Not far away, Ren Fengjue was also startled by the commotion on this side.

A moment ago, he had followed the sound of the flute and found Thirteen. To him, dealing with an inn worker who knew no martial arts was naturally effortless.

He had subdued Thirteen with ease and taken the short flute from his hand.

He had thought that would be enough to restrain the “Giant.”

Unexpectedly, Thirteen had only smiled coldly and said, “Once Fourteen starts killing in a frenzy, no one can stop him!”

Sure enough, the commotion on Yu Lang’s side had not subsided.

The “Giant” was still continuing its assault.

Ren Fengjue was faintly worried, but he still felt that the “solution” had to lie with Thirteen.

“Thirteen, when you controlled this monster and killed nine members of the merchant caravan, your original intention was to avenge Huang Yuqiong.”

“Since that great revenge was already taken, why did you go on to kill so many more people afterward?”

At the mention of Huang Yuqiong’s name, a flicker of emotion did pass over Thirteen’s face.

But then, on that soft, almost feminine face of his, tinged with a trace of evil, a strange smile suddenly appeared.

“The people I killed all had it coming. Since the authorities couldn’t deal with them, I dealt with them for you. You ought to be grateful.”

Ren Fengjue did not refute him. He only asked in return, “Did you kill them simply because they deserved to die?”

“That can’t be right, can it?”

“There must be another reason. And that reason has something to do with Huang Yuqiong’s death, doesn’t it?”

Thirteen was just about to say something when a thunderous crash came from within the cave. He turned to look back, only to see Fourteen collapse heavily to the ground.