Volume 2: Secret Burial in the Cliff Valley - Chapter 144: The Demon Demanding a Life

I learned afterward that these phosphorus tubes were a common tool Ma Su and his companions used when venturing into the wild. They were small lighting devices crafted on the principle that white phosphorus ignites easily upon contact with air, and they would burn for a long time when thrown.

However, this kind of combustion produced smoke, and the smoke was toxic.

Therefore, Ma Su and the others did not use them often. On this outing, Xing Mo had specially prepared several phosphorus tubes to carry on his person just in case of unforeseen emergencies.

After Ma Su threw the phosphorus tube, it ignited rapidly and gave off thick white smoke.

The white smoke spread in all directions, and the venomous insects that were swarming in to attack scattered in all directions and retreated once again.

Xing Mo quickly pulled out several face masks and handed them to me and Liang Yue: "Put these on and get out of this sinkhole quickly."

We tacitly understood and quickly put on our masks. Xing Mo came over and helped Third Uncle put his mask on as well.

Those venomous insects were deeply wary of the phosphorus smoke. After retreating rapidly, they did not follow us anymore.

However, I heard footsteps behind me; it seemed someone was still following us.

Flustered and stumbling, we scrambled and fought our way out. Fortunately, our directional choice was correct this time, and we soon reached the entrance of the sinkhole.

That is to say, right beneath the hollow of the ancient, withered tree.

I looked up, worrying about how we would climb out, only to see a rope made of braided tree vines hanging down from above.

By this time, we had no spare moment to ponder who had lowered it; escaping with our lives was naturally our top priority.

Ma Su and Xing Mo urged us to go up quickly, while the two of them stayed behind to continue scattering that medicinal powder and using their remaining few phosphorus tubes to hold off the venomous insects.

Liang Yue tucked in her short blade, tested the sturdiness of the rope, leaped forward, and shinnied up the rope.

Then she lowered the rope back down so I could tie it around Third Uncle's waist, and he was hauled up by her.

Poor Third Uncle; his body must have bumped against the inside of the tree hollow a dozen times or more. I thought to myself that if Third Uncle ever found out, he would surely fly into a rage, but it was still better than staying here to lose our lives.

Immediately afterward, Ma Su, Xing Mo, and I also grabbed the rope and escaped upward.

I glanced back and felt fortunate that, during the time it took us to climb up, Zhou Zheng and that Zou Baizu had surprisingly not followed us.

And around this abandoned Bird King Shrine, the sand wolf insects that had been there earlier had all retreated.

Opportunity must not be missed. Without wasting words, we supported each other, with me still carrying Third Uncle on my back, and rapidly retreated along the path we had come by.

Because I was carrying Third Uncle, my movements were somewhat sluggish, leaving me at the very rear.

Just as I was about to step past the ruined wall of the Bird King Shrine, a figure suddenly rushed out from a slant.

The figure moved so fast that I didn't even get a clear look at who it was.

I only saw a flash of white streak across, heading straight for Third Uncle and me.

I was terrified out of my wits; carrying Third Uncle made movement awkward, and it was already too late to dodge.

At that moment, I suddenly felt a slip behind me, and Third Uncle slid off my back. Before I could even make sense of what was happening, I saw Third Uncle spit out a mist of blood, spraying it squarely onto the face of the rushing figure.

At the same time, moving as nimbly as a startled hare, Third Uncle produced a peachwood sword from who knows where, let out a loud shout, and thrust the sword directly into the assailant's glabella.

This whole series of actions happened in the span of a single breath. By the time the person was stabbed by Third Uncle, I realized that he was none other than Zou Baizu, the Insect King from the sinkhole.

I just didn't know when he had popped out from underground; there must have been another exit to that sinkhole.

At this moment, having been sprayed with Third Uncle's tongue-tip blood and pierced right through the glabella, he offered no resistance whatsoever and crashed heavily to the ground. Such a major figure was annihilated by Third Uncle in the blink of an eye.

Judging from the martial prowess Third Uncle displayed in this action, he was no less capable than Liang Yue, perhaps even surpassing her. Only then did I realize that my understanding of Third Uncle was probably far from sufficient. The various hidden attributes he possessed were far beyond anything I had ever known.

"Third Uncle. You've been awake for a while, and you were just faking unconsciousness?" I asked with a hint of grievance.

Third Uncle's face remained deathly pale: "Stop talking nonsense. I couldn't let them see it, otherwise Zhou Zheng would definitely be on guard and wouldn't easily let this Zou Baizu take risks. We still need to get out of here right away..."

With this commotion, Liang Yue and the others ahead also turned back. They reunited with us, re-oriented themselves, and bolted toward the outside of the cliff valley.

At this point, I noticed that although Third Uncle's physical movements had recovered, his complexion was still very poor.

As we ran, I asked, "Third Uncle, didn't you still have a wisp of your stray soul lost here? Are we just going to leave like this?"

Third Uncle waved a hand, somewhat lacking in breath, but still explained to me: "It has already been retrieved. It's right on Xing Mo. For some reason, my wisp of stray soul merged with the pure soul on Zou Baizu. When I had you go over earlier, it was precisely to lure them all out. The time I spent faking unconsciousness was used to reintegrate my own stray soul, while also finding an opportunity to deal the opponent a fatal blow."

I remembered that back in the sinkhole, a wisp of pure vapor had indeed emerged from Xing Mo's body, and that vapor had split into two—a small portion went to Third Uncle's side, while the majority slammed into Zou Baizu.

So Third Uncle had deduced long ago that his stray soul was on Xing Mo, which was why he used me as bait.

I looked back; Zhou Zheng still hadn't chased after us.

Third Uncle said, "Those earth mirages have appeared, and they all carry dragon-gall sand. That is a massive fortune, and Zhou Zheng's mind is entirely fixed on that; he won't spare the distraction to pursue us. However..."

Before Third Uncle could finish his sentence, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed from all directions.

Third Uncle then continued his thought: "...However, that doesn't mean he won't think of other ways to trap us."

As he spoke, a dozen figures appeared all around us. Apart from the one leading them, the rest were not tall, measuring only about one meter fifty.

Their bodies were covered in dense white fur, and their faces were also furry—they turned out to be a dozen of those mountain ghouls I had seen before, also known as mountain ghosts.

At the same time, behind them appeared dozens of creatures that looked both like dogs and wolves.

Their gazes were fierce, baring their fangs, and they let out low, rumbling growls from time to time.

"They are mountain ghouls and sand wolves." Ma Su made an immediate judgment upon seeing these creatures.

So those animals behind the mountain ghouls were sand wolves, companions to the sand wolf insects. I guessed they must be the mountain dogs Old Tan Tou spoke of. These mountain dogs fed on corpses and were exceptionally ferocious. Upon seeing the living humans of us, thick, disgusting saliva dripped from the jaws of every single mountain dog.

And the mountain ghoul leading them was none other than that banner-bearer, walking on a pair of stilt-like wooden poles, holding a spirit banner high in his hand.

With a wave of the spirit banner, the surrounding mountain ghouls and mountain dogs gradually closed in around us.

None of us held lethal weapons; surrounded by this pack of beasts, our fate could easily be imagined.

No wonder Zhou Zheng wasn't worried about us escaping, nor did he pursue us personally. He must have prepared this long ago, and this leading banner-bearer was presumably controlled by him to come and claim our lives.