Chapter 74 Killing the Demon 14

The person he called over was massaging Lu Cen's legs. He squatted down in front of Lu Cen, grasped his calf with his hand, and massaged it with moderate force.

Lu Cen leaned against the smooth stone wall, enduring the soreness.

His hair was grayish-brown, and because he had been sweating a lot, several strands of hair were stuck to his forehead, no longer as fluffy as before.

Luther brushed his hair aside, his tone surprisingly gentle, "Are you feeling better? Should I apply a little more pressure?"

Lu Cen pulled her leg back. "That's enough."

Luther didn't let him, and after massaging for a while, he went to help him relax his arms.

The captain of the guards, unable to contain himself any longer, strode over and said, "Stop fucking pressing it! What time is it?!"

Lu Cen was startled by his shout, and her eyelids twitched a few times.

Luther looked up in displeasure. "What are you doing? If you're going to go crazy, go somewhere else!"

The captain of the guard was irritated by his tone, his face full of annoyance. "Can't you be a little more considerate! We're about to die in this godforsaken place, and you still have the nerve to flirt!"

Luther stood up and shoved him hard. "Show me some respect!"

The two men remained locked in combat within that small space, neither daring to advance.

Lu Cen was speechless. "Can we stop fighting? Wouldn't it be better to save some energy to deal with the enemy?"

Luther listened to him; he withdrew his hand, drenched in sweat, and leaned against the side.

Their heavy breathing rose and fell.

Once they calmed down, Luther thought for a moment and said, "There's no good solution right now, we can only keep going. If it's still like this after three intersections, we'll change lanes and try the middle road."

In other words, he had no other choice but to try his luck and see if he could get out.

He picked up a hard stone from the ground and carved a long line at the leftmost opening of the hole. He continued to carry Lu Cen on his back. They didn't know how much time had passed, but they knew that their legs were getting weaker and heavier, as if they were tied with a thousand pounds of iron. Their stomachs had been depleted of heat due to not eating for a long time, and their bodies were getting colder and colder. Even Luther couldn't carry Lu Cen anymore and had to let him get down and walk.

They passed through three left entrances, five middle entrances, and four left entrances, reducing the number of people from ten to five.

But they never encountered the long line that had been carved.

This indicates that they entered through a new cave entrance.

The captain of the guards grew increasingly gloomy, his throat parched and burning. The cave was incredibly complex and vast. When they reached another fork in the road, he collapsed to the ground, panting, and said, "We can't keep going blindly like this. If we keep going, we'll definitely die here!"

Two guards lay down beside him, their eyes numb.

Lu Cen took off his shoes, revealing several large blisters on the soles of his feet, one of which had burst and was oozing fluid.

His nose was red, as if he was about to cry.

Something was shoved into his lips, and his saliva was quickly secreted as he felt the flesh of the food. He moved his cheeks and finally burst into tears of grievance.

Luther felt sorry for him and held him in his arms. "Don't talk. I have a few more pieces here, you can have them all. Hang in there, we'll definitely find the right way out."

The piece of beef jerky wasn't very big. Lu Cen held it in his mouth for a while, chewed it slowly, and swallowed it. Little did he know how unbearable hunger could feel.

He used to only lose his appetite because of illness and pain; this was the first time he had ever gone hungry.

Knowing I was going to starve to death, I'd rather be eaten by the golden frog.

He looked up at the white snake above, his eyes filled with longing. "Could we eat it?"

Luther then stuffed another piece of beef jerky into his hand. "There's no firewood here. Do you want to eat it raw?"

Lu Cen fell silent.

After a short rest, the five set off again.

The captain of the guards was in front, while Luther and his companion lagged behind. Because people kept disappearing from behind, Luther was very vigilant and would frequently look back to observe the surroundings. But this time, it was the captain of the guards in front who had disappeared. The two guards only felt a gust of wind, and the captain of the guards in front of them vanished. They took two steps back in horror, trembling all over. Luther, on the other hand, only managed to catch a quick glimpse of him.

It was a strong, bear-like beast that grabbed the captain of the guard and flung him away, disappearing from the spot.

Luther shouted, "Follow it!"

But it was so fast that the four of them quickly lost track of it.

Luther, unhurried and deliberate, observed the traces on the road and resolutely chose one to walk into.

After winding their way through the maze, a sudden light appeared before them. The four of them were startled and quickened their pace. Passing through the shimmering light, they arrived at a valley surrounded by towering stone walls covered with trees and vines. The vanished guards lay sprawled on the ground, including the guard captain. The bear, mimicking a human crouching, looked at one of them and then at another.

Lu Cen: "What is it doing?"

Luther: "It's picking food."

Lu Cen turned her head and gagged. Her face turned pale. "It's going to eat people?"

Luther looked around. The cave entrance was only a meter above the ground. He had two guards climb the trees, tied vines to Luther, and carried him up a low tree. The black bear picked out a guard and lifted him up with one hand without any effort. It stripped off its clothes and was about to tear off his arm when Luther drew the bowstring taut. The arrow flew through the air and struck the black bear in the back of the neck. It roared in pain and its dark eyes swept over the group with the ferocity of a wild beast.

It is heavy, yet moves extremely fast, appearing as close as lightning.

Lu Cen was startled, fearing it would jump up and grab his leg. Fortunately, the bear's jumping ability was limited, and it was hit by several arrows from Lu De. Its fur was soaked with blood, making it even more ferocious. It roared angrily, waking up the unconscious group. Those who reacted quickly followed them and climbed onto the stone wall, while those who were slower were reminded by their companions. Soon, the thirteen people landed on trees in different directions.

Luther's arrows were missing a third of their fletching, and he was reluctant to use them again. Looking at the arrows that had fallen into the valley, he couldn't get them back. He pulled Lu Cen up the mountain, but Lu Cen was afraid as he looked at the towering cliffs. How long would it take to climb?

His legs were trembling.

He had no choice but to stand firm; Luther was very firm.

Lu Cen could only tell herself that this was just a rock climb that was a bit too high, and that it would be fine.

By the time they all reached the summit, it was already midnight.

Exhausted, everyone dared not wander around, nor even sleep on the ground. They climbed directly into the trees, and there was no one on night watch.

Lu Cen was so hungry and tired that she fell asleep in a second while leaning against Lu De.

He was awakened by the aroma of food, but not from the tree, but under a tree with animal hides underneath.

A fire was lit not far away, with rabbits and pheasants leaning against it in considerable numbers.

They had been starving for almost two days and were practically wolfing down their food.

After finishing the rabbit in his hand, Lu Cen let out a satisfied burp.

Luther wiped his mouth. "There's a small pond not far away. Would you like to go wash your mouth?"

Lu Cen followed him, and only after he finished washing did he realize that he had no clean clothes to change into. Luther covered his private parts with animal skin, saying, "It will be dry by the afternoon, just bear with it."

He had Lu Cen sit on a rock and bent down to examine the wounds on his body.

His arms and legs were scratched by plants, some of the wounds were long and the skin was turned inside out. His palms and soles were chafed. Luther carefully sprinkled medicine powder on him, which made Lucen cry out in pain. Luther bent down and blew on it, the wind flowing down his feet to his ankles.

Lu Cen said, "It's so itchy, stop blowing on it."

Luther grabbed his foot and placed it on his own lap. "Don't move."

The water shimmered and a gentle breeze blew.

Lu Cen asked about the strange cave from yesterday.

Luther said, “That animal has a unique mind-controlling effect. The places it crawls over will affect human thinking, making people sometimes clear-headed and sometimes confused. We thought we had only gone through two cave entrances and couldn’t get out no matter how we tried to go back. In fact, we had been walking for a very long time without realizing it, and no matter how we went back, it would be of no use.”

Lu Cen was astonished; there was actually such an animal.

"This animal prefers cool, dark places, but its sleeping place must be warm, so it is active in the cave during the day and goes back to the valley to sleep at night."

His foot was still being held by Luther. Lu Cen felt awkward about the position, so he kicked Luther and pulled his foot back.

He wasn't paying attention, so he didn't realize that he kicked Luther in the groin. The kick wasn't very forceful; it was more like a flirtatious gesture.

Luther's eyes darkened, and he suddenly lunged at Lu Cen.

This rock is so big that there's plenty of room for me to lie down on.

Lu Cen was caught off guard by his sudden outburst and was stunned for a few seconds, not knowing what had gotten into him.

Luther bit down on the red mark he had left yesterday, grinding it with his teeth. His breathing became heavy, and he said in a hoarse voice, "Inlai, you are so beautiful."

"Let's get married when we get back, okay?"

"We live together every day and are never apart for a moment."

"I'll cook for you, buy you nice clothes, and you can do whatever you want. Is that okay?"

Lu Cen couldn't hear what he was saying; she only felt as if her flesh was about to be bitten off. Her face flushed, and her eyelashes trembled slightly, as beautiful as butterfly wings.

Luther moved upwards while kissing him, licked his lips a few times, and then put his hand into his mouth.

"No..." Lu Cen pushed him away desperately. Someone could come to this place at any moment, and this man was no different from a mad dog; he'd seize any opportunity to bite him. "Someone's here..."

Luther and he whispered sweet nothings to each other for a while, then stopped, seemingly unsatisfied.

He held him tightly, unable to let go.

The inner lining was thin, and it dried completely after the two of them stayed there for a while. After Lu Cen changed, he and Lu De returned to the temporary camp.

The captain of the guard was annoyed to see the two men return in disheveled clothes. He had been putting up with them for far too long. He suppressed his emotions and said, "We just went to survey the surrounding environment. If we go a little further east, we'll reach the formidable chasm. My suggestion is to rest for two days before setting off again."

Luther pondered. Two days was about right. If they delayed any longer, even if they found the Ice Blade, humanity would probably be wiped out. He nodded and said, "By the way, tell Ados our location. It would be better if he could catch up. If not, we won't wait any longer."

"If Ados doesn't find us in two days, we can wait another day. We have nothing, and the journey is long. How long will it take us?"