Chapter 79 The Awakening of Being in the Company of the Devil
"Haha, haha, hahaha!" Brother Bernfa laughed heartily. "This is truly unbelievable! To face annihilation in such an unexpected situation is truly speechless!"
Chu Hengkong lay on the ground like a stranded squid, only occasionally twitching faintly to show that he was still breathing. Qi Su covered his face with his hands and spoke in a lifeless tone: "Could you please... find some food for this squid..."
"According to our principles, I shouldn't do anything to the dying." The monk said with a laugh, "But this... Haha! It's hard to say that he deserves to die... I'll try fishing! I hope he can hold on until a fish bites, hahaha!"
The monk strode out, fishing rod in hand, laughing happily as he walked away. Qi Su sat on a chair, poking the nearly dead squid with his short staff. "So, what's going on? That big fish should have been enough for you to eat for at least three days, so why are you still hungry now?"
Beside Chu Hengkong lay several branch-like fish bones, the last traces of the giant eel. Before the monk laughed and left, he had devoured all the remaining fish meat at an astonishing speed. Even so, he couldn't get up from the ground, but only had a little more strength to struggle.
Fander stood on his head, his eyes filled with an indescribable emptiness: "Little girl, have you ever heard of Qigong forging bones?"
Qi Su was confused: "I have the impression that this is the basic skills of the 'walkers' in Longquan Township..."
"Yes, that's the foundation of the foundation. It's a secret method that uses willpower to strengthen the bones throughout the body, focusing on circulation and balance. This method hasn't changed much since it was created by Piao Miao Life Master, because martial artists are very self-aware and know that they are not smarter than their ancestors." Finder's voice was flat. "But here, there is a peerless genius who has been thinking about modifying the bone-strengthening method and practicing it himself. With his groundbreaking thinking, he came up with the good idea of strengthening bones one by one instead of practicing overall circulation. The result of this is-"
Qi Su looked at the silent squid on the ground as if it were a mentally retarded person.
"The body's balance has been completely disrupted, and the energy consumption required to maintain movement within the existing deformed structure has increased dramatically," said Vander. "Simply put, he is now starving to death by his own bones."
Qi Su let out a childish cry: "Idiot! There's an idiot here!!"
"Eat something..." Chu Hengkong squeezed out a sound from between his teeth, "Eat...it's okay..."
"Eating dirt won't fill your stomach!" Qi Su covered his face. "This is terrible... Brother Bernfa is very slow-tempered. It's hard to say if he will come back in a day..."
Xiang Fuzi, who was watching the excitement, was also a little panicked: "Is something really going to happen?"
Chu Heng was speechless, unable to express his pain, for he was truly exhausted. The naive townspeople hadn't yet realized that this was a literal life-or-death situation. Hunger and weakness were always the words closest to death, and in the perilous wilderness, starvation was no fantasy.
In this haunted place, where even the heavens and the earth are silent, hunger is a more terrifying threat than any beast. Chu Hengkong had been carefully managing his calories and stockpiling food, but the side effects came so quickly and suddenly that even he hadn't anticipated them. He felt his consciousness scattering like it had when he was seriously injured, and even the sounds in his ears had become intermittent...
"Are there any more mushrooms?"
"Everyone, hurry up and find something edible! Even if it's a little dirty!"
"Fish skin rope is edible!"
"Okay, put the rope in his mouth first!"
"Ah! What exactly is this filthy thing..." Xiang Fuzi said in disgust.
"Scholar, let go! That's a precious thing, pulled from the devil... Oh, I've got it... Girl, come here..."
"A hat?"
Whispers and whispers filled the air, the discussion incomprehensible. Chu Hengkong forced himself to tear at the fishskin rope. The leathery substance disappeared as if burned after entering his stomach. At least he had some strength left to move. He forced himself to blink and noticed that Vander was furtively fiddling with a hat. It seemed as if he was kneading something into it.
"Chu Hengkong, at this critical moment of life and death, you can't care about your reserve anymore." Fander said seriously, "I'm going to ask you a question. If you agree, just roll your eyes."
Tell the fuck now, or you’ll starve to death.
"...Do you have the courage to fight against the devil?"
Chu Hengkong rolled his eyes desperately.
"Okay!" Vander's tone became excited, "Then wear it! For your life!"
Chu Hengkong strained to open his eyes. He vaguely saw a strange, long, narrow outline. It was a constantly writhing, khaki-colored mass, like a loaf of baguette with an epileptic seizure, yet with a living, vivid feeling...
When seeing the true nature of this thing, even Chu Hengkong's face couldn't help but become extremely miserable and terrible, ten times or even a hundred times uglier than the worst starving ghost!
“…”
They stared at each other in silence, one filled with sorrow, the other with compassion. Qi Su's small laughter in the corner added a deeper sense of tragedy to this fateful scene. And the rumbling of hunger in his stomach was like a death knell, forcing Chu Hengkong to make that decision... a decision he couldn't disobey...
Five minutes later, Xiang Fuzi ran into the church holding a small basket.
"I've gathered some mushrooms and plant roots. Brother, you can use them as an emergency measure... Brother?"
Xiang Fuzi rubbed his eyes, unable to find any trace of the starving ghost. At the same time, he noticed something strange: not only was there no one in the church, but three benches were missing.
Xiang Fuzi felt a momentary dread. He heard a rattling sound in the backyard, as if a rodent were gnawing at a table and chairs. He tiptoed to the backyard and saw a familiar figure sitting among a pile of broken wood. With his green coat and silver tentacles, it was unmistakably Chu Hengkong. But there was a strange swelling on his head. He lowered his head, groping among the wood, wondering what he was doing...
Xiang Fuzi rubbed his eyes and noticed that Chu Hengkong was holding a piece of wood with his tentacles. The wood was approaching his chin, like...
"...Brother, brother?"
Xiang Fuzi took a step back, and Chu Hengkong suddenly stood up. His bloated head grew longer and longer as he stood, reaching a full meter in height. The head was a striking yellow, and the skin was moist, swaying left and right with Chu Hengkong's movements, displaying an astonishing elasticity. Xiang Fuzi suddenly felt that the appearance was very familiar, and he immediately realized the head's true appearance.
It was a constantly writhing, vivid creature with two big, gooey eyes...
eel!
Chu Hengkong turned around with his long eel-like head, a strange light flashing in his huge eyes. He raised his thumb and gave Xiang Fuzi a resolute cry:
"eel!"
·
【Hungry Eel Headgear】
[Rating: 1]
[Origin: Senluo Secret Realm - Netherworld Kingdom]
[Effect: A headgear condensed with the thoughts of the gluttonous demon, capable of devouring matter and converting it into energy.]
[Curse:
1. This relic is a product of the Void heresy and cannot be used by pure humans.
2. This relic has been contaminated by outsiders. Holding it will cause constant hunger and loss of normal speech ability.
【Missing: Hungry to the point of eating dirt】
(Note: I have very little time today and can only write this. Sorry.)
(End of this chapter)
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