Chapter 123 Childbirth
This one sentence made Qi Xiaopang's hair stand on end.
He stroked his arm, which was covered in goose bumps, and tried to guess the best. "Could it be that Liu Yixin was secretly helping? After all, it was her ashes..."
Xiao Wu was not as optimistic as he was: "If she could help, she could just hand me the ashes. Why would we have to go through the trouble of climbing up and down? Besides..."
"And what?"
Xiao Wu hesitated for a moment, but thinking of their current situation, she finally expressed her momentary illusion: "That thing seemed to have a tail, and it was cold, like a snake, but also like a fish..."
Whether it was a snake or a fish was just Xiao Wu's guess. She didn't see it with her own eyes. But the moment the urn was handed to her, she felt the coldness of the scales like those of a reptile.
"Hiss—" Qi Xiaopang's whole body was covered with goose bumps, and he didn't dare to think about what kind of creature would have a cold tail that looked like both a snake and a fish.
Xiao Wu had no intention of deliberately scaring Fat Qi. She sighed, "But he's helping us, so he probably means no harm."
Fatty Qi nodded repeatedly: "So what should we do now? Go back to find Brother Qing?"
Xiao Wu placed the urn in Qi Xiaopang's arms, his eyes rolling up his sleeves. "Are you trying to piss off your brother Qing to death? He finally got us out, and you're actually thinking of going back and walking into a trap?"
Of course, it wasn't easy to say that outright. Xiao Wu thought for a moment and said, "Since we've found Liu Yixin's ashes, let's retrieve her mother as well to avoid accidental injury."
Qi Xiaopang held the urn with respect and care. He also thought of the middle-aged woman they had temporarily placed outside the ancestral hall. "Didn't you say she wasn't destined to die? The talisman would make her safe?"
Xiao Wu admitted his mistake very straightforwardly: "I underestimated the danger here."
With so many demons and monsters gathered at the Giant Locust Tree, she didn't believe a fight wouldn't break out. For rookies like them, it would be wiser to join a group, stay alive, and wait for the big guys to save them.
Qi Xiaopang was speechless, holding the cold white porcelain urn and following Xiao Wu. Before leaving the bedroom, he bowed deeply to the pile of "broken limbs" on the ground, muttering nonsense such as "the ancestors were magnanimous, the prime minister has a broad mind, don't come to them".
It was a pity that Qi Xiaopang's bows and mutterings were destined to be in vain. As soon as the two of them stepped over the threshold of the dormitory that had been made a mess by them, they were hit by a gust of cold wind that made their teeth chatter.
The wind came strangely, descending from the sky, from top to bottom, like a waterfall pouring down from the Milky Way, and rushing straight into the skylight and pond with great momentum.
However, in such a huge situation, the pool in the center of the courtyard was still as calm as a mirror, like a black jade mirror, which easily dispersed the cold wind that poured into the courtyard...So little Wu Qi and little Fatty, who had just stepped over the threshold, suffered the consequences. They were hit by the sudden cold wind and were dizzy and unable to tell left from right.
Xiao Wu was lucky because he had a mask on his face to block it. But Fat Qi had to use up all his willpower to not let go of the urn.
However, he could only take care of his hands but not his feet. In the howling cold wind, Fat Qi rushed straight into the fighting pool with the staggering steps of a drunkard, stumbling over his left foot and right foot!
The word "be careful" was blown away by the cold wind as soon as it came out, just like Xiao Wu's outstretched hand, which was obviously fast enough but only caught a handful of air.
With a "gulp", Qi Xiaopang disappeared in an instant without even a struggle, like a drop of water in the sea. The next second, the water surface returned to calm.
The wind also stopped.
Xiao Wu hurriedly rushed to the edge of the fighting pool and leaned over to look down, but all he saw was pitch black. He couldn't even find a hair of Fatty Qi... How deep is this fighting pool?
But no matter how deep the water is, he is still a living person. He will subconsciously struggle and call for help when he enters the water. How could he sink to the bottom silently like a weight?
Is there something dragging it underwater, or is there something wrong with the water itself?
The air was faintly filled with a cool fragrance like frost-covered grass and trees, which was very familiar. Xiao Wu couldn't help but move closer to the water surface and took a deep breath, but he could smell nothing.
Xiao Wu didn't dwell on it, fearing that by the time she figured it out, she'd be left with nothing but Qi Xiaopang's body. She quickly untied the soul-snatching rope hanging from her waist and wrapped a few talismans around the end. Though crude, her modification transformed the rope, originally designed to capture souls, into something that could be used by both humans and ghosts.
The Soul-Catching Rope snaked silently into the water like a water snake, without disturbing the water at all. Looking at the calm surface of the water, Xiao Wu suddenly remembered that she had promised Qi Xiaopang that she would show him her Soul-Catching Skill, which required no casting time, but only her hands. She had never expected that she would actually use this skill on Qi Xiaopang himself.
After a while, although it didn't take long, the Soul-Catching Rope still didn't respond as expected, and Xiao Wu couldn't wait any longer.
You should know that although the soul-catching rope is a law enforcement tool that almost every civil servant in the underworld has, it is definitely one of the most effective magical tools to restrain all evil spirits and monsters. Its length is definitely more than what can be seen by the naked eye. For experienced ghost officials, the soul-catching rope is as easy as using one's arm. Once the target is locked, it is difficult to return empty-handed.
Just as Xiao Wu was about to plunge into the water, the underwater Soul-Catching Rope finally began to move. Holding his breath, Xiao Wu focused his attention and quickly retracted the Soul-Catching Rope. The small pool suddenly surged, and loud splashing noises echoed from the water... This noise was definitely not something that Qi Xiaopang could produce.
In fact, what was hooked up by the soul-catching rope was not Qi Xiaopang, but a huge skeleton.
Xiao Wu's eyes were almost completely occupied by the white that broke through the water. He took several steps back to get further away before he finally saw what kind of creature this huge thing in front of him was... No, it might not be called a "creature" at all, because no "creature" in the world would have a hundred or eighty heads, let alone human heads.
Xiao Wu suppressed his fear and peered closely, discovering that not only was the head, but its main "skeleton" was also composed of bones from various parts of the human body. Those pale, delicate bones were bound and tangled together by spiderweb-like threads, making it impossible to tell which bones were once part of the same body. All of them were densely packed together, forming an abnormally bloated "bone snake"... Perhaps a "bone centipede" would be more vivid than a "bone snake," except that the "feet" of the "centipede" were the human heads hanging on either side of its "body."
Unlike the huge 'body', the heads on both sides of it have not decayed to the point where only bones remain. Instead, they are full of muscles, have rosy lips, and shiny hair. Each one is as fresh as a flower, and looks so 'fresh' as if they are just sleeping.
Xiao Wu looked over those heads one by one, his expression growing gloomier the more he looked - they were all women, young women. This alone was enough to make Xiao Wu, who had seen too much of the ugliness of human nature, angry. Thinking of those 'grooms' in the dormitory... countless guesses flashed through Xiao Wu's mind, each one a tragedy.
The 'bone snake' seemed to be uncomfortable after being 'fished' out of the water and coming into contact with the air. Its huge body twisted violently in the pool, its bones colliding and water splashing everywhere. The heads that originally had peaceful expressions seemed to feel the discomfort of the main body. They all frowned, their eyelids trembled, and their expressions were so painful that it seemed as if they would open their eyes in the next second.
Xiao Wu watched with utter horror. Could it be that they could actually "wake up"? But after waking up, would their heads be filled with their own will, or a merged, "collective" will?
Thinking of this, Xiao Wu quickly took back the soul-catching rope that was still hooked on the bone snake.
This retraction made her make another incredible discovery - the bone snake had not yet come out completely! There was still half of it hidden under the water!
How long is it?!
How many female corpses are buried under this pool?!
Extreme anger often gives rise to extreme courage.
The last trace of fear in Xiao Wu's eyes disappeared. She gritted her teeth and swung out the Soul-Catching Rope again, hitting the bone snake's torso. Then, she used all her strength and Yin power to pull it upwards fiercely - "Ah!"
With a sharp howl that sounded like neither human nor beast, the monster hiding under the fighting pool finally revealed its full appearance.
Just as Xiao Wu had guessed, countless corpses lay beneath the pond, many still retaining their human form. They hadn't completely merged with the skeleton snakes, only roughly piled up in their bellies... No! It wasn't the bones that were piled up in the snake's belly! It was the snake's belly itself! There was something inside!
Under Xiao Wu's horrified gaze, the heads on either side of the skeletal snake's body opened their eyes simultaneously. Their eye sockets were pitch black, like two black holes. Despite being so bizarre and terrifying, they seemed to be suffering immense pain. Some clenched their teeth and trembled with muscles, some howled like trapped animals, and some were barely breathing, their gasps barely audible...
In this situation, no matter how unbelievable it was, Xiao Wu could only think of one possibility - they were giving birth.
This monster, made up of countless female corpses, has been here for who knows how many years, and it is not even known whether it is dead or alive, is giving birth.
Xiao Wu raised and lowered her hand holding the Soul-Catching Rope. She didn't know whether she should stop it or just wait and see.
Xiao Wu was very confused, so confused that she even had the outrageous idea in such an emergency situation that 'maybe the one giving birth was Qi Xiaopang who had just fallen'.
Fortunately, Xiao Wu’s entanglement and confusion did not last long, and the bone snake... was born.
Gave birth to... a big white ball of fur?
Everything happened so fast that Xiao Wu didn't have time to carefully observe what the white mass was. Suddenly, thunder and lightning roared above his head, as if even God could not tolerate such an evil.
The white ball of fur was not afraid at all. It grew stronger in the wind and thunder, and became stronger in the water. In just a moment, it was two or three people tall. It stretched out its body, which had been curled up for a long time, in the strong wind, and even howled to the sky in a provocative manner.
The moment it raised its head, Xiao Wu finally saw its appearance clearly—as bright as the snowy moon, with a single horn on its forehead… This… was actually… a spirit beast?!
The bloated bone snake remained bloated even after giving birth. Its crouching form was a forest of corpses and bones. As it wasn't a proper creature, its "birth" was essentially a burst of flesh, leaving a trail of bone debris scattered across the ground. At first glance, it looked like layers of piled-up jade, scattering everywhere. Standing atop it, one could barely embody the legendary scene of a spirit descending into the world, "emerging from the waves, blossoming with every step."
But if she remembered correctly, there seemed to be, perhaps, only two soulmates left in this world. One was Qing Bai, who had just been separated from them for a short time, and the other was...
Xiao Wu had just sorted out half of his thoughts when he suddenly felt a cold and familiar breath coming from behind him. Xiao Wu shrank his neck and slowly turned around. After seeing who it was, he was shocked at first, and then he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Suijing, you won't run away anymore."
…
Xuan He, who was lost in thought, suddenly looked up: "Did you hear that?"
Qing Bai smiled as if he had expected it: "I told you, the flint mirror is in the giant locust tree. Do you believe it now?"
Xuan He put away the thoughtful look on his face and looked towards the direction of the beast's roar with a sharp and introverted look in his eyes. This sound...it's been so long since I last heard it.
"You're right. It's not safe to put all our hopes on just one Lingxi, so..."
Before he finished speaking, Xuan He attacked swiftly, but this blow that was destined to succeed missed.
Xuan He opened his eyes wide in surprise, as if he couldn't understand why Lingxi, who was never known for his attacking power, could dodge his long-accumulated capture.
It wasn't that Qing Bai's genes had mutated to become incredibly brave and skilled in combat; he simply took advantage of his own immature Lingxi form, effortlessly transforming back into his Lingxi form the moment Xuanhe attacked. His cat-sized body not only slowed Xuanhe's attack down, causing it to miss its target, but also allowed him to be incredibly agile. With a single, gentle leap, he gracefully perched on the Jianmu branch where Xuanhe had previously stood, seemingly weightless.
Now it was Xuan He who was in a dilemma. He was standing in a very delicate position, right in the middle between the direction of the beast's roar and Jianmu. Both sides were in tune with each other, but he had missed the opportunity to "capture Qing Bai first and then meet Sui Jing".
Xuan He knew that he had to make a decision now.
He knew very well that although Xiao Lingxi could dodge his first attack by transforming, he might not be able to dodge his second, third, and countless attacks. As long as he kept fighting, he would be the only one who won in the end... But if he fought Xiao Lingxi here, then Suijing, who had finally escaped the clutches of the underworld and was as rare as a flash in the pan, would definitely take the opportunity to lie dormant in the human world. No one would be able to find him, including his former partner. In such a vast sea of people, it would be difficult to meet him again...
Qing Bai saw Xuan He's embarrassment and squatted on a branch, tilting his head slightly. He looked innocent and soft, as if he didn't mind Xuan He's sudden attack at all. He even said very considerately: "Your partner finally escaped successfully. Aren't you going to congratulate him?"
Without waiting for Xuan He's reply, Qing Bai nodded again and said to himself, "I've been waiting for a long time... I just want to meet this legendary Lingxi tribe leader. How about we go together?"
Xuan He really couldn't understand what this little Lingxi was thinking.
Qing Bai ignored Xuan He's inquiring eyes, and gently pressed the hot Gou Yue under his claws with a smile.
He really waited for a very long time before finally waiting for Suijing to show up, and the inevitable... nine years that had been following Suijing.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
