Chapter 12
Just then, something unexpected happened.
A strange, eerie wind suddenly swept through the dark and quiet basement. It was extremely strong and icy cold, howling past Xie Xubai's ears and making all his bones shake and crack wildly, as if they were about to come to life!
Xie Xubai suddenly looked up, his instincts outpacing his brain, and grabbed the book as he rushed toward the exit.
However, given his body's sluggishness from sitting in an office all day, it would take him some time to climb up the dry well.
Xie Xubai had just grasped the rope and hadn't even had a chance to exert any force when a tremendous pulling force came from his ankle, which actually dragged him back!
Thud! Xie Xubai's back slammed heavily into the pile of bones, sending white bones flying everywhere.
It was a blessing in disguise; the densely packed bones absorbed much of the impact, causing him only a moment of pain that made him faint instead of passing out.
He had just staggered to his feet when he heard a shrill, piercing roar in his ear.
"Meow!!" "Roar—!"...
They are ghosts.
Ghosts and monsters are born from resentment and are most easily influenced by emotions. Seeing the young man you want to protect injured right before your eyes, how could you feel more than just fury?
In an instant, the ghosts revealed their blue faces and fangs, their hideous bodies, and rushed forward to bite the attackers!
Caught off guard, the attacker screamed in pain and anger, and had to stop to deal with the situation.
It was at this moment that Xie Xubai was able to see its true colors.
He instantly forgot to breathe.
It was a colossal, vengeful beast that almost reached the ceiling. It was pitch black with no eyes and had a huge head. When you were stared at, a chill ran down your spine, as if you could feel the overwhelming hatred in its heart.
The behemoth was ruthless and its strength was astonishing; it fought fiercely with the ghosts.
Bricks and tiles broke, fine cracks appeared in the floor and walls, and thick dust fell from the ceiling in a flurry, the noise growing louder and louder.
Xie Xubai knew perfectly well that as an ordinary person, staying would only be a hindrance, so he didn't turn back.
But just as he gripped the rope of the dry well again, a painful cry came from behind him.
"Meow!"
Xie Xubai suddenly turned around.
A ghost has been bitten by a giant beast!
Seeing the kitten struggling in pain, his mind was not filled with fear, but with uncontrollable anger and anxiety.
The surge of emotions triggered a rapid release of adrenaline, making his mind exceptionally clear at that moment.
The book on controlling demons was in his hands; how dare this ugly creature harm his cats and dogs?!
In a flash, Xie Xubai withdrew his hand, opened the ancient book, and stared intently at every rapidly turning word.
Where... is there a way to subdue this monster? Where?
Where?!
When Xie Xubai saw a certain passage, his eyes suddenly froze.
His heart was pounding. He slammed the ancient book shut and plunged back into the piles of bones that had been smashed to pieces.
When giant beasts fight, they will always avoid their own bodies, instantly narrowing down the range of their targets.
Xie Xubai forced himself to calm down and searched frantically as quickly as possible.
Finally, when he touched a half-broken skull, the giant beast suddenly let out a terrified roar and, disregarding the attacks of the ghosts, lunged at him.
Found it! Without a second thought, Xie Xubai slammed the skull to the ground right in front of the giant beast.
"roar!!"
A pitiful scream rang out, and the giant beast's head split open, causing it to lurch backward in pain before crashing heavily to the ground.
The spirits were overjoyed at the sight and were about to take advantage of the situation to kill it when they heard the young man call out "Come back!" They immediately put away their fierce appearance and quickly returned to his side.
Xie Xubai quickly spotted the ghost that had just been bitten and retrieved it for examination.
Fortunately, the kitten was clever and immediately bit back and escaped, so nothing serious happened.
It left a wound the size of a bowl, which pained Xie Xubai greatly.
The kitten didn't like being turned over and over, and it was also dissatisfied that it hadn't been able to defeat the giant beast. It strongly wanted to go back and fight it again, and it whimpered in dissatisfaction.
But when he looked up and saw the young man's furrowed brows and extremely regretful expression, his vengeful fighting spirit suddenly vanished completely.
"Meow." It lowered its head, rubbed against the young man's wrist, and meowed softly.
Xie Xubai caught the several ghostly spirits and put them into his sleeve.
Suddenly he saw the ghostly spirits guarding the well fly down, and he knew that someone had noticed the commotion and was rushing over.
Whether it's a player or a fat man, he's in a difficult position to handle.
Xie Xubai made a decisive move, looked at the giant beast that was still roaring in pain, and coldly ordered, "Destroy this place, take me up, and don't let anyone else see it."
The giant beast bared its teeth and tried to struggle, but seeing the young man raise his skull as a threat, it had no choice but to obey.
At the same time, outside the well, in the slaughterhouse.
The players are neither deaf nor stupid.
The noise was deafening from the direction of the dry well, but they didn't see anything unusual on the ground. They immediately guessed that the noise came from underground and that there must be a secret room hidden in the well.
But the vengeful spirits who heard the commotion suddenly went mad.
No, it should be said that they were already crazy to begin with, and in that instant they became even more reckless, risking their lives to stop them from going to investigate.
Who is controlling them? What secrets are hidden over there that cannot be discovered?
Before the players could investigate further, the previously timid slaughterhouse owner suddenly appeared from some corner, wielding a large machete.
As if suddenly thrown into a rage, he brandished his machete and roared angrily, "You bunch of bastards, I'll fight you to the death! Come on, I'm the one who killed you, so kill me if you dare! Why are you hurting the others?"
Upon seeing him appear, the hatred in the eyes of the vengeful spirits surged, almost becoming tangible.
However, seemingly deterred by the power of that large cleaver, they never dared to step forward.
The fat man continued shouting, but he was clumsy and ineffective, unable to kill many vengeful spirits even with a weapon in his hand.
The players rushed forward and rescued him from the encirclement.
Naturally, several gazes uncontrollably focused on the large cleaver.
It was a standard-style cleaver, but it was made extremely wide, almost comparable to a woodcutter's knife. The blade was thick and heavy, the edge sharp, and the surface was covered with dark red stains, like bloodstains that could not be washed away.
It's clearly not an ordinary prop.
Seeing that the players were all drawn to the machetes, a smug glint flashed in the fat man's eyes.
His smugness didn't last long. Suddenly, a deafening roar came from the dry well, and the entire ground seemed to tremble.
Upon closer inspection, not only was the dry well destroyed, but the small factory building next to it was also overturned!
The colossal beast hovered high in the sky, surrounded by shadowy, dark, vengeful spirits, their exact forms obscured, including Xie Xubai, whom it had hidden in its embrace.
Under its violent impact, various sheet metal parts and internal mechanical components fell like petals scattered by a fairy, crashing and clattering all over the ground.
"Fuck him...!"
The fat man was so anxious and agitated that he almost forgot he was still acting with the player; he barely managed to hold it in.
He clutched his chest, gasping for breath, struggling to hold it in.
Before he could recover, the giant beast's eyes sharpened, and it charged straight toward the two remaining factory buildings.
Bang!
The same deafening roar, the same shower of fireworks. The factory was forcibly demolished, reduced to ruins.
The fat man rolled his eyes, nearly fainting, and groaned in pain, "You beast—"
"Damn it, Xu Qingran is still over there!" Seeing the giant beast turn its spearhead and charge towards the accommodation area, Yan Yue handed the fat man over to his other teammates and rushed over to rescue him.
He unleashed a bright white sword aura in mid-air, striking the giant beast, which seemed unable to bear it and retreated, revealing the half-ruined building below.
Through the large hole torn in the ceiling, two surviving people could be vaguely seen in the room. The young man held the girl protectively in his arms, his back covered in dirt and lime.
When Xu Qingran opened her eyes, what she saw was Xie Xubai gritting his teeth and enduring the pain.
Rocks tumbled down on the young man, whose face was deathly pale and whose arms trembled slightly as he propped himself up. When he saw that she was awake, he grinned and gave a relieved smile: "Thank goodness you're alright."
Xu Qingran's heart skipped a beat. Seeing a rock with half a steel bar hanging from it above, she quickly pulled Xie Xubai away.
"What just happened? Was that vengeful spirit attacking us? How did I fall asleep?" She was completely confused, but looking at the ruins around her, she soon realized what had happened and yelled at the young man, "You were injured, why did you shield me? Are you stupid?!"
Her words were mostly filled with heartache. Xu Qingran grabbed Xie Xubai and said, "Quick, let's get out of here."
By the time the two retreated down the stairs, Yan Yue had already temporarily repelled the giant beast.
The vengeful spirits dispersed at the same time, and the group of people met up in a relatively safe open space.
Although the other players didn't take Xu Qingran seriously, seeing that their teammates were unharmed, their expressions relaxed slightly.
If there's one person who's truly devastated, it's probably the owner whose slaughterhouse was largely destroyed.
He picked up the pieces of scrap metal that had fallen to the ground, looked at the chaotic ruins, and trembled with anger.
Yan Yue led several players to comfort him and try to get more information out of him, but they were caught.
He looked down in astonishment, meeting the fat man's bloodshot eyes, whose words were filled with hatred: "As long as the Ghost King exists, these vengeful spirits will never rest. You have been targeted by these spirits; if you don't take action soon, you will all die!"
Yan Yue had no words to refute it.
Given the nature of dungeons, the vengeful spirits will definitely not only appear these two times; there might be three, four, five, six, seven, or even eight more.
This time they managed to block it, but they gradually found it difficult.
What if the vengeful spirits double in strength again by tomorrow?
“If ordinary gatherings of vengeful spirits are this terrifying, the Ghost King must be even more so.” Yan Yue glanced meaningfully at the large cleaver held by the fat man. “We need a more suitable weapon.”
Upon hearing this, the fat man slowly revealed a sinister smile: "I know."
Ten minutes later, Yan Yue and the others returned to the gathering place and found Xu Qingran applying medicine to Xie Xubai.
The young man wore his jacket inside out, lifted the hem of his shirt to reveal his back, and seemed a little embarrassed, keeping his lips pursed and his eyes flickering.
A man acting so coy and effeminate.
Yan Yue shook his head, but his expression froze slightly when he saw the gruesome, bruised and purple wounds.
Xu Qingran had no experience applying medicine, so her touch was sometimes light and sometimes heavy, but the young man endured it without uttering a sound.
"..." Yan Yue naturally didn't know that Xie Xubai had also been thrown by the giant beast. He looked at his teammate and asked, "How did he get so badly injured?"
A teammate gestured with his chin: "The monster collapsed the roof. He rushed up to protect Xu Qingran, and all the rocks hit him."
After saying that, and looking at Xie Xubai with his lips tightly pressed together, the players' opinions also changed unconsciously: "He's quite a tough guy. If he weren't an NPC, I would definitely recruit him into our guild."
Yan Yue remained noncommittal.
He walked over and saw that Xie Xubai was trembling violently even though he wasn't crying out in pain. Helplessly, he pressed Xu Qingran down and said, "Alright, stop torturing others. Let me do it."
The ointment was applied to the skin with surprisingly gentle pressure.
"Ah." The young man, who was enduring the pain, seemed to realize that someone behind him had changed. He turned around and saw Yan Yue's stern face. He called out somewhat awkwardly, "Yan..." He seemed to not know how to address him and hesitated.
“You’re younger than me, just call me Brother Yan,” Yan Yue said casually. “Your name is Xie Xubai, right? It’s a good name. I have something I’d like to ask you.”
"Um... what is it?"
Where is that stray dog you fed?
Xie Xubai's eyelashes suddenly drooped.
Author's Note:
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com