Chapter 42 The Land of Freedom (Part 9) The Oversized Monster.
"Hey! Stop sighing over the richest man! At least he lived a life of luxury! He's still rich even after half a lifetime away! What are we? We're just three poor bastards and a shady rat, okay??"
"We can't skip the sentimental scenes with one click, so let's hurry up and storm the lair of the demons, guys!"
Xia Zhu thought Feng Feng was truly remarkable. Even though her eyes looked somewhat sad, she could still maintain a high spirit and say such inspiring words. And these words were clearly successful, as the gloomy atmosphere in the car was swept away, and the gloom and sadness slipped out through the four car windows.
Even Feng Mian burst into laughter. He stretched his hand out of the window, the speed he controlled passing through his fingers like the wind.
The vehicle accelerated at full speed, and after a brief dip, continued its journey toward its destination.
As night falls over the Gobi Desert, the celestial bodies, still coldly observing the world, emit a cool glow, illuminating this endless highway, like a natural chasm carved into the desert, or a lonely, meandering serpent.
The original plan was to reach Mount Kailash before the next meteor shower, but after dealing with a round of escape and driving hundreds of kilometers in a daze, everyone was exhausted and had to stop the car on the side of the road to rest.
Fengmian went to add water to the car, while the remaining three lay down on the nearby sand, too tired to move and not even feeling hungry.
Silver starlight, dry night wind, the faint murmur of the wind, the rustling of the tumbleweeds as they migrate—if it weren't for the sudden bleating of sheep, everything would have seemed perfectly peaceful and beautiful.
Xia Zhu sat up from the ground, thinking she had misheard, but Feng Mian, who was next to the car, had obviously also heard the bleating of the sheep. He stood there stiffly and looked at Xia Zhu.
"Baa—"
"A sheep?" Xiao Feng sat up abruptly. "Where did this sheep come from??"
Everything in the desert was shrouded in a white veil by the three full moons. Logically, the approach of any creature should have been very obvious, but the bleating of the sheep was so close that no one noticed it.
“Yes, there.” Ying Ya silently pointed in a direction.
Following his finger, everyone looked and saw a lone black goat standing on the wide road.
It was very large, and its two eyes, like two yellow lanterns, were particularly conspicuous in the night. Its huge ram horns were coiled in spiral patterns and curved downwards, almost poking into its own eyes.
Seeing the four people looking at him, the black goat shook its head.
"Baa—" it bleated again, its front hooves pawing restlessly in place, making a clattering sound.
"It's normal to have goats in the Gobi Desert, right?" Feng Feng tilted his head slightly and asked Xia Zhu, the encyclopedia.
"It should be normal." There shouldn't be any problem with a goat appearing here, but is this one abnormal...?
Feng Feng had just breathed a sigh of relief after receiving a positive answer when he saw the black goat pacing back and forth even more uneasily.
The next second, it suddenly raised its forelimbs and stood up, taking two steps towards the four people with its two remaining hind legs firmly planted on the ground.
They were startled by the goat's sudden movement, and Feng Feng instinctively reached out and grabbed Xia Zhu beside him.
"Baa—" Another sheep bleated, but this time it wasn't the one on the road, but came from behind the three of them.
Standing by the car, Feng Mian faced them and saw the scene behind the three first. His eye twitched, and he pointed in that direction. The three turned their heads in unison, stiffly.
Countless yellow lanterns hung high in the air.
They were a herd of giant black goats standing upright on their hind legs, their imposing presence like a wall of black waves, with countless evil heads hanging on the crests.
This scene wasn't terrifying, but rather indescribably eerie. Xia Zhu felt a tingling sensation on the back of her neck. The goats' strange pupils stared intently at the group, their mouths stretched to the back of their ears as if they were smiling.
As the lead sheep on the road let out a loud bleating, the flock sprang into action, rushing towards the group. They truly came running on foot.
Xia Zhu and the others scrambled and rolled on the ground as they ran toward the car. Feng Feng didn't forget to turn back and raise a high wall made of vines to try to stop the herd of goats, but the goats' horns were sharp and they quickly broke through it.
Fengmian closed the hood, rushed to his seat, started the car, and stepped on the gas as soon as the three of them were seated.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry!" Feng Feng slapped his brother's seat.
He floored the accelerator, but the car only moved forward and screeched to a halt. At the same time, a muffled thud came from the trunk.
Xia Zhu looked back and saw that the black goat on the highway had appeared behind the car at some point, its two front hooves pressing firmly against the car body, and the metal under the goat's hooves was even deeply dented.
"What monster!" Feng Feng cried out, his voice trembling and distorted.
The car couldn't move forward, but two of the sheep that had been lagging behind came up to the car. Feng Feng couldn't help but shrink towards Xia Zhu's direction. He saw the nearest goat bury its head and butt its horns into the car door handle, then tilt its head back and pry the door open, making an excited bleating sound.
Seeing that the road was going badly, Fengmian tried to start the car again, but as always, something went wrong at the crucial moment, and the car stalled completely this time.
"No way? At least it has a human head, I'd be okay with that, but this is a complete goat, it's too weird!!" Although Feng Feng kept kicking backward, his hands didn't stop moving. A thick vine crawled out from inside the car, quickly wrapped around the goat's neck along its hooves, and the vine tightened its grip, silencing the goat's screams. Its eyes were squeezed so tightly that its red and white eyeballs burst out, and blood splattered everywhere. The two people sitting in the front row were not spared either.
"Don't talk about being scared while blowing someone's head off!" Feng Mian lifted the hem of his clothes to wipe his face, but the situation was obviously worse; what were originally a few drops of blood were now evenly spread across his face.
Unexpectedly, even after losing its eyeballs, the goat was still able to fight back. It stretched its neck, suddenly leaned back, and took a few steps back. But the vines originally grew from Feng Feng's palm, and the goat's unexpected movement pulled Feng Feng out of the car as well.
Xia Zhu reacted quickly and grabbed Feng Feng's waist, creating a diagonal position with most of Feng Feng's body suspended in mid-air. Xia Zhu held her waist tightly and reached for her backpack on the seat with one hand.
However, more sheep gradually surrounded their car. When Ying Ya saw Feng Feng being carried by the goats, he opened the car door and jumped out. Feng Mian didn't have time to stop him.
The sky was dark and gloomy as a large flock of crows flew toward the car. Ying Ya rushed forward and grabbed the goat that had dragged Feng Feng away. The crows used the same tactic as before, pecking at the goats' vulnerable eyes. However, these black goats were not afraid of the crows. Moreover, because they were flying too low, more and more crows were caught by the goats' splayed toes, stuffed into their mouths, and had their necks bitten off.
Black raven feathers filled the sky, and the smell of blood made the sheep even more excited, their bleating rising again.
Xia Zhu finally touched the small sword, turned around and cut the vines between Feng Feng and the black goat. Without the balance of force, the blind goat fell into the flock with Ying Ya. Without thinking, Xia Zhu grabbed the small sword and rushed into the flock.
"Little crow! Azhu!"
Feng Feng quickly raised heavy vine barriers in an attempt to isolate the goats around them, but the goats were too numerous and too strong, so the barriers couldn't hold for long.
Attracted by the two people outside the car, Fengmian started the engine again.
"Come back quickly!" he shouted at the two people who had been swallowed up by the dark mass of sheep and crows. Seeing that his sister also wanted to get off the car, he quickly turned to the side and grabbed Feng Feng's wrist.
"If you go, Ah Zhu will have to save one more person!"
"But I can't just stand by and watch!" she said, waving her right hand and sending out a vine that grabbed the hind leg of the nearest goat, tripping it to the ground. "Besides! It's not certain who will save whom. We can't let Azhu fight alone!"
When Xia Zhu rushed into the sheepfold, Ying Ya was being pinned down by a mountain-sized sheep. The sheep couldn't see and could only flail its limbs in a final, desperate struggle, making Ying Ya's small face even paler. Xia Zhu reached out to try and pull him off the sheep, but another sheep suddenly charged at him from the side, its horns pointed upwards, and butted at Xia Zhu.
She had no choice but to let go and turn around to grab the horn that was thrusting at her, but the black goat was unusually large and strong. She was no match for it and could only use her hind legs to brace against the sand as the goat pushed her back several meters until she was finally knocked to the ground.
The weight was like Mount Tai pressing down on her. Xia Zhu felt as if several of her sternum bones had been broken, or perhaps her lungs had been punctured. She almost couldn't breathe, but fortunately, the power within her body was rapidly repairing itself, and she gasped for air with her mouth wide open.
The goat bleated in her face, and a foul stench assaulted her nostrils. She quickly held her breath. The blood-dripping goat horn was poking right above her pupil. Xia Zhu suddenly realized that even with weapons, there was still a huge disparity in strength between them. Fighting to the death against the monster in the dream was no easy task.
But she would never give up the fight until her heart stopped beating.
Xia Zhu suddenly pulled her knee back, striking the black goat hard in its soft and vulnerable stomach. The goat, in pain, reduced its strength and fell to the side, rolling off Xia Zhu. However, its sharp, scimitar-like horn pierced her shoulder in the process.
With a sharp pain, a penetrating wound formed, and blood gushed out.
She gritted her teeth and used her hands and feet to push the black goat down completely, inevitably causing further damage to the wound on her shoulder.
The fallen goat rolled over and stood up on its hind legs again, its hooves pounding the sand, kicking up clouds of angry dust. More and more black goats surrounded the injured Xia Zhu.
She stood up from the ground, hugging her arms. The injury to her shoulder caused excruciating pain with every breath, and she could taste the metallic flavor rising in her throat. Her internal injuries had not yet fully healed when she was struck by a fatal penetrating wound.
Fortunately, he spotted Ying Ya, who had been drawn away from the battle, and was able to get up from under the struggling, dead goat.
Now, only one person was surrounded by wolves, which was an initial victory for Xia Zhu. She slowed her breathing and consciously circulated the energy within her body. She had noticed before that there seemed to be a chaotic power within her body, which was especially noticeable when she needed treatment.
Perhaps this power was the force that Xiaofeng and the others had mentioned, so she simply abandoned all distracting thoughts and closed her eyes as if meditating.
Not far away, Feng Feng jumped out of the car, clutching his head in despair.
"Why are her eyes closed? Don't tell me she got sleepy from fighting?"
As expected, when she calmed down, closed her eyes, and looked inward at her body, the power flowed more clearly through her meridians. She intentionally guided it to converge at her shoulders, where damaged cells and broken blood vessels rapidly split and regenerated under the force.
A moment later, his body was whole again, and all the wounds disappeared.
Xia Zhu opened his eyes and pounced on the nearest black goat, taking advantage of the flock's inability to react and seizing control of the battle.
"Hey! I knew it! I've always had faith in you, Azhu!" Feng Feng and Ying Ya weren't idle either; their respective talismans glowed, breaking down the encirclement from the outside.
The small sword plunged deep into the goat's head, the tip piercing the skull as if cutting through water and slicing through soft flesh. Xia Zhu stepped on the goat's belly and used the momentum to pull the small sword out again, bringing with it a sticky, yellowish-white substance.
As one black goat fell, countless more surged forward like a tidal wave. Her sword-wielding hand grew sore, but she continued to stab at the onrushing monsters.
Xia Zhu began to feel dizzy. She had just recovered from all the injuries in her body, and the adrenaline gave her another chance to fight back. However, the reward mechanism was time-limited. When the time was up, she was left only with exhaustion and mechanically swinging the sword in her hand. Even her consciousness was slowly fading.
All the sheep heads around her seemed to transform into a persistent, floating black haze, their lingering, foul-smelling tongues licking the small sword in her hand.
"How disgusting." Xia Zhu felt like the world was turning upside down, and she was about to collapse.
"A-Zhu!" Feng Feng's voice came from behind.
A colossal black goat rose from the flock behind her. Previously, it had blended in as a sheep, concealing itself, but now it was clear that this muscular creature with enormous horns was the leader. Its body was several times larger than Xia Zhu's. Hearing Feng Feng's warning, Xia Zhu instinctively turned around, only to feel a sudden darkness before her eyes. She stared blankly up at the sky, realizing that the overwhelming figure was a goat.
Looking into those cold, emotionless, and eerie eyes, Xia Zhu felt a pang of envy.
"What are you eating to grow so tall?" If she had such a powerful physique, she could tear the goat monster apart with her bare hands, break through the encirclement, and stand with Xiaofeng and the others.
"I don't like it." She didn't like feeling alone, nor did she like having something looking down on her.
But her arms seemed to have melted, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't lift them.
The giant black goat seemed to sense Xia Zhu's helplessness. With the joy of victory, it raised its greasy, shiny black head, opened its pungent maw, and was determined to bite off the head of the fragile creature in front of it.
Xia Zhu dragged her arm and tried to knock the goat down with her body, but no matter how hard she tried, it was like hitting a city wall, and the goat didn't budge.
The black goat let out a wicked laugh, giving her no chance to resist. It bared its yellow, gritty fangs. Xia Zhu thought it was all over, but in her dazed state, she heard a sharp shriek, like the sound of an arrow piercing the air. A surge of intense heat came from above, and something like a meteor, trailing a trail of flame, pierced the black goat's skull.
"That is...?" Feng Feng stood there, stunned, watching as a burning arrow pierced through three or four black sheep before finally embedding itself firmly in the sand. Even so, the arrow still burned with an inextinguishable flame.
Feng Mian stepped out from behind her, his voice icy as he replied, "It's Zhu Ri."
Before the words had even finished, the encirclement formed by countless black goats was shattered by a sword wind carrying golden light. All the goat monsters were cut in half at the waist, and two people walked out from the blood mist.
"I was wondering what was dragging these lackeys here. Turns out it's some other unknown official." The girl, of medium height but with a commanding presence, walked up to the Feng siblings.
Her long black hair was meticulously combed back into a high ponytail, which swayed proudly in the evening breeze. In her left hand, she held a large, golden-red bow that was probably taller than her when held upright. She carried a pair of scissors on her back, and wore dark gold arm guards on her muscular forearms, revealing clearly defined muscle lines. A dragon-shaped talisman hung at her waist.
She reached out and pulled the feathered arrow from the ground. The flames instantly died down, and it became an ordinary arrow, which she then stuck into the scissors tube. The girl brushed aside non-existent stray hairs from her forehead with one hand.
She looked at Feng Fengmian, her tone filled with undisguised contempt: "So it's you, diligent member of the Feng family. Brother, it seems we have a competitor in this round."
There was another person beside her, a tall and handsome boy. If the girl hadn't called him "brother," Feng Feng would probably have thought he was also a pretty girl.
He sheathed his longsword, the clash of sword and scabbard scattering molten gold and producing a resounding clang. He wore a form-fitting black combat suit, his broad shoulders and narrow waist making him appear even more tall and slender. Besides the extraordinary-looking sword, a dragon-shaped talisman also hung at his waist. Above the high collar was skin so fair it was almost translucent, with indifferent brows, light-colored pupils, and neatly swept white hair down to his neck—all these extraordinary features proclaimed his noble status.
The boy's bangs were blown by the night wind, revealing his delicate face. But unlike his cold appearance, his voice was exceptionally gentle as he spoke to stop the girl who was still radiating hostility on the other side: "Luo Chi, don't do this."
Ji Luochi crossed her arms and snorted coldly in dissatisfaction. In truth, she didn't need to listen to anyone, but she simply disdained to engage in a war of words today.
The Feng siblings stood frozen in place, too intimidated by the two men's aura to move.
"The Sun-Chasing Bow and the Xuanyuan Sword! The good news is we're saved..."
"The bad news is, we've run into the Dream again..." The diligent members of the Feng family maintained polite smiles while exchanging information in voices barely audible.
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Author's Note: Ji Yinxiu and Ji Luochi were cousins from the Ji family of the Yellow Emperor.
P.S.: I found a bug about Xia Zhu's glasses, but I couldn't find a suitable place to insert it, so I'll just explain it briefly: Feng Feng thought it was too troublesome for Ru Meng to wear framed glasses, so he gave Xia Zhu contact lenses!
Xia Zhu: Technology really does change lives! [Upright-eared rabbit head]
So from now on, when she enters my dreams, I'll assume she's wearing invisible lenses, but in daily life, she'll still have black-rimmed glasses, since that's Xia Zhu's true form, hehe.
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