Book 18 Chapter 12

Any death

-clean

The man was climbing up the mountain at a brisk pace.

The man's surname is Wang and his first name is Pil. He was born in Huaiyin County, Sichuan Province. A sage of the Wei Jin dynasty. He had the same surname as Wang Phil, a genius boy who died at the young age of twenty-four, but the name alone does not define a person's existence, and even if you trace his genealogy back to his fifteenth generation, there is not a single connection.

Still, this man lived his life with the pride that he was actively engaged in a series of attribute transformations that activated his throat energy according to the principle of the Five Element Symbiosis. In other words, he was a woodcutter, and by his diligence, hard work, and toil, the wood was turned into fire, and he burned himself, or was burned to death, to serve humanity.

He was on his way up the mountain today to actively participate in this work. If he skipped a day, he could not afford to go hungry. It was a mountain he had always climbed, so it didn't seem that hard. His steps were as light as if he were walking on a plain. He had gotten used to it.

He could feel the discomfort faster than anyone else. He stopped walking. His body was refusing to go any further. An uncomfortable silence filled the air. An unfamiliar energy filled the space, unlike yesterday. The entire mountain was silent, as if it had fallen into a stunned silence.

"What's going on?

He climbed the mountain cautiously. The smell that tickled his nostrils grew stronger. A fishy odor he hadn't smelled yesterday. An ominous sense of foreboding washed over him.

"Should we go back to this?

He may not have been a famous and learned scholar or thinker, but he knew who the mother of fear was.

If he turned back without a clue as to what had happened, the fear born of ignorance would grow and take hold of his ankles. If he descended, he would not be able to climb this mountain again tomorrow, and he would have to starve another day. Besides, the firewood here was of good quality. It would be very difficult to find a better one anywhere else.

You might ask what's so different about firewood, but that's ignorance. Almost half of the cost of accommodation is wood. It's literally more expensive than food.

There is a hierarchy to firewood. You can't just cut wood today and sell it tomorrow. Firewood that is freshly chopped and still wet is treated differently than firewood that has been dried beforehand. The price is also different because of the difference in firepower. It is recommended to dry the wood in the sun for at least ten days.

He didn't want to lose his bread and butter in English. He was afraid, but he kept going up the road. A sense of urgency propelled his feet forward. He didn't want to starve. He couldn't stop. He was desperate for tomorrow's meal.

Wang Pil closed his eyes tightly and ran up the path of his mind. He had traveled up and down it hundreds of times, perhaps thousands of times. Even with his eyes closed, he didn't bump into anything or stumble.

Then there was a thud and something stepped on my foot. He almost fell over. He barely regained his footing before a foul odor washed over him as if it had been waiting for him.

He was too afraid to open his eyes. He started running anyway, but the unpleasant, fishy odor only irritated his nostrils more intensely. He finally stopped running until he had no more energy left.

Wangfil's closed eyes peeked open, and there it was.

"Ouch!"

A tearing scream echoed through the mountains.

血! 血! 血! 血! 屍! 屍! 屍! 屍!

Blood [血] and corpses [屍], and before he knew it, he was standing in the middle of a bloodbath. The ground was covered in gruesome corpses. Some of them had been torn from their torsos and were strewn about. They were torn apart by sharp teeth.

He looked like he was about to be attacked by a monster. This mark, this memory. Two swords piercing a tiger. It was the crest of Salhochae, the largest living tree in the neighborhood. Deep in the mountains like this, man-eating demons are said to be found… I can't believe this…….

Then a huge shadow rose like a mountain from his back. A hot breeze brushed the nape of Hook's neck. Goosebumps broke out all over his body. The wind was hot, but his body was icy cold. Feeling eerie, Wang Pil turned around, only to find that his body had turned to stone. He had to see it. It was something that could take away a person's ability to think in an instant.

There was not even a scream. The mountain fell. The mountain crashed down on him.

And then came the darkness.

Wang Pil stood there, stunned.

* * *

"We've got a trace, bloodsucker!"

Bloodshot drove his fist hard into the gut of the first subordinate to report.

Bam!

A vigorous drumbeat rang out, and a "Billion!" escaped the subordinate's mouth.

"Sue.Seok.Cho.Chang!"

He corrected his subordinate's mistake with a kind and gentle voice.

"Crap!"

Still clutching his fist to his stomach, the subordinate admitted his mistake with a distinctive sound effect. He didn't dare open his mouth because he felt like his guts would come out if he spoke.

"Report back!"

He pulled his fist out of his pocket.

"Kulkulkulk, yes, I report to you, Chief Blood, we found traces of our target a few moments ago!"

"Okay, that didn't last long, but you can only do so much with a dragon in a child's stride."

Bloodshot nodded in satisfaction. He was especially excited that he had found the two youngsters before the leader did.

"I didn't think you were going to run away to Amifa."

Expecting them to go to Amifa, they had blocked the entire road in that direction, only to be completely blindsided. Like a dog looking up at the roof of a house while chasing chickens, Pepe quickly reorganized his men and went in pursuit.

"Well, when I got back to the silver, I was really surprised."

He was stunned when he realized that the crew he had left behind to clean up the mess had been wiped out for some unknown reason. He couldn't understand why or how anyone could have wiped them out so cleanly, but his mind quickly went in a different direction. After all, the captain was supposed to be responsible for the mission's failure. He was the senior officer of the company, but he was not in a position to take the blame. If the captain were to fail, he would be the next in line. In other words, it was very good news. If he made the most of this opportunity, the position would be his, and he would be the one to make it work. With uncharacteristic swiftness, he reorganized the group and set off in pursuit.

The secret passage had been found three hundred zhangs away from the Qinglong Silver Field, but the youngsters had left many tracks. And they were experts at tracking. Capture was a foregone conclusion.

"Okay, initiate proximity tracking!"

"Yes, sir!"

Bam!

Once again, the drum beat resounded cheerfully, and something yellow emerged into the world, making a distinctive noise where something usually goes.