After eating a few pieces of grilled meat, Longbrow True Man suddenly felt a surge of heat rising within him, spreading through his eight extraordinary meridians.
“Huh, this monster’s meat can boost cultivation?”
While devouring the meat, Longbrow True Man urged Ye Qiu, “Little brat, eat some more.”
Ye Qiu said, “I’ve already eaten dozens of jin.”
Longbrow True Man: “…”
After downing ten jin of meat, Longbrow True Man’s face flushed red, sweat poured from his body, yet he kept eating.
“Glutton,” Ye Qiu muttered.
Longbrow True Man, with sharp ears, smirked, “You call me a glutton? You ate way more than me, so what does that make you?”
“We’re different,” Ye Qiu replied, “I’m a foodie.”
“Isn’t a foodie just a glutton?”
“No, good-looking people are foodies. Ugly ones are gluttons.”
Ye Qiu’s words were more insulting than harmful.
“You little bastard!” Longbrow True Man cursed, then sat cross-legged to circulate his energy again.
Xiao Zhan practised Baji Fist over a dozen times, finally returning to normal body temperature.
“Boss, why aren’t you eating anymore?” Xiao Zhan asked, puzzled.
“There’s a limit to absorption. Eating more won’t do anything,” Ye Qiu explained.
“Really?” Xiao Zhan ate a few more pieces and, sure enough, felt no more heat.
“This monster’s a treasure, pity we can’t take it with us. Otherwise, we could bring some back for Qilin and the others,” Xiao Zhan said.
Ye Qiu also wanted to take the monster’s corpse, but storing it in the Qiankun bag would cause the meat to spoil.
“Looks like I need to put a big fridge in the Qiankun bag for cold drinks, and for times like this to store meat,” Ye Qiu thought to himself.
The two waited for a while.
Longbrow True Man finished his cultivation and said, “Little brat, grill the rest of the meat. Let’s stay here a few more days and leave after we’ve eaten it all.”
Xiao Zhan replied, “Senior, you’re overthinking it. The meat’s effects are limited.”
“True or not?” Longbrow True Man was skeptical.
Ye Qiu said, “If you don’t believe it, try it yourself.”
Longbrow True Man ate a few more pieces, found no effect, and gave up.
“Such a shame, all this meat and we can’t take it. I could’ve brought some back for Shuisheng to try,” Longbrow True Man said regretfully.
“Let’s go!” Ye Qiu stood and headed out of the cave.
Longbrow True Man followed closely.
Xiao Zhan brought up the rear.
Suddenly, Xiao Zhan shouted, “Boss…”
Ye Qiu turned back.
Xiao Zhan, terrified, said, “Boss, I felt something touch my calf, cold, like a dead person’s hand.”
Ye Qiu quickly looked at Xiao Zhan’s leg and saw a black handprint on his ankle, resembling a baby’s palm.
“Hm?” Ye Qiu’s eyes narrowed as he asked, “Old man, did you sense anything just now?”
Longbrow True Man shook his head.
Ye Qiu found it unbelievable, saying, “What could it be, evading our senses?”
After all, he and Longbrow True Man were no ordinary experts.
“Little brat, this place is full of weirdness. We shouldn’t stay long, let’s leave quick,” Longbrow True Man said.
Ye Qiu nodded slightly, saying, “Old man, hurry and remove that handprint from Xiao Zhan.”
Longbrow True Man took out a talisman, placed it on Xiao Zhan’s ankle, muttered an incantation, and the talisman burned away the black handprint.
“Thanks, Senior,” Xiao Zhan sighed in relief.
“Xiao Zhan, stick with me. Old man, you take the rear,” Ye Qiu said.
Longbrow True Man grumbled, “Why do I have to take the rear?”
Ye Qiu replied, “Because you’re the strongest among us.”
“Oh, little brat, you finally admit your strength’s below mine?” Longbrow True Man grinned, saying, “Fine, I’ll take the rear.”
“Don’t worry, whatever demons or ghosts dare mess with me, they’re dead meat.”
“Let’s go!”
The three headed out of the cave.
But after just two steps, Longbrow True Man yelped, “Something’s moving!”
Ye Qiu and Xiao Zhan spun around, asking, “Where?”
Longbrow True Man chuckled, “I was just messing with you. Look how tense you got, so spineless.”
Ye Qiu snapped, “Old man, are you bored? You think this is the place for jokes?”
Xiao Zhan glared at Longbrow True Man, complaining, “Senior, if I get a heart attack from your scares, you’re responsible.”
With that, Xiao Zhan and Ye Qiu walked on.
A few steps later, Longbrow True Man whispered, “Little brat, I felt something touch my leg.”
Ye Qiu spun around, fists clenched, and checked Longbrow True Man’s ankle.
Nothing.
No black handprint.
“Old man, are you so bored you’re joking again?” Ye Qiu was annoyed.
Xiao Zhan was also irritated, “Senior, is it fun to mess with us like this?”
Longbrow True Man laughed, “I just saw you two so tense, thought I’d lighten the mood.”
Lighten my foot.
“Xiao Zhan, let’s go.”
Five steps later, Longbrow True Man’s voice came again, “Little brat, that thing appeared.”
Another joke?
So boring.
Ye Qiu and Xiao Zhan ignored him, heading straight for the cave exit.
“Boom!”
Suddenly, a wild aura erupted, shaking the cave.
Ye Qiu and Xiao Zhan turned to see ten strands of true qi floating behind Longbrow True Man, his eyes scanning around as he shouted, “What’s that? Show yourself!”
Whoosh!
A ghostly face appeared, nearly nose-to-nose with Longbrow True Man.
“Ghost!” Longbrow True Man screamed.
The ghostly face opened its gaping maw, spewing yellow mist onto Longbrow True Man’s face.
Instantly, Longbrow True Man collapsed with a thud, eyes rolling back, convulsing like he had epilepsy.
Then, two pitch-black, sharp tiger fangs, ten centimetres long, emerged from the ghostly mouth, aiming for Longbrow True Man.
“Swish!”
Ye Qiu flicked a sword qi.
Crack—
The sword qi severed the fangs.
“Roar—” The ghostly face, in pain, retreated a distance, crouching by the pool and baring its teeth at Ye Qiu.
Concerned for Longbrow True Man, Ye Qiu stepped to his side and checked his pulse.
“Little brat, save me quick…” Longbrow True Man said with difficulty.
After checking his pulse, Ye Qiu said, “Old man, relax, with me here, you won’t die.”
Hearing this, Longbrow True Man felt some relief.
Then Ye Qiu added, “You’ve got about half an hour to live.”
What?
Longbrow True Man’s eyes widened as he gasped, “Little brat… quick… save me… it hurts so much.”
Ye Qiu said, “Pain’s normal. This poison will slowly creep into your heart, getting worse until it feels like ten thousand ants gnawing at you, unbearable.”
“Don’t rush.”
“I’ll deal with the thing that attacked you, then save you.”
Damn it, who told you to joke around?
You brought this on yourself.
Ye Qiu stood up, facing the ghostly face.
