Quick!
Its speed was unbelievably fast!
I had indeed overestimated myself. When I encountered the smiling corpse in Dingtao Village and was lured into the mountains, I at least managed to swing the Hundred-Pi Knife in defense. Although I didn't hit my target, I had swung the knife. But facing this unknown entity, I didn't even have the chance to swing before being engulfed by a huge dark shadow that burst out of the bushes. It slammed into me with a thud, sending me flying before pressing down on me with the force of a mountain.
A foul stench hit me, almost making me vomit. The smell... was like that of meat that had gone bad, incredibly suffocating. Tears welled up in my eyes as I finally got a clear look at what was attacking me.
It was a dark, hairy face with human features, but covered in dense, several inches long black hair. Its eyes were blood red, and from its mouth protruded four fangs, each about five or six centimeters long. The sight was eerily bizarre.
Upon seeing this creature, my heart sank. Could this be the wild man of the Qinling Mountains that Sister Li had told me about? My luck couldn't be this bad, encountering such a creature as soon as I entered the mountains. I struggled fiercely, but the creature pinned me down with what felt like at least three to four hundred pounds of weight. I was lucky not to be crushed to death, let alone move it. My struggles only provoked it to let out a howl and bite towards my neck. Instinctively, I dodged slightly, minimizing the impact, but it still bit into my shoulder!
"Crack!"
I could clearly hear a crisp sound from my shoulder, like biting into an apple. I guessed the bite had gone through my flesh, and intense pain immediately shot through my nerves, making me scream out loud.
All this happened in the blink of an eye. Just as I was bitten, Heizi let out a furious roar and charged at the creature, knocking it off me.
I don't know how much force Heizi used, but a muffled "thump" sounded by my ear, and the creature pressing down on me was flipped over. Then I heard a mix of angry roars and Heizi's agonized yelps.
The yelps were so piercing that they made my heart wrench!
This was the third time!!
This was the third time in less than a week that Heizi had saved me!
Fury overwhelmed my senses, and the pain from my bitten shoulder seemed to vanish. I grabbed the Hundred-Pi Knife and stood up, witnessing a scene I would never forget.
Heizi was pinning down the hairy monster, fiercely biting at its throat while the monster's palms struck Heizi, each hit sounding with a thud followed by Heizi's heart-wrenching screams.
I knew this was the fighting style of a Tibetan Mastiff!
Trained in the most brutal ways, a mastiff that survives knows to bite the target's throat and not let go, even under machine gun fire, until the target is dead. Yet, witnessing this scene, I couldn't help but feel enraged, feeling a surge of strength throughout my body. It was then I realized that anger could also be a form of power!
When this power expands limitlessly, it infects every part of a person, including their marrow, making them fearless, even... recklessly brave!
Yes, that was my state at that moment. It felt as if something inside me had ignited, and I threw myself at the hairy monster, swinging the Hundred-Pi Knife.
The monster's body was so tough it didn't seem made of flesh and blood. My first strike hit its forehead, but despite the Hundred-Pi Knife's sharpness, it didn't split the creature's head open. Instead, it made a "clang" sound, and the recoil nearly made me drop the knife, splitting the skin of my palm and drawing blood.
But at that moment, my mind was void of any rational thought. I just kept striking at the monster while Heizi held it down. My vision blurred, and only one thought remained – chop! Chop it to death!!
I don't know how long it went on until someone suddenly grabbed me from behind and pulled me away, a voice ringing in my ear: "Enough, stop chopping, it's all smashed up!! Smashed up!!"
I finally snapped out of it and calmed down, turning to see that people had gathered around. The commotion had apparently woken everyone in the tents. The person who had grabbed me was Zhang Jinya, who, despite looking skinny, had a strong grip that made my arms ache. Seeing Heizi licking his wounds but seemingly alright, I gradually calmed down and forced a bitter smile: "Okay, I'm fine now, let me go!"
Zhang Jinya looked me over, and seeing that I had indeed calmed down, he released me: "I don't know what got into you, you looked like a madman. Scared the hell out of me. If something had happened to you, I wouldn't know how to face your dad's old brothers..."
He seemed to realize he had misspoken and quickly shut his mouth, pointing in a direction to change the subject: "Look at what you've done, damn brutal..."
Following Zhang Jinya's direction, I looked and almost vomited on the spot.
Not far behind the crowd lay a pile of black-haired flesh. I knew immediately that it was the remains of the creature that had attacked me.
Was this what I had done in my frenzy?
I couldn't hold back any longer and ran to a nearby grove to vomit violently. After a while, when I felt slightly better and walked out of the grove, I noticed the strange looks from everyone, even Zhang Jinya seemed to see me as if I were a different person. Only Rosa had a slight smile on her lips, though I couldn't guess its meaning.
Then, Qingyi, who had been quiet, spoke up from beside the pile of flesh: "Stop dazing, come and see what you've killed!"
Qingyi's words somewhat eased the awkward atmosphere, and I really didn't want to face those strange looks anymore, feeling like a monster. I quickly joined Qingyi: "I killed a wild man from the Qinling Mountains, didn't I? What's the problem?"
"Wild man?"
Qingyi shook his head: "Wild men are still alive; if you kill them, they bleed. Do you see any blood from what you killed?"
Reminded by Qingyi, I realized that although I had chopped the creature to pieces, there was not a drop of blood on the ground, and the flesh was pale as if there was no blood in its body at all!!
Realizing this, I felt a chill: "Could it be that what attacked me wasn't alive but dead? A... black zombie?"
A black zombie, as mentioned before, refers to a corpse that, after feeding on the essence of cattle and sheep for hundreds of years, becomes something else!
"Black zombies are stiff and move very slowly, avoiding even chickens and dogs, let alone attacking living people. Even if they want to suck the yang energy from living people, they do it stealthily while the person is asleep. This creature doesn't have these characteristics, so it's definitely not a black zombie!"
Qingyi shook his head and said solemnly: "If I'm not mistaken, this creature should be a 'Tomb Tiger'!"
Tomb Tiger?
Not only was I stunned, but Zhang Jinya and Wu Pangzi were also confused, clearly having never heard of such a thing.
"'Tomb Tiger' is a term from Shaanxi, referring to those not yet fully dead when buried. Due to the influence of surrounding evil and yin energy, they grow black or red hair all over their bodies within seven days after death, turning into a kind of living dead!"
Qingyi slowly explained: "This creature is extremely rare, and the corpse poison on its body is incredibly potent. If someone is infected with its poison and not treated promptly, they might also turn into a living dead."
After saying this, Qingyi looked around at everyone and continued: "The Tomb Tiger that attacked us had not been buried long before it transformed, indicating its burial site must have been particularly rich in yin and evil energy."
After finishing, Qingyi refused to say more, and the expressions of Zhang Jinya and the others darkened.
Rosa said: "Are you suggesting that this person, who had not been buried long before turning into a Tomb Tiger, indicates that the yin and evil energy in the Qinling area is increasing? And that this is likely caused by the Ten Deadly Tombs, specifically something in the main tomb about to emerge?"
Qingyi nodded.
At that moment, my vision began to blur, and I couldn't make out what Zhang Jinya and the others were saying afterward. The bite on my shoulder itched increasingly, and my head felt heavy, the world spinning around me. Unable to withstand the dizziness, I collapsed to the side.