After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 322: Chapter 321: Changed Back

Hee Lingchuan fired the Sleeve Arrow, which passed through the wound in its abdomen before the barbs bloomed open on its back, anchoring it securely.

He then leaped onto a high rock and used a sharp, protruding corner to hoist the creature into the air.

The monster’s entire body, including the soles of its feet, was left dangling, unable to touch the rock walls. Its thawing and recovery would surely be slower this way.

Everyone immediately collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. Skinny lifted his waterskin to drink, but in his haste, he choked a few times.

Duan Xinyu pressed several of his own pressure points to stanch the bleeding, asking haltingly, "How—how much longer can this hold it?"

Hee Lingchuan suddenly tossed a piece of candy to each of them. It was malt candy from a small shop near the Mitian Temple. Sunx Fuling seemed to love it; these were leftovers from the last time he’d bought some.

They unwrapped the small pieces of wax paper, and the sweet fragrance of honey immediately washed away the bitter, coppery taste in their mouths.

In these desperate straits, that one taste of sweetness was unbelievably precious.

The group savored it in silence, reluctant to speak.

Hee Lingchuan glanced around at them all and suddenly grinned. "Not for long. Our reinforcements are already here!"

Everyone’s heads shot up in disbelief. Skinny asked in a raspy voice, "For real?"

"For real!" One of Hee Lingchuan’s eyes was useless and his body was caked in blood and filth. He was a wretched sight, but his words were sharp and decisive, carrying an infectious conviction even now. "When have I ever lied to you? Haven’t you noticed? The cub is attacking like a mad tiger, frantic and desperate."

’Tch, how is that good news?’ Duan Xinyu said, displeased. "Its ferocious attacks are a good thing?"

"It is!" Hee Lingchuan wiped the sweat from his brow to keep it from dripping into his eye and stinging it again. "It can’t even spare the time to heal. This creature is normally very cautious. It would heal even minor injuries before fighting again. Which means... it’s running out of time, too."

The Jindu Cub was exceptionally smart, and smart creatures tend to value their lives.

As his long-time teammates, Skinny and the others trusted Hee Lingchuan deeply and were willing to follow his train of thought. ’It controls the entire Underground Palace. Something must have happened, inside or out, to make it so desperate.’

Prompted by Hee Lingchuan, the other Patrol Guards finally noticed that the Jindu Cub was indeed covered in wounds.

It took time for the Underground Palace to heal it—over ten breaths for light injuries, and dozens for severe ones.

’And it can’t even afford that little bit of time?’

’In other words, it’s just as anxious as we are.’

"The final stretch is always the hardest. We absolutely cannot fall right before the dawn!" Hee Lingchuan knew that the only thing keeping them swinging their blades was hope, even if it was just a sliver. "The more desperate the beast, the more frenzied it becomes. I’m certain a change is coming. As long as we survive this assault, we’ll be the ones left standing!"

Any news that was bad for the enemy was good for them.

Everyone’s spirits were lifted.

Without him needing to say more, the others focused on regulating their breathing and recovering their strength.

They had to believe.

They had no choice but to believe.

The dead-end path was narrow, and with the Cannibal Vines blocking the way, only a few Bone Puppets could rush through at a time. Hee Lingchuan dispatched them with ease.

He needed to buy his teammates more time to recover.

’Worst-case scenario, I die. I’ll just revive at full health the next time I enter the Dream Realm anyway.’

’But if I’m suddenly taken out, what will happen to them?’

’Unlike me, if the others die, they’re probably gone for good.’

Just over ten breaths later, a few sharp CRACKS sounded from the frozen monster.

The ice was cracking.

Hee Lingchuan could see its eyeball moving.

More and more cracks webbed across the surface of the ice. Finally, with a sudden jerk, the monster shattered its prison, which fell away in a CRASH of icy shards.

Even without the healing enhancement from the Underground Palace, the creature’s own strength was formidable.

It struggled for a moment, but found that the hook of the Sleeve Arrow had its entire back and it couldn’t break free. So, it simply grabbed the Hooked Rope, climbed up, and leaped down from the jagged rock.

It ignored Duan Xinyu this time, launching itself straight at Hee Lingchuan from mid-air, its small eyes filled with bone-deep hatred.

These prey were injured and maimed, yet they refused to die. The monster had finally realized their leader was the reason.

’I should have killed him first. The team would have scattered immediately.’

Hee Lingchuan had mostly adapted to his one-eyed vision. In that brief respite, he had also managed to regulate his Inner Breath, getting his energy flowing again. Now, having mustered a bit of strength, he unleashed another Wave Slash.

CLANG! CLANG! After two sharp clashes of weapons, Hee Lingchuan’s blade moved unpredictably on the third strike. A flash of cold light, and he sliced half the creature’s shoulder clean off.

The piece of shoulder plating clattered to the floor. Acidic blood sprayed out as the monster roared in pain.

Just then, the Mine Cave began to shake violently, as if struck by a powerful earthquake. The entire passage even twisted a full ninety degrees, so the wall became the floor, and the floor became a wall.

Everything—humans and monster alike—was sent tumbling.

Only the Cannibal Vines, rooted deep in the rock, held their position. Their powerful grip even kept the Bone Puppets stuck to what was now a vertical surface.

Now, they were monsters clinging to the side wall.

Then, everyone heard a long, drawn-out shriek.

The sound was immense, yet it resembled a woman’s voice, filled with endless terror and agony.

To hear a woman’s voice here... it could only be—

"Something’s happened to its ’mother’!" Hee Lingchuan realized instantly. "Quick, take this monster down!"

Hadn’t they been desperately holding on all this time for just such a turning point?

And now, it had arrived!

Overjoyed, the Patrol Guards joined forces and attacked the Jindu Cub. But the creature suddenly let out a great cry and, ignoring the new wounds it was receiving, tried to smash its head into the rock wall.

There was no way Hee Lingchuan would let it escape. He grabbed the Hooked Rope and yanked it back hard.

Just then, another tremor hit, even more violent than the last. Everyone could feel a reality-tearing force erupt from deep beneath their feet. Then, the wall behind them began to press forward rapidly.

"Go, get moving!"

No one could spare a thought for fighting now; they all scrambled forward as fast as they could.

Fortunately, since the passage had been flipped, the Bone Puppets were all on the wall, leaving their path clear.

They charged out of the dead-end passage only to find the area outside was also in upheaval. Rocks appeared out of nowhere, crushing several Bone Puppets to dust.

If Liuu hadn’t shoved Door Panel with her quick reflexes, he would have been crushed beneath a massive boulder that suddenly tilted forward.

After just a dozen breaths, the cataclysm stopped.

Once they had recovered from the shock, they looked back. The entire passage was gone, as if completely erased by magic.

Furthermore, the path ahead had split into two narrower passages. But the wooden frames and beams—the things that supported the mine tunnels—had reappeared.

"It’s changed back!" Duan Xinyu cried hoarsely. "It’s a Mine Cave again! The Underground Palace is gone!"

Door Panel clutched his shield, looking left and right. "What about the monster?"

With the Underground Palace reverted to a Mine Cave, the monster had lost its home-field advantage. It was also heavily wounded; there was a limit to what it could do now. At this thought, the pain from their own wounds seemed to lessen, and a bit of their strength returned from nowhere.

"It ran," Duan Xinyu said, panting, as he pointed to the left passage. "I saw it go this way."

What were they waiting for?

"After it!" ’Time to get some payback!’

...

The Patrol Guards gave chase for over a hundred feet, with Liuu helping the blind man along. Suddenly, Door Panel said, "Hey, are we missing someone?"

Hee Lingchuan, who was at the front, heard him and turned back to count.

Door Panel, Liuu, the blind man, Skinny, their teammate Xuu Chun, and himself made six.

"Duan Xinyu is missing."

Everyone froze, staring at one another. Liuu’s brows shot up in anger. "Dammit, that was the monster!"

The Jindu Ghost could shapeshift. It had approached them in the beginning by posing as Duan Xinyu’s vice-captain, Wang Xu. How could they have forgotten its most dangerous trick after such a brutal fight?

The dead-end path had been too small, and everyone was keeping an eye on each other, so it hadn’t had a chance to transform. But during the cataclysm, when the world was shaking and no one could pay attention to anyone else, the fiend had seized its opportunity!

In the sudden chaos, with the poor lighting in the cave and everyone covered in blood and filth, no one had noticed where "he" was injured.

Sure enough, the group ran back the way they came.

Since the monster had pointed them to the left, it must have gone right.

As they ran past the fork, Hee Lingchuan divided the team. "Liuu, Door Panel, with me! The rest of you, stay and rescue Duan Xinyu!"

No one objected.

Since the monster had disguised itself as Duan Xinyu, the real man had likely met with a terrible fate. With his severe leg injury, he might not have escaped the mine’s collapse.

Hee Lingchuan led the trio in hot pursuit. Now that the Mine Cave had returned to normal, there were fewer forks in the path. The passage they took was almost a straight line, with the occasional tight, narrow turn.

And with their Fluorescent Grass Bundle, they could clearly see a trail of the monster’s green blood splattered on the ground.

Seeing this, Hee Lingchuan’s heart settled. This was the final confirmation: the monster could no longer use the Underground Palace to escape.

***

Just as Hee Lingchuan had expected, after pointing the way, "Duan Xinyu" had taken a few hypocritical steps with the group before turning and heading down the Western Route.

It shed its disguise and ran with lightning speed.

It knew the layout of the mine tunnels by heart and didn’t take a single wrong turn, reaching the stone chamber in thirty to fifty breaths.

The woman in the stone chamber had already torn away all the "tendons" and was staggering toward the exit.

After the initial terror passed, a wave of agony washed over her. She felt as if her body was riddled with holes, inside and out, each one gushing blood.

In fact, that seemed to be the case.

The monster appeared suddenly. Before the woman could even cry out, it pounced, knocking her to the ground and tearing into her flesh!

"Don’t eat me! Don’t eat me! I’m your mother!" she shrieked in pain, raising a hand to fend it off. The monster bit her arm clean off, chewing it with an audible CRUNCH.

The woman passed out again.

Meanwhile, the wounds on its body began to heal at a visible rate. Even the half-paw it had lost grew back.

The Jindu Cub drew nourishment from its mother. When its own injuries were severe, its demands became more hysterical.

Soon, its Bone Armor had fully regenerated, and sharp spikes even sprouted from its shoulders and elbows.

The Jindu Cub slung the woman over its shoulder and turned to leave.

’Can’t stay here anymore. I have to find a new place to make a nest.’

However, after just two steps, it froze. It stared intently into the darkness of the opposite tunnel, and even took two slow steps back.

Just a few breaths later, Hee Lingchuan and the others emerged from a different passage.

They had followed the trail of blood right to this spot. As they rounded the corner, they saw the Jindu Cub already tensed for battle, growling low at the darkness before it.

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