Wu Xin: The Monster Killer

Chapter 74 Return to Darkness

After landing, they rolled inwards, and Wuxin and Yue Qiluo disappeared into the darkness together.

Yue Qiluo struggled to reach out her hands, trying to grab the cave wall; however, the body of a little girl was no match for Wuxin's strength. Her fingertips left scratch marks on the ground, and her nails were torn open. She roared in uncontrollable rage, and her bright red right eyeball burst open, with thick blood splattering onto Wuxin's face.

Unmoved, Wuxin dragged her deeper into the cave. She knew something was wrong; there must be something more sinister inside. Her bloodied fingers traced lines on Wuxin's brow as she continuously drew incantations, trying to subdue him.

But it didn't work.

Blood gushed from her right eye socket, and the stench of blood in the cave grew stronger. In desperation, she decided to take everyone down with her and poked her finger at Wuxin's eye. But Wuxin tilted his head back and dodged, seemingly valuing his life highly.

He didn't want Yue Qiluo to die from his blood poison; he wanted her to live. He strode around several corners, when a clod of earth fell from the sky and shattered on his head.

As he expected, the cave had become one with the female ghost within. Any living thing that entered would disturb it and be devoured. Last year it swallowed dozens of young soldiers, and now, with Yue Qiluo's blood stained the path, it was about to break its fast again!

Before they even reached the end of the cave, it was as if an earthquake had struck; soil began to crumble from the cave walls. A bloodied and mangled arm suddenly burst through the soil, grabbing at empty air behind Wuxin's neck. Yue Qiluo, utterly unprepared for this scene, laughed loudly despite her terror: "Wuxin, do you want to die with me?"

Her childish laughter echoed in the cave, a series of sharp, shrill giggles. An arm reached out and grabbed her slender wrist, pulling it inward with tremendous force. Caught off guard, she reached out her hand in response. But the instant her fingers sank into the cave wall, she suddenly let out a long, agonizing scream. The other hand produced a paper talisman from somewhere and hurled it fiercely. The thin talisman sliced ​​through the ghostly hand like a flying knife, and she forcibly pulled her hand back, her palm dripping with blood, as if soaked in acid from fingertips to palm, the skin and muscle completely corroded, leaving only the bright red metacarpal bones with veins. Holding her injured wrist with one hand, she seemed to understand, yet she also seemed not to understand—she was not afraid of death. Didn't Wuxin know that she wasn't afraid of death?

Startled, she abruptly turned and glared at Wuxin. At the same time, Wuxin struck from the darkness. He shoved her back with both hands, and she stumbled, falling against the cave wall.

But in the instant she lunged forward, she yanked her hand back and forcefully grabbed Wuxin's sleeve. Her uninjured hand displayed unprecedented dexterity; her fingers slid up her forearm from the sleeve, she channeling all her strength into her hand. Before Wuxin could draw his sword, she shouted sharply, "Let's go together!"

As she pulled at Wuxin, her forehead touched the earth. The earth was warm and soft, each grain seemingly carrying fangs and teeth, tearing at every inch of flesh and bone it was offered. Wuxin, losing his balance, slammed into the cave wall the instant she let out a wail. A ghostly hand was already gripping his neck, his shoulder sinking into the earth. The excruciating pain made him lunge backward, but it was too late. His clothes and flesh were torn away, leaving almost no blood, revealing only the white bone.

He was gripped by a ghostly hand, his neck constricted, with nowhere to grab hold and break free. Suddenly, a small, mangled hand reached out in front of him. He saw Yue Qiluo struggling to retreat while raising her mangled hand to draw a talisman on the cave wall. Wuxin didn't know the effects of her talisman; he only knew he couldn't let her resist any longer, or she would bleed to death. He couldn't let her die outside; if she died outside, all their efforts would be in vain!

Having severed the ghostly hand that was binding him with his sword, Wuxin walked behind Yue Qiluo and shoved her hard in the back. Yue Qiluo, already struggling in her death throes, was now even more exhausted from the sneak attack. In her final lunge forward, she mustered her last strength and kicked off the cave wall. She fell backward, landing flat on her back. As the ghostly hand grabbed her legs, she turned and clung tightly to Wuxin's thigh. The ghostly hand dragged her into the mud, her teeth clenched so tightly they rattled, and as she was swallowed from below, she looked up and glared at Wuxin. Wuxin gripped his short sword; he could easily have severed her arm immediately, but he couldn't, for fear of killing her too soon!

Ghostly hands also reached out from the opposite cave wall, a large group of them waving and beckoning. Wuxin grabbed one of the ghostly hands, trying to use it to kick Yue Qiluo away, but the cave was too narrow for him to lie down. Yue Qiluo's arms gripped his thighs like iron, and his feet sank into the mud along with her chest.

The ghostly hand that was entangled with Yue Qiluo suddenly flinched, causing Yue Qiluo to convulse as well; he knew that his blood was flowing out, but the devouring and absorption continued. Yue Qiluo suddenly raised her head and screamed in panic at Wuxin.

After a sound, her mouth was covered by a ghostly hand, and she was pressed completely into the soil.

Unintentionally, he swung the knife and slashed at his own thigh.

He was afraid of pain, always afraid. The knife was ordinary, not very sharp, nor very sturdy. His face was expressionless as he continued to slash, one blow after another, until he severed his own thigh bone!

The blade was chipped in one place, but his torture was not over yet. His other leg had sunk to the knee, and while he struggled to keep his body steady, he swung the blunt knife and continued chopping. A sob, like a weeping cry, echoed in the cave; the bone was too hard, and the blade too soft. Ghostly hands approached from all sides, and with nowhere to run, he lowered his head, supporting his broken and crippled thigh with both hands, using his teeth to bite open the last bit of flesh connecting them.

He was in excruciating pain, so much so that he trembled all over, the pain reminding him of the countless tortures he had endured. Gripping the dagger, he crawled forward, his two legs quickly severed by the ghostly hand, disappearing completely into the cave wall and soil.

Yue Qiluo was gone, and so were his legs; he had become the next target of the ghost hand. A faint weeping sound echoed from the depths of the cave, mournful yet tinged with triumph. Without looking back, Wuxin frantically crawled forward. He was a skilled crawler, wielding a blunt knife in one hand, stabbing and slashing wildly. He used one arm and two crippled legs to writhe and tumble across the rough, uneven ground. Just ahead was the final bend; he swung his knife to sever the ghost hand blocking his path, but before he could sheath his blade, a head covered in mottled flesh suddenly burst from the cave wall. Upon closer inspection, it was Yue Qiluo!

Yue Qiluo's face and hair were completely eaten away, but her left eye remained. Grinning maliciously, she bit down on Wuxin, making her one of the many ghosts in the cave. Wuxin had no time to dodge, so he simply blocked with his knife, causing her to bite the blade. As if controlled by a force from behind, she involuntarily pulled back into the mud, biting the short knife. Taking advantage of the opening, Wuxin continued forward, desperately turning the corner.

Once you've turned the corner, you're safe.

Unarmed and without any intention of moving forward, he crawled on until a faint light appeared before his eyes. He dazedly raised his head and remembered the last time he and Lord Gu had fled in a panic. When they finally looked ahead, they saw Crescent Moon standing in a beam of sunlight.

He blinked slowly and saw that the sunlight was still there, but where had the crescent moon gone?

Amidst the relentless, excruciating pain, he stopped moving, lay prone, closed his eyes, and focused his mind. The cave was completely empty. Nothing. Nothing at all, neither alive nor dead.

So he continued crawling.

The light before his eyes grew brighter, and he could even faintly hear human voices. He paused, wondering if he was hallucinating. At the end of the cave, he looked up and saw a small patch of azure sky.

A clod of earth with grass roots fell down, and a large head popped out. Under the blazing sunlight, Lord Gu and Wuxin met face to face without warning.

Lord Gu froze for three seconds, then uttered two words in a loud, gruff voice: "Fuck!"

Then his large head disappeared. Without thinking, he heard his command ring out from above: "Everyone, about-face! Little Ma, don't turn around, bring over one of the wooden crates containing the bullets!"

The wooden box fell into the hole before Master Gu, hitting Wuxin squarely on the head. Master Gu then jumped down as well, so fast that he didn't care about his back, and both of his big leather boots landed on Wuxin's back at the same time.

The wooden box wasn't small. Lord Gu picked up Wuxin and put her inside, then whispered, "Where's her leg?"

Wuxin tilted her head and curled up into a ball, saying, "No, I don't want it anymore."

Upon hearing the words "I don't want it anymore," Lord Gu slammed the lid of the box shut.

The wooden crate for storing bullets was naturally not finely crafted. Peeking out through a crack, Wuxin saw soldiers everywhere, with a group of ornately dressed Taoist priests mixed in among them. Lord Gu struggled to carry the crate to the surface, then found a stone slab in the ditch, covered the opening exactly as it had been, and then covered it with another layer of soil.

The wooden box was lifted onto a small carriage, and no one dared to ask Lord Gu about its contents. The carriage went down the mountain road, and the lid of the box felt as heavy as if it weighed a ton, because Lord Gu had sat down on it.

In the sliver of sunlight filtering through the crack, Wuxin, utterly exhausted, closed his eyes.

(End of this chapter)