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墨書 Inktalez
I summoned all the vigilance within me and successfully escaped from the terrifying cave, following the route indicated by Night Phantom.
Ren Pingsheng's map clearly depicted the surrounding terrain, and I was delighted to discover that there was only one forest to the north of the mountain, making it impossible to get lost.
It was already dark as I began to climb the mountain. The weather was cold, and the slopes were steep; every step was arduous. Yet all my hardships seemed trivial in the face of the imminent death that loomed ahead.
I hoped to find that troublesome lion before Nie Qiuyuan arrived, so that Qiu wouldn’t witness anything she shouldn’t see, leaving behind unpleasant memories. However, I wouldn’t just sit back and wait; I was determined to fight that monster. Who knows, maybe it would be struck by lightning if I got lucky?
At least I knew it was poisonous, so I could cover my mouth and nose. As for how to defeat a ferocious lion… well, I would figure that out later!
It would hurt, wouldn’t it? Death and all that. For a long time, I had been dealing with death, analyzing the remains of unfortunate souls without ever considering their thoughts and feelings in those final moments.
There are many causes of death. The human body is so intricately designed, yet in some ways, it is incredibly fragile. At the end of every autopsy report, there is always a concluding statement summarizing why a person died. At this moment, my mind kept drifting to the most extreme terms, such as one way of dying called "Pain Shock."
If someone were to die from excruciating pain, that would be truly unfortunate. Even if it wasn’t real death, I wouldn’t want to experience such a thing in my life.
Lost in thought, I finally reached my designated location. Looking at the position of the stars and moon, it was probably not yet midnight. In the dead of night, I dared not light a fire; finding an animal would be no easy task. Fortunately, the moonlight was bright tonight, allowing me to vaguely see my surroundings.
All I heard was that Nie Qiuyuan should come to the northern forest at midnight tonight. However, Ren Pingsheng must have conveyed more specific information to Nie Qiuyuan. Otherwise, if I were just fumbling around like this, there would be no way for me to threaten him with my life.
So I stealthily moved through the forest, searching for the trap's location. Sure enough, not long after, I successfully discovered a clearing among the trees where a person was hanging upside down from a tall tree branch.
There was no firelight—only moonlight—but I could still make out that the one hanging there was a woman dressed in black. She had a slender figure and appeared somewhat delicate, similar in build to mine.
This must be the bait, I concluded in my mind. But it was strange; why wasn't the lion eating this person? Could it be that lions, like my pet cat, only go after things that move? If that were the case, could I just lie on the ground and play dead?
Since Ren Pingsheng wasn't showing himself openly, the way to trigger this trap must be to approach the bait. I tightly wrapped a cloth around my face to cover my mouth and nose, steeling myself as I stepped out of the forest and walked directly beneath the hanging woman.
I believed I was drawing on all the perseverance I had accumulated from years of hard training, so perhaps I looked a bit cool now. Calmly, I pulled Flint and Fire Scythe from my pocket, igniting them and lighting a Fire Starter to make myself a bright target in the quiet night.
The woman hanging from the treetops covered her face, but honestly, she looked nothing like me—far uglier! Suddenly, I found it somewhat amusing; everything seemed unreal, as if I were in a dream. So when I turned around and saw the fierce, fiery red lion standing behind me without my noticing, it felt just as fake, and I couldn't muster any tension.
Even though my mouth and nose were covered, I immediately felt dizzy. If blocking my nose could fend off poison gas, then Ren Pingsheng's poison was truly subpar. Since my body felt weak, I threw the Fire Starter toward the lion and fell to the ground to implement Plan A: play dead.
However, the lion lunged forward and pressed one paw against my chest. This lion was massive, its paw incredibly heavy; with that pressure, it felt like my ribcage might break, and darkness swam before my eyes. Thankfully, being a feline creature meant that when I lay still, it didn't extend its claws; otherwise, I'd have several transparent holes in me.
The lion glanced at me as I lay dazed and didn't hold back; it opened its mouth and lunged for my neck.
Judgment error! Playing dead was completely useless! I gripped the dagger tightly in my hand and swung it toward the lion's eye.
To my surprise, despite its massive size, the lion moved with remarkable agility. It gracefully leaped backward to evade my attack; its front paw nearly crushed me with its weight as it used that momentum. It made no sound but sliced through me with an even fiercer gaze, its ears perked up.
I pushed myself up with effort, gripping the dagger tightly. It would pounce on me any moment now—what should I do? Fight for survival! Watching this well-trained lion charge straight for the neck when it attacked made me think that with its strength, a single bite would be more effective than slitting my own throat with a knife. It looked promising.
A wave of desolation surged within my heart; no matter what happened, this should be the final round. But time didn't allow me to dwell on sadness any longer because suddenly there was a loud bang as something fell between me and the lion, startling me into a shiver.
The lion didn’t flinch; as soon as that object dropped down, it lunged at it like a hungry person diving for bread and took a bite out of it.
I focused my gaze, and there lay my Mother! The poor woman who had just been hanging from the treetops was now silent, her neck bitten by the Lion Monster.
Replacing this unfortunate girl at the top of the tree was the Grim Reaper, cloaked in black and wearing a black mask.
Ren Pingsheng stood on a branch, holding a woman under his arm. Her hair was disheveled, her body limp; it was clear she had been poisoned, unable to muster any strength or sound. She stared at me unblinkingly—it was Ruo Chanjuan.
Strangely enough, a tall man holding a woman stood on such a thin branch, yet it trembled not at all, as if it could bear only the weight of a bird. Truly remarkable skill.
Now both of them looked down at me from above. Ren Pingsheng, whose eyes usually sparkled with warmth, now showed no trace of a smile, only an icy coldness that pierced to the bone. Ruo Chanjuan's gaze was complex—filled with hatred, fear, or something else entirely.
Ren Pingsheng waved his sleeve, and the strange lion quietly dragged the corpse deeper into the forest. So much had happened that my mind became clearer. Feeding the lion meant death; falling into his hands also meant death—there was no difference. But did this mean that Nie Qiuyuan's calamity had passed?
"Isn't this lion just hunting down the first person it sees? It wouldn't hurt to insert someone in between," I said mockingly.
"Medicine," Ren Pingsheng replied succinctly, his cold gaze still fixed on me.
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