"You should still kill him."

Mei Kongxu spoke frankly as she looked at the back of the chubby man that was quickly fleeing. He ran as fast as his legs would take him, it looked like he was being chased by the Purusha's of Naraka, he didn't even dare look back at them. Li Yang only shook his head at her remark, he had already lost all interest in the fleeing man.

"Don't be boring. Besides, he told us everything we wanted to hear so we can at least hold up our part of the unspoken agreement."

He moved aside the other corpses that Mei Kongxu left after the battle, clearing up the road again so that they could keep moving. The heightened gravity restricted his movements, but tossing aside a few corpses was easily done by just moving gravity around a bit. Mei Kongxu pulled her gaze away from the fleeing man, momentarily glancing at Li Yang before she frowned.

"It's more troublesome now. I don't think it's an accident, if it was then the news wouldn't spread."

The news they had acquired from the man were... well, annoying to their plans. The Roaring Valley was still open to the public, but all who wanted to enter it had to join a team that was being led by members of the temple. The reason was quite simple, people had started to disappear after entering the valley, outsiders and disciples alike. So the temple made a big event of it, they sent in more of their own people and attracted even more outsiders to 'uncover the mystery.'

As a result, they had to recall some of the disciples they used as patrolling guards so that they could either lead teams or reinforce the security of the temple. The problem with this was that the news had been spread to those unaffiliated with the temple, they had been told that this was the perfect time to do their robbing. Li Yang tossed aside the final corpse and pat his hands, despite not having used them to clean.

"Someone in the temple must be planning something. I mean, if they really wanted to uncover the mystery then they would just send in some of their stronger cultivators rather than rely on outsiders and normal disciples. Wouldn't surprise me if one of their higher-ranked disciples or executives is trying to feed their pet to force some growth."

True, the Roaring Valley wasn't one of the temple's main areas and mainly served to attract outsiders, but they wouldn't just leave it alone if something there really went against their expectations. Even these bandits could be part of the plot. After all, the temple could use their crimes as a justifiable reason to apprehend them once things ended, they'd probably become slaves or resources at that point, it all depended on how dark the mind of the plotter was.

"With the new information, what will you do?"

Mei Kongxu didn't comment on Li Yang's theories, they were closely aligned with what she had come up with. But if they were really true, then this trip into the Roaring Valley could be extremely dangerous, far more dangerous than it was supposed to be. It wouldn't matter whether they snuck in unknown or joined one of the many teams, it would be risky either way, just for slightly different reasons. It was a legitimate question, but Li Yang simply got onto the wagon again without even looking at Mei Kongxu.

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"I told you already, stop asking stupid questions, it's boring."

He stretched lazily while talking and returned to the blanket he was using as a makeshift bed, laying down while using a small pillow to cover his head.

"Wake me when you're gonna go to bed."

He waved his hand lightly but that was it, the sound of soft breaths quickly coming from beneath the pillow. Mei Kongxu almost felt a little dumbfounded as she stood there. He knew that she would still go there even if it was ten times more dangerous, she had to learn the truth after all. And yet, he chose to follow all the same. Was he just that confident, or did he view his life that lightly?

He really was a strange man, this 'husband' that had been assigned to her. But funnily enough, as she stood there and looked at his sleeping figure, she had to admit that she couldn't bring herself to hate it. She got back onto the wagon and grabbed the reins, spurring the horses onwards.

--

Dong Yue ran as fast as he could. His shoes had already been dissolved so gravel and wooden splinters kept stabbing into his soles but he couldn't even care about that pain right now, he had to keep running. He ran so fast that the branches that slid past his face cut open his skin, wound after wound appearing on his body. He was pale, but it wasn't from blood loss or stress, it was fear.

"Help! Zhong Ya, Shao Bi, help! It's here! Help me!"

His voice was cracked and hoarse, the taste of copper filling his mouth as a sticky liquid clung to the inside of his throat. His every breath was laboured thanks to that liquid, at this point he couldn't even tell if it was his own blood or if that thing had already gotten inside him.

"Shao Bi! He...!"

His desperate shout was cut off by the sound of cracking wood and falling branches. The sound was close, close enough to make him cry. He frantically stomped the ground and threw himself forward, spinning around and slashing out with his sword.

The thing came into sight as he spun around, a murky brown blob that constantly shifted about. Part of it deflated as his sword approached it, but his desperation allowed him to move faster than ever before so the monster couldn't get out of the way in time. His blade cut through its soft and squishy body, splattering its murky brown liquid around, some landing on the trees others landing on the leaves.

The entity quivered faintly after suffering from the attack, Dong Yue quickly slashing out another time. But he wasn't even allowed to feel victorious for a single second. The part he had cut first immediately started to close up, scales bubbling up to the surface of the blob and blocking his second strike. The scales were so hard that his sword simply bounced off, not even causing a scratch.

Desperation once again dyed his expression and he gave up on attacking, throwing aside the sword as he spun around to flee again. But he fell over as he tried to run, something had caught onto his legs. His gaze hurriedly lowered, only to see that the liquid that had scattered when he first slashed the blob had latched onto his legs. The liquid that had landed on the trees became brown and gnarled like bark while the liquid that landed on the leaves became green and soft, more vine-like than liquid.

His heart practically stopped in his chest, but it was already too late for him to free himself. The scale-covered blob descended on him and covered his entire body, swallowing him and his cries.

The blob quivered quietly as it covered him, shifting and twisting as the liquid that had scattered from it returned to it. Its shape quickly started to change, four appendages stretching out from its body as it tried to stand up. The appendages looked to be imitating arms and legs, but they were lacking hands and feet so they just ended in stumps.

The scales covering it also changed slightly, turning a lighter shade of brown as they became gnarled like bark. Tufts of leaf-like grass also sprouted from its body, growing in scattered patches without rhyme or reason. And finally, a few small sections of the scales split open in what looked like a pale mimicry of mouths.

"H...Help me. Zhong Ya, Shao Bi...Help me..."