Chapter 28 Retreat

Jiang Wu led the rescued household servants to properly handle the corpse of the Giant General, while Wang Liang had already finished dealing with the remains of the strange entity.

Although there was no official quest, this creature certainly qualified as a boss. Guided by a faint white light, Wang Liang retrieved three items from the corpse.

The first was a string of four skulls threaded together by a tentacle. The moment he picked it up, the tentacle transformed into a red cord, and the skulls turned into translucent crystal. The red cord passed through the mouths of the skulls, neatly stringing them together.

The second item was the weapon wielded by the creature—a dark, oily black cudgel resembling a rolling pin. For some reason, this black rod kept twisting and writhing in Wang Liang's grip, as if it were trying to break free and fly away.

The final item looked remarkably like a stomach pouch. It had accidentally slipped out while Wang Liang was moving the monster's body. Initially, it was no larger than a human stomach, but the moment it hit the open air, it expanded rapidly, growing to half the height of a man and giving off a deeply peculiar aura.

By this time, Jiang Wu and his men had finished with the Giant General's remains. Jiang Wu was supporting the heavily injured Master Bei, while Old Dragon and the rest of the servants were hurrying over.

Upon catching sight of the items Wang Liang had gathered, Old Dragon seemed to recall something.

Unaware of Old Dragon's momentary lapse, Jiang Wu strode up and grabbed Wang Liang by the hand. "Brother Duocai, is there anything here you need my help with?"

"No need. I've just finished dealing with this creature's remains. I think what we really need is to get out of here quickly."

With these words, Wang Liang raised his head to gaze at the sky.

Only then did Jiang Wu snap back to reality. The lightning that had plummeted from the heavens just moments ago had been utterly bizarre, coming perilously close to striking right down upon their heads.

After a brief moment of thought, Jiang Wu said with certainty, "I have a small cabin by the river. We can hide out there."

"A cabin?" Wang Liang asked with a hint of curiosity.

"Yes. While the men were building boats earlier, I stayed there. You might not know this, but I have a constitution that naturally attracts spirits and monsters. That cabin is protected by a series of defensive arrays set up by Old Dragon. Though they aren't major formations, they are quite effective at masking our presence."

Hearing Jiang Wu's explanation, Wang Liang agreed. He picked up the three items obtained from the strange entity and followed closely behind them.

At that moment, Old Dragon slowed his pace. Falling into step beside Wang Liang, he spoke abruptly.

"Can you sell that stomach pouch to me? I'll make you an offer."

Wang Liang cast a puzzled glance at Old Dragon. "If you want it, just take it. We all worked together to bring that creature down, so you're certainly entitled to a share. Once we reach a safe place, we can divide the spoils."

"There's no need for that," Old Dragon shook his head. "Although we all fought the beast, if not for you, we would all have perished on the river. The fact that you are willing to sell the pouch to me is already more than fair; I won't take a share. Don't look at me like that—if you mentioned this to Master Jiang, he'd give you the exact same response. His family has wealth and doesn't care about such trifles; what he values is honor and principle."

Wang Liang nodded gently upon hearing this. "By the way, do you recognize what this thing is?"

"I know a thing or two."

"Then could you help me appraise it? I have a feeling both of these items are quite extraordinary."

This request visibly pleased Old Dragon. "Of course. Appraisal is my specialty. You see, I recognized that stomach pouch the moment I laid eyes on it. It belongs to a creature known as a Red-Mouthed Kun. Normally, such a beast should only inhabit the deep ocean—heaven knows why one ended up here.

However, the gastric fluids within this pouch are something I've been searching for a long time. The fluid emits a glowing azure light and carries a paralyzing toxin. Anyone poisoned by it will lose all mobility while retaining complete awareness of their surroundings—quite a unique poison indeed. I need this venom to lure a massive creature. I've been hunting for it for ages without success. I never expected to cross paths with it here."

Old Dragon was thoroughly delighted as he spoke of his plans.

Wang Liang listened with interest. It was evident from Old Dragon's words that his knowledge was exceptionally vast. He seemed well-versed in astronomy, geography, feng shui, physiognomy, and various magical formations. It was merely unfortunate that his physical constitution was frail and prevented him from cultivating, leaving him a mortal all his life.

As they conversed, they arrived at the nearby cabin.

Though called a cabin, it was actually half a courtyard. The small structure had been constructed using massive logs casually felled from the surrounding forest.

Upon entering the perimeter, Wang Liang noticed distinct signs of artificial modification in the surrounding trees and rocks.

"These form a maze array—a very simple formation designed primarily to deal with mountain-roaming goblins that wander by from time to time," Old Dragon explained, noticing Wang Liang's observant gaze.

Jiang Wu pushed open the heavy wooden door of the cabin.

"Everyone, step inside. Old Dragon, go activate the array and conceal our presence first. I have a bad feeling about this."

"Understood. Find somewhere to hide, and everyone else take your positions. Let's just hope it's not some colossal demon."

As Old Dragon replied, he hurried back outside. Wang Liang noticed that the moment Old Dragon stepped out, a thick mist began to rise around them, while the footprints they had just left on the ground mysteriously vanished.

Once inside the cabin, Jiang Wu promptly bolted the door shut, remaining silent and out of sight.

Seeing the puzzled expression on Wang Liang's face, Master Bei offered an explanation. "Don't hold it against him. He carries a heavy burden—he was born with a constitution that draws monsters to him, yet he possesses no personal strength. Whenever spirits appear, hiding is his only option.

By the way, would you care for some food?"

As he spoke, Master Bei reached into his black gourd and began pulling out provisions. The gourd appeared to be a magical treasure, as it yielded an abundance of roasted pangolin, fried scorpions, and dried snake meat.

Though these items looked somewhat rustic, they gave off an enticing aroma.

Gesturing toward the spread, Master Bei said, "Don't be shy. I've hunted quite a bit along the way, and these are all choice items—just remove the heads and they're ready to eat. My seven grandsons were raised on these, and now every single one of them is as strong as an ox."

Wang Liang casually picked up a fried centipede and popped it into his mouth. The centipede meat had the texture of fried shrimp, but tasted remarkably like crispy fried chicken. It was quite delicious.

Unable to resist good food, Wang Liang found himself eating several more pieces.

While Wang Liang was eating, Master Bei leaned in and lowered his voice. "Do you still want that rod you're holding? I know it's a fine treasure. I'm willing to pay a handsome price for it, if you're willing to sell."