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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 158: Desperate Situation
The waves of Corpse Worms surged like a tide, overwhelming everything in their path. I ran desperately, watching as the worms were about to catch up to me. In a moment of panic, I knocked over an Oil Lamp on the wall. The few worms that were close to me saw the fire and surprisingly turned to flee.
Seeing this scene, I couldn't help but feel ecstatic, as if I were a drowning person grasping at a life-saving straw. I hurriedly shouted to Cao Qilong, who was running ahead of me, "Quick, knock over the Oil Lamp!"
Although Cao Qilong didn't understand what I was saying, he still complied.
However, I underestimated the swarm of worms. While the Oil Lamp could scare off a small number of Corpse Worms, the massive army of Corpse Worms behind them continued to roll forward. The sight of worms pushing against each other was extraordinary; even those Corpse Worms near the Oil Lamp hesitated but were pushed forward by the sheer mass, extinguishing the knocked-over Oil Lamp.
At this rate, we would inevitably meet our end; there were simply too many Corpse Worms, like an ant facing a truck unloading sand—completely disproportionate.
I continued to knock over the Oil Lamps on the left wall while running forward desperately, and Cao Qilong assisted by knocking over the Oil Lamps on the right. However, these knocked-over Oil Lamps had little effect; compared to the countless Corpse Worms, it was like a drop in the bucket.
"Heaven is jealous of talent!" Cao Qilong suddenly exclaimed loudly. "I, Cao Qilong, have never done anything heinous in my life. Who would have thought I'd end up with my bones scattered? The most infuriating part is that I don't even have a girlfriend; dying like this is so unfair!"
This guy was still reminiscing about his soon-to-be-lost virginity at such a time. I couldn't be bothered with him and continued to run while knocking over Oil Lamps.
"Hey!"
At that moment, Cao Qilong suddenly stopped. After knocking over the nearest Oil Lamp, I shouted at him, "What are you doing?"
Cao Qilong didn't answer but pointed behind me with a look of astonishment on his face.
I glanced back and gradually came to a halt; the swarm of worms that had been relentlessly pursuing us had actually stopped coming after us.
"Ah hahaha!" After a brief moment of distraction, Cao Qilong laughed and said, "I told you! Heaven truly cannot bear to let a hero like me disappear just like that."
I shot Cao Qilong a glance, but I was also quite surprised. These insects seemed intent on leaving no trace of us, and just when they were about to catch up, why did they suddenly give up?
Cao Qilong walked over to me with a smile, patted my shoulder, and said, “Shidi, how about it? You should thank my parents. If they hadn’t made me this handsome, we’d probably be dead by now.”
This guy was simply a bit shameless. I rolled my eyes at him; with that look of his, he was in no way handsome. But why did the swarm suddenly stop?
Just as I was puzzled, that dark mass of insects suddenly began to move.
“Oh my gosh!” Cao Qilong exclaimed as he hurriedly started to run.
I grabbed him and said, somewhat confused, “No need to run; it seems like they’re not coming after us but rather… escaping!”
Even as I said the word "escaping," I couldn’t believe it myself.
But the fact was that the swarm really did turn around and rolled away toward the direction of the Intersection at the entrance of Hutong.
“Is… is that how scary I am?” Cao Qilong scratched his head and then his eyes lit up as he said, “Of course! I’m a Paper Effigy Maker! With righteous energy throughout my life, I’m a pest’s nemesis!”
I ignored Cao Qilong because I recalled a story where two lost lambs encountered a pack of wolves. The wolves relentlessly chased the two lambs, but just when they were about to bite them, they suddenly retreated upon seeing a tiger!
Thinking of this, I broke into a cold sweat and slowly turned my head to look back.
To my surprise, as soon as I turned halfway, I saw an incredibly beautiful face. She had two bright black eyes, an oval face, and beneath her delicate nose were pink lips.
“Am I beautiful?” At that moment, she met my gaze and smiled slightly.
For some reason, I found myself giving an affirmative answer in my heart: Yes, truly beautiful. She wore a pure white long dress that flowed elegantly around her curvy figure, stunningly exquisite.
"Hi, beautiful, my name is Cao Qilong, and I'm thirty-two years old." Cao Qilong walked up to me, casually draping his arm over my shoulder, smiling at her as he extended his right hand. "This is my Shidi; he already has a girlfriend. Can we be friends?"
"Friends?" She smiled seductively and replied, "Sure!"
At that moment, I grabbed Cao Qilong's hand and hurriedly turned to run.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Cao Qilong shouted in confusion.
I couldn't be bothered with this simple-minded guy. There was no one around in this place. Although I didn't have an Open Third Eye, I was quite certain of one thing: the departure of those Corpse Worms was definitely related to this woman.
"Hey, handsome guys, don't run away!" The woman's mournful voice came from behind us. "Don't you want to be friends with me?"
Cao Qilong quickly turned around and shouted, "Of course we do!"
"That's great!" She remained where she was, smiling at Cao Qilong. "Since we're friends now, why don't you give your bodies to me?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the originally beautiful woman suddenly contorted her face into a hideous expression. Her cherry-like lips stretched wide open, revealing rows of glistening teeth. At the same time, an inexplicable fire erupted all over her body, instantly incinerating her white dress.
"What the hell! What is this?!" Cao Qilong exclaimed in shock. No longer being pulled by me, he quickly turned to flee, moving even faster than I was.
I glanced back at the woman engulfed in flames; she was relentlessly pursuing us. The fire had burned away her long, shiny black hair and scorched her smooth white skin. At that moment, she looked like a skeleton shrouded in flames, with fire shooting out from her eye sockets, nostrils, and mouth.
"Burning Soul!" I murmured the two words.
Cao Qilong couldn't care less about anything else. While running, he glanced back at me and shouted, "What?!"
"Burning Soul!" I said as I continued to run.
The so-called Burning Soul refers to those who suffered from extreme cold during their lifetime, akin to prisoners in the Water Prison or fishermen in icy conditions.
As the saying goes, extremes lead to reversals. These individuals dealt with cold too frequently, with cold poison seeping into their bones. After death, fearing the cold, they would gather Ghost Fire for warmth. Over time, the Ghost Fire would consume their souls, leaving only a skeletal frame infused with cold poison. The cold poison and Ghost Fire counteract each other yet complement one another. If the individual was female, then the Ghost Fire would transform into Yin Fire, while for males, it would become Yang Fire.
It is well known that females are associated with Yin and males with Yang. Whether there is an excess of Yin Fire or Yang Fire, there will be feelings of dissatisfaction, necessitating the need to supplement Yin with Yang or vice versa.
Unlike traditional Flame Wraiths, Burning Souls directly use the flames on their bodies to burn the bodies of opposite-sex humans, absorbing Yang Qi or Yin Qi from them to nourish their flames, achieving a state of 'not being cold.'
"What the hell?" Cao Qilong shouted. "I would rather encounter a Flame Wraith than a Burning Soul!"
I ignored Cao Qilong and continued running forward. The Oil Lamp on the small path ahead had already been knocked over by me and Cao Qilong when we arrived, plunging everything into darkness. However, the flames behind us illuminated the entire path.
The flaming skeleton relentlessly pursued us at an odd speed. Since entering this place, both Cao Qilong and I had been running non-stop and were already out of breath.
"We're done for; there's no way we can outrun it!" Cao Qilong said, exhausted and somewhat discouraged.
I had no disagreement with that statement, but to motivate him, I said, "I may not be able to outrun it, but as long as I can outrun you, that's enough!"
After saying that, I mustered all my strength and sprinted ahead, quickly surpassing Cao Qilong. Startled, he howled like a wolf and rapidly quickened his pace.
Thus, we raced like competitors in a long-distance run until we reached the Intersection. The Oil Lamp at the Intersection was still lit, and at that junction, numerous Corpse Worms began to stir upon seeing me and Cao Qilong approach.
"What should we do?" Cao Qilong asked as he ran beside me.
How would I know what to do? Yet my feet kept moving as I randomly said, "After reaching the Intersection, we'll knock over the Oil Lamp, then split up and run!"
Knocking over the Oil Lamp was intended to disrupt the vision of the Burning Soul. As long as everything was shrouded in darkness, we could find a place to hide and perhaps escape from its pursuit.
Of course, the possibility is slim, because Burning Soul itself is a hundred-watt bulb! But at this moment, I couldn't think of a better way and could only hold onto this slim hope.
In the blink of an eye, we reached the Intersection. Those Corpse Worms saw us, rushed a few steps toward us, and then hurriedly fled in a swarm.
At that moment, they seemed to panic and scatter everywhere; the worms were piled on top of each other. Some Oil Lamps were extinguished without any effort from me or Cao Qilong due to the tide of worms.
Almost instantly, the entire Intersection was plunged into darkness.
Cao Qilong and I almost simultaneously ran toward the only path in the Intersection that we hadn't taken yet, which indicated a separation.
We both knew that since the other two paths were dead ends, the last path must be the way out!
However, just as we were about to reach the entrance of that path, an additional road suddenly appeared in the dimly lit intersection.
"What...?" Cao Qilong suddenly stopped. "How did another road appear?"
I was also surprised. When we first entered, it was brightly lit with only three paths visible, but now it had turned dark and suddenly there was an extra road?
"Hey there, handsome guys! I'm here!"
Just as I hesitated, the pleasant voice of Burning Soul rang out like a death knell.
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