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墨書 Inktalez
The fetus appeared translucent, seemingly underdeveloped, with a large head and a swollen belly, its limbs short and thin, lacking a neck and hands. Its entire body curled into a bow shape, as if still submerged in its mother's amniotic fluid. But in the blink of an eye, it transformed into a pool of black venom, bubbling with white froth.
Both Old Qiao and I swallowed hard at the same time. When I looked up, the monstrous Mouth Baby was right in front of me. I was so tense that I almost forgot to breathe; my limbs felt weak and I couldn't move at all.
At that moment, I realized its skin was not the dark black I had seen before, but a gruesome crimson, as if it had been skinned and scalded with boiling water, sending chills down my spine.
The most striking feature was its head. At such a close distance, I could see that it had no brain or back of the skull; its face resembled an old-fashioned household iron. Its eyes, dilated from excitement, had expanded to dozens of times their normal size, resembling two pure black glass balls that seemed ready to pop out from its flat, slanted, and disproportionate face. Its limbs were vastly different from those of a human; the muscles were atrophied, the joints hardened and unable to bend naturally, sticking straight out at odd angles. It was an unsettling sight that made my stomach churn.
I was stunned by its true appearance so close to me; my mind went blank and all sense of survival instinct vanished—I was completely dumbfounded. Suddenly, a flash of silver caught my eye as a Lotus Head Silk whip cracked against the Skinning Zongzi's head. The Skinning Zongzi let out a sound akin to chopping wood from its throat and turned its head to glare fiercely at my junior.
At that moment, my junior had just jumped down from the Ancient Guge Silver Eye, having narrowly avoided an attack from a Black Demon Cloud that had nearly grazed his pants. With a thunderous crash, the Black Demon Cloud collided with the Lotus Throne, scattering shards of metal everywhere.
"Damn it! Good thing I'm quick on my feet!" he patted his chest in relief. "Hey! You over there… whatever you are, come over here and let’s settle this once and for all!"
I then noticed A Li climbing up along the back of the Ancient Guge Silver Eye toward the Buddha Cave where my senior sister was located. It dawned on me that my junior was trying to distract the Skinning Zongzi to buy A Li as much time as possible.
The Skinning Zongzi emitted another chopping sound from its throat. Even though I couldn't understand its words, judging by my junior's stance, it was clearly taunting him. With a sudden leap, it bounded right up to him in one swift motion.
No one expected it could move so fast!
My junior cursed loudly but remained unfazed; having faced many dangers before, he swung the Lotus Head Silk wildly for protection while making a run for it. The Skinning Zongzi didn’t know what weapon he wielded but remembered well the pain it had just suffered; it instinctively pulled back its neck for a moment.
In that brief second or two, my junior gained precious time to escape. But in the blink of an eye, the Skinning Zongzi unleashed its four legs and bounded after him.
As my junior brother howled, he intentionally circled around the Buddha Cave, hoping to use the powerful suction within to draw the Skinning Zongzi inside. However, the Skinning Zongzi moved swiftly, like a gust of wind. Before its monstrous strength could reach it, it darted away, chasing my junior brother ever closer. It opened its jagged fangs and snapped at the back of his head, saliva splattering everywhere. Each drop that hit the ground turned into a thumb-sized infant, which quickly morphed into a puddle of thick black liquid, bubbling and frothing.
Fortunately, the Skinning Zongzi was too intent on killing; each bite was delivered with great force, and the venom it sprayed was blown backward by the wind. Although my junior brother's head was nearly bitten through several times, he thankfully avoided being splattered with poison. Otherwise, no matter how fast he ran, it would have been futile.
My junior brother shouted at me, “Damn it! Senior Brother, I can barely hold on! This thing is spraying right at my head! It’s suffocating me! You need to think of a way to lure this bastard away!”
I had just settled Old Qiao behind the Ancient Guge Silver Eye, instructing him to stay clear of the Black Demon Cloud. If A Li brought Sister down here, I would have them stay as well while we dealt with the Skinning Zongzi.
As I was about to leave, Old Qiao grabbed my arm and said, “Listen, I see that although this Skinning Zongzi is fierce, at its core, it’s still a Da Zongzi! Find a way to smear some blood from that Brown-Furred Mouse on its forehead. No matter how fierce a Zongzi is, it will drop its weapon and become enlightened.”
I quickly replied, “But the Brown-Furred Mouse’s blood is contaminated with Corpse Poison! If we smear it on its forehead, wouldn’t that just add fuel to the fire?”
Old Qiao dipped a finger in the dirt and sniffed it before saying, “Not at all! The Brown-Furred Mouse has grown up eating solid flesh; its blood already contains elements of Corpse Poison. It doesn’t matter if it's contaminated or not. That’s just what the Da Zongzi used to scare us into thinking we couldn’t use Sha Blood against it without exposing its true form! Ah, I regret being so blinded by beauty back then and not thinking carefully before accepting everything blindly. Now it seems that using Sha Blood is indeed insightful! The Sha Blood and Corpse Poison are related but different; they are best used against each other. Here, you smear some too!” Without waiting for my response, he smeared some of the half-dried stinking blood on my face. Once he thought he had enough on himself—on his face, neck, arms—he covered every spot he could reach.
I nearly gagged at the sight but held back my nausea upon hearing my junior brother's cries. I quickly smeared some on my hands just as he came charging towards me with the Skinning Zongzi hot on his heels.
In desperation, I dodged aside and pulled my junior brother as we ran around the front of the Ancient Guge Silver Eye while simultaneously smearing some of the blood on his forehead. His expression changed instantly as he gagged and asked what I had smeared on him. While explaining Old Qiao's words to him briefly, I quickly rubbed off some of the Sha Blood from my face into my palm. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that dark shadow behind us; gritting my teeth, I decided to go all out!
I turned sharply and planted my feet firmly as the Skinning Zongzi bit down hard behind us. It hadn’t expected me to suddenly turn back and crashed right into my palm covered in Sha Blood.
I felt a surge of joy: “Damn it, it worked!”
My junior brother also stopped in his tracks and turned around excitedly to circle around it. He was utterly fascinated and kicked one of its upright legs. “Aren’t you tough? Why are you still chasing me? You think you’re so fierce? Show me another spray!”
I suddenly felt an unsettling premonition, though I couldn't pinpoint its cause. My mind was restless, as if something was about to happen.
Just as I was about to call for my junior brother, he suddenly let out a loud cry, and from his shoulder emerged a completely transparent baby. The creature twisted its head, and toxic liquid dripped from its mouth like a sewer, creating a disturbing sound. In an instant, the sharp cries of the baby filled the entire underground Buddha Cave.
Old Qiao's hoarse voice came from behind the Ancient Guge Silver Eye: "No, no! This isn't Zongzi; it's Han Ba, Nv Ba!"
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