Su Yu dashed into the courtyard in a single bound, snatching up the Fine Iron Fish Spear that had been polished to a gleam.
The moonlight was devoured by dark clouds, but the faint, cold glint reflecting off the Fish Spear gave him a sliver of confidence.
He held his breath and slowly approached the main gate, his back pressed tightly against the cold wooden door.
"HAA... HAA..."
That wheezing sound, like a broken bellows, was just outside. Through the thin wooden plank, he could even feel the cold, damp air with each breath.
"BANG! BANG! BANG!"
Suddenly, a frantic and violent sound erupted from the door, as if something was madly ramming its head against the panels.
Su Yu tightened his grip on the Fish Spear, his eyes as cold as ice.
In the inner room, Yaya huddled in a corner, holding a fire poker. Her small face was deathly pale, but she bit her lip hard and made no sound.
The dark clouds hung thick and heavy in the sky.
Su Yu tried to peek through the crack in the door, but all he could see was the pitch-black night.
Time passed. After what felt like an eternity, the commotion outside finally ceased. The sound of shuffling footsteps faded into the depths of the village.
Su Yu let out a sigh of relief. That strange knocking was definitely not normal. It reminded him of that night fishing on the Black Water River.
A long while later, just as Su Yu was about to let his guard down...
"AHHH!! Help—!!"
A bloodcurdling scream tore through the night sky, followed by the wailing of a baby and a woman's shriek, instantly jolting the entire Qingxi Village from its slumber.
"CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!"
The frantic sound of a bronze gong rang out.
"A monster is in the village! Everyone, come quick!"
Su Yu's heart jumped. He recognized the voice as the village chief, Wang Yuechi.
"Hurry, help us!"
With the village chief calling for aid, the sounds of footsteps rushed past outside. Su Yu climbed onto the courtyard wall and saw a dozen or so men holding torches. It seemed many of the able-bodied men in the village had come out.
"Yaya, lock the door! Don't open it no matter what you hear!"
After shouting the instruction, Su Yu gripped his Fish Spear and dashed into the night like a panther.
'With so many people, there's strength in numbers. The danger should be much lower. This is the perfect chance to investigate that creature together.'
Under the large locust tree at the village entrance, flickering torches illuminated faces twisted in fear.
A dozen or so able-bodied men, armed with hoes and sickles, formed a circle, but all of them were trembling uncontrollably.
In the center of the crowd stood Wang Yuechi, clutching a rusted Broadsword and covered in blood. The most horrifying part was his left cheek. A large patch of flesh had been gruesomely licked away by something, revealing glistening white bone and twitching red muscle. It was a ghastly, terrifying sight.
"Village Chief..." someone stammered, their legs giving way in fear.
Wang Yuechi's eyes were bloodshot, his voice hoarse. "That damned thing... it devoured my whole family! My old wife, my eldest son... they're all gone! And it dragged away my five-year-old son!"
Upon hearing this, the villagers' faces grew even more terrified. None of them had ever seen a monster like this; they had no idea how dangerous it was.
Seeing their reactions, Wang Yuechi roared, "That monster has already killed more than ten people in our village recently! If we back down now, it could be any one of your families tomorrow!"
"We're all here now! There's strength in numbers! Now is the time to deal with it! Whoever rescues my youngest son tonight, I'll give them ten taels of silver! All of it!"
"Let's do it! If we don't kill it, we're all going to die!"
Driven by a mix of fear and greed, the men roared to bolster their courage and followed Wang Yuechi, charging into the dark wilderness.
The group pursued the creature to the burial ground outside the village. The big yellow dog leading the way suddenly tucked its tail between its legs and began barking furiously at the darkness ahead.
"Stop! There's something there!" Blood dripped from Wang Yuechi's face onto the ground. He raised his Broadsword in one hand and a torch in the other, leading the way as he cautiously probed the darkness.
In his youth, he had been on the battlefield, a veteran who had seen life and death. He was supposed to have retired peacefully in Qingxi Village, surrounded by children and grandchildren.
But now, with his family struck by disaster, he would rather die than accept this outcome. He had to save his beloved youngest son, no matter what!
"HAA... HAA..."
In the dead silence, Su Yu once again heard that chilling, raspy breathing.
'It's not in front... It's behind us!'
"Look out!" Su Yu spun around and roared.
"Ah!"
But he was too late. A villager at the very back of the group suddenly let out a piercing scream and fell to the ground, clawing desperately at the earth and stones.
"Hel..."
From the shadows, an immense force dragged him swiftly into the darkness. In the blink of an eye, the man's cries were cut short.
The rest of the men only just realized what had happened, and terror seized their hearts!
"Circle up! Back-to-back!"
Wang Yuechi bellowed, quickly bringing his torch over to illuminate the darkness behind them.
All that remained was a shocking pool of blood. The man was gone.
"This damned thing, it didn't leave! It's still here, ambushing us!" Wang Yuechi's uninjured cheek turned ashen.
"Strongest men to the front! Be careful, it will come again!"
No sooner had he spoken than a cold wind WHOOSHED out of the darkness. The torches in their hands were suddenly extinguished, leaving only two flickering precariously in the breeze.
"Ah!"
A black shadow lunged forward, grabbing one of the men by the throat and dragging him back into the darkness.
"Die!"
Wang Yuechi roared, swinging his Broadsword at the furry black claw!
"CLANG!"
Sparks flew!
The blow felt like it had struck fine iron. The impact tore open the webbing between Wang Yuechi's thumb and forefinger, nearly knocking the Broadsword from his grasp.
Wang Yuechi had been a fierce soldier in his youth, and he still retained the foundation of a First Gate-Breaker. Yet, his strike hadn't even broken the creature's skin!
The sound of something being dragged receded into the darkness and quickly vanished, leaving only an unsettling trail of blood leading into the shadows.
With two men dragged away in succession, the villagers were starting to panic. One man, trembling and terrified out of his wits, shrieked, "A monster... It's a monster! Run!"
Immediately, someone broke down, threw down his hoe, and turned to flee.
"Come back!"
Wang Yuechi reached out to grab him but was a step too late. The man had already run into the darkness. A few seconds later, a scream rang out from the shadows.
Despair spread through the crowd.
"It's over... We're all done for..."
"This is no ordinary monster! We can't handle it! Let's run... We need to get the Martial Artists!"
Su Yu stood amidst the crowd, observing with cold eyes.
'This thing is incredibly fast, and it knows how to use the darkness and our fear to pick us off one by one.'
'Its claws... they seem different from the long-haired black hand I encountered on the boat at the Black Water River!'
'But they're both extremely tough. It's hard to break through their defense!'
'I have to try attacking its vitals!'
Su Yu tightened his grip on his Fish Spear as the Qi and Blood in his body began to circulate wildly.
The powerful Qi and Blood from his Second Gate-Breaking gave him immense explosive strength. He was waiting for an opportunity!
WHOOSH!
Another gust of wind blew from the darkness. The flames on the two remaining torches trembled violently before being abruptly extinguished.
In that moment of flickering light and darkness, the black shadow struck again. It let out an inhuman roar and lunged straight for Wang Yuechi, bringing with it a foul stench!
It seemed to hold a grudge, wanting to first kill Wang Yuechi, the one who had resisted most fiercely.
"Die!"
But Wang Yuechi was already prepared to fight to the death. Facing the monster, he didn't retreat. Instead, he raised his Broadsword and charged forward.
"PFFT!"
The creature's claw plunged into Wang Yuechi's shoulder, sending blood spattering through the air.
Its strike had been aimed at his throat, a killing blow. But Wang Yuechi's forward charge had caused him to narrowly avoid the fatal attack.
"ARGH! DIE! DIE! DIE!"
Ignoring the pain, Wang Yuechi swung his Broadsword at the monster's face. SQUELCH! A spray of blood erupted in the darkness.
'The vitals! It worked!'
"TWANG!"
In the darkness, a sharp sound, like a bowstring snapping, cracked through the air.
Su Yu moved.
His spine snapped straight, and he shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, instantly closing the distance.
The Qi and Blood from his Second Gate-Breaking erupted without reservation, pouring into the Fish Spear in his hands as he thrust it viciously at the creature's throat.
"PFFT!"