Black, quiet, oppressive—these were all conditions that could make people tense, which was why humans yearned for the light.
Luo Chong needed light, too. Anyone who said they weren't nervous under these conditions would be lying. Don't forget, this wasn't the modern world, where wild animals were pitifully scarce. This was a truly primordial jungle.
He chopped off a section of deadwood with the Stone Axe, split a cross-shaped notch into one end, stuffed it with thin branches and dry grass, then smeared on a layer of lard. He picked out some tinder and blew on it. Whoosh—it caught fire. The bright torch finally gave him a little sense of security.
The lard on the torch crackled and burned. At last, the silent forest had a little sound and light.
Luo Chong gathered everything, then climbed onto the natural bridge with the torch raised.
The Black Tree's branches were extremely thick and sturdy. There was just one problem: they were slippery as hell. Perhaps because of the fog, the bark—which had never been especially rough—had grown a thick layer of moss.
Walking was impossible, but luckily there were plenty of branches above him. He could grab them to keep his balance and inch forward bit by bit.
But the good times didn't last. Just as Luo Chong reached the middle of the river, a sudden change occurred. The lard on the torch was burning fiercely, crackling wildly, and one flaming drop of lard just happened to fall into the river.
With a violent splash, it was as if some enormous creature had rolled over in the water. The mist hovering above the surface shuddered, too, making Luo Chong flinch.
Fuck, good thing I didn't choose to swim across. Who knows what monsters might be lurking in this prehistoric river? I'm damn clever.
He continued crawling forward. When he reached the junction of two trees in the middle, the branches suddenly doubled. Luo Chong had no choice but to stick the torch to one side and use the Stone Axe to hack his way through.
The Black Tree's branches were incredibly hard and barely elastic. Every blow of the axe against the trunk left his hands numb, and the unlucky torch was shaken loose and fell below.
Under Luo Chong's stunned gaze, the bright fire pierced the thin mist, revealing a dazzling flash of silver beneath the water's surface.
In an instant, the silver light flashed violently. A bloody maw bristling with enormous triangular teeth burst from the water and swallowed the burning torch whole.
"Argh—plunk, splash!"
"Ah—ow, fuck! Is this thing a fish? Why does a fish make noises? What kind of fish cries out when it gets scalded?"
The owner of that huge mouth had barely swallowed the torch before it let out a terrible howl and crashed heavily back into the water. The enormous wave it kicked up swept Luo Chong off the branch. Fortunately, he caught hold of the trunk and was still dangling above the water, cursing up a storm.
But the bro down below wasn't having it. It churned the waves back and forth, frightening Luo Chong into kicking his legs for all he was worth. He swung like a playground swing several times before finally hooking his legs over the tree as well.
The moment Luo Chong got his legs up, before he could even catch his breath, the monster in the water came up again.
The surface trembled violently. The silver flash leaped out once more. Luo Chong hauled himself upward with every ounce of strength he had, but the monster still clamped its jaws around his Back Basket. With a plop, it dragged Luo Chong into the water, too.
"F—glug glug glug—fuck your sister!"
He had been afraid of dropping the Back Basket while climbing the tree, so he had tied it ridiculously tight. Now, both man and basket were dragged straight into the water, making Luo Chong choke down a huge mouthful.
The Water Monster's mouth wasn't very large, and the Back Basket had jammed itself perfectly inside. It couldn't spit it out, nor could it bite it apart. All it could do was whip its head back and forth, hoping to shake out the wretched thing lodged in its jaws. Luo Chong was tossed left and right through the water with it, unable to break free.
Obviously. This was a Back Basket woven specifically from beech branches. If it broke that easily, why would Luo Chong have gone to all the trouble of chopping the branches?
The violent shaking nearly made Luo Chong vomit. This was more thrilling than riding a roller coaster. Struggling, he pulled the Bird Beak Dagger from inside his boot, sliced through one of the straps and the rope tied around his waist, and finally managed to turn himself around with great effort.
In the dark river water, there was no way to make out what this thing actually was. Luo Chong turned around, gripping the remaining strap with one hand for dear life while repeatedly stabbing the Water Monster's head with the dagger in his other.
After stabbing it twice, the Water Monster thrashed even more wildly. Carrying Luo Chong with it, it leaped high out of the water, then slammed him back down. Luo Chong was left dizzy and disoriented, swallowing several more mouthfuls of water.
The Water Monster was suffering, too. Two ruler-deep wounds on its head oozed blood as it charged blindly through the water with Luo Chong in tow.
The rocks along the riverbank were just ahead. Luo Chong suddenly flipped over from the side and straddled the Water Monster's head. Seeing the two lidless eyes on the side of its head, he drove his knife in viciously—and didn't pull it out. Following the force of the thrust, he shoved half his arm inside and stirred wildly.
The crazed Water Monster abruptly froze. Luo Chong seized the chance to yank out the knife, and a jet of red-and-white slurry burst from the black hollow of its eye socket.
While the Water Monster remained frozen, Luo Chong stabbed again with a wet shlick. The other eye socket was pierced blind as well, the blade punching a hole straight through both sides of its head.
Blood mixed with brain matter gushed continuously from the two eye sockets, muddying a large patch of river water. The force of the Water Monster's struggles weakened and weakened until they finally became mere convulsions.
Exhausted to the bone, Luo Chong floated on his back atop the water, unwilling to move a muscle. He refused to believe that something like this could live in such a small river.
After resting for a while, he confirmed that the Water Monster was thoroughly dead. Its silvery-white belly had rolled up to the surface, but Luo Chong's Back Basket was still firmly jammed in its mouth.
With no other option, Luo Chong swam to the opposite bank first and found a sturdy vine. He threaded it through the Water Monster's eye socket and dragged the creature ashore with the strength of nine oxen and two tigers, exhausting all the stamina he had just recovered.
Luo Chong lay beside the Water Monster, panting heavily. Only now did he have time to examine the creature carefully.
It turned out to be just a fish. Its body somewhat resembled a catfish: a red head, a silver body, and no scales. It was about five meters long, over a meter in diameter, and he had no idea what species of fish it was.
After resting for a while, Luo Chong stripped off his clothes and boots, picked up the Stone Axe, and began knocking on the big fish's buckteeth. It had more than fifty triangular teeth, each about the size of a child's palm. Only after knocking them all out did he retrieve the Back Basket.
He checked the things inside. Fortunately, the chili peppers and salt had been packed in the Snakeskin Bag and hadn't taken on any water. Nothing else had suffered much damage, except for the half a chicken left over from lunch—it was no longer edible.
What made Luo Chong happiest was that the Tinder Tube hadn't taken on any water. The tube, made from a pig's leg bone, had its opening plugged with a wooden stopper, and the wood shavings inside were still smoldering.
Just as Luo Chong was thinking of starting a fire to dry his clothes and boots, human footsteps suddenly came from the woods.
Luo Chong turned his head. A wild-haired woman with deathly pale skin stood there with a little girl, staring at him in terror.
The two of them let out a scream and ran for their lives. A round, cylindrical object fell to the ground behind them. Luo Chong walked over and took a look. It was actually a Mutong.
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1. Multiple-choice question (100 points) 1: If Qing Shu wants to ask for recommendation votes and collections, will you support him? A: Absolutely (European Emperor) B: Can't give any (unlucky bastard)
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