Bone

The interesting skeleton caught Yuan Tianzong's attention.

Compared to the black python he had killed not long ago, this skeleton was far more intelligent. Its sudden, startled reaction was the kind of instant response only a highly intelligent creature could manage.

Picking up the python skull from the ground, Yuan Tianzong blurred and vanished into the woods cloaked in night.

Following its trail, Yuan Tianzong easily caught up with the Skeleton Monster.

The Skeleton Monster fled through the woods in a panic. As it ran, its scattered bones gradually pulled themselves back together.

At that moment, Yuan Tianzong noticed something: many of the bones on the Skeleton Monster were different colors. Judging by the look of them, its skeleton had probably been pieced together from all over—a real hodgepodge.

With its skull missing, it was a headless skeleton, dashing wildly through the silent woods. It looked both eerie and ridiculous.

Yuan Tianzong mused to himself. It seemed this Skeleton Monster wasn't the Yin Bone described in ancient texts.

Yin Bones and Yin Corpses were both dead things. They either formed from condensed resentment or came into being after being nurtured by a Yin vein. Essentially, they were still dead things animated by an outside force, which allowed them to walk among the living.

This skeleton before him was vastly different from the Yin Bone he knew, both in its intelligence and in its mismatched bones.

An ordinary Yin Bone at this stage was no different from a common beast. It only acted on instinct and would never be as nimble as this one.

Not long after, the Skeleton Monster darted into a cave.

With a ferocious roar, the Skeleton Monster that had just entered came racing back out. Its bones were coming apart again—sometimes scattering in different directions, sometimes awkwardly piecing themselves back together.

A Transformed Wild Boar came charging out of the cave with a series of grunts.

It was unclear whether the Skeleton Monster had stumbled into the Transformed Wild Boar's lair, or whether the boar had occupied the skeleton's lair. Either way, this "little weakling" of a Skeleton Monster had started running for its life again.

It was simply too slow.

And unlike Yuan Tianzong, who had spared the skeleton out of interest, the Transformed Wild Boar had no intention of letting it live.

It had only one thought for any intruder daring to enter its territory: smash it to death!

Before long, the Skeleton Monster was driven into a small valley.

The valley was a dead end, with nowhere to run.

The terrified Skeleton Monster pressed itself against the cliff at the bottom of the valley. In a panic, it grabbed stones from the ground and hurled them at the boar with all its might!

Thud! Thud!

It was surprisingly strong. The stones it threw whistled through the air, their sound echoing across the valley.

The Transformed Wild Boar dodged back and forth. It didn't rely on its thick hide to take every hit.

After a few throws, the Skeleton Monster reached for another stone—only to discover that it had run out. Its frozen posture, paired with its hand fumbling over the ground, made for an awkward sight.

The Transformed Wild Boar bared its teeth, a humanlike look of mockery appearing on its face—as if to say, "Go on, throw some more! Grandpa Pig wants to see how many bones you've got left to throw!"

A dull thud rang out, and the boar staggered back several steps after being struck. It shook its head, clearly badly hurt.

After a moment of dizziness, the boar focused on whatever had hit it, its face full of confusion. Hadn't the stones run out? What had hit it—and why had it hurt so much?

When it finally saw what had struck it, a flicker of surprise passed through its eyes. It looked up at the Skeleton Monster, its expression growing even stranger.

The Skeleton Monster had deftly snapped a rib from its own chest and flung it at the boar!

The bones on the Skeleton Monster were far harder than ordinary stones. Once thrown, they flew as fast as thunder, leaving the boar no time to dodge.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The boar yelped in pain with each dull impact.

An ordinary wild boar would have fled by now, but this Transformed Wild Boar didn't.

Soon, the Skeleton Monster had thrown all the ribs from its body.

Then it snapped off its own left arm bone, gripped it tightly in its right hand, and struck a fighting stance. It had clearly realized that the damn pig wasn't going to let it go today. Its only choice was to fight for its life.

At last, Yuan Tianzong, who had been watching from the side, made his move. With a flick of his finger, he sent a pebble flying through the air and easily pierced the Transformed Wild Boar's head.

A wretched howl rang through the woods.

In its final seconds, the boar instinctively bolted toward the trees. But it had barely taken a few steps before it crashed to the ground, its blood staining the dead leaves beneath it.

Though the Skeleton Monster had no head, it could still "see" everything that had happened before it.

It felt no joy at being rescued. Compared to the Transformed Wild Boar, it knew all too well that the one with the python skull in his hand was the one it really shouldn't provoke.

It stayed with its back to the wall, maintaining its fighting stance. Its whole body radiated tension.

Yuan Tianzong tossed it the python skull and said with a smile, "Don't be nervous. I'm not interested in chewing on bones."

The Skeleton Monster remained in its fighting stance, showing no sign of relaxing.

Yuan Tianzong didn't move again. He simply watched it with a smile.

At last, after confirming several times that Yuan Tianzong meant it no harm, the Skeleton Monster slowly reattached its left arm bone. Then it crouched down, picked up the python skull, and pressed it firmly onto the spine at its neck.

With its skull back in place, it finally looked whole again. Its jaw opened and closed, making a clacking sound as it babbled incomprehensibly. A faint sense of its gaze seemed to emanate from its eye sockets.

A faint sound came from the ground. The ribs it had thrown away rolled toward it and automatically returned to their place in its chest.

The Skeleton Monster bowed to Yuan Tianzong to express its gratitude.

"It's nothing. If a little wild boar can make you panic like that, why not come with me?" Yuan Tianzong asked.

Hearing this, the Skeleton Monster tilted its head. After thinking for a moment, it nodded firmly to show it was willing, then gestured for Yuan Tianzong to throw away the stone in his hand.

Yuan Tianzong laughed and tossed the stone aside. "You're overthinking it. Even if you didn't want to come with me, I wouldn't grind you into bone powder."

The Skeleton Monster: "..."

Beside the wooden hut, Yuan Tianzong sat on the ground. The Skeleton Monster copied him, sitting down as it met Yuan Tianzong's scrutinizing gaze.

"You're strange. You're nothing like the Yin Bone I know," Yuan Tianzong said, trying to communicate with it.

"Clack, clack." The Skeleton Monster tried hard to respond, but it had no vocal cords. All it could do was click its jaws together like a wooden fish, and Yuan Tianzong couldn't understand a thing.

Yuan Tianzong thought for a moment, then said, "How about this? Stop clacking like a wooden fish. I'll ask you questions. Nod for yes and shake your head for no. Understand?"

The Skeleton Monster quickly nodded.

"Are you a Yin Bone?"

The Skeleton Monster tilted its head, clearly not understanding what "Yin Bone" meant.

Yuan Tianzong frowned. Did it not even know what it was?

After asking a few more questions, Yuan Tianzong gained a general understanding of the Skeleton Monster before him. It had gained intelligence and could think logically, but it knew little about the things around it. It was just like a newborn child.

After a long while, Yuan Tianzong stood up, temporarily giving up on communicating with it.

"You seem pretty weak. Since you've got nowhere to go, just stay by my side." Yuan Tianzong was still curious about the Skeleton Monster's origins. There was plenty of time. If he couldn't find an answer now, a clue might turn up one day.

Hearing this, the Skeleton Monster froze for a moment. Then it suddenly stood up and, under Yuan Tianzong's gaze, dropped to its knees and began kowtowing.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

"What are you doing?" Yuan Tianzong asked, puzzled.

"Clack, clack, clack." The Skeleton Monster continued kowtowing, its jaws clacking.

"What are you saying? I can't understand you."

"Clack!" The Skeleton Monster kowtowed harder, its clacking growing more urgent.

Yuan Tianzong waved a hand, looking a little exasperated. "All right, all right. I'll teach you to write when I have time. And calling you 'Skeleton Monster' doesn't sound very nice, so I'll call you 'Bone' from now on."

"Clack!"