A Successful Home Invasion

Before the hunchbacked man fell into the hidden door, the fear that flickered like flames in his eyes did not escape Yu Xing's notice.

Yu Xing understood that, for the hunchbacked man, the giant, strange fish buried beneath his feet was not a companion, but a true monster that even he dared not face.

He also knew why the small patch of land with the trap was left unhidden and undisguised; the hunchbacked man himself probably didn't want to risk accidentally triggering it, preferring that the trap be easily spotted rather than accidentally stepping on it and bringing the underground river back to light.

The strange fish might truly be the pinnacle of Combat Power in this simulation.

With a "plop," the hunchbacked man fell halfway into the water, but his long arms, though thin like noodles, were still strong. His arms were just enough to brace himself on either side of the hidden door, barely managing to keep him in the middle.

"Fish... fish!" The hunchbacked man mumbled in a terrified tone. Yu Xing sheathed his sword and watched coldly from the side. The hunchbacked man had lived in Heavy Yin Mountain for who knows how long, but he was about to be killed by this intruder.

In truth, he didn't know what the hunchback had done that deserved to die; he only glimpsed the hunchback's true nature of taking pleasure in killing in the hunchback's excitement as he charged at him.

Heaven knows how many people died on the thin rope in his hand over the countless years, then were blown by the wind from the tree branches and became part of the densely packed corpses in the mass grave.

Seeing the hunchbacked man struggling, Yu Xing felt no pity.

The ground beneath her feet trembled slightly, and a muffled thumping sound came from beneath the water. Yu Xing knew that the hunchback's legs and body underwater had attracted the attention of the strange fish.

The ripples on the water grew more pronounced, and the hunchbacked man wailed, as if he had already foreseen his fate of being crushed by sharp teeth.

The veins on his slender arms bulged, and with a little effort, he actually found a point of leverage, lifting his body up as if he were playing on parallel bars.

But Yu Xing was still standing on the ground.

He calmly walked to the hunchback's hand, his military boots gently stepping on a few of the hunchback's fingers.

Yu Xing did not exert any force, but the hunchback looked at him with the same fear that an innocent child would have when seeing a murderer.

Please... please...

The hunchback's terrifying eyes stared unblinkingly at Yu Xing, his mouth seemingly trying to utter something to plead for help or mercy, but his language ability no longer supported coherent sentences.

Yu Xing smiled and said, "You have human consciousness and can think, you just can't express it."

"Yes... save..." The hunchbacked man didn't care about the meaning of his words now, he just wanted to hurry up and get up. He could already feel the surging undercurrents in the water, and a wave that was obviously different from the normal current was lingering below.

Yu Xing added, "In other words, you haven't been possessed and turned into a complete monster; you are fully capable of paying the price for your actions."

"So, you wanted to hang all those birds."

He slowly increased the pressure on the hunchback's fingers; it didn't hurt, but it was enough to send a dangerous signal.

"When you ambushed me in the woods, you also wanted to hang me from a tree, just like those bird carcasses."

Even if I didn't do anything at the time, I didn't threaten you.

The hunchback struggled violently, his other arm slightly bent, pulling his body upwards again. Yu Xing saw that the hunchback's bare chest and abdomen were covered with water stains from an underground river.

The hunchbacked man explained hastily and frantically, "No..."

In fact, rickets are not only characterized by long and thin limbs, but also by a body that is longer than that of an average person. They are so thin that they look like ribs, with bones protruding through their skin. Their waist is particularly narrow, as if they have no internal organs or blood.

The strange fish didn't immediately swim up and bite, giving the hunchbacked man time to catch his breath. The fear in his eyes gradually gave way to malice. Yu Xing found it strange to see such vivid emotions on a body that was "already dead."

"No... you die..."

Yu Xing guessed that what the hunchbacked man wanted to say was "No, I didn't mean to kill you," but after realizing the strange fish wasn't biting him, he wanted to say "I won't die, but you will."

He's always been very empathetic; looking at the other person face-to-face, how could he not see such an obvious change in emotion?

"Why do you think that fish won't eat you? Is it because you're all connected to the demon daoist?"

"Or is it because you all have connections to the Tomb Palace?"

Yu Xing suddenly exerted force with his feet, and the hunchback's fingers made a sound of bones breaking. The hunchback, who was struggling to push himself up, immediately screamed in agony. More unbearable than the pain of this deformed body was the possibility of falling completely into the underground river and being eaten.

Actually, once he fell completely, he could have simply rolled over, adjusted his position, and climbed up to the hidden door. But who could be sure that such a large movement wouldn't trigger the fish monster's aggression and cause it to suddenly bite him?

"Your chance to be resurrected likely lies in this coffin. If your body were to flow down the dark river, there would be no chance of you coming back to life." Yu Xing revealed a very innocent and inquisitive expression, like someone eagerly asking a teacher a question they didn't understand in school. "How has this fish lived for so long?"

"It seems that no matter what you do, you are no match for it. I wonder if you have any way to survive in the water after I close this secret door..."

Upon hearing Yu Xing to close the hidden door, the hunchback screamed. However, his voice was unlike that of a normal person. While an ordinary person's voice would be high-pitched, his was like a thunderclap, so loud it hurt people's ears.

His fingers were almost crushed by Yu Xing monstrous strength of Yu Xing.

Just then, the strange fish seemed to notice the man's amusement and swam upwards from the deeper water. The hunchback was truly frightened; he could feel the fish, much larger than himself, had just touched his calf.

They might use his leg as bait later.

Fortunately, the strange fish seemed to sense a familiar scent from him and did not open its mouth.

The hunchback glared fiercely. He was now extremely passive and dared not wait any longer. He let go with his other hand and fell into the water, with only one arm still being stepped on by Yu Xing.

Then, he turned around in the water, and taking advantage of the fact that the strange fish was not restraining him, he suddenly grabbed at Yu Xing's leg with his long, thin arm that could move!

If he wanted to get ashore, his best option was to grab Yu Xing, because if Yu Xing didn't want to be dragged down with him, she would have to let him climb up.

Yu Xing raised an eyebrow, surprised that the hunchbacked man not only retained human consciousness but also had a surprisingly quick mind.

Pity.

His speed hadn't dropped to the point where he would be openly attacked by a humanoid creature. The fish's tail strike was due to the speed boost a fish has in water; the hunchback didn't have that advantage.

The noodle-like hand grabbed at Yu Xing, whose internal organs were not yet fully healed, so he didn't move. Instead, he drew his knife and, with a movement too subtle to be seen, precisely stabbed the hunchback's palm.

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The blade pierced the hunchback's palm, but not a drop of blood flowed out, just like the corpses in the Valley of the Dead, whose blood had already dried up.

However, hunchbacked people have lost their two movable hands, leaving them completely at the Yu Xing.

Yu Xing bent down slightly and carefully examined the hunchback's face as if he were visiting a specimen, memorizing his appearance. He planned to explore the hunchback's identity further if he had the chance later, since he had only encountered one sentient being in Heavy Yin Mountain so far. He knew that the hunchback's identity was special.

Yu Xing wanted to subdue the hunchback while he was free, it wouldn't be so easy; it would be a difficult battle.

The demon daoist probably never imagined before his or her burial that the double insurance he or she left behind would become a resource used by tomb raiders later on.

"I still don't know your name. Do you even remember it?" Yu Xing casually started a conversation.

The hunchback glared at him fiercely, seemingly unwilling to talk to him.

The strange fish circled around him but didn't bite him. Although the hunchback knew it was because the fish wasn't hungry yet, or was just in a good mood, his emotions calmed down considerably.

It doesn't matter.

As long as he still has a chance to get ashore, that's good enough.

Once he gets up there, the fish will no longer be able to threaten him in the slightest. He will also hang the living person in front of him on the highest tree in the forest with a rope, hanging it high up so that he can enjoy the gradually decaying body of this person every day when he enters the forest!

"Little cutie, although you might be older than me..." It's unclear what Yu Xing's mindset was when she called him "little cutie." Perhaps in Yu Xing's mind, this word was just three simple Chinese characters. "You're not thinking that you can turn the tables just because the strange fish doesn't eat you, are you?"

That's exactly what hunchbacks think.

But on the other side, Carlos had just finished dealing with matters on his main body and contacted the paper doll here, saw such a shocking scene and heard such shocking words as soon as he opened his eyes.

The little paper figure stumbled forward a few steps and stood on a dry patch of ground. The features hastily drawn with a marker revealed a sense of bewilderment.

What's going on? What the hell is happening?

I was only gone for a short while, and the layout of the ancestral hall has changed so much that I can't understand it anymore. How did An manage to pull that long, thin person out of the coffin and stuff him into the water? An is amazing; the villain's lines sound completely natural coming from his mouth.

In an instant, Carlos almost blurred the figures of Yu Xing and the hunchback, placing the hunchback in the victim's shoes.

The carefree Carlos wasn't too bothered by it; his curiosity was piqued, and he decided to happily observe from the sidelines.

The hunchback was struggling; he was trying to pull his hand out along the blade.

Clearly, although Yu Xing had exposed his idea, he still harbored this thought and had not given up hope.

Yu Xing laughed heartily; he loved seeing the hope that had been born from such things ruthlessly shattered by him.

"I'm so sorry, I accidentally upset your neighbor while you were sleeping." He tilted his head, a playful smile on his face. "This fish seems to think I was killed by its tail, and it seems to be in a good mood."

"But if... it sees my face again, and I'm right above the underground river, how do you think it will react?"

This passage was somewhat beyond the comprehension of a hunchback, just as he couldn't quite understand what it meant to anger his neighbor, but he could grasp some of the key points.

For example, the fish's reaction.

If that fish wanted to kill this living person, it would definitely pounce on him, and he, still in the water, would undoubtedly be torn to pieces at the same time!

The hunchback roared and raised his hand, finally gaining half of his freedom at the cost of a shattered palm. But before he could pull his hand out from under Yu Xing, he saw that Yu Xing had something in his hand.

The thing was short, somewhat like a small stick. The next moment, a beam of light shot out from it and shone on the water's surface.

Yu Xing knew that the strange fish was sensitive to light, so he turned on his powerful flashlight to attract it!

Sure enough, the moment the light appeared, large, violent waves appeared in the water, and a strange shadow could be faintly seen moving underwater. Yu Xing moved the flashlight aside and poked his face out.

The fish monster had excellent eyesight and almost no hesitation. Upon seeing Yu Xing, it suddenly swam upwards, its tail slapping against the water, creating an extremely powerful force!

Its mouth opened wide, and it burst out of the water under the hunchbacked man's desperate gaze. The hunchbacked man was completely within its attack range. The moment it emerged from the water, Yu Xing retreated and shone his flashlight on the hunchbacked man who had been swept up by the strange fish.

The hunchback's body had been pierced.

His noodle-like legs were bent unnaturally, one side being torn apart by the strange fish's teeth, making a cracking sound, though this sound was not very noticeable amidst the splashing water.

The strange fish's round eyes didn't move, but Yu Xing clearly felt the fish's malicious gaze falling on him.

This malice is pure; it is simply a kind of greed and ferocity towards food.

"Click."

The fish monster felt something bite into its mouth, closed its mouth, and a huge snapping sound stood out from the thick curtain of water.

Before the impact had dissipated, the hunchback's body was bitten off, and his upper body, having lost its support, flew out in an arc. The cross-section was a bloody mess, but no blood spilled out.

Half of him crashed to the ground with a thud, like a rag doll. His arms drew a messy arc in the air, and the expression on his dead face turned eerily calm as he landed, his eyes wide open.

He finally managed to leave the underground river as he had wished.

But this was the last thing he wanted to experience.

The strange fish was still a fish after all. Yu Xing dodged too quickly, and it missed its bite. It tried to use its tail to swat Yu Xing again, but this time, Yu Xing dodged even earlier.

The strange fish began to linger beneath the surface of the water again, but Yu Xing had achieved his goal and didn't want to pay any attention to it. He turned around and went to the hunchbacked man's half-body.

He disdainfully used his knife to flick the half-corpse back, which landed precisely inside the hidden door.

Well, the hunchbacked man ultimately died intact in the water.

Yu Xing walked up to the black coffin, thinking with satisfaction, "Now I can finally study it properly."

Without turning his head, he said, "Carlos, you've been watching the show for so long, come and lend a hand."