Trolls Also Fear?

The Troll brothers were wrestling over the remains of a wolf skull. One had to admire this terrifying species; the two monsters had devoured the entire wolf, weighing several hundred pounds, bones and all, and were growing as they ate. Their digestive efficiency was nearly one hundred percent. If the pigs on Earth had such an ability, farm owners would never need to worry about how to fatten their livestock quickly, and the public would no longer fear excessive chemical growth stimulants in their pork.

The two Trolls were significantly smaller than their purebred kin. Aside from their original left arms and right legs, which remained a putrid gray, their newly regenerated flesh was a pale grayish-green. The skin was relatively soft, lacking the usual abundance of warts and nodules, and their light green hair was stained with the dark blood of the wolf. Most of their caloric intake was consumed by their rapid regeneration, leaving them dominated by a primal, ravenous hunger. When the Trolls turned their attention to the three humans nearby and noticed one approaching, they could no longer restrain themselves; they discarded the flavorless wolf skull and lunged forward with a roar.

Facing the approaching Trolls, Chen Jinyang calmly dropped the hemp rope to the ground. Supporting himself with his left leg while his right foot hovered, he gripped the end of the giant wooden pole with both hands and swung it from behind his back. Using his rear hand as a pivot and pressing down with his front, he unleashed a "Raising Fire to Scorch the Heavens" strike. The nearly eight-meter-long pole whistled through the air, bending from the sheer force of the swing, and slammed into the broad face of one Troll. The creature's face exploded in a spray of gore, and it tumbled backward with a muffled groan, the pain so intense it couldn't even muster a cry.

Using the rebound of the pole, Chen Jinyang reversed his grip and thrust the other end between the legs of the second, wobbling Troll. With a subtle flick of his wrists, the creature crashed to the ground. He discarded the pole, stepped forward, and grabbed the Troll's joints, twisting them in reverse to snap the bones at the roots of its limbs. He then trussed the creature's four limbs together, twisting them into a knot that made it impossible to struggle, and bound it tight with the hemp rope.

By now, the first monster—its nose shattered and face a ruin—had wobbled to its feet. Most of its injuries had already healed in this short time, though its delicate eyes had yet to recover. Unable to see its target, it could only flail about aimlessly.

Chen Jinyang approached, grabbed one of its wrists, and with a swift twist and pull, forced the Troll to lunge forward. Chen Jinyang stepped behind it and snapped its arm with a crisp "crack." He repeated the process, binding this Troll just like its brother, trussed and knotted.

Chen Jinyang slid the giant pole through the backs of the Trolls, hoisting them up like a shoulder pole, and hung them from a tree, securing them with rope. Done!

Chen Jinyang clapped his hands and clasped them behind his back, looking at the Trolls dangling several feet off the ground with great satisfaction. It was a pity his right foot couldn't take too much pressure; he wouldn't be able to train as planned for the next couple of days.

He turned and limped back, ready to end his morning exercise and return for a meal. However, as he looked up, he saw the two little ones holding their heads and staring with wide mouths. Seeing Chen Jinyang return, they quickly shut their mouths and began performing squats with feigned diligence.

As Chen Jinyang approached, the two little rascals squatted even more vigorously. He smiled and said, "Alright, stop pretending to be hardworking! Let's go back and eat!"

The two cheered at his words and scampered off. Seeing this, Chen Jinyang called out, "This way! We're taking the shortcut! Don't forget your javelins!" He then hoisted the two little ones onto the wall and vaulted over after them.

When they returned to the cellar, Phinia was already awake, happily gnawing on a piece of toasted bread. Chen Jinyang slapped her plump, firm backside and said, "Go! Wash your face before you eat!" He then pulled a piece of Silk Gourd from a nearby bag and handed it to the giantess.

Most ordinary people in this world lacked the habit of cleaning their mouths or brushing their teeth, and by old age, most were left with rotting teeth. Because Phinia had lived alone in the wild for years, she even lacked the habit of washing her hands or face before meals, merely rinsing off in a river when she got dirty. Her personal hygiene left much to be desired.

Chen Jinyang did not want to face a family member with a mouth full of rot in the future, and the oral hygiene methods popular among the nobility of Faerun were too expensive for commoners. A few days ago, he had found a flexible, fibrous Silk Gourd in the jungle. When chewed into a ball, it was incredibly durable; after spitting it out and rinsing with fresh water, it left the mouth feeling cleaner and more refreshed than even a toothbrush from his past life. Urging Phinia to wash her face had been a daily chore, and now he had added the Silk Gourd brushing to the routine.

Phinia pouted, reluctantly taking the gourd, and headed out with a bucket. Chen Jinyang took out another piece, cut it in half, and handed it to Alos and Mishaer. The two little ones, who had thought they escaped, saw their faces fall and reluctantly took the gourd pieces, following behind Phinia.

Days without monster interference were rather dull, but fortunately, there were two Troll captives to pass the time. If judged by the standards of human prisoners, Chen Jinyang was in serious violation of basic human ethics: beating prisoners, hanging them naked in the freezing cold, giving them ice-water baths, and maiming them. If this were on Earth, he would certainly be a humanitarian pariah. But here, using these methods on Trolls, no public intellectuals were coming to bother him about Troll rights.

During the two days Chen Jinyang spent nursing his leg, he led the two little ones in squats, high-knee runs, frog jumps, snowball fights, snowman building, and igloo construction, all while using a large wooden brush to give the Trolls cold-water baths. By nightfall, the children were so exhausted they would fall asleep instantly, and Chen Jinyang would have to massage their muscles to prevent them from waking up in agony the next morning. Phinia went hunting every day; compared to staying in the village, the giantess preferred adventuring in the forest, returning at dusk for a warm, delicious dinner and some "healthy exercise" with Chen Jinyang that was unsuitable for children.

Once his leg recovered, Chen Jinyang began teaching Alos and Mishaer how to hold a horse stance, while he began his own training regimen using the two Trolls. Every day, the two children stood on the wall in their stances, watching the "playtime" between Chen Jinyang and the Trolls.

William would temporarily release the Trolls and use them as living wooden dummies for his martial arts practice.

The two starving, maddened Trolls roared and snarled; the human before them was truly hateful, yet agile to an astonishing degree. Their repeated attacks all ended in failure.

In their desperate attempt to tear the human apart and fill their bellies, the Trolls even began to use their remaining, solidified brain matter. They coordinated, flanking him from front and back, spreading their arms to encircle him and prevent his escape.

Facing the pincer attack, Chen Jinyang was completely unfazed. Ignoring the four claws swiping at him, he pushed off the ground and launched himself into the chest of the front Troll. A "Progressing Crushing Fist" double-strike, like a tiger descending a mountain, slammed into the creature's chest. The monster screamed as its internal organs were shattered, flying backward several meters. Chen Jinyang suddenly felt a shadow behind him and a foul wind; the other Troll had seized the opportunity to attack, its palms closing in to crush him. Chen Jinyang's body suddenly went limp, collapsing like a pile of mud, narrowly dodging the grab. At the same time, he pushed off the ground with his hands and feet, sliding through the Troll's legs. He rose, stepped forward, and unleashed a "Mountain-Crushing Strike" that landed squarely in the creature's lower back. As the Troll howled in agony, Chen Jinyang leaped up, his elbow descending like an axe, shattering the monster's spine. The Troll collapsed with a thud. Chen Jinyang stood his ground, watching the struggling Trolls, waiting for them to recover and fight again.

Chen Jinyang had already abandoned the idea of using the Trolls to practice "listening energy." Although they were tall, strong, and possessed infinite stamina and terrifying recovery, they only knew how to use brute force. Their attack patterns were too simple and clumsy to pose any real threat. However, as living targets, they were perfect. He could practice all the techniques and power-generation methods of his fist arts on them without restraint, which was far better than training alone or hitting a wooden dummy.

After finishing with the Troll targets, Chen Jinyang would always break their limbs and hang them back up. Because of the hunger and pain, the monsters would howl and shriek throughout the night. He even shoved wooden stakes into their mouths to gag them—his methods were truly "cruel" to the point of being hair-raising. Of course, to ensure the Trolls didn't lose their vitality from starvation, Chen Jinyang would occasionally show a shred of mercy, tossing them discarded offal to fill their bellies.

Watching the two little ones who slacked off during his training but acted diligent the moment he finished, Chen Jinyang was both annoyed and amused:

"You two little lazybones! Let's go! Time to eat!" Upon hearing this, the children felt as if they had been granted amnesty; they couldn't care less about pretending to hold their stances and scrambled away.

"Yay! Time to eat!"

Chen Jinyang shook his head and smiled helplessly at the two energetic children. After more than a month of training, Alos and Mishaer were much stronger than before, full of spirit, and, of course, much more cunning.

Sunrises and sunsets, time flew like a shuttle, and several more heavy snowfalls passed.

Winter in the North was truly a disaster for all life in nature. The captive herds were nearly gone, and hunting had become difficult. However, Chen Jinyang's internal power was becoming increasingly pure; his fist arts had officially stepped into the realm of Dark Energy. This was not like the time a few months ago; that had been a lucky effect achieved by his own raw strength and a surge of blood and qi. Now, he could truly and freely unleash Dark Energy attacks.

After more than two months of relentless, soul-crushing torture, the two Trolls were now withered and unrecognizable. They no longer had their original ferocity; every training session, they would shrink back, retreating. Several attempts to escape had been beaten back by Chen Jinyang, and eventually, they gave up entirely, lacking even the desire to attack. They adopted the ultimate "non-violent non-cooperation" strategy, which left Chen Jinyang scratching his head. Forced by necessity, he had to abandon these excellent living targets and cremate them, helping them escape their sea of suffering and ascend to the Western Paradise.

Chen Jinyang had used them until they were broken and then destroyed the evidence. His methods were so cruel and his heart so ruthless that it was truly hair-raising. Even the two little ones found it hard to watch, looking at the tragic Troll brothers turning to ash with teary, pitiful eyes.

The "cold-hearted" Chen Jinyang was unmoved by the children's tears, as it was unclear whether the little siblings were crying out of excessive sympathy or because the stretching and training were simply too painful.

Of course, even though the Trolls had made great contributions to Chen Jinyang's path of cultivation, he could never let them go. After months of living side-by-side, he knew the two Trolls better than anyone. In Chen Jinyang's hands, the Troll brothers had become increasingly clever and cunning, with flashes of hatred and cruelty appearing in their shrinking eyes. By the end, even the malice in their once-vivid eyes had been hidden away. But how could such changes escape his notice? After all, how could Chen Jinyang, who had experienced the dangers of the world, ever let them go?