Taking Primordial Fierce Beasts as a Casual Meal? And You Still Have the Nerve to Laugh???
At last, after hearing Pi Hou and the others' account and learning that this outsider hadn't just wanted to bully Little One, but had even insulted the Sacrificial Spirit, the old village chief and the others' faces darkened instantly.
"Outrageous!"
The burly men of Stone Village, especially Shi Linhu and the others standing nearby, were so furious their hair seemed to stand on end. The broad swords in their hands hummed as they gripped them tightly.
"He dared show disrespect to the Sacrificial Spirit? And he wanted to kill Little One?"
"An ungrateful wretch like him can't be spared!"
"Kill him! Throw him into the Great Wilderness to feed the Ferocious Beasts!"
"Right, kill him!"
As the surrounding villagers, their killing intent blazing, gathered in ever greater numbers and began closing in, Tang Hao, who had only just managed to regain consciousness, was scared out of his wits.
"No! Don't kill me!"
Looking at the villagers before him, each one seeming eager to tear him to pieces, Tang Hao finally realized just how serious the situation was.
To stay alive, this once-arrogant Clear Sky Douluo did something utterly humiliating in front of the entire Douluo Continent.
With a thump, Tang Hao dropped straight to his knees. Ignoring the agony shooting through his broken leg, he frantically kowtowed to the old village chief.
"Grandpa Village Chief, I was wrong! I really was wrong!"
"Smack! Smack! Smack!"
As if that still wasn't enough, Tang Hao feared they might drive him away, so he kowtowed while slapping himself hard across both cheeks. The smacks rang out sharply.
"I was blind!"
"I repaid your kindness with treachery!"
"I'll never dare do it again. Please, take me in!"
"Even if you make me work like an ox or a horse, just let me stay in the village!"
This time, Tang Hao was truly afraid.
Over the past few days, he had seen the horrors outside the village with his own eyes. Even a random mosquito passing by had been as big as a fist, and with one bite, it had sucked a passing giant elephant dry.
If they drove him out in his current condition, he definitely wouldn't survive the night!
Yet in the face of his desperate pleas, the old village chief, Shi Yunfeng, only shook his head coldly.
"Stone Village is hospitable, but we don't shelter wolves."
"Go. In consideration of the few days you worked here, we won't kill you, but we absolutely won't let you stay."
"Throw him out!"
At the old village chief's command, Shi Linhu, who had been waiting impatiently, immediately stepped forward. He grabbed Tang Hao by the collar like a chick and flung him straight outside the village.
"No! Don't leave me behind!"
Seeing himself thrown out, Tang Hao no longer cared about the pain wracking his body. He hurriedly crawled forward on his hands and feet, gazing pleadingly into the village.
He didn't dare run, much less go far.
He could only curl up outside the village like a stray dog, shivering and hoping no Ferocious Beast would find him.
On the other side of the village entrance, Qian Renxue hesitated when she saw Tang Hao thrown out, then hurried forward.
"Greetings, Elder."
Qian Renxue straightened her somewhat rumpled clothes, then suppressed her excitement and bowed gracefully to the old village chief, Shi Yunfeng. Her manner was elegant, her etiquette impeccable.
"I'm Qian Renxue. I've only just arrived and don't know the rules here. Thank you for having this little brother come to my aid just now."
As she spoke, Qian Renxue glanced at Little One, who had run back over with a small milk jar in his arms.
Looking at the golden-haired woman before him, whose clothes were strange but whose manners were impeccable—and who even bore a faint, not-quite-vanished Willow Leaf Mark between her brows—the old village chief, Shi Yunfeng, couldn't help softening his expression.
"It's all right. Since the Sacrificial Spirit bestowed its blessing on you, that means you're a kind child."
Then the old village chief nodded and said kindly, "Come in. The Great Wilderness is dangerous at night. You can stay in the village for a few days."
"Thank you, Elder!"
Overjoyed, Qian Renxue quickly bowed to everyone in Stone Village.
Inside the village of Stone Village.
With the villagers' invitation, Qian Renxue stepped inside and finally got a clear look at the village.
From outside, it had looked like an ordinary, even somewhat rundown, primitive village.
There were a few scattered stone houses, several paths paved with pebbles, and stone rollers and mills everywhere. It looked much like a slum in some remote corner of the Douluo Continent—if anything, even more backward.
But when Qian Renxue was truly standing among the houses and saw the decorations on them and the paving stones beneath her feet, her pupils shrank and she froze on the spot.
"This, this is..."
As she passed a stone house, Qian Renxue's gaze happened to fall on a ragged cloth hanging beneath the eaves to block the wind.
It was a purple Animal Skin. Although it was covered in dust and looked filthy, with even some damage around the edges, Qian Renxue could sense a faint power of thunder still radiating from it.
She had only glanced at it, yet her eyes already stung. In her mind, a Primordial Fierce Beast bathing in a sea of lightning seemed to roar at her!
"This aura... a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast? No, this hide is countless times more terrifying than a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?!"
Qian Renxue quickly looked away and clutched her pounding heart, her mouth falling open wide enough to fit an egg.
A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast! On the Douluo Continent, even her grandfather would fight to seize one. Yet here, someone had casually hung its hide beneath the eaves to block the wind?!
"What a waste! What an utter waste!"
For a moment, Qian Renxue felt her heart bleed.
What she didn't know was that this was only the beginning.
As she continued forward, the ground beneath her feet suddenly felt a little uneven.
Qian Renxue looked down.
"Hiss—"
The next second, she was nearly scared into dropping to her knees!
The path beneath her feet wasn't paved with ordinary pebbles. It was made of smooth, jade-white teeth that radiated a bone-chilling cold.
Each tooth was as large as a washbasin, and a heart-stopping aura of blood still clung to them.
"These teeth... definitely came from a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast at the very least!!!"
Feeling the overwhelming bloodlust rising from beneath her feet, Qian Renxue crouched down with a slight tremble and reached out to touch one of the enormous beast bones lining the path.
The bone felt smooth and warm as jade, and faintly visible runes seemed to flow within it.
"Soul Bone, these are Soul Bones!!!"
At the sight of the beast bone before her, Qian Renxue felt a magnitude-twelve earthquake rumble through her heart.
On the Douluo Continent, Soul Bones were a Soul Master's second life. In some ways, they were even more precious than Soul Rings!
The appearance of any Soul Bone could spark a battle and a scramble among Soul Masters.
Powerful Soul Bones could even move Titled Douluo to action!
Yet in this village, bones radiating the aura of Soul Bones had been casually laid across the ground for people to step on. Some had even been worn down until they were barely recognizable!
"Heavens, this isn't a path I'm walking on..."
Qian Renxue swallowed, trembling all over. She felt she could barely make herself take another step.
With every step, it felt as if she were trampling on priceless treasures. The feeling was unbearable.
"Big Sister, watch your step. There's some freshly skinned hide over there. Don't slip."
Just then, a little boy ran over and kindly warned her.
Qian Renxue followed the direction he pointed.
In the drying yard in the center of the village, several enormous beast bones had been made into racks, and a few freshly prepared hides hung from them.
Although one bright-red hide had already been separated from its owner, it still radiated terrifying heat, warping the air around it.
Beside the hide, a pile of assorted things lay carelessly heaped up like a small mountain.