The bushes ahead slowly parted.
A gigantic monster emerged.
It was a fierce beast that looked a lot like a tiger.
But it was two or three times larger than a tiger on Earth, with a shoulder height of nearly two meters.
Its body was covered in black-and-white fur, every hair standing on end like a steel needle.
The most striking feature was its forehead.
There was no "Wang" marking there. Instead, a purple crystal was embedded in it, glowing with an eerie light.
"What kind of monster is this?"
Lu Chongwei's pupils contracted. He cursed inwardly.
This tiger gave him an even greater sense of oppression than the Tyrannosaurus he had encountered right after crossing over.
The tiger monster gave him no time to think.
It let out a low growl, and the crystal on its forehead lit up again.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Three more energy orbs shot out one after another, cutting off every route Lu Chongwei could take to dodge.
Lu Chongwei gritted his teeth, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes.
There was no dodging them!
Then he'd just have to take them head-on!
He took a sharp breath, and the mysterious energy within him surged wildly, gathering in his arms.
"Get out of my way!"
Lu Chongwei roared and drove both fists forward like cannonballs.
"Bang! Bang!"
He smashed two of the orbs out of the air.
The violent explosions numbed his arms, splitting the skin between his thumb and forefinger and sending blood streaming.
But there was no way to avoid the third orb.
"Boom!"
It exploded against his left shoulder.
Pain swept through him in an instant.
Lu Chongwei grunted. The blast sent him flying backward, and he slammed hard into a tree trunk.
"Cough, cough..."
He coughed violently, a trickle of blood running from the corner of his mouth.
His left shoulder was charred black, the flesh torn and mangled in a horrifying sight.
But the tiger monster did not stop there.
It bent its hind legs, then kicked off the ground. Its massive body turned into a blur as it pounced at Lu Chongwei.
Its sharp claws flashed through the air, aiming straight for his throat.
At the brink of life and death,
the fear in Lu Chongwei's eyes vanished, replaced by a savage, feral instinct.
He endured the pain and abruptly dropped low.
He narrowly evaded the deadly claws.
Then, in that split second, he seized the tiger's tail, which was as thick as an iron whip.
"Up!"
Lu Chongwei roared, unleashing all his strength.
He actually swung the tiger monster, which weighed a thousand jin, up into the air.
"Bang!"
The tiger monster slammed into the ground.
But the creature had thick skin and tough flesh, and the blow did not do much damage.
It quickly rolled back onto its feet, its eyes shining with even greater fury.
Lu Chongwei knew he couldn't afford to keep fighting.
The monster's ranged attacks were too bizarre, and they were too close to the river. The noise could attract even more powerful predators.
Using the force of the recoil from that last blow,
Lu Chongwei turned and ran.
He charged left and right through the dense forest, using the complicated terrain to evade the energy orbs behind him.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Explosions sounded repeatedly behind him. Trees toppled, and rocks flew everywhere.
Lu Chongwei didn't dare look back.
Gritting his teeth against the pain in his shoulder, he sprinted toward the cave with all his might.
After an unknown amount of time,
the sounds behind him finally began to fade.
Lu Chongwei didn't dare let his guard down. He doubled back a few times, and only after confirming he wasn't being followed did he cautiously slip into the cave.
As soon as he entered, he collapsed to the ground.
"Phew... Phew... That was one hell of a close call."
Lu Chongwei panted heavily, his face full of relief at having survived.
He looked utterly miserable.
His face was bruised and swollen, he had scrapes all over his body, and his left shoulder was a bloody mess.
He struggled to sit up and inspected his injuries by the faint moonlight coming through the cave entrance.
"Good. They're just flesh wounds. Nothing's broken."
Lu Chongwei forced a grin, then sucked in a sharp breath as it pulled at his injuries.
Though they looked terrible, he knew his body healed at an astonishing rate.
With injuries this bad, he would be almost completely healed by the next morning after one night's sleep.
He gritted his teeth against the pain and cleaned the wounds as best he could.
Then he cut a small piece of meat from the flying fish and swallowed it raw.
He needed to replenish his energy after getting hurt. He couldn't afford to worry about whether it was cooked.
After eating, Lu Chongwei dragged his exhausted body over to the cave entrance.
He gathered some weeds and branches and carefully camouflaged the entrance, leaving only a few small holes for ventilation.
Only after finishing everything did he stagger over to the stone bed and lie down.
Exhaustion washed over him like a tide.
The moment his head touched the pillow, he fell into a deep sleep.
Late at night,
the forest sank into utter silence.
Only the occasional chirping of insects broke the eerie stillness.
Inside the cave, Lu Chongwei breathed evenly, seemingly lost in a pleasant dream.
However,
at midnight,
Lu Chongwei, who had been fast asleep, suddenly sat up.
His eyes were tightly shut. He hadn't opened them at all.
Yet his movements were extraordinarily smooth, without the slightest hesitation.
It was as if an invisible soul were controlling his body.
Lu Chongwei rose from the bed and stood ramrod straight in the middle of the cave.
The corners of his mouth lifted into an eerie smile.
His lips parted, and a low, ancient sigh escaped them:
"Alas! I really am weak..."
That voice did not belong to an eleven- or twelve-year-old boy.
It carried the arrogance of one who looked down upon all living things, and the detachment of someone who had weathered the ages.
Then he shook his head gently, seemingly deeply dissatisfied with the state of this body.
The next second,
a bizarre sight unfolded.
Lu Chongwei's figure vanished into thin air in an instant.
There had been no warning, nor any fluctuation of energy.
The cave stood empty, as if he had never existed.
Even Lu Chongwei himself, still fast asleep, had not noticed.
He was sleepwalking.
And he had gone somewhere utterly unbelievable.
Morning came.
The first ray of sunlight shone through a crack in the cave entrance and fell across the stone bed.
Birdsong rang out brightly through the forest.
Lu Chongwei's eyelids twitched, and he slowly opened his eyes.
He instinctively stretched, and his bones cracked all over with a series of pops.
"Hm? It doesn't hurt anymore?"
Lu Chongwei sat up abruptly and reached over to touch his left shoulder.
The wound that had been a bloody mess had completely healed, leaving behind only a faint pink mark.
Even the scrapes and bruises on his body had vanished without a trace.
He felt refreshed and full of strength.
"This healing ability is practically a cheat."
Lu Chongwei exclaimed in delight.
He had known for a while that he healed quickly, but every time he experienced this miraculous overnight recovery, he still found it unbelievable.
In a great mood, he hummed a little tune as he prepared to get dressed and get up.
However,
just as he reached toward the side of the bed, his movement abruptly froze.
His gaze fixed on one side of the bedhead.
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