"Qiu'er, you were amazing! That tiger was acting so tough a moment ago, and now he's nothing but stone!" Xiao Xiao sat in the chair beside her, clutching her milk tea, her eyes shining with admiration.
Wang Qiu'er rubbed her aching wrist, her eyes bright with triumph.
She glanced at the mechanism in the cellar that required two keys to open, then turned to Xiao Xiao. "Come on, Xiao Xiao! The tiger's taken care of. Let's check out that path on the right called Soul-Gripping Cliff! Didn't Boss Lu say there was something good hidden there? I'm going to turn Yellow Wind Ridge upside down today!"
With that, Wang Qiu'er guided the little monkey back the way they had come and headed straight for the mountain path to the right of Failing Valley.
As soon as they entered Soul-Gripping Cliff, the scenery changed.
The open expanse of swirling yellow sand gave way to a deep, narrow gorge.
Jagged rocks towered on either side. Dry weeds swayed in the wind, and ancient stone statues carved with strange beast faces lined the path, giving the place an eerie chill.
"This place looks creepy. There aren't more monsters waiting to ambush us, are there?" Xiao Xiao muttered.
No sooner had she spoken than several monsters pieced together from white bones came staggering down the narrow path ahead.
The most conspicuous one held a huge shield painted with a tiger in its left hand and a long-hafted halberd in its right.
"Whatever kind of bones you're made of, take this!" Wang Qiu'er charged without another word and brought her staff down.
Clang!
The little monkey's Willow Wood Staff struck the shield hard.
Bone-Chilling stood firm, while the recoil sent the little monkey stumbling back, locked in the stagger from the rebounded blow.
Bone-Chilling seized