Anomaly in the Miscellaneous Storehouse

Anomaly in the Miscellaneous Storehouse

Hearing the question, Old Yang merely stood there woodenly, without the slightest motion.

Ren Yi burst into laughter and came over to smooth things over. "Forgive him, Assistant Instructor Zhang. Old Yang does hard labor and doesn't understand manners or etiquette. His right hand was injured before, so it's not fit to be shown. He's being disrespectful to you."

He stepped forward and tugged Old Yang by the shoulder. "Old Yang, hurry up and apologize to the assistant instructor."

But to his surprise, even after tugging twice, he couldn't move Old Yang in the slightest. A little anger rose in his heart, and he said in a low voice, "Old Yang, don't be stubborn. The assistant instructor isn't unreasonable. Just apologize and it'll be over."

Old Yang finally moved. He slowly turned around, but there wasn't the slightest expression on his face, nor any focus in his eyes. After a while, he slowly raised his arm, seemingly intending to lift the sleeve covering his right hand.

Everyone stared blankly, and no one spoke. For some reason, Old Yang, who normally looked like a simple, honest good man, seemed extremely strange now.

At that moment, Zhang Yu stepped forward and grabbed Old Yang's wrist. Yet what he held didn't feel like flesh and blood at all, but rather a piece of hard wood.

He barked, "Everyone, get out."

Even with his arm seized, Old Yang showed no reaction. He remained standing there with a wooden expression.

Ren Yi also sensed that something was wrong. He immediately waved both hands, driving everyone back as he shouted, "Listen to the assistant instructor! Out, out, all of you get out!"

After everyone had left, Zhang Yu pulled open Old Yang's sleeve and saw a thin vine cord tied there, deeply embedded in the flesh. His gaze sharpened.

The moment he had first seen this man, he'd felt that something about his breath was wrong. At first, he'd assumed the man had some respiratory problem, but now that he was in close contact with him, he knew it hadn't been an illusion.

After all, every person's breathing rhythm was roughly the same. Yet this man's was reversed and disorderly, chaotic and noisy, as if the breaths of many people had been forcibly kneaded together and stuffed into his body.

And that wasn't all. Those breaths were all concentrated around his right hand. If he were merely an ordinary human, such a thing would have been impossible.

At a time like this, it seemed best to cut him down with a single sword stroke. But Zhang Yu knew that was absolutely not a good choice, because he'd encountered a similar situation while traveling east of Peace Mountain.

The instant Old Yang was seized, he seemed to sense danger. Although he still stood there rigidly, the breaths within him began to stir uneasily.

Zhang Yu's expression remained calm. Gripping Old Yang's right hand tightly, he dragged him outward, moving step by step.

But his actions seemed to enrage that mass of breath. Something inside the man's body seemed to be roaring and howling, wanting to vent itself outward. Yet its only outlet was tightly locked in Zhang Yu's grip. Unable to rush out, it could only churn within.

By then, most people had retreated from the four-story brick building. Yet through the wide doorway, they could still see what was happening inside.

Quite a few people discovered in terror that Old Yang had become like a stone. As he was dragged along, his feet carved a deep furrow into the ground, accompanied by a heavy scraping sound.

Zhang Yu felt the weight in his hand growing heavier and heavier, but he showed no sign of strain. His footsteps still maintained their original rhythm.

At that moment, Old Yang's face began to change. It gradually swelled as if being inflated. One could now clearly see a white inner membrane beneath his features, plugging all seven apertures. Not only that, even beneath the exposed pores of his skin, the same was true.

In only a short while, his coarse cloth clothes split apart amid cracking sounds. His skin was deathly pale, without a trace of blood. His whole body resembled a tied sack, and his right wrist was where the knot was.

Zhang Yu's hand had replaced the vine cord, clamping down tightly on that spot and preventing whatever was inside from emerging.

As time passed, things began to wriggle beneath "Old Yang's" skin, like countless little insects crawling and rolling about inside. The sight was utterly horrifying.

Zhang Yu wasn't frightened by the scene. He understood clearly that as long as he kept moving, nothing would happen for the moment. So he remained calm and composed, dragging the man outward step by step.

Meanwhile, outside Taiyang Academy, several miles from the entrance to the Miscellaneous Storehouse, Su Kuang stood atop a fallen stone pillar, staring unblinkingly at the Academy beneath the twilight.

A cloak covered his outer body, concealing the Divine Commandery Army's Victory Frontier Garb beneath. Not far behind him, more than a dozen sturdy men either sat or stood. They wore Sikou Office uniforms, held short cudgels, and had firelances tucked into the cowhide bags at their waists. From their attire, it was clear they were patrolmen of the Sikou Office.

The Sikou captain at their head instructed his men, "Listen carefully. The moment there's any motion inside, we rush in. Don't be too hasty—let Chief Su take the lead. Once we're inside, ignore everything else. As long as we get that thing, the job is done."

After saying this, he turned back. "Chief Su, is there anything else wrong?"

Su Kuang didn't answer. He merely watched Taiyang Academy with great interest.

Receiving no response, the Sikou captain felt somewhat awkward. Inwardly, he muttered, Ever since Chief Su entered the Divine Commandery Army, his temper has grown stranger and stranger.

After thinking for a moment, he edged closer and asked quietly, "Chief Su, this is Taiyang Academy. What if people from the Profound Residence come later? How should we deal with them?"

Su Kuang didn't move his head, only slid his eyes backward. The leading Sikou officer immediately felt a chill run down his back. He hurriedly retreated two steps and said in alarm, "Chief Su, I asked too much."

Looking at the hazy cluster of halls before Mount Qi, Su Kuang grinned. "If there weren't people from the Profound Residence, why would they need me? I'll handle them. You just make sure to get that thing."

Inside the Miscellaneous Storehouse, Zhang Yu strode steadily forward, dragging "Old Yang" into the open space outside.

Everyone's eyes were wide, and they kept swallowing. At that moment, no one who saw Old Yang would have believed he was still human.

He looked like a fermented steamed bun. His limbs had become incredibly thick, and the places where they connected to his body were nearly invisible. All his facial features bulged outward, while the white inner membrane had replaced his original apertures, making people wonder whether he would burst apart the next instant.

Even the guard unit originally responsible for security at the Miscellaneous Storehouse couldn't help raising their firelances at the sight.

Zhang Yu glanced over and ordered, "Don't attack. Let me handle this. Old Ren, have everyone move farther away. Keep an eye on the people below, and don't let anyone panic."

Ren Yi's heart tightened, and he immediately understood Zhang Yu's meaning. He shouted, "Listen to the assistant instructor! Everyone, back away! Put away the firelances! Whoever dares fire one in secret, I, Ren Yi, will ransack his house afterward!"

As he spoke, he had already hidden behind a pile of miscellaneous items first.

Zhang Yu stopped and asked, "Old Ren, has everyone been evacuated?"

Stretching his neck out, Ren Yi answered, "They're all out. There's no one inside."

Zhang Yu nodded. He looked at "Old Yang." The man's body had completely swollen. The originally short man now stood a head taller than Zhang Yu, while the hand gripping his wrist had sunk deeply into the flesh and could no longer be seen.

The breaths inside had slowed. This didn't mean they had given up on breaking out, but that they had been suppressed to the limit—a sign that an eruption was imminent.

He knew he couldn't wait any longer. Using one foot as his pivot, he turned halfway to the side, suddenly exerted force, and with a sharp motion, actually swung Old Yang's entire body up and hurled him back into the building!

That enormous body flew backward along the passage through which they had emerged, smashing down a simple wooden wall in the process. The instant it hit the ground, boom—his entire body exploded!

Countless streams of thick yellow-and-red fluid splattered everywhere. The enormous impact instantly destroyed the Lower Layer of the building, and the entire structure collapsed.

The tremendous blast left everyone outside chest-tight and short of breath. They stood with their mouths agape, blankly staring at the scene, before a wave of lingering fear swept over them.

Who could have imagined that Old Yang, normally so honest and simple-looking, was actually such a monster?

Ren Yi emerged trembling from his hiding place. Enduring the pungent smell wafting from the building, he ran to Zhang Yu's side and asked in shock, "Assistant Instructor Zhang, what... what was that thing?" Gratitude appeared on his face. "If it hadn't been for you today, we'd all have been finished."

But Zhang Yu didn't answer him. Instead, he turned toward the gate outside the Miscellaneous Storehouse and gripped the Xia Sword.

With a thunderous crash, a huge hole was blasted through the wall in the direction of the Miscellaneous Storehouse gate. Countless shattered splinters and stones flew outward, immediately drawing a wave of screams. Then a figure charged in with reckless abandon.

Caught by the sudden attack, the people of the Miscellaneous Storehouse retreated in panic.

After steadying himself, Su Kuang looked around. The situation here was somewhat different from what he'd expected, and he couldn't help feeling puzzled. But then he suddenly spotted Zhang Yu standing not far away. His pupils dilated, and his whole body became excited with joy—it was the feeling of prey he'd searched for long and hard suddenly appearing before his eyes again.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Realizing this time that the enemy was an outsider, the Miscellaneous Storehouse guards finally couldn't hold back any longer and raised their firelances to fire.

A flash of light flickered over Su Kuang's body. In that instant, the hazy shadow of a deity seemed to appear around him, and several deformed lead pellets clattered to the ground.

He merely cast an indifferent glance to the side before quickly turning back toward the front. The few people who had fired suddenly found it difficult to breathe. Then they fell to their knees in agony, clutching their throats and gasping violently.

Zhang Yu stood quietly in place, watching Su Kuang. One hand loosely gripped the sword hilt. He didn't know this man, but it wasn't difficult to sense the undisguised malice radiating from him.

Seeing that Zhang Yu seemed inclined to resist, Su Kuang grew even more excited. He glanced at the Xia Sword in Zhang Yu's hand and grinned. Then he tilted his center of gravity forward and slowly crouched down. The instant his fingers nearly touched the ground, he shot toward Zhang Yu's position at a speed too fast for the naked eye to discern!