Night Clouds Brew Rain (5)

Shen Yuxi swept a cold glance over the short, fat man who had screamed. The chill in his eyes silenced him instantly. Shen Yuxi said nothing more, only tightened his grip on his sword hilt.

The knocking deep inside the cave continued. Thud, thud, thud. Its rhythm never changed, yet it seemed to strike a taut bowstring. Each blow made their scalps prickle, as if urging them on—or laughing viciously at them.

The next instant, everything changed!

The rainbow-glowing slime around the cave mouth suddenly began to writhe violently. As though alive, it streamed down the rock walls at a startling speed.

Before anyone could react, a tentacle as thick as a bucket shot out of the cave. Slick slime coated its surface, gleaming oily-bright in the torchlight. It moved like lightning and, with a whoosh, coiled around the short, fat man nearest the entrance.

"Ah—!" His scream had barely begun before it cut off. The tentacle dragged him into the darkness like a sack. Then came the teeth-grating sound of chewing, mingled with the muffled crunch of breaking bones. It echoed through the silent mountains, making everyone's scalp crawl.

"Use the talismans!" someone roared from the crowd, as though grasping at a last straw.

Several yellow paper talismans flew into the cave in a panicked flurry. They caught fire midair with ghostly blue flames, but the effect was nowhere near the earth-shaking spectacle everyone had imagined. It was all thunder and barely a drop of rain: the Thunderfire Talisman produced only a fist-sized fireball, which struck the cave wall with a pfft and went out; the Spiritwater Talisman conjured no more than half a basin of clear water, barely enough to douse the flickering demonic flames on the slime.

"Run!" Lin Huaixu barked, unmistakable urgency in his voice. His