Hu Xiaotian and Wang Sanxi stopped. Hu Xiaotian stole a glance toward the voice and saw a lean figure approaching. It was Luo Qianfu.
"Fifth Master!" Wang Sanxi greeted him respectfully.
Hu Xiaotian also pinched his voice thin and called, "Fifth Master!"
Luo Qianfu did not even look at them, clearly considering these two underlings beneath his notice. Hu Xiaotian sighed inwardly; it seemed his worries had been unnecessary. Luo Qianfu swept his gaze over the corpse and asked quietly, "Just died?"
"Yes!" Wang Sanxi replied. "A crate accidentally fell on him while he was moving cargo and crushed him to death."
Luo Qianfu stared at the corpse like a ravenous wolf eyeing its prey, without the slightest trace of pity or sympathy. He gave a grating cackle. "Take it to Mastiff Cave."
The two followed Luo Qianfu, turning right at the junction ahead and entering another cave. Hu Xiaotian had assumed he meant to feed the corpse to the mastiffs, but when they arrived, he saw a large iron cage inside the cave ahead. An enormous Monster Bird was imprisoned within. It closely resembled the one he had encountered in the air earlier, but its claws were shackled with iron chains, and its wings were bound as well. Its struggles had worn away the feathers where its wings rubbed against the chains, exposing raw, bloody flesh. The feathers on its crown had turned white. It looked far weaker than the bird he had encountered and must have suffered considerable torment. Its plumage was filthy and caked with mud. There was no rock ceiling above the cage; it opened directly to the outside, and torrential rain poured into it unchecked.
Luo Qianfu opened a small iron door, three feet square, in the cage and ordered the two to shove the