"That is a long story, benefactor..." Qiao Fangzheng began. Before he could finish, several deep, savage roars sounded from the depths of the cave. His ears twitched violently at the sound, and he frowned. "Those two vile beasts are still alive?"
Hu Xiaotian did not know what beasts he meant, but the furious roars swept toward them from afar, reaching them in the blink of an eye.
"Ironback Apes," Qiao Fangzheng said. "You must be very careful. Blades and spears cannot pierce them, and their strength is boundless."
Hu Xiaotian had heard of the Ironback Apes before. He remembered that before he escorted Long Xiyue to Great Yong for her marriage, Li Yuncong had given him a suit of Black Silkworm Armor. It had been woven from Ironback Ape hair; though thin and light, it was extraordinarily tough, impervious to blades and spears. Yet these creatures had supposedly been extinct for years. He had never expected to encounter them in this cave, and judging by the sounds, there were two.
Hu Xiaotian had no desire to fight such an unnecessary battle. "Let's go!" he told Qiao Fangzheng.
Qiao Fangzheng shook his head. "Too late!"
Two enormous black shadows sprang from the cave, one behind the other. Despite their huge bodies, they were extraordinarily agile, covering fifty or sixty feet with a single effortless leap. Their feet, twice the size of an ordinary person's, thudded against the rock walls as they moved across them as easily as level ground.
One Ironback Ape lifted a rock a full three feet across and hurled it straight at Hu Xiaotian. It hurtled toward him with a fierce rush of wind, as though launched from a catapult.
Seeing the rock come hurtling toward him, Hu Xiaotian seized Qiao Fangzheng's arm and leaped aside with him.