Under the hopeful, skeptical, and curious gazes of the others, Cui Jiuyang tilted his head back and carefully examined the tall, heavy city gates once more. Then he raised a hand, extended a finger, and lightly pointed at the two enormous, rust-covered iron rings on the gates, saying calmly.
"Why don't... we try pulling them outward?"
Chapter 226: The Village
After Cui Jiuyang finished speaking, everyone outside the gates fell silent.
There was a strange, frozen quality to that silence, as though even the air had stopped moving.
They even began to wonder whether something was wrong with their brains. They exchanged bewildered looks. Why hadn't they thought that the gates might open outward?
For a moment, everyone felt rather embarrassed.
But they were all thick-skinned veterans of the jianghu. Their faces merely reddened slightly before that discomfort receded like the tide, and each regained their usual composure.
The ox demon, who had already collapsed from exhaustion, stood up again. His enormous body swayed slightly as he braced himself against the iron gates, panting heavily.
At his current height, however, he was still several dozen feet short of the rings. If he rose into the air, he would have nothing to brace against and still would not be able to pull the gates open.
But he had a solution. His eyes widened, and he clenched his fists, lightly striking his temples twice as what sounded like a low growl escaped his mouth.
Then everyone saw two bulges slowly grow on either side of his head. His skin split, revealing a white, jade-like sheen as two thick ox horns emerged from his skull.
The horns grew longer and longer, their tips gradually curving until they extended straight into the rings. Then they hooked slightly, catching the rings firmly.
The ox demon