My Limbs Were Not Mine

The darkness was filled with murmurs and whispers, punctuated now and then by wolf howls that made one's hair stand on end.

Wolves!!

Wolves!!!!

"Are you all right? Wake up?!"

Zhou Qianwu's voice echoed from all directions, jolting Ding Cang awake from his nightmare.

His clothes were soaked through with sweat, the bandages around his limbs bled to varying degrees, and even his eye sockets seemed slightly sunken.

Zhou Qianwu looked at Ding Cang worriedly and could not help asking, "Another nightmare?"

Ding Cang muttered, "Ever since those beasts bit up my hands and feet, I've had this strange dream every day."

He cradled his face in both hands, his expression steeped in dejection.

"In the dream, it felt like I was swallowed into a wild wolf's belly. I could even feel its breathing beside my ears."

At that point, Ding Cang could not help dry-heaving, nearly vomiting up sour fluid.

Zhou Qianwu hurriedly brought him water and patted his back, trying to ease his suffering.

He remembered that, shortly after they had left Taoxing Village, they had encountered several wild wolves late at night, and Ding Cang had been carried off before he could react.

To rescue Ding Cang, they had fought back with everything they had, even leaving two Hunters injured.

After the wild wolves were wiped out, Zhou Qianwu and the other Hunters searched for a long time before finding the unconscious Ding Cang in the Wolf Den. Fortunately, he had not suffered any serious harm, and his injuries were mainly on his hands and feet.

Zhou Qianwu complained, "When Officer Ren came to visit us a few days ago, why didn't you tell him?"

"I... I..."

Ding Cang's eyes were vacant, as though he remained trapped in fear.

Zhou Qianwu let out a long sigh. "Your injuries have mostly healed. Why not go to the camp and relax a little?"

"Mm, thank you, Uncle Zhou. I really should take a walk..."

Ding Cang rose blankly to his feet and staggered toward the cabin door.

Watching his back, Zhou Qianwu furrowed his brow slightly and muttered, "Why does Ding Cang seem taller than before?"

"Or have I grown shorter with age?"

After arriving at the camp, Ding Cang felt the mild setting sun shine over him, and the tension in his heart eased somewhat.

Several Hunters who knew him saw that he had finally come outside and called out greetings one after another.

Ding Cang returned each greeting. Just as he was about to stop and chat with them, his feet carried him involuntarily toward the depths of the camp.

What was going on?

Ding Cang did not think much of it, assuming his hands and feet had merely stiffened from staying indoors too long.

But he soon realized something was wrong. A faint stabbing pain came from the joints of his limbs, and blood seeped through the bandages.

He instinctively raised an arm to inspect it, yet his eyes felt a strange sense of unfamiliarity, as though the arm had nothing to do with him.

Then Ding Cang noticed even more suspicious details. There had once been a pale birthmark on the back of his right hand, but it had now vanished without a trace.

The knife scar that had once been on his left wrist had also suddenly disappeared.

Panic rose within Ding Cang, and he wanted to seek help from the Forbidden Guards. Yet his feet no longer obeyed him, striding swiftly toward the Karst Cave on their own.

He tried to resist several times, but it was all futile.

At that moment, Ren Qing had just emerged from the mine shaft and was preparing to return to the cabin to rest, an incredibly conspicuous four-foot Great Miao Saber in his hand.

Ding Cang froze for a moment, then tried to call out to Ren Qing as though he had seized a lifeline.

"Mmgh..."

His right hand suddenly covered his mouth.

Ding Cang's pupils widened. When ordinary people encountered bizarre events beyond comprehension, their bodies instinctively tried to cry out.

His right hand suddenly forced open his jaws and gripped his tongue tightly.

Before he could react, searing pain shot to his scalp. His tongue had been torn out by the roots, and blood immediately gushed forth.

His twisted face was indescribably horrifying.

Ren Qing stopped in his tracks.

Ding Cang could tell that Ren Qing seemed to have noticed something wrong with him, so he tried to ask for help again. But his feet ran faster and faster.

He felt the bones throughout his body creak under unbearable strain, to the point that even his internal organs were squeezed until they ached.

Ding Cang crashed heavily before the Karst Cave. His flesh flowed out like melting butter, countless eyes floating within it.

His consciousness seemed to return to the wolf's belly, but this time, beyond the heavy panting, there was also an unfamiliar man's voice.

"What a pity. It didn't completely cover the Mining Area."

Blood splattered in all directions.

The Hundred-Eyed Forbidden Zone formed.

Beasts arrived in swarms.

Though the Gu Insects used to block them outnumbered them, they clearly could not kill the beasts in a short time, allowing some that feared neither death nor danger to charge into Camel Peak Mountain.

Most of the surviving beasts were wolves, tigers, leopards, and bears, all of which had survived through their nimbleness and agility.

It was as if they already knew the location of the Disaster Aversion Forbidden Zone, charging toward it in a single rush.

As large numbers of Gu Insects died, Li Yaoyang knowingly pinched his temples, his expression turning somewhat impatient.

He sat cross-legged inside a cave on Camel Peak Mountain, surrounded by more than a dozen jars and bottles, each filled with vast numbers of Gu Insects.

Li Yaoyang frowned and muttered, "Ridiculous. You think driving a few ordinary beasts means you can break into the Forbidden Zone? Where did you get such nerve?"

He cut open his wrist with a fingernail, letting blood drip into an earthen jar containing Gu Insects. Inside, sounds of frantic feeding rang out.

Several breaths later, more than a dozen wasp-like Gu Insects burst from the jar, unfurled their wings, and flew into the dense forest.

Li Yaoyang then left the cave and shouted, "Miss Mu, there's still one cultivator left unresolved. Go control his corpse, lest a new Forbidden Zone form after he dies."

As soon as his words fell, the nearby trees and vines twisted around one another.

A Treant over three meters tall strode toward the approaching beasts. From her terrifying appearance, it was difficult to imagine that she was a young woman in the bloom of youth.

Yet the birds were not afraid of Mu Yi at all, even landing on her shoulders.

By the time Mu Yi found the beasts' trail, they had already rushed within a thousand meters of the Disaster Aversion Forbidden Zone.

Mu Yi spread her hands.

Dozens of vines immediately tangled around the beasts. Even the few that slipped through the net were bound by roots bursting from underground.

She inspected the beasts one by one, only to find that they were all relatively ordinary. Even traces of Art were so faint as to be nearly imperceptible.

"Could it be that the cultivator never entered the mountain at all?"

Mu Yi closed her eyes and received the vegetation's feedback. Countless chaotic memories flooded into her mind as she did her best to find useful information among them.

After a long while, Mu Yi opened her eyes.

Just over ten minutes ago, a powerfully built Old Wolf had climbed the rear mountain, which was covered in cliffs and precipices, and was sneaking toward the side of the Disaster Aversion Forbidden Zone.

However, the Old Wolf was already on the verge of death and probably could not hold on much longer.

Mu Yi drew the vines back into her body and returned to an ordinary human form.

She then held out her hand for several birds to gather around. Chirps sounded from her mouth in waves, as though she were communicating with them.

The birds flew away, and Mu Yi hurried into the forest.

Whether this Old Wolf was a cultivator in disguise or not, she had to stop him.

If he affected the Disaster Aversion Forbidden Zone because of this, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Fortunately, the Forbidden Zone was surrounded indiscriminately by Art. Even someone in the Ghost Envoy Realm would likely find it no easy task to break through in a short time.