Chapter 534: Goosebumps with nowhere to go, oh!

Teng Kun, give me the remaining medicinal powder; I have a way to kill this gu worm, but before I act, I need you to keep restraining it.

Teng Kun said nothing, yet he backhandedly threw a bamboo jar, then once again focused his spirit and became entangled with the black gu worm.

Damn it.

He clearly had caught the gu worm's trail, but when he swung his long blade, there was nothing.

Salty sweat trickled down his forehead, sliding over his eyelids, making him want to see the colors in the beastfolk's pupil.

Teng Qian, however, dared not reach up to wipe the sweat hanging on his eyelid, fearing the gu worm would seize the opportunity.

Teng Kun, come over here.

Ying Ze's weak voice sounded from the rear left; Teng Kun again darted aside to dodge the black lightning's attack, and as he moved, he rushed toward Ying Ze.

By this time, Ying Ze had already stripped off his upper garments, making his black arm all the more conspicuous.

Seeing Teng Kun flee, the black gu worm emitted a hiss that sounded quite pleased, then opened its mouth full of sharp teeth and lunged for his back.

Teng Kun kept dodging, quickly approaching Ying Ze's direction.

Just as Teng Kun's darting form crossed with Ying Ze, who was hiding behind the catapult, Ying Ze gave a low shout: 'Come to the rear!'

When Teng Kun changed direction, he himself instead moved toward the gu worm.

In an instant, Teng Kun seemed to understand something, his face drastically changing: 'Ying Ze!'

Everything happened in the blink of an eye; by the time Teng Kun swiftly turned to rescue Ying Ze, the latter had already extended the arm previously bitten by the gu worm to meet him.

On his still-intact forearm lay a horrifying wound, exuding a strong smell of blood; the gu worm that had just been chasing Teng Kun behind him was instantly drawn to this fresh flesh, letting out a pleased hiss before opening its mouth full of sharp teeth and biting into the bleeding wound.

Ying Ze's face was deathly pale, yet his eyes were filled with icy cold.

Teng Kun watched as the gu worm clung tightly to the wound, sucking blood, his expression grim beyond words.

Do you want to die?

Ying Ze's lips curled into a strange arc: 'Who dies is still uncertain.'

As his words fell, the black gu worm, which had grown to the size of a beastman's forearm from feeding on his flesh, emitted a painful, abnormal hiss; then its soft body stiffened and rolled straight off Ying Ze's arm.

Having gorged on ample flesh and blood, the gu worm was extremely corpulent, and as it hit the ground it even let out a dull thud.

My flesh and blood aren't free for the taking—pay with your life.

Having spoken, Ying Ze, face ashen, looked toward Teng Kun and slowly raised the arm that the gu worm had sucked twice; by now the arm was almost covered in black, with writhing beneath the skin continuously spreading toward his shoulder.

Brother, save me!

Teng Kun knew his own expression at this moment must be utterly grim.

Yet he still raised the long blade in his hand: 'Endure it!'

He lifted the long blade; a cold light flashed, accompanied by a pained low growl, followed by a dull thud as something landed at noon.

Teng Kun Cunsu stepped forward, took out the wound medicine Wu Yue had prepared for them before leaving, tore off his own cherished clothing, and bandaged Ying Ze.

Seeing his dark, silent visage, Ying Ze gritted his teeth against the pain, drew several breaths, then forced a smile worse than tears and said: 'Your face is so black, those who don't know might think the gu worm just bit you.'

Teng Kun's hand paused: 'We still have other methods...'

None.

Before he could finish, Ying Ze cut him off: 'We have no other options; in the tribe, the two of us are the strongest fighters now. I've been bitten by the gu worm, you must stay safe—this tribe isn't just us two.'

Teng Kun clenched his teeth tightly, the muscles on both cheeks tightening.

But your arm is gone.

He couldn't help but let out a low roar.

A wingless eagle-beastman cannot fly in the sky.

Ying Ze wanted to twitch the corner of his mouth to say something, but the pain of his severed arm and the loss of his wings made his lip feel as if two massive mountains had fallen upon it, impossible to lift.

A heavy atmosphere spread across the city wall: 'But I am still alive.'

Teng Kun's breath hesitated; yes, still alive...

How did we end up like this?

A clear, ringing voice sounded above their heads; the two beastfolk warriors, who had just been steadfast, heard the familiar tone, first feeling ecstatic, then a faint sense of grievance welled up in their hearts.

Yue, you've finally come back—Ying Ze's arm is severed.

It's all because of that damned Niluo shaman; they couldn't beat us, so they came to attack the tribe, only to be repelled by our catapult, yet they released gu worms to assault us, and Ying Ze got bitten while trying to save me.

Teng Kun recounted the grievances point by point, his tone full of resentment and guilt.

When Wu Yue and the three others flew over the forest, they saw the people of the Wuk tribe; they had thought the tribe hadn't yet had time to attack, so they rode the cloud-stepping beast back early, only to find the battle had already ended.

Wu Yue patted the cloud-stepping beast's back; the obedient great ferocious beast slowly lowered itself.

She quickly stepped before Ying Ze, pulled a hide mat from the cloud-stepping beast's back and laid it on the ground: 'Sit down, let me examine you.'

Wu Yue's return put the two beastfolk warriors at ease; as their tense nerves relaxed, the pain they had been suppressing seemed to rebound, washing over Ying Ze's spirit in waves.

Seeing his ashen face and his body trembling uncontrollably, Wu Yue frowned, secretly contacting the system: 'Tongzi, exchange a pain-relief pill for me, the best kind, quick!'

Feeling her earnestness, Tongzi didn't argue, swiftly exchanging for a round, plump pill and placing it in her portable medicine bottle: 'Host, the pill is now in the bottle; swallow it and pain will stop immediately—effects are awesome.'

Wu Yue pulled out a small porcelain bottle from her waist pack, tipped out a round, plump brown pill: 'This is a pain-relief pill; take it.'

Hearing it could relieve pain, Ying Ze's sweat-drenched face flashed with urgency; his good arm trembled as he seized the pill and shoved it into his mouth.

Just after swallowing, he felt a warm current spread through his body, and the previously unbearable pain vanished.

He stared in disbelief at his still-bleeding wound and the black arm lying beside him; he felt his spirit now was actually better than before the injury.

Wu Yue took a bamboo jar from the cloud-stepping beast's back, tilted it above Ying Ze's wound, and a stream of water emitting a faint herbal aroma poured onto the wound; as the medicinal liquid washed over it, Teng Kun and Ying Ze were astonished to see the previously bleeding wound's flow slow at a visible pace, until the bamboo tube's medicine was nearly exhausted, at which point the stump finally ceased bleeding.

How long has the arm been severed?

Ying Ze and Teng Kun's eyes lit up at the words, and in unison they replied: 'Not long; the wound was just bandaged when you returned.'

Wu Yue spoke while swiftly scattering medicinal powder, binding the wound, and even playfully tying a butterfly knot.

The pain-free Ying Ze glanced at the butterfly knot, then gave Teng Kun a look of utter disdain.

Teng Kun rolled his eyes unhappily, "Is tying a butterfly knot on a male's bandaged wound really that good-looking?" Heh heh!

Wu Yue looked at her foot, where the arm had completely turned black, and was about to discuss treatment methods with Tongzi when a familiar mechanical voice sounded at that moment.

Ding! Mission released: Gain Ying Ze's loyalty

Mission reward: 1000 points

Please, host, don't be careless going up; rich rewards await you!

Cultivation experience?

After a moment of bewilderment, Wu Yue's heart filled with wild joy; in the missions released by the system, rewards had never included such an exalted thing as cultivation experience.

Want to level up?

Sure, go meditate and cultivate to gain experience!

"Dog System, this mission is awesome!"

Tongzi crossed his arms proudly, and instantly felt the three scratches on his face weren't so painful: "Dog host, you must definitely thank this system; such a good mission is something I barely managed to snag!"

Proudly crossing arms~

Wu Yue gave him a mental thumbs-up: "After this mission is done, I'll give you a hundred pocket points."

Tongzi's chubby hand resting on his waist instantly went vertical, his face full of excitement and longing: "Thank you for affirming the system's work; I will henceforth be even more diligent and responsible, wholeheartedly providing you with better, higher-quality service."

Seeing this guy start to show off again, Wu Yue helplessly rubbed her forehead: "No nonsense first; the first step to gaining Ying Ze's loyalty is to help me see how to get whatever's inside this arm out."

Before, from a distance, it hadn't been noticed; only upon approaching did she see clearly that inside the black arm something was wriggling, and the severed spot would occasionally protrude a few bud-like things.

Just as she was about to bend down for a close look, the probing bud seemed to sense her aura and instantly elongated; Wu Yue's back instantly broke out in a cold sweat, and she sprang up and stepped back.

Moreover, the bud that had just protruded seemed to have reached its limit; after extending about the length of Ying Ze's arm, it unwillingly wiggled and then retreated back inside.

Seeing her retreat, two Beastman Warriors hurried over: "Moon (Shaman Moon), what's wrong?"

Wu Yue stiffly pointed at the severed arm on the ground: "The writhing inside the arm are all gu worms that just hatched using Ying Ze's arm flesh and blood."

"You mean that black line just now was as long as my arm?"

Ying Ze also said in disbelief.

Wu Yue nodded, yet stepped back a few more steps; she isn't afraid of mice or snakes, but for these grubby, worm-like larvae, she feels an instinctive disgust and rejection.

She pulled out a small bamboo canister from her side pack and handed it to Teng Kun: "Brother, it's yours; this is the medicinal powder I gave you before—just sprinkle it on Ying Ze's arm."

Although he didn't know why Yue's expression was so stiff, Teng Kun said dealing with bugs posed no difficulty, took the powder and walked over.

The gu worms that had just hatched in the arm seemed to sense Teng Kun's aura, each poking out their heads toward him, but since they have no heads, they looked like elongated black earthworms.

Seeing this, Wu Yue retreated several steps, hiding her body behind the catapult, finally feeling a bit safer.

"Host, as a powerful shaman, isn't this appearance a bit too cowardly?"

Inside the system space, Tongzi looked at his host's cowardly dog-like appearance, couldn't bear to look, and covered his chubby face—really unbearable to watch.

"If I'm cowardly, I'm cowardly; anyway, seeing that thing makes my hair stand on end, shouting 'sitdown' however many times is useless."

Watching over there, as the drug stimulated, black thin soft worms slightly thicker than a hair kept drilling out of the severed arm, Wu Yue's goosebumps surged like waves—one wave hadn't subsided before another rose.

The worms that emerged seemed highly sensitive to sunlight; under the scorching sun they curled into black coils, and Suzi and the body gradually stiffened and withered, becoming motionless.

"Yue, these larval worms are all dead."

Upon hearing that, Wu Yue again hid behind the catapult, peeking out and looking for a while: "Check again carefully; if you miss even one, I'll make you eat it!"

Teng Kun, who was about to say they were all dead, heard this, his cheeks twitched violently, then he checked again thoroughly: "This time I'm sure—there really are none left."

Saying that, he also kicked all the nearby larval corpses elsewhere.

Wu Yue nodded but didn't go over: "Take Ying Ze and the severed arm with me to the cave; this arm still carries gu worm toxin that must be cleared."

Having said that, she no longer wanted to stay on this worm-corpse-covered city wall, climbed onto the back of the treading cloud, and left at top speed.

Teng Kun's mouth twitched speechlessly; he could only pick up the severed arm, carry Ying Ze, and walk toward the cave.

What happened on the wall wasn't noticed by the tribespeople, but when the two descended the wall in a sorry state, the tribe's males saw them.

Especially Ying Ze, covered in blood and missing an arm.

"Lord Ying Ze, what happened to your arm?"

"Lord Teng Kun, did another battle just happen on the wall?"

The males each felt ashamed and self-blaming, thinking it was their fault; the battle was so fierce that the Beastman Lords lost an arm, yet they heard not a sound.

Teng Kun waved his hand: "No battle; we just missed a powerful gu worm. Luckily you weren't there, otherwise none of you would have survived."

"Alright, the shaman has returned; we need to treat Ying Ze. You gathering teams take turns patrolling; if anything comes up, go to the cave to find us."

After saying that, Teng Kun didn't linger, quickened his pace toward the cave, leaving behind a group of ecstatic males.

"Lord Teng Kun just said... Lady Shaman Moon has returned!"

An excited murmur rose in the crowd; people looked at each other, able to see ease and determination in each other's eyes.

Lady Shaman Moon has returned; now none of them are afraid.