Chapter 41: Flavor

Jiang Xia picked up the bow and arrow, and Cang Ze Zhenmei, who was practicing nearby, also stopped, quietly watching Jiang Xia.

As long as one doesn't over-exercise again, moderate physical activity is still fine.

Jiang Xia instantly drew the bowstring, turned his body sideways, his originally gentle gaze instantly turning sharp, his right hand swiftly swinging, the arrow on the bowstring instantly shooting out.

"Whoosh!" The arrow, with great force, tore through the air and landed outside the red circle.

Although it didn't hit the bullseye, Jiang Xia felt no disappointment, instead reaching again into the quiver beside him for another arrow.

Cang Ze Zhenmei's movements replayed in Jiang Xia's mind, combined with the archery technique she had explained yesterday afternoon, he again slightly adjusted his exertion posture.

"Hit!" Jiang Xia felt a stir in his heart, the bow and arrow left the string, flying toward the bullseye.

"No, I believe you." Looking at Cang Ze Zhenmei's smiling face, Jiang Xia nodded and said.

The original target was engulfed in a raging fire, and the ground was covered everywhere with cracks like a spiderweb.

Cang Ze Zhenmei's heart was instantly filled with fear, her whole body feeling as if it had instantly lost its spine.

Whoosh!

Cang Ze Zhenmei sat on the chair, still shaken, exhaling; looking at Jiang Xia beside her, her pallid face regained a little color—this time she had barely managed to pull through.

She suddenly collapsed to the ground, clutching her head with both hands, her body continually curling up, shouting something desperately from her mouth.

Saying this, Jiang Xia gently lifted the curled-up Cang Ze Zhenmei from the ground, placed her on a nearby chair, and kept soothing her like a child, "It's okay, it's okay."

"No one in this world can truly deceive me." Jiang Xia shook his head. "I believe you because I've seen it before, and not just once."

Her formerly beautiful face was now deathly pale, the fear that had just faded from her heart seeming to rise again.

Across the azure sky, a sudden clap of thunder rang out, blue-purple lightning flashing continuously; that blinding lightning directly struck the outer fence of the archery field.

Cang Ze Zhenmei focused her attention, pulling the bowstring with her right hand, drawing it taut.

Jiang Xia rose to his feet, facing the sky-full of stone dust and debris, shielding the trembling Cang Ze Zhenmei behind him.

"I was once attacked by two strange teeth flying in the air; ever since then, I occasionally recall that scene."

What's even stranger is that the brain and limbs are all spike-shaped, bearing the same pattern, as if every outward protrusion were a brain, or as if there were no brain at all.

The only one who might have come into contact with the Tooth Blood Vampire is Cang Ze Zhenmei; could this be a aftereffect, or a hunting method? Jiang Xia seemed to have figured something out.

Cang Ze Zhenmei wanted to keep shooting it, but when she reached behind her she found nothing— the arrows had already been destroyed by the lightning, and now there were none left.

"Really, what if I'm deceiving you?"

Thinking this, Cang Ze Zhenmei suddenly shouted: "I will absolutely, absolutely, absolutely not lose to you!",

Its body was pitch black, covered with various colored scales; along the center of its chest, blood threads converged to form a twisted pattern, spikes covering its entire body.

Even Cang Ze Zhenmei lying on the chair gradually calmed down under Jiang Xia's continual soothing.

"Sea Star Tooth Blood Vampire." Jiang Xia looked at the monster before him and said.

"Whether it's made up or not, an answer will probably come soon."

She looked again at Jiang Xia's fearless back, standing in front of her.

"That caused the Olympics to lose as well for this reason."

With this lightning strike, the previously intact archery field suddenly let out a huge roar, the ground originally cast from stone actually exploding open with a bang.

A thunderclap comparable to a bomb explosion suddenly reverberated through the archery field.

"It's fine, no one will try to kill you; I'm right here, there's no one nearby, I'll protect you."

Cang Ze Zhenmei suddenly laughed and said to Jiang Xia, "Don't you feel this story is absurd? Who in this world has flying teeth in the air?"

Indeed, a flicker of realization crossed Jiang Xia's eyes; the scent on her body was what the Tooth Blood Vampire left after feeding— she was a marked food.

"But this is really something I made up." Cang Ze Zhenmei forced a smile.

No wonder I spent several days accompanying the target figure; the Tooth Blood Vampire species never gives up its food.

"What are you talking about? What answer will come soon?" Cang Ze Zhenmei suddenly panicked, her whole body visibly tensing.

Immediately, cracks spread instantly across her body, and in a moment they covered her entirely from head to toe.

Seeming to realize she wasn't injured, Cang Ze Zhenmei painfully lifted her head.

Suddenly, a terrifying image flashed in her mind: a person who had practiced archery with her turned transparent right before her eyes.

And as she fell into extreme terror, a long-buried voice suddenly surfaced in her mind.

The practice field once used for archery had become a ruin, red composite bows and arrows scattered everywhere.

Both shoulders bulged outward, their surfaces mixed with various strange patterns and scales, the blood-red vessels spreading even further from the center to the whole body.

And the originally fearful Cang Ze Zhenmei, upon hearing this voice, felt her heart race uncontrollably, her thoughts becoming utterly chaotic.

It was so straight, so firm, like a towering wall reaching the clouds, standing before her; at that moment, that terrifying laughter seemed to vanish completely.

"Here it comes!"

Cang Ze Zhenmei lightly bit her lip and spoke:

"You should do what you want to do, carefully listen to the voice of your heart."

As Jiang Xia's words just fell.

"Don't kill me." What does that mean? Is someone trying to kill her?

The fear was like an invisible hand choking her throat, her mind filled with uneasy thoughts.

Jiang Xia frowned, but there was nothing here; the surroundings smelled only of humans, and no Tooth Blood Vampire appeared nearby.

Looking at the excellent Jiang Xia, Cang Ze Zhenmei thought to herself, "I, as her teacher, can't let up either."

"Can you tell me what you've experienced?" Jiang Xia sat beside Cang Ze Zhenmei and spoke softly.

A humanoid monster slowly walked out of the sky-filled smoke and dust.

"All right?" Jiang Xia quickly tossed the bow and arrow in his hand, rushed to Cang Ze Zhenmei's side, crouched down, and checked the situation.

Her body suddenly sprang up from behind Jiang Xia, she picked up the scattered bow and arrow nearby and aimed it directly at the Sea Star Tooth Blood Vampire before her.

In her terrified gaze, the body that had already become completely transparent instantly collapsed in the midst of a crisp cracking sound.

Jiang Xia is simply too talented; he only needed one day and already can hit the bullseye.

"Ha ha ha ha ho ho hu hu" a sharp, piercing sound suddenly came from it.

Speaking, Jiang Xia suddenly turned his head backward; he smelled it, the Tooth Blood Vampire smell exactly the same as on Cangze Zhenmei's body.

It was waiting for the food to ripen, continually evoking fear through sound, and finally, in a state of extreme terror, it enjoyed the food.

It stood in front of Jiang Xia, firmly saying: "Run away, Jiang Xia, it's coming for me." Speaking, it directly shot out.

Cangze Zhenmei looked at the arrow that perfectly hit the red circle, and let out another sigh.

However, the bow and arrow used for the competition were basically no different from paper paste against the Tooth Blood Vampire; they couldn't even pierce its surface skin before being bounced off.

"Damn it!" Cangze Zhenmei looked at the approaching Sea Star Tooth Blood Vampire and said.

At this moment, a pair of hands suddenly appeared, gently moving her aside; Jiang Xia looked at Cangze Zhenmei and said: "You did well; next, leave it to me."

(End of chapter)