[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-nothing-is-taboo":3,"chapter-nothing-is-taboo-nothing-is-taboo-chapter-349":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Nothing Is Taboo",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2310734,4514,"Chapter 349: Can","nothing-is-taboo-chapter-349",349,"\u003Cp>The stone niche was about seven feet long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The diagonal span was no more than a zhang and a bit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Xianniang had stretched herself to a full zhang, yet still fell short of the rope.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Xianniang could not bear the defeat; for one final try, she pulled her body as thin and long as she could.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For decades, a living soul had finally entered this stone niche.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After starving so long, who wouldn’t want to feast on something delicious?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this time, the rope suddenly shot out, stretching all the way from the stone niche to the outer stone cave!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Xianniang measured again and was terrified: No, she couldn’t eat this one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I swallow him, my belly will burst.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It withdrew from Xu’s dream, seething with resentment: How could this man get away with tasting such sweetness?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, there were two others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Xianniang was deciding between the two—whom should she eat first?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Demons make no choices; demons take them all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So it entered the dreams of both men simultaneously…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, it sensed movement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rope had extended into the cave and was prodding Dafu’s neck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dafu woke up, grumpy from a poor sleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He lifted his head, his dull, goose-like eyes filled with irritation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huh? Is there something in the cave?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dafu leapt to his feet, spreading his wings—when Gu Xianniang zipped past him in a flash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dafu was furious, convinced the thing had woken him, and chased after it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He crashed headfirst into the boulder blocking the cave entrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bump on his head grew larger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dafu let out several angry caws, then helplessly returned to lie down again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He brushed his wings over his head—it hurt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he inhaled the thin “sleep qi” inside the cave and drifted back into drowsy slumber.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just before dawn, Xu Yuan woke first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He touched his head and realized something was wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Guanzi hadn’t woken him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both of them were still sleeping soundly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan glanced at the beast-tendon rope beneath him and seemed to understand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmph. Let them keep sleeping.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Xu was annoyed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d trusted these two mountain runners and followed them to this Divine Niang Niche.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They’d described Gu Xianniang’s every detail with such confidence, as if they’d made perfect preparations… and this was the result?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan sat up against the stone wall, quietly waiting for the two men as daylight approached.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the darkness, the mountain wind near Pig-Cry Rock grew stronger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pig-like screams grew frequent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But since it was night, all manner of eerie cries and roars echoed through the mountains, making these sounds seem less out of place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, a heavy black wind blew in from afar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It swirled beneath Pig-Cry Rock and took the shape of a crow-headed, human-bodied shadow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wore a vast cloak of jet-black feathers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It bore some resemblance to Bai Lao.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But its entire cloak was woven entirely from crow feathers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Lao’s was made of various hawk and falcon feathers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its eye sockets were hollow, burning with two dim red sparks of blood-fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After landing, it turned its crow head left and right, then began to move.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its gait was bizarre, swaying unsteadily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For it did not walk on feet, but on a pair of bird talons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bird talons were not built for walking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet its speed was swift, its movements agile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It ran and leapt like a creature half-flight, trailing black wind, occasionally gliding through the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It swiftly snatched up a series of small beasts from around it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were the same beasts the four men had released during the day, all carrying afflictions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The beasts were frenzied; their pain had erased all sense of reverence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It plucked feather after feather from its black cloak and stuck them into the beasts’ bodies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The beasts instantly froze, silent and motionless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its hands hidden beneath the cloak were also bird talons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were ill-suited for certain tasks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It studied the beast; the blood-fire in its hollow eye sockets flickered slightly, as if in disdain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then its crow beak opened and inhaled—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All the afflictions on the beasts were drawn into its mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each beast was instantly restored to health.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It clicked its beak, seemingly dissatisfied with the “taste.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Pah!” It spat it all out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The afflictions it had swallowed turned into a thick glob of phlegm that landed on the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ground where it fell turned a sickly dark yellow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then it glanced casually among the beasts and selected one wild rabbit, exhaling a puff of purple-black qi from its mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rabbit, just healed, immediately began to rot and fester, sinking into a far more terrifying affliction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Satisfied, it twisted its body and with a whoosh, transformed back into a heavy black wind, soaring into the sky and vanishing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not long after it left, a tree root emerged from the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, rapidly growing tendrils wove into a net, covering the dark yellow soil and dragging it underground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The soil and roots vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dawn gradually broke; light seeped through the stone cracks, growing brighter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Guanzi and Bai Lao woke simultaneously, jolting upright.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Lao instinctively drew his hatchet from his waist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Guanzi’s ears flared wide, an arrow already in hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was an archer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Lao could use a bow too, but his skill fell short of Gao Guanzi’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Awake?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A voice, laced with mockery, came from beside them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They turned to see Master Xu seated against the stone wall, Dafu curled beside him as he gently stroked its feathers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both men’s faces flushed crimson.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They stammered, unable to speak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They knew Gu Xianniang had come last night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, they’d both had those blissful dreams.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But they were still alive—meaning someone had saved them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who else but Master Xu?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two mountain runners, in the Ghost Witch Mountains, had been spared by another’s intervention!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If this got out, they’d lose all face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most ashamed was Bai Lao—he’d been on first watch, yet slept until dawn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hadn’t even woken Gao Guanzi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If disaster had struck, his responsibility would be greatest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Xu watched them and waved a hand: “Enough. Nothing bad happened.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ashamed,” both muttered, bowing low to apologize to Master Xu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan said: “Say no more. Let’s go up.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Guanzi quickly dismantled the boulder blocking the cave entrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside, ropes left over from yesterday hung drifting in the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These ropes were specially made by Bai Laoyan and rarely twisted unpredictably in the mountains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Gao Guanzi twitched his ears and snorted coldly: “Something’s lying in wait for us above.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Laoyan, eager to atone, bit his axe in his mouth and climbed up: “I’ll go—cut it to pieces!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan waved his hand: “No need for such recklessness.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Xu stepped onto his fire wheel and ascended—but saw no evil spirit at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Xu Yuan burst out of the cave mouth, the evil spirit fled with good sense…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Laoyan felt even more ashamed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I’d gone up myself, there’d have been a bloody fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Eat something, then head to Pig Scream Rock,” Xu Yuan said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The four men from yesterday arrived early at the base of Pig Scream Rock; the small beasts still had black feathers embedded in them, unable to move.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They carefully placed the small beasts into bamboo cages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially that wild rabbit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet even without touching the rabbit, all four discovered a spreading rot beginning at their hands, with signs of pus forming!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The four were terrified: “Quick, go back—ask Master for help!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not long after they left, Xu Yuan and the other two arrived at the base of Pig Scream Rock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Laoyan and Gao Guanzi stood at one spot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With their experience, they said: “These tracks… it looks like something was dragged straight underground by tree roots or similar.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan pondered: “Ghostwhisker Tree? Is there a way to track it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Watch me!” Gao Guanzi perked up, crouched down, and pressed one ear tightly against the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1337,"2026-06-20T12:07:24.624Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","48954763cf70049efc58e526229946cab05223dbdf692b9940b9e7cf1477c092","nothing-is-taboo-chapter-350","nothing-is-taboo-chapter-348",413,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fnothing-is-taboo-cover.jpg"]