Chapter 118

One night passed in silence.

The next morning, everyone set out; Yunxiao Huan, who bore Ye Kai's fate, did not deliberately greet Tang Luo.

But she showed no hostility either, just like an ordinary companion.

There was no hostility, but not much goodwill either.

Everyone's goal was the lake they had met at yesterday.

As the saying goes, when things go awry there must be something strange—dozens of bizarre giant toads bursting from a lake could not be explained by mere "abnormality."

After resting, all skills were usable again, everyone was at peak combat strength, so naturally they wanted to investigate once more.

"This is..."

Upon arriving near the lake, Zhao Gailun's expression changed, and he almost cried out.

In the palm-print pit that Tang Luo had punched out, there was now a lot of flesh and bone of indeterminate origin, almost filling the large pit.

And on that flesh and bone, a person lay face down on them, back to them.

From his movements, it looked like a wild beast feeding.

The key was, this person had a cyan-gray wooden bow on his back!

Liu Jian! He had said he would go ahead first, planning to shoot from the shadows, but had never appeared.

The unhidden footsteps of several people, plus Zhao Gailun's voice, made Liu Jian's movements freeze instantly.

Then he slowly turned his head.

His face was covered in blood and grime, almost obscuring his features.

Seeing Tang Luo and the others, Liu Jian tilted his head slightly, the corners of his mouth slowly rising as he opened his mouth to laugh.

But the teeth revealed were not human teeth at all—they were sharp, triangular teeth, no particularly prominent canines, all teeth about the same size, packed tightly together.

Yet there was no trace of blood in his mouth; his teeth were spotlessly white.

After glancing at Tang Luo and the others, Liu Jian leapt up and gracefully jumped into the lake, sending up a few ripples.

A perfect entry.

Several people rushed to the lakeside immediately; the ripples were still there, but Liu Jian's trace was already gone.

"This lake should have an underground river," Qin Menglan said.

This lake is quite deep; one glance cannot see the bottom, and there is no connection to any river around it, nor is it a stagnant green pool—clearly there is an underground river.

"Are we guarding the lakeside?" Li Qing asked.

If there is an underground river, guarding the lakeside is meaningless.

Liu Jian suddenly jumped into the lake; he must have some reliance, at least an escape route.

We just don't know what happened to him, why he suddenly grew such teeth—he wasn't like that at first?

Tang Luo grabbed the Heavenly Hound from his shoulder and placed it in Qin Menglan's arms, then stretched a bit.

"What are you doing?" Qin Menglan asked.

"Go down—such an obvious invitation, how could I not accept?" Tang Luo said.

"You also know it's obvious," Qin Menglan said, speechless. This obvious thing isn't an invitation—"This is a trap, okay?"

Only a fool wouldn't see that.

"So it's a trap? No wonder it ran when it saw us—this thing doesn't feel like Liu Jian?" Zhao Gailun suddenly understood.

"..."

"..."

Jin Gang moved a step, standing beside Zhao Gailun, and a sense of superiority arose naturally.

"It doesn't matter," Tang Luo said. "Anyway, I originally planned to check this place out, didn't I?"

"You originally planned to go into the water?"

Going straight into the water isn't investigation—it's "courting death." Everyone's idea of "investigation" doesn't include going into the water.

Don't forget, dozens of toads came out of the lake.

On land it's fine, but in the water, even two or three would be too much to handle, let alone dozens.

"Mm," Tang Luo said. "I'll go down myself; you investigate the shore. Let me give you some light first, poor monk."

Gaining merit by giving light.

Besides Zhao Gailun, who still thought Tang Luo was dangerous and disagreed, the other three accepted Tang Luo's offer of light, including Ye Kai·Yunxiao Huan.

Tang Luo gives light as he should—he won't withhold it just because someone might become his enemy in the future.

As a monk, compassion is his heart; as a Buddha, Tang Luo has a broad mind—let alone possibly becoming an enemy in the future, even if they are enemies now, the merit to be gained must still be earned!

Qin Menglan naturally doesn't need it; her medium-scale light effect is still active, better than others'.

"Then, let's meet here in two hours, or return to the cottage at night," Tang Luo said.

If we can't wait for them, we can still meet at the cottage at night.

If we still can't see them at night, that proves it's more ominous than auspicious—this is a god-demon game, not a real game.

Even if it is, it's the god-demons' game, not their game of walking as god-demons.

Even if god-demons with extraordinary power walk, dying in the mission world is not uncommon.

"Protect her well," Tang Luo said to Qin Menglan.

"Don't worry," Qin Menglan said, holding the Heavenly Hound; Tang Luo gave her the kitten to care for, just to live up to this trust.

"What are you thinking?" Tang Luo said. "I'm telling the dog: protect her well, got it?"

"Meow~" the Heavenly Hound called, nodding repeatedly, its tail wagging back and forth.

Qin Menglan rubbed the Heavenly Hound's head: "Your master calling you 'doggy' really isn't wrong." This way, you're nowhere near a cat—you're practically a fawning dog.

After instructing the Heavenly Hound, Tang Luo stepped into the lake; his light-blessed clothes kept water out, ensuring not a drop touched him.

Action started, and there wasn't much difference from being on shore—this bit of resistance in the water, Tang Luo could completely ignore.

The lake was as deep as it looked.

Under Tang Luo's feet, the "ground" kept descending, and not long after walking, a fault appeared.

Pitch black, visibility extremely low.

In the lake, aside from aquatic plants, no fish could be seen, but Tang Luo saw quite a few white bones.

Deformed and strange, like frog bones, yet some had features of beast and bird bones, resembling the toad skeletons seen yesterday.

After entering the lake, Tang Luo saw no trace of the toad.

Could it be that yesterday they all swarmed out, or perhaps the remaining toads in the lake have all turned into flesh and bone in the palm pits?

Standing at the edge of the fault, without hesitation, Tang Luo stepped forward, his body lurched, and he directly "jumped" down the cliff-like fault, quickly disappearing into the darkness.

Not long after Tang Luo disappeared, the calm lake water rippled.

A figure slowly swam over—it was Liu Jian, who had jumped into the lake.

He did not dive deeper, but hid somewhere in the lake, avoiding Tang Luo.

In the water, Liu Jian was unlike Tang Luo; moving about made no difference from being on shore.

He was still drifting in place, ears down, at the cheek area, a slit split open, opening and closing, like a fish's gill.

Liu Jian floated where Tang Luo had "jumped down," lowered his head to gaze at the dark depths below, and slowly revealed a smile.

Full of malice, and the joy of a scheme succeeding.

Probably from soaking too long in the water, Liu Jian's skin turned deathly pale, his face swollen.

At first glance, like a corpse, yet he bore a strange smile, sending chills down one's spine.

"Young man, what are you laughing at?"

Just as Liu Jian finished laughing and prepared to swim away, his foot suddenly sank, and a clear voice came from below.

At the edge of the fault, Tang Luo grabbed Liu Jian's ankle with one hand, smiling as he asked.

"……" Liu Jian opened his mouth wide, made no sound, large bubbles gushed from his mouth, looking as if he were drowning.

But Liu Jian's bodily reaction was completely honest, not flustered at all, and he immediately counterattacked.

One foot was grabbed by Tang Luo, the other lifted, and he fiercely kicked toward Tang Luo.

The speed was so fast it didn't seem like he was in water with great resistance.

But before this kick could truly land on Tang Luo, Liu Jian lost control of his body.

Tang Luo, still below the fault, leapt up, simultaneously swinging his hand holding Liu Jian, and smashed him onto the "ground."

Water ripples spread outward; if on shore, one could see the water surface in a surge of "waves churning."

"Huh?"

At the moment Liu Jian was smashed to the ground, Tang Luo frowned, pulled back, released his grip, grabbed again, seized Liu Jian's forehead, and performed Du Hun!

In an instant, Liu Jian's soul was seized by Tang Luo.

But the soul Tang Luo grasped had already completely lost human form, becoming instead a gourd shape.

Normally, a normal person's soul in Du Hun appears no different from the person themselves.

Even clothing would appear due to "subconsciousness."

But the soul before Tang Luo's eyes was completely twisted—limbs and body squeezed into a mass, forming a half-meter-tall gourd.

Only the head retained relative completeness; the eyes conveyed endless fear and madness, with only a trace of lucidity.

Moreover, the whole was in a semi-transparent, illusory state.

If not for Tang Luo consuming merit power to sustain it, it would vanish into smoke within seconds.

Tang Luo "lowered his head" to examine Liu Jian's body.

The "fish gills" near the cheeks were not some adaptive evolution, but directly split open.

"How much do you remember? Can you speak? If you can, speak as much as you can—the more you say, the more information I gain, and the better I can help you take revenge." Tang Luo said.

The lucidity in Liu Jian's eyes strengthened, and he "roared": "Not the gourd baby! That thing is fundamentally not the gourd baby!"

"Purple gourd? I know that thing is off." Tang Luo said, "Just from your appearance I can tell. Get to the point, speak what's useful."

Liu Jian's condition is typical of hui guang huan zhao.

To be frank, he has truly gone mad, and in this brief moment of trembling, due to obsession, he might still provide genuinely effective clues.

"There are many……that thing, many." Liu Jian said again, the lucidity in his eyes beginning to fade, twisted fear and madness returning to dominate.

Even consuming large amounts of merit power, using the merit jade lotus to heal wounds, may not necessarily save him.

Releasing his grip, stopping the activation of the merit jade lotus, Liu Jian's soul quickly dissipated.

Tang Luo turned over Liu Jian's corpse; on his back, a blood hole had appeared.

The wound looked quite "fresh," yet little blood flowed out, unable to stain the surrounding lake water red.

"At the instant of touching the ground just now, it escaped from his body—was it that vanished leaf?" Tang Luo lowered his gaze to the lake floor's position, where there were many cracks and gaps.

Liu Jian's death has nothing to do with Tang Luo; that earlier smash, he held back, ensuring he could leave a living mouth.

"See how far you can run……"

Tang Luo took off the wooden bow Liu Jian carried on his back, ignored equipment info, lifted his right foot, and stomped down hard!

The lake water directly "boiled," the "ground" beneath his feet kept cracking, large amounts of mud, sand, and stones surged upward.

The lake surface, originally at least appearing quite clear when viewed from the shore, instantly turned turbid.

Large amounts of lake water surged onto the shore, the surrounding ground trembled.

The earth began to collapse.

Can't find a "person"?

Then let's try a large-scale AOE.