novelapdf Chapter 113 Laugh, isn't it funny?
Chapter 113 Laugh, isn't it funny?
Bailu Peak, deep in the secluded forest.
The thick fog, like a milky tide, permeated every inch of the mountains and forests.
"Huff... huff..."
Heavy breathing broke the deathly silence of the mountain forest.
Three figures dressed in the uniforms of the Demon Slayers were stumbling and running desperately through the forest, panting heavily.
Their bodies were covered in wounds and bloodstains.
While running, the older demon slayer, who was being supported, suddenly stumbled and fell heavily to the ground.
"Brother Li!"
The two young demon slayers exclaimed in surprise and immediately stopped in their tracks, rushing forward to help him up.
The man called Brother Li was deathly pale. He glanced down at the bloody, almost piercing wound in his abdomen, a desperate, bitter smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He pushed their hands away, shook his head, and said:
"I can't... I can't take it anymore..."
"Bringing me along will only be a burden. If we keep running like this, that monster will definitely catch up, and then all three of us will die here." He took out the two last remaining talismans from his pocket and stuffed them into the two people's hands.
"Let's split up and run. These talismans are for restoring star power; you guys keep them for now. Hurry up!"
"Brother Li, I won't abandon you!"
One of the young demon slayers had bloodshot eyes and a choked voice. "What do you mean, split up and run away? You just wanted to lure that monster away from us!" He was filled with remorse.
If he hadn't been so greedy and reckless, Brother Li wouldn't have been so badly injured by the monster while trying to save him.
"Walk!"
Brother Li shoved him away.
Because of the excessive force, he coughed up another mouthful of blood.
He struggled to sit up, holding the knife to his neck, his eyes resolute.
"Listen, Quan, I'm just a burden anyway!"
"If you don't leave, I'll die right here in front of you. At least... at least someone has to get out alive and deliver the message."
His gaze swept over the two young, indignant faces, and his voice suddenly softened, becoming pleading:
"My mother... needs someone to help take care of her..."
"Hurry up and run!!"
The young man named Xiao Quan looked at the bloodstains seeping from Brother Li's neck, and tears welled up in his eyes.
His colleagues next to him were also gritting their teeth, their fists clenched so tightly they cracked.
Finally, the two stomped their feet hard, let out a low growl of grief and anger, and turned to run wildly down the mountain.
Watching the two figures disappear into the thick fog, Brother Li breathed a long sigh of relief and collapsed to the ground.
He glanced back at the misty mountains and forests behind him, a ruthless glint in his eyes.
Then, trembling, he took out a bottle of foul-smelling powder specifically used to lure monsters, uncorked it, and poured it all over himself. The pungent stench instantly filled the air.
He struggled to his feet and staggered away in the opposite direction from the two of them.
However, they hadn't run very far.
Suddenly, a clear, childlike voice rang out from behind, tinged with a hint of mockery:
"whee………"
"Uncle, you run so slowly."
Upon hearing this voice, Brother Li was struck dumb, and despair filled his face.
But he didn't stop. Instead, he gritted his teeth, mustered his last bit of strength, and charged forward with all his might!
next moment.
He seemed to trip over something and fell to the ground with a thud, his mouth full of dirt.
He got up and turned to look.
A boy of about seven or eight years old emerged from the mist.
The little boy was walking towards him with his hands behind his back, tiptoeing, and hopping along. He looked very cute.
If you ignore the leisurely swaying yellow and black tail behind him.
Clearly, it's a little tiger demon.
"Uncle, why did you stop running?"
The little boy asked with a smile, revealing two sharp little fangs, "Are you tired? Do you want to take a break?"
Brother Li gritted his teeth, gripped the knife tightly in his hand, and stared coldly at the other person.
The little tiger demon did not rush to make a move.
He suddenly turned around, facing a big tree, stretched out his two chubby little hands to cover his eyes, and said in a childish voice, "Okay, Uncle, I'll give you one more chance."
"I'll count to ten, and you can run as far as you want, then I'll come after you."
"Let's see if Xiaobao can catch up with you, okay?"
The little boy actually started counting.
Brother Li was taken aback.
Without any hesitation, he struggled to his feet again, dragging his broken body, and staggered towards the depths of the dense forest.
This is the only chance.
Even if there's only a one in ten thousand chance, he wants to buy them more time!
"Three...four...five..."
The little tiger demon's voice drifted over, carrying a murderous aura that seemed to be beckon for life.
Despite the excruciating pain in his abdomen, Brother Li stumbled and staggered through the rugged mountain forest.
Fresh blood kept gushing from the wound, leaving intermittent streaks of blood on the ground.
His vision began to blur.
But he dared not stop, nor could he stop.
I don't know how far I ran, maybe a hundred meters, maybe even further.
As his injuries worsened and his internal energy was completely depleted, Brother Li finally could no longer hold on. His legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.
"Uncle, why did you only run such a short distance?"
"It's much worse than before."
The child's voice, filled with obvious disappointment, echoed softly above his head.
Brother Li froze and looked up.
The little boy was squatting on a tree branch overhead, resting his chin on his hand, smiling as he looked down at him.
A cruel light flashed in his large eyes.
With his last ounce of strength, Brother Li gripped the knife and gave a bitter laugh:
"You little beast... don't be so smug! Sooner or later, you'll die at the hands of our Demon Slayer Division!"
"Oh? Is that so?"
The little tiger demon tilted its head, looking terrified. "Little Bao is so scared."
As he spoke, he suddenly produced a bloody human head from behind him as if by magic, shook it in his hand, and laughed:
"But Uncle, look, your companion... seems to be running slower than you."
Brother Li was stunned.
He stared intently at the head.
That's Xiao Quan's head.
Fear and resentment still lingered on that young face, his eyes wide open.
"Xiao Quan..."
Brother Li let out a heart-wrenching roar of grief.
"I'm going to kill you!!"
He roared, and with a burst of strength from who knows where, he sprang up from the ground and charged at the little tiger demon in the tree with his knife.
"Bang!"
A muffled thud.
The little tiger demon flashed away, easily dodging the blade, and kicked Brother Li in the chest.
Brother Li flew backward like a rag doll, crashing heavily into a tree trunk, spitting out blood, and collapsed to the ground, unable to move.
The little tiger demon leaped lightly down from the tree.
She walked over to Brother Li, squatted down, and poked his still slightly heaving chest with her small hand.
"Not fun, it stopped moving so quickly."
It muttered, somewhat disappointed.
Then, it opened its small mouth, revealing sharp fangs, and lowered its head to bite down on Brother Li's neck!
The man let out a painful groan and scream, and his body began to convulse.
Soon, it fell silent again.
After a while.
The little tiger demon wiped the blood from the corner of its mouth, rubbed its bulging belly, and said with a wrinkled face:
"Pah, this meat is too tough, it doesn't taste good."
A middle-aged couple slowly emerged from the mist not far away.
He exuded a demonic aura.
The man was tall and had a rugged face. He had a faint "king" character pattern on his forehead and exuded an aura of authority.
The woman still possessed a captivating charm, her eyes gentle yet with a hint of allure.
They looked at the little tiger demon wiping the blood from the corner of its mouth with eyes full of affection.
"You just spoil Xiaobao."
The man shook his head helplessly and said to the woman, "The Demon Slayer's reinforcements will arrive soon. If we encounter any tough opponents, Xiao Bao's playful nature could easily lead to trouble."
The woman, however, didn't seem to mind. She stepped forward, gently wiped the blood from the little tiger demon's face with a silk handkerchief, and smiled:
"What's there to be afraid of? As long as Xiao Bao is happy."
"Anyway, with us here, no matter how many people from the Demon Slayer Division come, Xiao Bao can eat as much as they want. It'll help him grow stronger and taller." The little tiger demon snuggled into the woman's arms and said sweetly, "Mother is the best!"
The man looked at his wife and children, his eyes showing tenderness, but then he looked into the depths of the mist, his brows furrowing slightly.
"That being said, we still can't be careless. I have a feeling... there's something off about the atmosphere in these mountains today."
"What's wrong with that? It's just a few more demon slayers coming to their deaths. They sound impressive, but they're all useless trash."
The woman disagreed, saying, "Perfect, Xiao Bao isn't full yet."
"Oh right, we missed catching one that escaped earlier."
The little tiger demon suddenly broke free from her embrace, her eyes sparkling. "Mom, this time I'm going to have some fun with him. The one before was too weak, hehe."
The woman smiled and nodded, straightening her son's clothes.
"Go ahead without worry, your parents are watching from behind. No one can hurt my little one."
"Okay!"
The little tiger demon cheered, its figure blurred, and it vanished into the depths of the misty forest.
Meanwhile, in another part of the mountains and forests.
Jiang Mu was walking slowly, casually clearing away the vines blocking his path with his long sword.
He could sense the faint demonic aura lingering in the forest.
But after walking for a long time, they hadn't even seen a single demon, and they couldn't help but feel a little frustrated.
Could it be that these guys saw through my disguise?
Did Xu Fu and his group run into them again?
Just as they were muttering to themselves, the fog ahead suddenly rippled, and a dark figure staggered toward them.
Coming!
Mu was overjoyed and subconsciously pressed down on the hilt of the knife.
But as the shadowy figure drew closer, a sense of disappointment crept in.
The other party is clearly a human.
The person running also saw Jiang Mu, and was so frightened that he trembled all over and instinctively tried to turn around and run away in the other direction.
"Hey, are you from the Yancheng Demon Slayer Division?"
Jiang Mu asked aloud.
The person stopped abruptly, turned to look at Jiang Mu, and then recognized that the other person was human.
He let out a long sigh of relief, but his expression remained wary.
"And who are you?"
Jiang Mu took out his iron-carved token and casually tossed it to him: "Demon Slayer Division of Huzhou City, Eighth Hall, surnamed Jiang."
The young man took the token, carefully examined it, and finally completely let down his guard after confirming that it was correct.
He stepped forward, handed over his own token, and said, panting heavily:
"I am You Dashan, a member of the Second Hall of the Demon Slayer Division in Yancheng. Brother Jiang, are you here to support us? That's great! By the way, where are your colleagues?"
You Dashan looked around but found that there was no one behind Jiang Mu.
Jiang Mu confirmed his identity and said calmly:
"The others are searching elsewhere; I'm the only one here. What about you? Where is everyone else?"
"Just you?"
You Dashan's expression turned strange.
How dare a cultivator at the third realm search alone in this deep mountain shrouded in demonic mist?
That's incredibly audacious!
But he didn't have time to think further and hurriedly said:
"Brother Jiang, there's a tiger demon lurking around here, and its cultivation level is quite high. We need to hurry and rejoin your comrades; more people means more safety!"
"A tiger demon?"
Jiang Mu's eyes suddenly lit up. "Where is he? What's his approximate cultivation level?"
You Dashan was bewildered by his excited reaction, but still quickly said:
"There is a small tiger demon, around the third realm. There is also a tiger demon couple, the man is at the great perfection of the fourth realm, and the woman is at the early stage of the fourth realm."
As for whether there are any others, I don't know; I got separated from the other people.
Brother Jiang, that tiger demon is chasing me! Let's hurry, or we'll both die here…”
"So, it's one tiger demon at the third realm and two tiger demons at the fourth realm chasing you..."
The light in Jiang Mu's eyes shone even brighter.
Before You Dashan could speak, he said, "Perfect, I'll kill him for you."
You Dashan almost choked to death on his own saliva.
Hey bro, did you drink some fake alcohol on your way here and get yourself all tipsy?
Just as he was about to try to persuade him again, a chuckle suddenly came from behind him.
"Big brother, you run so slowly."
The little tiger demon darted out of the jungle, a naive and innocent smile on its face, while playing with a bloody finger in its hand.
Upon seeing Jiang Mu, it laughed even harder, clapping its hands and exclaiming joyfully:
"Great! I have a new toy to play with!"
You Dashan's face turned deathly pale in an instant, and the last glimmer of hope in his eyes was completely extinguished.
Finished!
Looking at Jiang Mu's young and handsome face, he gritted his teeth and said in a low, urgent voice:
"Brother Jiang, run! I'll hold them off with my life! Find your comrades as quickly as possible, the more the better!"
"This kid really looks like he deserves a beating."
Jiang Mu pushed him aside and laughed at the little tiger demon, "Where are your parents? Call them out."
"Oh, young man, you're really handsome."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the tiger demon couple appeared not far away.
The tiger-demon woman's eyes gleamed as she saw Jiang Mu's handsome face. She subconsciously licked her red lips, her eyes sparkling.
"This handsome young man with delicate skin and tender flesh must taste delicious."
"Little Bao, save some for Mommy later."
"Mother likes to eat two ounces of meat, but I don't know if this young man... has two ounces."
The tiger demon man first cautiously looked around.
They were relieved only after confirming that there were no other ambushes.
It looked at Jiang Mu and sneered:
"His appearance is decent, but unfortunately he's brainless. A mere third-realm cultivator dares to venture into a place like this to die alone."
Jiang Mu said calmly, "Excuse me, do you have any other clansmen? Could you call them all out at once?"
Jiang Mu wasn't too happy that there was only a three-headed demon.
Behind him, You Dashan collapsed.
Is this guy really not mentally sound?
The tiger demon couple were taken aback, looked at each other, and had strange expressions.
Immediately, the tiger-demon woman burst into laughter, her body trembling with ecstasy: "What a fool! Even on the verge of death, he's still spouting nonsense."
The little tiger demon clapped his hands and said cheerfully:
"Big brother, how about Xiaobao plays a game with you?"
I'll count to ten, and you can run as far as you want. Then I'll chase after you and see who's faster.
As he spoke, he skillfully turned around, his chubby little hands covering his eyes:
puff!
A fleeting afterimage, and a streak of blood flashed by.
The little tiger demon's counting stopped abruptly.
A small tiger head shot into the sky and rolled down to the feet of the tiger demon couple.
Her face still wore an innocent smile.
Jiang Mu habitually flicked the blood beads off the tip of his knife, looking at the tiger demon couple whose expressions were frozen:
"Laugh."
"Why aren't you smiling anymore?"
"Isn't...it funny?"
"Baby!!"
The woman let out a sharp, angry roar, her eyes filled with blood.
She glared fiercely at Jiang Mu:
"You killed my son... I'll skin you alive! I'll pull out your tendons!!"
Before she finished speaking, she darted forward, her ten fingers sprouting half-foot-long, hook-like claws, and charged madly towards Jiang Mu, accompanied by a stench of blood.
"Madam, be careful!"
The man suddenly woke up, realized something was wrong, and instinctively reached out to grab his frantic wife, but grabbed nothing.
It didn't even see Jiang Mu's slash clearly just now.
Such methods are beyond what a third-realm cultivator could possess; he definitely has great supernatural powers.
But seeing his wife pounce on him, he could only grit his teeth and let out a deafening roar.
"roar!!"
With a roar, the man's body swelled up, and his clothes tore apart.
Thick, yellow-black hair pierced the skin.
In the blink of an eye, a giant tiger, nearly three zhang long, with a pale gold "king" mark on its forehead and fangs like halberds, suddenly appeared.
"die!"
The giant tiger stomped its four claws on the ground, sending dirt flying.
Its massive body, like a moving mountain, pounced on Jiang Mu with an aura that seemed capable of crushing everything in its path.
"Well done!"
A sharp glint flashed in Jiang Mu's eyes, and instead of retreating, he advanced.
He gripped the hilt of the horizontal sword tightly with both hands.
Faced with the woman lunging at him, he merely shifted his body slightly to the side, deftly dodging the deadly claws as lightly as a willow catkin in the wind.
His target was that big guy behind him!
"cut!"
Jiang Mu silently shouted in his heart, directly activating the [Tai Su Tian Gang Blood River True Knowledge] within his body, which originated from Shangguan Luoxue's Dao Mansion.
boom!
A layer of dark red blood light ignited on the originally gleaming blade.
As Jiang Mu swung his blade, a surge of blood-red light erupted, instantly transforming into a terrifying blade beam forty meters long!
Like an inverted river of blood, it cleaved down on the giant tiger!
The giant tiger, pouncing in mid-air, was completely stunned, its bronze-bell-like eyes reflecting the scarlet blade's gleam.
What... what kind of swordsmanship is this?!
"Not the same!!!"
The desperate tiger roar hadn't even been fully uttered.
The crimson giant blade, like divine punishment, silently swept across its body.
Time seemed to stand still for a moment.
next moment.
The giant tiger's powerful demonic body, comparable to refined steel, exploded in mid-air into a cloud of blood mist and minced flesh!
"My husband!"
The woman let out a heart-wrenching cry.
Swish!
A slight breeze stirred.
Jiang Mu's figure appeared in front of her.
His expression was calm, with a gentle smile, as he looked at the tiger demon woman who had just tried to eat him and comforted her:
"Don't be sad, your family will be reunited soon."
The glint of blades flashed once more.
This time, there was no grand scale like before, only extreme speed.
The blade flashed and disappeared vertically downwards from between the woman's eyebrows.
The woman's body stiffened, the light in her pupils quickly dissipated, and a thin line of blood spread from her brow down to her groin... "..."
It was neatly divided into two even halves, and slowly slid to the left and right.