Chapter 103: Ravenous and Thirsty
Chapter 103: Ravenous and Thirsty
“Agh! This was killing me, damn it, why was it so far?”
Tang Jinbiao struggled to take each step. Looking at the mountain that appeared right before his eyes yet was unreachable, he couldn’t help complaining inwardly.
The old saying went, a mountain that looks close takes forever to reach; sometimes, what seems just ahead proves to be an unimaginably long journey to finish!
Tang Jinbiao had been walking for over three hours since his departure, but due to his weak condition, he had covered only a short stretch of about twenty to thirty li. And most fatally, he felt intensely hungry.
The Land of Darkness wasn’t large at all, only spanning a hundred li wide. If it were his peak state, with his First Rank of Body Refining level physique, covering over a hundred li in those three-plus hours would have been easy. But somehow here, he felt totally drained, indistinguishable from a Mortal, so his speed was dreadfully slow. Luckily, though he sensed hunger, it wasn’t severe—or rather, he was so starved that he no longer felt the hunger.
Despite the fierce sun beating down, no sweat dripped from him; instead, he felt cold, which eased him greatly. If he were both hungry and thirsty, he didn’t believe he could emerge from this desert.
“Ah, why in the world didn’t I pack other items in the Storage Pouch? It’s nothing but jars of elixirs and spirit stones—eating them does no good, and you can’t eat spirit stones anyway!”
As he trudged along, Tang Jinbiao grumbled silently. Earlier, he had tried opening his Storage Pouch; he could access it but found no food inside—apart from those elixirs and spirit stones, nothing else remained.
Even as he complained inwardly, Tang Jinbiao never paused for a second. Though slow, if he kept walking steadily like this, he could cross the black desert soon enough.
…
Five hours later, it had grown dark, and the Triple Moons rose gently.
Over thirty li from the edge of the Land of Darkness, a small village housed twenty to thirty families. Here and there, lights flickered on: two or three homes at a time. Some households still had smoke curling from their chimneys, as if finally cooking after a hard day’s work.
From the lit cottages came occasional laughs—cheerful, or hearty, or pleasant—seeming to share the day’s joys. Yet three to five homes stayed unlit; unclear whether they’d gone to bed early or were out and hadn’t returned yet.
…
Swish, swish, swish!
A mere ten li or so from the Land of Darkness, in the dim night, a Spotted Leopard was faintly visible fleeing headlong through the Dense Forest. It barely noticed what lay ahead, just charging onward, rustling through the bushes as it crashed past.
The Spotted Leopard plunged into the thicket and vanished in a blink.
Moments after the leopard bolted off, two agile dark silhouettes appeared immediately, but they didn’t continue the pursuit; they halted briefly.
Because of the faint light, their faces weren’t visible, though one could vaguely tell they were fit-bodied and taller than most—one seemed slighter and younger, the other a bit older and sturdier.
The younger was armed with a longbow and a quiver, with several arrow tails sticking out. He gripped a dagger and scanned his surroundings sharply, as if guarding against sudden beast attacks.
The older one appeared somewhat aged, bending forward slightly; his chest rose and fell heavily as he panted, the spear in his hand shaking unsteadily.
Though their faces were indistinct, it was absolutely certain neither wore clothes—only tiger-skin trousers tied around their waists.
“Abba, why don’t we stop chasing?” After they paused, the younger, seeing his father tired, urged this.
“Abao, no,” came the gruffer reply. “That Spotted Leopard has cultivated for years. If we don’t slay it today, in a few seasons its power swells; with a grudge, it’ll wipe out our whole village. So we must eliminate it now! Plus, we can share its meat and sell the hide—that should earn plenty for your wedding!”
The older man straightened his back, rooted his spear firmly, spoke those words, then immediately charged at the bushes at a run.
Whoosh!
The man was enormously agile: he didn’t crawl through but took a huge leap, soaring right over the thicket.
“Abba!”
As his father dashed off again, the younger stayed no longer either. Murmuring low to himself, he too snatched up his dagger and gave chase afresh.
Bang!
Tang Jinbiao took an immense stride, clearing the thicket in a single step. His figure vanished into the night within mere breaths.
……
“Aaah, I’m gonna die! Gimme food! Daddy just needs food!”
“Goddamn it, Huang Biaozi! Where the fuck did you go? I need you, ya bastard!”
“Help! Is anyone out there?”
“Somebody! Anybody! I’m starving to death!”
A relentless howling echoed from roughly half a mile away from the duo.
The source wasn’t a stranger; it was Tang Jinbiao, the man who’d emerged from the Land of Darkness. Yet, three years without bathing or grooming had rendered him unrecognizable, his face entirely shrouded beneath matted hair. Clad in the white robe he’d donned during the day, his ghostly figure now wandered the lifeless dense forest. Witnessing it might have been enough to scare a lesser soul senseless.
At nightfall, after immense hardship, he had finally escaped that black desert, believing salvation at hand. Instead, another blow awaited.
Perhaps because of that black desert, although now within the forest, no living creature stirred save the trees themselves.
“Ugh! Bro doesn’t wanna eat tree bark!”
“Won’t someone save me?”
Tang Jinbiao shuffled onward, bellowing incessantly. Despite an evident, overwhelming weakness, he somehow dredged up the strength to yell.
“Heavens! Buddha! God! Deities! Jesus! Ahhhh! Anyone! I swear, feed me now and I’ll believe in you!”
Utterly drained, Tang Jinbiao slumped against a massive tree with a soft thud, whimpering feebly.
“What are chicken legs? Pig trotters? Roast whole lamb? Gods! Even a bowl of noodles! Skies! Earth! Virgin Mary Kozawa! Can you even hear my cries?”
Gnaw, gnaw!
Ravenous beyond endurance, Tang Jinbiao babbled while simultaneously opening his mouth wide and sinking his teeth into the rough bark of the trunk.
Drip-drip!
As he gnawed at the bark, hungry drool flowed freely, soaking the patch he chewed within moments.
“Uuurgh! How did your boy Tang Jinbiao fall so low?” Tang Jinbiao grumbled through mouthfuls of bark, unable to bear it any longer. Famished to extremes, sharp, colicky pains clenched his belly.
The pain had started mildly back when hunger first set in. Later, it dulled, seeming to vanish once he grew accustomed. Yet, each new wave of hunger returned fiercer, bringing agony that nearly stopped his heart. This cycle of pain and brief respite struck too many times to count.
Desperate, he thought of using the elixirs. But the cruelest twist awaited him: exiting that black desert, opening his Storage Pouch, extracting the vials… only to discover all the elixirs had crumbled into useless dust. Even the spirit stones had transformed into ordinary pebbles. He wanted to weep, yet had no one to weep his sorrows to.
Back when he struck out, the Third Elder and Tang Zhantian had given him plenty of elixirs and spirit stones. They’d seemed fine earlier when he checked. But now, anything bearing spiritual energy was worthless. Even the Token gifted by Wang Ruhai, belonging to Wang Hanyu, seemed rendered common. Utterly heartbreaking.
Crash, crash, crash!
Amid Tang Jinbiao’s tearful gnawing on the bark, an abrupt, odd rustling reached his ears. His lobes instinctively twitched; he’d heard something.
“Hmm?”
The sound instantly silenced his crying and chewing. His expression sharpened, turning grave as he snapped his head toward the noise’s source.
Crash, crash, crash!
Sure enough, peering through the darkness, Tang Jinbiao saw the thicket shuddering violently, as though something struggled forth.
“No good!”
Spotting movement within the foliage, alarm jolted Tang Jinbiao. ‘This can’t be good,’ screamed an inner voice. Strength, sourced from pure survival instinct, surged through him. Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! He scaled the tree trunk lightning-fast using the Gecko Wall Crawling Skill, concealing himself amongst the leaves overhead.
Raaaawr!
No sooner had Tang Jinbiao hidden himself than a Spotted Leopard burst from the thicket. Yet the creature seemed deathly frail. It uttered a pained roar upon emerging and collapsed. A deep puncture bled profusely on its haunch, only half the arrow visible—the tip painfully lodged deep within.
Thump-thump!
“Whew, good thing daddy moved fast!”
Catching sight of the leopard, Tang Jinbiao’s heart skipped a beat, intense fear momentarily gripping him. Relief swept through him as he watched from concealment.
Raaaawr…
The leopard lay sprawled on the ground, breathing heavily, its sides heaving weakly. Life hadn’t yet fled, but the wound torn by the arrow seeped a steady, bubbling stream of blood onto the forest floor.
“Steak?”
Something in Tang Jinbiao’s hunger-addled mind distorted the dying leopard into the form of a raw, bloody steak in the gloom.
Gulp!
Tang Jinbiao swallowed hard involuntarily. His tongue flicked over dry lips, frantic desire etched onto his expression.
Lick… lick…
The fallen leopard agonizingly bent its head, trying to tend its grievous wound with its tongue. Suddenly, it stiffened, sensing peril. Its head whipped around, eyes wild, searching the surrounding gloom for the unseen threat.
This leopard was different. Ordinary spotted leopards were mere beasts, lacking keen awareness. But fierce intelligence burned in this creature’s eyes, mingled with seething hatred. It had been near awakening into a true Demon Beast. Now, it burned to remember its human tormentor, resolved to inflict bloody vengeance upon that village once healed.
“Heh heh…”
Up in the tree, the glistening trail of blood stoked Tang Jinbiao’s ravenous fire hotter. A cold smirk tugged at his hidden features, only the eerie white gleam of his teeth visible through his veil of hair.
Jolt!
Abruptly, the leopard pinpointed the danger. Its head snapped upward, pupils locking onto the canopy above.
“Ahahahaha! AHAHAHA!”
As its gaze sought the treetops, the leopard saw only a ghostly white form plummeting from the branches above like a falling hawk…