C2

It was dawn, and the mountain range was covered by a muslin mist. Light rays penetrated the leaves and branded them with mottled spots of light. A young man with a rope tied around his waist was quickly shuttling through the lush and verdant forest.

The young man looked a little haggard, his messy bangs half covering his angular face. It was the man who had escaped from the coming of age ceremony yesterday, Jiang Shuo.

"We're almost there …" Jiang Shuo let out a breath of air, raised his hand to wipe the sweat off his forehead, and then followed the mark he left earlier to walk around the twisted forest maze. Growing up in the village, Jiang Shuo maintained a strong curiosity towards the unfamiliar outside world. He had tried to leave the village more than once, and every time he tried, he would carve a mark along the way. These markings came in handy, after entering the forest, the well-behaved clansmen were gradually left behind by Jiang Shuo.

As he climbed a higher hill, the light pierced through the layers of mist, and the cool breeze fell on his face with a refreshing fragrance. Jiang Shuo stretched his body and looked into the distance. In the distance, the sky and sea of trees were connected by the misty clouds, like a huge mirage filled with countless unknown. The sea of trees and the mountain range that stretched for a thousand miles made him feel a sense of confusion that he had never felt before.

On the other side of the mountain, it was extremely steep. Jiang Shuo loosened the hemp rope around his waist, tying one end to an ancient tree near the edge of the cliff, and the other end to his own body. Then, he spread his legs, controlled the rope with his hands, and carefully slid downwards.

At this point, Jiang Shuo was like an agile ape, jumping between jagged and jagged rocks. Below him was a bottomless abyss of mist, and the only thing he could rely on was the thin hemp rope in his hand.

Jiang Shuo was carefully observing his surroundings to determine his foothold, when suddenly, a strange gust of wind blew over. With a bird cry, an irresistible force pushed Jiang Shuo off the cliff, the hemp rope was like a swing pulling his body, with a "peng" sound he hit the hard stone wall. The sharp rocks were like sharp daggers, slicing through his calves, causing blood to gush out. After being hit, he was confused and confused. His head was buzzing and he felt as if the world was spinning around him.

"What's going on?" Jiang Shuo looked up, the scene in front of him left him dumbfounded. A giant roc with two wings was soaring, setting off a hurricane and casting a shadow that blotted out the sky. "The guardian berserk beasts that Great Elder spoke of, is actually real!"

At this time, the giant peng suddenly looked down at Jiang Shuo, its round eyes shooting out a sharp light. It then circled in the air, aimed at Jiang Shuo and dove down. The biting cold wind pinned Jiang Shuo firmly against the cliff wall, leaving him with only the road to sit and wait for death.

In the blink of an eye, the giant peng was right in front of him, its sharp, hook like beak was able to peck out a bloody hole in Jiang Shuo's body. "Just in the nick of time, Jiang Shuo let go of his hand and dropped down a few feet." Dang! With a light sound, the Peng's beak pecked at the stone wall, stirring up pieces of rock. The giant peng that missed was infuriated, it let out an ear-piercing cry, and then turned around, aggressively grabbing at Jiang Shuo. Under the sunlight, the roc claw gave off a cold green glow, like a huge net that covered the sky, attacking Jiang Shuo from all directions.

"Evil creature, do you really think I'm easy to bully?" Jiang Shuo clenched his teeth, bent his legs, and kicked the ground. Taking aim at the giant peng, he rushed forward against the wind. The giant peng did not expect such a small human to be so bold. After a short pause, his movements became even more violent, and his opened claws seemed to want to tear Jiang Shuo into a thousand pieces.

Jiang Shuo did not panic in the face of danger. When the two sides were about to engage in close combat, he twisted his body and dangerously avoided the attack. His cheek was cut open by the wind blade, but he managed to get close to the soft part of the roc's lower abdomen. Jiang Shuo's eyes flashed with a bright light, his thumb and middle finger intertwined, and a golden wheel appeared out of nowhere, slowly spinning around his palm. Then Jiang Shuo made his move, not aiming for the giant peng's stomach, but for the connecting point between its wings and its chest.

"Pa!" The wheel broke and turned into many complicated characters that seeped into the giant peng's body. The giant peng let out a painful wail after receiving such a huge blow. Suddenly, its wings stopped flapping, and its body started to tilt violently. Jiang Shuo held the roc by the neck, allowing the wind knives to cut his face. The surrounding scenery rapidly rose up, and finally it was dark. Jiang Shuo heard a muffled sound in his ear, and at the same time, the violent impact caused his internal organs to flip over, and salty liquid gushed into his mouth. Then, Jiang Shuo could not help but roll down, the soil mixed with plants constantly filling his nose and mouth, his bones and rocks colliding with each other and making a series of crisp sounds. After a series of stumbles, Jiang Shuo dove into the water with a splash. In an instant, a bone-piercing, chillingly cold feeling enveloped him, crazily eroding his heat and willpower.

"Cough, cough — —" Jiang Shuo spat out a mouthful of blood and quickly dissolved into the water, his spirit suddenly lighting up. Having recovered some of his spirit, he dragged his body, which was covered in wounds, with all his strength, paddling towards the surface of the water. The moment his head emerged from the water, the weak sunlight almost blinded him. Jiang Shuo breathed heavily as he observed his surroundings.

This was a pool that was close to the cliff wall. There were no streams or waterfalls connected to it, so its source of water must be the underground river. Above, the corpse of the giant peng had landed on an ancient tree branch that had cut its way out of the cliff, and had been pierced by the long branches into a sieve.

"If the giant peng hadn't blocked most of the attack, I probably would have been the one stuck on the tree." Jiang Shuo felt a burst of fear, just as he swam to the shore, his right foot took him out of the water and hovered in the air.

The fog at the bottom of the cliff mixed with the wet air of the pool, giving the forest a mysterious white veil. Within the foggy forest, pairs and pairs of crimson dots of light could be seen. Along with the clear picture, there were actually many fierce wolves.

The cold feeling made Jiang Shuo's back break out in a cold sweat. Even the warm sunlight couldn't remove the chill that seeped into his bones. Jiang Shuo didn't have much time to despair, and in the next second, the wolves' mouths began to emit a fishy smell, like an arrow leaving the bowstring. The faraway howls of the wolves lingered in his ears like the horns of death.

Even if I die, I'll drag a few behind me." Annoyed, Jiang Shuo spat on the ground, spitting out some vulgar words, intending to fight to the death. The fastest wolf had already pounced in front of him. Its mouth was wide open, revealing sharp wolf teeth that were stained with blood, spitting out a strong fishy stench. Jiang Shuo took a step back with his right foot, sending a palm flying in the air, accurately hitting the wolf's forehead. Ka. The wolf's neck was bent at a ninety degree angle.

Three more wolves pounced on him at the same time, Jiang Shuo threw out two punches, forcing two of them to retreat, but they were still caught by the last of the wolves by the ankle, and were instantly pulled to the ground. The wolves had a strong pack nature, and in a flash, two more companions bit Jiang Shuo's throat. Jiang Shuo crossed his arms to protect himself, the Wolf Fang deeply embedded into his forearm, blood flowing on his face, painting the world in a bright red color.

"Jiang Shuo!" Hot blood spurted out from Jiang Shuo, and without caring about anything else, he opened his mouth to bite the wolf's front paw. "Hiss …" Jiang Shuo bit off the skin of the wolf, exposing its bones. He saw that the bones of the wolf's calves had clearly expanded by a full circle, and were now more robust than before, looking like tigers and lions.

"This is …" The familiar scene struck Jiang Shuo's nerves. He reached into his chest and struggled to take out a leather pouch. He stuffed the bag into the wolf's mouth and tore it open. The bag hung on the wolf's teeth and was torn to shreds, revealing what was inside.

A piece of paper as thin as a cicada's wing was opened, and a pale object fell out, colliding with the rock and letting out a light tinkling sound. It was a bone, half an inch long, narrow and tapered, like the fangs of some wild animal. The most magical thing was that the bones had rings of split lines on them, like earthworms splitting into sections. Each segment was slightly different in color, as if they had been pieced together alive from parts of the bones that had been taken from different animals.

Under the illumination of the sun, the bones emitted a weak and gentle light, yet it contained a mysterious aura. In the instant that the bone was exposed, the vicious pack of wolves suddenly stopped in their tracks. Their eyes gently formed a triangle, revealing a puzzled expression.

Wuu ~ ~ ~

Suddenly, from the far side of the forest, a loud wolf howl could be heard. The pack of wolves pricked up their ears, whispering to each other for a while, before leaving Jiang Shuo's orderly exit and disappearing into the thin morning mist.

Jiang Shuo looked at this unbelievable scene in a daze, and waited until all the wolves had left before blinking his eyes and putting away his jaw in shock.

This bone was the only relic Jiang Shuo's father had left for him, and Jiang Shuo had kept it under his protection. He had thought of it as a kind of remembrance of his father, but he had not thought of it as saving his life at a critical moment. After looking at it carefully for a long time, Jiang Shuo still could not dig up any more information. Even if it was working just now, Jiang Shuo could not be sure.

"Perhaps this is father's spirit in heaven, protecting me." Jiang Shuo carefully put the bone away, raised his head and looked at the sky, feeling a pang of sadness in his heart. He thought of the familiar and unfamiliar clan member at the ceremony yesterday. A huge mystery had taken root in his heart.

"I wonder how Jiang Sheng is doing. His father is quite prestigious in the village. He should be fine, right?" Jiang Shuo silently prayed for him, shaking his head as he tried to suppress his thoughts that were about to explode. Just as he stood up, a rude and explosive shout suddenly rang out: "Who are you, stop right there!"