CH 19

Chapter 19: Crossing the Angel’s Horns

The birds’ wings cut through at either side of Zhou Yu, nearly slicing him in half across the waist.

The little thing also spread out its wings to bury its head beneath them.

Finally, as the last giant bird arrived in front of Zhou Yu, Zhou Yu ducked down onto his side and pulled the trigger, but no bullet came out!

Zhou Qing, who had been held back by Daniel, lost all the color in his face in an instant and recklessly rushed forward. Zhou Yu quickly cleared the jammed bullet and shot out at the bird just as its claws were about to come in contact with his thigh.

The neurotoxins diffused rapidly, and the giant bird finally dropped down with a loud rumble.

Fortunately, Zhou Yu reacted quickly and rolled over on his elbow. Otherwise, his bones would’ve been crushed by the giant bird.

“Zhou Yu!” Zhou Qing ran over.

He walked around the dead body of the giant bird and let out a sigh a relief when he saw Zhou Yu stand up and brush himself off.

“Amazing! I applaud you!” Wu Yun came over, clapping.

Li Qian shot a glance at Wu Yun and said, “That mouth of yours better not jinx anything else! You said that the chamber had better not jam, and it really did jam!”

Wu Yun smiled helplessly. He was about to open his mouth until Zhou Yu’s cold eyes swept over him.

“Shut up.” It seemed like Zhou Yu was also impatient with Wu Yun.

The bodies of the giant birds were bigger up close than they appeared in the sky.

Li Qian gulped and kept imagining himself being devoured by them.

At that time, if the birds slammed into Zhou Yu or if their wings sliced into him, it would have been fatal. However, Zhou Yu was able to judge the situation calmly and remain motionless, beyond what an ordinary person was capable of.

Zhou Yu felt something soft at his waist nudging him. As soon as he lowered his head, he saw the translucent wings of that little thing furling and unfurling, as if it was cheering.

“You’re a real boot-licker,” Zhou Yu smiled faintly.

The little thing tilted its head. Its clear and bright eyes kept looking at Zhou Yu as if it was yearning for something.

Zhou Yu stretched out his finger and poked it at the tip of its nose. Its face wrinkled, looking ugly, but also very cute.

It shook and avoided Zhou Yu’s finger. Just as Zhou Yu was about to pull his hand back, it opened its mouth and swallowed his fingertip.

Zhou Yu thought that he would feel his finger being bitten and having his blood sucked again, but he felt only the soft tongue of that little thing and being warmly enveloped by it. It narrowed its eyes in delight as if it was giggling because it could hold onto Zhou Yu’s finger.

Zhou Yu wanted to retrieve his finger, but he suddenly had the idea to allow it to be mischievous, once in a while. After all, in the dangerous situation just now, the little thing had remained motionless by his side.

Perhaps it had the strength to stay in place because it didn’t know anything, or perhaps it was because it trusted Zhou Yu more than anyone else.

“Now the biggest threat has finally been resolved! We’re going to cross Angel’s Tears! This will be a thrilling stroke of color in our lives!” Wu Yun clapped his hands, drawing everyone’s attention back.

“A stroke of color… What the hell? ” Han Li was totally unaffected by Wu Yun’s morale-boosting statement.

“Although the strange birds have been taken care of, there are still giant crocodiles in the water…” Li Qian was still scared.

“That was a reverse-scaled dragon. It can grow to be as long as twenty-three meters, and generally lives downstream of Angel’s Tears. Each breeding season, the female dragon will swim against the current to return to the source of Angel’s Tears, which is Angel’s Horns, to hatch her young here.” Zhou Qing came to the shore and looked down at the oncoming water splashing up. “These creatures have a keen sense of smell and vision, but they lock onto their prey in the same way as the Peryton, based on the prey’s sense of fear.”

Doctor Daniel was afraid that Zhou Qing would accidentally fall into the water and came beside him. At this time, there was only an endless spray from the unceasing torrents of the river, completely lacking in any hint of a reverse-scaled dragon. The moment it swallowed the giant bird was like an illusion for everyone. No one knew how many young reverse-scaled dragons there were in the river, nor of how big they were.

“Is it possible they’ll attack us like the two-headed wolf spider to provide nutrition for its offspring?” Han Li said worriedly.

“The river is full of young dragons who don’t need to breed for the time being. Also, the height at which they can leap out of the water doesn’t pose a threat to us. That young dragon leaped out of the water to eat the bird because it was afraid in the moment Zhou Yu shot it, and subsequently, it became the prey,” Zhou Qing answered.

Li Qian had always respected Zhou Qing’s extensive knowledge. When he heard Zhou Qing say that, Li Qian felt slightly relieved, but he was still very nervous.

“Stop hesitating. If anyone doesn’t want to leave, then they can stay here, it doesn’t matter to me.” Wu Yun took out the rope and grapple and came to the shore. He aimed at the opposite cliff and roughly shot out its claw.

The grappling hook flew out at an extremely fast speed and fixed itself to the opposite side.

Wu Yun forcefully tugged on the rope to ensure that it was secured in place. The other end of the rope was fixed to an ancient tree that exceeded the total arm span of three people encircling it.

“Who’s first?” Wu Yun looked at Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu tilted his head at him, “You first. I’ll push them over from here.”

“Sure.”

Wu Yun did not have a joking expression on his face. His conversation with Zhou Yu was also very concise. It seemed like crossing Angel’s Tears was imperative.

Wu Yun didn’t use a slip knot harness to loop around the line, instead, he directly fastened a piece of rope around it. Then, he stepped back to stand in front of the tree and abruptly ran forward while speeding up.

Everyone was completely caught off guard!

“Ah…” Li Qian and Han Li’s eyes bugged right out of their sockets.

Wu Yun’s figure quickly slid along the line towards the other side, his strong and powerful body completely stretched out as he went.

After a few seconds, he landed steadily across the bank.

He turned around and put one hand on his waist, then made a gesture of “come over” at Zhou Yu.

“Who’s going first?” Zhou Yu looked the rest of them.

Neither Han Li nor Li Qian spoke, but unexpectedly, Zhou Qing raised his hand, “I’ll go.”

Zhou Qing’s expression was calm, without a trace of fear.

As a scholar with such courage, Han Li and Li Qian both admired him a lot.

“Fine,” Zhou Yu looked at the others, “Wu Yun only used the hand-rope on purpose to save his own harness for the rest of you. Plus, I don’t need a harness either, so two more people can use it. Zhou Qing is using one, so only one out of the three of you can also cross with the harness.”

After Zhou Yu spoke, Li Qian and Han Li were struck dumb.

“What? Why didn’t you say so earlier?’

“Didn’t Wu Yun tell you not to hesitate?” Zhou Yu asked coolly, making Li Qian and Han Li choke back their words.

Zhou Yu fixed the rope around Zhou Qing’s thighs, hugged Zhou Qing’s shoulders then whispered into his ear, “Have a safe trip.”

Just as he said those words, Zhou Qing was pushed out by Zhou Yu.

The world quickly swept past Zhou Qing while the wind violently whipped past his ears, it was as if everything was reversing at top speed until it vanished completely.

He opened his eyes wide, it felt like his heart was going to leap out of his chest.

That soft and ethereal voice was whispering into his ear.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m by your side.”

At that moment, all his fears were soothed. When Zhou Qing’s toes touched down on the rocks, Wu Yun reached out to to steady him.

Before Zhou Qing had recovered, Wu Yun patted him on the shoulder and said, “Not bad. The Great Professor Zhou’s face didn’t even pale, nor did he scream. Those people across the cliff should watch and learn.”

Zhou Qing only looked around. Where was that S rank organism? He seemed to be able to sense his emotions at any time… It was too unfathomable.

What was his original form, and why hasn’t he been able to see any trace of him so far?

Zhou Yu turned back and said, “Who’s next?”

“Me!”

“Me!”

Han Li and Li Qian spoke in unison, and even Dr. Daniel could not help laughing, “Aren’t you two afraid?”

Li Qian blushed and Han Li was somewhat nervous. Since there was only one last harness rope left, she would have to go. Her arms wouldn’t hold up with just the hand-rope.

She didn’t dare look at Li Qian, because she knew that Li Qian also wanted to use the extra harness.

Unexpectedly, Li Qian stepped back and said, “Let Han Li go first.”

Everyone was stunned.

“Did I hear you correctly?” Dr. Daniel was surprised.

“Or else, what?… Having to fight over such a thing between an adult man and woman… Even if I won, I would be too ashamed to live on,” Li Qian said sullenly.

“Are you sure?” Zhou Yu asked, “Between a gentleman’s courtesy and your life, you’d choose courtesy?”

“It’s not a matter of manners. Haven’t you hear of the story of the Titanic? There was a Japanese civil servant who pretended to be a woman in order to get on the lifeboat. After being rescued, he was dismissed by his company and rejected by society. Finally, he committed suicide. [1] That’s why, Han Li, hurry up and go before I regret it.”

“Thank you…”

Han Li was pushed out by Zhou Yu at a speed comparable to a roller coaster.

The wind blew past, wrinkling her face.

She really wanted to scream, but she couldn’t. She was afraid that once she opened her mouth, she would lose her strength and balance.

A few seconds in the eyes of others felt like a century to her.

When she was caught by Wu Yun, her heart was beating wildly and she was almost in tears.

When she turned around and saw Li Qian opposite of her, Han Li felt extremely guilty. At such a fast speed, Li Qian would surely fall off.

Seeing that Han Li had arrived safely, Li Qian breathed out. At least his concession had been worth it.

“Next.” Zhou Yu looked at the two remaining men.

Li Qian scratched his head and said, “Let Dr. Daniel go first. I’m afraid that it’ll affect Dr. Daniel’s mood if I fall off.”

Doctor Daniel laughed and said, “So you’re not afraid that it will affect your mood if I fall off?”

[1]This is a false news story that was sensationalized in Western media at the time. Masabumi Hosono was accused by an American of sneaking aboard a lifeboat dressed as a woman and was condemned by the public. After returning to Japan, he was socially ostracized for disgraceful behavior.