Chapter 120 - Horrid Statues

Nianshi's head throbbed along the pulsing power underneath that dark cliff. Everything was pitch black; He couldn't see a thing down there. He kept telling himself to stay away from that area but his body betrayed him. Something kept pulling him towards the edge, . 

As a mighty creature, he was not afraid to face his enemies. Death was not something that could stop him from fighting for the people he loved and respected. He didn't understand why he was so scared. Even though he was feared, at that very moment all he wanted to do was call out for Xinyi but he couldn't.

Nianshi seemed like he was in some kind of trance. Slowly he walked to the end of the cliff and lifted his leg in action to jump down. Suddenly Xinyi pulled his arm to rescue him.

"Nianshi, Stop!" she called him out, her voice echoing inside the hollow cavern. General Lofey and Sir Gib heard them from the other side and jerked their heads to where the sound came from.

"Balin? Everything alright there, Sir?" Sir Gib called out but he received no reply. He glanced towards General Lofey, giving him the impression that he wanted to go and inspect if everything was alright.

"I know what you're thinking, but we shouldn't leave behind our task. We need to bring more people here," he said in a firm commanding voice.

Gib was hesitant at first but since it was the General that had ordered him, there was nothing more he could do.

"Yes, Sir." He sighed and lowered his head as he continued digging. Their pace this time was doubled afterward.

An hour after, Gib looked to his side and was satisfied with the collection of emerald he had dug in assorted kinds of sizes. He looked over to the digging General and saw he had collected more than he did. The walls had holes while the ground was covered with soil. Their faces and bodies were all dusty and dirty but this did not bother them as the reward of their work was much greater.

----- o ----- 

Outside, back within Xionmao's cave, Shijan the Qilin had a sudden vision. In her dream she saw Ming somehow in a very heated situation as he protected Xinyi who seemed to be hurt. They both were in agony.

Suddenly, the Qilin's left hind foot began to feel hot. She stumbled down because of the pain penetrating the leg. Kuaile, who was accompanying shijan the whole time, saw her fell back on the bed of flowers. 

At this point, Shijan's master had been chosen by her unknowingly. It was Ming because of what he did to Xinyi.

---- o -----

"Nianshi, Stop!" Nianshi broke from the trance and sighed in relief as he was able to control his own body again. He stepped back from the edge and looked back at Xinyi, whose eyes widened in terror. 

"Thank you, my lady. I don't know what happened to me." He took one last look to where he was going to jump and gulped. He somehow was embarrassed that Xinyi was the one to save him but also relieved that she was there. 

Ming who was behind the two of them smiled but then again looked around the area. He realized it wasn't safe for them. "We should go around, it's too dangerous to continue walking down this road." Ming expressed himself in a rather concerned tone. 

They all nodded in agreement and followed him, Sir Balin led the way. Midway towards the cavern entrance, they felt the same presence they had felt when they entered the part of the stone mine where there was blood bath.

"Look out!" Xinyi informed Ming who was charged by a ghost. He was able to turn around in time to protect himself. The spirit gasped as it was sliced with Ming's powerful sword-like wind.  Suddenly the whole place began cloudy. Nianshi readied his sword and got into a battle stance. 

The ghouls suddenly emerged from the middle of the water, giving them no time to react. Good thing Nianshi slashed them as swift as the wind. They were slashed one by one as they attacked. Both Ming and Balin stood in front of Xinyi.

Suddenly the attacks stopped and the ghosts went back to the water to where they appeared first hand. 

"Let's get out of here quick!" Ming yelled in a commanding voice. They ran as fast as they could away from the pool, but far ahead they were blocked by more of those beings. They had nowhere to go, pressured, and surrounded. They all formed into a circle to defend each other's backs on the tight path they could stand together. 

One of the ghosts came straight for Balin. He attacked it just on time to prevent the being from touching him but he was also pushed back by the abrupt action as he emitted a fireball towards the enemy. As he leaned on the stone wall, he looked up and noticed something weird on the ceiling. It seemed like a lever. He didn't know what it was for but it wouldn't be there for no reason at all.

"Sir! Look! Above us" Balin pointed at it. 

Although unsure of the outcome, Nianshi went along with his instincts.  Without fair warning, he jumped towards where the lever was. He was about to reach it but cursed as he lacked only a few inches more. It was because he tried keeping himself in check as not to fall on the bubbling water. 

Partly inside him wanted to transform into any flying creature but didn't because of Sir Balin's presence. As long as Xinyi wouldn't divulge their identity, he would be careful not to do so.

"Damn it!" As he was about to drop on the ground, Ming boosted him with his wind. His power helped Nianshi reach the lever and pulled it down. Nianshi let go afterward but the lever sprung up again. 

Ming saw it too and sent a whirlwind to bring Nianshi up again. He winced as a hand produced wind to help Nianshi while the other sent piercing wind to the ghosts. Nianshi held the lever again and didn't let go. Thus, he stayed there hanging on the ceiling. For the first time, Nianshi felt the difficulty of being a human. He saluted mankind for their resilience in spite of possessing a lot of weaknesses.

All of a sudden, they heard a rumbling sound. The pool bubbled fast. Steam engulfed the whole place and blurred their vision. But saw the water coming out from the edges. 

Balin and Ming protected Nianshi who was still holding on to the lever. They did their best to keep the ghosts from nearing him.

A stone bridge suddenly emerged from the lake. On the other side of it, they saw somewhat like a steel door with emerald stones on it. From there they saw clearly what they thought at first was the cavern door turned out as just a hollow in the wall. 

"Let's head there!" Xinyi ran towards bridge and the three followed. 

They were sweating hard as more ghosts appeared from the lake, attacking left and right. As they neared the steel door, the bridge started to submerge. Ming turned around to blast a strong wind towards the ghosts,sending the beings to the walls while causing the wind to bounce back at them, throwing them nearer towards their destination. 

Just in time, Nianshi opened the door and they jumped in before the bridge totally submerged. He abruptly closed the door behind them, leaving the spirits behind it. They all huffed in exhaustion.

"Finally, we're safe." However, Balin said too soon as they felt an eerie presence behind them. They all slowly turned around as Balin lit a fire to give them more insight on what was inside. To their horror they saw giant statues with ghastly faces but looked like warriors with their weapons in hand..

One had a horn in the middle of its forehead. The second had three eyes. While the last looked like a normal man but had four long fangs with its opened mouth. The three gave out a powerful and dangerous aura, making their hairs to stand on end.

To their relief, the statues didn't move. But Nianshi knew there was something wrong with those things. 

"By the gods, help us" Ming whispered a prayer.