Chapter 56 – The King Stone Worm
Translated by Sunyancai
Initially, it was just a slight indistinct ‘whirring’ noise, it could’ve easily been confused with the other noises among the tunnel. However, it gradually became clearer.
Shao Xuan thought about the story he heard from Lang Ga, which said that there was a king stone worm living inside the cave. Earlier, he did not quite believe in the story, after all, so many hunting warriors had been here before, and none of them had ever witnessed the legendary king stone worm. Even in the stories from their ancestors, it merely was a conjecture.
There was indeed a ‘whirring’ noise made by the wind inside the cave, but now, Shao Xuan was positive that it was not only the ‘whirring’ noise of the wind, but also the sound of breathing mixed in with the noise. What’s more, the breathing was gradually sounding closer while becoming more distinct.
Shao Xuan flexed his whole body, and he moved his legs to climb up along the slope. The slope and walls were a little bit more steep and slippery than the paths that the hunting group walked along, so climbing up the slope was more difficult. Shao Xuan didn’t dare to use the sword, for he was worried that the sound might awaken the King Stone Worm. Mai and the others warned that they should try to be as quiet as possible when they walked, and they certainly had a point.
The breathing sound was coming closer and closer, at a speed, far greater than Shao Xuan’s expectation, and it seemed to be close by in the blink of an eye.
It was a little moist inside. An odour of limes filled the air, and the odour grew denser as time went by. Shao Xuan could clearly feel the rising humidity inside, while the wall he was climbing on had tiny droplets of water, which made the wall even more slippery than before, and the climb became harder than ever. Shao Xuan was finally able to stabilize himself after skidding a few times.
It was impossible for him to climb up anymore!
He could feel a layer of a slimy liquid between the wall and his palms, and it felt the same under his feet. It was hard for him to maintain his stability. He couldn’t afford to slack off even a bit, because if he did, he would just slip down along the path.
What the fuck!
It makes no sense!!
A moment earlier, the wall in the cave was fine. Even though it was a bit more slippery than the paths they used to walk along, and the slope was a little steeper, it wouldn’t have been a difficult task for Shao Xuan to climb up, based on his ability. However, it hadn’t been long, but the wall had changed so much!
However, at that moment, there was no time for Shao Xuan to think. The rhythmic breath was almost underneath Shao Xuan’s body!
Shao Xuan slipped, rolled and fell down onto a relatively flat surface, but after a few steps, he could see the tunnel stretching down. Shao Xuan could only see a small part of the tunnel from where he was at, which meant that he didn’t know whether there were any forks down the main path, and if so, how many forks were there… What should he do if it was really the King Stone Worm coming up? What should he do if the King Stone Worm creeps along the same tunnel that he was at?
Shao Xuan’s exerted all his strength on his fingers and the tips of his fingers nearly stabbed into the wall. But that was all he could do, and his fingertips could not go any deeper inside. The stones were quite hard. Perhaps he could dig in a little more if he used his totemic power. However, Shao Xuan didn’t dare do that, for some high level ferocious beasts were very sensitive towards totemic powers. Mai and the others didn’t dare to use totemic power when they were walking through the mountain.
Shao Xuan held himself on the wall. He was so tense, that he was a little stiff all over the body. On his face there was also a layer of moisture. Perhaps it was the water drops; perhaps it was his own sweat.
It was not sultry in the cave. Instead, Shao Xuan felt that it became more and more cold inside. He did not know whether the coldness was his own illusion or if it was really that cold. Also, the smell of lime grew stronger as time went by.
Shao Xuan looked up and the scenery in his vision had changed.
In Shao Xuan’s view, unlike the grey stone wall, the water drops appeared to be pale white. Quickly the color of white had covered up the grey stone wall, and the coverage quickly expanded towards the top, which meant that the top of the cave was experiencing the same changes as the stone wall that Shao Xuan was clinging on.
Whir…whir…
The sound was even closer, and it sounded just beneath Shao Xuan.
Together with the breathing sound, there was also a sound of something creeping, as if some creature was crawling.
Shao Xuan silently moved closer to the wall, and he carefully controlled his breathing and heartbeat, to conceal his presence. It seemed like he had already merged himself with the environment, and even if Lang Ga and the others were standing right there, there was a high chance that they might not be able to detect him.
Listening to the sound beneath, Shao Xuan thought that if the thing down there really came his way, he would have no other choice but to risk it all. If fingers weren’t useful anymore, he would use the sword to keep himself steady. If the sword wasn’t enough, he would use an additional spearhead! That way, he should be able to climb up, right?
Although he was dragged there by that insect, he had all his equipment with him. And even though he would probably draw that thing’s attention because of the use of tools, it had to be that way, for life was the top most priority for Shao Xuan.
Aside from the breathing sound, there also seemed to be the sound of a heart beating.
Dug-dug……Dug-dug……Dug-dug
It was obviously not loud, but one would feel like they were being hammered on the chest. One hammerstrike after another, which could make the blood surge, and the heart, lurch.
It was like a war drum in a quiet battlefield. And the whole cave seemed to start trembling from that rhythm.
The pressure came right after the sound.
Or perhaps, it could be called an aura?
Shao Xuan had difficulty breathing, as if heavy dark clouds were pressing down on his head. When not relying on totemic power, Shao Xuan’s physique was still a bit too weak.
Just when Shao Xuan was paying extra attention to the approaching sound, and prepared to use his totemic power and pull out the sword to climb up, the breathing sound and thunder-like heartbeats gradually faded away.
It seemed that beneath the tunnel, there were other forked paths. Luckily, that King Stone Worm did not come to the tunnel Shao Xuan was at.
When the sounds vanished, Shao Xuan finally relaxed his muscles. It almost cost all his strength to hold on earlier, and now he felt exhausted.
There was no action, no combat, no killing, nothing at all. All he did was holding onto the wall with everything he had, however, it was more tiring than fighting against the Thorn Black Wind. Just because of that, Shao Xuan couldn’t control his hands well, and in a second, he slipped and fell on the same spot where he had landed before.
Shao Xuan heard his own heart beating hard like a striking drum. He calmed down, after a while.
Shao Xuan noticed something, and he looked back up, at the wall that he had grabbed on. In his special view, the wall was originally covered with a layer of whiteness. However, the color of white faded away, and the change was happening gradually, as the color of white reduced more and more.
The air in the cave turned back to normal, and became less moist. The smell of limes also disappeared gradually.
Feeling a little itchy on the face, Shao Xuan looked up and rubbed at wall, only to find stone chips, and powder falling down. On both of his palms, there was also a layer of hard, debris like chips, and a layer of powder. He clenched his fists and felt chips and powder falling down again.
Shao Xuan climbed up towards the top, as he thought about something. Without the layer of slimy liquid, the climbing became much easier.
After a careful and thorough examination of the wall, Shao Xuan noticed that his fingerprints from when he climbed on the wall had disappeared, as if he had never been there.
No wonder all the marks made by the hunting warriors disappeared when the next time they went in. Perhaps the same thing happened.
The cave restored its original appearance, as if no creature had come.
Shao Xuan did not go down, instead, he chose to continue to climb up. He wanted to see if he could get back to the path which the hunting group took earlier, by climbing up.
He tried hard to climb up, but as he set eyes upon the surroundings, Shao Xuan was totally stunned.
Here, it should be the place where he chopped off that insect’s antennae. However, now there was no chopped off antennae, or anything else for that matter. No insect, no eyeless spiders, no sounds, and no traces of any struggles.
It was like everything was re-instated!
In front of Shao Xuan, there were three forked paths, which looked quite alike. There was no trace of any creature, so he could not tell these three paths apart at all!
So, from which forked path was he dragged there?
Shao Xuan tried hard to recall, but he found that it was impossible! He had no idea which path to choose.
Taking a deep breath, Shao Xuan clenched his fists, and cursed in a low voice, “What the fuck!”