Shen Qingfeng felt a chill run down his spine almost instantaneously.
Yu Shuang beside him hadn't even recovered when he suddenly heard Shen Qingfeng's shrill scream from behind. Then Shen Qingfeng rushed to his side, quickly drew out the short sword from his bosom, pointed the tip at the darkness, and his lips trembled uncontrollably.
"Milord?!" Yu Shuang was startled. He abruptly stood up, grabbed Shen Qingfeng's shoulders, and looked into the darkness. But all he saw was pitch - black; there was nothing in sight.
"What's wrong, milord? What did you see?" Shen Qingfeng's complexion looked very strange, so Yu Shuang quickly asked.
"Light your fire starter and throw it out!" Shen Qingfeng shouted. "Hurry up!"
Yu Shuang was only stunned for a moment, then quickly reached into his bosom, took out a fire starter, gave it a sharp flick, and threw it in the direction Shen Qingfeng was looking.
The moment he threw it out, Shen Qingfeng suddenly roared, "Xiang Cheng! Wake up!"
Yes, although Shen Qingfeng was scared half to death just now, during that brief moment of eye - contact, he managed to clearly see the face of the person in front of him. Although the man's face was pale, his eyes sunken, and his whole body as thin as a mummy, Shen Qingfeng was certain that it was Xiang Cheng!
The Xiang Cheng who had fought alongside him through life and death in the previous life, loyally protecting him.
"Jingle, jingle..."
The moment the fire starter was thrown out, that spine - chilling metallic clanging sound reappeared in the circular stone chamber. The fire starter landed and illuminated a corner of the chamber, but the sound of the copper bells suddenly shifted position. The two of them only managed to catch a fleeting shadow of Xiang Cheng.
"Copper bells?! They're here too?" Yu Shuang quickly drew out his short sword, back - to - back with Shen Qingfeng. A thin layer of cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
"Yu Shuang, we might have guessed wrong," Shen Qingfeng gritted his teeth and said. "The chains are really for binding people."
Yu Shuang was stunned for a moment and asked, "Milord, do you mean Xiang Cheng?"
The noisy bell sounds around them became even more frequent. The two of them stopped their conversation tacitly and began to listen intently to identify the direction, not daring to slack off at all.
Since the stone chamber was rather narrow, the clear sound of the copper bells would appear from somewhere in the darkness and then echo throughout the entire chamber, making it very difficult to distinguish the direction.
"Why does it feel like he's circling around us?" Yu Shuang gritted his teeth and said. "Is this really a human? How can he run so fast?"
Shen Qingfeng thought for a while and replied, "I don't know either."
When Shen Qingfeng saw Xiang Cheng in the previous life, Xiang Cheng wasn't like this. Shen Qingfeng still remembered that when he brought Xiang Cheng back to the Eastern Palace, he was so thin that he hardly looked human, covered in blood, with not a single piece of intact skin. After Yu Shuang examined him, he said that there was a kind of poison on Xiang Cheng's body that he had never seen before. This poison was extremely rare in the world, and no one knew who had poisoned him. After Xiang Cheng regained consciousness, he couldn't remember many things. Therefore, Shen Qingfeng in the previous life never knew Xiang Cheng's real background.
But if he combined what he was seeing now, some details seemed to be explainable.
For example, why he couldn't find out about Xiang Cheng's background.
For example, why, after the earthquake in the next year of the previous life, the village at the foot of the Three Saints Mountain was suddenly massacred overnight. And after he was framed and fell off the cliff, he met the blood - covered Xiang Cheng in the lifeless village.
Xiang Cheng should have been deliberately locked up here. If there were no major natural disasters like an earthquake or man - made destruction, he should have been guarding this tomb as the "tomb - guarding beast" dutifully until his death.
His whole body was bound with chains, and there were copper bells on him. Maybe the thing they encountered in the mass grave just now was also Xiang Cheng.
Was it because he was protecting something in the tomb that he attacked them?
What was he protecting?
What exactly was in this tomb?
Shen Qingfeng didn't have time to think about these questions at all, because the next moment, his ears caught a shrill sound of something breaking through the air. He quickly turned his head, and the sound almost grazed his cheek. Yu Shuang also heard the sound. He raised his torch and swept it quickly. Under the light of the fire, both of them could clearly see Xiang Cheng's appearance.
It was seen that his whole body was bound with chains, only the joints of his limbs were left free, seemingly to facilitate his movement. But the chains on the other parts of his body were tied so tightly that in some places, the skin and flesh were turned out, and in some places, a thick layer of calluses had formed due to years of friction.
His face was dry and pale, his cheeks sunken, and his eyes showed a crazy look, as if he had completely lost his mind. His lips were chapped and peeling, his hair even reached his heels, and his fingernails were ten times as long as a normal person's. Just from his appearance, it seemed that he had lived a non - human life here for a long time.
Since Xiang Cheng was taken back by Shen Qingfeng in the previous life, Shen Qingfeng actually had some mental preparation for his current state. But Yu Shuang didn't. So, when Yu Shuang saw the person in front of him who didn't look like a "human" at all, he immediately reacted—
"Damn it!"
"Roar—" Xiang Cheng opened his mouth and let out a terrifying roar. He suddenly landed on the ground, and the chains on his body made a harsh "clattering" sound due to the collision.
Inside those iron chains as thick as two babies' arms, the edges of copper bells could be faintly seen.
"Could the person in the mass grave just now be him?" Yu Shuang asked. "Could he grow that big just now?"
Shen Qingfeng shook his head and said, "It wasn't him, but it should be related to him."
Yu Shuang let out a sound of confusion.
Shen Qingfeng stared fixedly at Xiang Cheng, who was twisting his neck and standing in a strange posture in front of him, and said in a deep voice, "Look, the chains on his body are very long and they extend all the way behind us. I guess the strange thing just now should have been created by his manipulation of the chains."
"Can he swing such heavy chains?" Yu Shuang asked in surprise, finding it hard to believe.
Xiang Cheng was a strongman. Shen Qingfeng only needed to know this himself. He didn't say anything, but just said, "Remember, don't hurt him. We need to capture him alive!"
Yu Shuang naturally didn't understand why his master wanted to take back such a crazy person—no, not a crazy person, but a monster. But since Shen Qingfeng had given the order, Yu Shuang obeyed and said, "Yes!"
"Roar!!!"
Xiang Cheng should still be under the influence of the madness - inducing poison now. He couldn't speak, so it was impossible to communicate with him. Shen Qingfeng reminded Yu Shuang, "He should be very strong! Be careful!"
As soon as the words were out, Xiang Cheng suddenly rushed forward. Yu Shuang reacted extremely quickly. He immediately blocked in front of Shen Qingfeng, raised his short knife, and began to tussle with Xiang Cheng.
Although Xiang Cheng was very strong, he was currently out of his mind. Moreover, Yu Shuang's martial arts skills were ranked at least in the top ten in the martial world. One used brute force, and the other used skillful strength. For a moment, they were evenly matched.