202: Chapter 202: The Horned Dragon

Fortunately, Heaven does not disappoint those who try.

Wu Li's figure finally stopped in a mountain col.

The col was surrounded by mountains on three sides, with one side open. At the opening, a small waterfall hung from the rock wall; the water was not large, trickling down into the pool below.

The pool was not deep, and one could see the bottom. There was a crack in the rock wall behind the waterfall. Wu Li turned sideways and squeezed in; inside was a naturally formed cave.

The cave was not large, but it was deep enough. It was dry and well-ventilated inside. The ground was hard soil and crushed stone. Several stalactites hung from the ceiling, their tips still dripping water.

Wu Li squatted at the cave entrance to take a look, then stepped back out and scanned the surroundings from the edge of the pool.

All around were miscellaneous trees and chaotic rocks. From the outside, it looked like an ordinary col; without looking carefully, one would never notice there was a cave system behind the waterfall.

"This will do."

After Wu Li confirmed it.

The Crow Flock landed one after another to rest; some squatted on the rocks beside the waterfall, while others drank water by the pool.

Hu Lie lay on a rock beside the cave entrance, his tail hanging down and swaying gently.

Bai Chi squatted by the pool, her claws fiddling with the floating leaves on the water. Inadvertently, she caught a glimpse of a bluestone half-buried in the crushed stone by the pool.

She reached out to brush away the crushed stone and mud, revealing a stone tablet half-buried in the ground. Its surface was covered in moss, and the writing was blurred. She used her claws to scrape off the moss, revealing several incomplete carvings underneath.

"Old Ancestor, look, there are characters here."

Bai Chi raised her head, her gray pupils filled with a hint of surprise.

Wu Li walked over and squatted down.

The characters on the stone tablet had mostly weathered away, and the strokes were incomplete, but three characters could still be vaguely identified.

Qingfeng Ravine!

The handwriting was vigorous and powerful, the carvings deep, as if chiseled stroke by stroke using a Sharp Weapon.

"Qingfeng Ravine."

Wu Li recited it once, his blood-red pupils moving slightly.

Someone had lived in this place before, and the person who lived here had even given it a name.

It wasn't some spiritual mountain or great Dachuan Dynasty, just an ordinary little mountain col, an inconspicuous waterfall, and a cave hidden behind the waterfall.

But someone had given it a name.

"This name is not bad."

"Qingfeng Ravine it is. From now on, this will be our place."

"Gray Rat."

Wu Li called out.

Gray Rat stood up on his two hind legs, looking up at Wu Li: "Old Ancestor."

"Don't rest these next few days."

"Take your descendants and scout out the area within a hundred miles of Qingfeng Ravine."

Gray Rat pricked up his ears and nodded vigorously: "Understood! This little one will go do it right away!"

He turned and burrowed into a crack in the rock. A sharp, high-pitched squeak came from the crevice, as if he were calling his descendants.

A moment later, thousands of smaller Gray Rats emerged from the rock cracks, following Gray Rat as they vanished in a flash at the end of the mountain path.

...

Meanwhile.

North of Black Stone Ridge, inside a massive cave entrenched by a river valley.

Deep inside the cave, it was brightly lit. Torches were inserted into both sides of the stone walls, grease dripping and crackling.

The stalactites hanging from the cave ceiling were illuminated by the torchlight, flickering in and out of brightness like rows of blood-dripping fangs.

Inside the cave, several large cauldrons were set over fires, with meat broth stewing inside. A thick layer of grease floated on the surface of the soup, steam rolling, emitting a nauseating, thick, fishy stench.

Several thick leg bones were rested on the rims of the cauldrons, with untrimmed muscle and sinew still attached to the ends, and several fingers floated on the surface of the soup.

On the ground were piles of leftover bones, some still stained with blood threads and bits of meat.

Shoulder blades, hip bones, ribs—scattered all over the floor, white and ghastly, gleaming with an eerie, oily sheen in the firelight.

On a crude wooden table lay several unfinished spines, with bits of meat and sinew still stuck in the bone crevices. Next to them were piled several intact skulls, some with their tops smashed open, their contents already scooped out.

Dozens of the Yao Race squatted in the cave. Some held human leg bones, gnawing until their mouths were covered in grease. Others fished a piece of flesh out of the cauldron, tore off meat to stuff into their mouths, and chewed until the bones crunched loudly.

Some held wine jars, pouring the liquid into their mouths. The wine dripped down their chins onto their chests, mixing with grease and blood, soaking the fur on their chests.

In a corner against the wall were piled several unfinished corpses of the Human Race, stacked haphazardly. Some were already unrecognizable, like piles of torn rags. Blood seeped down through the cracks in the stone floor, soaking into the soil and staining the ground beneath their feet a dark, bloody red.

Horned Dragon sat at the head. The hem of his dark cyan scale-patterned robe trailed on the ground, revealing a pair of bare feet beneath, the webbing between his toes stained with dried blood crusts.

He held a bone cup in his hands; the liquid inside was dark red and viscous, emitting a strong, bloody stench that, mixed with the smell of alcohol, permeated the cave.

He swirled the bone cup, took a sip, and the blood-wine slid down his throat, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

His vertical pupils narrowed slightly, as if savoring something.

His gaze swept over the Yao Race below who were gnawing on their food, sweeping once, then sweeping again.

His brows slowly furrowed.

"Why hasn't that fellow Zhu Li come?"

The voice was not loud, but the cave instantly fell silent.

The Yao Race who had been holding bones and gnawing stopped simultaneously, looking around with bewildered expressions.

A moment later, a Badger Yao stood up from a corner, wiped the grease from his hands, and said with a fawning smile: "Great King, that fellow Zhu Li... that shouldn't be. I saw him earlier on the mountain path capturing a few Human Race Cultivators, saying he was preparing a congratulatory gift for you, Great King, and was on his way here."

Another Fox Yao chimed in, his voice shrill.

"Yes, yes, yes, I saw it too, escorting seven or eight people."

"Then where are they now?"

Horned Dragon's vertical pupils swept over; the Fox Yao shrank his neck, not daring to respond.

The cave was silent for several breaths.

In a corner, a Jackal Yao who was tearing at human flesh and stuffing it into his mouth stopped, licked the blood from the corner of his mouth, and mumbled indistinctly: "Could he have defected to E Kuang?"

This remark was like a knife stabbed into a pot of boiling oil.

"Defected to E Kuang? Although that fellow Zhu Li is stupid, he doesn't have the guts to go that far."

"That's not certain. E Kuang has been making quite a stir recently, recruiting troops and buying horses. What if Zhu Li was persuaded?"

"Pah, with his character, it's debatable whether E Kuang would even look at him."

The Yao Race chattered away, some pounding tables, some crunching bones, some shouting at the top of their lungs. The noise in the cave rose again, mixed with the bubbling sound of the meat broth in the cauldrons.

Horned Dragon sat at the head, listening to the chaotic sounds below. He slowly set down the bone cup in his hand, placing it on the armrest of his stone chair, making a deep, dull thud.

His dark yellow vertical pupils did not look at any of the Yao, but stared at the flickering flames of the torches at the cave entrance. The firelight flickered deep within his pupils, as if something were burning inside.

"Go investigate."

Horned Dragon roared angrily.

Two Middle Stage Rank 2 Wolf Yao stood up from the corner, cupped their hands to receive the order, turned, and walked quickly out of the cave. Their footsteps grew more distant in the passage, eventually swallowed by the wind.

The cave fell silent again, leaving only the meat broth in the cauldrons still bubbling, the grease and meat scraps floating on the surface colliding, separating, gathering, and dispersing again.