Chapter 16 Don’t hurt the young master!
Over time.

Time passed quickly and it was already evening.

Zhou Qingshan and his team still held on to the house next to the Lingjing Pass.

Zhou Qingshan's lips had turned white due to the cold under his straw hat and raincoat, but his eyes were still sharp as he stared at the snow ahead.

At noon they simply ate some dry food and continued to wait in the cold. Everyone's breathing became heavy, but no one complained.

This wait may be their only chance. Once the strange beast appears, they must seize the opportunity.

As time passed, the night grew darker.

The third son glanced at the gradually darkening sky and asked in a low voice:

"Young Master, are you still waiting?"

Zhou Qingshan was silent for a moment. He knew that once it was completely dark, without the light of fire, their vision would be greatly limited, and it would be almost pitch black a hundred meters away.

This beast is very patient. It seems that it will not take any risks...

Zhou Qingshan secretly thought it was a pity, raised his hand and was about to speak.

"Oh no, be careful of the strange beasts..."

At this moment, a faint sound of fighting and roaring came from outside the spiritual world along with the wind and snow.

The sound seemed to be a little far away and could not be heard clearly.

"Why is there a strange beast here..."

"He was seriously injured and has difficulty moving. It would be dangerous for us to take him with us..."

"no!!"

"This beast is very powerful and is about to enter a higher level. We are in a passive position here..."

"It's injured, stab its other eye!"

"Whoa-"

"You'll kill me sooner or later!"

Zhou Qingshan frowned, pricked up his ears, and listened carefully for a while. It seemed that there was a group of people fighting with the strange beast in the wilderness fog.

"Listen, what's that sound?" He felt that the voice sounded familiar.

"It looks like there's someone there." The third son pricked up his ears.

Zhou Shiqi held the spear tightly and took a step forward: "Young Master, can you help?"

Xie Meng remained cautious and quickly reached out to stop him, analyzing:
"No, how could it be such a coincidence? Someone was attacked outside the spiritual realm as soon as it got dark, and who would brave such a heavy snowstorm to travel? In my opinion, it was the human-faced bear who was luring us."

"Don't forget the beast's innate special abilities!!"

Zhou Qingshan thought so too.

The first time they suffered at the hands of this human-faced bear was outside the spiritual realm!

The human-faced bear swallowed a human and was able to imitate human voices so vividly that it was as elusive as a ghost in the fog.

But Zhou Qingshan always felt that the voice was very familiar.

save? Still not saving?

Zhou Qingshan struggled internally, he knew this might be a trap.

Just then, night finally fell, and everything around was swallowed by darkness, with only occasional snowflakes flickering faintly in the night wind.

"Light the torch!" Zhou Qingshan pondered for a moment, then raised his hand decisively.

Hearing this, Xie Meng and Sanzi seemed a little surprised. They looked at Zhou Qingshan puzzledly:
"Young Master?!!"

Zhou Qingshan's voice was firm and powerful:
"Light the fire! Let's go outside the spiritual realm and take a look!!"

Following Zhou Qingshan's order, the people around him quickly lit the torches in their hands. Beams of light cut through the darkness. Zhou Qingshan led the team towards the direction of the spiritual realm pass.

Picking up the dead chickens frozen on the snow, they soon arrived at the gate of the spiritual realm, and several people pushed open the wooden gate. The night was as dark as ink, and the fog was heavy. A dozen people formed a battle formation, holding their spears tightly, and entered the fog.

"Let's go first... ahem... go call for help!"

Passing through the mist, the sounds around me became clearer, the clanging of metal against metal, and the angry roars of strange beasts. These sounds were particularly clear in the mist, as if they were not far away.

"Stay alert and don't let down your guard."

Zhou Qingshan reminded in a low voice.

They walked towards the direction where the sound came from, but their hearts were like taut bowstrings, ready to deal with any unexpected situation at any time.

However, after walking only a hundred steps, the sound suddenly disappeared, and the surroundings fell into an eerie silence.

"That strange beast is gone?!"

After a long while, a cold and familiar voice came from the depths of the fog. The voice seemed to touch a nerve in Zhou Qingshan, causing his heart to tremble.

He recognized the voice immediately—it was the friend he had sent to the martial arts hall.

"Yanqiu, Erhu!!" Zhou Qingshan shouted loudly, his voice echoing in the mist, "We are here!"

Zhou Shiqi and Xie Meng led the way, and Zhou Qingshan quickened his pace and moved towards the source of the sound.

"Is that the little man's voice?!!"

On the other side, the gun-wielding figure with blood on his hands was suddenly startled when he heard the sound coming from the fog.

"Be careful of strange beasts!" she immediately shouted in the direction of the sound.

"Roar--"

At this moment, there was an earth-shaking roar, and the human-faced bear rushed into Zhou Qingshan's team like a black lightning, accompanied by a pungent fishy wind.

The torches in the team flickered under the fierce attack of the strange beast, and were about to go out. Its movements were swift and fierce, and its target was a farmer on the periphery.

The unfortunate farmer was easily destroyed like a fragile porcelain by the violent attack of the human-faced bear. His head shattered instantly by the heavy blow of the bear's paw, and blood and brain matter splattered everywhere. The scene was extremely tragic!

Chi!Chi!
At this critical moment, Zhou Shiqi, Sanzi and Xie Meng reacted quickly without any hesitation. Almost at the same moment when the human-faced bear attacked, they immediately raised their spears and stabbed fiercely at the source of the roar.

“Roar——” The roar of the human-faced bear echoed in the night sky, with pain and anger in the voice.

However, before the three guards could make another move, they were thrown away by the powerful force of the alien beast. Like a kite with a broken string, they crashed heavily into the trees and farmers nearby, making a dull thumping sound.

Faced with this sudden change, the surrounding farmers felt fear crawling up their backs like a cold snake. Their faces instantly turned pale as paper, the spears in their hands began to tremble, and they stood there in a daze for a moment.

"Don't panic! Don't be afraid! Hold the spear tightly! Stab the beast in the direction of the sound!"

Zhou Qingshan shouted loudly.

Chi!Chi!Chi!
At Zhou Qingshan's shout, the farmers regained their footing. They held their spears tightly, mustered up their courage, and launched a counterattack in the direction where the human-faced bear made the sound.

Click!

The human-faced bear let out a deafening roar. Enduring the severe pain, it swung its body violently, throwing the farmers and the spears in their hands far away.

Then, its eyes locked onto Zhou Qingshan, or more precisely, onto the dead chicken hanging on his body.

The next moment, Zhou Qingshan felt a strong gust of wind coming straight towards his forehead.

The black fog surged, the flames flickered, and he caught a glimpse of a strange beast rushing out.

The face of the strange beast was a distorted and terrifying human face, with a scar under its right eye so deep that the bone could be seen. Saliva was dripping from the corners of its mouth, revealing a row of sharp fangs, and it exuded a terrifying aura.

At this life-and-death moment, Zhou Qingshan instinctively wanted to hide in the Yunding chessboard world to avoid this fatal blow.

"Don't hurt the young master!!"

At this moment, an urgent shout pierced the night sky, and a figure rushed over like lightning.

The spear in his hand was wielded as swiftly as a dragon, and with the force of thunder, he struck the human-faced bear from the side, sending it flying.

(End of this chapter)