Xiao Fei hid behind the rocks, watching the demonic beast walk away before collapsing onto the ground, gasping for breath.
The beast ambled to the edge of the cliff, its gait already a bit unsteady.
It extended the sharp hooks on its claws, digging into the rock, and climbed the cliff as if on level ground. However, the refugees it had consumed earlier contained the essence of the Drunken Immortal Grass.
As the refugees were slowly digested in its belly, the essence of the Drunken Immortal Grass entered the beast's body, making it feel dizzy and weak.
"Bang!"
Halfway up the cliff, the beast tumbled down. Fortunately, its thick hide protected it from injury. It stood up, shook its head, and continued climbing.
This time, it was worse. It only managed to climb a little over ten feet before falling again.
Then it climbed again, fell again, climbed again…
Despite its strength, the beast seemed to lack intelligence. After so many falls, it never stopped to consider the reason or think of a solution. Its actions were purely instinctive, like any animal.
Just as the beast was repeatedly falling, Zhu Yu and his group, who had retreated earlier, returned. A row of heads peeked out from behind a pile of rocks in the distance.
"The demonic beast is poisoned by the Drunken Immortal Grass. Now is the best time to kill it!"
"All participants today will be rewarded with ten taels of silver. If we successfully kill the beast, each person will receive an additional ten taels."
"Kill it!"
Under the lure of a substantial reward, over twenty strong men drew their swords and charged at the beast with roars.
"Clang, clang, ding, ding, bang, bang…"
Various weapons struck the beast's scales, producing the sound of metal clashing, sparks flying, and a lively scene.
However, the beast remained unharmed. It narrowed its eyes, viewing these foolish creatures as merely tickling it.
It even felt quite comfortable. If they had applied more force, it would have been even more pleasurable!
If the beast could speak at this moment, it would have gladly tipped them and asked for an extended session, perhaps even a full body massage.
"Mmm… ah… so comfortable! A little lower, yes, right there. My back is bad, rub it more!"
"My prostate is also not good, give it some maintenance!"
"Young man, put more strength into it, Auntie likes it rough!"
"…………"
Fortunately, the beast had not yet learned to speak human language. Otherwise, how would these over twenty panting strong men have reacted?
Although the beast didn't speak, its actions at this moment caused the men immense humiliation.
The beast, dizzy and weak from the Drunken Immortal Grass, was now receiving free full-body massages from these people. It had even tucked its head under its belly and fallen asleep, snoring!
On the other side, Xiao Fei, seeing Zhu Yu and his group return, pulled his head back behind the rock.
While the beast might have let him go if it was full or if it lacked seasoning, Zhu Yu and his men would never let him off the hook.
He had attacked first to escape, injuring one of the strong men, and a mortal enmity had been forged between them.
The previous refugees, who had no grudge against him, were lured to the mountain and killed. There was no reason for these people to spare him, their enemy.
However, it was too late for him to hide. His intimate interaction with the beast earlier had been witnessed by Zhu Yu and his men lurking in the shadows.
At this moment, a strong man was already approaching his hiding spot with a knife.
Xiao Fei looked around, unable to find an escape route.
In front of him, Zhu Yu was watching the spectacle with Zhu Chang and others. To his left, over twenty strong men were providing massage services to the beast with their swords and knives. Several weapons had already been broken, and he certainly couldn't go there.
To his right, two strong men stood guard with knives. Charging at them would be like a lamb walking into a tiger's den.
Now, only the towering cliff behind him remained.
Xiao Fei glanced back at the cliff. It wasn't particularly smooth; there were cracks and crevices formed by weathering, which could serve as handholds and footholds. It was dangerous, but he could try to climb it.
A short distance away, two strong men, under Zhu Yu's orders, were climbing the cliff, their target being the small tree near the beast's cave.
Xiao Fei looked up at the cliff again, mentally mapping a feasible route. Once he was on the cliff, he wouldn't be able to see his surroundings clearly, and he could only go up, not down.
While planning his route, Xiao Fei fumbled around on the ground, collecting many stones into his spatial storage.
Seeing the knife-wielding strong man getting closer, Xiao Fei quickly sprinted towards the cliff, using the momentum of his run, he scrambled up five or six feet in a flash.
At this moment, the strong man had reached the base of the cliff and raised his knife to chop at Xiao Fei's feet, but he was just a few inches short.
As the strong man leaped up, preparing to strike Xiao Fei, a large rock came hurtling towards his face.
"Bang!"
The strong man, mid-air and unable to dodge, was at close range. Blood splattered, his eyes gushed blood, and his nose was flattened.
"I &%#…"
The strong man fell to the ground, clutching his face and cursing. Unexpectedly, another rock fell, hitting his head, creating another bloody gash. He could only retreat, covering his head with both hands.
Seeing the strong man retreat, Xiao Fei focused on climbing upwards along the route he had planned.
He was agile and strong, using both hands and feet, and with his pre-planned route, his climbing speed was not slow.
In contrast, the two strong men, though strong and likely much more powerful than Xiao Fei, weighed at least twice as much. They were less agile on the cliff than Xiao Fei.
"Quick! Stop him, knock him down."
Zhu Yu saw Xiao Fei climbing towards the spiritual medicine and shouted loudly. Several more strong men immediately began climbing the cliff.
These strong men, having seen Xiao Fei throw rocks earlier, had learned their lesson. They climbed from slightly further away, preparing to flank him.
All Xiao Fei could do was climb desperately, to climb faster and higher than these men, and absolutely avoid being cornered on the cliff, which would be a death sentence.
The only man blocking his path now was one strong man who was originally climbing towards the spiritual medicine on the cliff but was now ordered by Zhu Yu to intercept him.
This strong man blocked him from above, drawing his saber. Movement was inconvenient on the cliff, making it difficult to slash with a sword. As Xiao Fei climbed closer, the strong man threw his saber directly at him.
The saber whistled through the air, slicing towards Xiao Fei's head along the cliff face.
At the critical moment, Xiao Fei only had time to tilt his head. The saber grazed his scalp and embedded itself in his back.
"Hiss!"
Xiao Fei gasped for breath several times. The knife was still lodged in his back, swaying precariously. Perhaps due to the surge of adrenaline, he didn't feel much pain.
Seeing that his saber strike hadn't killed Xiao Fei, the strong man extended his leg to kick him, intending to send him tumbling off the cliff.
"Bang!"
A kick landed on the top of Xiao Fei's head.
Gritting his teeth, Xiao Fei dug his fingers and toes into the rock crevices, pressing his body against the cliff face. His head was kicked askew, but he didn't fall.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
Several kicks landed on his head and face, but he still clung tightly to the rock crevices. If he let go, he would be smashed to pieces.
Fortunately, both of them were clinging to the cliff face, making it difficult to exert force. The strong man had to maintain his balance while kicking, so the power wasn't very great.
If they were fighting on level ground, one kick would send someone flying.
At this moment, the strong man kicked Xiao Fei's shoulder again. Perhaps due to exhaustion, his leg retracted more slowly, giving Xiao Fei an opportunity. He bit down on the strong man's heel.
Once he had a grip, he used all his strength, refusing to let go, even hanging his body weight on the strong man's leg.
"Let go!"
"Let go quickly! You mad dog!"
"I haven't washed my feet in a year, my soles are festering!"
His life now depended on his strong teeth. Even if it were a pile of dung, he would bite it.
Taking advantage of the moment the strong man's leg was bitten, Xiao Fei finally managed to draw his black saber from his waist and stab it into the strong man's leg. With a flick of the blade, the Achilles tendon of that leg was severed.
With one leg crippled and on the cliff, the strong man could no longer focus on intercepting Xiao Fei; he just wanted to escape.
But Xiao Fei wasn't going to let him go. Holding the black saber in his mouth, he used all four limbs to pursue and sever the strong man's other Achilles tendon.
Now that both of the strong man's legs were crippled, he could only use his hands for support, and falling off the cliff was only a matter of time.
Xiao Fei bypassed the strong man and climbed above him, heading towards the cave where the spiritual medicine was located.
By the time he reached the cave, he was utterly exhausted and sat on the ground, gasping for breath.
The knife still lodged in his back had not been removed. As he climbed up, he swayed precariously, and the pain from the wound had numbed him.
He peeked out from the cave. The strong man whose Achilles tendons he had severed was still clinging to the cliff face with both hands, holding on.
Another strong man was nearing the cave entrance. Xiao Fei picked up two large rocks and hurled them down, smashing the man's head, who let out a pained cry before falling.
Now, guarding the cave entrance, he was like a lone warrior at a pass, impenetrable. No one could ascend.
Looking around, the other men were still far from the cave. Xiao Fei retracted his head. He needed to figure out how to remove the knife from his back first.
His back muscles were tense and contracted, providing some hemostasis. Forcibly pulling out the knife could cause secondary damage and severe bleeding.
But he had no other options. He couldn't possibly ask Zhu Yu and his men for help.
Xiao Fei tore a large piece of cloth from his clothes and cut it into strips, preparing to bandage the wound.
What a shame for his new clothes.
He grabbed the hilt of the knife, took a deep breath, and suddenly yanked it out. Blood spurted out.
Ignoring the pain of the wound, he quickly wrapped the strips tightly around his back. With no one to help, he could only wrap it as tightly as possible to stop the bleeding.
After finally bandaging the wound, he hurried back to the cave entrance to check. Several strong men were already close to the cave mouth.
He threw a few stones downwards, knocking three more men off. The rest were scared and dared not approach.
Only the one whose tendons he had severed was still stubbornly clinging to the cliff face with both hands.
Xiao Fei couldn't help but admire the man's resolute will. He must not be spared!
Only then did Xiao Fei have the leisure to look at the small tree at the cave entrance.
The tree was only a little over two feet tall, with slender, verdant leaves. Four egg-shaped fruits hung from it; three had ripened to a deep red, while one was still green.