Flesh

Zero continued smashing the Three Armed Woman. He continued till all was left of her head was chunks of brain and bone. Even then he didn't stop, hitting and screaming at her to die.

He continued on, face covered in blood. He didn't stop.

Not when the traders came with their spears and poked at him. Not even when the blob in the corner began to cry and attempt to move.

He smashed again and again. He was angry. He was a little scared. But most of all, he was alive. He felt alive.

Finally, the head trader ordered that the cage be opened.

"Bind the boy at once! He's killed two of my best goods. What's this? He seems to have grown an arm overnight...and resembles a ghoul."

The trader didn't know whether to be amazed or wary. One thing he knew though, was that this seemingly sickly boy was very valuable.

Stone and a tall, lanky man went into the cage and brought out a heaving Zero. His eyes were unfocused.

Zero had never felt such malice as he did now. He had many times experienced and accepted the brutality of the world. But he himself, was not cruel.

He was not an oppressor. Nor was he a killer. Zero was the farthest thing from a villain in fact.

'What...what have I done?'

His stomach churned and a mixture of vomit, bile and a reminant cluster of maggots came gushing out of his mouth.

"You little demon!" The head trader pointed angrily at him. He did not come any closer till Stone and the lanky man had bound Zero in more chains. "Look what you've done to my merchandise. I paid good money for those women, yes I did! And you better hope you'd be worth every penny I spent and more."

There was a pause.

"Or else. I know people who could make even a freak like yourself cry in pain."

Zero looked up from his vomit, and dead into the man's eyes. But he said nothing in reply. The trader grunted and made his way back to his tent.

"We set off immediately!" He called out.

The brutes handling him, pulled hard at the chains, forcing him to rise and stumble barefoot on the chilly snow after them. For traders who claimed their goods were important, they really did not do a good job in keeping them in best conditions.

Zero was too weak to fight back. And even if he wasn't, he was no match for Stone or his tall companion.

His thoughts were elsewhere.

The Soul Ceaser...

Where could it have gone? The Voice clearly said that this being was extremely hungry. It was not supposed to stop the hunt until Zero was in its horrid, hollowed belly.

What could have happened?

If it was indeed the corruption, every one of them here should be dead.

There was no way of knowing.

Stone and Lanky pulled Zero along while the rest of the Nisari traders got the cages moving. The horses pulling them were Mutated as well; giant, grotesque animals with the strength of five horses each.

These Nisari traders...

They were a very weird lot.

A lot of time passed. A few days.

The winter sun did nothing to warm the earth. It sat up in the sky, prettily displaying its rays.

The wind was harsh. The road was even harsher.

Zero noticed that the path they took was not a popular one. He could tell by how often the traders needed to clear some trees in their way.

If they were avoiding a collision with the Corruption, then he knew these efforts were futile. Either the malicious liquid shadow was not interested in these puny human beings, or it simply wasn't in the vicinity.

Zero had no idea how far they were from the Qiqi village outskirts.

They might have gone far. The might have not. It didn't matter.

He never wanted to see that terrible place again. If he could, he would erase the memories of ever living in that hell.

A hell where he lost his mother and was abhorred by the only family he had left no matter what he did.

He loved them... Zero sadly admitted. He still held on to the familiar love for his brother and his now dead father.

After all, they had only begun to hate him after he gave his mother the vile disease that claimed his limb.

He wanted his old family back. His father had shut him away. His brother and wife had mistreated him. But who could stop loving their family with such conviction?

Especially when it was your fault...

Zero never wanted to see the village again. And yet he wished he never left.

' I am so unfortunate. ' He thought bitterly. There was a sullen smile on his face. A pathetic smile.

The sun was setting. His feet were full of blisters. The snow was unending.

The traders did not stop their journey until the sun was long gone. They came up to a clearing, lit a small fire and set up camp. Some slaves had passed out from the terrible cold.

A few had died. Some of the traders were getting agitated.

"Sir Li, I know it's not my place, but travelling in this weather was not the best choice," said the tall, lanky man after he had tied Zero to a withering tree a distance away from the fire.

The Sir Li in question was the so-called head trader of the group. The man with the beards that hung over his portly belly.

"You don't get to say what was the right or wrong decision. We had to move. There's money in the capital." He replied. He took out a leather skin of wine and downed it. In his other hand was some dried meat.

Zero's eyes were fixated on the food.

How long had it been since he ate?

Months if he was to do the math.

Lanky man was exasperated. In a lower voice he told the head trader, "We're months away from Jin city. You know it. These woods are not safe. If you're shying away from the travel route officers, then we are going to be on this path for a very long time."

He paused, watching the head man continue sipping his wine and eating his meat without a care in the world.

"We will starve out here! We can carry a few goods; the most valuable ones and move faster. We'll go unnoticed if we carry fewer merchandise along the main routes."

The pot-bellied Sir Li continued eating. He even let out a belch. A very loud belch.

"I don't pay you to give me silly advice. Keep the slaves alive and you can keep your head. We set off at dawn." With a grunt, the fat man pushed himself back to his feet. He was heading for his tent.

Tall lanky man wasn't pleased by the response. He began to beg reason again but was cut off by his leader's mocking whisper.

"A silly little slave who got lucky thinks he can tell me what to do. Psh!"

And that was it. Lanky man snapped.

"Lucky? I got lucky? I bought myself out of slavery! I worked hard for it. Look! I even lost body parts for it! Don't you dare—"

Sir Li interrupted Lanky man in the middle of his statement again.

"So you lost your manhood. Sad really. Lucky mostly. Ha! No wonder you whine on like a woman."

Zero watched this scene in growing hunger. He wished they'd stop fighting and give the slaves their rations for the night at least.

The other twenty or so traders sat around another fire, yet to notice the growing commotion.

The last comment Sir Li made was enough to trigger a brawl.

Lanky Man launched at him. He was twice the fat man's height and probably half his age as well. He had more than a fair shot. The head trader was a little drunk but he had not come so far in his expertise by being a weakling.

"So you want to fight then?! I'll have you know my father was a martial arts instructor in the jiangu!"

Lanky man was consumed by rage.

By now, the entire gathering if traders had turned to see the brewing confrontation.

Zero just wanted to eat. The other slaves in the cages however had perked up to watch.

The two men, one tall and thin as bamboo and the other fat and stout as the teapot, were about to face each other head on.

The traders were not men of solidarity. They had come together solely for the money. So this was a great entertainment to them. Some even bet on which would knock the wind out of the other.

And just when things were starting to get interesting, it all ended.

Something horrifyingly huge came thrashing out of the bushes. A nine foot mass of flesh.

It was nothing but that— a pile of flesh covered in red-purple veins. It pulsed as though it was breathing through the many bubbly holes on its horrid body.

What was frightening was the way it appeared from nowhere. Such stealth. And for something so bulky too. It was only a wonder how many of them...

And just then, two more emerged, both grotesque fleshy monstrosities. There was a seven foot mass that had bones and teeth growing out from it. The other was covered in warped faces. Each face seemed to be contorted in horrror. Forever frozen in time.

Before any of the traders could register the danger they were in, the face covered monster shot out a grisly tongue and dug into sir Li's gut. With a violent pull, the head trader's intestines were ripped out into the air and consumed at once.

The face monster roared in delight and fumes of dark mana escaped its body. The other two monsters screeched in response, no doubt interested in feasting.

Well then.