Dire Situation (Arc 1)

Feng Yongrui's hands were shaking and his face was pale. Gnawing on his lips, Feng Yongrui forced himself to stay awake and kill the incoming Gu worms. However, he suddenly felt something on his leg.

"Host!!!" the System was yelling frantically in his ear.

"There are some Gu worms crawling on your leg! Hurry and kill them! If they get too close to your ear, mouth, or nose, those worms can enter you!"

Feng Yongrui felt his head burning with pain. Now, not only was his abdomen throbbing in pain, his entire body felt like it had been submerged in lava.

His skin felt like it was scalded with hot water. Feng Yongrui couldn't even feel the "heat" anymore, all he could feel was pain, pain and pain.

He concentrated his energy and repelled the Gu worms nearest to him. With one swift move, he killed the Gu worms on his legs. The brownish liquid and watery blood splattered on his clothes.

A pungent smell filled the air, and Feng Yongrui did his best to endure.

But in the next moment, Feng Yongrui felt a slimy object sliding across his cheek.

Feng Yongrui shuddered and jumped upwards in surprise. He tried to look at his face, but a wave of pain made him flinch and close his eyes in pain.

With his eyes closed, Feng Yongrui's other senses were heightened. He could feel the slimy feeling of the object moving across his cheek, and he could smell something bitter, with a hint of deadly sweetness in it.

Feng Yongrui moved his hand, intending to swipe away the disgusting object on his cheek. He was sure that it was a Gu worm. However, when he tried to brush away the worm, it resisted and clung to his skin.

More and more worms were charging at him, but Feng Yongrui couldn't kill them fast enough. He was overwhelmed, tired, and in pain.

The worm on his cheek crawled upwards, towards his ear. He felt a strange sensation as it inched towards his ear. He felt dread, disgust, and despair.He couldn't even hear the System anymore.

"Wham!" Feng Yongrui felt a gust of wind blow past him, knocking away the Gu worm that was inches away from entering his ear.

Feng Yongrui struggled to open his eyes, but the pain in his body was so severe that he lost all his strength.

Feng Yongrui flopped unto the ground, collapsing in pain. He heard something and saw a blurry figure, but then darkness enveloped him in its embrace. Feng Yongrui had passed out.

Meanwhile, Hou Renshu, Ma Bo, and the youth were still trapped inside Feng Yongrui's barrier. They had been waiting there for a long, long time.

At first, the two disciples had pounded at the barrier with their fists, trying to escape the barrier. Hou Renshu had even unsheathed his sword and tried to slice the barrier -- to no avail.

Now, the three of them sat on the ground. Hou Renshu was closing his eyes and cultivating. Ma Bo was chewing on his lips, looking at the sky from time to time. The youth had his eyes closed, as if he was sleeping. Hou Renshu opened his eyes after a while.

"I think it's been about three or four hours," Hou Renshu said, clenching his fists.

Ma Bo closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Master will definitely be okay. Nothing will happen to Master," he said.

Hou Renshu nodded his head, but his face was etched with worry.

"Why do you think Master locked us up in here?" Ma Bo whispered. "He must've known something bad was going to happen, right? Do you think Master is encountering difficulties?"

"Extracting the Gu worm is definitely a hard task... Not to mention, Master is going to extract the Gu worm from so many children... Master is really..." Hou Renshu shook is head and did not continue his sentence.

"Speaking of the Gu worm, how does your Master plan on extracting them?" The youth, who had been silent all this time, spoke up.

"I've heard that once you have a Gu worm inside you, you should just sit and wait for death," the youth said. "Is your Master that powerful that he knows how to extract Gu worms?"

Ma Bo petted the youth on the head.

"You... You're Xiao Hei, right?" Ma Bo spoke.

"Well, yes," the youth nodded.

"Then that means you've been staying with us for over five years... Shouldn't you know what kind of person Master is?"

"Hmm..." the youth put his hand under his chin and looked up.

"Your Master is a strange person," the youth surmised.

Ma Bo: "..."

"You... I know Master has many strange habits and odd behavior from time to time, but you shouldn't say it so bluntly like that, okay?" Ma Bo said, his lips twitching.

"Huh. But he is strange," the youth insisted. "I've never seen a human or a cultivator like him... I can't believe the puny Immortal Sect managed to get their hands on someone of his caliber..."

Hou Renshu frowned. "Hey, don't say bad stuff about our sect. I'm telling you, the Immortal Pathway Sect is one of the largest sects in the world."

"Hmph. A few thousand years ago, the Immortal Pathway Sect was nothing but a no-name group of cultivators... I didn't think it would become so big," the youth pouted.

Hou Renshu frowned at the youth's attitude, but knowing the youth was actually an animal, Hou Renshu sighed and did not pursued the matter.

"Right, how exactly did you turn into a human, hm?" Ma Bo began talking to the youth. They had nothing better to do, and rather than waiting anxiously for their Master to return, it would be better to talk.

"I don't know either," the youth shrugged nonchalantly.

"Well, what were you thinking when you rushed over and stopped Master from stepping into the array?" Hou Renshu interrogated.

He still remembered how the dog had charged at Feng Yongrui in full speed, knocking Feng Yongrui away from the array. At that time, Feng Yongrui wanted to follow Xiang Si, but because of the dog's intervention, Xiang Si managed to get away.

"I felt something was wrong at that time, and I just instinctively ran over to your Master. My gut told me that he shouldn't step into the array," the youth explained.

"At that time, I fell into the array... I don't really remember what happened at that time. I felt painful all over my body, and when I woke up, I was already a human..."

"Hmm..." Hou Renshu had a thoughtful look on his face, while Ma Bo chewed on his lips.

"At that time, what --" Hou Renshu's question was cut off by the youth's startled cry.

"Bo'er!" the youth screamed. "The barrier is open! Let's go check on your Master!"

Ma Bo's eyes widened and his heart beat faster. He leapt upwards and sprang unto his feet.

"Shu Ge, let's go and check on Master!" Ma Bo cried.

Hou Renshu stood up and touched the barrier with his hands. He was met with empty air.

"You're right, let's go!" Hou Renshu said excitedly.

The three of them left and hurried over to the place where the children were gathered. Their Master should be there...

When they arrived, they were greeted with an astonishing sight. All the children were lying on the ground, motionless.

Sprawled on top of the children's bodies and scattered across the ground was a mass of whitish lumps and dried blood. There were even some brownish liquid trailing down from the white lumps.

Hou Renshu and Ma Bo scanned the children, looking for the familiar figure of their master.

"I found him!" the youth cried.

Hou Renshu and Ma Bo scurried over to their Master. Feng Yongrui was lying on the ground; his eyes were closed and his face was white. Ma Bo hurriedly put a finger underneath his Master's nose.

"Master is alive," Ma Bo said.

Hou Renshu heaved a sigh of relief and checked the children.

"I think the kids are just sleeping," Hou Renshu said.

"As for these white stuff..." Hou Renshu pinched his nose when he smelled a pungent odor.

"I think those must be the Gu worms," the youth said, sniffing.

"I'll clean this up," Hou Renshu said. "Bo'er, you go and wake Master up. Tell me if there's anything wrong with Master."

Ma Bo agreed and got to work. He pulled Feng Yongrui from the ground and into a sitting position, propping Feng Yongrui on a tree.

"Master," Ma Bo gently shook Feng Yongrui's shoulder.

Ma Bo had checked Feng Yongrui's condition. Other than his weak body (because Feng Yongrui had used too much internal energy), Feng Yongrui had no serious injuries.

"So... why isn't Master waking up?" Ma Bo muttered under his breath.

"Maybe he's just tired and he's sleeping," the youth said as he squatted near Ma Bo.

Hou Renshu had used a spell to get rid of all the worm corpses, but the pungent, acrid smell left by the worms was still in the air. Some of the blood and brownish liquid was still sticking on the children's clothes.

"Hmm..." Suddenly, Feng Yongrui stirred and his eyes flew open.

***

Feng Yongrui: System! The Gu worm almost entered my ear! Why didn't you say anything or give me a warning??

System: Host, I'm sorry, I fainted... QAQ

Feng Yongrui: =_=

***

What is the most disgusting thing or animal you have ever encountered?

Comment below~