Dragon Vein Storyteller

Chapter 28 White Meat Again

"you say."

"Release the child. Let him follow behind me."

Zhao Ming stared at me for a long time before finally nodding and giving Yan Kuan a wink. Yan Kuan removed the sword from the chick's neck and shoved him to my side. The chick stumbled, then threw himself into my arms, his little hands gripping my clothes tightly.

I patted his head, shielded him behind me, and then walked to the entrance of the stone steps.

It was pitch black below; I couldn't see anything. I shone my torch down and could only make out the top few stone steps. Below that was endless darkness, like an open mouth waiting to swallow you whole. A sweet, metallic smell wafted up from the air, like blood, or something else entirely… I'd smelled that same scent before, by the edge of the pit—it was the smell of an earthworm.

I took a deep breath, gripped the short dagger at my waist, and took my first step.

My feet trod on the stone steps, cool and hard, yet very stable. I descended step by step, the torchlight flickering on the stone wall, casting a long, long shadow. The little chick followed behind me, its tiny hands gripping the back of my shirt, not daring to fall behind.

Zhao Ming and Yan Kuan followed behind the little chick, then Liao Yuan, Hui Jue, the one-eyed giant, and seven or eight surviving outlaws and tomb raiders. The group didn't say a word; only the sound of their footsteps echoed in the narrow stone path, one after another, like drumbeats striking the heart.

After climbing about twenty or thirty steps, a glimmer of light finally appeared ahead.

It wasn't the light of torches, but a pale blue light shining from a door at the end of the stone path. I recognized that light... it was exactly the same as the light of the Jade Manual and the light of the Ding Qin Sword.

I walked up to that door and stopped.

This is no ordinary stone door.

The door was covered with the same dragon patterns as the bluestone slabs outside, the patterns gleaming slightly under the blue light, as if they had come alive. In the very center of the door was a groove... the shape of that groove was all too familiar to me.

It is the shape of a jade seal.

I took the jade scroll out of my bosom and placed it in the groove.

A soft "click" sounded.

The jade scroll was perfectly embedded, fitting seamlessly, as if it had always been there. A brilliant blue light surged forth from the cracks in the door, from the dragon patterns, and from the jade scroll itself, illuminating the entire stone path. The dragon patterns seemed to come alive, climbing up the door, up the stone walls, and onto everyone... The light wasn't hot; it was gentle, like warm water enveloping you, yet I could feel something awakening within it.

The stone gate slowly opened.

Behind the door was a huge stone chamber, even larger and taller than the main hall above. In the very center of the chamber stood a stone table, and on the table was something... not gold or silver jewelry, not some divine weapon, but a piece of meat.

A piece of grayish-white meat that looked like it had just been cut from some living creature.

The meat was still moving.

One beat after another, like breathing, or perhaps a heartbeat. With each movement, a sweet, metallic scent wafted from above, mingling with the bluish light and wafting into one's nostrils. I've seen this thing before. In the cocoon beside the statue of Nuwa, in the shed skin of the earth dragon, in the chewed-up remains by the deep pit… This is Tai Sui.

This is no ordinary Tai Sui.

It is the Tai Sui that can transform people into dragons.

I stared at the piece of meat, and a thought suddenly flashed through my mind… The fight we just had up there, the blood shed, the deaths—it was all just a prelude. It was all a prelude to luring out this piece of Tai Sui. This White Emperor City, this Bridge of Helplessness, this Human Emperor's lineage—all of this is a massive scheme that has lasted for tens of thousands of years.

Whoever survives to the end will get to eat this piece of meat. Whoever eats this piece of meat will become the next earth dragon. Whoever becomes the next earth dragon will become the new sacrifice for this dragon vein.

Zhao Ming laughed behind me.

He smiled broadly, as if he had finally found what he wanted. He pushed me aside, walked step by step to the stone table, and reached out to take the piece of Tai Sui.

"Don't rush," I called out to him calmly, "Do you know what this thing is?"

"What is it?" Zhao Ming turned to look at me, his eyes gleaming with greed. "An elixir of immortality? Or a magic pill that makes one invincible?"

"No," I shook my head, "this is a pupa. If you eat it, you won't be human anymore."

He paused for a moment, as if he hadn't understood what I said.

"The earth dragons outside," I pointed in the direction of the stone gate, "were originally all people. Just like you, just like me, and then they turned into that... scales, fangs, claws, no memories, no emotions, only the instinct to eat, tearing each other apart, devouring each other, and the one that survived to the end became the new Gu King, and then was eaten by this dragon vein as a tonic."

Zhao Ming stared at me for a long time, then suddenly laughed, a loud laugh, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.

"Who the hell are you trying to scare?" he spat. "What's wrong with becoming a dragon? It's better than being a rat in this dark, sunless underground! Even if I really become one of those earth dragons you're talking about, as long as I can get out alive and become the number one in the world, I'll accept it!"

I was overjoyed when Zhao Ming said that they weren't brought here by the black-armored soldiers. Since they were able to get here, there must be a way out!

As he spoke, he turned around again, his hand already touching the piece of Tai Sui.

The giant fish, touched by him, suddenly began to pound violently, like a heart awakened from its slumber. The sweet, fishy smell instantly intensified tenfold, enveloped in a bluish light and piercing everyone's nostrils. I saw Yan Kuan's eyes change, Liao Yuan's eyes change, and the one-eyed giant's eyes change too... A thin layer of silver-gray began to appear in their eyes, exactly like those people with scales growing in the river.

They were already affected by the smell of the Tai Sui.

It will be too late if we wait any longer.

"Three jin!" I shouted.

Sanjin rushed up from behind, his broken dragon claw barbed, and slammed it down on the Tai Sui. With a "poof," the Tai Sui cracked open, and grayish-white liquid gushed out, splashing onto the stone table. Zhao Ming was startled by this sudden attack, turned around abruptly, and slashed at Sanjin with his short knife.

Feng the Cripple's crutch arrived first.

The jujube wood cane whistled through the air as it struck Zhao Ming's wrist. With a crisp "crack," Zhao Ming's wrist snapped, and the short knife fell to the ground with a sharp sound. He groaned in pain, clutching his broken wrist and backing away, his face a mixture of shock and rage.

"You're all fucking insane!" he roared. "You're giving up something that grants you immortality? You want to die?!"

"Who wants to die is still uncertain."

Just as we were talking, something started gushing out from the crack in the piece of Tai Sui.

It's not juice, it's scales.

Tiny, silvery-gray scales began to grow from the crack in the Tai Sui, growing faster and denser, as if something was trying to crawl out. The entire stone chamber began to shake, and pebbles fell from the ceiling. The pungent, sweet-smelling odor was so strong it made one want to vomit.