Twilight's Threshold Chapter 238: Human-Faced Sores - Novel Cool

Chapter 238: Human-Faced Sores

Chapter 238: Human-Faced Sores

"Just wild dogs, and they have so many rules?"

Zhang Agu’s sudden words made Hu Ma feel quite surprised. He had heard of many wild dogs that ate corpses and even humans, but he had never heard of such malevolent and vengeful ones. "They dig up graves and even want to eat the dead inside coffins?"

"All this comes from eating too much human flesh, which taints them with evil energy..."

Zhang Agu sighed softly, "When wild dogs are hungry, they will dig up graves, pry open coffins, and drag out the dead to eat."

"Over time, they start to taste the flavor of human flesh, their eyes turn red, and their mouths become toxic with the venom of corpses. Their nature becomes increasingly malevolent, and they develop their own set of rules."

"When we help people escort spirits, we fear two things: the first is reanimation, and the second is these corpse-seeking wild dogs."

"..."

Seeing Zhang Agu’s serious expression, Hu Ma focused and asked, "What should we do? Should we just slaughter them all?"

He only had a basic understanding of the Ghost Walker’s techniques, but the skills of the Age Guardians were solid and practical.

"I have my knife with me; there’s no reason to fear these wild dogs."

"Absolutely not..."

Zhang Agu was taken aback and quickly said, "Once you kill one, you’ll have trouble. No matter how many you kill, you will offend these wild dogs. They will follow you along the way, summoning other evil spirits to cause trouble. They will also gather more of their kind and urinate in the water source or upwind, and their urine is toxic."

"The area we are traveling through has few living people and many dead ones. It’s unknown how many evil spirits are lurking here. If we get entangled with them, we won’t have a moment’s peace."

"..."

Hu Ma was astonished, "They have such abilities?"

Zhang Agu shook her head, "In places with few living people, these evil spirits adapt and develop rules that don’t apply to the living..."

Hu Ma nodded and turned his head, seeing the desolate landscape with tall grass and broken-down structures.

In the cold, desolate wind, he could see many emaciated, red-eyed wild dogs running around in the distance, some whispering to each other and occasionally glancing at them, as if discussing something.

The bandits had killed most of the people here, but the wild dogs were plentiful.

He took a deep breath, not panicking, and asked Zhang Agu, "Is there a solution?"

Zhang Agu thought for a moment and said, "How much meat did we get from the caravan yesterday?"

Hu Ma replied, "We got two large pieces of cured pork yesterday, and we haven’t eaten much of it. We also have plenty of rice and flour."

"Take a piece of pork with you!"

Zhang Agu whispered, "There must be one among these wild dogs that has developed some Daoist power."

"It’s this one that’s directing the others to follow us and demand corpses. If we antagonize them, it’s this one that will have the ability to summon other evil spirits to cause us trouble."

"Let’s follow the rules and give it some benefits so it will let us pass."

"I never thought I’d be negotiating with wild dogs one day..."

Hu Ma laughed a bit helplessly, turned back, and rummaged through the bundle on the donkey cart next to the coffin.

There were two large pieces of cured pork, one weighing over ten pounds and the other over twenty pounds.

Zhang Agu wasn’t stingy and had Hu Ma take the larger piece, over twenty pounds. Just as he was about to go, Zhang Agu whispered again, "Take your knife with you."

"..."

Hu Ma was taken aback for a moment but then smiled and turned back to take his knife.

Zhang Agu, who had always been kind to others, had never suggested he bring a weapon before.

He attached the saw-toothed blade to his waist, held the cured pork in his hand, and Zhang Agu picked up a stick from the roadside. She then took out some red strings from the bundle, wrapped them around the stick, and hid them in her wide sleeves. She then led Hu Ma toward the wild dogs.

The cart driver and the apprentices, seeing their strange behavior, stared with wide eyes. Zhou Manager remained silent, guarding the coffin.

"Growl..."

When the wild dogs saw Hu Ma and Zhang Agu approaching, they instinctively tried to flee.

But seeing the two of them holding cured pork and not showing any hostility, they ran a few steps and then turned to look back.

They growled low, as if ordering them to stop.

Zhang Agu indeed stopped in front of them and said respectfully, "Honorable spirits ahead, we are Ghost Walkers who travel far and wide, entrusted to escort the deceased back to their hometown. We have no past grievances with you."

"Today, as we pass through your territory, we are grateful for your kindness in escorting us. In return, we offer this piece of cured pork. Please accept it..."

"..."

There was a moment of silence, and countless dark red eyes stared intently at the cured pork in Hu Ma’s hand.

"Zhang Agu is being polite, but they don’t seem to react..."

Hu Ma thought, "Could it be that these creatures are not smart enough to understand human speech?"

Just as he was thinking this, the wild dogs, after staring at the cured pork and drooling for a while, suddenly turned their heads and ran to the side of the road. They then looked back at Hu Ma and Zhang Agu, as if signaling them to follow, and then darted into the desolate fields by the roadside.

Hu Ma saw that Aunt Zhang had followed along, so he also followed, trailing behind the lead wild dog as it wandered through the hills. Surprisingly, they arrived at a circle of tombs.

Looking around, they saw black stone steles standing tall, like the ancestral graves of a prominent family. However, everything was in disarray, with burial garments and rotten wood scattered everywhere, along with various antique items.

Even the bones inside the coffins had been dragged out, with teeth marks on them, and flies buzzed about. It was truly a scene of utter desolation.

The lead wild dog, upon reaching this place, retreated behind the tombstones and disappeared, leaving the area eerily quiet.

Aunt Zhang let out a low sigh and gestured for Hu Ma to hold up the cured meat. He stepped forward into the desolate tomb circle and repeated what he had said earlier.

Then he waited quietly. After a while, a deep, mournful howl suddenly echoed from behind the tombstones, and a wild dog emerged, staring at them with a sinister gaze.

Seeing this wild dog, Hu Ma couldn't help but be startled.

The wild dog was as big as a calf, with dark red, bloodshot eyes that seemed to be dripping with blood. Most alarmingly, it had several large sores on its head and body, and on one of the sores on its back, a face had formed, with the features crammed together, looking like a human face growing on the dog's back.

Aunt Zhang let out a low sigh and turned to Hu Ma, saying, "Young Master, offer the gifts we prepared for the wronged spirits!"

Hu Ma nodded and stepped forward. The wild dog immediately fixed its gaze on him, and he stopped, placing the cured meat on the ground.

"Past grievances have been forgotten, and we bear no grudges. It's better to resolve matters amicably..."

Aunt Zhang then bowed respectfully to the wild dog, saying, "Please accept this cured meat. Will you let us pass?"

Her tone was polite, but there was a hint of urgency.

The wild dog glanced at the cured meat on the ground, its dark red eyes cold and unreadable. It then looked up at Aunt Zhang and Hu Ma, and saliva began to drip from its mouth.

It seemed to be thinking, its eyes darting between them and the cured meat. Eventually, its eyes grew even redder, and it let out a low, hoarse bark, like a ghostly wail.

Suddenly, the surrounding grass rustled, and more wild dogs emerged from the shadows, their furry heads bobbing. Their eyes glowed with a strange light, and they stared at Hu Ma and Aunt Zhang with a fierce intensity, growling menacingly.

Hu Ma's eyes swept over the pack. He saw that some of the dogs had patchy fur, others had open wounds, and still others were infested with lice. They were all emaciated and looked incredibly vicious, with drool dripping from their sharp teeth.

He lowered his voice and asked, "What's going on?"

"They don't agree," Aunt Zhang sighed. "They want not only what's in the coffins but us as well."

"From the looks of the leader, I knew today wouldn't end well. This pack has likely feasted on countless corpses, perhaps even living humans, and that's why they have these human-faced sores."

"Each sore makes them more evil. I wonder how many human brains they had to eat to grow so many..."

"..."

Hu Ma stared at the sores on the lead dog and said, "What should we do?"

"Fight these beasts."

Aunt Zhang clenched her teeth and added, "But, Young Master, be careful. We mustn't let the leader escape, or it will cause endless trouble..."

Before she could finish, the lead dog let out a long, mournful howl. The other wild dogs, their eyes already bloodshot, suddenly went berserk, pawing at the ground and charging at Hu Ma and Aunt Zhang.

The air was filled with a pungent, putrid smell from the dogs' mouths, causing dizziness. The area was a chaos of sharp teeth and claws.

Aunt Zhang, usually meek and timid, suddenly pulled out a hidden wooden stick and swung it at the head of the nearest dog.

The lead dog, after giving the order, seemed to have a human-like cunning on its face. Instead of charging, it slowly retreated deeper into the tomb circle.

Hu Ma, however, did not rush to attack. As the wild dogs charged, he raised his hand to his ribs and quietly gathered his internal energy. Suddenly, his five viscera vibrated, and he let out a thunderous shout:

"Ha!"

The "Five Thunder Golden Toad Roar"! Though Hu Ma only used the power of two of his viscera was like a bolt of lightning, startling the pack of wild dogs, making them yelp and scatter, some even cowering on the ground.

The lead dog, which had retreated halfway into the tomb circle, froze, its eyes widening in shock.

Hu Ma, now with a saw-toothed knife in hand, stepped forward with a sinister smile.

(End of Chapter)

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