The Lost Tomb : Extras & Special Stories

(Extra Story: 2014 Chinese New Year Special) Chapter 6: Fantasy

The reason why insects were lower life forms was because their self-healing ability was far inferior to that of other animals, and it was easy for them to die even if they had superficial wounds. As a result, insects were very afraid of fire.

After the ring of fire ignited, my heart calmed down a little bit. I took out a strange leaf from the shuikao and started chewing it; it should be a kind of food similar to betel nut, which was used to calm one's mind. I then took out another bottle of medicinal wine, shook it, and sprinkled some of it on the strange bug.

The rising temperature made the bug very nervous, and it kept twisting its body. I used some of the wine left in the fire circle to light the bottle on fire and smashed on the bug's clay pot. The bottle shattered, and the leftover wine inside instantly ignited the bird down inside the pot. The bug let out a squeaky cry—I didn't know whether it was calling for backup or being baked by the fire—and then came out of the clay pot for the first time.

The bug's lower body was very slender, its claws were very strong, and it started to roll on the fiery ground like a lobster. I looked at it coldly without a hint of mercy. It was better for this monster to die early.

Before I could catch my breath, its long legs began to burn and curl from the scorching fire, and it suddenly jumped up into the air. It leaped as high as a person, made it out of the fire, and then came towards my feet.

I was startled and immediately fell back as the bug ran wildly and braved the fire to climb all the way to my feet.

The fact that I wasn't wearing shoes made the fear that much greater. A huge, lobster-like centipede coming to bite your toes... even if it only rubbed against you, it was still extremely disgusting. I sprang up, and the letter snakes around my waist immediately sensed my danger and shot out.

This time, it was direct hand-to-hand combat. After the snakes landed on the ground, their heads immediately shot forward like a spring and bit the bug's body. They then coiled around it, trapping it completely.

The four or five snakes were still covered in the medicinal wine, so all of them started burning. I fell to the ground, banged on the wall, pulled the snakes back, and spit out the chewed leaves, dabbing them on the snakes to put out the fire.

But one was missing. I looked back and saw that one letter snake had been captured by the bug. The claws were so sharp that the snake's whole body had been torn, and its body fluids were leaking out. As the bug and snake kept strangling each other, the fire on the colorful bug had been extinguished by the snake's body fluids. The snake's internal organs were hanging outside its body now, and I could see that they were all in a muddy state. There seemed to be strange black hairs mixed in as well.

This bug was corrosive and highly poisonous, and even more toxic than a letter snake. If you managed to get hold of it, your hand would be a goner in an instant.

If the insect merchants here were actually catching this kind of bug, then they must have used special equipment. I looked around and immediately realized that the rattan merchant, maybe even the bug merchants, were in a group. As the saying went: wherever there were monsters, there were adversaries. If these bugs were found in the mountains here, then the vines may be able to stop it.

I leaped into the fire circle, came out on the opposite side, and pulled out a rattan basket.

The bug climbed up the wall and started crawling along the roof beam, and when I looked up, I saw several long feet drilling into the thatched roof. If it ran away, there would be an endless amount of trouble in the future. I waved and sent the letter snakes flying onto the beams. As the three remaining snakes flew up and surrounded the bug, I clenched the rattan basket with my teeth, jumped up and grabbed the beam with one hand, and then used my strength to flip my whole body up. Without hesitation, I slapped the rattan basket.