Book 2: Chapter 11

Book 2: Chapter 11

Banyan trees had a strong effect on soil consolidation. In banyan forests, there were so many mosquitoes and insects that the number was several times higher than those in the outside forests.

Zhang Qishan and his team saw that mosquitoes were filling almost all of the gaps here, but they couldnt hear any sounds around them. Not even the mosquitoes were making a sound. It was as if the creatures here had all evolved and werent able to make any sounds.

One of the soldiers on the side caught a bug, but he couldnt get a good look at it under the moonlight so he put it in his mouth and chewed it. It tastes of blood, he whispered. It lives off of blood, but it doesnt taste like a mosquito.New novel chapters are published on

Tasting water and insects was one of the Zhang familys techniques, because in many cases, it was necessary to rely heavily on taste and smell to judge the surrounding situation when visibility wasnt all that good.

Zhang Qishan and the others climbed the banyan trees and walked on the branches so as to avoid wading in the water. There were aerial roots everywhere here like curtains, which made for poor visibility. They continued moving forward until Zhang Qishan saw the big tree.

It really was a very huge banyan tree. It didnt have an independent trunk, because its body was made up of countless aerial roots that had grown upwards. And because these aerial roots were already thicker than ordinary big trees, the space between them was very narrow, which made it look like a single tree.

How big was it? In Zhang Qishans opinion, it was like a wall in the forest. He waved his hand first, and everyone climbed down from their positions and began to crawl on the branches.

Almost all of the branches of these banyan trees were connected, and there were a lot of vines and moss on them that made it easier for the group to stay hidden. In the space inside this group of tree trunks, everything was pitch black.

Zhang Qishan lowered his head to look at the baby, who was staring at the innermost part of the group of tree trunks with an unwavering gaze. It almost seemed like the baby had some connection with this mountain god.

The mountain god is in the darkness somewhere, right? Zhang Qishan thought to himself. He couldnt wait any longer and waved his hand. Everyone began to crawl carefully towards the group of tree trunks.

As soon as they had arrived in the area of the tree trunks, Zhang Qishan immediately heard a gurgling sound coming from the depths of the space. They continued to crawl towards the darkness, moving ever so slowly until everything gradually became dark around them. The moonlight above their heads was the only thing left, but it was extremely difficult for it to shine through the tree canopies and illuminate the area below.

There were more mosquitoes here, but they didnt make a single sound as they flew around.

The gurgling sound was very strange and creepy, as if a monster was quickly swallowing a liquid.

Zhang Qishan moved his neck and thought to himself, I really hope the monster isnt eating Zhang Xiaoyu.

As they crawled towards the gurgling sound, they discovered that there were holes all over the trunks of these banyan trees. The holes had been dug out with claws, and they were full of bones. Although Zhang Qishan couldnt see clearly, he knew just by touch that they were both human and animal bones. The bones had all been strung together with hemp ropes woven from plant fibers. The larger bones were broken into pieces with stick-like objects going through them, almost like ornaments.

As he went further inside, he suddenly saw lights appear ahead of him. Zhang Qishan checked the people around him to ensure that they were all in the darkness. He wasnt sure if the others had caught up with him, but he continued to crawl forward carefully. He found that the huge trunkor the middle of the group of tree trunkswas actually hollowed out.

About four or five huge aerial roots had been cut off, leaving only the most primitive main trunk of the banyan tree. It was a really huge tree trunk that would take more than thirty people holding their hands out just to surround it. Countless branches were radiating out from it.

One branch of the main banyan trunk was covered in wind lanterns, which was where the light was coming from. He figured they had all been left behind by the people the monsters had killed. The wind lanterns were all gathered together, but only one of them was lit. The huge monster was lying on a thicker branch below the branch holding the wind lanterns.

Zhang Qishan immediately twisted his body and fell onto the monsters body, which was very slippery since it was covered in milk. Zhang Qishan slid down instantly and stabbed his bayonet into the monsters ribs to prevent himself from falling off the tree.

The monster opened its mouth wide but didnt scream. Its expression, however, was full of extreme pain and it instantly threw Zhang Qishan away.

Zhang Qishan controlled his posture and fell directly into the swamp below. At the same time, he heard gunshots ring out everywhere, which meant that the soldiers had started shooting.

Zhang Qishan climbed out of the water, grabbed an aerial root, and quickly climbed back to the tree trunk. All of the soldiers gunshots instantly became inaudible, but he didnt have time to think about what was going on as he quickly climbed back into the tree canopy. As soon as he regained his footing, he saw Zhang Xiaoyus face poking out of the darkness.

The mountain god was holding Zhang Xiaoyus head in one hand and pulling Zhang Xiaoyu's body towards it.

Just as Zhang Qishan wanted to fire his gun, Zhang Xiaoyu opened his mouth and spoke, Who are you?

Zhang Qishan was stunned for a moment before he immediately realized that something was wrong. Zhang Xiaoyus eyes were rolled into the back his head and he wasnt conscious at all.

Who was talking to him?

Who was talking to him through Zhang Xiaoyus mouth? Was it the mountain god?

Are you the mountain god?

Why did you kill my child? The mountain god showed its teeth to him as its face also peered out of the darkness. This thing had at least a dozen rows of teeth, all of which were messy and long. And now, its mouth was full of blood.

Do you eat people?

People are delicious, the mountain god said through Zhang Xiaoyu. The movement range of Zhang Xiaoyus mouth was exactly the same as that of the mountain gods own mouth, which made the whole scene look creepy.

If you eat people, you must die, Zhang Qishan said.

I dont want to die.

Its not your decision to make.

Zhang Qishan drew his gun at close range and aimed it at the mountain gods forehead. In an instant, the mountain god used Zhang Xiaoyu to block its face.

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Tiffanys Notes: All I can think about now is whether this means Poker-face is an insect tasting expert.