Chapter 79: Hand-Torn Chicken

Li Si and He Zhong then hurriedly examined them. Afterward, they discovered that this should be a hidden injury formed inside their bodies after being parasitized by the peach seeds.

“You three rest first. Do not make any strenuous movements,” Li Si said to the three of them. At the same time, he walked into the ruins and headed toward the spot where Chen Zhongyang’s original bedroom had been.

After searching for a while, he looked around the bedroom ruins. Based on the brief glimpse in his memory, he found the location of Chen Zhongyang’s bed, then had Xiaoduan clear the bedding out of the ruins.

After the bedding was pulled out, Li Si patted the dust off it and walked back toward the bonfire, handing the bedding to the family of three.

When he had Xiaoduan clear the ruins just now, the four people beside the bonfire had already stared until they were dumbfounded. They only saw Li Si standing motionless, yet the bedding was pulled out from the ruins, making it seem extremely miraculous. Because of this, the way they looked at Li Si could not help gaining a little more awe.

At the same time, in a place some distance away from these ruins, there was a peach tree four or five metres (~13 to 16 ft) tall standing alone in the darkness. Its black branches looked even more sinister in the night.

Rustle, rustle... A noisy sound came. Tree roots like swimming snakes wriggled across the ground, making people feel strange and nauseated.

Amid the writhing of the roots, a headless corpse and a human head were tangled by the roots, pulled up from beneath the ground, and dragged before that peach tree.

The peach tree trembled slightly, and two shrivelled human heads emerged from the gaps between the tree.

“Woo, woo...” They let out low, hoarse sobs. At the same time, the branches of the peach tree slowly tangled together, gradually becoming two things like human arms.

Afterward, the two branch-twined hands slowly grabbed the legs of the corpse.

Those hands suddenly exerted force. Under the reflection of the night, blood splattered, and the corpse was split in two from the middle.

In the dark night, this strange peach tree began using its tree hands to eat.

If Li Si had seen the way it ate, he would have remembered the feeling of eating hand-torn chicken in his previous life. Back then, when Li Si ate hand-torn chicken, he would tear the skin and flesh apart bit by bit.

Then he would stuff the freshly torn chicken, skin and meat together, into his mouth, tasting the deliciousness of the chicken. If the chicken carried a little blood, then it would have a different sort of flavour.

Li Si could finish a plate of hand-torn chicken in roughly twenty minutes, while this peach tree demon was clearly eating faster than Li Si.

The female head among the two human heads slowly opened its mouth, opening it to a strange degree. Then a round object was stuffed into her mouth by the tree hand.

Afterward, only an exaggerated gulp was heard. That human head was swallowed by the old woman.

“Hehe...” The old man’s head let out an honest laugh, then said, “We have to change to another child.”

“Hehehehe...” A strange yet kindly voice rang out in this open space, seeming somewhat eerie.

The five people warming themselves by the fire also heard that strange laughter.

“Did you hear laughter?” Shu Rong asked the others uncertainly.

“I heard it.” Li Si’s face was somewhat solemn. He had listened carefully to the laughter just now, only to discover that it seemed to come from the left one moment and the right the next, making it impossible to figure out its location.

He knew in his heart that this was somewhat troublesome. This strange thing had already become wary and feared that he and the others would find them.

At the same time, from this laughter, he had completely confirmed that these were an old man and an old woman. If they were not Chen Zhongyang’s parents, who else could they be?

Li Si turned his head and looked at the family of three, whose faces were somewhat pale. He sighed slightly. He had to resolve this problem before tomorrow. Otherwise, the injuries of these three people would be very hard to endure.

Moreover, if he did not resolve it tomorrow, it would only become harder and harder to resolve later.

Thinking of this, he looked at the burning bonfire. His heart stirred slightly, and he pulled a piece of wood out of the bonfire.

The others did not know why he did this, and they all stopped moving, quietly watching Li Si.

Li Si ignored them, stood up, took a slight deep breath, then gathered strength in his hand and flung the piece of wood in his hand toward the peach grove.

When the peach tree demons over there saw the burning wood flying in front of them, they immediately retreated a short distance, letting the burning wood fall onto the open ground.

Seeing this scene, a thoughtful look appeared in Li Si’s eyes. Then he continued taking burning wood from the bonfire and throwing it toward the peach grove.

Just like this, after throwing several times, one piece struck a peach tree demon, but it did not catch fire. With a swing of the peach tree demon’s branch, it fell onto the open ground.

Afterward, that peach tree demon retreated slightly, avoiding the torch. But once the torch’s flames weakened a little, it surrounded them again.

Seeing this scene, Li Si nodded slightly, while the others also seemed to think of something, and wild joy appeared in their eyes.

“Scholar Li, can we get out?” He Zhong said in pleasant surprise.

The family of three beside him also looked at Li Si with hopeful eyes.

Seeing them like this, Li Si shook his head slightly and sighed. “No. Although these peach tree demons are somewhat afraid of fire, it is not as great as imagined. If we use fire to drive them away, we will not be able to charge out.”

Hearing Li Si say this, the hopeful light in their eyes vanished, gradually revealing despair.

“After the sun rises tomorrow, sunlight will suppress these demon creatures. Perhaps then we may still have a chance to rush out. I just do not know whether you have that courage.” Li Si sat down and added another piece of broken wood to the bonfire.

Hearing Li Si say this, He Zhong and Shu Rong’s family of three looked at one another. How could they possibly be of any help in dealing with demon creatures?

Seeing them like this, Li Si said in a deep voice, “After the sun rises tomorrow, these demon creatures’ abilities will weaken somewhat. At that time, I will need you to use fire to drive them away, then find a chance to escape from among them.”

Hearing Li Si say this, complicated expressions such as terror, fear, and hesitation appeared in their eyes.

“Scholar Li, this life of mine has been saved by you several times. I will definitely obey your instructions. Even if I must climb a mountain of blades or cross a sea of fire, I will not refuse!” He Zhong beside him gritted his teeth and looked at Li Si, a determined expression on his face.

The family of three beside him hesitated somewhat. The little girl’s face was full of fear as she shrank into her mother’s arms, terror showing in her eyes.

Madam Shu Fang held her daughter and looked toward Shu Rong, waiting for her husband to make the decision.

Shu Rong nodded to his wife and daughter, then turned to look at Li Si and said with a determined expression as well, “We have no choice. We will listen to you.”

He was also someone who could bring his wife and daughter through a drought to Fengmen County to seek a way to live, so naturally he could understand the situation and was also a decisive person.

Seeing that everyone had agreed, Li Si nodded and said with a smile, “We do not need to think so pessimistically. As long as we work together, we can still break out.”