Chapter 32: A Snap of the Fingers, Youth Fades
Tiger roars shook the heavens, scattering leaves in chaos. The massive howls echoed through the mountainous terrain, like rumbling thunder or surging floodwaters, causing everyone’s face to change color. It was coming from the very place where they had just rested.
Pang Bo and Zhang Ziling exchanged glances. They knew that Liu Yunzhi and Li Changqing were finished. Trapped in the tiger’s den by an adult tiger returning from its hunt, there was no chance of survival—especially with this kind of ferocious tigress nursing her cubs.
The others’ faces turned pale. They had barely left the Ancient Forbidden Land when they nearly encountered a large beast. Who knew what they might face if they pressed further? Thinking back, though the desolate forbidden zone was terrifying at night, at least during the day it held far fewer dangers.
“We escaped the Crocodile Ancestor, endured countless perils, crossed the desolate void of the cosmos, and finally arrived in a world of life—only to lose our lives here. How futile and lamentable,” Zhou Yi said, gazing at the forest two or three li away.
The tiger’s roar must have been triggered by Liu Yunzhi and Li Changqing. At this thought, everyone shuddered. Unbidden, a bloody image appeared before their eyes: a ferocious tiger tearing apart three bodies, its claws and gleaming white saber-fangs dripping with blood as it gnawed on flesh. Just imagining such a horrifying scene sent chills down their spines.
“Move quickly!”
They could not linger here. The ferocious tiger had made this its territory. Only after they had rushed another four or five li did the group finally breathe a sigh of relief.
“Why is this forest so quiet? Could we have walked back into the Ancient Forbidden Land?”
Towering ancient trees blocked out the sky. The primeval forest was eerily silent—no birdsong, no beastly roars, not even the flutter of bees or butterflies. All animals seemed to have vanished without a trace.
Their direction was correct, but everyone felt something was off. They grew doubly cautious.
After advancing about two thousand meters, the dense ancient trees began to thin out. A relatively open area appeared before them—flat, hard ground that felt as solid as marble beneath their feet. Here, nothing grew; only massive rocks lay scattered.
“What’s that dark mass up ahead?”
“It looks like... a huge black lake.”
Large boulders had blocked their view until now. Only when they passed through a pile of rubble did they see what lay ahead. Everyone was startled.
A vast lake stretched before them, still as iron, without a single ripple. But what shocked them most was its color: pitch black, like ink, so dark it was unsettling.
“Now I finally understand—there really are cursed waters in this world. This black lake just feels wrong. I’ve never seen water so black.”
The black lake was deathly still, devoid of any sign of life. The surrounding open mountain terrain was equally barren, not even a weed could grow. This place seemed like a forbidden zone of life.
“It sounds like... like there’s something making noise.” A female classmate’s voice trembled, her face pale.
Then the others heard it too—a faint, strange sound, very low, like someone groaning in pain.
*Crack*
Suddenly, a sound of something breaking came, as if a hard object had shattered.
“There... over there!” Liu Yiyi’s face was pale as she pointed to the shore of the black lake, where a boulder over ten meters long lay.
Something seemed to be crouching behind the boulder, only part of its body visible. Its thick hide was as cold and hard as black metal, with the texture and luster of dark iron.
“What is that?!” Everyone was stunned.
“Forget it—let’s get out of here!”
A creature dwelling in such a place—a lifeless black lake on barren, hard ground—could not be a gentle beast.
*Crack*
The breaking sound came again. The low, pained roar seemed more agonized. It thrashed, then slammed its body against the boulder with a heavy thud.
The boulder, seven or eight meters high and over ten meters long, was knocked over and rolled into the ink-black lake, splashing up a wave of black water.
Only then did they get a clear look at the beast. It was no more than three meters long and less than one and a half meters tall—not as huge as they had imagined. But that made it all the more shocking. A three-meter-long body had sent a boulder over ten meters long and seven or eight meters high crashing into the lake. Such strength was terrifying.
“What kind of creature is this?!”
None of them had ever seen such a beast. It had no fur or scales. It looked as if it had been cast from black molten iron—entirely pitch black, gleaming with a metallic sheen.
Less than three meters long, it resembled a massive black iron block, solid and radiating overwhelming power. At first glance, it looked like a sturdy ox, but closer inspection revealed it was vastly different. It had nine sharp horns on its head, razor-sharp and gleaming with dark light. It also had five eyes that opened and closed with flashes of blood-red light. Its wide mouth exposed half-foot-long fangs like daggers, cold and gleaming, ferocious and terrifying, exuding a brutal, murderous aura.
This was a savage beast beyond anything they had ever heard of or seen. Just looking at it from a distance made their hearts pound.
“It looks like it’s shedding its skin...” someone whispered in shock.
On the black beast’s back, a large crack was slowly opening, revealing part of a newly formed body beneath—even darker and shinier, as if forged from dark gold.
“Let’s go—while it’s shedding its skin, we need to get far away!”
It was shedding its shell like a cicada. Such a growth method on a savage beast was bizarre and seemed almost demonic. Fortunately, it was in the middle of transformation; otherwise, they dared not imagine the consequences.
If they had brought that thunderously roaring tiger here, it would likely be as docile as a kitten before this beast. A creature that could easily knock a boulder seven or eight meters high and over ten meters long into a lake—its true power was beyond reckoning.
The group made it past the black lake without incident. The low, pained roars faded into the distance until they disappeared.
They climbed another low hill and looked toward the distant peak. The buildings there grew clearer—vast and grand, with halls and palaces stretching in succession, like heavenly courts fallen to the mortal world.
“I feel hot...” a female classmate said awkwardly to another beside her.
“I feel it too.”
At that moment, everyone noticed the abnormality. Their skin was flushed an alarming red, as if about to bleed. Each of them felt an intense heat, like a fire burning inside their bodies.
It wasn’t the weather. Something was wrong with their bodies. The burning pain grew worse, as if they were being roasted in an oven.
“I... can’t take it... it hurts so much!” A female classmate crouched down in agony. “It hurts! My flesh feels like it’s drying up...” She lost control, tears and snot streaming down her face as she collapsed, rolling back and forth.
Then a second, a third classmate couldn’t bear it. Their bodies were blood-red, with traces of blood seeping from their skin. They fell to the ground, writhing in pain.
“What’s happening? What’s going on?!”
Everyone realized the severity. No one could stand. They all collapsed, screaming in agony. Their flesh felt like it was being peeled away, their bodies cut by a thousand knives.
“Ah...” Someone finally couldn’t hold back, shouting and rolling around, leaving trails of blood on the ground.
“I don’t want to die...” someone screamed in terror.
This was a sudden calamity. No one knew why it was happening or what was wrong with them. They only felt as if they were being flayed alive, their bodies slowly dismembered.
“Let me die... this is unbearable...”
Struggling, crying, rolling, screaming—many were on the verge of despair. The pain blurred their minds.
Finally, a layer of blood-red energy enveloped their bodies, like crimson flames burning. Violent struggles and agonized roars shattered the peace of the mountain, scaring away nearby birds and beasts.
It was an inhuman torment, like being in a purgatory, enduring the most brutal torture in the world. In the end, the pain knocked everyone unconscious. Not a single person remained lucid.
No one knew how long passed before the mountain gradually quieted. The pained groans faded.
Two hours later, Ye Fan, lying on his back in the weeds, was the first to wake. The sky was a clear blue; birds chirped and insects buzzed around him. He sat up quickly. The pain was gone. In fact, he felt full of energy, his whole body comfortable, as if he had boundless strength. He felt he could tear a saber-toothed tiger apart with his bare hands.
But he soon noticed something strange. His clothes were too big, hanging loosely on him. He pulled his hands out of the wide sleeves. When he saw them, even the usually composed Ye Fan let out a startled cry. Were these his hands? They were several sizes smaller, very smooth and fair—nothing like an adult’s hands.
Ye Fan stood up quickly. Everything felt unbelievable. His clothes were now baggy, like a costume from an opera. It wasn’t that his clothes had grown—his body had shrunk, like a boy of eleven or twelve.
Nearby, Pang Bo woke up, rubbing his bleary eyes. When he saw Ye Fan standing not far away, he was shocked. “Hey, kid, who are you? Where’d you come from? Damn, why are you wearing Ye Fan’s clothes?!”
Then he sensed something was wrong. He scrambled to his feet and stood up, then screamed like he’d seen a ghost.
“Why are my clothes so big? No—why is my body so small?” He stared at Ye Fan in shock, stammering, “You... you’re Ye Fan?” He covered his mouth. His voice sounded more and more like a young boy’s, full of childishness.
Looking at Pang Bo, Ye Fan was equally stunned. Before him stood a completely green, immature boy, about eleven or twelve years old. He could vaguely see traces of the adult Pang Bo in his features.
“What’s happened to us?” Pang Bo came to Ye Fan’s side, shouting excitedly. He was utterly shaken.
“I think... we might have become young again,” Ye Fan said, equally bewildered. That was the only conclusion he could draw. Both of them now looked like children—a world of difference from before.
“Damn it! How could something so absurd happen to us?!” Pang Bo yelled. He couldn’t understand why such an incredible thing had occurred.
“Let’s check on the others.”
Ye Fan called him to walk up the mountain. They had rolled dozens of meters down the slope earlier. Fortunately, the terrain was gentle and covered with trees, or they might have been in danger. It showed how violently they had struggled. Even now, recalling the pain made them shudder.
When they reached the top, Ye Fan and Pang Bo froze. Pang Bo shouted, “Who are all these old men and old women, so full of decay?!”
What they saw nearly turned them to stone. Their hearts pounded.
Over a dozen bodies lay scattered everywhere. Looking around, they saw a sea of white-haired heads, wrinkled skin, and extreme age. But these people were wearing familiar clothes. They looked at least seventy or eighty years old—so decrepit it was beyond belief.
“Could they be... Zhou Yi, Wang Ziwen, Lin Jia, Li Xiaoman, and the others?!”
A snap of the fingers, and youth had faded. The two felt their mouths go dry. They stood on the mountaintop like statues carved from mud and wood.