The Scum Is A

Doubts filled their heart and eyes as they stared at the statues.

"Are they really not gonna attack us anymore?" Guo Cheng asked. His gaze then fell to the creatures hiding in the shadows, completely afraid of the light from the fire.

"I think so…" Tang Zhe said.

Seeing the statues remained unmoved despite they were standing in the middle of the road, they finally felt relieved. Then, they turned to Wu Xi who finished lighting the last torch and jumped down from the shoulder of the statue.

"Wu Xi, you…"

Wu Xi noticed their gaze and he raised his Thought Talisman. "When one enters his house, the first thing he does is to find the light. I tried looking for the torch by the entrance, yet I didn't find one. When we used the night pearl the first time, I still didn't see even one of them. I find it odd. There are definitely torches, but I just didn't see it. And I was right. The torches were placed in a tricky position, where the head of the statues are hiding them." he explained. "Back then when were tied the rope to the statues, and felt the wind moved thus I turned back and lit the rope to give us light, I confirmed that the statues' behavior is related to the 'missing' torches. When we were dodging them earlier, I finally found the unlit torches." He finished.

They stared at Wu Xi with their eyes filled with awe. They admired his wit.

Tang Zhe sighed filled with emotion as he patted Wu Xi's shoulder with a grateful smile. "Thank you." He told him. Had it not been for Wu Xi's quick thinking, they doubt if they would figure their situation until the end.

Wu Xi noticed Tang Zhe's expression and he had guessed his thoughts. "I learned from Cheng Sheng to be observant. You are also observant, but lots of things happened. You have your brothers to look after, and it affected your reasoning." He told him.

Tang Zhe was surprised by Wu Xi. Was he comforting him? He felt even more grateful. Wu Xi may be a silent person, but he knows how to interact with others well. As long as he wasn't provoked, or his bottom line wasn't touched, he can be reasonable.

"Thank you." He said. He looked at Tang Yun who finally calmed down and resumed sleeping. He had finally guessed that Tang Yun's condition was related to the strange creatures.

It was them that touched Tang Yun, and because of their touch, Tang Yun's body became ice-cold. However, now that they were suppressed by the fire from the torches, Tang Yun's condition came back to normal.

"Ugh – " Guo Cheng grunted in disgust as he covered his eyes to prevent himself from looking at the creatures.

The creatures are bluish pale in color, and they have black, long and sharp nails. They don't have a face, and their whole body was covered with holes. Guo Cheng has a fear towards many, small holes and so he was startled and horrified when he saw the creatures' appearance. Fortunately, Shan Lu saved him and covered his eyes the whole time.

"Shall we kill them?" Shan Lu asked.

"We might can't." Tang Zhe answered as he looked at one of the creatures that Wu Xi stabbed and cut one of its arms earlier.

Because he admires Wu Xi's skills, and the creature toppled down earlier, he thought Wu Xi killed it. However, after Wu Xi and Guo Cheng lit all the torches, he saw the creature bounced back and joined its fellows to hide in the dark.

But, its arm that was cut by Wu Xi was exposed to the firelight. The arm melted like it was poured by an acid, until it soaked the ground and turned the ground's color black like the ground was burnt.

"We don't know what will happen if we killed them. It is better to be cautious, like what we did earlier." Tang Zhe said and turned to Wu Xi.

Wu Xi nodded. "I didn't kill it since I feel I'll be cursed if I did." He explained.

Tang Zhe, Shan Lu and Guo Cheng was terrified. If the curse is to be also ridden by holes on their body like those creatures… they shuddered. Guo Cheng's face paled and he almost poked his eyes to blind himself. Fortunately, Shan Lu acted fast and caught his hand in time to prevent him from what he is about to do.

"Let's go." Tang Zhe said. Now that the statues and those creatures were dealt with, they can finally leave the place with ease.

Tang Zhe and Wu Xi walked out first, followed by Guo Cheng. Seeing Guo Cheng was still scared of those creatures, Shan Lu picked up the night pearl and followed them. The moment he stepped out of the door, the torches that were burning brightly suddenly went out!

Their eyes widened in shock. They still haven't reacted when they heard the creatures beyond the door screeching. But, it wasn't because of pain or discomfort. It was instead of mirth. Their spine became cold and all the hairs on their body raised when they saw, with the night pearl illuminating the surroundings, all the creatures simultaneously turned to them!

They were all taken aback! Once again, it was Wu Xi who moved. He immediately pulled the door close. Shan Lu was almost scratched when the long nails of the creatures waved at him before Wu Xi closed the door. Fortunately, he wasn't scratched. Instead, the night pearl was hit and it fell off Shan Lu's hand. The night pearl, now on the ground, was the evidence of the fast events that happened just now.

"Oh, my god…" Guo Cheng's breath hitched as he finally reacted to what has happened. He slowly turned to Wu Xi who was panting. "Wu-xiong, thank you…" he told him.

Wu Xi just nodded at him as he leaned on the door to catch his breath. The door is made of stone, and very heavy. Even though Wu Xi is strong, but he was the only one who pulled the door close to save their lives. It was taxing for him.

But, he doesn't blame the Huakai Sect, though. Compared to him who is a rogue cultivator that was wandering many, different places and has seen and been in various situations, the Huakai Sect disciples, who grew up in a secure environment, are psychologically weak. Thus, not only were they caught off-guard earlier and were easily swayed by their emotions, they are slower when adapting to the changes in the situation and the environment.

However, they can improve. They just need more experience. Wu Xi knows the Huakai Sect can improve. They aren't hopeless cases. After all, even though a little slower, but they still managed to regain their calm and their emotions in the end. If they really haven't, Wu Xi can only pick up their corpses and bring it when he returned to Zhongyang.

"Ngh." Tang Yun's voice brought them back to their senses.

"Xiao Yun!" Tang Zhe called.

"Shidi!" Guo Cheng and Shan Lu called.

Tang Yun slowly opened his eyes and the first thing that he saw is Tang Zhe's handsome face. His face immediately flushed. Fortunately, it was dark so his blush wasn't seen. "G-gege…" he called with a weak voice.

"Xiao Yun!" Tang Zhe called. His eyes lit up when he heard his younger brother's voice. "Are you fine? How do you feel?" he asked.

"I'm fine…" Tang Yun answered. I feel embarrassed since you were carrying me! He thought and immediately covered his face to hide his smile.

"Xiao Yun, what's wrong?" Tang Zhe asked.

"N-nothing. I'm alright now… you can put me down." Tang Yun said.

"Are you sure you'r really fine?" Tang Zhe asked again.

"Mn." Tang Yun nodded.

Only then did Tang Zhe placed him down. "What happened earlier, why have you fallen asleep?" he asked.

"I was touched by something earlier, and it was bone-chillingly cold." Tang Yun shivered when he recalled the cold sensation. "It touched me for a long time, urging me to call. I didn't. I held myself back. And because of it – " he bit his lip as he lowered his head. " – some images flashed in my head." He said.

"What images?"

"This place was once called Feng Hua Palace, and it is a shrine to a god." Tang Yun answered. "The palace was grand and surrounded by flowers. Every time the wind blows, the petals would be carried by the wind before it would rain down. Thus, it was called 'Feng Hua'." He explained.

"It must have been beautiful. However, it was now ruined. What happened to this palace? What about that god? And, those creatures…" Guo Cheng asked and shivered.

"The palace was ruined after the god died. As for the creatures – " Tang Yun said. " – they were once humans that were cursed." He answered.

"'cursed'? They were really cursed?!" they were shocked.

Tang Yun nodded. "They were once devout believers. Yet, in the end, they were cursed." He said.

"Why?" Tang Zhe asked.

"Because they killed the god."