Techniques and Dao

Chapter 86 The Terrifying Ship's Cabin

The closer they got, the clearer the baby's cries became. The cries were accompanied by the occasional, soft tapping of a hard object, vibrating in Hana's ears.

Hanamori slowed down, turned around and nodded to the two sisters not far away, then continued to move slowly forward along the corridor wall.

He looked at the room number plaques on the corridor wall: 3249, 3250... At that moment, he was certain that the crying was coming from room 3255.

but!

I just came out of room 3255 not long ago; there could never be a baby in there!
Hanamori pressed herself against the wall outside the door, holding her breath and listening to the sounds inside. The door was open, and she could hear soft footsteps coming from inside. The footsteps were slow and steady, not like they were causing trouble, but rather like someone pacing back and forth, deep in thought.

He moved to the door, slowly turned his head with the back of his head against the door frame, not daring to make a sound.

In the corner of the room's ceiling, hanging upside down, was a deformed creature covered in leopard spots and with four barbed spikes on its back!

The monster had a long, narrow face with two rows of sharp teeth exposed. A murky, sticky liquid dripped from its mouth, slowly falling onto the carpet and forming puddles of thick, slippery stains…

The monster's four claws gleamed coldly, appearing extremely sharp and pointed! This allowed it to grip the walls and ceiling tightly as it paced back and forth. With each step, it left deep claw marks on the walls.

Is this the man-eating Gu Diao?! Hua Sheng felt a chill run down her spine.

The Gu Diao didn't notice anyone around; its attention seemed to be focused on a package on the ground. Hua Sheng looked over and, sure enough, it was the same package he had seen earlier. The package was about half the size of a primary school student's schoolbag, with several layers of thick Xuan paper on the outside, and the words "Shu Dao Xi Yuan" (Art of Magic Academy) written in calligraphy on the surface.

The Gu Diao seemed to have been watching this thing for a long time. It slowly descended from the ceiling. Approaching the paper package, it occasionally let out intermittent low growls, which were the cries of a baby.

If the Gu Diao were to eat humans, its cry, so similar to that of a baby, might be a trap to lure humans into its hunting range. Thinking of this, Hua Sheng felt a chill run down her spine. Thankfully, the sisters had reminded her. If she had walked in openly, she would surely have become the Gu Diao's prey long ago.

At this moment, the Gu Diao walked to within half a meter of the paper package. It slowed its pace, pacing back and forth around the package, not approaching any closer, as if the package contained something it feared.

After pacing back and forth a few steps, the Gu Diao stopped and slowly extended its claws to hook the rope wrapped around the paper package. But the instant its claws touched the rope, the paper package suddenly flashed with a golden light, repelling the claws. The Gu Diao let out a mournful cry and retreated backward, as if it had been suddenly electrocuted by a high-voltage current.

After this leap, the Gu Diao retreated half its body outside the gate, its body only inches away from Hua Sheng's face!
As long as Hua Sheng reaches out, she can easily touch the spikes on the back of the Gu Diao.

Hua Sheng held her breath and saw the two sisters on the other side of the corridor. Xiao Mei covered her mouth with one hand and her older sister Xiao Qing's mouth with the other, not daring to breathe!
Fortunately, the Gu Diao was completely attracted by the paper package. It slowly took a step back, and just as its neck was about to leave the room by less than an inch, it stopped retreating! It then slowly walked back into the room!

Hua Sheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but then remembered that he had been unarmed the whole time. If he were discovered by this ferocious beast, his chances of survival would be slim. He had to find some weapon to defend himself. He looked around and saw a water pipe on the other side of the corridor that had broken at some point, with one end hanging down and water gushing out.

If we could detach the water pipe, we could hold it in our hands and use it as an iron bar. An inch longer, an inch stronger; it should be able to hold the pipe up for now, albeit barely.

With that in mind, Hua Sheng decided to first get the water pipe as a weapon for self-defense.

Here's the problem: the door to room 3255 is wide open. He'll definitely be spotted by the Gu Diao when he walks through the door, so he has to be very careful.

He waited quietly for an opportunity. Fortunately, the Gu Diao seemed to want to open the paper package but was worried about being shocked again.

A minute felt like an eternity to Hua Sheng. Cold sweat dripped from his face onto the back of his hands, soaking him completely. He couldn't tell if it was rainwater, seawater, or his own sweat.

A crackling sound came from inside the room, and Hua Sheng turned to look. He saw the Gu Diao holding a glass bottle of liquid, biting open the top, and pouring the liquid onto a paper packet. Immediately afterward, a strong smell of paint wafted up.

He had a bad feeling; it was probably nail polish remover that girls often carry. Perhaps because the bottle was too small, it hadn't been removed during boarding security.

Could the Gu Diao be far smarter than he imagined? It actually knew to use flammable nail polish remover to burn this packet of talismans?

If the talisman is burned, just as the sisters said, they will have no weapon to fight the Gu Diao! This will make their situation even more dangerous!
After pouring out all the liquid, the Gu Diao threw away the nail polish remover bottle in its mouth, walked to the oil heater in the corner of the room, pecked fiercely with its sharp beak, tore off a piece of sheet metal, and carried it to the packet of talismans. Then it used its hard claws to smash the piece of sheet metal, sparks flying everywhere when the hard claws touched the sheet metal.

Hua Sheng was extremely anxious. It seemed that this strange beast was indeed not just an ordinary wild animal that only knew how to use brute force; it could think like a human!
Just then, a cell phone rang. Hua Sheng looked and saw it was the alarm clock on the table. At the same time, the Gu Diao saw the lit screen and pounced, smashing the table to pieces with its claws. In that instant, Hua Sheng leaped across the doorway to the other side, grabbed the water pipe with one hand, and with a little effort, pulled it off. The pipe was indeed loose. It was about a meter long, making it a suitable "eyebrow-level staff." Hua Sheng's heart, which had been pounding, calmed down a little.

The cell phone inside the room continued to ring, and the Gu Diao searched for it among the wreckage of a table. Hua Sheng saw that its back was to the door, strode into the room, and reached out to use an iron rod to hook the packet of talismans.

The first attempt failed. Hua Sheng glanced at the Gu Diao; the beast's attention was still focused on searching for its phone.

The second attempt failed. Hanamori had no choice but to take another step forward!
On the third try, he succeeded! Hua Sheng hooked the talisman up; although it was a little heavy, he could still lift it with difficulty. Just as Hua Sheng was secretly rejoicing, he suddenly realized he couldn't hear his phone ringing anymore. He glanced towards the table and saw the Gu Diao staring at him with white breath and fierce eyes!
Oops!

Hua Sheng inwardly groaned and abruptly pulled the iron bar back.

At the same time, the Gu Diao pounced on the iron rod. A hissing sound was heard as sparks from its claws scraping against the iron rod instantly ignited the packet of talismans.

"Wow!"

Hua Sheng shouted, grabbed a ball of fire, and quickly left the room, throwing the flaming talisman at her sisters. "Quick, help put out the fire!"

The Gu Diao darted fiercely out of the room, its eyes fixed on Hua Sheng, while also noticing Xiao Qing and Xiao Mei.

"Quickly!" Hua Sheng shouted.

"Ah! Don't come any closer!" Upon seeing the Gu Diao, Xiao Mei covered her head with her hands in terror and leaned against the wall, not daring to move an inch.

"If we don't put it out soon, the talismans will burn out!" Hua Sheng shouted as he used an iron rod to hold back the Gu Diao and slowly retreated.

Xiao Qing, though blind, used her wet sleeve to grope around on the ground. She touched the scalding flames in less than two seconds, then frantically patted them with her sleeve.

The Gu Diao roared and pressed closer, while Hua Sheng, wielding an iron rod, shouted in a show of bravado, "You ugly monster, get out of here! I'll kill you if you come any closer!" With that, Hua Sheng raised the iron rod and pounded it against the wall and the ground, making loud banging noises, trying to intimidate the beast.

Hua Sheng's actions had no effect; the Gu Diao remained unmoved, instead extending its sharp claws to grab at Hua Sheng. Hua Sheng parried with all her might, but the Gu Diao continued its relentless clawing, which Hua Sheng repeatedly blocked with her iron rod. Seeing herself getting closer and closer to the two sisters, the situation became extremely critical. Hua Sheng roared and grabbed the iron rod, smashing it heavily against the Gu Diao's head.

After a shower of sparks, Gu Diao remained motionless, seemingly untouched by even a speck of dandruff. Instead, it roared at Hua Sheng, causing Hua Sheng's facial features to distort and shift.

A deep sense of despair surged from Hua Sheng's feet to her head. She turned around and shouted, "Is the fire in that bundle of talismans out yet? Throw it over here quickly! I'm going to be suffocated by its stench if it's any later!"

Xiao Qing quickly tore open the paper package, grabbed a stack of talismans haphazardly, and threw them in the direction of Hua Sheng's voice. Unexpectedly, she used a little too much force, and the talismans flew directly over the Gu Diao's head. Hua Sheng tried to catch them, but his palm was cut by the barbs on the Gu Diao's back, and blood splattered everywhere.

"Go easy, you're going too far!" Hua Sheng shouted.

Xiao Qing grabbed another stack of talismans and tossed them over. This time, Hua Sheng caught them steadily. The talismans were still clipped together, along with a slip of paper. It had the Chinese character "叁" (three) written in large letters, followed by the four large characters "破地狱咒" (Hell-Breaking Curse). Hua Sheng only knew the meaning but didn't understand its significance. He pulled out a talisman and stuck it on the Gu Diao's head! A flash of golden light appeared, and the Gu Diao howled as it was thrown several meters away!

"It actually worked!" Hua Sheng exclaimed excitedly. He mustered his courage, grabbed a stack of talismans, and charged at the Gu Diao. The talisman he had just used had been thrown aside by the Gu Diao, but its head was now charred red, leaving a deep mark.

With this talisman in hand, Hua Sheng's confidence soared. Forgetting his wound, he pulled out another talisman and tried to stick it forward. Unexpectedly, the Gu Diao, having learned its lesson, was prepared. It slashed at Hua Sheng's hand with its sharp claws, instantly adding a new bloody gash, and the talisman flew out of his hand!
It seems this evil spirit won't let Hua Sheng get close again! Hua Sheng pulled out another talisman and held it in his hand, pressing forward step by step! The Gu Diao seemed to have some reservations and slowly retreated! The two walked a dozen steps in this manner, one in front and one behind!

Just as they were passing through a T-junction, the Gu Diao suddenly let out a piercing scream that nearly ruptured Hua Sheng's eardrums.

He glanced to the right of the T-junction and immediately felt a chill run down his spine, realizing what the Gu Diao's scream meant—

It turns out it was calling out to its kind!

Not far from the passage on the right, two Gu Diao were rapidly climbing up the wall towards Hua Sheng!
(End of this chapter)