Black Myth: The Legend of Tianpeng Seeking Demons

The air inside the ancient tomb was heavy and oppressive, with dust and the smell of decay clinging tightly to the damp stone walls.

The flickering torches cast long, dancing shadows, transforming familiar shapes into grotesque monsters. Zhu Feifei shivered, but not from the cold.

This place horrified him, even worse than the last time he accidentally stumbled into the toilet of a particularly foul-smelling yak demon.

"Hey Xiaobai, why is this ancient tomb even more eerie than my old pigsty?" he complained, clutching tightly the Buddhist prayer beads that he had just trusted, but which had now become his precious nine-toothed rake.

"Stop talking nonsense, you idiot! Focus! This isn't your pigpen to sleep in!" The voice of the Ringwraith White echoed in his mind, sharp as a shard of pottery.

"Get your pig's trotters off those dusty artifacts! If you break them, you'll have to pay for them—I seriously doubt you have the Heavenly Court's currency to buy these antiques."

While muttering about the unfair working conditions, Zhu Feifei carefully followed behind the Queen of Jingjue, navigating the perilous passageway.

The Black Wind Bandits, a mob of thugs who were less experienced tomb raiders and more like a disorganized rabble, followed behind them, whispering about the "pretty boy" and his incredible ability to break through traps and mechanisms.

The Queen of Jingjue stopped expressionlessly at a fork in the road. Two entrances led into darkness; one foreshadowed adventure, the other a swift and unpleasant end.

“Your Majesty, which way should we go?” the Black Wind Bandit leader asked impatiently, his face looking as if it had been carved from a particularly rough tree root. He scratched his stiff beard, kicking up a cloud of dust that swirled in the air.

The Queen knelt down and traced the intricate patterns carved on the floor with her fingers.

“These markings…they tell a story of a double trial,” she murmured, her voice low and melodious. “One path leads to wealth, the other to destruction. Choose carefully.”

Before anyone could respond, Zhu Feifei's stomach rumbled loudly, like the howl of a hungry ogre, echoing through the ancient tomb.

He frantically rummaged through his robe and pulled out a half-eaten lotus seed paste bun that he had stolen from the Heavenly Imperial Kitchen before setting off.

“Just a tiny bite,” he mumbled, his mouth full of sweet bread.

The Ringwraith screamed in his mind, "You idiot! Not now! Control your gluttony!"

But it was too late. The familiar burning sensation spread throughout Zhu Feifei's body, and his features began to change; his nose grew longer. In the blink of an eye, he had turned into a pig again—a rather large and rather dirty pig.

The Black Wind Thieves gasped in shock; some retreated in fear, while others drew their weapons. "A monster! It's a tomb guardian!"

However, the Queen merely raised an elegant brow. “Interesting,” she murmured.

Before anyone could react further, Zhu Feifei, now a pig, stumbled forward and tripped over a loose stone.

He screamed and plunged headfirst into the left-hand passage, kicking up a cloud of dust and gravel. A series of clicks and buzzes came from inside the tunnel, followed by a deafening whoosh!

A massive, incredibly sharp blade shot out from the wall of the right passage, nearly slicing off the Black Wind Bandit leader's nose.

He cried out in surprise and leaped backward, the blade immediately retracting with an ominous "thud".

The remaining Black Wind Bandits stared wide-eyed in terror at the passage on the right. Then they looked at the dissipating dust in the tunnel on the left; Zhu Feifei had vanished there.

“Perhaps,” said the terrified Black Wind Bandit leader, his voice barely audible, “that pig…made a wise choice?”

A slight smile appeared on the Queen's lips as she pointed to the passageway on the left. "Indeed. It seems our incompetent ally has shown us the way."

As they cautiously entered the dusty tunnel, the voice of the Ringwraith White echoed in Zhu Feifei's mind, a mixture of pleasure and annoyance.

"You know what? For a gluttonous pig, your luck is ridiculously bad."

Somewhere deep within the passage, a very disgruntled pigman sneezed, sending another cloud of dust swirling through the ancient tomb.

The passageway to the left was filled with choking dust. Zhu Feifei huffed and puffed as she walked, complaining all the while:

"Hey Xiaobai, the Queen of Jingjue has such unique taste! She made such a grimy passageway, doesn't she worry about getting my new clothes dirty?!"

"Shut up, you idiot! If you hadn't turned into a pig and wandered around like that, would we have even gotten into this godforsaken place?" Little White Ringwraith retorted mercilessly.

Zhu Feifei rubbed his still slightly sore nose and muttered, "You can't blame me, Old Pig. Who knew there was an automatic transformation mechanism in this ancient tomb?"

The Queen of Jingjue, who was walking ahead, glanced back at him, her lips curving slightly upward, as if mocking his disheveled appearance.

Seeing this, Zhu Feifei quickly straightened her back and tried her best to appear nonchalant.

The passageway meandered and twisted, seemingly without end. The walls on both sides were covered with all sorts of strange patterns and symbols, which looked particularly eerie and sinister in the dim firelight.

The Black Wind Bandits followed behind, their faces pale, barely daring to breathe. The horrific scene of accidentally triggering the trap was still vivid in their minds, and they had no intention of experiencing it again.

Suddenly, the Queen of Jingjue, who was walking at the front, stopped in her tracks.

“There are traps ahead,” she said gravely.

The group rushed forward and saw a huge stone gate in front of them, carved with intricate patterns and runes, exuding an ancient and mysterious aura.

"The runes on this door seem familiar..." Queen Jingjue frowned, carefully examining the runes on the stone door.

"Your Majesty, do you know how to open this door?" the Black Wind Bandit leader asked cautiously, afraid of disturbing some mechanism.

The Queen of Jingjue did not answer; she reached out and gently stroked the runes on the stone gate.

At this moment, a sudden change occurred!

The runes on the stone gate suddenly lit up, emitting a dazzling light. Immediately afterward, countless poisoned arrows shot out from the stone gate, raining down on the group like a storm of pear blossoms.

"Watch out!" Zhu Feifei shouted, wielding his nine-toothed rake to deflect the poisoned arrows aimed at the Queen of Jingjue.

However, due to the sheer number and speed of the poisoned arrows, Zhu Feifei was unable to fully protect Queen Jingjue.

"Ah!" Queen Jingjue groaned as several poisoned arrows struck her arms and thighs.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Feifei was startled and rushed to Queen Jingjue's side, asking with concern, "How are you? Are you badly injured?"

The Queen of Jingjue was pale and her lips were purple, clearly indicating that she had been poisoned.

"I...I'm fine..." she said, forcing herself to endure the pain.

"It's all my fault, I'm useless!" Zhu Feifei blamed herself. "Xiao Bai, quickly think of a way to detoxify us!"

"You idiot, who am I supposed to ask? I'm not a doctor!" Little White Ringwraith said irritably.

"However, doesn't your nine-bead bracelet have healing powers? Try it quickly!"

Zhu Feifei quickly took out the nine-bead bracelet and pressed a bead emitting a soft green light onto the wound of the Queen of Jingjue.

A green light flickered, and a warm energy slowly flowed into Queen Jingjue's body. Her complexion gradually improved, and her breathing became steady.

"Much better..." Queen Jingjue looked at Zhu Feifei gratefully.

"Thank goodness, thank goodness, everything's alright now." Zhu Feifei breathed a sigh of relief.

However, at that moment, Queen Jingjue's expression suddenly changed, and she groaned in pain again.

"What's wrong?" Zhu Feifei asked anxiously.

"This poison...this poison is too potent...Your supernatural powers can only temporarily suppress the toxicity, not cure it..." Queen Jingjue said weakly, "I...I'm about to die..."

Seeing the Queen of Jingjue's pained expression, Zhu Feifei felt as if his heart was being torn apart. He remembered what Xiaobai had said before: only by obtaining the Queen of Jingjue's Tears of True Love could the mission be completed.

Am I...am I just supposed to watch her die right in front of me?

No! He absolutely cannot let that happen!

Zhu Feifei gritted her teeth and made a bold decision.

He bent down, pressed his lips to the Queen of Jingjue's wound, and began to suck the poisonous blood forcefully.

"What...what are you doing?!" Queen Jingjue exclaimed in surprise.

"Don't speak!" Zhu Feifei said without looking up. "I need to suck out the poisonous blood!"

The Black Wind Bandits were stunned by what they saw. They never expected this pretty boy to be so bold as to suck out the poisonous blood with his mouth!

"This kid... is he out of his mind?!" Black Whirlwind exclaimed.