Black Myth: The Legend of Tianpeng Seeking Demons

"My God! What... what the hell is this?!" Zhu Feifei was so frightened that she hid behind the Queen of Jingjue, clutching her clothes tightly, wishing she could disappear into the ground. The two huge beast-headed statues suddenly came to life, their gaping maws revealing fangs, and their foul breath assaulted the senses, making them look like two hellhounds that hadn't eaten for three days.

"Ugh! This smell is even stronger than my pigsty!" Zhu Feifei complained, pinching her nose. "Have these statues not brushed their teeth in centuries? Should I, Old Pig, share some of the celestial herb mouthwash?"

"Shut up!" the Ringwraith roared in his mind. "Can't you think of anything else besides eating? You pig brain!"

Although the Queen of Jingjue frowned at the stench, she maintained her noble and aloof demeanor. "These are guardian beasts. It seems we must deal with them first before we can open the 'Gate of Life and Death.'" She drew her dagger and assumed a defensive stance.

"Your Majesty, please don't be stubborn! This thing looks dangerous. I, Zhu Feifei, suggest we consider the best course of action: retreat!" Zhu Feifei's voice trembled like a leaf. "Besides, I still have so many lotus seed paste buns left! I managed to... no, borrow them from the Queen Mother of the West's kitchen!"

The Ringwraith, Little White, jumped up and down in anger: "You idiot! What time is it and you're still thinking about food! And didn't you just let something slip?!"

"I'm just afraid of having regrets before I die!" Zhu Feifei said, looking aggrieved. "What if I die here without even having a proper last meal? Wouldn't that be such a waste?"

"It's too late!" The Queen of Jingjue had barely finished speaking when the two beast heads simultaneously unleashed deafening roars, causing the entire tomb chamber to tremble. Dust fell from the walls, staining Zhu Feifei's bald head gray.

"Wow! It's even louder than my old pig snoring!" Zhu Feifei exclaimed, brushing dust off her head. "But seriously, doesn't it sound a bit like my pigsty neighbor? You know, that old sow who always likes to sing in the middle of the night..."

The beast head on the left seemed to be enraged by Zhu Feifei's words and immediately spewed out a blazing flame, while the beast head on the right spewed out a chilling aura. The two, one hot and one cold, attacked Zhu Feifei and the Queen of Jingjue from both sides.

"Your Majesty, help!" Zhu Feifei screamed in terror, hiding behind the Queen of Jingjue like a frightened little wife. "Are they going to roast me, this old pig, into char siu and ice cream?! But then again, this combination sounds rather novel..."

The Queen of Jingjue was agile, dodging left and right, barely avoiding two attacks. While dodging, she said helplessly, "Can you stop thinking about food all the time?! Think of something!"

"A solution? What solution? I, Zhu Feifei, am completely blank right now. I just want to go home, hug my nine-toothed rake, and sleep soundly! Oh, right, how about I sing them a song? I heard that a pig's squeal can shatter glass! My voice is unparalleled in Heaven; even the Jade Emperor himself said it was good..."

The Ringwraith Little White was furious: "Your Nine-Toothed Rake is right there in your hand, you idiot! Quickly use your 'Heaven-Burning Flames' ability to deal with that ice-spitting thing! I swear, if I hear you mention food again, I'll make sure you only eat vegetarian food for a month!"

"Oh right! How could I, Old Pig, forget about that!" Zhu Feifei slapped his forehead and quickly switched the nine-bead bracelet to "Blazing Flames" mode. "But won't this burn all these artifacts? If the Heavenly Court holds me accountable, I can't afford to pay for it! And if these artifacts are charred, that would be such a waste..."

"If you utter another word, I'll roast you into char siu!" The Queen of Jingjue finally snapped. "Hurry up!"

A burst of scorching flame erupted from Zhu Feifei's hand, colliding with the icy air and producing a hissing sound. Steam filled the air, instantly turning the entire tomb into a steam room.

"Wow! It's so hot! So hot!" Zhu Feifei was forced to retreat by the heat. "My old pig skin is going to be roasted ahead of time! But speaking of which, it smells pretty good... Ah! Your Majesty, please don't glare at me, I was just saying!"

"You idiot, watch the heat! Don't roast yourself too!" Little White Ringwraith reminded him helplessly. "Besides, now's not the time to enjoy yourself! Honestly, with your size, you'd be enough for a whole Manchu Han Imperial Feast if you were cooked..."

Zhu Feifei quickly adjusted the intensity of the flames, concentrating the scorching heat towards the ice-spraying beast's head. The beast let out a shrill scream, and the icy chill gradually weakened until it disappeared completely.

"One done!" Zhu Feifei shouted excitedly, "I, Old Pig, am truly amazing! It seems all those years of barbecue experience in Heaven weren't for nothing! Next up is your turn, fire-breathing one!"

Just as Zhu Feifei was preparing to unleash "Burning Heaven Flames" again to deal with the other beast head, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his stomach. His face instantly turned pale, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

"Ouch! I, Zhu Feifei, have a stomachache!" He clutched his stomach, writhing in pain. "Could it be that the eight hundred steamed buns I ate this morning went bad?"

"Damn it! You're not going to transform again, are you?" The Queen of Jingjue saw Zhu Feifei's pained expression and inwardly cried out in alarm. "And how much did you eat this morning?!"

"I...I don't know either..." Zhu Feifei's voice trembled, "I feel...I feel...I'm about to lose control...I'm doomed, I'm afraid I'm going to embarrass myself in front of you this time..."

His body began to change; his nose grew longer, his ears grew bigger, and coarse pig hair grew on his face... The whole process looked both comical and a little scary.

"Get out of the way!" Seeing this, the Queen of Jingjue quickly pushed Zhu Feifei aside. "Your transformed appearance is even more terrifying than these beast heads!"

Just then, Zhu Feifei's body completely transformed into a giant wild boar! And it was a wild boar that looked extremely hungry!

"Roar!" The wild boar let out a deafening roar and charged towards the fire-breathing beast's head. It charged as if it had its sights set on a plate of delicious roasted meat!

"This is bad..." Queen Jingjue looked at the ferocious wild boar before her, her heart filled with worry. "Has this thing gone mad with hunger?"

Although this wild boar was transformed by Zhu Feifei, it had completely lost its mind and couldn't distinguish friend from foe. Even when the Ringwraith Little White shouted in its mind, it only received a few dissatisfied grunts in return.

The fire-breathing beast's head seemed startled by this sudden turn of events. It paused for a moment, then unleashed another burst of flames, hurtling towards the wild boar. Perhaps it thought this would roast the mad boar?

The wild boar neither dodged nor flinched, enduring the fiery attack head-on. The scorching flames charred its bristles, emitting a burnt smell. But the boar seemed completely unharmed; instead, it became even more ferocious, as if it had smelled something delicious.

It roared and rammed into the fire-breathing beast's head. The impact was devastating; it shattered the beast's head into a pile of rubble. It seems this pig's head really is made of iron!

The wild boar defeated the fire-breathing beast's head, but it didn't stop. Its eyes were red as it glared at the Queen of Jingjue, letting out a threatening growl. It seemed to regard Her Majesty as some kind of delicious meal?

"It's over... This pig is going to make me its dessert..." Queen Jingjue thought despairingly. She didn't want to become some mad pig's meal!

At this critical moment, the Queen of Jingjue suddenly had a flash of inspiration. She took out a signal flare from her waist. This was something she had specially prepared to deal with the disobedient Zhu Feifei!

With a loud bang, the signal flare exploded in the air, turning into a dazzling firework.

The wild boar was startled by the sudden bright light and loud noise. It paused for a moment, probably thinking something delicious had fallen from the sky. But when it realized nothing had fallen, it immediately turned and ran, disappearing into the depths of the maze. Before leaving, it let out a few aggrieved grunts, sounding remarkably like it was saying, "You tricked me!"

The Queen of Jingjue looked in the direction the wild boar had disappeared, and breathed a sigh of relief: "Finally, I scared that greedy pig away..."

Just then, she suddenly heard a faint voice: "Your Majesty... I... I'm here... and I think I smell roasting meat..."

The Queen of Jingjue looked in the direction of the sound and saw Zhu Feifei lying on the ground, her breath weak, but she had already returned to human form. However, this guy was still thinking about food!

Helpless, she ran over, helped Zhu Feifei up, and asked with concern, "Are you alright? Are you okay?"

Zhu Feifei smiled weakly, "I...I'm fine...I'm just...a little hungry...Do you have any food with you?"

Queen Jingjue sighed, took out an exquisite jade bottle from her bosom, and poured out a pill. This was something she had prepared specifically to deal with Zhu Feifei's various "unexpected situations."

"What is this? It doesn't look very appetizing..." Zhu Feifei asked with a look of disgust.

“This is a ‘Rejuvenation Pill,’ which can quickly restore your strength,” the Queen of Jingjue explained. “And it’s much healthier than the junk food you usually eat!”

After reluctantly swallowing the pill, Zhu Feifei felt a warm current flow through his body, and his strength gradually returned. However, he couldn't help but complain, "This tastes even worse than the moldy buns I ate last time..."

"If you utter another word, I'll turn you back into a pig!" Queen Jingjue threatened.

"Alright, alright, I won't say anything more..." Zhu Feifei quickly shut her mouth, then said gratefully, "Thank you, Your Majesty. But could you perhaps offer a better-tasting pill next time?"

The Queen of Jingjue suppressed the urge to hit someone and smiled elegantly: "No need to thank me. You saved my life, so I'm returning a pill to you—it's fair. As for changing your taste... you should probably forget about it!"

She paused, then continued, "Now that the guardian beast of the 'Gate of Life and Death' has been defeated by you... uh, using a special method, we can continue."

"That sounds nice, doesn't it!" Little White Ringwraith couldn't help but scoff. "To put it bluntly, this stupid pig was starving and mistook the guardian beast for roast meat!"

Zhu Feifei scratched her head: "Your Majesty, why do I, a reincarnation of Pigsy (from Journey to the West), always cause you trouble? How about I treat you to a good meal as an apology? I know a nice restaurant nearby..."

"Shut up!" Queen Jingjue and Little White Ring Spirit shouted at the same time.

And so, this strange duo continued their ascent deeper into the "Gate of Life and Death." Behind them, Zhu Feifei's mutterings continued: "Seriously, that place's char siu is especially delicious, my treat..."

"If I hear you say the word 'eat' again, I'll turn you into a real pig!" The Queen of Jingjue turned around, her beautiful eyes flashing with a dangerous light.

Zhu Feifei immediately covered her mouth, but her eyes kept glancing at the fragrant aroma wafting from afar. The Ringwraith Xiaobai chuckled to himself, "This is quite a rare threat, considering he's almost there now."

"The final test, the 'Gate of Life and Death,' lies ahead," the Queen said solemnly. "Legend has it that a secret powerful enough to change the world is hidden here. We must focus and not be distracted by these trivial matters."

As they were talking, a sudden gust of cold wind blew by, and the torches around them flickered on and off.