Tavern of the Spear: Desire for Pleasure

Night fell, and moonlight veiled the mountains and forests like a thin veil. Cheng Yu stood at the entrance of the cave, the torch in his hand swaying in the breeze, casting his shadow into a long, grotesque silhouette. The cave entrance resembled a gaping maw, its darkness so profound it seemed capable of swallowing all light.

Cheng Yu took a deep breath and gripped the old-fashioned camera hanging around his neck. He could feel an invisible force beckoning him, as if some unspeakable secret was hidden in the cave. It seemed as if countless eyes were watching him in the darkness, or as if an invisible hand was about to drag him into an unknown abyss.

Despite a slight unease, Cheng Yu's expression remained unusually calm. He stepped into the cave, the torchlight instantly swallowed by the darkness, leaving only a small, flickering halo around him. As he went deeper, the rocks on the cave walls became increasingly slippery, and a putrid smell filled the air.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, the view suddenly opened up before Cheng Yu. He found himself in a spacious underground space, dotted with a few dim oil lamps. It resembled an ancient dungeon, with rusty chains and shackles covering the walls.

Just then, two clumps of translucent green slime wriggled out of the darkness. Cheng Yu immediately recognized them as two slimes, which swayed as they approached him. Faced with this sudden threat, Cheng Yu revealed a mysterious smile.

He deftly dodged the slime's attack, then extended his claws, grabbing two slimes and lifting them high. The slimes wriggled in his palm, trying to break free, but to no avail.

Cheng Yu took out a brand new photograph from his pocket and gently placed the two slimes on it. A strange thing happened: the photograph seemed to come alive, its surface rippled, and in the blink of an eye, it sucked the slimes in. Looking at the photograph again, it had returned to normal, except for two small green dots.

Having resolved this minor problem, Cheng Yu put away the photos, raised his torch, and continued onward. His steps were firm and composed, as if he were confident of everything that lay ahead. As he ventured deeper into the dungeon, the atmosphere grew increasingly eerie; the shadows on the walls seemed to writhe, and faint whispers drifted through the air.

Continuing forward, Cheng Yu soon came to a fork in the road.

Cheng Yu stood at the fork in the road, squinting slightly as he surveyed the two deep passages. The passage on the right emitted a faint, almost imperceptible light, as if beckoning him. He pursed his lips and decided to explore to the right.

The path wound its way through the landscape, its walls covered in thick moss, exuding a damp scent. Cheng Yu proceeded cautiously, occasionally lighting the way with his torch. As they ventured deeper, an ancient atmosphere filled the air, as if they had traveled through time to an ancient ruin.

Finally, he arrived at a spacious stone chamber. The sight before him made him hold his breath—the entire room was filled with stone tablets of all sizes, some intact but with the names and information carved on them illegible, while others were incomplete and looked like they had been deliberately vandalized.

Cheng Yu raised his torch and carefully examined the stone tablets. They were covered with intricate runes and ancient scripts, as if telling a forgotten story.

His gaze was drawn to a unique stone tablet. It was placed in a special spot, a sliver of moonlight filtering through a crack in the ceiling, illuminating its surface. Cheng Yu cautiously approached, discovering that the path leading to the tablet was covered in pebbles and dust, suggesting that no one had set foot here for a long time.

When he finally reached the stone tablet, he found that part of the text on it had been cut away by deep knife marks. He squinted, trying to decipher the remaining text: "To all evil sorcerers and their cruelty to civilians, who risked traversing these caves—" Just as he was trying to understand the meaning of the words, a cold stone hand suddenly landed on his shoulder.

Cheng Yu reacted with lightning speed. As if he had anticipated this, he instantly pulled a sword from the photograph and thrust it backward. However, surprisingly, the sword snapped in two, as if it had struck something indestructible. He whirled around and found himself facing a lifelike gargoyle statue.

The gargoyle's eyes gleamed with an eerie red light, and a cold smile curled at the corner of its mouth.

"Tsk~ Looks like I overestimated myself." Cheng Yu stuck out his tongue at the gargoyle, threw away the broken sword, and quickly ran away.

"Hey, bro! A gargoyle as handsome as you shouldn't be chasing me, okay? I really know I was wrong, I shouldn't have stabbed you!"

Cheng Yu ran and shouted, but the gargoyle remained unmoved. Its scarlet eyes were fixed on Cheng Yu, and its massive body chased after him at an astonishing speed. Cheng Yu could hear the heavy footsteps behind him getting closer and closer, and he knew he couldn't escape like this.

"Looks like I have no choice but to take a gamble," Cheng Yu muttered to himself, abruptly turning to face the gargoyle. He took a deep breath, his fingers rapidly drawing a complex rune in the air. A pale blue light burst forth from his fingertips, forming a thin barrier. The gargoyle's fist slammed heavily against the barrier, producing a deafening roar.

Taking advantage of the moment, Cheng Yu retrieved a short staff from the photograph and swung it repeatedly at the gargoyle. Several fireballs shot out, but vanished the instant they struck the gargoyle, leaving only black marks on its hard surface. Cheng Yu frowned, realizing that ordinary magic seemed ineffective against this creature.

The gargoyle let out a low growl and lunged at Cheng Yu again. Cheng Yu nimbly dodged, quickly considering a countermeasure. His gaze swept around, and he suddenly noticed a loose stone in the corner. A bold idea flashed through his mind.

Cheng Yu deliberately lured the gargoyle closer to the wall, while simultaneously taking out various props from the photograph to fight back. When the gargoyle swung its fist again, Cheng Yu nimbly dodged, and the gargoyle's fist slammed heavily against the wall. The entire cave shook, and a large amount of rubble fell from the ceiling.

At this critical moment, Cheng Yu made a difficult decision. He pulled out the special photograph from his backpack; the negative showed a giant slime. He took a deep breath and held the photograph high.

"Hopefully this big guy will be of some help," Cheng Yu said softly, then activated the magic of the photograph.

A violent spatial fluctuation swept through the entire cave. The photograph seemed to transform into a vortex, from which a large amount of translucent green slime surged. In the blink of an eye, a gigantic slime appeared before Cheng Yu, its body almost filling the entire cave space.

The gargoyle seemed startled by this sudden turn of events; it stopped and warily stared at its new adversary. The giant slime slowly turned its body, as if observing its surroundings.

Cheng Yu seized the opportunity to retreat to a relatively safe position, holding his breath as he observed the situation before him. He wasn't sure if the enormous creature he had summoned could deal with the gargoyles, but at this moment it was his only hope.

Suddenly, the giant slime swelled up, pressing down on the gargoyle like a massive green wall. The gargoyle struggled fiercely, but its hard body began to crack under the slime's soft yet powerful pressure. The sound of shattering rocks echoed through the cave, mingling with the gurgling of the slime's fluids, creating an eerie symphony.

Cheng Yu looked at the scene before him, feeling both excited and worried. Under the pressure of the giant slime, the gargoyle's hard body began to crack, emitting a teeth-grinding cracking sound. However, just as the gargoyle was about to be completely devoured, Cheng Yu suddenly realized something.

"Wait!" he shouted, his voice echoing through the cave, "Stop!"

The giant slime seemed to understand Cheng Yu's command and slowly stopped squeezing. The gargoyle seized the opportunity to break free, and although its body was covered in cracks, it remained standing. Its red eyes looked at Cheng Yu in confusion, seemingly not understanding why he would stop its victory.

Cheng Yu took a deep breath and slowly walked towards the gargoyle. "We don't need to hurt each other like this," he said, a hint of apology in his voice. "You're just carrying out your mission, aren't you?"

The gargoyle remained silent, but its posture visibly relaxed. Cheng Yu continued, "I know you might think I'm an intruder, but I'm genuinely just interested in the history of this place. I don't want to destroy anything, or hurt anyone... or any creature."

He paused, carefully examining the gargoyle. Although it had just been chasing him, Cheng Yu had to admit that this creature possessed a unique charm. Its sharply defined facial features, its hard yet expressive stone skin, its deep black eyes, and its emerald-like pupils all gave Cheng Yu a strange attraction.

“You know,” Cheng Yu said softly, “gargoyles are actually one of my favorite magical creatures. You are powerful and mysterious, and you also have a… unique beauty.”

The gargoyle seemed surprised by these words; a hint of confusion flashed in its eyes, but it quickly regained its alertness. Cheng Yu cautiously took a step forward, extending his hand, palm up.

"Can we be friends?" he asked, a glimmer of hope in his voice. "Perhaps you could tell me the secret of this cave? I promise I won't tell anyone."

The gargoyle hesitated for a moment, then slowly extended its hand. Just as their hands were about to touch, Cheng Yu suddenly realized something.

“Wait,” he said, pulling a small bottle from his pocket, “I know this might be a bit presumptuous, but…would you be willing to give me a little of your…essence? Just a tiny bit. I'd like to take some souvenirs from this magical place.”

A flicker of surprise crossed the gargoyle's eyes, but it then nodded gently. It raised its other hand and carefully took the small bottle from Cheng Yu's hand.

Strangely, the giant made of stone became slightly rosy, and the gargoyle turned away somewhat embarrassedly. Then his body began to tremble slightly, and soon, a small bottle of gargoyle essence was extracted from it.

Cheng Yu smiled gratefully and carefully put the bottle away. "Thank you," he said sincerely, "This means a lot to me."

Just then, the giant slime let out a low growl, as if reminding everyone that it was still there. Cheng Yu turned to look at it, apologetic smile on his face.

“I’m sorry, big guy,” he said, “thank you for your help. You can go back and rest now.”

He held up the special photograph, and the slime's body began to slowly shrink, eventually returning to the photograph, leaving only a wet stain on the ground.

The gargoyle stared blankly at Cheng Yu's face. It was a temperature it had never felt before, or rather, it had never felt it since that disaster.

It craved this warmth, so the gargoyle stomped heavily on the cave's rocky floor a few times. Cheng Yu watched this scene with great interest; he knew the gargoyle was using its unique skill. With a slight tremor, a thin layer of green light began to appear on the surrounding rock walls.

The light gradually coalesced, forming countless tiny mosses. These mosses grew at a visible rate, quickly covering a large area of ​​the rock wall. Cheng Yu watched this wondrous sight in amazement, his admiration for the gargoyles' abilities growing even stronger. Just as he was immersed in this lush and beautiful scenery, tiny blue flowers suddenly bloomed on the moss.

These flowers, like stars in the sky, dotted the green "sky." They emitted a faint fragrance, filling the entire cave with life and vitality. The gargoyle carefully extended its rough stone fingers and gently plucked a few blue flowers. It awkwardly held these delicate blossoms and turned to face Cheng Yu.

“You are…special…” the gargoyle uttered hoarsely, “warmth…heat…can…I want…” It awkwardly offered the flower to Cheng Yu, its eyes gleaming with expectation. Cheng Yu understood its implication and felt a pang of embarrassment. The “heat” the gargoyle craved was nothing more than his own bodily fluids. This thought made Cheng Yu slightly awkward; he knew this would happen.