Tavern of the Spear: Desire for Pleasure

As Cheng Yu continued deeper into the left passage, the smell of burning coals grew stronger. A peculiar mixture filled the air, the heat of the coals mingling with the decaying odor unique to underground caves, creating an unsettling atmosphere. Cheng Yu frowned, covering his mouth and nose with a handkerchief, trying to lessen the pungent smell.

The gargoyle followed faithfully behind Cheng Yu, its heavy footsteps echoing through the narrow passage. Despite the increasingly hostile surroundings, the guardian made of rock seemed unaffected. Its emerald eyes gleamed in the darkness, vigilantly scanning its surroundings, ready to protect its new friend at any moment.

After walking for about ten minutes, Cheng Yu arrived at a three-way intersection. He stopped and carefully observed the three paths. The left path looked relatively flat, but it was dimly lit; the right path sloped slightly upwards, and some faint light could be seen; while the lower path was the source of the strongest smell of burning coals, and a wave of heat surged out from there, as if leading to some kind of hellish place.

Cheng Yu pondered for a moment, recalling his past experiences. He knew the passage below led to a peculiar room where four minotaurs sat. Approaching rashly would undoubtedly provoke an attack, but his curiosity was piqued—besides those four dangerous creatures, what else might be in the room?

After much deliberation, Cheng Yu decided to risk it and investigate. He turned to the gargoyle behind him and said softly, "Buddy, we're going to a potentially dangerous place. Would you like to come with me?" The gargoyle tilted its head, seemingly considering Cheng Yu's words, before nodding firmly.

With the gargoyle's support, Cheng Yu felt a surge of relief. Having such a powerful companion by his side undoubtedly greatly increased his safety. Taking a deep breath, Cheng Yu stepped into the passage below, the gargoyle following closely behind.

As Cheng Yu stepped into the room, a wave of heat hit him. He was already prepared, quickly drawing a spear from the photograph. The gargoyle followed closely behind, its wings slightly spread, ready to charge at any moment. Cheng Yu took a deep breath, a resolute glint in his eyes.

"Now!" he hissed, and the spear shot out like lightning.

Before the first bull-man could react, its chest was pierced. Cheng Yu didn't stop there; he pulled out several more darts from the photo and threw them at the other bull-men. Seeing this, the gargoyle immediately flapped its wings and rushed into the room, swinging its thick stone arms to knock down all the bull-men hit by the darts.

However, just as Cheng Yu had predicted, an unexpected event soon occurred. The fallen giant's body began to turn transparent, as if it were about to transform into a ghost. Cheng Yu was prepared and quickly retrieved a bottle of holy water from the photograph.

"Don't even think about escaping!" he shouted, splashing the holy water at the translucent bull-man.

The moment the holy water touched the giant, a piercing hiss rang out. The giant, who was about to turn into a soul, instantly transformed into wisps of green smoke and dissipated into the air.

The battle ended even faster than expected. Cheng Yu cautiously surveyed his surroundings, making sure no enemy was missed. The gargoyles also remained on guard, ready to deal with any potential threats.

"It seems we've solved this problem," Cheng Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

Cheng Yu carefully looked around, trying to find any clues he might have missed. However, apart from the still faintly burning fire, there seemed to be nothing else special in the room. He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, as he had hoped to find more.

Just then, the gargoyle emitted a series of broken sounds, as if struggling to organize its thoughts: "These...what...things...?" Although the sentences were fragmented, Cheng Yu still understood what it was trying to say. The gargoyle was clearly confused about the origins and changes of these extraordinary individuals.

Cheng Yu pondered for a moment, recalling everything he knew, trying to answer his loyal partner's questions: "These powerful beings are likely creatures who accidentally wandered into this place a long time ago." He spoke as he slowly walked towards the still-burning embers of the fire. "They probably couldn't find a way out and got trapped here."

The gargoyle tilted its head, seemingly trying to understand Cheng Yu's words. Cheng Yu continued to explain, "You probably stayed in your original spot for too long and didn't notice their arrival. As for them, being trapped in this eerie place for so long, they were slowly influenced by it and eventually turned into the kind of spirit creatures we just saw."

After hearing Cheng Yu's explanation, the gargoyle let out a low whimper, as if feeling sympathy for the plight of these extraordinary beings. Cheng Yu gently patted its shoulder to comfort it.

“However,” Cheng Yu suddenly thought of something, his brows furrowing slightly, “why is there such a strange influence here? What turned them into spirits?” He looked around, his gaze lingering on every corner, hoping to discover something.

Just then, the gargoyle suddenly let out a low growl and pointed to a corner of the room. Cheng Yu looked in the direction it was pointing and found a slightly protruding stone brick in the corner, its texture slightly different from the other stone bricks.

"Good eye!" Cheng Yu exclaimed, quickly walking towards the peculiar stone brick. He examined it carefully and discovered tiny cracks along its edge. "Looks like there's a secret here," he muttered to himself, then tried to push the brick.

With a dull "click," the stone brick slowly sank into the wall. Immediately afterward, a small hidden compartment appeared in the wall. Cheng Yu held his breath and carefully reached in, feeling for a cold object.

When he took the object out, he found it was an ancient badge. The badge was engraved with intricate runes, and in the center was a mysterious pattern that looked like a combination of a vortex and an eye.

Cheng Yu stared at the ancient badge in his hand, a strange sense of unease suddenly welling up inside him. In his memory, such an item shouldn't exist in this place, let alone such a mysterious badge. This sudden discovery was completely beyond his comprehension, as if the entire outline of his adventure had been disrupted.

He shook his head, trying to clear his mind of the jumbled thoughts. "Perhaps now is not the time to dwell on these things," Cheng Yu muttered to himself. "We still have so much more to explore."

Turning to face the gargoyle, Cheng Yu made a decision: "Buddy, we should get out of here. Remember the fork in the road we came from? We need to check out the left-hand passage."

The gargoyle nodded in acknowledgment and silently followed behind Cheng Yu. The two carefully passed through the room and returned to the fork in the road they had come from. Cheng Yu couldn't help but glance back at the room they had just explored, his mind still filled with questions, but he knew now was not the time to delve into them.

They chose the left-hand path, which was relatively flat, but the light grew increasingly dim. Cheng Yu took out a small lighting device from his backpack, its soft glow dispelling the surrounding darkness. As they went deeper, a faint musty smell filled the air, indicating that no one had been here for a long time.

After walking for about ten minutes, they came to another fork in the road. Cheng Yu stopped and carefully examined the scene before him. To the right was an extremely ancient-looking stone door, inscribed with complex runes, and with a square groove in the center, which seemed to require some kind of special key to open.

“That door isn’t our target right now,” Cheng Yu muttered to himself, his gaze shifting to the small passageway on the left. “We need to go over there.”

They cautiously squeezed into the narrow passage on the left. As they moved forward, the passage gradually widened, eventually leading to an abandoned little room. The room was filled with various odds and ends, seemingly left behind by explorers of the past.

Cheng Yu's gaze quickly settled on several tattered packages in the corner. "These are them," he said excitedly, walking briskly over. The gargoyle stood guard at the door, watching for any potential threat.

Cheng Yu quickly opened the tattered package, his eyes lighting up. Inside were exactly what he needed: a sturdy rope, an unused torch, and two bottles of magic potions emitting a faint glow. These items would undoubtedly be invaluable in the upcoming adventure. He carefully packed the items into his backpack and nodded to the gargoyle.

“We should get back to the fork in the road,” Cheng Yu said softly. “It’s time to explore the passage on the right.”

The gargoyle silently followed Cheng Yu, and the two returned to the familiar three-way intersection. This time, Cheng Yu chose the right-hand passage without hesitation. As they went deeper, a damp smell filled the air, and the ground beneath their feet became increasingly slippery.

After walking for about ten minutes, they arrived at the end of the passage—a precipitous cliff. Cheng Yu carefully approached the edge of the cliff and looked down, seeing only bottomless darkness that seemed capable of swallowing everything. He knew that his destination lay on the other side of the cliff.

As Cheng Yu pondered how to cross this insurmountable chasm, he remembered what he needed to do during his previous storyline here. His gaze shifted to a massive stone pillar beside the cliff. The pillar appeared sturdy enough, and its length was just right to span the precipice. Cheng Yu turned to look at the gargoyle, a bold idea forming in his mind.

“Hey buddy, how about we knock this stone pillar down and use it as a bridge?” Cheng Yu suggested. The gargoyle tilted its head and thought for a moment, then nodded firmly.

The two of them pushed the stone pillar together, and with a loud crash, it collapsed, landing precisely at the two ends of the cliff. Cheng Yu carefully tested it to make sure the pillar was stable, then gestured for the gargoyle to proceed.

“You go first, I’ll be right behind,” Cheng Yu said. The gargoyle insisted on protecting Cheng Yu from behind. Left with no other choice, Cheng Yu had to cross the makeshift stone bridge first.

After crossing the cliff, Cheng Yu, just like in the story, discovered many treasure chests scattered ahead.

These treasure chests looked ancient and mysterious, but Cheng Yu knew they had already been opened and were probably empty. However, the gargoyles seemed to have taken a keen interest in them.

"Wait..." Cheng Yu tried to stop it, but it was too late. The gargoyle had already impatiently opened the first treasure chest. As Cheng Yu expected, it was empty. The gargoyle lowered its head in disappointment and continued to open the second, the third... with the same result.

Seeing the gargoyle's dejected look, Cheng Yu felt a pang of guilt. He stepped forward and gently patted the gargoyle's shoulder.

"Don't be sad, buddy. These treasure chests were never going to be empty; perhaps some thieves have already taken them. The real treasure is still waiting for us to discover."

The gargoyle raised its head, its emerald eyes gleaming with hope. Cheng Yu smiled and pointed to the unknown road ahead, "Let's keep going; the real adventure has only just begun."

Just as the two were about to continue their journey, Cheng Yu suddenly remembered the mysterious badge. He took it out of his pocket and carefully examined the intricate runes on it. For some reason, he felt that the badge had some mysterious connection to the scene before him.

“Perhaps, this is the key to unlocking the door to the real treasure…” Cheng Yu murmured to himself.

Cheng Yu and the gargoyle continued along the narrow passage, the air thick with a damp, musty smell. As they went deeper, the passage widened, eventually leading to a spacious area. Here, Cheng Yu found the boulder from his memories; it stood like a natural door, blocking the entrance to another room.

Just then, Cheng Yu heard a voice coming from behind the boulder. It was a childish voice, tinged with confusion and weariness. Just as Cheng Yu had imagined, there was indeed someone inside, perhaps Bread. So he listened carefully.

"How long have I been here?" the voice muttered to itself. "A week, or two weeks? Time seems to have lost its meaning here; it's none of my business anyway."

The gargoyle looked surprised; he hadn't expected that this god of death would have a living person behind him. Clearly, someone was trapped behind the boulder, and had been trapped for quite some time.