Tavern of the Spear: Desire for Pleasure

Because of the time hourglass, time here seems to follow a strange pattern, isolated from the chaos of the outside world. Guided by his memories, Cheng Yu found the location of Kaimen Richie's mansion. However, the scene before him left him somewhat astonished. The dilapidated thatched hut from his memory was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a brand-new mud-brick house. Under the influence of the time hourglass, the house looked as if it had just been built, but strangely, there wasn't a trace of human habitation about it, as if no one had ever lived there.

Cheng Yu pushed open the door and began searching the room carefully. Bai Yu followed behind him, curiously observing his every move. Bai Yu was filled with questions. Where exactly was the sealed place Cheng Yu spoke of? What was he searching for?

Cheng Yu tapped repeatedly on the floor, seemingly searching for something. Suddenly, he stopped, an expression of disbelief on his face. He had discovered a hollow spot in the floor, a place that no one had noticed, which eased his anxiety slightly.

Without the slightest hesitation, Cheng Yu unleashed his immense strength, punching a hole through the floor. A huge crater appeared before them. Without hesitation, Cheng Yu jumped down, and Bai Yu, seeing this, followed suit, leaping into the crater as well.

Below the pit lay a winding passage. Bai Yu followed Cheng Yu through many turns in the passage, finally arriving at the sealed place Cheng Yu had mentioned. Two statues stood there, their forms drastically different: one depicted a wolf-beastman, the other a dragon-beastman. The wolf-beastman statue was remarkably well-preserved, its luster and details indicating frequent maintenance. The dragon-beastman statue, however, was dilapidated, trapped in a cage covered in dust and cobwebs, suggesting it hadn't been visited in a long time.

"Is this the sealed land?" Bai Yu asked softly, looking at the scene before him, his tone filled with doubt and confusion.

“Yes.” Cheng Yu nodded, his gaze falling on the imprisoned dragon-beastman statue. “Something very important is sealed here, and we need to find it.”

“But there’s nothing here except these two statues.” Bai Yu looked around and saw that there was nothing else there except for the two statues.

Cheng Yu didn't speak. He walked up to the dragon-beastman statue and examined it carefully. Suddenly, he seemed to discover something and reached out to feel around on the base of the statue.

"What are you looking for?" Bai Yu asked curiously.

“A mechanism,” Cheng Yu replied briefly, his fingers tracing patterns on the base of the statue, as if searching for a hidden mechanism.

Bai Yu stood quietly to the side, watching Cheng Yu's focused expression, his heart filled with anticipation. He believed that Cheng Yu would definitely find what he was looking for.

Time ticked by, and fine beads of sweat appeared on Cheng Yu's forehead. Suddenly, his fingers stopped, and a look of joy appeared on his face.

“Found it!” Cheng Yu said softly as he pressed down hard on a protrusion on the base of the statue.

With a soft click, the base of the dragon-beastman statue slowly opened, revealing a dark opening.

"This is..." Bai Yu looked at the hole in front of him in surprise. He had not expected that there was an entrance hidden under the base of the statue.

"Follow me," Cheng Yu said, taking the lead into the cave entrance. Bai Yu took a deep breath and followed closely behind, entering the mysterious cave.

Inside the cave entrance was a narrow passage, at the end of which a faint light could be seen. Cheng Yu and Bai Yu walked forward along the passage, their footsteps echoing clearly in the silent passage.

"Cheng Yu, what do you think is in here?" Bai Yu couldn't help but ask, his voice echoing in the passageway, carrying a hint of tension and anticipation.

“I don’t know either. After all, nobody knows if it will be the same as last time. Last time, the mechanism wasn’t on this statue, but on the wall. So I’m not sure if the end of this passage will be the same as last time.” Cheng Yu shook his head. “But I have a feeling we’ll find out soon.”

The two continued walking forward, the light at the end of the passage drawing ever closer, their heartbeats quickening. Finally, they emerged from the passage into a spacious underground space.

The underground space was much larger than they had imagined. In the center of the space was a huge altar, on which was placed an object that shimmered with a strange light.

"What is that?" Bai Yu asked, pointing to the object on the altar, his voice filled with surprise and curiosity.

Cheng Yu remained silent, slowly walking towards the altar, his gaze fixed intently on the object on it. Bai Yu followed, and they stood before the altar, carefully observing the object emitting a strange light.

The object is irregularly shaped, with a surface covered with complex patterns. The light it emits is sometimes bright and sometimes dim, as if it were alive.

"Is this what we're looking for?" Bai Yu asked softly, a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

“I don’t know.” Cheng Yu shook his head. “But I have a feeling that it must be related to what we are looking for.”

Cheng Yu reached out, wanting to touch the object. Just then, a voice suddenly rang out behind them.

"Who are you? Why are you here?"

Cheng Yu and Bai Yu turned around abruptly and saw a figure standing at the entrance of the passage, coldly watching them.

The voice was deep and hoarse, carrying a hint of wariness and interrogation. Following the sound, a figure stood silently at the entrance of the passage. He was tall and wore extremely old and tattered clothing, resembling that of an ancient warrior. His fists were wrapped in layers of gauze, and his head was similarly wrapped; apart from that, he had almost no other covering. Fortunately, the other party was a dragon. A dragon's body structure differs from that of many orcs, and unless one deliberately looked, his private parts were not visible.

Upon seeing the newcomer, Cheng Yu quickly searched his memory and soon found the man's name. This guy was called Heavy Fist, also known as "White Dragon Heavy Fist," a renowned martial arts expert. Cheng Yu had fought him once back in the tribe, an experience he vividly remembered.

Cheng Yu stared at the white dragon before him in disbelief. If Chongquan was here, and Bowen had also appeared here, did that mean the other nine white dragons might also be here? This thought made Cheng Yu feel a strange tension. He swallowed hard, then looked at the white dragon still standing in the shadows and called out its name directly: "Chongquan?"

Upon hearing the name, Heavy Fist's face showed surprise. He looked at Cheng Yu with suspicion; he didn't recognize this guy in his memory. His vigilance intensified, and he was ready to fight.

Standing in the darkness, Heavy Fist spoke again, asking, "Who are you? What are you doing here? I noticed you lurking around here early this morning, and now you've come to this strange place. What do you want?" His voice was deep and powerful, each word seemingly vibrating from his chest, carrying an undeniable authority.

Cheng Yu didn't know how to answer the question for a moment, but he still tried to calm the other party down and explained, "We are definitely not here to cause trouble. We are trying to find a way to restore this place to normal."

However, upon hearing this, the heavy fist in the darkness became even more wary. He snorted coldly and said, "Everything is perfectly normal here. It's only after you arrived that things became abnormal! So, I don't believe your story!" Before he finished speaking, Bai Ze shot out of the darkness like an arrow, his heavy fist, accompanied by a strong gust of wind, aimed straight at Cheng Yu's face.

Cheng Yu's pupils contracted; the speed and power of the punch far exceeded his expectations. He dared not take it head-on, leaning back to narrowly avoid the powerful blow. The force of the punch whistled past his nose, bringing a sharp pain.

"What a fast punch!" Bai Yu exclaimed from the side. He hadn't even seen how Bai Ze threw the punch.

Cheng Yu had no time to respond to Bai Yu, as the heavy punches came one after another like a storm. His fists were as dense as raindrops, each punch carrying immense force, as if to completely crush Cheng Yu.

Cheng Yu dodged while trying to find an opportunity to counterattack. He knew that if he continued to passively take hits like this, he would eventually reveal a weakness. He had to find a way to turn the tide.

The attacks grew increasingly fierce, his fists leaving afterimages in the air and emitting a series of whistling sounds. Cheng Yu's space to dodge was shrinking, and fine beads of sweat were already forming on his forehead.

"This can't go on!" Cheng Yu thought to himself. He took a deep breath, took a step forward, and charged forward instead of retreating, meeting the heavy punch head-on.

"You're asking for death!" Seeing this, a fierce glint flashed in Chongquan's eyes. He punched harder, wanting to knock Cheng Yu down with one blow.

Just then, Cheng Yu's body suddenly twisted strangely, dodging the heavy punch at an incredible angle. At the same time, he clenched his right fist and struck Bai Ze hard in the abdomen.

"What?!" Chongquan was shocked. He hadn't expected Cheng Yu to be able to counterattack under these circumstances. He tried to pull his fist back, but it was too late.

boom!

Cheng Yu's fist struck Chongquan squarely in the abdomen, producing a dull thud. Chongquan's body jerked violently, and he staggered back a few steps, a pained expression on his face.

“You…” He clutched his stomach, staring at Cheng Yu in disbelief.

"Your boxing skills are indeed very impressive, but you rely too much on your strength and speed," Cheng Yu said calmly. "True combat is not just a contest of strength and speed, but also a battle of skill and intelligence."

"Hmph, stop talking big!" Despite the pain in his abdomen, Chongquan charged at Cheng Yu again.

This time, his heavy punches were more cautious; he had simply underestimated his opponent before. He no longer attacked recklessly, but instead began to use his speed and agility to constantly change the angle and rhythm of his attacks.

Seeing this, Cheng Yu stopped dodging and began to take the initiative to attack. Although his boxing style was not as fierce as Bai Ze's, it was more flexible and varied. Every punch was perfectly timed and always hit the vital points of the heavy blows.

The two exchanged blows, locked in a fierce and evenly matched fight. The sounds of fists and feet clashing echoed through the empty underground space, sounding particularly intense.

Bai Yu watched in stunned silence. He hadn't expected Cheng Yu to be able to fight Chong Quan to a draw. Judging from the opponent's aura, it was clear that Chong Quan was a renowned fighting expert in the tribe. His strength was far beyond what could be easily countered by brute force alone.

If Bai Yu really thinks that way, then he's being too naive. Well, realistically speaking, Cheng Yu would be so badly beaten that he wouldn't even be able to stand up without using the story. However, Cheng Yu's story is so overpowered that it's practically undetectable. So, Cheng Yu is cheating again.

"Cheng Yu, keep going!" Bai Yu couldn't help but cheer for Cheng Yu.

The fight between Cheng Yu and Chongquan intensified, and both men sustained injuries of varying degrees. Chongquan's fists were bandaged with blood, and several bloody welts marred his face. Cheng Yu was in no better shape; blood trickled from his mouth, and his clothes were torn in several places.