"This world actually has monsters with pig heads and human bodies? Am I in the "Journey to the West" world, where Zhu Bajie's descendant is eating humans? Then where is Wukong?"
For humans, humanoid creatures are the most terrifying, a fear etched deep in their DNA.
Upon seeing the pig-headed monsters, Feng Yang's mind was full of bizarre thoughts, but his muscles tensed, and his heart was beating faster than usual. Because unlike cat or wolf ears, and tail girl, he always dreamed of meeting, those guys in front of him obviously not human-friendly.
Clearly, the four pig-headed creatures were having a barbecue in the wild, except their food was human.
Facing them, Feng Yang didn't hesitate and immediately turned to run.
But soon, he heard footsteps behind him.
The footsteps weren't fast; it seemed only one pig-headed monster was following.
As time passed, Feng Yang could clearly sense the pig-headed monster catching up with him, which surprised him, given their stout build, he hadn't expected such speed.
To survive, Feng Yang didn't dare look back and run as fast as he could, and after thinking a bit, he also discarded the backpack on his back to increase his speed, but that still wasn't enough.
The footsteps drew nearer. He knew the creature would catch up soon.
"No, running like this wasn't going to work."
Realizing this, Feng Yang suddenly stopped, turned around, and swung his knife behind him.
His turn was so abrupt that the pig-headed creature, following closely, hadn't anticipated it at all.
Thanks to the element of surprise, Feng Yang's attack landed perfectly.
The longsword pierced the pig-man's chest without any resistance.
The ease of the strike shocked Feng Yang, he hadn't expected the fearsome-looking monster to be wounded so effortlessly.
It wasn't just Feng Yang who was surprised; the slashed pig-headed creature widened its eyes, staring at him in apparent disbelief at his speed and strength.
From the creature's reaction, Feng Yang deduced that the humans in this world likely weren't strong combatants. Otherwise, the pig-man wouldn't have been so astonished.
Perhaps it was because humans were generally weak that only one of the four pig-headed men had chased him. Simply put, they had underestimated him.
As these thoughts raced through his mind, Feng Yang didn't stop moving.
Exploiting the pig-man's momentary shock, he swiftly withdrew his longsword and created distance between them.
Feng Yang wasn't foolish, with the pig-man already injured, he only needed to stall for time and let the wounds take their toll. There was no need to fight to the death now.
If the monster chose to flee, that would be even better.
But the pig-man's intentions were the opposite of Feng Yang's. Eager to avoid worsening its injuries, it sought to end the battle quickly.
However, the injured pig-man was far slower than before, and Feng Yang easily outpaced it.
With each movement, blood seeped steadily from its wounds. Due to the injury, the pig-man's stamina plummeted.
Feng Yang could see the monster was on its last legs. He knew he couldn't afford carelessness, especially at this critical moment.
He maintained a safe distance, keeping the pig-man in check.
Unable to catch Feng Yang, the pig-man grew desperate, a hint of fear flashing in its eyes.
It ceased pursuing Feng Yang, let out a mournful howl, and fled toward the campfire by the sea.
The pig-man knew that if it could reach its companions, the human would be no match for the four of them combined.
But Feng Yang had no intention of letting it escape.
Feng Yang feared death, but only when facing overwhelming power or danger. The pig-man before him was already weakened from blood loss and exhaustion, utterly vulnerable. It is only natural for him to bully the weak and fear the strong, since this world is a bit too dangerous for an outsider like him.
Against the weak, Feng Yang struck with overwhelming force.
He caught up to the pig-man, swung his longsword, and without hesitation slashed at its back.
Though Feng Yang's longsword wasn't a divine weapon, his strength was considerable.
After several strikes, the pig-man finally collapsed. It let out a miserable cry and fell to the ground, motionless.
Feng Yang stared silently at the corpse.
Unlike the villagers of Leek Village, the pig-man's body didn't emit that eerie black smoke upon death. It seemed such smoke only appeared when humans or "spirits" died; other creatures didn't produce it, at least not these pig-headed men.
Feng Yang retrieved his backpack from the roadside and prepared to leave, but after a few steps, he paused as if remembering something.
He returned to the pig-man's body and used his longsword to cut open its stomach.
A look of disappointment crossed his face, "No inner core, or something like that?"
This pig-headed man had no inner core or crystal core like those described in novels and movies.
Strangely, Feng Yang saw no internal organs inside the pig-man either—only a bizarre, flesh-like lump, still beating like a heart.
Feng Yang felt as if the lump was still alive.
A hint of doubt arose in his eyes, could this still-beating lump be the monster's heart? But the pig-headed monster was clearly dead, so why was its heart still beating?
Out of caution, Feng Yang didn't touch the body. Instead, he stood at a distance, used his longsword to pry the "heart" out, and cleaved it open with one stroke.
The strike was like stirring a hornet's nest, countless tiny black worms, each no larger than a grain of rice, swarmed out of the "heart." Their numbers were vast, densely packed, and utterly disgusting.
At the sight of the black worms, Feng Yang shuddered as if electrocuted.
He quickly shook them off his longsword and leaped away from the corpse to prevent them from crawling onto his feet.
After emerging from the "heart," the black worms didn't pursue Feng Yang. Instead, they burrowed into the cracks in the ground. In a matter of moments, they had all vanished into the soil.
The scene left Feng Yang deeply bewildered, how could so many black worms parasitize the pig-man's "heart"? How could the two coexist so peacefully?