Hearing the fake golden demon's words, Feng Yang had already vaguely guessed the truth.
He estimated that the 'skin' covering the fake golden demon's body was not an artificial creation; it was likely real skin, flayed from the body of a Golden Demon!
As far as Feng Yang knew, the monsters in this world possessed all sorts of strange abilities. Perhaps the Golden Demon's ability to devour those coins was an effect of the Golden Demon skin fused to his body.
However, the fake golden demon's current state made it clear that the skin had undergone some bizarre transformation. Because the situation was unclear, Feng Yang did not rush forward in response to the fake golden demon's pleas for help. Instead, he maintained a safe distance, quietly observing him.
The Golden Demon skin seemed extremely tough. No matter how hard the man in it tore at it, the skin remained completely unaffected, as if it had become one with his own body.
After some time, the man in golden demon's skin finally stopped struggling. He let out a strange, low growl, a sound that seemed to signify the complete loss of his humanity. He turned around and resumed devouring the coins from the box.
As this 'Golden Demon' ate, it made continuous, guttural "grunt, grunt" sounds. The eerie scene made Zhu Hao, standing nearby, deeply uneasy.
"Brother," He suggested, "Why don't we just leave and forget about the money?"
Hearing this, Feng Yang remained silent. He still had his doubts. Could the fake golden demon's bizarre behavior be an act? His purpose would be obvious: to successfully scare Feng Yang and Zhu Hao away so he could keep all the wealth for himself.
Of course, this was only a guess. Although he was suspicious, he didn't dare to step forward and test the theory.
Just kidding. Money is tempting, but one's life is always the most important. What if this golden demon isn't faking it, but has truly transformed? Facing a strange creature of unknown strength, Feng Yang was unwilling to risk his life for a little money... Alright, money is not little, but it is still not enough to make him lose his mind.
After a shared glance with Zhu Hao, the two began to untie the horses from the carriages while the 'Golden Demon' was preoccupied with its feast.
There were three carriages in the caravan. The horse at the front had already been devoured by the 'Golden Demon,' leaving two horses remaining, one for Feng Yang and one for Zhu Hao. Under the immense pressure from the monster, they moved with extreme efficiency and had the reins untied in moments.
The Golden Demon, still engrossed in eating the coins, seemed to care about nothing else.
Without a moment's hesitation, Feng Yang and his companion turned their horses and quickly disappeared into the woods, leaving behind only a cloud of dust.
At the same time, the Golden Demon lying beside the box suddenly convulsed.
"Ugh!"
A puddle of black liquid gushed from its mouth, splattering onto the ground. The liquid wasn't a liquid at all, but a seething mass of black worms, each the size of a grain of rice. Exposed to the air, the worms began burrowing into the ground with frantic urgency. In no time, the entire swarm had vanished from the surface.
"Ugh!"
Not long after, the demon vomited another wave of the small black worms. This retching sounded like a signal. Instantly, countless more of the insects poured from its mouth. As time passed, more and more emerged until, finally, cracks began to appear all over the Golden Demon's body. From these fissures, even more black worms crawled out.
The insects seemed to abhor being exposed to the air. As soon as they appeared, they began frantically burrowing into the earth. Before long, the entire swarm had disappeared.
Near the convoy, only a strange and terrifying skin, a lone box, and a few scattered coins remained.
Two days later.
Immortal Sect City, Zhu Mansion.
It was past midnight. Feng Yang lay on the bed in his guest room, carefully reviewing the events of the past two days.
After saving Zhu Hao, the second young master of the Zhu family, Feng Yang had accepted his invitation to stay temporarily at the Zhu Mansion in Immortal Sect City.
During these two days, Feng Yang's headaches had flared up twice. He knew this pain was caused by the resentment festering within him. To solve this problem, he had to find the murderer who had massacred Linjiang Village as soon as possible. Because of this he couldn't even enjoy his life, after coming in this new world, all he did was flee, flee, flee, from all kind of ghosts and monster, and hardly have time to see this world's beauty, it can't be that there is no good thing here at all, right?
After some investigation, Feng Yang learned that the 'Immortal' robe worn by the murderer in his vision was the unique attire of the 'Immortal Masters' from the Immortal Sect. In other words, the culprit was a member of that very sect.
This discovery greatly narrowed down Feng Yang's search. The Immortal Sect's headquarters were not located within the city itself, but according to the commoners, its members came to Immortal Sect City regularly to recruit disciples.
Feng Yang's plan was to wait for the next recruitment drive, seize the opportunity to infiltrate the sect, and find the murderer from within.
"What a mess..."
'Gulp...'
Just as Feng Yang was deep in thought, a strange swallowing sound from outside caught his attention.
The sound was extremely faint. An ordinary person, even standing right outside the room, would have difficulty hearing it. But Feng Yang was different. After being strengthened by the resentful energy, his hearing was far beyond that of any normal human. If he concentrated, he could even detect the sound of a mosquito's wings beating in the air.
At first, he thought nothing of it. The Zhu family was well-off and treated their servants well. It wasn't uncommon for a daring servant, feeling hungry late at night, to sneak into the kitchen for a bite.
An hour later, however, Feng Yang was still lying in his room. The faint swallowing sounds from outside showed no sign of stopping.
This was abnormal. Even if a servant were sneaking food, they wouldn't be eating for an entire hour in the dead of night.