The troublesome and scary event finally happened when Tang Doudou's nerves were so high strung they were about to snap. When the torch in her hand went out once again, in the last instant before the light went out, she saw something staring at her with bloodthirsty and starving eyes.

  She immediately recalled the wolf that seemed to be Shen Moru's pet, Ah Meng!

  Although Ah Meng hadn't looked at her with such a starved expression, she had seen similar bloodthirst in its eyes.

  Tang Doudou felt that she would prefer to face Ninth Uncle over a vicious animal since for better or for worse, Ninth Uncle was human. Although he seemed inhumane, he had desires. As long as she figured out what he wanted, she could use it against him.

  When Tang Doudou's thoughts reached this point, she stomped hard on the ground and leapt straight up. That person wasn't wrong, this hole wasn't very large. It was only unusually dark, perhaps due to some strange property of the meteorite.

  She left the hole almost instantly, but a pair of withered hands suddenly grabbed her ankle and yanked her down.

  Crap. Tang Doudou knew things were bad, but she told herself to stay calm. She quickly blew the rolled torch until it lit up again, then swept it towards the thing that had grabbed her ankle.

  Although the rolled torch didn't create a lot of light, as that person had said, any creature that stayed in the darkness too long would feel scorching pain from seeing just the tiniest bit of light.

  There was no way that this creature had been dropped in from outside. Ninth Uncle had probably started raising it in here since a long time ago. The people she saw earlier had probably died at this thing's hands as well. As for why that person was still alive, she didn't have the time to worry about that.

  Fire was effective against that creature. When she swung the torch towards it, it shied away like it had been burned.

  At the same time, Tang Doudou got a clear look at the creature and she immediately screamed, "My God!"

  She kicked the creature's head and sent it crashing back into the bottom of the hole. With the same momentum, she managed to fly out of the hole.

  When she landed, she quickly looked around warily. Ninth Uncle wasn't around, so she hastily started moving towards the entrance. After a few steps though, a figure walked in.

  Who else could it be but Ninth Uncle?

  Ninth Uncle's expression was dark and sinister. "Who would've thought that you'd actually try to escape?"

  Tang Doudou silently replied, it wasn't like she was dumb. With a scary creature like that inside, would she stay there to wait until that creature tore her apart?

  However, she couldn't say this out loud. She forced a laugh and said, "Ninth Uncle, what need is there for you to do this? You just don't want Baili Yu and I to be together, right? You can just tell that to me straight! There's no need to go through so much trouble. It's seriously not good for anyone. Think about it, if Baili Yu finds out that you guys killed me, it'd definitely affect your relationship. Personally, I think that it's really not worth it to ruin everything just because of me!

  "Moreover, for better or for worse, I'm the young city lord of Cloud City, the martial arts alliance head. If something ends up happening to me, everyone in the martial arts community will be looking for Baili Yu to get an explanation. That would make things even more troublesome. And there's the fact that my master has a bad temper and really good martial arts. If Baili Yu ends up getting injured by my master, it'd be bad for you guys as well, no?"

  "Humph! You're just trying to get me to let you go! Keep dreaming!" Ninth Uncle didn't take in any of Tang Doudou's words at all. He slowly advanced towards her. "Didn't you want to escape? Let's see how you'll escape once I crush your limbs!"

  __________

  Credits: Translated by Chiyomira

  [Chiyomira's Corner]

  C: Was the person who had been talking with her also the creature that attacked her? I hope the author eventually does address all these mysteries.