Chapter 44: Luo Feng's Nightmare |
"Dead, all dead! Father, nineteen people, all dead!"
At the outskirts of Redwood Ridge, Luo Sheng entered the cold and desolate cave, first sealing the entrance completely before walking to the bonfire. His voice trembled with panic and fear as he spoke to his father Luo Feng, who had already collapsed on the ground.
The once confident and spirited Luo Feng, now missing his left arm, had blood continuously flowing from the severed limb. His breathing had weakened to an extreme degree.
Hearing his youngest son Luo Sheng's words, a trace of panic flashed across Luo Feng's pale face, but he gritted his teeth and endured the pain: "Don't panic. We're not far from camp. That abomination won't find us and will leave soon."
Luo Feng never imagined that after years of smooth sailing, such a catastrophe would befall him tonight.
What should have been an ordinary hunting trip turned into a nightmare when they encountered the abomination.
The shape-shifting creature kept replacing hunting team members, taking on their most familiar appearances to approach and ambush them one by one.
In less than half a night, out of the twenty-member hunting team, only his youngest son Luo Sheng remained—everyone else had been wiped out.
Luo Feng himself had been ambushed by the abomination disguised as a team member, losing his left arm and suffering multiple knife wounds.
Instinctively wanting to check his son's injury, Luo Feng turned to look at his right arm.
But what he saw made his pupils constrict violently, his expression freezing instantly.
The right arm that had just been wounded before his eyes now appeared completely unharmed—not even a scratch or mark remained.
Realizing the truth, Luo Feng closed his eyes, his face filled with profound sorrow.
The "Luo Sheng" squatting before him clearly noticed his gaze. Seeing the pain on his father's face, the corners of his mouth curled upward as his expression instantly turned sinister.
"Discovered already? You twenty-one really gave me quite the trouble. I almost let you two escape!"
When Luo Feng opened his eyes again, his sorrow had transformed into terror.
The voice sounded like wood shavings being rubbed together—hoarse, piercing, and utterly inhuman, completely unlike his son Luo Sheng.
"Luo Sheng" took out a small knife and slowly inserted it into Luo Feng's severed arm. Watching the blood gush faster from the enlarged wound, his smile grew increasingly twisted and malevolent.
Excruciating pain shot through Luo Feng's nerves to his brain. The once proud man could only wail helplessly, unable to resist despite the agony.
As he watched the knife slice off pieces of flesh from his arm, revealing the white bones of his shoulder and chest, his mind began to collapse—only primal survival instinct remained in his pupils.
"Spare... spare... hh... spare... me..."
"I don't... want... to die... please... spare... my life..."
The pitiful wails seemed to further excite "Luo Sheng."
His knife moved faster, completely ignoring Luo Feng's pleas.
Under the intense pain and terror, Luo Feng's mental defenses finally shattered completely:
"I... can... work... for you... bring people... for you to kill."
The knife stopped!
"Luo Sheng's" expression suddenly turned blank.
Then a black-robed elder emerged from the cave's shadows.
Holding a bundle of white threads in his left hand, the old man approached Luo Feng and took the small knife from "Luo Sheng."
Producing a half-meter length of wood from somewhere, he carved it briefly with the knife, instantly fashioning a lifelike arm.
Using the white threads, the old man sewed the wooden arm onto Luo Feng's body. With a light stroke, the arm changed color, perfectly matching Luo Feng's flesh—as if... as if it had never been severed.
"Get up. Your body is fine now. In ten days, you must bring me a hundred people—the price for your life. Take your son back too. I'll monitor you through him. Don't try anything clever!"
Though he'd regained his life, the old man's terms brought no joy to Luo Feng's face. He simply knelt numbly, nodding.
The old man left. Luo Feng also departed the cave.
Accompanying him was his youngest son "Luo Sheng," whose blank expression made it unclear whether he could still be considered human.
Barely holding onto his crumbling sanity, Luo Feng led "Luo Sheng" back toward camp, but dared not enter directly, circling the outskirts repeatedly.
Until he saw his eldest son Luo Ming leading a search party.
Without hesitation, he violently struck the "Luo Sheng" beside him, smashing the body to pieces, then tore off his own wooden arm with equal decisiveness.
It was true Luo Feng feared death, but trading innocent camp members' lives for his own was something he could never do.
Moreover, such acts were an endless abyss—once started, the abominations would keep demanding more until no humans remained in Rogge Camp or Redwood Ridge's surroundings.
From the moment he pretended compliance with the abomination, Luo Feng had already decided.
Yet even knowing his son was already controlled, actually reducing his body to fragments combined with the psychological torment from the abomination's torture finally broke Luo Feng.
After giving Luo Ming some brief instructions, he descended into semi-madness.
He often felt the abomination still waited outside camp, or had even infiltrated Rogge Camp, ready to carve away his flesh piece by piece.
He frequently hallucinated his shattered youngest son emerging from the ground, tearfully asking why he'd killed him.
Under this overwhelming fear and guilt, Luo Feng's mind remained perpetually strained over the years.
He confined himself to a small wooden hut, never stepping outside or speaking to anyone, handling all needs within.
In the hut, gray-haired Luo Feng lay on his bed, right arm dangling over the side as he slept peacefully.
Suddenly, a bloody hand shot from beneath the bed, gripping his wrist.
Luo Feng's eyes snapped open. Turning his head, his soul nearly fled his body in terror.
At the bedside, Luo Sheng's bloody head emerged halfway, glaring at him with a face twisted by hatred and malice:
"Father, father, why did you kill me? Look at me—I can't even find a whole piece of flesh anymore. Help me put my body back together, father..."
"AHHH!!!"
......
With a scream, Luo Feng jolted upright in bed. After frantically checking his surroundings and under the bed, confirming it was just another nightmare like before, the terror in his eyes gradually faded, returning to their usual unfocused state.
"A dream, hehehe, just a dream, hehehehe..."
The thought processes of a mentally broken man are hard for normal people to comprehend.
After sitting quietly for a long while until calm returned, Luo Feng suddenly started giggling again.
Then, still laughing, he began pointing at the wall while muttering under his breath:
"I won't let you find me. I have no wood left on me, hehe."
"You can't find me, just can't find me."
"Hahaha, I won't send people to you! Come find me yourself..."
......
Yet two low, amused voices abruptly cut through his ramblings:
"Can't find you?"
"After owing me your life-debt all these years, isn't it time to repay?"
The words struck Luo Feng like a thunderbolt.