The jade wall could do nothing against the stone vein and gradually grew agitated. Its massive body began to contract and expand, like a disgusting, bloated stomach. Trembling, it suddenly erupted in a thunderous, earth-shaking dry heave, and in the next instant, a torrent of flesh, blood, and bone burst forth from the jade wall!

Sticky blood, gleaming white bones, and clumps of revolting hair all rained down, transforming upon landing into snarling little ghouls. They bared their fangs and claws, howling as they smashed the wooden planks beneath their feet and lunged at the exposed, ferocious stone vein.

The moment a ghoul touched the stone vein, it would wither into a dried corpse. But the ghouls charged forward in endless waves, like crazed ants, caring nothing for their own lives—only desperate to bite, to claw!

Henry Lang had already closed his eyes, resigned to death. But the moment the jade wall began to ‘vomit’, he snapped his eyes open and stared intently at the ghouls not far away. Sure enough, when the jade wall spewed blood and bone for the third time, the naked Charles Quinn and Isaac Lowell were also spat out. Both of them were smeared with a layer of red clay, standing out starkly among the gray-blue horde of ghouls.

The two blue-robed men were now covered in red clay, lying motionless on the ground, their fate unknown.

The mine tunnel was packed with frenzied ghouls, surging in wave after wave toward the stone vein. In no time, the ground was carpeted with shriveled corpses, and the ferocious stone vein finally began to falter. Suddenly, it jerked violently, like a lizard’s severed tail, leaping and thrashing madly. Wherever it passed, rocks shattered, and the ghouls struck by it were flung in all directions, withering away before they even hit the ground...

No one knew how much time had passed. The ghouls spewed from the jade wall grew fewer and fewer, the stone vein’s struggles weakened, the protective mist thinned, and the warring forces within it dwindled to almost nothing... At last, everything fell silent, and only endless darkness remained in the mine.

Bang! A muffled thud.

The pressure inside his body suddenly vanished, and Henry Lang’s legs gave out. He collapsed to the ground and fell into a deep sleep.

……

Gurgle, gurgle—a strange sound drifted softly into his ears, and Henry Lang awoke.

His mind was groggy. After a while, Henry Lang finally recalled the life-and-death ordeal he had just survived and hurriedly opened his eyes—only to find a huge face pressed right up against his own. Startled, his body reacted on pure instinct, and he sprang to his feet.

That big face reacted with lightning speed, dodging his headbutt in a flash. As his vision pulled back, Henry Lang realized the face wasn’t so big after all... It was Isaac Lowell, his shifty eyes glinting mischievously as he grinned at Henry Lang.

Beside Isaac Lowell, the old man Charles Quinn sat upright and proper, his face as sour as ever, but his eyes were filled with curiosity as he looked Henry Lang up and down.

Seeing the two of them alive, a surge of immense joy welled up in Henry Lang’s heart, from his heels to the tips of his hair—every one of his thirty-six thousand pores tingled with excitement!

All his life, only four people had ever looked at him with true regard: his ugly mother, Feng Xixi, and the ever-stern Charles Quinn and the sly-eyed Isaac Lowell. They were alive, and Henry Lang was happy—happier still to realize that he himself had survived as well.

As soon as Henry Lang jumped up, Isaac Lowell immediately backed away two steps, waving his hands and laughing, “Don’t you come hugging me... Don’t, don’t...” Before he could finish, Henry Lang had already grabbed him in a bear hug.

Isaac Lowell, afraid of hurting him, didn’t dare struggle too hard and could only shake his head with a wry smile.

After letting go of the big, chubby guy, Henry Lang looked toward Charles Quinn, who jumped in alarm and quickly grabbed his Yangshou Evil Bow. “No hugging! That’s improper!”

Henry Lang paid him no mind, spreading his arms wide and running over. But after two steps, he suddenly stopped, confusion filling his eyes. “Your pants...”

Charles Quinn had already wiped off the red clay, his upper body bare, wearing a pair of tattered pants. The thing was, those pants looked awfully familiar to Henry Lang.

He turned to look at Isaac Lowell, who was bare-legged, his upper body draped in a small, ragged shirt that was stretched tight over his plump frame. Fortunately, traditional Han-style jackets were long enough to cover anything indecent...

A cool breeze drifted by, and Henry Lang suddenly felt a chill. Instinctively, he reached down to touch himself...

A childish shriek rang out in the mine. Henry Lang, furious, pointed at the two Jiulong blue-robes. “You... you stole my clothes!”

Not long before:

Charles Quinn and Isaac Lowell had awakened almost simultaneously. The cave was a scene of utter chaos, littered with the dried corpses of monsters. The jade wall and stone vein had both crumbled to dust, the pair of abominations utterly destroyed, and Henry Lang was snoring away nearby.

The two Jiulong blue-robes were amazed, but once they calmed down, they both grew awkward—while smearing on the red clay, they had both torn their own clothes to shreds in a fit of desperation. Now, the usually well-dressed superior and subordinate faced each other stark naked, an unspeakably embarrassing situation.

After a moment of mutual embarrassment, their gazes drifted in unison to the still-sleeping Henry Lang... It was Charles Quinn who spoke first: “He’s just a child. It’s normal for kids to run around naked.”

Isaac Lowell nodded. “Yeah, kids should be naked.”

Charles Quinn coughed. “I want the pants!”

“As you command, sir!”

Chapter 10: Ambush in the Wasteland Valley