Chapter 2: God Bone

Even with its belly pierced, the creature wasn't bleeding much more—it had been so severely wounded for so long that most of its blood was already gone. If it had rested quietly after taking the medicine, it might have survived longer, but it chose to kill two people, which quickly burned through the medicine's effect.

"I don't want to die." Although the small pill he took was still active, He Lingchuan could feel his vitality draining away bit by bit with his blood. He looked up at the cliff; the tall man had just said there were bloodstains on the rocks at the top. Those were likely from his original body's previous fight with the sand leopard. If those two could find them, others certainly could too. This meant he still had hope of being rescued! The thought invigorated him.

"You're better off than me; after all, you used me as a shield." It was the sand leopard that had suddenly attacked and killed the two men, with He Lingchuan only playing a supporting role. This action had also completely exhausted its last bit of strength. If it had two-tenths of its vitality left after taking the medicine, that was now gone. "What a pity, my great revenge remains unfulfilled."

He Lingchuan asked, surprised, "These two don't count?" He didn't want to just sit there and die. Remembering he had wound medicine, he quickly took it out to stop his own bleeding. Carrying medicine was common sense for hunting, and his original body frequently got into fights, so his memory contained plenty of self-help knowledge, and his movements were quite skilled.

"Considering the skills of these two underlings, how could they have driven me to desperation?" The leopard panted, "The real culprit is someone else!"

He Lingchuan saw its belly rising and falling with difficulty, several bleeding wounds still gaping. He felt a touch of pity. "If you don't move around, I'll help you apply the medicine." Even though this creature had mindlessly attacked him earlier, it had then killed people and saved his life. Did that balance things out?

The leopard demon nodded.

He Lingchuan moved closer to the leopard demon and applied the wound medicine. Upon closer inspection, he realized its injuries were truly horrific; several were critical, and one of its ribs was broken, piercing directly into its lung. Its condition was much more severe than his. Of course, some of these wounds were inflicted by his original body's dagger; the others were varied, and he didn't understand them. He only knew one thing: this creature probably wouldn't survive.

The cool sensation from the wounds brought some comfort to the suffering leopard demon. It opened its eyes, looked at He Lingchuan, and whispered, "Forgive me, and thank you." It was thanking him for repaying evil with good.

As He Lingchuan continued applying medicine, he said, "There are no sand leopards around here. You came from West Mountain, didn't you? I remember the local prefecture has a decree that sand bandits on Red Cliff Road are strictly forbidden from killing and plundering within the Blackwater City territory. This law has been enforced for years, and it's worked smoothly, so how dare you cross the border?"

The words had barely left his mouth when he froze. How did he know all this? No, it was his original body that knew this, and the knowledge had simply slipped out. After the battle, many memories slowly surfaced from the depths of his mind.

He remembered that the sand leopards' den was in West Mountain, which was far from Blackwater City. He remembered that the entire pack of sand leopards were bandits, and there were many humans and demons who lived by plundering on Red Cliff Road. He also remembered that for years, countless humans and demons alike had obeyed the local prefecture's orders and dared not extend their reach to Blackwater City. The one who personally enacted this law was his own father, He Chunhua!

The question was, why had the leopard demon from West Mountain come to cause trouble near Blackwater City in Calabash Mountain?

"An outside power invaded West Mountain and killed my father, our clan leader." The leopard demon gritted its teeth. "We were almost wiped out; only a few brothers escaped."

He Lingchuan was startled. A pack of over thirty such strong leopard demons, almost completely annihilated?

He cautiously asked, "Was it an army? How many people?"

"No, only seven or eight people, with the two leaders being the strongest." The leopard demon spat a necklace from its mouth onto the ground beside He Lingchuan. "They will certainly send more people later. These things cannot be left for them. I ask one thing of you: take them away. If you can find my other brothers, that would be best. If not... then do with them as you wish."

In any case, they shouldn't benefit the murderers.

Was this necklace the root of all the trouble? He Lingchuan hesitated. "They're after this? What if I don't take it?" He suddenly noticed the leopard demon said "these things," implying there was more than just the necklace.

"As you wish." The leopard demon was very tired. After speaking, it closed its eyes.

This leopard was extremely fierce; even in death, it could overpower two skilled fighters. Its clan must have been equally formidable, yet they were wiped out because of this pendant. Why should he take on such trouble?

He Lingchuan casually picked up the necklace to examine it.

The pendant was not quite jade; it looked more like polished ivory, with a faint yellow hue. The strangest thing was that holding the pendant made him feel a sense of familiarity, as if he had worn it for many years.

"Why are your enemies pursuing this?"

"I don't know," the leopard demon replied. "I had just returned to the den when they attacked, and my father was killed."

"..." He Lingchuan sighed. "It would have been so much better if we'd kept someone alive to question." But this fellow was too fierce; it eliminated them too quickly.

"This pendant is a family heirloom, the 'Divine Bone Chain,' left by our ancestors over a hundred years ago. Legend says it's made from the finger bone of a deity. It's kept by our clan leader, and only the clan leader knows its origin and purpose. I only know it can prevent fire injuries." The leopard demon continued, "When I returned to the den, I think I heard our opponents say something about handing over... the token."

"A token of what?"

"I didn't hear clearly; the mountain wind was too strong, and I was far away." The leopard coughed up more blood. "My broken tooth fell into the crevice behind you. If you survive, pick it up; there's something in there too."

"Something your enemies want too?"

"Perhaps." The leopard demon rested its head on its front paws. "I don't know exactly what they want, but our clan leader said that everything else could be given away, except for this necklace! You must keep it safe and never show it to anyone, or my clan will be a cautionary tale for you!"

He Lingchuan looked at the necklace with a wry smile. "Don't let anyone discover it? That seems a bit difficult." He also had to assume he could get out of there alive. "Huh?" Before he finished speaking, the shape of the divine bone pendant changed.

From a crescent moon, it transformed into a round jade pendant with a small hole in the center, just right for a thread to pass through.

"What?" He Lingchuan touched his chest and pulled out a necklace from his collar—also a round jade pendant!

When the two pendants were placed side by side, their shape, size, color, and weight were not merely similar; they were identical.

In other words, this crescent moon pendant had apparently understood his worries and cleverly disguised itself as the jade pendant he had always worn! Just this fact alone showed it was no ordinary object.

Then, with a soft "crack," the jade pendant around his neck cracked along several small lines—and shattered. The original owner had fallen from over ten zhang high, landing at the bottom of the ravine, breaking several bones. This ornament had not been spared. When He Lingchuan touched it along the lines, the jade pendant finally met its end.

He Lingchuan stared at the divine bone necklace for a long time. Did this mean he had to wear it, whether he wanted to or not?