Lulu pulled me as she stepped back as well. Truthfully, there was no need. After seeing the giant bird, I was ready to turn around and run, even if I was the size of an ant to it and unlikely to be noticed.
"Huang Shuai!" A roar in the distance caught everyone's attention again.
Lulu's face changed at once and her hair started flying. Her entire body seemed to glow a faint red.
Huang Shuai? Is he here?
Lulu and I suddenly stopped. Sister Hua seemed to know about Lulu's past, and she looked at Lulu.
"What's the matter?" Wu Jian gave me a pull.
I glanced at Lulu and said firmly, "I'll go into the forest. Go back. I'll come find you when I find him. Make a mark on the road you choose."
Wu Jian hammered on my chest with his hands and said, "Shit, you look down on me. I'll go with you. Let's go."
Huang Xiaolong also patted me on the shoulder. Although he did not speak, I could understand him. That meant he was coming too.
I nodded.
The long shirt person continued to lead the way under the gaze of Yan'er. The road was difficult to follow. Thick leaves made it hard to figure out where to stand, and thick roots formed a huge network along the path.
"So we're looking for Huang Shuai?" asked Wu Jian as he tested a thick tree root with his feet.
I nodded. Wu Jian did not ask anything else, but he broke a branch and handed it to me.
I took the branch without saying thank you. Men are like this sometimes. Without saying anything, everything is clear.
The great beast roared twice more, and the passage that we came from had disappeared behind the dense trees.
Lulu had returned to her former appearance, but her face was still very cold. I could not help scolding Huang Shuai in my head.
"Stop, be careful." Sister Hua suddenly said. We all stopped, puzzled. Sister Hua did not explain, but her eyes swept around. We knew that Sister Hua was not a careless person so we became more alert.
Suddenly there was a rustling. Following Wu Jian's signaling, the three of us leaned against a big tree and looked toward the direction of the sound. However, the sound moved too quickly for us to trace it. Whatever it was was fast.
Yan'er picked up a dead branch and threw it to the long shirt person. The long shirt person never dared to refuse Yan'er, so he immediately turned into thick, black smoke and shot into the forest.
When I saw him go, I was relieved. But I hadn't finished exhaling when he suddenly reappeared, rushing straight at me
I have no time to dodge him, but I instinctively threw my hands in front of me. However, the long shirt person made a 90-degree turn right in front of my face and flew straight up.
My eyes moved with the long shirt person, and I felt my legs go soft.
In the dense forest above me, a huge head had been quietly watching me. If not for the long shirt person, I didn't doubt I'd have lost my head.
Wu Jian's response was very quick. He dragged me to one side in a few steps. Then I looked at the monster.
The monster had a red, overlapping shell on its back and a black abdomen. Under each rounded portion of its shell was a pair of little feet. We couldn't see the end of its body, but it looked to be at least three meters long.
Looking at the monster's head, which was the size of a car with a huge mouthpiece, even someone sitting on the ground would feel their whole body go limp. If it were not for Wu Jian still holding me, I think I would have turned into mud.
The black smoke of the long shirt person kept swirling around the monster. The monster was obviously infuriated and moved quickly to try to catch him. However, the long shirt person was faster. Although he did not attack the monster, he completely avoided its attack.
"Is that a centipede?" Huang Xiaolong looked at the monster and wanted to cry.
I was just about to answer, but Lulu had come to me with a little cry. "Are you all right? Let's get out of here."
I smiled and shook my head. I appreciated her care for me, but I didn't want her to lose her chance at revenge on my account.
"Fool. Possess it!" Yan'er stomped and scolded.
The black smoke that was fighting with the monster suddenly regained the long shirt person's head and he said, "Ah, I should possess its body?"
"Yes. Possess it. That would protect us," Yan'er insisted.
The long shirt person was stunned by the conversation with Yan'er, so he completely forgot to dodge the monster and was pierced by its fangs that were nearly one meter long. However, the long shirt person was a ghost, so the fangs went right through him. Because of its momentum, the monster broke a trunk as thick as thigh and almost fell down.
The monster seemed to be trying to retreat as Yan'er asked, "Don't you want to protect me?"
As soon as Yan'er spoke, the long shirt person immediately went after the monster, entering its eye.
The monster struggled frantically, trying to escape. Countless trees collapsed and we were deafened by the monster's cries.
The sound of the monster slowly became quieter until they disappeared altogether. To my surprise, a huge red skull appeared in the distance. Then we saw black smoke coming out of several of the monster's eyes at the same time, forming the head of the long shirt person on top of the monster's head.
Then the long shirt person said, "Yan'er, I will protect you, but this monster is strange. I can't get out once I get in."
Yan'er heard this and was stupefied. Then she covered her mouth and laughed, telling the long shirt person to lead the way. I was grateful for Yan'er at that moment. Finally, we didn't have to walk anymore.
All of us sat on the monster, laughing, as the long shirt person took us deeper into the forest.